ILC Intern@tional Newsletter No 35
July 15th, 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
Table of Contents
- Presentation
- International campaign for labour rights in Iraq
- Interview with José Miguel Villa, UGT trade unionist in Madrid
- MCI WorldCom, an American corporation in Iraq
Toward the European meeting . Paris, September 20th and 21st, 2003
- A contribution by Jacques Robert, Swiss trade unionist
- Referendum in Italy: 75% abstention
Letter from ILC to Juan Somavia, Director-General of International
Labour Office
American bulletin of International Revolutionary Youth
Subscribe to International Newsletter
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Presentation
As we had announced, this summer's ILC International Newsletter will
follow the preparation of the "international campaign for labour
rights in Iraq" and of the delegation that will go to that country
in the autumn.
We let speak those who, like José Miguel Villa, member of the
Confederal Committee of Spanish UGT - see interview in this issue - have
decided to join the campaign.
Also, you can find every week a document from the American trade union
coalition USLAW's report "The corporate invasion of Iraq".
And we shall cover regularly the preparation of the European meeting
"for peace, democracy and labour rights, for the free and
democratic union of free European nations", that will be held in
Paris on September 20th and 21st 2003. You could read the call to this
meeting as well as the list of signatories in our previous issues.
Please, subscribe to International Newsletter.
********************
International Campaign for Labour Rights in Iraq
On June 14, 2003, in Geneva, representatives of US Labour Against
War (USLAW), the American labour movement against the war;
representatives of the International Liaison Committee of Workers and
Peoples and from the International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions (CISA)
met and decided to launch an "International Campaign for Labour
Rights in Iraq."
The call for this international campaign was presented before the
International Conference in Defence of the Conventions of the ILO and
for Labour Rights on June 15th. This call was signed by the delegates to
the conference. It projects the organizing, at the beginning of October,
of an international labour delegation to Iraq.
The ILC International Newsletter will regularly inform its readers of
the developments of this campaign, of which they can become a part by
adding their organizational endorsements to those listed below.
We published this call in issue number 31 of the ILC International
Newsletter. Back orders can be sent upon request.
Contact Information:
- US Labor Against War, PO BOX 153, 1718 M Street, NW
Washington DC, 20036 (USA).
E-mail: info@uslaboragainstwar.org
- International Confederation of Arab Trade Unions, PO BOX 3225,
Damascus (Syria) Fax: 963-1144-20323.
E-mail: icatu@net.sy
- 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
********************
"I join the campaign for labour rights in Iraq"
An interview with José Miguel Villa, member of the Confederal
Committee of UGT (Spain)
Jose Miguel Villa is a service sector trade unionist in Madrid
and a member of the Confederation Committee of the UGT
Can you describe for us your participation in the Tenth Annual
Conference in Defense of the Conventions of the ILO and for Trade Union
Independence?
José Miguel Villa - The participation has been very
important, as delegates have come from thirty countries. Through their
interventions this allowed for a global vision of the situation of
workers throughout the world. The great majority were union officials in
various levels of their organizations. The presence of unionists from
the United States, Brazil, Algeria, and Germany, for example, provided
first hand knowledge of the situation in countries or zones where the
struggle of the workers is a reference point for all.
Why did you participate?
JMV - I considered it important to participate in order to be
able to contrast the situation with that which is occurring in my
country, in a year in which we have held two general strikes, one
against the policies of the government in the terrain of labor rights
and in defense of employment, and the other in opposition to the
aggression against the Iraqi people. We were able to confirm that in
spite of the distinct character of the governments, in spite of the
distinct economic situation in the two countries, a common aggression
threatens the workers of both: jobs, pensions and privatizations were
named by nearly all of the conference participants.
What was the discussion centered on?
JMV - In addition to the previously mentioned, there was
discussion on the danger posed by the intent demonstrated by governments
and corporate leaders to modify the ILO conventions for some kind of set
of norms or recommendations that would be completely different from the
legal power held by the ILO conventions, which are ratified by the
national parliaments. It was agreed that we would launch a campaign for
the rights of workers in Iraq and for the preparation of an
international delegation that would visit Iraq next fall.
What does this campaign intend to do for the rights of workers in
Iraq? What will it consist of?
JMV - Having verified after the war that all of the excuses
given by the invaders were false (there are not weapons of massive
destruction, they are not defending democracy and they care very little
for the rights of the Iraqi people) we are left with the raw reality;
the control of Iraqi oil and the threat of war hanging over the whole
region in order to assure its control.
We, who have fought for months against the war, should now fight against
the occupation. Democracy in Iraq will only be possible when the Iraqi
people can decide their destiny freely, and that will only be possible
when the occupying armies abandon Iraq.
There will be no democracy in Iraq if the workers cannot organize freely
in both the political and union terrain. There will be no democracy
without guaranteeing the rights of the workers or without guaranteeing
the public ownership of Iraqi oil.
The campaign asks that all the organizations of workers in the world
respond positively to the call from the Conference to assure that the
international delegation can visit Iraq and make a record of the real
situation of the workers in Iraq.
What role do you think the Spanish labor movement should play in this
campaign?
JMV - The Spanish labor movement should play its role in the
campaign for labor rights in Iraq in continuity with its struggle
against the war, supporting the fight against the occupation and
defending the rights of the workers.
How will you publicize the Conference proposals?
JMV - The brothers and sisters who coordinated the Conference
will organize presentations in different cities and then each union will
broadcast it in the customary manner. In the case of the UGT, given that
the International Relations official was present in the Conference, he
will receive the campaign directly from the Organizing Committee and
that will facilitate its active participation in the preparation of the
Delegation.
***********
Document
MCI WORLDCOM (MCI)
MCI WorldCom provides local, long-distance, international and
Internet services for various businesses, telecommunications companies,
government and consumer customers. In addition to being a leader in
providing integrated voice, Internet and data communications services,
MCI WorldCom is also the second largest long-distance carrier in the
USA.
MCI WorldCom filed bankruptcy in July 2002, the largest in US history,
after admitting to having fraudulently misstated $11 billion in earnings.
The collapse of the company cost investors more than $175 billion in
value. The Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) fraud case against MCI
WorldCom was the biggest in the agency's history. In May 2003, MCI
WorldCom reached a settlement in this case - a $500 million penalty, the
largest ever imposed by the SEC, which will ultimately be given to
investors. The 12 commission said it had sought a settlement of $1.5
billion but accepted the $500 million in recognition that it was all the
company could afford.
Despite its record of fraud and bankruptcy, MCI/WorldCom jumped to
eighth among all federal technology contractors in 2002, with $772
million in sales. That refers only to deals in which MCI is the prime
contractor to federal agencies. The company gets much more taxpayer
money - exactly how much is not disclosed - as a state and federal
government subcontractor.
Labor Relations:
MCI has a poor record on workers rights dating back to 1986 when MCI
closed down an operator center in Michigan and fired the workers after
they voted for representation by Communications Workers of America (CWA).
Over the years, the Company has aggressively opposed any attempt by its
workers to organize a union.
As a result of the bankruptcy filed in 2002, MCI WorldCom's 17,000
laid-off MCI employees received severance pay of only $5,000, but only
after the AFL-CIO publicly pressured the company.
Another 5,000 worker layoffs were recently announced.
MCI's economic collapse completely wiped out the retirement savings of
their workers. More than $2.6 billion dollars in public pension funds
were lost in the MCI WorldCom bankruptcy. Separate criminal actions are
pending in many states, and major retirement plans are suing for
securities fraud.
Contract(s) Awarded:
In May 2003, the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) selected
MCI WorldCom for the $30 million contract to build a wireless network in
Iraq. The company is to build a small network with 19 cell towers that
can serve 5,000 to 10,000 mobile phones used by reconstruction officials
and aid workers in the Baghdad area. This contract was in lieu of the
French manufacturer Alltel repairing (as they did after the 1991 Gulf
War) the existing wireline system. Instead of reestablishing wireline
telephone service, which was functioning before the bombing and which
provided access to the internet, the decision was made to build a new
mobile system which will not be compatible with the system of phone
handsets used in Europe. Failing to repair the existing phone service
and installing only a cellular system will deprive Iraq of the hardware
and phone wires required to establish effective computer networks and to
provide widespread Internet access.
In 2002 MCI served as a subcontractor to provide long-distance
connections for a wireless network in Afghanistan, however, WorldCom is
not a commercial wireless carrier. According to a Sprint Corporation
Wireless Division executive, MCI has no prior experience in constructing
wireless networks. It once resold other wireless carriers' service in
the United States but dropped that approach recently. The contract award
to MCI WorldCom has come under considerable public criticism. U.S.
Senator Susan Collins (Republican-Maine.), Chair of the Senate
Governmental Affairs Committee, has announced that her committee will
investigate the awarding of contracts to MCI WorldCom. Two other
companies - Enron and Arthur Anderson - that have recently been found
guilty of securities and accounting fraud, lost all U.S. government
contracts.
The contract in Iraq is part of a short-term communications plan costing
the Defense Department about $45 million. (The Pentagon also plans to
have Motorola Corp. establish radio communications for security forces
in Baghdad, a deal worth $10 million to $25 million, depending on the
options exercised.)
Connection to Bush Administration:
Undetermined
Political Contributions:
(2002 Election cycle) WorldCom gave $511,616 in political campaign
contributions. (Sixty-one percent of to Republicans)
Executive Compensation:
MCI WorldCom's new Board is paying its new CEO Michael Capellas $50
million over the next 4 years.
MCI WorldCom's former CEO Bernie Ebbers had received $1 billion in
personal loans from the company. Internal reports show that Ebbers knew
about the accounting fraud.
Social Responsibility Record:
MCI WorldCom is structuring its bankruptcy reorganization so as to
offset future earnings against $6.6 billion in net operating losses (a
$2.5 billion tax break). MCI WorldCom will receive a $300 million refund
from the Internal Revenue Service for taxes paid on the fraudulently
overstated earnings.
Competitors are outraged because MCI WorldCom acquired $15 billion in
debt based upon fraudulent accounting, and the reorganization under the
bankruptcy process would allow escape from responsibility for that act.
The competitors are calling for liquidation of the company. They charge
that MCI is receiving privileged treatment that amounts to a government
bailout while other corporations such as Arthur Anderson (accountants)
and Enron have been barred from receiving government contracts after
their criminal misconduct was uncovered.
Last year, Sprint and Global Crossing Ltd, another WorldCom rival,
complained to the General Accounting Office about a $450 million
contract awarded by the Defense Information Systems Agency to WorldCom
for a computer network used by Pentagon scientists. The GAO, the
investigative arm of Congress, said the Defense agency "relied on
grossly inaccurate financial information in making a determination that
WorldCom was a responsible contractor."
The agreement to pay the $500 million penalty imposed by the SEC would
represent an important departure from previous bankruptcy law.
Structured under a new provision of federal law that allows the
government to divert penalties destined for the Treasury to investors
instead, it would permit shareholders to jump ahead of creditors and
receive significant compensation. The company, along with its board, top
executives and former investment bankers and analysts at Salomon Smith
Barney, are defendants in a class-action suit brought by shareholders
and bondholders. The claims of shareholders in bankruptcy are typically
wiped out in favor of those filed by creditors.
The Corporate Invasion of Iraq:
Profile of U.S. Corporations Awarded Contracts in U.S./British-Occupied
Iraq
Prepared by U.S. Labor Against the War (USLAW)
for The Workers of Iraq and The International Labor
Movement
Corporations Profiled in this Report
Halliburton
Kellogg, Brown & Root
Bechtel Group Inc
MCI WorldCom
Stevedoring Services of America
Abt Associates Incorporated
Black & Veatch Holding Company
Creative Associates Incorporated
DynCorp/Computer Sciences Corporation
Fluor Corporation
International Resource Group
Louis Berger Group
Menlo Worldwide Forwarding
Parsons Corporation
Perini Corporation
Research Triangle Institute
Skylink Air & Logistic Support
Washington Group International
[Note: You can download a copy of this 36-page report for
free from the USLAW website at www.uslaboragainstwar.org . Hard copies
can be obtained -- in the United States -- for $5 from USLAW, P.O. Box
153, 1718 M St., NW, Washington, DC 20036. Send $8 for a copy for all
foreign orders.]
********************
Toward a European Meeting
Paris, September 20th and 21st, 2003
We publish below an article by Jacques Robert, a leader in the Swiss
building trade union. He was a member of the Swiss Hosting Committee of
the annual ILC meeting in Geneva held June 15th. He is a signatory of
the European Appeal to the September meeting, and a correspondent in
Switzerland to prepare it.
Last year, by this time, I presented you an agreement the Swiss
building workers had won, that included retirement at 60 years - you
must know the usual retirement age in this country for male workers is
65 years - with favourable terms because they won a net income 80% of
gross salary on a year, that is, to retire almost without any income
loss.
It was important, and it is important because that concerns almost 100
000 construction workers, but it was important above all because it was
the product of a struggle in a field in which, like in others,
unfortunately, the conquests of workers are regularly under attack..
It was also the result of an offensive, while too often trade union
movement, working class movement is reduced to simply resist social
dismantling.
Not long time after the June 2002 meeting, in spite of the fact that the
agreement was extremely clear, duly signed, the bosses' association
refused squarely to implement it, so we were obliged to take up struggle
again.
We must pay attention to the bosses' motive: they considered that the
retired workers' income would be too high, they wished to curtail it
substantially.
The real purpose of the bosses was to make retirement impossible or much
more difficult. There we find an objective well known to ultra-liberals
: flexibility. The bosses want to decide themselves who gets retirement
and who gets not according to company's interest. Obviously, we refused
any concession on previous agreement, and we took up the struggle again
in September last year.
We went on, we did a national strike in a sector particularly difficult
to organise. On November 2002, 15 000 workers from the construction
sites came out on strike. That brought a new victory: the March
agreement was confirmed, so on next July 1st first building workers will
get anticipate retirement, as scheduled.
We can easily tie this struggle to the pensions question mobilising
workers in a whole string of countries by now. It is also interesting to
see that in France, for example, the purpose of the government is
roughly to extend professional activity by two years, from 60 to 62,
while in Switzerland the President of the Confederation aims to extend
professional activity by two years, from 65 to 67.
By this way they intend to reduce the cost of social benefits for
companies allowing bosses to decide who gets retirement and who gets
not, taking into account only the companies' interests.
We want that the wage-earners be able to choose by themselves. This was
the purpose of our struggle - which was an offensive to win new rights -
but this is also the purpose of those struggles that are being waged
today to maintain retirement rights.
As I have a little time left, I wish to mention another question, that
of free movement of people.
European Union will be enlarged to ten new countries, so the citizens of
these ten new states will enjoy free movement of people. Evidently it is
something great for workers, for human beings, and particularly for
internationalist people. This affects Switzerland because even if it is
not a member of the European Union it has bilateral agreements with EU
members allowing this free movement inside Switzerland as well as for
Swiss people.
But if we welcome this change, it poses some problems, as the closing-up
of borders after I World War concerning people circulation was one of
the factors bringing about different levels of economic development in
the World but also inside Europe.
Presently, standards of living and wage levels differ widely in Europe,
and that could obviously result in an important risk of wage and social
dumping. So, we are satisfied with the enlargement of free movement of
people, and at the same time we see the bosses are also very satisfied,
that evidently suits them. We note that often the ignorance of working
conditions in the country to which workers - taking advantage of free
movement of people - go plays into the hands of the bosses, who can then
impose working conditions inferior to those set up by law or collective
labour agreements.
I talk about that because here we are in an international trade
unionists' meeting and common unions' work in different countries can be
a parry to this social and wage dumping, particularly common work in the
country of origin and in the country of destination of these workers, to
at least transmit correct information about working conditions that must
be respected in the country in which the activity will take place. So it
is important that International Liaison Committee to deal with.
Here, in Switzerland, we have rules rather simple. Working conditions in
the country in which an activity takes place must be strictly respected,
and that means also that efficient control measures must be enforced.
Wage earners must have full information. To a large extent, this is our
responsibility. Disciplinary action against employers violating rules
must be strengthened (at present penalties are trivial or non-existent).
With that, free movement of people will be for us a real success and
something to celebrate.
Thank you
********************
Referendum in Italy: 75% abstention rate, an absolute record!
On June 15th and 16th a referendum was held in Italy on the
extension of Article 18 of the Labor Code to all companies. There was a
75% abstention rate. It is the highest level of abstention ever
registered in Italy. In Italy, 50% participation is needed to validate a
referendum, therefore the referendum was annulled.
Article 18 of the Labor Code is fundamental. It specifies that in
companies of more than 15 employees, a worker whose discharge has been
recognized by a court as abusive can be reinstated.
But this article was suspended by Berlusconi under the order of the
European Union that demands, in accordance with the summits of Lisbon
and Barcelona, more flexibility and lack of security in the organization
of work.. For the Berlusconi government, the objective behind
questioning Article 18 is the reduction of labor costs.
To achieve the maintenance of this Article millions of workers
mobilized, with their unions, in the general strike of February 16th,
2002. The demand was clear: that Article 18 is maintained, end of
discussion!
What happened after this general strike, from where did the referendum
arise and what was the reason for such an important abstention?
-----
Interview with Lorenzo Varaldo, ILC activist in Italy:
How do you explain this result?
To understand what happened it is necessary to go back one year. On
April 16th of 2002, the general strike extended through all of Italy,
the workers were able to carry it out in unity with their unions: CIGL,
UIL, CISL, for the maintenance of Article 18.
On April 16th, millions of workers rose up, together with their unions
in all of Italy, dragging behind them the layers of the population in
order to defend the same rights in the north as in the south of Italy,
against all of the reforms, which for years have attempted
regionalization, that is to say, to establish different laws for each
region, threatening the unity of the Italian nation. By the millions the
workers rejected the policies of the "Europe of regions", of
the new European Constitution; they affirmed their commitment to the
unity of the nation and the equality of rights. They rejected the
politics of Maastricht, to which Berlusconi is a faithful servant.
How is it explained that Berlusconi has not given in?
It was the signature of the Pact for Italy, on July 5th of 2002,
that marked a turning point in the division of the unions. When signing
the Pact, the leaders of the CISL (the union federation bound to the
former Christian Democrats), and those of the UIL (reformist union
federation) betrayed the mandate of the general strike of April 16: that
Article 18 be maintained! On the other hand, the leadership of the CISL
didn't sign the Pact and at the same time praised a total reform of the
Labor Code, rejecting, in such a way, the continuation of the struggle
for the maintenance of Article 18 of the Labor Code in the government's
direction.
From where does this referendum come?
It was Bertinotti, leader of Rifondazione Comunista (organization in
which friends of Krivine and Besancenot are part of the leadership) who
proposed a referendum to extend the application of Article 18 to
companies with less than 15 employees. Over 6 months, the activists of
this party gathered the 500,000 signatures necessary for the State to
organize the referendum.
In any event, this referendum on the "extension" of Article 18
that the government questions, allows it to hide the responsibility of
the apparatuses as some signed the Pact and others want to "reform
the Labor Code." It allowed the avoidance of the real question with
Epifani, Pezzotta and Angeletti (leaders of the CGIL, CISL and of UIL):
"Pronounce your support for the maintenance of Article 18, in
accordance with the will of the workers that was expressed in unity
during the general strike of April 16. Call for a strike until the
demands are met."
The meaning of this important abstention record is that the working
class, the population that was mobilized in the general strike, with
good reason, believed that the referendum was a subterfuge.
*********************
Observations
The European Meeting "for Peace, Democracy and Workers Rights, for
the free and democratic union of the free nations of Europe."
Where did this proposal come from?
In Geneva, this past June 15th, on the occasion of the 10th
International Conference in Defense of the Conventions of the ILO, a
call was launched for the European Conference "for Peace, Democracy
and Workers Rights, for the free and democratic union of the free
nations of Europe."
This proposal was raised as a response to one of the labor activists who
spoke in the opening of the Conference. Emphasizing the tenacious
resistance throughout Europe against the anti-worker plans of the
European Union and the numerous obstacles that the resistance runs up
against, the unionist addressed the ILC declaring: "I hope that the
ILC takes the initiative to contribute to this resistance."
The call launched as a response to this initiative was signed by 131
unionists and labor activists from Germany, Belgium, Spain, France,
Great Britain, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Switzerland and the Ukraine
(last week we published the list of the first signatories).
When and where will it take place? In Paris, on September 20th and 21st
of 2003.
How can you sign on to this call and receive information about the
conference?
87, rue du Faubourg St. Denis, 75010 Paris, Francia. Tel. 33 1 48
01 88 28 - Fax 33 1 48 01 88 36 - E-mail: eit.ilc@wanadoo.fr.
******************
Letter from the International Liaison Committee of Workers and
Peoples to Mr. Juan Somavia, Director-General of the International
Labour Office
on the occasion of the International Meeting for the defence of ILO
Conventions, for the defence of trade unions' independence
Geneva, June 15th 2003
Mr. Director-General
We, delegates from 30 countries on all the continents, have met in
Geneva on June 15th at the 10th Meeting for the defence of ILO
Conventions, for the defence of trade unions' independence, called by
the International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples. We have
taken note of your report Working out of poverty, as well as the
debates at the 91st International Labour Conference.
The figures you give in this report are horrifying:
An estimated 1.2 billion people were living on US$1 a day or less in
1999. An additional 1.6 billion people live today on $1 to $2 a day.
About 20 percent of the world's population - 862 million people - is
illiterate.
Over 115 million school-age children were not in school in 1999
..
One in six children between the ages of 5 and 14 (211 million) were
doing some form of work in 2000.
Of these, 186 million were engaged in forms of child labour that the ILO
is committed to abolishing, and 111 million were doing hazardous work
classified by the ILO as the worst forms of child labour.
About half a million women die each year as a result of pregnancy and
childbirth.
A total of 799 million people in developing countries and 41 million in
developed and transition countries are undernourished.
There are about 335,000 fatal workplace accidents worldwide each year.
About two-thirds of the female work force of the developing world,
outside agriculture, are active in the informal economy, with the figure
reaching 84 percent in sub-Saharan Africa. Most are own-account workers.
As you say, "Workers in the informal economy are not recognised,
registered, regulated or protected"
The labour movement, from its inception, set itself the objective of
eradicating poverty. In the 19th and 20th centuries, "social
rights, so important to fight poverty, were won by social and political
struggles, often very hard ones", said one delegate to the
ILO's yearly conference.
The right to organise, to collective bargaining, as well as workers'
rights concerning health, social protection, retirement, education, and
public services were all won that way -- through class struggle.
Since 1919, the norms system of the ILO, its conventions and
recommendations, have been an important lever for the labour movement,
pushing for ratification of these conventions and its insertion into
national laws and labour codes. Those conventions and recommendations
are a support for the working class in all countries, "rich"
as well as "poor".
Today those rights are under attack in France, in Germany, in Austria,
in Spain, in SwitzerlandŠ everywhere. They are all questioned in the
name of globalisation, of free trade agreements, of the European Union
stability pact.
Hence, according to an AFP dispatch (June 12th), "President of
European Central Bank (ECB, Wim Duisenberg encouraged on Thursday
European governments to implement retirement systems' reforms in spite
of public opinion protests [Š]. If concerned people refuse change, they
will "pay the price", he warned.
Nevertheless, the President of the ECB acknowledged that proposed
changes are "painful" and are a means to renounce "rights
won long ago". The question of retirement pensions reform
arouses protests non only in France, but also in Austria and
Germany."
As you know, this issue meets strong resistance from the working
class and its organisations.
Increase of poverty affects all countries. In the United States itself "poverty
continues to escalate. 41 million persons have no health insurance and
75 million found at some moment they had no welfare or social insurance:
in two years, 2.4 million jobs were lost. In New York, 200 000 young
people are unemployed", a delegate said.
We have known the proposals in your report. Let's take some of them:
micro and small enterprises, microfinance, micro insurance.
We have noted that "As many as 4 billion people - two-thirds of
the world's population - live largely outside formal legal
systems," in the informal economy.
But is it not the role of the labour movement to act for the eradication
of informal work scourge, in which workers have no rights? Is it not its
role to act so that the informal sector becomes formal? Could someone
accept that 4.4 billion human beings working in informal sector not be
not entitled to ILO norms implementation? You declare in your report
that "The main point is not to impose unattainable standards or
unrealistic goals, but to recognise that decent work has a moving
threshold.". But what are 'unrealistic goals'? What is a
'moving threshold'? Should 4.4 billion human beings have no right to
ratification and implementation of ILO conventions?
Is it not a precondition to fight poverty that the ILO plays fully its
regulating role, to make conventions and recommendations honoured, to
follow its implementation by governments in the framework of national
laws?
Should the labour movement adopt a minimalist approach? Are not ILO
norms a development factor? Are they not its condition?
We have paid particular attention to the social security issue. You
point out that "in many countries, public expenditures on social
security and health care have been cut, often in the mistaken belief
that families and communities will take care of their aged".
Establishing that in poorest countries "statutory social
security personal coverage is estimated at 5 to 10 per cent of the
working population and in some cases is decreasing", your
report proposes "a basic social security" and invites
International Labour Office to help develop "micro-insurance"
providing "insurance and minimum income schemes". We
read also that "In most developing countries, retirement is a
luxury few older people can afford. About 40 per cent of people aged
over 64 in Africa and about 25 per cent in Asia are still in the labour
force". But should not be affirmed in first place that every
worker, in any country, is entitled to a true retirement after working
years?
So you put forward as a system "micro-insurance and mutual
health organizations". "They are often rooted in self-help or
cooperative movements, and aim to contribute to local development. The
advantage of such schemes is that contribution rates are often low
because they focus on providing only those benefits that are perceived
by members as urgently necessary. The disadvantages are that they are
rarely large enough to cover costly medical expenses and cannot offer a
replacement income in the event of incapacity to work".
You point out that, in the framework of world solidarity, the ILO is
currently piloting an approach to supporting the extension of social
security. "The idea is to request people in richer countries to
commit to a regular monthly transfer of about 5 euros (or about 0.2 per
cent of average monthly incomes) to a Global Social Trust based on a
network of national social trusts supported by the ILO and other
interested parties. These funds would then be invested to kick-start
basic social protection schemes launched primarily in least developed
countries"
Can one promote only "benefits urgently necessary"? Can
one promote a social security not covering sick leave? Can one promote a
social security not covering costly medical expenses when a whole
continent, Africa, is decimated by HIV-AIDS?
Also, it is not in the name of "basic social security" that
all social protection systems won through class struggle in the
"industrialised countries", with an "almost 100 per cent
rate of coverage", are today under attack?
Can we really deem a daily pension of one dollar a promising solution?
Are not workers and peoples the world over entitled to a social
protection, to a social security deserving that name? Can not the labour
movement use ILO conventions and recommendations to codify social
protection systems?
One can certainly favour that "more than half the world
population" having no coverage could have at least a minimum.
But is it not extremely dangerous to launch "a major campaign in
order to promote the extension of coverage of social security"
when we know that European Council, for example, favours the adoption of
a universal social security system, a system providing a minimum social
income to each individual, each one contracting complementary services
with private insurance companies? To set up such an individualised
system would create a social protection proportional to each
individual's economic contribution, a social security with several
speeds, increasing social inequalities.
Is it not in the name of that "universal social security
system" that social protection based on solidarity, won by labour
movement in the "industrialised countries", with an
"almost 100 per cent rate of coverage", is now under attack?
You took up many other questions, like child work suppression, non
discrimination, women and men equality, education, but we would like to
single out one question.
We heard the figures concerning debt: "debt service payments for
the poorest countries within this group [low-income developing
countries - translator's note] are beginning to fall as the relief
available under the HIPC initiative starts to come through".
Did those programs bring about any improvement?
You state that "Despite efforts to reduce the burden of
excessive debt, many low-income countries are still using a substantial
portion of their resources to pay interest and repay the capital of
earlier borrowing. According to the UNDP, 59 low-income developing
countries (with per capita incomes of US$755 or less) paid out an
average of 4.4 per cent of their GDP in debt service in 2000 compared
with aid disbursements received equivalent to 2.1 per cent of GDP".
And about 1.2 billion people were living on US$1 a day or less in 1999.
A further 1.6 billion people live on $1 to $2 a day.
Can there be a "way out of poverty" without a struggle
for unconditional cancellation of debt, for which peoples are not
responsible, and which has already been paid off? With debt
cancellation, would peoples have not means to ensure social protection,
education, healthcare, infrastructuresŠ?
We noticed what you point out concerning the trade unions worries about
the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) process. But is not PRSP a
new name for Structural Adjustment Plans that ruined whole nations?
Indeed, we think PRSP are a worse danger than the SAP, because they are
intended to co-opt "civil society" in the framework of
"participatory democracy".
You point out that World Bank initiated the PRSPs process. And you state
that "few trade unions identify themselves with civil society [Š]Furthermore,
other civil society organisations sometimes do not think of unions as
part of their movement". That "in some countries, governments
prefer not to engage with trade unions" and that "a few
workers' organizations have preferred not to become involved in what
some regard as a continuation of previous stabilisation and adjustment
policies".
We understand these question marks. In fact, civil society is
featured as a homogeneous block, transcending the contradictory
interests existing in society. But civil society is divided into social
classes, with antagonistic interests, those opposing exploiters and
exploited people. Since 19th century workers set up trade union
organisations to defend their particular interests and so they have won
rights and conquests in the nations' framework.
Also, we think that in the present situation, more than ever, it is
necessary to maintain trade unions' independence, ILO conventions,
rights embedded in national laws.
We want begin by establishing the facts. So, we intend to develop in the
different countries a survey
- about ratification and implementation of ILO conventions
- about multinationals role, foreign direct investment (FDI) mentioned
in your report
- about experiences of micro-enterprises, micro-finance,
micro-insurance, fighting child work, men and women equality.
On the basis of this survey, that we shall send you, we propose you to
have a meeting.
Luc Deley
Hosting Committee of Geneva meeting
in defence of ILO conventions
called by the International Liaison Committee
of Workers and Peoples
Luc Deley
Ch J.E Gottret
1255 Veyrier (Suisse)
T2L :FAX (41) 22 784 24 21
E-mail : deley@infomaniak.ch
*****************
American youth bulletin
International Bulletin
Revolutionary Youth International
C/o Revolution Youth
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Email: revolutionyouth35@hotmail.com
Intro:
A new period has opened up since the invasion of Iraq. The corporate
rulers worldwide are on the offensive, and every single conquest won
through the class struggle is on the line. Nothing less than our very
future is at stake.
It is in this context that the Revolutionary Youth International (RYI)
has begun to publish this monthly bulletin in order to unite our
struggles. We urgently need youth in very country who are receiving this
bulletin to begin contribution in whatever way you can. Send us a poem.
Tell us about a demonstration at your school or workplace. Everybody's
input is welcome.
Despite the lies repeated to us every night on the news, we see that we
live in a world of war, poverty and exploitation. And we know the
capitalist system cannot offer us anything but more of the same. Please
join us in our struggle for a better world.
Send all your contributions to revolutionyouth35@hotmail.com
before the end of each month.
Thank you.
The Editorial Board
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