Intern@tional
Newsletter
Number
31
June 16th 2003
Weekly
information dossier published by the
International Liaison Committee -ILC,
Please contact : International Liaison Committee -ILC,
c/o Parti des travailleurs - 87, rue du Faubourg Saint-Denis, 7510 Paris
France
phone : (33 1) 48 01 88 28 fax : (33 1) 48 01 88 36
e-mail - eit.ilc@wanadoo.fr
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Contents:
Presentation
Proposals collected for the conference in Geneva on June 15, 2003
International Campaign for Labor Rights in Iraq
Congress of the CUT discusses the retirement reform (Brazil)
Workers' Party Press Conference (France)
Subscriptions
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Presentation:
The Conference in Defense of the Conventions of the ILO and in
Defense of the Independence of Labor Organizations, which was held on
June 15th in Geneva, at the initiative of the ILC, was, in our opinion,
a considerable success. All our correspondents can begin to judge for
themselves with this issue of the newsletter, which will report on the
decisions of the conference. Two months after the war in Iraq, the
discussion that took place in Geneva - in continuity with the struggle
being waged by the American union coalition US Labor Against the War -
among representatives of the American labor movement, unions from Arab
countries and the ILC, allowed for a perspective of hope. A call was
raised to the international labor movement to organize an international
campaign in every country for labor rights in Iraq and for the formation
of an international labor delegation that would visit Iraq this coming
fall. As you will read, the conference brought together other
initiatives as well. All of them are part of the international struggle
in defense of the norms of the ILO and of labor rights and democratic
freedoms.
Naturally, in the coming issues of the newsletter we will be able to
publish some of the contributions presented at the conference, which
give a sense of the richness of the debates.
Beginning next week, we will return to the International Conference in
Defense of Public Education, which was held in Paris on June 14th and
15th.
*******************
Proposals gathered by the Conference in Geneva in Defense of the
Conventions of the ILO and for the Independence of Labor Organizations,
held on June 15th of 2003 in Geneva, at the initiative of the
International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples.
There were 131 delegates from 30 countries(*):
Algeria, Belgium; Benin, Brazil, Burundi, Chad, China, France, Gabon,
Ghana, Germany, Great Britain, Guadaloupe, India, Iraq, Ivory Coast,
Japan, Libya, Mexico, Peru, Senegal, Spain, Sudan, Sri Lanka, Syria,
Switzerland, Togo, Tunisia, Ukraine, United States
*The delegates from Albania, Burkina Faso, Pakistan and the Philippines
were not able to obtain visas.
Proposals:
- To launch an international campaign for labor rights in Iraq.
An appeal was sent to labor organizations throughout the world asking
them to support this campaign and to participate in a delegation that
will visit Iraq this coming fall to "undertake an investigation
and evaluate the situation of the working class, labor rights and trade
union organizations." An organizing committee has been formed.
- It was agreed to launch a financial campaign for the practical
organization of this delegation, which will be independent from all
States and international institutions.
- To continue the campaign for the liberation of the Chinese workers in
Liaoyang. To organize delegations to the Chinese embassies in all of the
countries. A memorandum will be prepared to help in the preparation of
these delegations.
- To prepare a delegation to the Director General of the ILO, Juan
Somavia, regarding his presentation "Freedom from Poverty through
Work" that was debated at the international conference of the ILO.
A proposal for a letter to Somavia on this issue was presented. It was
insistent on the question of the defense of the conventions of the ILO
and of labor rights.
The conference also registered the following proposals:
- To lead a campaign against the persecution of a trade union
official in Burundi, Paul Nkuzimana, president of the executive
committee of the Union of Workers of the University of Burundi (STUB).
- The conference was informed that some participants put forward for
discussion a proposal for an international conference "for the
right of Palestinian refugees to return."
- To organize a campaign in solidarity with the six imprisoned union
leaders in Senegal.
- The delegation of Japanese, French and German railroad workers present
at the conference have launched a campaign in solidarity with the
railroad unionists in Japan who are in prison for their union activity.
- Proposal to prepare a report in each country in Africa on the defense
of democratic freedoms.
- To circulate information on the significance of NEPAD (New Partnership
for Africa's Development).
- To lead a European information campaign on the activities of the ETUC
(European Trade Union Confederation), in order to let people judge the
organization for themselves.
- The conference was informed that the European delegations present had
launched an appeal for the holding of a European conference on September
20th and 21st of 2003.
- To support the continuations committee of the International Conference
in Defense of Public Education.
- The conference was informed that the weekly bulletin of the ILC is
available as an instrument to circulate information. All participants
have been invited to become correspondents of the bulletin.
********************
International Campaign for Labor Rights in Iraq
Barely two months have passed since the end of the war, and already the
facts are there for all to see: The war waged against the people and
nation of Iraq had nothing to do with democracy, the liberation of the
Iraqi people, or so-called weapons of mass destruction. All these were
just a pretext.
It is now clear that it was a war for oil, a war of domination of the
region and the world, a war that threatens all countries and peoples.
That is why we the undersigned who opposed the war say: "No to the
Occupation of Iraq!" There can be no democracy if the Iraqi people
do not have the right to freely determine their fate and establish their
sovereignty over the resources and future of their country.
We issue this appeal to the international labor movement to organize in
every country an International Campaign For Labor Rights in Iraq.
As trade unionists and union officials of various origins and
countries, we mobilized -- together with millions of working people and
their organizations the world over -- to say: "No to the War in
Iraq!"
Together, we pledged that whatever the circumstances we would pursue the
fight against the war, occupation, and destruction of labor and
democratic rights in Iraq, and against the dislocation of the Iraqi
nation -- and beyond that, of all nations.
On June 15, 2003, in Geneva, we came together at the initiative of the
International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples (ILC). We heard a
report on the situation of the workers and people of Iraq now under
occupation: Baghdad and the entire country are facing a situation of
total disarray. Unemployment is rampant as widespread vandalism, chaos
and terror -- promoted deliberately by the occupation authorities --
have prevented the resumption of all activities. Wages have not been
paid. The privatization of public enterprises is under way.
The armies of the United States and Great Britain, armies of occupation,
protect the interests of the U.S. multinational corporations, which are
poised to super-exploit the Iraqi people without hindrance and to
plunder the resources and wealth of the Iraqi nation.
We also heard a report from a representative of U.S. Labor Against War,
a coalition that regroups trade unions representing several million
trade unionists in the United States. USLAW organized this past February
19th an international press conference to present an International
Declaration of Global Labor Against the War in Iraq. This declaration
was supported by trade unions and federations representing 130 million
unionists in 53 countries, all of whom came together on a world scale to
speak out with one voice against the war.
USLAW has prepared a White Paper on the U.S. multinational corporations
that have been awarded contracts in Iraq. This document presents in
great detail the systematic denial and violation of labor rights, as
well as the corruption and financial scandals that characterize the
large bulk of these corporations. This report is being translated into
Arabic, and will be brought to the attention of the Iraqi workers, who
need to know the record of these corporations.
We also heard reports from the International Confederation of Arab Trade
Unions (CISA), the United Trade Union Federation of the Arab Maghreb (USTMA),
the General Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT), the General Union of
Algerian Workers (UGTA), the Sudan Workers Trade Unions Federation (SWTUF),
and the Committee of Working Women of Lebanon. They explained the dire
consequences of the war and U.S. occupation in their own countries. The
privatization drive implemented in the Arab countries these past years,
for example, has already led to an increase in unemployment from 12
million to 19 million workers.
Once again, in this most difficult situation confronting workers and
peoples everywhere, it is more than ever the task of the labor movement
to unite and take action on a world scale to fight for labor rights,
peace, and democracy.
Those who launched the war against the Iraqi people speak about
democracy, but democracy requires that the workers be able to organize
themselves freely. Democracy presupposes the existence of independent
trade union organizations.
The workers or Iraq urgently need trade unions to fight for their
interests. They must be able to organize themselves freely to build
unions of their own choice. These basic labor rights, these anchors of
democracy, have been codified in International Labor Organization (ILO)
Conventions 87 and 98.
ILO Convention 87 concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of
the Right to Organize stipulates:
Each Member of the International Labor Organization for which this
Convention is in force undertakes to give effect to the following
provisions." (Article 1) "Workers and employers,
without distinction whatsoever, shall have the right to establish and,
subject only to the rules of the organization concerned, to join
organizations of their own choosing without previous authorization."
(Article 2) "Workers' and employers' organizations shall have
the right to draw up their constitutions and rules, to elect their
representatives in full freedom, to organize their administration and
activities and to formulate their programs. The public authorities shall
refrain from any interference which would restrict this right or impede
the lawful exercise thereof." (Article 10)
ILO Convention 98 concerning the Application of the Principles of the
Right to Organize and to Bargain Collectively stipulates:
Workers shall enjoy adequate protection against acts of anti-union
discrimination in respect of their employment." (Article 1) "Workers'
and employers' organizations shall enjoy adequate protection against any
acts of interference by each other or each other's agents or members in
their establishment, functioning or administration." (Article
2)
This last Convention was ratified by the Iraqi government on November
27, 1962.
ILO Conventions 87 and 98 -- just as the other ILO Conventions -- must
be ratified, translated into law and implemented for all Iraqi workers
over the entire territory of Iraq. We affirm that no one can speak about
democracy so long as these rights are not the law of the land.
Iraq has a long tradition of trade unionism and workers' rights codified
in legislation. From 1919 to the beginning of the 1980s, Iraq ratified
66 ILO Conventions*. Will these be respected and implemented today?
Together, we have mobilized against the war. We are convinced that the
international organization and mobilization against the war,
particularly within the international trade union movement, points the
way forward for the labor movement as a whole.
Together, on June 15, in Geneva, we hereby commit ourselves to organize
this international mobilization and we state:
- The undermining and destruction through war of trade union and labor
rights in Iraq, just like the planned destruction and plunder by the
multinational corporations, are part and parcel of the generalized
offensive which, under different forms, targets working people in every
country.
- The right of workers to organize themselves freely knows no borders.
- The existence of independent unions is a cornerstone of democracy.
- The unity of working people the world over will forge the road to
peace.
We believe it is necessary to unite our efforts with the goal of
constituting an International Labor Delegation that will travel to
Iraq on a fact-finding trip to evaluate the situation of the working
class, labor rights and status of the trade union organizations. We
have already learned that the first labor strikes and walk-outs have
taken place. At the same time, the repression against trade union
leaders has been unleashed, with a number of unionists now facing death
threats.
Through this campaign, we seek to mobilize the support of the
international labor movement for the workers of Iraq so that they can
build the trade unions of their choice.
This initiative is not in competition with any other. We have learned
that similar concerns to ours have already been expressed by various
international organizations such as the International Labor Bureau of
the ILO, the Workers' Group of the ILO, the International Confederation
of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), and Education International (EI), among
others. Our initiative simply seeks to bring together the broadest
forces in the framework of an international campaign for the defense of
the ILO Conventions and for social justice, peace and democracy.
We issue this appeal to labor organizations throughout the world and
call upon them to support this campaign so that together we can organize
this fact-finding delegation to Iraq later this fall. We, the
undersigned, constitute ourselves as an Organizing Committee of this
International Delegation. Our campaign is independent from all
international institutions. It will seek support among workers and their
trade union organizations the world over.
Amy Newell, National Organizer, US Labor Against War (USLAW); Alan
Benjamin, Representative, San Francisco Labor Council, AFL-CIO (United
States)
Hacene Djeman, General Secretary, International Confederation of
Arab Trade Unions (CISA); Farouk Sourig, International Director,
International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions (Syria); Abdelmajid
Sahraoui, United Trade Union Federation of the Arab Maghreb (USTMA);
Amar Takdjout, General Union of Algerian Workers (UGTA); Louisa
Hanoune, Spokesperson, Workers Party of Algeria; Subhi Toma,
Iraqi antiwar activist; Khadye El Husaini, Committee of Working
Women of Lebanon; Abdel Amir Nadja, Lebanon Workers General
Confederation (CGTL); Ibrahim A. Gandour, Sudan Workers Trade
Unions Federation (SWTUF); Mohamed Trabelsi, General Union of
Tunisian Workers (UGTT); Mohamed Ben Henda, Tunisian Committee in
Switzerland
Daniel Gluckstein, Coordinator, International Liaison Committee
of Workers and Peoples; Olivier Doriane, Workers Party (France); Marie-Claude
Schidlower, ILC Working Women Commission; Jean-Pierre Barrois,
Antiwar activist (France); Luc Deley, Hosting Committee,
International Conference in Defense of ILO Conventions (Switzerland); Alexandre
Anor, Socialist Party member (Switzerland).
(Appeal Issued in Geneva, Switzerland on June 15, 2003)
***
First Endorsers:
BELGIUM: Roberto Giarrocco, General Federation of Belgian Workers (FGTB).
BENIN: Marie-Antoinette Toudonou, President, Women's Committee of the
Confederation of Workers of Benin (CSTB).
BRAZIL: Julio Turra, National Executive Board member, Unified Workers
Federation of Brazil (CUT).
CHAD: Djibrine Assale Hamdallah, General Secretary, Confederation of
Trade Unions of Chad (UST); Gami N'Garmadjal, General Secretary,
National Union of Education Workers of Chad (SET).
COTE-D'IVOIRE/IVORY COAST: François Yao, General Secretary, National
Union of Energy Workers (SYNASEG); Céline Yassine, Deputy International
Relations Secretary, National Union of Energy Workers (SYNASEG).
FRANCE: Jacques Paris, national education sector trade unionists; Pascal
Grasso, trade unionist; Xavier Boiston, oil & chemical sector trade
unionists; Eliane Juquel, trade unionist; François Le Pivert, trade
unionist; Véronique Pépers, chemical sector trade unionist; Clarisse
Delalondre, EDF energy sector trade unionist; Denis Langlet,
metalworkers' sector trade unionist; Christian Savidan, community sector
trade unionist; Jean Markun, trade unionist; Michèle Coullet, national
education sector trade unionist; Jean-Charles Marquiset, trade unionist;
Patrice Sifflet, trade unionist, Manifesto for Trade Union Independence;
Jacques Girod, trade unionist; Marie Bordes, national education sector
trade unionist; Daniel Chalier, healthcare sector trade unionist; Pascal
Samouth, trade unionist; Christiane B_uf, trade unionist; Michèle
Simonnin, public sector trade unionist.
GABON: Maixent-Hubert Ndong Odzame, President, Confederation of Trade
Unions of Gabon (CO.SY.GA); Camille Mombo-Mouelet, General Secretary,
Federation of Mines and Energy Workers (FLEEMA).
GERMANY: Frey Henning, Ver.di; Karlheinz Gerhold, SPD, Ver.di; Klaus Schüller,
SPD, DGB Thuringe.
GUADELOUPE: Jocelyn Lapitre, MPTPG.
INDIA: H. Mahadevan,
General Secretary, All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC); Sharad Rao,
General Secretary, MAZDOOR trade union federation.
JAPAN: Osamu Yomono, Vice President, National Rail Workers Union of
Japan (JRU); Mari Takenouchi, JRU.
MEXICO: Raul Dominguez Alcala, General Secretary, Transportation Workers
Union of Oaxaca (SUTCAO).
SPAIN: José Miguel Villa, General Secretary, FES, General Union of
Workers of Madrid (UGT); Conrado Soria Garcia, UGT of Barcelona.
SWITZERLAND: Alain Charbonnier, Member of Parliament , Socialist Party;
Françoise Schenk-Gottret, Member of Parliament, Socialist Party; Claude
and Pierrette Iseli, Union of Circles for Workers' Policies (UCPO);
Michel Gindrat, UCPO; Adriano Crameri, General Secretary, SIB; Myriam
Lonfat, Former Member of Parliament, SSP-VPOD; Max Robert, Public sector
trade unionist (SSP); Simone Girodo, Public sector trade unionist (SSP);
Rania Madi.
TOGO: Tétévi Norbert Gbikpi-Bénissan, General Secretary, Federation
of Independent Unions of Togo (UNSIT); Claude Ameganvi, Organizational
Secretary, Workers Party of Togo.
TUNISIA: Halim Chaabane, Spokesperson, Iraq-Palestine Trade Union
Solidarity Committee.
UNITED STATES: Paul Germanotta, European bureau rep, Farm Labor
Organizing Committee (FLOC, AFL-CIO); Claude Piller, Education sector
trade unionist; Dan Kaplan, Delegate to June 15th Conference, California
Federation of Teachers (CFT).
*****
– I Endorse this Declaration
[ ] In a personal capacity
[ ] In the name of my union/organization
Name:
Address:
City/Country/Postal Code:
Email:
Organization:
Title:
*****
Contact Information:
o US Labor Against War, PO BOX 153, 1718 M Street, NW
Washington DC, 20036 (USA). E-mail: info@uslaboragainstwar.org
o International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, PO BOX 3225,
Damascus (Syria) Fax: 963-1144-20323. E-mail: icatu@net.sy
o International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples,
87, rue du Faubourg-Saint-Denis, 75010 Paris (France). Tel.:
331-4801-8828. Fax : 331-4801-8836. E-mail : eit.ilc@wanadoo.fr
********************
Brazil: The Congress of the United Workers Federation, the CUT, debated
the reform of the retirement system
The congress of the CUT, the most important union federation in Brazil,
was held June 3rd through 6th in Sao Paulo. Six months after Lula, the
candidate of the Workers Party, ascended to the Presidency of the
Republic, led by the hopes and aspirations of the people, the question
of the relationship of the union federation to the new government has
been at the center of the debates.
This question has been raised, in particular, around the "retirement
reform" that the government has undertaken.
What was the position taken at the congress of the CUT?
Three motions on this issue were put to a vote. The one presented by the
majority current, called Articulation, calling for some amendments to
the government's project as it is currently presented, obtained 50% of
the votes. Another, defended mainly by activists of the United
Secretariat, calling for other amendments, obtained 25% of the vote.
That of the "Reinforce the CUT" group, supported in particular
by the activists of the ILC in Brazil, calling for the withdrawal of the
legislative project, obtained 25% of the votes.
We are reproducing below the declaration that was directed to all of the
delegates by the "Reinforce the CUT" current after that vote.
To the delegates to the 8th Congress of the CUT
We, signatories of this declaration, have come to the 8th
Congress of the CUT to Reinforce the CUT for the defense of labor rights.
The situation in which the congress finds itself today is one that was
opened by the election of brother Lula to the Presidency of the Republic,
who received our support to establish a new policy in this country, a
policy of sovereignty, free from the binds imposed by the IMF, in order
to be able to satisfy the demands of the workers and the Brazilian
nation. In this current situation, the central question is the threat of
the retirement reform presented by the National Congress, a reform that
follows the demands of the IMF, reducing the rights of the workers for
the benefit of the bankers.
We have seen, with satisfaction, that in this congress not one delegate
nor current, in any professional category, from the country or the city,
from the public sector or the private, has claimed to defend this reform.
This is a fact.
Beginning from this point, for our part, we have worked throughout the
entire congress up to the last minute, trying to unite the CUT - the
entire CUT and not just the "left" - in defense of the rights
of retirees that are threatened today, particularly those in the public
sector.
We received positive responses. Disgracefully, however, we have not had
the same response from certain leaders and from sectors of several
tendencies in our federation.
The discussion will continue now within the federation, within the
unions, and above all, in workplaces and in the streets, starting with
the march to Brasilia next Wednesday, June 11th, against this reform of
the retirement system.
Because the workers and the public employees will not accept now what
they have always fought - the reduction of their rights!
On the contrary, what they demand of the National Congress is that the
government reconsider and suspend the process of PEC 40 (1), so that its
withdrawal will allow for the negotiation that President Lula came to
offer in the opening of our 8th congress.
It is the best solution, for the workers as well as the unions and
finally, for the government itself.
We affirm that the leaders who rejected the drawing up of a common
position, capable of uniting the federation against this reform, have in
fact opposed the application of direct representation for the
election of the lists that are legitimately presented to the leadership
of the federation. They will never explain why they have now
rejected the advance that they had accepted in the last congresses.
Why the setback?
In order to force the minority currents, which are as legitimate as the
majority currents and their sympathizers, to unite in order to obtain
the minimum 20% of the votes?
If this is good for someone, it is not us. We are not interested in
"blocking" and "fractioning" the federation in to
different camps, camps that fight in a sterile manner, instead of all of
the currents together seeking the best solution for the needs of the
workers.
We also would like to address all of the delegates to ask them that they
vote for the list that we propose and we call on them to gather
with us and continue, together, the fight for the defense and extension
of the rights of the Brazilian working class and the nation.
Sao Paulo, 7/6/03
(1) Proposed constitutional amendment number 40, that modifies the
retirement system
Francisvaldo Mendes (Left Articulation, Financial Council of the CUT,
Bankers Union Sao Paulo)
Julio Turra (O Trabalho Current, Executive Committee of the CUT)
Gilberto Jorge (Unidade Socialista, General Secretary of Condsef)
Josemilton Maurício da Costa (Independent, Rank and file of Consef)
José Rubens Decares (Sinsprev Sao Paulo)
Sérgio Silva e Araújo (National Confederation of Chemical Workers -
CUT)
René Rodrigues de Souza (Petroleum Workers Union (Sindipetro) Norte
Fluminense Rio de Janeiro)
********************
European News
France
Accused by the press of various incidents that have occurred around the
strike movement and the demonstrations in progress, the Workers Party
held a press conference on Tuesday, June 10th. Daniel Gluckstein, the
national secretary, reaffirmed the positions of the PT.
A preliminary clarification
"It is easier to speak about the PT than to let the PT
speak," stated Daniel Gluckstein, making reference to the fact
that, apart from Informations Ouvrieres, only one journalist (from
the publication Liberation) had made the trip. And nonetheless,
he reminded them, "the PT has been accused by the 8 o'clock news
on TF 1, this Saturday (which was then picked up by radio and print
press) of several incidents that occurred last week."
"The PT," he declared, "has nothing, either
directly or indirectly, to do with the incidents in question."
On the Fillon plan and decentralization
Having made this clarification, the national secretary of the PT
took up the position of the party on the current situation. "Firstly,
the demands that the demonstrators and strikers, in the public sector as
well as the private sector, been defending for weeks, and longer, are
totally legitimate," that is to say: "the demand for
the withdrawal of the Fillon plan, the demand for 37 and a half years of
retirement contributions [the French requirement for receiving full
retirement benefits that is currently being threatened -Ed] for all,
public and private sectors and the demand for the withdrawal of the
government projects on decentralization."
About the general cross-trade strike
But how can we achieve the satisfaction of these demands, given
"the refusal of the government to open real negotiations?"
"A crucial question has been raised," continued Daniel
Gluckstein, "by many of the general assemblies and in the very
heart of the unions."
This "voice that rises from below" asks: "Leaders,
why don't you call for a general, cross-trade strike?"
"This is the key to the situation," repeated the national
secretary of the PT. "Even today, if the leaders of the unions
launched this call, no one doubts that the workers would responds by the
millions and the government would be obliged to change their
intransigent position."
The place of the Workers Party and its paper
"The Workers Party respects the prerogatives of the union
organizations," explained Daniel Gluckstein. Commenting on
allegations from one paper that morning, according to which the PT has
called a general strike, he added: "If we estimated, in the
current situation, that we had to launch a call that was politically
necessary, we would do it. But at the current time, what we are saying
is that millions of workers are looking toward the leadership of the
unions to raise the question of a general, cross-trades strike and that
we consider this demand to be perfectly legitimate. In this sense, we
are echoing this sentiment in our newspaper Informations Ouvrieres
and in our flyers."
With respect to the negotiations on the right to strike and the
threat to basic services, on the occasion of the national college exams,
"it is clear that the educational workers are particularly
affected by the college exams as it is a national, anonymous exam,"
declared the National Secretary of the PT, finding in this one of the
motivations of "the opposition of the educational workers to
decentralization." Six hundred thousand students are being
called upon, on Thursday, June 12th, to pass the first written college
tests under the current conditions. In this context, he explained, "the
only demand that can bring about the unity of the educational workers,
parents and young people and of all of the workers, is the postponement
of the exams." He added, "It surprises us that some
people are calling for a general strike on June 12th and at the same
time, saying that the exams should be held, appealing to the
non-strikers. We believe that this appears to the establishment to be a
call for minimum service requirements. It would be particularly
dangerous to democracy if, on the occasion of a teachers strike, minimum
service was established for the first time, and in addition, was
established at the request of the unions. This could be used tomorrow in
the RATP and in the SNCF [the Parisian public transportation system and
the national French railway system, respectively -Ed.] and other
situations. The right to strike is a constitutional, irrevocable right."
Again about the presidential election
The representative of the PT emphasized afterwards that "the
situation is marked by a political and institutional blockade that does
not cease to worsen." And he explained, "In the press
this morning, political and union leaders made a point of reminding the
public that they had called for a vote in favor of the current president
of the Republic."
"At that moment, the Workers Party, did not do so because we were
convinced that that vote did not constitute - as many wanted it to - a
defense of democracy."
"On the contrary, we were convinced that the abstention of 15
million voters expressed a grave crisis of democracy and put as the
order of the day a total reorientation that broke with the framework of
the Maastricht treaty and the institutions of the Fifth Republic."
And today?
"The stubborn rejection of the government translates to their
lineup with the directives of the European Union."
What debate in the National Assembly?
The same day as the press conference, a discussion was opened in
the National Assembly on the legislative proposal Raffarin-Fillon.
"In an attempt to give a little credit to the institutions, the
Prime Minister said yesterday that he was willing to debate the entire
summer, Daniel Gluckstein said. Is there any legitimacy at all in the
National Assembly?
A puppet assembly that, since the foundation of the institutions of the
Fourth Republic, has been thought of as nothing more than a registration
agency and that, for the past ten years, have become simply an agency
for the transposition of the European directives. How would it change
this reality for the debate to last two weeks or two months? The
National Assembly is drawn up in the institutions of the Fourth Republic
and in the Maastricht treaty and has abdicated all sovereignty, whatever
its political composition may be.
In this morning's press it was written by a union official that in his
opinion there was nothing to be hoped for from the National Assembly,
taking into account, he said, its majority.
Must we remind this official-Bernard Thibault in this case-that he
called for a vote for Chirac 14 month ago? Must we remind him that
another majority of the "plural left," from 1997 to 2002, the
National Assembly, disgracefully, carried out the same policy?"
The political proposals of the Workers Party
The national secretary of the Workers Party concluded this press
conference with a call to "be on guard against these rifts.":
"We are seeing a heightened embargo, a deepening of the political
and institutional crisis that threaten with great rifts in society. We
are not in favor of chaos. Social order can only be established on the
basis of democracy. And democracy implies that other institutions must
be built in the place of the institutions of the Fifth Republic that are
subjugated by the European Union."
It should be remembered that this was the position of the PT, even
at the convocation of a "Sovereign Constituent Assembly".
This said, insisted Daniel Gluckstein, "the first question
is: will the desire of millions and millions of workers to see their
organizations call for a general cross-trade strike be listened to? Will,
for this reason, the conditions be met to oblige the government to
retreat?"
And he announced that "the PT will hold a meeting this June
17th, at the Mutualite, where we will discuss with workers and activists
of all tendencies in the Parisian region, the situation and what should
be done to help this movement, which is of a depth that is unprecedented
in recent times, to achieve, at whatever the cost, its demands."
********************
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