|
|
A dossier of weekly information published by the International
************************* INTRODUCTION: This week, we continue with the publication of the report on the ILC Geneva Conference. You will find the speeches of Jacques Paris, a teacher unionist (France), and of Norbert Tétévi Bénissan, the general secretary of the UNSIT (Togo), and a message from unionists in Great Britain. Mexico: We are publishing a report on the workers' and popular mobilization developing against the fraud and for a recount, voting box by voting box, of the ballots of the presidential election of July 2nd. ILC: You will find below a discussion contribution, "What is 'decent employment'? A discussion of a slogan of the 'new trade union international' and the U.N." Pakistan: We are publishing an interview with Rubina Jamil concerning the fight in defense of workers' rights. Gabon: Nine national union federations and seven autonomous unions have called for a six-day general strike. Subscribe to the ILC International Bulletin! ----- Table of Contents: p. 1: Introduction *********************** Contact: Informations internationales ************************
Jacques Paris (France) I would like to continue the discussion on the anticipated fusion in this extremely brief time slot. I think we must put quotation marks around the word "fusion" of the ICFTU and WCL, because we are confronted with a special responsibility. The congress is planned to take place in November of this year. In the name of my federation, the Educators Federation, affiliated to the CGT-FO in France, I participated in the congress of the International Federation of Education, which discussed a fusion between the sector of the WCL and the Education International. What is important in the discussion today is that it is clear that this fusion has consequences not only in the education sector, but at that time was explicitly presented as an anticipation of the process of the ICFTU-WCL fusion and as a step toward the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) model. One of the slogans raised and often repeated was: "Unions are united and ready for change!" I would like to discuss this slogan, which is raised in many different forms. Unity, ok, but for what goal? United to remain independent or to be integrated into the international institutions? Concerning change: it was said earlier that American unionists have the nice tradition of saying things clearly. I think that the WCL also says things clearly. For the preparatory congress for the fusion with the International and Education, they call for "A Change for a New Social Pact." The WCL writes: "This new pact demands that we all contribute something for a better social order." I don´t think this is a radically break of the leaders of the WCL with their traditional policies. But in any case, we must understand that these are the conceptions upon which the future Trade Union International is supposed to rest. We have spoken of the ETUC model. The Executive Committee of the ETUC met this week and I think this meeting was very eye-opening. As you know, the European Constitution was massively resisted. You know that the directive "concerning services" and the Bolkenstein directive which aimed to completely deregulate and privatize was massively rejected. You know that the workers and youth of France fought, with their organizations, against the CPE and forced the government to retreat. And of course, it is eye-opening to read a few quotes from the discussion of the Executive Committee of the ETUC, which, for example adopted a resolution titled: "Europe is in Need of a Better Monetary Regime." In this resolution, the ETUC supports an agenda of structural reforms on the condition that "these reforms promote flexibility for the better, and not for the worse" and that these reforms (of Social Security, pensions, and the labor code in the countries of the European Union) "be fair." Fairness, if I understand, means that everybody receives what they are due. In the literature of the WCL, we are told that the reforms should "reduce to a minimum the number of people who lose out." Here is a union organization that clearly throws out the workers' slogans. I would also like to note that the ETUC, through its General Secretary, affirmed right after its EC meeting that: "We need a stronger social dimension in the constitution." In other words, when the European Constitution is on its deathbed, the ETUC fights to revive it. In the same way, it supports the directive on services, the famous Bolkenstein directive. This is not organizing the workers to defend their specific interests, but an institution that is an auxiliary of the European Union. And in some way, I think we can tell the workers and activists -- and our respective organizations -- that the future trade union international would be a type of world ETUC. A conference recently took place in Latin America where the ETUC was represented and promoted the model of the European Union and the ETUC. Because this discussion is not taking place in the workers´ organizations, it is up to us to lead the discussion and warn the workers and activists of what is at stake. I think this is in conformity with our mission. -----
I would like to salute this 13th Annual Conference of the ILC. The conferences of the ILC are becoming more and more important. Here we exchange information and experiences in a context marked by the offensive of globalization. We have seen here how the offensive affects each of country. This allows us to remain vigilant and identify the precise points where we should resist and struggle. Togo is the country of dialogue. Today we face what is called "inter-Togo dialogue," which is a political dialogue between the party in power, the RPT, the opposition parties, and "civil society," which is not very organized because it is only represented by two small women's´ organizations. This is really a mechanism to impose the 22 plans that the European Union would like to push through, particularly through the increase in assistance, that is, the agreement on sharing the crumbs. They call this alternance. I would primarily like to speak of the "social dialogue" which came after this "political dialogue" -- these two terms have been confused, due to political manipulation. This "social dialogue," which only lasted close to three months, was hailed by the governmental website as a "social victory." Our African trade unions should reflect on this type of experience. In Togo, what it's the process? It was first of all the establishment of an inter-union coordination, then "social dialogue" itself. The rule has been consensus -- which clearly is not democratic. The result was that consensus was imposed on a trade union level, then on a workers´ level, then on a tri-partite level between the government, the employers, and the workers. The results? We face 132 different engagements. Concerning the delays in pension payments, the government decided to pay the wages of the last year, the revalorization will take place in 2007 if the 35% devolution takes place. What are we faced with? This is a drive to reach a tri-partite agreement of the government's problems and we have seen the employers call on the government to favor the implementation of the "enterprise governance" and "corporate responsibility" directives, taken from the Medef seminar. They want us to only have trade unionism which accompanies all these policies. It is clear that this is not a social victory and that the workers are not fooled. The workers have seen that social dialogue will not resolve their problems, in a country where the life expectancy has fallen from 55 to 49 in the last 10 years, where half the population lives under the poverty line, which is close to 1.5 Euros a day; the minimum wage (about 20 Euros) is the lowest in the region. We could truly improve the living conditions of the workers and peoples if we stopped paying the debt, which receives most of the budget and represents more than 104% of the GDP. This would allow us to build schools, hospitals, and infrastructures. We could also improve the lives of workers through ending the privatizations. There are struggles and resistance movements. For example, a union that belongs to our confederation is opposed to the privatization of the National Pharmaceutical enterprise. The price was terrible, because the General Secretary of the union was beaten up in 1998. The government just ended its contract with a private electricity company. This is a victory for the unions. The perspective for the struggle is as follows: What is social dialogue? It is necessary, in the framework of the defense of the independence of the unions, to struggle for the payment of the debt, the end to privatizations, in defense of the labor code, labor rights, etc. There will be important meetings of the public sector unions in August: It will be necessary to explain the truth about the planned international trade union confederation. The future will be difficult and the threats come from among our own. In our organizations there are cleavages on social dialogue. During the congress, there are risks of an explosion. They are destroying the ICFTU, piece by piece. The ICFTU in September will begin a kind of poll of the national organizations to ask them if they want to individually enter into the new organization. There is no doubt that trade unionism must, more than ever, defend the real interests of the workers. It is necessary to cut through the confusion and lies and explain what are our class´ interests. Long live the ILC! Long live the world solidarity of the defense organizations of the working class. ***********************
Dear Geneva Conference Organizer The Greater Manchester Association of Trades Union Councils (GMATUC) discussed the ILC Geneva appeal at our delegate meeting on Saturday 3rd June. Trade union mergers are now on the agenda in many countries around the world. This process cannot be dissociated from the planned merger between the ICFTU and the WCL to take place in Wien on November of this year. This merger at a world level poses a series of problems concerning the defense of basic trade union principles. Not least the recognition that society is divided into antagonist interests. The draft constitution for the reconfiguration of world trade unionism proposes that national trade unions can affiliate directly to the new body. Such a move seems to call into question the legitimacy and authority of national trade union federations. This is the framework within which new mergers of national unions are now on the agenda in the UK with the proposed merger between the T&GWU, GMB, Amicus. This problematic doubling of merger activity - on a world level and nationally --increases the potential to undermine the legitimate authority of the TUC and the registered network of local trades union councils. We are deeply concerned that the proposal for a single giant union of 2.6 million workers on the model of VERDI in Germany will impact in a detrimental way on TUC structures locally as well as nationally. The GMATUC agreed in principle to send an observer to Geneva. Unfortunately we do not have funds available at the present time. We do however wish to be kept informed about the debate on trade union mergers and send fraternal greetings to all delegates and visitors for a successful conference. Yours in solidarity Derek Clarke ***********************
Intense Popular Mobilization: "Mexico can go up in flames at any moment" (A continuation of our coverage. See ILC International Bulletin Issue 195) For over a month, the workers' and popular mobilizations for the full recount, ballot box by ballot box, of the ballots of the presidential election, have not ceased to grow. The people demand the respect of their sovereignty and vote. They denounce the fraud, which stole the victory of the candidate of the Revolutionary Democratic Party (PRD), Lopez Obrador. For more than a week, on the appeal of Lopez Obrador, tens of thousands of citizens have camped our in the central plaza of Mexico, the Zocalo, and in the surrounding avenues. This week we continue the publication of the coverage sent by a comrade who has spent the last weeks in Mexico, as well as excerpts of the speeches of Lopez Obrador between August 13 and 15 in the Zocalo. In the fifteen days that separated the second march from the third, there were permanent speeches and organization stands. The Zocalo was the spot, all day and night, of political debates between hundreds and thousands of people. Most of the people in the streets had in their lapels the national flag. The buses and many cars had stickers saying: "Obrador President!" and "No to the Fraud!" The press has informed us that in the 32 states of the Republic, vigilance pickets have been set up, day and night, in front of the offices of the Federal Electoral Institution, so that the ballot boxes and ballots do not disappear. One Mexican editorialist writes: "Mexico can go up in flames at any moment. The institutions do not seem to be led by anybody and only continue through their own inertia. The revolutions of 1810 and 1910 continue to live the consciousness of the people." Contingents of the Democratic and Independent Workers Party (PTDI) The thirds national march effectively brought together twice as many protestors as that of July 16: 2.5 million protested (the Zocalo was already full by 9 A.M. and the start of the demonstration, 6 KM from there, only began at 11 A.M.). This was a more and more militant and enthusiastic human wave, whose most popular slogans were "Fox, traitor!", "Calderon will not take the presidency!", and "Obrador President!" - not, "Vote by vote, ballot box by ballot box!" The activists of the PTDI, with their banners, T-Shirts, and flags of the Party, constituted a compact contingent, with their families, friends, students, hospital workers, laid-off chauffeurs of the Ruta 100 Bus. They massively sold their newspaper, El Trabajo. Ten thousand buses brought families from all over the country. They were between 400,000 and 500,000 from Chiapas, Campeche, Tabasco, Quintana Roo, the U.S. border, Baja-California, Sonora, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon, and Tamaulipas. They came as far away as 3,000 kilometers, sometimes on trips lasting 72 hours on old buses! This is a movement not seen since the nationalization of the oil industry by the Lazaro Cardenas government in 1938. Taking the mic at 2 P.M., Lopez Obrador spoke for a long time. He thanked the people for the huge mobilization, asking them to strengthen even more the pacific civil resistance. To the surprise of most of the crowd, he went on to propose that the demonstrators build a permanent encampment until the recount of all the votes. He proposed to establish 47 camps: 31 on the Zocalo, representing the 31 states of the republic, and 16 others, representing the 16 circumscriptions of the capital, all along the big avenues inside the city, around which the banks, big hotels, and embassies all reside. Dozens and dozens of immense 100-meter long and 30-meter wide tents were set up in record time, in addition to hundreds of other small ones. The result was the immediate end of circulation for the 8 Kilometers that are the equivalent of the Mexican Champs-Elysées Without the call for a general and national strike, most of those gathered on July 30 got back on their buses and cars and went home. That said, the pickets were strengthened, day after day, paralyzing the whole center of Mexico. These pickets regrouped and organized those who did not head home on the buses and those who are organized by neighborhood in the capital. By the thousands, they meet, two times a day, at noon and at 7 P.M. in the Zocalo with Obrador and other leaders. ----- Excerpts of the Declaration Published by "El Trabajo," the newspaper of the PTDI (August 15, 2006): "Let´s prepare the National Democratic Convention of September 16, organized by Lopez Obrador!" Let´s elect our delegates! Lopez Obrador, president! The country is not for sale! It must be defended! Let´s organize millions into the actions of September 1, 15, and 16 in Mexico! The PTDI whole-heartedly supports the decision of Lopez Obrador to not accept the fait accompli of a chosen president, in the pay of the country´s oligarchy and the (principally North American) multinationals. The PTDI, on the basis of the call by Lopez Obrador for the National Democratic Convention of September 16, calls for the election of delegates in all the workplaces, schools, neighborhoods, unions, and peasants´ organizations. As the call states, "the delegates to the Convention will be all the elected represented in popular assemblies, villages, civil, social, trade union, and political organizations." The Convention will structure the whole resistance movement on a national scale. With the elected-representatives of the working and oppressed people, it will unite the different components of the mobilization. Let´s prepare the actions of millions in Mexico on September 1, 15, and 16. Let´s constitute our committees in all the neighborhoods, cities, workplaces, and unions. (Š) The need to fight for the defense of the national patrimony signifies struggling for the full renationalization of PEMEX, so that the enterprise be completely in conformity with expropriation decree of 1938. This means it is necessary to fight for the abrogation of NAFTA, which today threatens the life of millions of peasants by permitting the complete entrance of corn and grain of the North-American agro-industry companies beginning in January 2008." ----- Lopez Obrador calls for a National Democratic Convention on September 16 (Excerpts of the speech on Sunday, August 13 in the Zocalo) If the vote of the citizens is not respected, the democratic bases of the Republic are drained and the Constitution is violated. But the people said, "We are here!", "The fake Republic is ending!", "Never again will they violate the principles that guarantee the general interest, the interests of the people!", "Never again will the institutions be dominated by power and money!", "More than ever, we do not accept lies as a way to govern!", "Never again will we accept that an illegal and illegitimate government be put into power!" We will struggle against poverty and inequality in our country. It is unacceptable that a small minority of profit-seekers have everything, while the majority of the Mexicans lack the most indispensable and basic services. Š We will defend the patrimony of the nation. We will not permit the national resources to be sold off. We will not allow for the privatization under any form of our energy, oil, public education, Social Security, and natural resources." (Excerpts of his speech on Tuesday, August 15 in the Zocalo) "We must prepare ourselves to not allow for the imposition (of Calderon of the PAN). We must wait for the decision of the electoral tribune but, in the mean time, we must prepare to resist the imposition of an illegal and illegitimate president. To do so, I would like to make you and the people of Mexico a proposal for a National Democratic Convention here in the Zocalo on September 16. Beginning there, throughout the whole country, we will analyze the alternatives and the actions that our movement should take in the case of the imposition. Š We call on all Mexicans, free men and women, conscious of the destiny of the nation, to end the sham of a Republic, to create the bases of a truly social state, based on rights and democracy, which will bring about the profound changes needed by the country. Š The delegates to the Convention will be all the elected represented in popular assemblies, villages, civil, social, trade union, and political organizations. Municipal heads, unionists, municipal councilors, local deputies, member of assemblies, and federal deputies can all participate. The leaders of parties and political groups on a local, state, and national level can all participate. The members of citizens organizations without political affiliate and independent social organization, as free men and women, regardless of their race, beliefs, ideology, or social condition can participate." ***************************
This contribution to the debate was published in Labor News, the weekly newspaper of the Workers´ Party of France One slogan is repeated unceasingly in the draft statutes of the "new trade union international": "decent employment." Thus, the preamble of the draft of the statutes of the "new world confederation" states: "The confederation considers that the respect of the fundamental rights of workers is universal and that access to decent employment is indispensable to just and sustainable development." Later, a few paragraphs of the draft statutes discuss this objective of "decent employment." It can be said that the future "new world confederation" is presenting itself as the International of Decent Employment. What does this term mean? According to the Petit Larousse illustré it means "sufficient, correct." This is a particularly vague term because "decent" means "sufficient"Š but for whom and according to what criteria? Let us note that this slogan is raised and supported by all the international institutions. The World Summit of the U.N. of September 2005, which brought together 150 heads of state, adopted paragraph 47, which became the reference of the "new trade union international": "We are resolutely in favor of fair globalization and are dedicated to finding productive and decent work for all, including women and youth in the framework of the fundamental objectives of our national and international policies on employment and development, including those aiming to reduce poverty in the framework of the objectives of the Millennium Project. The measures taken in this domain must also eliminate the worse forms of child labor, as defined by convention 182 of the ILO, and forced labor. We also decide to commit ourselves to the absolute respect of the principles of the fundamental rights of labor." Thus, for the U.N. and the "new trade union international", "decent employment" is defined by these "fundamental rights of labor." Let´s take a look at these. Article 2 of the ILO declaration "Concerning the Principles of the Fundamental Rights of Labor," adopted in 1998, under the presence and pressure of Clinton, reads: "All members, even if they have not ratified the referred to conventions, have the obligation, due to their membership in the organization, to respect, promote, and implement, in good faith and in conformity with the Constitution, the principles concerning the fundamental rights, namely: a. freedom of association and recognition of the right to collective
negotiation; An examination of the declarations made during the annual assembly of the ILO, which took place in June 2006 in Geneva, can clarify things even further. Many speakers declared that child labor and forced labor are "indecent." Thus, Juan Somavia, the general director of the International Labour Bureau declared: "We must also be clear what is not decent employment: child labor, forced labor, servant labor, employment without the right to expression or organization. Š" Thus, everything else is "decent." Multiple other speakers argued similarly. The European Commisaire on Employment, Mr. Spidla, is very clear on the same notion: "The European Commission invites all the countries to ratify and implement the conventions on fundamental social rights. This, for us, constitutes a second key indicator to measure the efforts benefiting decent employment. The global report on child labor illustrates well that a coherent action with support can help to eliminate the forms of labor that are indecent, like child labor." To complete this declaration of the European Commission, it is necessary to remember the European Commission's directive on Child Labor in 1993, which declared that from age 13 and upward, employment is fine, and thus is not indecent. Let us cite one more speaker, the new Italian Minister of Labor of Romano Prodi, Mr. Domiano: "It is not decent employment to have a minor work or to force someone to work and deny them of their liberties." If the eight fundamental conventions of the ILO (1) define what is decent employment, then it follows that everything that isn´t forced labor or child labor is "decent employment." All the ILO Conventions other than the eight so-called fundamental ones would no longer have any reason to exist with this notion of "decent employment." However, multiple conventions of the ILO, once ratified by the governments, have often served as a base for the national collective rights written into the labor codes of each country. In relation to the labor inspectors, during the General Assembly of the ILO, Juan Somavia began to outline a new role. He declared: "The inspection services should promote the fulfillment of the labor legislation required through focusing on the technical assistance needed to improve labor practices and build networks of assistance. Sanctions should only be taken in cases of persistent or blatant abuses and in situations of extreme danger." Thus, to develop "decent employment," the labor inspectors should not sanction the breaches of the labor law committed by the bosses. Moreover, the 2002 brochure of the ILO speaks of the "establishment of a social floor in the labor world." "Social floor": this term is used to define "employment." Is it an exaggeration to say that the plan is for everything above this "floor" to disappear? Let´s turn back to the national assembly of the ILO. Somalia insisted that to pass from the "informal economy" to the "formal economy" a it was necessary to make the too strict labor regulations more flexible: "To reach the objective of decent employment for all requires putting into question a status quo that is morally, socially, economically, and politically unsupportable." And what is this "status quo" that must be put into question? Somavia explains that in relation to the "costs to observe the law for the companies of the informal economy" that "it is without a doubt necessary to modify certain laws and regulations to lighten the costs for the very small and small enterprises." He continues: "It is necessary to rethink the legislation and policies, to eliminate the punitive measures the very small and small companies and to facilitate the respect for the law. It is essential to create an environment favorable to these small enterprises." However, what are these "small enterprises"? They are in fact affiliates of the sub-contracting enterprises that work for the big multinationals, precisely to lower labor costs. Thus, if we understand correctly, the proposals of "decent employment," it is necessary to lighten the laws if we want them to be respected. Thus, if "decent employment" is reduced to the fundamental conventions, everything that is not child or forced labor is part of this notion of "decent employment" shared by the U.N., the ILO and the "new trade union international." If the "new union international" takes up in its new statues the slogan of "decent employment," as the U.N. has done, shouln´t we conclude that this future "trade union international" will be instrument for deregulating employment? ------ Endnote 1. Let´s recall that these Conventions, according to the ILO declaration "in relation to the principles and fundamental rights of labor," must no longer obligatorily be ratified: the "members" are supposed to respect them out of "good faith." ***********************
In Defense of Employment Rights in Pakistan: An Interview with Rubina Jamal concerning the actions of the All Pakistan Trade Union Federation (APTUF) Rubina Jamal is the president of the All Pakistan Trade Union Federation (APTUF), a Pakistani labor federation present in all the regions of Pakistan and which organizes workers in the private sector (housing, textiles) and in the public sector (particularly the railroads). Rubina Jamal is also one the leaders of the Working Women Organization (WWO). The APTUF and the WWO have participated in numerous campaigns of the ILC. Rubina Jamal was present at the Geneva Conference of the ILC. ILC: At the end of June, the APTUF and the WWO organized a campaign against the decision to modify the labor laws. Can you explain to our readers what is at stake? RJ: On June 21, 2006, the Pakistani National Assembly illegally undermined all the fundamental rights of workers. I say this is illegal because these changes were made during the discussion of the law on finances, which, according to Article 70 of the Constitution, only concerns the annual budget and not the modification of laws. But the law on finances was adopted with inhuman and anti-worker amendment to the labor laws. The government thus prolonged the length of the workday from 8 to 12 hours and the right to one day of rest during the week was ended. The dispositions that prevent the women factory workers from working after sundown (Articles 37 and 45 of the Factories Act) were amended. Now the employers can force the women workers to work in teams each day, with the second team working until 10 PM. A new category of "part-time workers" was set up: these workers will have no more overtime rights. Moreover, the ceiling on overtime went from 150 to 624 hours a year by the adults and 100 to 468 for young workers. The funding for elder workers, established in 1976, are being considerably reduced. The company's payments for these funds are no longer obligatory for companies employing more than 20 people. This is a considerable step backward, which will deny millions of workers of this right. (1) We began a struggle against these amendments, seeking to mobilize the workers. Faced with this campaign, the government hesitated to implement this law. We formed a "committee of workers' action" against this law, in which a construction workers' union and a peasants' organization of Penjab participate with the APTUF and the WWO. Big protests were organized throughout Pakistan. Many women took part, particularly from the textile industry. We aim to organize a conference, to which we will invite all the trade union federations and the militants in defense of human rights, to struggle, in unity, against these amendments. ILC: Doesn't this law appear in an already difficult situation for the unions of Pakistan? RJ: In October 2002, the government of Pakistan announced the establishment of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, which puts into place measures contradictory with the Constitution of Pakistan. These measures were also in contradiction with ILO Conventions ratified by the Pakistani government, particularly Conventions 87 and 98 concerning the freedom to association and collective bargaining. This new legislation essentially imposed restrictions on the right to organize unions in agriculture, in the national defense enterprises, in the railways, airlines, banks, hospitals, and schools. The right to strike was limited and, in many cases, strikes are banned. The representatives of the unions are facing accumulated pressure, which includes the abrogation of the legal registration of the trade union, and not only heavy fines. ILC: George Bush has said that it is necessary not only to "re-organize the Middle East" but also "reorganize the world." What are the consequences of such policies for the Indian sub-continent? RJ: It was with a green light from Bush that Israel attacked Lebanon and continues its deadly policies in Palestine. The policies of Bush, who aims to control the economy of the world, very well takes into account the Indian sub-continent. Imperialism wants to form governments in the region that fulfill its interests and respond to its will. Thus, in Pakistan, the American army is already present in Jacobabad. The U.S. government profits from war and sells its most recent military products to various countries, thus making billions of dollars. The agreement between the U.S. and the Indian government for an Indian nuclear program is part of the clear rise in the sale of arms in the whole continent. The military operations led by the Pakistani army in the north of the Waziristan province are approved by Bush. During these operations, that are creating huge tension among the population, hundreds of innocent people have been killed. ----- Endnote 1. Today, 85% of employers do not provide their workers with social security cards (the system is not a French-style Social Security, but rather the legal notification that the worker is employed and has the right to access pension funds.) ******************** GABON The Trade Unions (CGSL - EN.SY.TG - USAP - CDSA - CSG - CGT/FL - UGSR - INTERSYNDICALE - CSDT - SYNDICATS AUTONOMES) Call for a General Strike With Six Days Warning for September 4, 2006 We are publishing the strike notification sent to the Prime Minister. Libreville, August 14, 2006 To the Prime Minister, Head of Government Notice of the General Strike Mr. Prime Minister, We are under the aegis of the Trade Union Workers Organizations of Gabon, which bases its work on consensual and negotiated actions, and which calls on forces to join together for long-lasting solutions. Essentially, from September 9 to 23, 2003, day by day, we established a platform of measures related to the mutual respect between the Government of the Republic, the Bosses, and the Workers, led by their Trade Unions, in the framework of the consolidation of the conquests of the Social Truce signed and negotiated by all. Among these measures was the raising of the minimum wage and the raising of the value of the point of the Index to the Public office. Today, profiting from the atmosphere of appeasement due to the signing of the truce and the macro-economic tendencies that point to better days, notably the financial budget of the last three years, through the payment of the internal debt by the Enterprises Club of Libreville I, II, and III, testifying to the economical and financial stability that promotes social cohesion through growth. The workers´ trade unions aim to defend the moral, economic, and financial conquests of the laboring masses to bring about a constant improvement of their living standards should not remain neutral to the harmful pitfall facing the workers. Thus, in a defeat for this crucial stage of negotiation: We, Trade Union Workers Organizations, Confédération Gabonaise des Syndicats Libres (CGSL) , Entente Syndicale des Travailleurs du Gabon (EN.SY.TG), Union des Syndicats des Administrations Publiques, Parapubliques et privées (USAP), Confédération Démocratique des Syndicats Autonomes (CDSA), Congrès Syndical du Gabon (CSG), Confédération Gabonaise du Travail/ Force Libre (CGT/FL), Union Générale des Salariés Responsables (UGSR), INTERSYNDICALE, la Confédération Syndicale Démocratique du Travail (CSDT) et les SYNDICATS AUTONOMES) in name of all our members and supporters in all professional sectors, have in conformity with the dispositions of Articles 341, 245, and 353 of the Labor Code and Article 68 of Law Number 001-2005 of February 4, 2005, are issuing a notice of a general strike. This General Strike will last 6 days, beginning on Monday, September 4 at 6 A.M. until Saturday September 9 at 6 PM. This General Strike will take place throughout the whole country and all professional sectors will participate to demand: -- The rise of the minimum wage; -- The rise of the Value of the point of the Index to the Public office During this general strike of six days, the minimum services will be organized PRINCIPALLY in the following sectors: health care, water, and electricity, in light of the absence of implementation texts in the Labor Code concerning minimum services. We would also like to turn your attention to the dispositions of Article 347 of the already cited code, which stipulates that "during the length of the notification period, the concerned parties should work to find a compromise." Counting on your understanding for a renewed partnership, Mr. Prime Minister, Head of Government, please received this note of consideration. August 14, 2006 Confédération Gabonaise des Syndicats Libres (CGSL): NONGA EPOMA Alphonse (Secrétaire Général) Entente Syndicale des Travailleurs du Gabon (EN.SY.TG): MEBIAME EVOUNG Léon (Président) Union des Syndicats de l'Administration Publique, privée et Parapublique (USAP): BILOUKA Yolande (Présidente) Confédération Démocratique des Syndicats Autonomes (CDSA): MBOUMBINE Aloïse (Président) Congrès Syndical du Gabon (CSG): NTOUGHE Claude - Bernard (Président) Confédération Gabonaise du Travail/ Force Libre (CGT/FL): MOUSSAVOU Etienne (Secrétaire Général) Union Générale des Salariés Responsables (UGSR): ENGONE Augustin (Président) INTERSYNDICALE: NSIAMA ONTSIA Jeannette (Présidente) Confédération Syndicale Démocratique du Travail (CSDT): ONMANDA Jean Pierre (Président) Syndicat National des Travailleurs du Secteur Social (SYNATRASS): SOUCHLATY-OATY Joseph-P (Président) Union Syndicale des Travailleurs du Com-merce (U.S.T.C): MAPANGOU Léonce (Président) Syndicat National des Travailleurs du Tourisme et de l'Hôtellerie (SNTTH): PEMBIA Jean-Jacques (Secrétaire Général) Syndicat National des Employés de Pharmacies (S.N.E-PHA): LEMONTGOU Andrée (Secrétaire Générale) Syndicat National des Personnels de Sogatra (SNP-SOGATRA): KOUMBA MAHADJI (Secrétaire Général)
|
Open World Conference of Workers