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ILC INTERNATIONAL NEWSLETTER NO. 74
A dossier of weekly information published by the International
Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples
April 13, 2004
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PRESENTATION:
In this ILC International Newsletter, there are two important dates
to keep in mind:
* In Geneva on Saturday June 12, the European meeting will take place.
After the big movements that took place in Spain, after the rejection
expressed on the occasion of the cantonal and regional elections in
France, the European governments wanted, as they put it, "to create
a dam" while placing back on the agenda the project of a European
"Constitution," blocked at the time of the intergovernmental
conference in Brussels in December 2003. One will read with interest the
letter to the organizing committee of the European meeting as as well as
the analyses and the contributions sent to us by our correspondents in
Belgium.
* The following day, Sunday, June 13, as has been the custom for the
past 13 years, the International Liaison Committee of Workers and
Peoples will organize a meeting for the defense of the ILO conventions.
Can one pretend to defend the ILO conventions that guarantee the most
elementary rights of the workers all over the world, and accept that
these conventions cannot be applied in even one country, especially in
Iraq and especially ILO conventions 87, 98 and 138 that guarantee the
right to organize unions, the right to negotiate and forbid child labor?
More than ever in the changing situation that is developing in Iraq the
question of the defense of the ILO conventions is on the agenda. Support
the fight of the International Liaison Comittee. Financially support the
European meeting and the meeting for the defense of the ILO conventions.
Subscribe to the ILC International Newsletter.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS:
p. 1: Presentation.
p. 2: Campaign for the rights of workers in Iraq
… Press reviews
… Open Tribune by Sami Ramadi, Iraqi exile, published in The
Guardian (British newspaper)
pp. 3 to 8: European Bulletin
p. 3: European conference on June 12 in Geneva
p. 4: Letter from Roberto Giarrocco, Belgian union delegate, to the
organizing committee of the meeting
p. 4, 5, ,6, 7: No to the project of a European Constitution document of
the "Committe against the social regression imposed by the European
Union of Belgium, addressed tothe initiators of the meeting.
p. 8: Campaign to send a open letter to José Luis Zapatero, head of the
government of Spain.
… Subscriptions
To contact us:
ILC International Newsletter
International Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples
87, rue du Faubourg Saint Denis 75010 Paris, France
Tel: (33 1) 48 01 88 28 e-mail: eit.ilc@fr.oleane.com
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IRAQ
Dates of Reference:
June 14, 2003: on the occasion of a meeting in Geneva an appeal is
made "Against the occupation and for labor rights in Iraq" by:
* The International Liaison Committe of Workers and Peoples
* US Labor Against the War (USLAW)
* The International Confederation of Arab Unions (CISA)
June 15, 2003: The 12th meeting for the defense of ILO
conventions supports this initiative.
July: The report drafted by USLAW on the American multinationals
that have become implanted in Iraq is translated into Arabic and French.
October 3-10, 2003: An independent delegation goes to Iraq in the
name of the campaign "Against the occupation and for labor rights
in Iraq". It meets with union organizations that are trying to
organize and publishes an international report to alert the world's
labor movement.
October 24, 25, 26, 2003: The National Labor Assembly for Peace,
held in Chicago at the initiative of USLAW, decided to start a campaign
so that the U.S. congress hears a report on the violations of union
rights in occupied Iraq.
November 17, 2003: An appeal is launched to organize and
international delegation to the headquarters of the ILO so that the ILO
can organize an investigation into the situation of workers' rights in
Iraq.
January 15, 2004: A request for a meeting is addressed to Mr.
Juan Somavia, Director General of the International Work Bureau for
March 15.
March 15, 2004: The delegation took place at the ILO headquarters
and was composed of the representatives of three organizations who are
leading this campaign.
June 12, 2004: The 13th meeting for the defense of ILO
conventions will take place in Geneva, initiated by the International
Liaison Committee of Workers and Peoples.
An Entire People Rise Up Against the Occupation
Press Clips:
"In a few days the occupation of Iraq changed character,"
noted Le Figaro (France) on April 9. "News from Iraq darkens
every day. Yesterday the news became even darker by the hour,"
noted The Independent (Great Britain) on that same day while
The Guardian was concerned about the "chaos" that has
descended on this country. "One has lost the peace and placed the
world in danger, "accused the Daily Mirror (Great Britain).
"From now on the United States is condemend to fight on all fronts
in Iraq," noted AFP (France), that enumerated the insurgent
towns: Fallujah, Kut, Kirkouk, Kerbala, Nasiriya, Bahgdad. ... A
Hungarian newspaper Nepzava noted, "One has passed from
guerrilla warfare to a revolution."
"The Americans, who observe the frightening escalation of the
fighting in Iraq, must wonder: where are our friends? President Bush
continues to assure American public opinion that the militias that
attack the occupation forces represent a small faction goaded by hate...
. But this faction has the capacity to occupy the street with arms, and
none of the Iraqi leaders dares to oppose them," underlined the International
Herald Tribune (U.S.) in an editorial on April 9.
The Guardian (Great Britain) wrote on April 9 that "Mohammed
Hassan Balwa, who presides the municipal council in Fallujah ....
resigned his post declaring: "The behaviour of the Americans
increases the size of the resistance and makes everyone sympathise with
their cause."
The council had been created by the Americans, and Dr. Balwa was one of
the moderate leaders of the town who had tried to negotiate with
American military personnel to put an end to the violence. Today he
said: "Fallujah has become the symbol of all those who reject
occupation."
As Liberation (France) notes, on April 9, "The battles over
the last four days between the coalition troops and the rebel Sunnis in
Fallujah are fierce. The American soldiers progress block by block,
under fire by snipers... . "It is like Hué in Vietnam,"
explained Lt. Col. Brenan Byrne, alluding to the ancient former capital
of Imperial Indochina, where American troops had led very tough street
fights in 1968."
Le Figaro (France), reports on April 9: "The Iraqi trap is
closing in on the coalition. Several thousand Shiites and Sunnis were on
their way to Fallujah yesterday to support the Sunni rebels in that
town, now the symbol of resistance to the occupation. .... It is the
first time since the entry to Americans into Baghdad that Shiites and
Sunnis unite against the coalition troops," indicated Le Figaro,
noting the increasing concern among the U.S. allies: "The Ukranians
left Kout. In Kerbala, Bulgarians and Poles are content to defend the
seat of government and negotiate the support of the moderate Shiites
religious chiefs. In the south, in Massiriya, the Italians looked for a
compromise with the insurgents, while in Samawa, the Japanese and Dutch
contingents remain confined to their camp."
It is an entire people, Shiites, Sunnis, "radicals",
"moderates"... it is the whole Iraqi nation that wants to live
and stand up against the occupation. The AFP (France) spoke to
Iraqis on all sides: "The occupation that the Americans inflict on
us is like a never-ending night, that has led to the birth of
hate," says Jaffar al-Dahab, a former diplomat of 45 years, who saw
two of his brothers eliminated under the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein
and members of his Shiite family tortured. Others express the
intolerable feeling of being used by the Americans for geo-strategic
ends: "The Americans want to control the world through Iraq and its
oil. I feel raped," said Saad Said, a 47-year-old Sunni writer.
----------
Open Tribune
Sami Ramadani, an Iraqi in exile who escaped Iraq because of his
opposition to Saddam, is today a senior lecturer at the London
Metropolitan University. He writes in the April 9th issue of The
Guardian (Great Britain) under the title, "Resistance will
continue until the occupation ends":
The unleashing of F16 fighter bombers, Apache helicopter gunships
and "precisely" targeted bombs and tank fire on heavily
populated areas is making the streets of Baghdad, Falluja and the
southern cities resemble those of occupied Palestine. Sharon-style
tactics and brutality are now the favoured methods of the US-led
occupation forces -- including the torture of prisoners, who now number
well over 10,000. ...
What went so wrong that the US-led war to "liberate" the Iraqi
people turned into the daily slaughter of the victims of Saddam's
tyranny? The answer is simple: nothing has gone wrong. Despite the
mythology, most Iraqis were strongly against the invasion from the
start, though it has taken 12 months for the world's media to report
that.
What has changed is that many Iraqis have decided that the peaceful road
to evict the occupiers is not leading anywhere. They didn't need Sadr to
tell them this. They were told it loudly and brutally a few days ago by
a US Abraham tank, one of many facing unarmed and peaceful demonstrators
not far from the infamous Saddam statue that was toppled a year ago. The
tank crushed to death two peaceful demonstrators protesting against the
closure of a Sadr newspaper by Paul Bremer, the self-declared champion
of free speech in Iraq. The tragic irony wasn't lost on Iraqis.
Nor did they fail to notice article 59 of the new US-engineered
constitution, which puts the new US-founded Iraqi armed forces under the
command of the occupation forces, which will, in turn, be
"invited" to stay in Iraq by the new sovereign government
after the "handover of power" in June. ...
And lest anyone is still confused by the glib propaganda that it is all
the fault of Sadr, it is important to remember the greatest mass
demonstration in Iraq's history, only days after the fall of Baghdad,
when 4 million people converged on Karbala to commemorate the martyrdom
of Imam Hussain. Their rallying cries then were "No to America, no
to Saddam" and "No to the occupation" -- a chant that has
been repeated at many mass rallies since.
Opposing Saddam's tyranny was never the same thing as welcoming invasion
and the tyranny of occupation.
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EUROPE
For peace, democracy and labor rights,
For the free and democratic union of the free nations of Europe
References:
- The European meeting "for peace, democracy and labor rights
for the free and democratic union of the free nations of Europe,"
has been convened on the occasion of the meeting "for the defense
of the ILO conventions and the independence of union
organizations," meeting on June 15, 2003 in Geneva at the
initiative of the International Liaison Committee of workers and
peoples.
- The European meeting was held September 20 and 21, 2003 with
delegations from the following countries: Albania, Germany, Belgium
Spain, France, Britain, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Romania, Serbia,
Sweden, Switzerland and Ukraine. The Russian delegate was refused a visa
and could not attend the meeting.
- The European meeting decided on the establishment of a liaison
bureau on the basis of the declaration submitted at the European
meeting. This office will be organized as a correspondence committee
that will publish 4-pages every 15 days in the ILC International
Newsletter with information on European institutions, and information
sent by correspondents from each country.
The Liaison Bureau of the European meeting:
Germany: Becker Henrich ; Hening Frey ; Belgium: Larsimont Philippe
; Spain: Luis Gonzalez ; Manuel Arroyo Martin ; France: Pierre Besse ;
Michèle Delaine ; Clarisse Delalondre ; Olivier Doriane ; Marc
Gauquelin ; Daniel Gluckstein ; Luc Lamy ; Denis Langlet ; Jean-Claude
Loew ; Jean-Charles Marquiset ; Véronique Pépers ; Joachim Salamero ;
Aimé Savy ; Marie-Claude Schidlower ; Gérard Schivardi ; Daniel
Shapira ; Michèle Simonnin ; Great Britain: Charalambus Charlie ;
Cholewka Stefan ; Greece: Hélène Astériou ; Italy: Lorenzo Varaldo ;
Ugo Croce ; Portugal : Carmelinda Pereira ; Romania: Constantin Cretan ;
Marian Tudor ; Serbia: Pavluvsko Imsirovic ; Jacim Milunovic ; Modrag
Perovic ; Switzerland: Alexandre Anor ; Luc Deley; Grazziano Pestoni ;
Michel Guillot; Sweden: Sixto Iturra ; Robert Johansson ; Ukraine :
Vitaly Koulik.
To contact us:
Entente internationale des travailleurs et des peuples 87, rue du
Faubourg-St. Denis 75010 Paris
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European Conference
June 12, 2004 in Geneva
The militants and elected representatives of the Swiss Socialist
Party (PSS) and some unionists took the initiative to convene a European
conference on June 12 in Geneva, on the eve of the of the
"Conference for the defense of the ILO conventions" that will
have as its center the fight "against the occupation and for labor
rights in Iraq". The International Liaison Committee of Workers and
Peoples responded positively to this proposition.
The Swiss militants in their appeal to this conference opened a debate
on their experiences and the problems with which they are confronted.
Starting from the assessment "that they are not part of the
European Union, Switzerland is nevertheless confronted by attempts at
liberalization and privatization of companies on the European
plan." This appeal indicates how the Swiss Labor Union (USS) and
the PSS lead the fight for the defense of pension plans, the AVS and
public services.
In this issue of the Newsletter, we publish the letter of a Belgian
unionist, Roberto Giarrocco, in the name of the "Committee against
the social regression imposed by the European Union" to the Swiss
organizing committee. This letter pursues the debate: the project of a
European Constitution is back on track and "is cause for debate in
the Belgian union movement." This committee also sends a list of
arguments on the European Constitution that we publish. These documents
are transmitted as preparatory pieces to the European meeting.
You will also find an open letter to José Luis Zapatero, newly elected
head of the government of Spain: "The mobilization and the
electoral victory of the workers and peoples of Spain against the
reaction and the government of Aznar has opened a new era where
everything is possible." This letter published by Información
Obrera, the newspaper of militants of the ILC, is submitted for
signature and is a part of the preparation for the European Meetings.
We have received other information and documents concerning the
preparation for the meeting:
- From France: The first 15 delegates have been designated during a
meeting organized last April 3 by the "Manifesto of the 500 for
union independence" that gathered 300 union militants. A manifesto
of alarm was submitted for signature: "On the day following the
elections of March 21 and 28, the labor movement is at the turning point
of its existence. More than ever, the question of union independence to
preserve social conquests is on the agenda.
We will publish this document in the next issue. It is added as a
contribution to the preparation for the meeting.
- From Germany: On April 17 there will be a conference at Halle
"for the true unity of Germany."
- From Portugal: On April 17 they will hold a conference in
commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the 1974 Revolution.
- From Italy: On April 24 they will hold a national conference for
"the withdrawal of the reform of the Constitution, and for the
rupture with the Treaty of Maastricht, for the unity of the Italian
nation in the context of workers' conquests.
- From Ukraine: At the beginning of the month of June, the second
conference for the re-conquest of the October 1917 conquests.
All these contributions and initiatives are in the framework of the
European meeting.
After the new era opened for the mobilization and electoral victory of
the people of Spain, after the rejection expressed in the elections in
France, after the decision of the European Summit of March 25 and 26, to
put the European Constitution back on the agenda and the declarations of
the European Commission's invitation to accelerate the
"reforms", our meeting has a decisive stake for the whole
labor movement.
We invite all our correspondents to advise us of their initiatives and
contributions, and the delegates they have designated. We invite them to
make them known to the initiators of this meeting.
Write to:
International Liaison Committee of the workers and peoples
87, rue due Faubourg St. Denis, 75010 Paris, France
Or to:
Luc Deley ch..J. - E.Gottret 40 1255 Veyriers, Switzerland.
Tel/fax: 00 21 22 784 2421
Emails: dellu@bluewin.ch
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BELGIUM
To the organizer of the European Meeting in Geneva on June 12, 2004
Dear comrades, dear friends:
I received your appeal regarding the holding of a European meeting in
Switzerland next June 12. Your text was distributed in Belgium to all
activists of the committee against social regression imposed by the
European union, of which I am a member. This committee is composed of
union and political militants, members of the FGTB, the PS, etc. We are
preparing a conference for the end of May at which will be proposed the
appointment of a delegation to the European meeting.
You are surely aware that during the last few weeks the project of the
European Constitution-that had been blocked at the time of the
Inter-Government Commission of Brussels in December 2003-is back on the
agenda. It is presently envisaged that it will be adopted at the end of
June.
This project of a Constitution is the subject of important debates
within the labor movement in Europe and the parties that are close to
it. In my country, Belgium, the discussion on the Constitution is on the
agenda of the congress of the Centrale Generale des Services Publics (CGSP,
member of the FGTB the union confederation of Belgian unions of
socialist tendencies) that will take place next June on the basis of the
positions stopped in the heart of sectors that compose the Centrale. The
sector in which I am active, that of local administrations, has just
held its convention. After an exchange of points of view, a position has
been taken regarding the Constitution project that says: "At the
present time, the texts submitted do not suit us at all."
One cannot disregard the factors that make this stand difficult. I want
to evoke here the orientation of support given to the European
Confederation of Trade Unions (ETUC) to the Constitution project. This
orientation weighs heavily on the discussions of the union
organizations.
From that point of view, the FGTB is very attentive to the evolution of
the ETUC. It decided not to participate in the last convention of Prague
(April 2003) to protest against the lack of combativeness and
independence of the ETUC in relation to the European Commission.
Getting back to the project of the European Constitution, it is
advisable to take into account the complexity of the debate. Some see
the inclusion of the Charter of fundamental rights in the Constitution
as a positive element. However, the debates that have been held in union
or public meetings often indicate there is dissatisfaction in regard to
the contents of this Charter of fundamental rights
The former head of the FGTB and ex-president of the ETUC, Georges
Debunne, published a work in which he demonstrates the dangerous
character of the Constitution project. The regional secretary of the
FGTB in Liege, Thierry Bodson, raised a real indictment against the
Charter that was the subject of a public debate last December.
In your call for a meeting on June 12, you wrote: "Without being a
member of the union, Switzerland is nevertheless confronted by attempts
at liberalization and privatization of companies on the European plan.
Further on you indicate: "the president of the PS declared that
Switzerland was not a member of the European Union and it was not
obliged to suffer its negative consequences."
It seems to me that your preoccupations join those that have been
expressed by those that oppose the project of the European Constitution,
insofar as they consider that this Constitution, if adopted, would
render unconstitutional both the defense of public services and the
maintenance of the level of social benefits that gives meaning to the
European social model.
Besides, the Constitution project imposes European laws. It is one of
the elements that go against resistances at the state level because it
is in this framework that the workers, with their labor unions can
resist. The resistance of Switzerland constitutes a point of support to
resist in other countries. With the existence of European laws, the
dismantling of social conquests could be imposed by force skipping
national laws (transcribed in national right). It is a reappraisal of
democracy and the popular sovereignty in each country that will have
serious consequences in the member countries as well as in the
non-member countries.
For my part, the Committee against the regression imposed by the
European Union has charged me, to write a questionnaire starting with
the questions posed in the debate in progress in the Belgian labor and
socialist movement in relation to the project of a European
Constitution. This questionnaire has already been sent to all regional
representatives of the CGSP. I am also sending it to you. I hope this
letter will draw your attention and that it will be communicated along
with the attached questionnaire as a preparatory piece to the European
meeting in Geneva; that is my wish.
Thanking you in advance, I send you my fraternal greetings.
Roberto Giarrocco
Union delegate CGSP-Admi (FGTB)
Former representative of the Young Socialists
Of the national office of the Socialist Party
Member of the PS
April 8, 2004
*****************
NO TO THE DRAFT CONSTITUTION OF THE EUROPEAN UNION!
The European "constitution" they are proposing:
- Imposes only one possible policy: a policy that guarantees a
"highly competitive" market economy, which means the
destruction of all the workers' conquests.
- Aimed at giving a constitutional value to the dismantling of public
services, the insecurity of employment and the liberty to come and go of
the multinationals.
- Creates institutions in which universal suffrage is totally emptied of
its content, especially by the intervention of European "laws"
that can be applied directly in all countries without being voted on by
national parliaments.
Quotes from the "Constitution" project:
Article I 3 2: "The Union offers its citizens a space of
liberty, security and justice without internal frontiers and a unique
market where competition is free and not distorted."
Article I 3 3: "The Union works for the lasting development of
Europe, founded on balanced economic growth, a social economy of a
highly competitive market"
Commentary: The only reason for the existence of the European Union is
to organize free competition and "high" competitiveness. In
other words, its fundamental objective is to eliminate al national
social protections, the social acquirements, the special systems, the
statutes and situations resulting from the workers' struggles, so that
"high" competitivity can be realized.
Article III-56: "Except for dispensations foreseen by the
Constitution, the assistance granted by the member states or by means of
state resources under whatever form that distort or menace the
competition by favoring certain companies or certain products, are
incompatible with the internal market insofar as they affect the
exchanges between member states."
This text was certainly already present in the Treaty of Maastricht. But
now it would become part of the "Constitution" of Europe. This
would mean that henceforth contrary to the "Constitution" to
claim that the state refinances public services to oppose their
privatization, or that the state saves jobs in private sector companies
by placing them under public statute or injecting public money, etc.
Article I-10: "The Constitution and the European right adopted by
the institutions of the Union in the exercise of their competency have
primacy over the right of member states."
Article I-32: "The European law is a legislative act of general
application. It is obligatory in all its elements and directly
applicable in all member States."
Article I-25-2: "A legislative act of the Union cannot be adopted
unless proposed by the Commission"
Commentary: It means that all texts that exist in every country, all
texts that can be favorable to workers, must be erased in the face of
European decisions. National legislation, collective conventions, local
agreements, all is subordinated to European decisions.
That is why the project of a "European Constitution" is
unacceptable! Why isn't it about a real Constitution?
By definition, a constitution, is the structure of a nation, it is
the framework of the nation on which all institutions lean on and from
which they ensue. A constitution is necessarily a text that guarantees
democratic rights, that abolishes arbitrariness that describes the
manner in which people exercise their sovereignty. With the
"European Constitution" project there is none of that. In this
sense to speak of "constitution" is to speak of manipulation.
The project of "Constitution" is not a base text that creates
a new European or "sub-European" nation.
On the other hand one can easily note that it is a very long text that
goes into the smallest details, to impose a policy defined with great
precision.
The project doesn't guarantee the sovereignty of the European peoples;
on the contrary, the project denies all freedoms of the peoples to
choose the policies to make, since all the powers are assigned to the
European Commission to elaborate laws in conformity with the objectives
of that institution named "European Union."
What, then is the importance of such a "constitution?"
To attribute the force of a constitution to a vast policy of
regression is of crucial importance. Up until now, it was always
possible to answer those who said that the Treaty of Maastricht required
the privatizing or laisser fair.of the market law, that it was only a
matter of annulling this treaty and restart Europe on other bases.
Now, if the project of "Constitution passes, they will be able to
say: "It is in the Constitution of Europe!"
For example if they were to write into the Constitution of the European
Union that "restrictions on the free rendering of services inside
the Union are forbidden in regard to the nationals of the member states
established in a member state other than the recipient of the benefit.
The law or the European outline-law can extend the benefit of the
present sub-section to the service providers to nationals of a no-member
country established inside the Union." (article III-29)
In other words, no protective national measure is permitted, and the
multinationals (the "non-member" countries outside the
European Union) are authorized by law to snap up all markets. Thus the
power of multinationals is constitutionally established. That is not a
small matter
A "constitution" that imposes a sole policy
Some think that it is possible to lead a policy of the left, a
policy in conformity with the interests of the world of labor, while
accepting the framework of the European "Constitution." That
is not so.
Let's take Article III-69: "The action of the member states and the
Union includes in the conditions foreseen by the Constitution, the
institution of an economic policy founded on the narrow coordination of
the economic policies of the member states, on the internal market and
on the definition of common objectives, and conducted in accordance with
respect of the principles of an open market economy where the
competition is freeThis action includes a common currency, the euro(and)
implies respect for the following principal guidelines: stable prices,
public finances and healthy monetary conditions and a stable balance of
payments. "Article III-76 regulates the procedure in case of
"excessive deficit."
It is in the name of the constitutional principle of
"steady" prices that the member states will be forced to lead
a permanent policy of war against the increase in wages. The entire
social policies will be submitted to constitutional constraints (!) of
"the healthy monetary conditions." And all the economic policy
must respect the constitutional principle (!) of an open economy where
the competition is free. Is such a "constitution" acceptable?
Can one accept that tomorrow regardless of the workers' vote and those
on social security that the same policy will prevail?
The European law, a change of regime
Article I-32 of the "constitution" project creates a new
legal instrument that, we insist, doesn't exist at present, that is to
say "European law."
One often commits the error (intentionally?) of presenting the European
law as the new denomination of the present "regulation" of the
Treaty of Maastricht. The Constitution project stipulates that the
"European law" is "a legislative act of general
interest." The "regulation" "has a general
interest" (article 249 of the Treaty of Maastricht). The
"regulation" is no therefore a legislative act.
In effect, up to the present the European Union could not pretend to
adopt legislative acts of general interest. The field of action of the
regulations was limited to some technical matters (health, agriculture,
etc.)
With the project of a "constitution" there is a considerable
jump. A real anti-social weapon is manufactured. Henceforth, the
European Union wants to endow itself with the means of the stature of
its objectives: to impose everywhere and directly, according to the same
rhythm, the application of a policy of total liberalization. Nothing
will escape the markets and the shareholders.
Until now, the European Union stipulated directives. But these had to be
transposed every time into national legislation, which took time and
generated national disparities. With the "European law" that
is at an end. This finished some of the resistance that could express
itself through national parliaments. We enter into another regime that
has nothing to do with democratic forms that we have known since the
advent of universal suffrage.
The "European laws": always towards the same target
"A legislative act of the Union cannot be adopted unless
proposed by the Commission." The exceptions where the right of
initiative is granted to the ministers concerning the judicial and
police cooperation (Article III-165)
After the adoption of the "Constitution" the European
Commission will rapidly present its laws. They will touch all areas.
Concerning employment, article III-97 must be respected: "The Union
and the member states acceptto promotework markets capable of reacting
rapidly to the evolution of the economy." In other words, the
policy of employment of the European Union is war on the
"rigidities"; it is the dismantling of the protections against
dismissals, the disappearance of permanent jobs, etc.
Concerning the liberty of establishment, the European law will forbid
the restrictions that a government could decide against companies of
another member state (article III-22). The Commission will watch that
"the conditions of establishment are not forced by help granted by
member states." Article III-24 even foresees that the European law
can grant the freedom of establishment to companies that have activities
participating in the exercise of public authority.
A "Constitution" that prohibits public services
The project of a "Constitution" that prohibits public
services. Article III-55 submits to the competition all sectors of
activity: "The member states, with regard to public corporations
and the businesses where they grant special or exclusive eirhgts, not
edicting or maintaining any measures contrary to the dispositions of the
Constitution, especially those foreseen in Article I-4, paragraph 2
(freedom of circulation of funds, non-discrimination on the basis of
nationality) and articles III-55 to III-58 (free competition)" It
is not a question of protected sectors.
As already mentioned in numerous labor texts, the expression
"public service" (in the singular!) is employed only once in
the "Constitution." Again it is necessary to mention the
article in question (III-36, section Transportation): are compatible
with the "Constitution" the assitance that answer the needs of
coordination of transportation or that correspond to the repayment of
certain obligations.inherent to the notion of public service", to
understand that this is almost a jocular allusion.
The "services of general interest" versus the public
services
The "Constitution" project grants a certain place to the
"services of general interest." Some still try to make us
believe that the expression means the same thing as "public
services."
However one must not be deceived. The "services of general
interest" do not aim at organisms with their agents, their
statutes, the law that creates them, etc. On the contrary, the European
Union establishes that the" services of general interest" can
be taken over by private enterprises. Article III-55-2 submits the
"services of general interest" to the rules of competition.
Unconstitutional: public assistance to industries
In the Clabecq conflict, we have all been able to observe the role
of the European Commission that forbade the Walloon Region to settle a
life saving plan for the foundries. It is one example among many
(Sabena, Cockerill-Sambre, etc.). We have already mentioned article
III-56 that recaptures the arrangements on the supposed incompatibility
between the internal market and state assistance.
Could one accept a constitution that prohibits public powers, in other
words the representatives of the people, to save their jobs when the
logic of the free market leads to economic and social desertification?
What sort of constitution forbids people to organize their industry (its
vital strength) as happens in any sovereignty? Would this constitution
deserve to be called by this name?
Against recalcitrant states, a panoply of measures
The list of articles of the European Constitution project that deals
with the competence of the European Commission (and other institutions)
to enforce the rules of free competition is very long.
Article III-17 allows the European Commission to present before a
judicial court any state that would dare to take a measure to protect a
national public service (see articles III-265 and III-266).
Article III-66 gives full powers to the Commission: "In the event
the Commission notices a disparity between legislative, regulatory or
administrative dispositions of the member states that distort the
conditions of competition in the internal market and provokes a
distortion that must be eliminated, it consults the interested member
states. If this consultation does reach an agreement, the European
outline-law eliminates the distortion. All other useful measures
foreseen by the Constitution can be adopted (that includes the European
law)."
The insecurity of employment: constitutionalized
Let us return briefly to this important aspect of the policies of
the European Union: the re-thinking of the work contract and the social
legislation of work. These are the articles III-71 and III-100 of the
project that legitimizes "constitutionally" the policy of
employment proposed by the European Commission: flexibility, revision of
overtime paid via annualization of working hours (or soon via the
time-saving count over the whole career), re-thinking of the right to
unemployment benefits ("activation"), elongation of the
retirement age for women, etc.
According to article III-100 the Commission is charged with proposing
"directive lines" and to oversee their application. Must these
"directive lines" be compatible with the "big economic
policy orientations (GOPE)? In his book Where to the social Europe?
(October 2003) Georges Debunne notes that the GOPE's adopted aimed for a
reduction of expenses (unemployment, pensions, health care) and rejected
an increase in fiscal returns.
The European Parliament" a decorative organ
In a parliamentary democracy, it is by definition that the
Parliament elaborates and votes the laws. In this setting the popular
sovereignty is exercised through the election by universal suffrage of
its representatives who are mandated to lead a policy in accordance with
their mandate.
In the European Union system, this doesn't exist. The "European
Parliament" doesn't have the competence to propose laws. As
surprising as this may seem, the role of the "European
Parliament" is limited to approving decisions of the European
Commission, endorsed by the Council of European ministers.
Article III-302 explains the procedure for adoption of the laws
according to ordinary procedure. There is a complex system based on the
reading of proposals three times and the delays fixed so that the
"Parliament" agrees to give its approval without knowing what
it approves. Everything is arranged so that the "European
Parliament" bows before the European Commission.
But lets us suppose for a moment that the European deputies have the
right to propose a law. That wouldn't say anything, because in any
event, the proposals of the deputies must be in conformity with the
European Constitution and its principle of a "highly
competitive" liberal economy. The "European Parliament"
is not the expression of a popular European sovereignty. It is an organ,
among others, that the constitutional treaty creates in it while
defining its role: that of endorsing the laws elaborated by the
Commission.
The workers fought for universal suffrage
In our country, the working movement forged its strength while
fighting for universal suffrage. Let us recall the famous Catechism of
the People of Alfred Defuisseaux in 1886. In the chapter on
"wages" (6th lesson), he denounces the absence of a law on
wages (The boss gives what he wants to the workers.) Then there is the
question: "By what means is the worker able to fight victoriously
against this state of affairs?" The reply: "by association.
All workers must become affiliated to the Workers' Party. The day when
they are well united, they will be masters." Another question:
"Don't they have any other means of becoming master of the
situation?" The reply: "Yes, by universal suffrage that will
give them legislative powers. Their deputies will make the laws that
will regulate work and wages."
Yes, the workers' movement fought for universal suffrage so that laws
favorable to workers are adopted by the Parliament. With the
"European Constitution" such laws will be forbidden because
they would question the "high competitiveness" of markets
again.
Why does this "Constitution" deny universal suffrage?
Let us summarize the mechanics of the European Union. Governments
derived from the principle of a representative democracy and universal
suffrage organized on a national scale, unite in an institution named
"European Union," with the political objective of leading a
liberal anti-social policy. This objective is inscribed in the
"Constitution", that is to say in the statues of the
institution. These governments designate one person, the President of
the European Commission who, along with his team, is the only one able
to propose the decisions that the government must ratify. There is a
"European Parliament" who paints the decisions with a
"parliamentary color".
In May 2003, at the time of the last legislature, the workers and those
who benefit from social security in the north and south of Belgium voted
massively for the socialist parties. One can definitely confirm that
their vote meant at least that the liberal policy should be stopped.
With the "European Constitution" regardless of the popular
vote, it is the same policy of regression of social rights, defined
constitutionally, that will be imposed.
Where is universal suffrage? How can workers become masters of the
situation while submitting to such an anti-democratic institution?
The Charter of fundamental rights, progress?
No one sees a positive aspect in the integration of the project of a
"constitution" with the Charter of fundamental rights adopted
at the Nice 2000 summit. What is it?
Firstly it is necessary to note that the "Constitution" adds a
text to this Charter that has not been published even as an addendum,
but that is essential in order to appreciate the value of the Charter.
Indeed, in the preamble of part II of the "Constitution"
project we find: "The Charter will be interpreted by the
jurisdictions of the Union and the member states while taking into
consideration the explanations established under the authority of the
presidium of the convention that produced the Charter."
It is therefore necessary for us to report this explanatory text written
in 2000 that completes the 52 articles of the Charter. Each of these
explanations (that are not included in the "Constitution")
allows us to establish how this Charter constitutes a regression in
relation to several national legislations.
The explanatory text inserted in the articles is a set of a series of
directives taken these last years that have obliged the member states to
pass social regression laws. For instance the guideline allowing child
labor under cover of limited dispensations (guideline 94/33/CE), the one
re-introducing night labor for women in industry (72/207/CE) the one
that permits a 13-hour work day (93/104/CE), or the one about the right
of dismissal (2001/23/CE).
Other articles in the Charter lend legitimacy to attacks on the right to
constitute unions or to have strikes (explanation to article II-12). The
right to private life is subordinated to the "economic well-being
of the country." (Article II-7).
And the commentary to coercive legal value in article II-52 of the
Charter institutes a real arbitrary power conferred on the European
Commission: "Some restrictions can be brought to the exercise of
fundamental rights, notably in the setting of a common market
organization on condition that these restrictions respond effectively to
the objectives of general interest pursued by the Community."
The Charter, an instrument of social regression
While weaving in the "fundamental rights" to the previous
instructions adopted by the European Union, the "Constitution"
makes the Charter a legal instrument for the dismantling of social and
democratic rights.
An institute of the European Confederation of Unions (the CES that is
favorable to the Charter and considers it "progress")
published in 2003 a document titled: "The European Right to work
and the Charter of fundamental rights of the European Union." This
document written by lawyers and legal specialists on labor rights, write
about "potential risks": "Some employers and other actors
could attempt to exploit the Charter of the European Union to cast doubt
into various fundamental principles anchored in the national
systems."
Let us take a last sample to examine the scope of Article II-34 supposed
to concern "social security and social assistance" (two very
different concepts). "The Union recognizes and respects the right
of access to social security benefits and to social services assuring
protection in maternity cases in illness, work accidents, dependency,
old age, as well as unemployment, according to the rules established by
the right of the Union and legislation and national practices."
Let us specify that this article is not contradictory to the
privatization of social security. But the commentary to the article (of
coercive legal value) goes further: "The reference to social
services aims at the cases in which these services have been installed
to assure some benefits, but does not imply that these services can be
created if they do not exist." In other words there is no right.
That means the European Union can privatize and suppress certain
benefits without anyone being able to press the Charter to obtain their
benefits.
What is the role of unions in the "Constitution"?
In article I-47 of the European "Constitution" project
titled: "The social partners and autonomous social dialog,"
stipulates that the "European Union" recognizes the role of
the social partners at the level of the Union, while taking into account
the diversity of national systems; it facilitates the dialog between
them in their respect of their autonomy?
Article III-104 (social politics) erects a constitutional principle (!)
"the representation and the collective defense of the interests of
workers and employers, including co-management. The same article
foresees that "a member state can entrust their social partners in
their co-management, to implement the European outline-laws"
Articles III-105 and III-106 foresee the manner in which the social
partners can conclude agreements, which will be set in motion by
"regulations or European decisions adopted by the Council of
ministers on the proposition of the Commission."
Thus the "European Constitution" offers the European
Confederation of Unions the role of co-legislator of the European Union
right, in the setting of the objectives of this Union and in respect of
the corporate principle according to which the workers and employers
would share the same general interest.
It is a great danger to see the rights of unions of independent workers
become cogs of the European Commission in the implementation of policies
fought daily by workers and union militants.
Competitiveness a fortiori, "high competitiveness" is
not a union value.
Is it necessary to fight for amendments or say no?
The debate on the "good" amendments to introduce into the
project of the "European Constitution" is now dated. One can
no longer maintain that European governments could make the project more
progressive at this stage (see below the paragraph on the present crises
of institutions.)
Nevertheless one could remark that those who believe the amendments
could have improved the text and thus justify their critical support
leads to an under estimation of the real range of this
"Constitution."
Contrary to what has been said, the text does not say that a push
towards the left would balance it. It is in its entirety, in its
essential parts that this "Constitution" questions the labor
laws, the social security benefits, the public services, the
institutions that are the basis of the European nations.
Safeguarding these values and the gains of the labor movement are
expressed by the refusal of the "Constitution " project.
A leftist government in the European Union?
What could a government that wanted to take a leftist policy do
considering the country is a member of the European Union? The question
is crucial and merits one re-visit it.
Let us again take the example of transportation, which is applied to the
SNCB (National Society of Belgian Railways). In Article III-135 says
that: "no member state can render less favorable, in their direct
or indirect effect in regard to carriers of the other member states in
relation to national carriers, the various dispositions regulating the
matter" Article III-139 declares that "the application imposed
by a member state on transports executed within the Union, of prices and
conditions constituting an element of support or protection of the
interests of one or several companies or private industries is
forbidden."
To summarize, the "European Constitution" imposes the
programmed death of the SNCB.
A government that leans to the left must necessarily break with the
European Union.
Does the "constitution" help build Europe?
Some will say all that you say is exact but it is necessary to
weight the pros and cons and in the balance take into account the fact
that Europe is being built.
The Europe that is being "built" is not Europe but a machine
that aims to question the rights of workers everywhere. It is also a
supra-national institution that all parts of the economy to the
appetites of the multinationals and speculative funds.
Instead of protecting the interests of European countries' industries,
the European Commission acts permanently as the transmission belt to
American capitalist interests.
In fact, by its policy of privatization, of liberation of services and
regionalization, the European Union is driven to dislocate European
nations. The national laws make place for a European right whose
objective is the absolute respect for the interest of shareholders.
There is a resistance of the peoples to the European Union
A European working meeting was held in Paris on September 20 and 21,
2003. The delegates of several European countries showed their
opposition to the project of the "European Constitution" in
various manners. During the proceedings, a Swedish unionist explained
why the people of that country said NO to the euro. He cited an article
by a representative of the LO, the big Swedish union: "To say no to
the entry of Sweden, is to resist. This will destabilize those that have
power in Europe; it will oblige them to move backwards, to reconsider.
That will push them to accept democracy, more transparency, justice and
equality. It is thanks to resistance that things change. To resist makes
you powerful, that is the reason why I voted "NO" on
Sunday."
The Irish people had rejected the Treaty of Nice. It was re-voted. Today
the governments of a country like France, where the Treaty of Maastricht
had been accepted by a narrow margin, refuse to let citizens vote for
fear that they will inflict stinging defeats.
The official polls indicate and growing distrust of public opinion in
regard to the European Union, perceive as the most responsible for the
deterioration in the standard of living and working conditions.
Yes, the project of the "European Constitution" is up against
the resistance of the peoples. At the same time, the very existence of
this project offers considerable support to the offensive of
privatization and dismantling of collective conventions. It is for this
reason that one must stop the process as soon as possible.
The "Constitution" projects was not approved in Brussels
The European Summit in Brussels in December could not reach an
agreement. Countries like Spain and Poland questioned the composition of
the European Commission and the distribution of influences between
countries, proposed by the Convention presided over by Valery Giscard
d'Estaing. The countries of the "old Europe" refuse to give
up.
Even though these differences are sufficiently important to have as a
consequence the approval of the "Constitution" this did not
take place (but it could happen later), these differences are only about
details of the structure of the European Union. None of the governments
question the project in depth. None question the dictatorship of the
European Commission, privatizations, the encouragement of pension
systems through capitalization (GOPE, April 2003), the increase of
around five years (Barcelona Summit, 2002) in which professional
activity can cease, the promotion of "an organization for more
flexible work", and invitation to "review legislation of the
labor market, notably those relative to work contracts." (GOPE
2003-20059, ETC.
The project of "Constitution has not been abandoned and it remains
on the table of the Irish presidency of the European Union
The only issue: the deputies of the PS and the SP.A must pronounce
themselves against the ratification of the "Constitution"
project and against the application of its anti-social content.
In order to defend the "constitution" project some are
content to say that it doesn't say anything new, that Europe is built
after decades on the basis of the liberal model and that nothing changes
under the sun. This questionnaire has the objective of convincing
readers that the "Constitution" project constitutes a
fundamental stake in the future of workers' organizations and their
right to defend the interests of its members.
This stake also relates to the democratic plan on the future of nations
(Article 33 of the Belgian Constitution: All powers emanate from the
nation.")
George Debunne, for head of the FGTB, expresses himself against the
"Constitution project in these terms: "This Constitution which
will be superior to national constitutions that will have to be reviewed
in order to be in accordance with European regulations, as has already
been the case in multiple occasions, doesn't allow progressive parties
to adopt social progress laws. On the other hand, the reinforcement of
competition rules and drastic criteria of the Stability Pact give all
the power to the rightist parties to play social and fiscal dumping, to
support wild capitalism and the exploitation without limits of workers
through under statutes, low wages and the generalization of temporary
work, without the obligation of assuming old age risks, unemployment and
illness. A return to the 19th century.
It is therefore essential in these particularly serious circumstances
for the labor world to address the elected of the Socialist Party and
the Socialistische Partij-Anders so that they stand up against the
project of a European constitution, and that they announce as of now
that they will vote against ratification of this project if it returns
on the agenda of a future summit and that, in any case, the oppose the
application of all anti-social and undemocratic content.
**********************
SPAIN
An Open Letter to José Luis Zapatero, President of the Government of
Spain
The mobilization and electoral victory of the workers and peoples of
Spain against the reaction and the government of Aznar has opened a new
era in which all is possible.
The horror and suffering of March 11, shared with all peoples, has led
to a door of hope that the victory of the Socialist Party and other
leftist forces opened in the elections on March 14. The workers, the
youths, the farmers, the unemployed, the citizens of all the towns in
Spain, from Galicia to the Basque Country, from Catalonia to Andalusia,
voted primarily for the candidates of the Socialist Party, expressing in
this way the need to end with the power of reaction.
We all know that this victory is the continuation of the large movements
of the masses which have arisen in our country for many years, in
particular the general strike of June 20 against unemployment reform,
the mobilizations against the privatization of education, against the
consequences of the sinking of the Prestige provoked by the
government, and especially the demonstrations of millions and millions
against the war in Iraq and against the Aznar government, that dragged
our country into an enterprise to destroy the Iraqi nation.
These eight years of the Aznar government have been the kingdom of State
lies. Aznar lied to us about everything. He has attempted to provoke
confrontations between the peoples, against the Basque people, against
the Catalan people. He has attempted to manipulate everything, and this
culminated in his actions following the March attacks on Madrid.
The immense mobilization that was transformed democratically into an
electoral victory searches for the satisfaction of aspirations, the
needs that the Popular Party government denied.
No one wants to be deceived nor believes in miracles. We know the
situation is complex. We know the government cannot do everything
suddenly, on its first day. But the immense majority aspires simply to
live and work in peace. The immense majority wants our country to
guarantee the fraternity between the peoples.
All of us, the peoples and the workers of Spain have responded
unanimously to the provocations of the right. We have participated in
the campaign to end the Aznar government. Some of us, before the
elections, wrote to you saying: "If you and your party take
steps to respond to the democratic demands of the majority, we will
support you without reservation."
We think we have turned the page. Never, since 1936, have the eyes
of workers and peoples of the world been fixed on Spain. A new hope has
been born. The government that you will preside has the possibility of
helping to change the course of history; to change a world dominated by
barbarism, dominated by the uncontrollable power of the most powerful,
dominated by wars whose objective is the pillaging of the peoples.
Through democratic means, starting by satisfying the simplest and
elementary demands of the majority, your government has the possibility
to help all workers, all peoples, all nations of Europe and the world to
take their destiny in their hands and revert the course of events.
We believe the majority expects your government to immediately take
simple and clear measures for:
- So that the truth and only the truth be known about the massacres in
Madrid,
- Organize the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of the Spanish
troops in Iraq to permit the Iraqi nation to freely choose its destiny
- End the policy of confrontation and find a negotiated political
solutions to the Basque question, organize fraternization (convivencia)
respecting diversity and plurality
- En end to violence: it is the best homage to all the victims of these
past years
- The workers of the entire country have lived through the worst attacks
on the rights they conquered after Franco over these past eight years,
are hopeful that your government will take the first favorable measures
in the interests of the workers, without the interference of any foreign
institution of government
- The majority demands you take the following measures.
- To end the sea of dismissals produced by the closing of companies
- To end with labor uncertainty of over 30% of the workers, especially
the youths, and to end the high accident rate.
- To recuperate retirement pensions, that have been badly hit by
successive counter-reforms
- So that the workers and their families can have access to affordable
homes
- To reinforce and re-establish public services, that have demonstrated
their effectiveness on the occasion of the March 11 catastrophe in every
area (health, education, transportation) and that are submitted to an
offensive of privatization.
Furthermore the immense majority hopes you will abolish all the
anti-workers and anti-popular Aznar laws (attacks on liberties, laws by
decree, cuts to the PER, LOU, cuts in agricultural supports, law on the
quality of education, law on immigration, etc.)
And what we all expect from your government, the most deeply felt by the
workers and the peoples, is the establishment of a dialogue that springs
from democracy and that one can resolve all conflicts via an authentic
democratic debate.
In this new era that the workers and the peoples of Spain has decided to
open by electing you to the government, we address ourselves to you as
President, who has the possibility and the responsibility of doing so,
to say: we are prepared to support all measures that will satisfy the
demands of the majority.
We believe that any measures in this sense, starting with the withdrawal
of the troops in Iraq, will have the support of the workers and the
peoples of the entire world and its organizations.
In any event, we will be present along with other companions in the next
events to help defeat the reactionary forces of the country and
international ones that no doubt, will attempt to impede your government
taking progressive measures.
(Published by Información Obrera, the newspaper that covers ILC
campaigns in Spain. March 18, 2004)
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