I

The strengthening of the intervention and organisation of the Party among the working class and the workers in general has been a central issue in all great accomplishments, guidelines and decisions, and reaffirmed in the 16th. Congress.

The issue is how to give content and concrete application to the guidelines approved, having considered them a backbone of the class nature of the Party, its political strategy and policy of alliances, of its action in the development of unitary organisations of the workers and in the mass struggle, of its future and influence in Portuguese society.

This does not mean setting aside or abandoning the action of the Party among other strata and classes of society. But rather stresses that the Party organisation and intervention within the working class and other workers play a fundamental role in the political and ideological strength of the Party in a political and social context where the affirmation and strengthening of a Party with its own identity, autonomous and independent from the class interests (economic, political and ideological) of capital, is insurmountable.

As a result of its action and struggle, and its identification with the interests and rights of the workers, the PCP presently enjoys great prestige and social influence, whose expression is seen in the composition of the Trade Union movement and Workers' Committees (CT).

There continue, however, great difficulties and weaknesses in the organisation of the Party in companies and workplaces which derive, in the first place, from objective factors, but also from the degree of understanding, definition of priorities, measures, means and cadres to carry out the approved guidelines.

II

There is a real possibility of an increase of the importance of the social strength and development of the struggle of the workers, in spite of all the objective and subjective changes that have taken place.

Taking into account its decisive role as a force of labour, in the production, in the value of wealth, in the struggles of progressive nature and against capitalist exploitation, the workers give an irreplaceable contribution to the development of the mass struggle and in the combat against a right-wing policy.

The political, social, parliamentary and local government action, should be permanently linked to the objective of the affirmation and defence of the rights and just aspirations of the workers, a fundamental factor in the very development, progress and democratisation of Portuguese society.

The PCP's relation with the workers, the intervention and initiative on their problems and claims should not and cannot just be an exclusive function and attribution of specific organisations of communist workers, it should rather be a permanent concern and engagement of the whole party collective, specially in sub-district committees and other intermediate leadership organisms.

The interactive relationship between the political and legislative initiative and the development of the mass struggle has shown in many cases, either in the combat against the attempts to condition or eliminate social and labour rights or in their defence, preservation or enlargement, an up dated line of work with great validity.

The proposal and struggle for the valorisation of labour, for better wages, the reduction of working hours, the exercise of individual and collective rights, of job security and the subsequent fight against precarious labour, lack of safety and on job accidents, development of solidarity and elevation of the working status of immigrant workers, the articulation of the struggle in defence of the public sector and public services with the rights of the workers and the users, the specificity and importance of the problems of women and young workers constitute, among others, areas of intervention and action that deserve a continuous effort of the Party.

The national and specific campaigns of contact with the workers showed a line a work to be pursued, without making them common, as they enable to spread the proposals and initiatives of the Party among hundreds of thousands of workers of hundreds of companies and workplaces, makes it easy to approach the workers, establish contacts that increase the chances of recruitment and the possibility of strengthening the organisation in the companies and the prestige and influence of the Party.

But, although it is important to "go there", it is fundamental to "be there" in the company, the workplace, in an organised manner.

The cells and other organisations and organisms of the Party in the companies and workplaces hold a determining role in raising class and social conscience, forging a class identity, integrating new strata of workers, promoting the evolution of the class conscience towards a more advanced political conscience and support of the PCP.

In the framework of a powerful political and ideological offensive of capitalism, the organisation of the Party within the workers is not replaceable in the combat against conformist and surrendering conceptions which try to mould and condition the behaviour and values of the workers within the framework and ideological limits of capitalism, which tries to separate social and trade union action in the company from the political action, which tries to split and dilute the understanding by the workers of the mechanisms of their exploitation, the promiscuity between economic power and political power, and reduce the worker to the role of a citizen who periodically delegates in the vote the power to "exercise politics". The evolution of the social conscience into political conscience, the formation of the ballot option grows more quickly if the Party is organised to politically intervene within the company.

III

The 16th. Congress, taking into account the demands put before the Party and with an aim of overcoming insufficiencies and bottlenecks found, pointed the work principles to strengthen the organisation. The objective of strengthening the organisation and intervention of the Party in the companies and workplaces is directed to all workers; however, there are companies, workplaces and industrial sectors, which by their dimension and/or importance justify special measures.

1. The 16th. Congress defined as priority and national objective the existence of organised work by the Party in companies and workplaces with more than a thousand workers and/or of strategic importance, together with other sectorial and regional objectives of the Party's rooting.

This means assuming that, in spite of the dynamics in each of these units, it is the objective of the respective regional organisation and the Party in general to ensure the existence of organised work in these companies, workplaces (namely in Central Public Administration workplaces such as hospitals and universities as well as municipalities) or industrial areas made up of entrepreneurial units of different sizes.

This means that the Party, in the framework of its organisations, assumes the objective of having structures of grass-roots organisations of a bigger or smaller size in all the referred companies, workplaces or industrial areas, which there ensure the Party's organised work.

That means a structure of grass-roots organisations to work with the respective workers and to carry out the general tasks of the Party and not a working sector.

The effective strengthening of the Party demands the adoption of urgent measures, a real working plan in each region which with the monitoring, support and stimulus of the central structures of the Party, defines priorities and above all forms and means to carry them out.

2. And with all elements at hand it is necessary to define clearly in each region which are, besides the companies and workplaces with more than a thousand workers (which have also to be identified), the companies, workplaces and industrial areas considered strategic and a priority.

In a survey with insufficiencies, which does not include the Central and Local Public Administration workplaces, there were more than 1000 companies and workplaces with more than 200 workers, more than 200 with more than 500 and more than 100 with over a thousand workers.

The national companies (for example: PT [Telecom], CTT [Posts], EDP [Electricity], banks, etc.) with several workplaces in a council or district, and which together have thousands of workers, have to be considered for the plan of each region as having priority for the Party's action. The workers of the Local and Central Public Administration (namely in health, education and social security), which in most districts amount to thousands, have also to be considered in the measures to be taken.

3. The implementation, the deepening and continuity of this priority task demands guidelines and definitions.

- Taking into account the existing number of workplaces in each district and the Party's structure and capacity of intervention in each region, it is necessary to take measures in cadres, namely full-time Party officers, in some cases with the support of the Party's central line of work, who should only have tasks linked to the monitoring and development of the Party's work in the companies and workplaces.

It is particularly necessary to appoint a Party cadre with the main responsibility, exclusively in many cases, of working in each company or workplace defined as priority work, with the capacity to monitor and dynamize this task (even if there are presently no known members of the Party in such a company).

In face of the concrete reality of each district and taking into account the number of workers and companies of each area of activity there should be comrades appointed to monitor areas which have a coordination at the national level and others when regional reality justifies it.

- In each Regional Organisation Leadership (DOR) a commission, coordinating or leading organism should be created, which, in a way not diluted in monitoring communist trade union leaders, has the responsibility to monitor and direct the implementation of measures previously established in the regional plan of action.

- Those responsible for each area, company or workplace or industrial area should take the initiative of carrying out the task of creating and strengthening the organisation associated with the political initiative of the Party, the task to strengthen the Representative Organisations of the Workers (ORT), and try to get a deep knowledge of the economic and financial situation, of the working relations of the companies and sectors so as to contribute to the definition of the Party's proposals and a regular issue of information to the workers on the realities which they face and on the general activity of the Party.

- The defined objective demands specific measures, but should be a general concern of the whole Party, beginning with the sub-district and village organisations. It is indispensable to take measures, the continuing concern of the Executive bodies of the DOR and sub-district Committees regarding the organisation and struggle of the workers. It is of the utmost importance to conduct a survey of the workplaces of the Party members and their availability to collaborate in their company, irrespective of the place where they are organised. It is equally necessary to carry out a survey of the names of workers who are not yet members of the Party, namely the young workers, who are available for this task. Working together with the JCP [Portuguese Communist Youth] and the survey of their contacts is of great value in this working line.

- The task of rooting the Party in the companies and workplaces will benefit from the survey which will enable to find the Party members who are not known; however, the objective of guaranteeing the organised work of the Party in the considered universe of the companies, due to the fact of not existing Party members in many of them, will demand the continuation of contacts at the entrance of the companies and, particularly, a party work with the workers who are not Party members (or who are not yet Party members). Even in places where there are already members of the Party it is necessary to find a way of widening the party intervention and influence with initiatives and work involving those workers who are not members of the Party. This, besides the understanding that it is necessary to stress that the Party aims all workers of a company or workplace and that the cell or members of the Party who exist there are an essential tool of this work among the workers.

- The Central Committee decides to integrate in this working plan of rooting the Party among the workers a campaign of recruitment of 2000 new members of the Party, to take place until 1st. May 2002, centred on companies and workplaces, namely among the young workers. The Party members who are union leaders and members of the Workers' Committees (CT) should have an important role in bringing to the Party the workers who are union leaders, members of CTs, Union Committees, Committees of Hygiene, Health and Safety in workplaces, shop stewards and members of sub-CTs who do not belong to the Party.

- The action among the workers also implies permanent means of propaganda, namely mobile means that makes it easy to contact at the entrance of the companies, widening the present existing apparatus to a larger number of regions.

- The national coordination of sectors of companies should be widened to the automobile sector, electrical and electronic industries, the sectors of building, marble and wood and the sector of surveillance and cleaning, continuing the development of coordination in the already defined sectors and companies.

- The development of the Party work demands a deep and up to date knowledge which is only possible with a close link to reality and simultaneously with a study of the available elements, making it necessary to take measures which enable to have an up to date information on the companies and workplaces and to deepen the knowledge of the social reality and its changes.

- The Central Committee decides to carry out national meetings with the cadres responsible for the priority companies and workplaces. The national initiative to assess the work that has been accomplished and give new impetus to our activity, which was decided by the 16th Congress, should be held in the second semester of 2002.

Reality shows that difficulty does not mean impossibility. The strengthening and improvement of the Party organisations, namely their link with the workers and workplaces, will determine the Party's political, social and electoral strengthening in order to face the future tasks with more confidence and intervention capacity.