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A dossier of weekly information published by the Introduction United States: A National Assembly Against the War will take place on June 28 and 29, 2008 in Cleveland (Ohio); the conference is organized by the National Gathering to End the War and Occupation of Iraq and USLAW, (a coalition of trade unions against the war); the two main anti-war coalitions, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and UFPJ (United For Peace and Justice) will send representatives to this conference. The Coordination Committee of the conference calls for the collection of signatures of many organizations and activists around the world around the message of international support (read pages 2 and 3). Geneva: Fifteenth meeting of the Conference In Defense of the ILO Conventions and the independence of trade unions" will take place soon. We are publishing the letter of invitation. "Stop the European dictatorship!" In Belgium, Spain, Portugal, France: fishermen are on strike and are demonstrating. We are publishing a report on these mobilizations across Europe. The Standing Committee for an independent workers party in France has issued a declaration on these issues. At the European Workers Conference in Stockholm on May 25, a CGT unionist
from the shipyards in Saint-Nazaire (France) spoke and concluded: "If
we want to maintain our gains, we must rid ourselves of all these judgments
of the European Court of Justice. It is a common cause of all workers
in the countries of Europe." To enable this information to travel around the world, subscribe to the ILC International Newsletter! ------ Table of Contents: p. 1: Introduction. ------ Contact: ******************** UNITED STATES National Assembly Against the War
In a few weeks, on June 28 and 29, there will take place in Cleveland (Ohio) a National Assembly Against the War. The call launched a few months ago received a wide echo in the anti-war movement in the United States. It has already been signed by over 470 organizations and individuals. USLAW, a coalition of the American workers' movement against the war, is part of the assembly. The two main anti-war coalitions, ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) and UFPJ (United For Peace and Justice) will send representatives to this conference. The Coordinating Committee of the conference has issued a call for broad support on an international level to the conference and invites all organizations and activists around the world to sign on to the message of international support.
March, 2008 ushered in the sixth year of the war against Iraq and an occupation "without end" of that beleaguered country. Unfortunately, the tremendous opposition in the U.S. to the war and occupation has not yet been fully reflected in united mass action. The anniversary of the invasion has been marked in the U.S. by Iraq Veterans Against the War's (IVAW's) Winter Soldier hearings March 13-16, in Washington, DC, providing a forum for those who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan to expose the horrors perpetrated by the U.S. wars. A nonviolent civil disobedience action against the war in Iraq was also called for March 19 in Washington and local actions around the country were slated during that month as well. These actions help to give voice and visibility to the deeply held antiwar sentiment of this country's majority. Yet what was also urgently needed was a massive national mobilization sponsored by a united antiwar movement capable of bringing hundreds of thousands into the streets to demand "Out Now!" Such a mobilization, in our opinion, commemorating the fifth anniversary of the war -- and held on a day agreeable to the IVAW -- could have greatly enhanced all the other activities which were part of that commemoration in the U.S. Indeed, a call was issued in London by the World Against War Conference on December 1, 2007 where 1,200 delegates from 43 nations, including Iraq, voted unanimously to call on antiwar movements in every country to mobilize mass protests against the war during the week of March 15-22 to demand that foreign troops be withdrawn immediately. The absence of a massive united mobilization during this period in the United States -- the nation whose weapons of terrifying mass destruction have rained death and devastation on the Iraqi people -- when the whole world was mobilizing in the most massive protests possible to mark the end of the fifth year of the war, should be a cause of great concern to us all. For Mass Action to Stop the War: The independent and united mobilization of the antiwar majority in massive peaceful demonstrations in the streets against the war in Iraq is a critical element in forcing the U.S. government to withdraw all U.S. military forces from that country immediately, close all military bases, and recognize the right of the Iraqi people to determine their own destiny. Mass actions aimed at visibly and powerfully demonstrating the will of the majority to stop the war now would dramatically show the world that despite the staunch opposition to this demand by the U.S. government, the struggle by the American people to end the slaughter goes on. And that struggle will continue until the last of the troops are withdrawn. Such actions also help bring the people of the United States onto the stage of history as active players and as makers of history itself. Indeed, the history of every successful U.S. social movement, whether it be the elementary fight to organize trade unions to defend workers' interests, or to bring down the Jim Crow system of racial segregation, or to end the war in Vietnam, is in great part the history of independent and united mass actions aimed at engaging the vast majority to collectively fight in its own interests and therefore in the interests of all humanity. For an Open Democratic Antiwar Conference: The most effective way to initiate and prepare united antiwar mobilizations is through convening democratic and open conferences that function transparently, with all who attend having the right to vote. It is not reasonable to expect that closed or narrow meetings of a select few, or gatherings representing only one portion of the movement, can substitute for the full participation of the extremely broad array of forces which today stand opposed to the war. We therefore invite everyone, every organization, every coalition, everywhere in the U.S. -- all who oppose the war and the occupation -- to attend an open democratic U.S. national antiwar conference and join with us in advancing and promoting the coming together of an antiwar movement in this country with the power to make a mighty contribution toward ending the war and occupation of Iraq now. Everyone is welcome. The objective is to place on the agenda of the entire U.S. antiwar movement a proposal for the largest possible united mass mobilization(s) in the future to stop the war and end the occupation. Join us in Cleveland on June 28-29 for the conference.
1. Cindy Sheehan, Gold Star Families for Peace* -----
Warmest greetings and solidarity to the National Assembly to End the Iraq War and Occupation and best wishes for a successful and productive conference in Cleveland, Ohio on June 28-29. Well before the U.S. government launched its unjust, illegal and heinous war against the Iraqi people in 2003, hundreds of thousands of antiwar protesters in your country took to the streets in a valiant effort to prevent the invasion. As the bloodletting, devastation, torture and terrible slaughter escalated in the years that followed, the U.S. antiwar movement has been visible and active in seeking to mobilize the majority that opposes the war to bring the occupation to an end. But as the statement announcing your conference notes, "Unfortunately, the tremendous opposition in the U.S. to the war and occupation has not yet been fully reflected in united mass action." By promoting the cause of unity of the antiwar movement in the streets, your conference helps pave the way for a more powerful and effective struggle that can finally bring the warmakers to heel. No one can dispute the obvious truth that a united movement is a stronger movement. The world looks to you to help forge that unity. We wish you success in your deliberations and pledge our solidarity and support for your goals. Bring the troops home now!
Belgium, Spain, Portugal, France The fishermen are on strike and demonstrate across Europe "Stop the European dictatorship!" Report Spanish and Portuguese fishermen organize united actions At a joint press conference of the president of the Union of Workers of Fishing for northern Portugal and the Federation of Unions of the Fisheries sector of Galicia (Spain), the latter clearly warned: "Fuel prices are an armed robbery. We must show the governments of Madrid, Lisbon and Brussels that fishermen have the right to live from their work without having to emigrate or to choose another profession." A full strike was called, lasting until the Portuguese government passes compensatory measures. This is the response of Portuguese fishermen: a strike in solidarity with the fishermen of the main countries of the European Union. According to the chairman of the Workers Fishing Union of the north, the increase in fuel prices (which has tripled in the past two years) leads many companies in the fishing industry to ruin and has lead to the abolition of thousands of jobs. "At the moment, 60% of what we earn goes toward fuel," says
the president of the Ship-owners Association of Barlovento Algarvio.
Under current conditions, not only nationally but throughout Europe,
it is impossible to work. The price of oil continues to climb, while
that of the fish that we sell have been steadily falling (...). In the
Algarve, there are nearly 2,500 fishing boats that work on gas, without
any assistance. These weeks we are working just to pay for fuel; nothing
can be given to the employees. It is impossible." The Belgian fishermen demonstrate in Brussels on May 30 Beginning on May 23, Belgian fishermen protested against the rising
price of diesel by distributing one ton of free fish in the main national
fishing port at Zeebrugge. In a joint communiqué, the national
coordination at the origin of the movement, CSC-FGTB-CGSLB, said that
"fuel and high prices threaten several owners of fishing company
with bankruptcy. The fishermen are supported by local residents."
A resident explains: "The government must understand that people
need something; not only fishermen, but all the others. They can not
survive like this." On 21 May before the ministry: "Enough with Europe! The government is no longer sovereign! " "We want diesel to be 30 cents. Europe will try to block it each time. The French government, apparently, is no longer sovereign. Our profession will die! All the regulations that fall on us, it's Europe! The quotas, it's Europe! "(A fisherman from Granville). On May 23 the General Council of Finistere: "When you're in Europe, you can not defend fishermen!" At a delegation to the General Council of Finistere Friday, May 23,
a fisherman said: "When you're in Europe, you can not defend fishermen!
Offer us something, we are waiting! "The PS chairman of the General
Council, Pierre Maille, responded by defending the European framework"
(West France, May 24)Š ----- STANDING COMMITTEE FOR AN INDEPENDENT WORKERS PARTY Stop the European dictatorship Like all workers, fishermen want to live! For more than two weeks, French fishermen, joined now in many places by farmers, have been on strike and have demonstrated against soaring fuel prices. The fishermen are demanding a gazoil to be 40 cents, as opposed to 70 cents today. They are now joined by fishermen from Italy, Spain, Portugal ... Thousands of Spanish fishermen marched on Friday, May 30 in Madrid while the strike was followed by 100% of fishermen in Portugal. And what was the response from French minister Barnier? "We cannot provide aid without having the agreement of Brussels." On Thursday, May 29, the European Commission said: "The idea of granting aid to offset rising fuel prices, would not only be illegal but would not solve the fundamental problem. "(Joe Borg, European Commissioner for Fisheries.) And the European Commissioner added:" Let us now move to a restructuring (...) to develop a smaller fleet. " And Friday, May 20, the European Commission takes another step requiring a further reduction of fishing quotas. In short: no aid will be allowed, vessels should go to the scrapyard. For the European Commission, there are too many fishermen and there are too many teachers, too many students, too many hospitals, too many workers! All occupations, all categories of workers face the same requirements, those of the European Stability Pact, the European Central Bank and European directives. Teachers and officials of taxation, treasury and other government departments strike against the job cuts, destruction of their statutes, privatization ... Workers are confronted with plant closings and the liquidation of entire regions caused by the submission to the requirements of "free and undistorted" trade of the EU ... Wine growers, farmers, college and university students, are unemployed ... A fisherman, in a meeting at Quimper, asked aloud the question that all have: "We heard an announcement concerning aid. But we heard on TV thereafter that this is not compatible with the Euro. Why does no politician stand against Europe? There is not a politician able to say: Europe is breaking us." There is a political party which gas inscribed on its flag the break with the European Union: the independent workers party that will be founded on June 15 in Paris. Hundreds of delegates appointed by 8837 members (so far) will come together to form an independent workers' party -- A party for the break with the European Union -- A party for the defense and reconquest of workers and democratic rights -- A party that fights for the achievement of the unity of workers and their organizations to win their legitimate demands -- A party that fights for a sovereign Constituent Assembly Together, on June 15, 2008 with our delegates at the meeting of this historic congress, we will create in this country our party: an independent workers party. ********************
May 25, 2008 in Stockholm (Sweden) For the repeal of the judgments of the European Court of Justice (Laval affairs, and Ruffert Viking)
Intervention by Claude Viscuso, CGT trade union, shipyards in Saint-Nazaire (France) "I work as an electrician at the company of Cégelec Tecnav, subcontracting, on the site of the shipyards in Saint-Nazaire. For years, Alstom, Aker Yards and then have established subcontracting in the 2nd and 3rd levels. The company Cégelec Tecnav, in particular, subcontracts to companies in Poland. It is of course a forced march to lower the "cost of labor". French companies are recruiting companies in countries with low labor costs, especially in the East. Our collective agreements are openly disregarded. The number of employees with a real employment contract is continuing to decline, while temporary and subcontracted work has risen sharply. One result of this evolution is the worrying rise in accidents. It is also the desire of employers to freeze wages by pushing unfair competition with employees in the East, whose rights are violated. We express our solidarity with them. Last year, with our trade union, the CGT, nearly all employees of Cégelec Tecnav organized a week and a half strike, and our employer did not want to increase our salaries. We all know that the European Union, which undermines the foundations of national gains for the benefit of free and undistorted trade, the principle of country of origin or the freedom to provide services, which is all the same thing. In 2005, our union the CGT met its responsibilities by calling on the workers to vote No to the European Constitution and it was an honor to have contributed to this great victory of our people. With the Laval case and a few others, the European Union wants to meet the requirements of multinationals, contrary to the immediate interests of workers. What people refused through their vote, they try to impose through their judgments. Where is the democracy? If the jurisprudence were to be consolidated, it would mean the end of our gains won through decades of union struggle in all countries in the European Union. Such a prospect is unacceptable; a rupture with the European Union is a much more reasonable solution for us. I participate in this conference mandated by workers in my company and I would like to end on an optimistic note. In all circumstances, the class struggle emerges. In April, the boss of the Polish company Vos, subcontractor for Cégélec Tecnav, left with the funds, leaving workers without money. The Polish workers from Szczecin on the Baltic, went on strike, elected a strike committee to get from Cégelec the payment of their salaries. Management initially demanded that our union not participate in the negotiations. But when Polish workers demanded that we be involved in the negotiations, the management of Cégelec had to yield and pay back wages calculated on the basis of our collective agreements. It is therefore a real victory, but it is a drop in an ocean of violated rights. If we want to maintain our gains, we must rid ourselves of all these judgments of the European Court of Justice. It is a common cause of all workers in the countries of Europe. ------ Background -- On December 18, 2007, the European Court of Justice declared illegal a picket organized in 2004 by Swedish unions against the Latvian company Laval, located in Sweden and which refused to respect the Swedish collective agreement. -- On December 11, 2007, the European Court of Justice ruled against the union of Finnish sailors, who had thwarted the plan for the company Viking Lines to employ staff from Estonia in order to circumvent the collective agreements in Finland. -- Finally, on April 3, 2008, the European Court of Justice condemned a law of the German state of Lower Saxony stipulating that public contracts can be awarded only to companies that respect the minimum wage set by the regional collective agreement. - Meeting in Paris on February 2 and 3, 2008 a conference of European workers and activists of Denmark and Sweden Danish with the ILC, appealed for international working conference on May 25, "for the repeal of the judgments of the European Court of Justice. " See also numbers 272, 274, 281 and 288 of the ILC International Newsletter.
A Contribution to discussion at the 15th Geneva Encounter "in defence of ILO conventions and trade union independence." In June 2007, the 14th Encounter "in defence of ILO conventions and trade union independence" adopted an Appeal to Trade Unionists around the world. "The International Labour Organisation is under threat! It is all the existing workers' rights, throughout the world, that
are being threatened It is up to the labour movement that has fought
for the ratification and the implementation of ILO conventions, to hoist
the flag in defence of the ILO, of its Committee on the Application
of Standards, with its 187 conventions, and of totally reverting to
the ILO standards system." This question is once again and more than ever on the agenda The adoption of a Declaration of "historical importance " in favour of an institutional reform of the ILO is once again on the agenda, on the subject of "strategic objectives for decent labour ", called " reinforcing ILO capacity for supporting the efforts made by its members to attain their objectives within the global economy." The draft Declaration proposes to "implement a global and integrated approach in the logic of a strategy for decent labour" and 'to adapt and modernise its institutional practises and it governance." The provisional minutes of the commission for reinforcing ILO capacity, that met at the 96th annual conference mentions, "Reinforcing the ILO: a necessity in order to get a social dimension introduced into globalisation through the Agenda for decent labour". For one of the members of the commission, the strategy for decent labour means "fundamental standards and minimum standards of social protection." Mr. Somavia, himself, defined in 2006 what decent work meant: "We must also be as clear on what is not decent labour: child labour, forced labour, salve labour, labour without freedom of speech and freedom to associate." What conclusion can we come to? That everything else is decent? What
remains then of the 187 ILO conventions, with the ILO binding system
of standards? In the name of governance, then, should the system of standards and conventions be abandoned and replaced by the "concept" of decent labour? The draft Declaration specifies: Reinforcing ILO institutional capacity:
a question of governance". Labour activists know that this notion of governance is met with at all levels: global level, national level and enterprise level. From all sides the labour movement is coming under pressure to integrate the governance mechanism as if the difference between governments and those that are governed no longer existed, as if classes with antagonistic interests no longer existed, as if exploiters and exploited should participate together in the co-management of world and enterprises' affairs At the annual Assembly, there are government representatives and representatives of national employers' organisations and national trade unions that sit for each State. In this way, the distinct and antagonistic interests of social classes are recognised, as is the framework of the State and Nation, wherein class struggle expresses itself. With the institutional reform of the ILO, the proposal is also put forward, that trans-nationals, i.e. firms, be recognised, in the name of governance, as component institutions of the ILO. This institutionalisation of trans-nationals as political entities replacing class relations within the framework of nations is contrary to democracy, it is of a corporatist nature. This notion of world governance appeared for the first time in 1995 at the Social Summit of Copenhagen. The G8 leaders, the governments and the heads of the international financial institutions (IMF, World Bank), the WTO, have never stopped claiming since, that they are jointly fighting poverty. For what result? With the soaring price of food commodities, famine and hunger riots are spreading across the world. We are witnessing a de industrialisation process, a process where all the conquests of the working class are under threat: peasant farmers are being chased off their land: wars and armed conflict are spreading: poverty is on the increase. In this tragic situation, the starving workers from Egypt to Burkina Faso, from Pakistan to Bangladesh, from Mexico to Haiti turn to their trade unions demanding wage increases, and state control of food commodity prices. In Europe, aren't the verdicts of the European Court of Justice in the Laval affair in Sweden, Viking in Finland and Ruffert in Germany, an invitation to wage dumping: aren't they a threat to labour legislation adopted within the frame work of Nation States: aren't they in contradiction with the right to associate, to free negotiation, with ILO Conventions 87, 98 and 94? We submit for discussion the Appeal to Trade Unionists around the world The labour movement has needed nobody in order to start launching the battle against poverty. Isn't the real battle against poverty the fight for workers' rights? Isn't it true that when there are more workers' rights, more labour legislation, there are more social laws and less poverty? For us, there can be no real struggle against poverty alongside those that create it. We assert, that, more then ever, the labour movement must remain what it is. It must reclaim what was the basis of its constitution. In 1834, members of the tailor workers union of New York in the US, on founding one of the first worker coalitions in this country, said: "The worker must have the right to freely join a coalition in order to negotiate the value of his labour." This remains true. The labour movement was formed in the struggle against the regime of exploitation to sell workers' labour force at the best price, via the struggle for the collective rights of the working class opposed to the class of exploiters. The international labour movement is faced with issues which threaten the very basis on which trade unions were founded more than a century ago, that of the class struggle which opposes the antagonistic interests of the working class to those of the capitalist class; the foundation of trade unions, i.e. the defence of the specific interests of the working class against the capitalist class. We solemnly sound the alarm: Its historic mission of drawing up conventions and controlling their ratification and implementation by member States is under threat of disappearing. This is a threat hanging over all worker rights, throughout the world. It is up to the labour movement that has fought for the ratification and the implementation of ILO conventions, to hoist the flag in defence of the ILO system of standards with its 187 conventions. We launch an appeal, calling for a large debate to be organised within the labour movement, to come together in order to wage a broad campaign for: - The defence of the International Labour Organisation (ILO), of its Committee on the Application of Standards, of its system of standards founded on the 187 conventions. The full and total return to its system of standards and conventions; - The defence of political democracy which is contrary to the corporatist conception of common interests within companies, within trans-nationals, against CSR agreements; - The defence of the sovereignty of Nations versus supra-national bodies and the institutions of globalisation; - The independence of the labour movement faced with governance.
SVA RUBA Electronics Factory 18 KM Raiwind Road Lahore Workers formed a union by the name of SVA Ruba employees union, which is under registration, with the registrar for Trade Union Lahore. The formation of the union annoyed management and Management illegally locked out the factory and 17 workers had been fired with out any reason or written order, which is a clear violation of law. APTUF/WWO launch protest against management and now going to be file cases in the Labor Court against management. For your kind information it is pointed out that the factory is a joint venture of Chinese and Pakistan bosses, running the factory with Pakistani industrial. APTUF/WWO launch a campaign against this mal-Practice of the management, pamphlets, print & Electronic Media is requesting to highlight the situation of the Victims. It is very sorry to say that the government that claimed that they are champion of human rights and democracy, are silent. The situation is very critical. All Pakistan Trade Union Federation and Working Women Organization is approaching other industrial workers whether they are unionized are not, informing them of the situation of Ruba workers, requesting them to be a part of our struggle against the management of the SVA Ruba Electronic Factory. APTUF/WWO will continue to inform you on the situation day to day.
Workers´ demands: ÿ Immediately Reinstate all workers It is requested to all Trade Unions and Human right organizations to send a letter to Chinese Embassy or protest infront of Chinese Embassy to to recognize the union and reinstate the workers. It is requested to kindly immediately send protest letter to: Protest messages sent to: Mr. Yousaf Raza Gilani Mr. Salman Taseer Sardar Doost Mohammad Khoosa Mr. Ashraf Sohna Secretary Labor Punjab
rubinawwo@nexlinx.net.pk In solidarity, Rubina Jamil
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Open World Conference of Workers