PROGRAMME OF THE CZECH-MORAVIAN CHAMBER OF TRADE UNIONS
FOR THE YEARS 1994 - 1998
[Preamble]
The trade unions affiliated in the Czech and Moravian Chamber, were formed from the strike committees after November 1989. They were one of the decisive elements in restoring democracy, freedom and a legal state in our country. The democratic trade unions are following up on the tradition of the trade union movement which existed in Bohemia and Moravia even before the creation of Czechoslovakia and during its development and defense as a democratic and socially just state. The trade union members within the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions are aiming to overcome the unfortunate consequences of the communist dictatorship and restore sovereignty and democracy in our country. We honour the memory of all the trade unionists who devoted their lives to the difficult and very often heroic efforts of protecting rights of people at work and democracy.
The Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions is one of the independent trade union centres. Due to the previous activity of the Czech and Slovak Trade Union Confederation, it has attained a good position within the acknowledged and representative trade union organisations. Through the CS KOS, the trade unionists in the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions have become members of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. It affiliates independent and democratic trade unions from more than one hundred countries and fights against discrimination, oppression and dictatorship in any and all its forms. Currently the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions has also the status of an observer at the European Trade Union Confederation.
Through its activity, the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions aims to achieve the following main objectives:
1. The main mission of the trade unions is to protect the interests of the people whose fate is dependent on work and for whom their wage is or was their main source of livelihood, their social and health insurance and especially their children's future.
2. The trade unions fully support the restoration of democracy following November 1989. They believe that one of their key tasks is to protect and to assert democratic principles, protect the constitution and laws, ratified international documents on human rights and freedoms, including documents on trade union rights.
3. The trade unions are totally independent of all political parties, government, employers, religious and other institutions.
4. The trade unions are one of the main supporters of mutuality, cooperation and assistance among people. They support and realise the principle of solidarity among working people within the Czech Republic as well as the international solidarity with everyone who in today's world is subjected to oppression, discrimination or violence.
5. The trade unions are working to protect human lives as well as their future on Earth.. As a result they consider it one of their main obligations to exert utmost effort in the interest of respectable working conditions and a living environment which will not interfere with the survival of the human race and a permanently sustainable development.
Restoration of democracy after November 1989 opened up to our society the road towards being again included among the democratic, economically developed and socially responsible states. It is a rare opportunity which must not be wasted. The trade unions will attempt to ensure that this goal will be reached as soon as possible and that the future will be of benefit for as wide a society of the Czech Republic as possible, men as well as women, regardless of their origin, nationality, political orientation or religious persuasion. In accordance with the Constitution of the Czech Republic and the Charter of Fundamental Human Rights and Liberties, the trade unions consider the international documents on human rights and freedoms as the basis of the employment, social and trade union rights and freedoms. In their opinion the decisive document, stipulating the European standard on social rights of citizens is the European Social Charter of the Council of Europe. As a result, they are going to support its ratification by the Czech Republic and its full realisation. The trade unions affiliated within the framework of the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions consider it essential to develop the trade unions as soon as possible as a strong and knowledgeable partner to government and employers, capable of working at the highest European standard.
Trade union economic policies
Trade unions support a rapid transformation of the Czech economy to a modern market economy primarily relying on private ownership. They also support the integration of the Czech economy into the European and world economy and its openness towards foreign investors, while fully respecting the ILO Tripartite Declaration of Principles Concerning Multinational Enterprises and Social Policy and The OECD Guidelines For Multilateral Enterprises. Simultaneously they are placing great emphasis on the social dimension of economic development and on the social acceptability of its consequences. In its economic policies the trade unions will, therefore, support the following objectives:
1) rapid revitalisation of the economy which will enable a high employment and an increase in people's real income
2) rapid and definite clarification of ownership relation- ships which would lead to a high level of entrepreneurial activity and its success
3) applying transparent and effective methods of additional privatisation and enlarging the trade union´s role in public control in deciding on the privatisation projects and their realisation
4) emphasis on increasing the state budget's revenue and not only on the restrictive and, basically, anti-growth economic policies
5) orientation to develop the Czech economy in such a manner so that it would be based on highly qualified work, modern technologies and a high degree of collaboration and cooperation among all who constitute a company's economic success
6) a well thought out and, towards the citizens, sensitive public services concept, based on a reasonable degree of privatisation and a substantial improvement of the state and municipal administration in this area
7) an appropriate degree of protection for the internal market, corresponding to a level applied by our most significant business partners.
In order to implement these objectives, the trade unions will cooperate with all the political and economic entities, legislative bodies and their parliamentary clubs, the government as well as with employers. They consider these objectives, however, as so significant that they are ready to assert them with even more emphatic measures within their political and economic influence. They are, however, fully aware that this is only a transitional period during which economic development is greatly dependent on maintaining a political consensus, patient dialogue and healthy relationship within a social partnership. As a result the trade unions, in resolving the disputed questions, prefer negotiations and reaching an agreement.
Active policy of employment and fair wages
The trade unions will resolutely enforce that the government's policy concentrates on supporting employment and smooth transition of workers to new companies and sectors of the national economy. The trade unions will therefore support:
1) measures for companies which are undergoing transitional difficulties and in which it is realistic to secure economically profitable employment within the threatened regions
2) worker retraining and adaptation programmes and educational programmes which will secure a great degree of flexibility from the point of view of the necessary structural and technological changes
3) necessary measures, including tax and other advantages to investors who will support the creation of new employment opportunities, especially in areas threatened by high unemployment
4) purposeful public work programmes and public investments which win secure employment opportunities and will attempt to ensure that unemployment will not become for many people a long term economic and psychological burden
In accordance with active and perspective employment policies, the trade unions will continue to assert fair wages corresponding to the work carried out. From a long term perspective, artificially maintained low wages are, in their judgement, dangerous because they lower demand, threaten employment and lead to lower qualification levels and lower employee efficiency. Trade unions consider as essential to defend employee's justified demands, both through higher collective agreements as well as through collective negotiations within each individual company. The trade unions consider it as their obligation to pay a special attention to those employees whose wages clearly lag behind the overall wage development.
Towards respectable and productive labour relations
Modern labour relations are primarily based on cooperation among the social partners, a high level of protection of employees' dignity and rights and their share in the decision making process. The trade unions are not going to protect dishonest workers but they will definitely attempt to reach a high level relationship between employers and employees and will defend employees against malevolence and violation of their rights and dignity.
The trade unions will assert their right to information and consultations, they will take advantage of the current possibilities of employees' participation in deciding questions pertaining to them, within the state's juridical system as well as within the collective agreements. On the basis of the experiences from economically successful countries, they will work to expand these possibilities. They will monitor the treatment of employees by employers and will participate in publicizing and asserting those forms of company management and cooperation between employees and employers which lead towards a company´s success, employee satisfaction and social peace. They will resolutely defend the already attained level of rights and agreements, support imposing sanctions against employers who, contrary to laws and international agreements, try to prevent the free establishment of trade union organisations.
Against discrimination at the workplace
The trade unions will fight open as well as hidden forms of discrimination against employees because of race, colour, sex, age, national origin, social origin, religion or political persuasion. It is in their interest to contribute towards creating a distinct social consensus at the workplace which is a prerequisite to cooperation essential for attaning high efficiency and economically successful companies and high quality for their work.
Within their personnel policies, the decisive criteria asserted by the trade unions will be efficiency, expertise, reliability and employees' work quality. These criteria will be supported especially in the area of public services and state companies. They will oppose any unjust discrimination against effective and trustworthy employees.
In the opinion of the trade unions, one serious problem is protection of women's rights and their protection against discrimination at the work place and in society. They consider it as essential, specifically in the case of employment of women, to prevent any wage discrimination, worsening their social position and working conditions.
The trade unions will devote special attention to protecting the rights and interests of apprentices, school graduates as well as other groups of young employees. They will oppose any social or work discrimination against them. As a priority, they will attempt to ensure that young trade union members will learn to protect their rights in a qualified manner, aware of their own value.
Solidarity among trade union members will also be supported by protecting the rights of handicapped employees and in creating for them employment opportunities. In accordance with the international trade union movement principles, they will prevent misusing foreign workers and violating their rights. They will oppose illegal employment and taking advantage of the difficult social situation of a long term unemployed individual.
Healthy working conditions and healthy work environment
The greatest threat to the health of the citizens of the Czech Republic are working conditions and the environment. During the past regime, the working conditions were and still are seriously neglected and similarly the environment was devastated in many regions.
As a result, the trade unions will assert in the collective agreements improvement to working conditions, creation of a reasonable work rhythm, modern organisation of work and conditions which will lead towards lower work monotony and eliminate severe physical and psychological stress. They will support tax and other advantages for employers who will invest their resources into improving the environment, health and social working conditions and their employees' life.
The trade unions will attempt to introduce into the work process a comprehensive system of health protection. They will support effective state labour inspection and participation by employee representatives. They will also participate in research to improve working conditions, safety control and protection of health at the workplace. They will support greater participation by the state in researching working conditions and in work humanization programmes, similarly as it is in other developed countries.
The trade unions will strive for gradual reducing of working hours without reducing wages.
The trade unions are ready to cooperate with employers in limiting technologies and products which pose a danger to health and will support all efforts aimed towards improving our environment. In endangered regions, they will cooperate in replacing the most harmful productions and will support retraining for employees who will leave productions which are especially ecologically harmful.
The trade unions will assert the right of control in adhering to standards of environmental protection and protection of the public's health. In their opinion it is essential to participate in consumer protection.
Trade unions' social policies
For most of the citizens of our country work is and will continue to be the main source of their income. They all have the right to a dignified way of life and a decent standard of living. The trade unions will try to ensure that the state will fulfill its obligations towards the citizens, obligations which it does not have the right to forfeit. Within their social policies the trade unions will support the following basic objectives:
1) development of wages, pensions and social benefits in relationship to the development of consumer prices, so that living standards of citizens have growing tendency in real terms,
2) maintaining a high standard of social and health care, especially towards persons who have a significant social or health handicap and support a rise in the standard,
3) ensure and support health and social supplementary insurance especially for employees who work under aggravated conditions,
4) create conditions for a healthy development of young families, especially through support prodded by loans and an active housing policy on the part of the state
The trade unions will give preference to a comprehensive policy of revitalisation and will search for ways to contribute towards moderating the social consequences in those cases in which the state has failed. The state, however, has to count with pressure from the trade unions to realise its social policy because the trade unionists who have immediate experiences with the consequences of insufficient social care, among whom there are many pensioners, have an interest to contribute towards maintaining the social feasibility of the economic transformation's essential steps.
Making full use of the country´s human potential
The greatest resource of the Czech state are the abilities and knowledge of its people. In today's world of rapid development, research, manufacturing technologies, production and entrepreneurial management methods, our chance to assert ourselves on the international labour market is threatened. It is essential to make up for the backwardness of our education and devote the necessary resources to education and preparation of qualified experts. We, however, also have to take advantage of all the virtues and advantages which we have managed to maintain. The trade unions will, therefore, support primarily the following aims and measures:
1) decisive and perspective state support for education so that in our rather small country we would not waste people's talents and abilities only because their parents or possibly the municipality would not have the sufficient funds to pay for the children's education
2) state support to the apprentice training centres and its modern organisation which would make it possible to prepare young people for changes in their profession, due to technological development and the substantially faster structural changes in production and the trades, then there have been until now
3) the state's effective participation in the realisation of the retraining programmes and preparation of individuals for independent entrepreneurial activity. The trade unions will search for their own ways to contribute to raising their members' as well as other employees' qualifications and how to contribute towards their faster adaptation to new labour market conditions.
The trade unions will also support the employers in their efforts to raise the qualifications and knowledge of his employees.
Regional policies and trade unions
Serious problems in the labour market, unemployment, environment, crime, etc. very often have regional character. The trade unions consider it as their obligation to contribute towards resolving these problems. As a result, on the basis of a specific situation, they will very flexibly support regional cooperation between unions and the representatives of other social partners or, on the basis of a specific situation, they will also possibly create representative regional trade union bodies. Within their regional policies, the trade unions will primarily orient themselves to the following problems:
- cooperation in resolving questions dealing with employment, especially from the point of view of transferring people to new sectors and manufacturing types and in creating proper conditions for domestic as well as foreign investors
- supporting ecologically feasible structures and production volume within a given region
- resolving questions of education, transportation, housing and health care
- creating regional centres for education, research and development, management capacities and a flexible workforce which, from the point of view of entrepreneurial activities and market changes, would be highly qualified
- employee protection from misuse of the regional disadvantages by regional cartels and other agreements which would artificially suppress wages
- social protection for people especially in an area where there has been a substantial rise in living expenses and worsening of living conditions
- securing employment legal service for employees within specific regions
- support for international regional cooperation, especially within the so-called Euroregions
Through their policies, the trade unions will actively and flexibly adapt themselves to specific regional problems and will support informal cooperation among the trade unions in fulfilling the cooperation. They Will search for the most suitable organisational forms for the trade union work, which would correspond to the future arrangement of the state and local municipal bodies.
Trade anions against crime
The rising crime and the penetration of mafia of various nationalities into our territory is one of the most important threats to public safety, its rights and freedoms. It threatens democracy and the country's economic development and presents a great danger to free trade union activity. The connection between the post-communist mafias with the experienced foreign mafias could, in the near future, seriously threaten the good name of the Czech Republic and possibly also the independent decision making of its government and its legislative bodies. The trade unions are very emphatically warning against this danger and they will apply very decisive measures against it. These will be especially:
1) support adequate financing to fight crime and international crime
2) request from the government and legislative bodies the possibility of a greater access by the trade unions to information on company management and the right of employee participation in supervisory councils of smaller companies as well
3) notify the public in cases of penetration of dirty money into a business and fight through trade union means against its settlement in our companies
4) support the activity of respectable foreign capital in our country and cooperate with entrepreneurs in creating a comprehensive ethical market and entrepreneurial climate
5) through decisive trade union projects support everyone threatened by mafia's economic pressure and by other forms of its influence
6) support to including in the agenda of the meeting of the Council of Economic and Social Agreement questions dealing with entrepreneurial ethics and its effect on the entrepreneurial activity and market,
7) try to achieve full support of the state to all kinds of education of children and youth outside school lessons, as the most efficient means of prevention from extending of drug addiction and criminality of this age group.
The trade unions will devote themselves in a substantially greater degree to preventive and educational activities. They will assist in the fight against drug addiction and against importing drugs into our territory. They will closely cooperate with foreign trade union centres in searching out means to prevent penetration and laundering of dirty money in our country and preventing the misuse of Czech citizens as employees of mafia connected companies.
Trade unions' share in society modern education
One of the most serious losses suffered by the citizens of our republic in relation to developed economies is the backwardness in some areas of education and knowledge.
The trade unions have a primary interest in ensuring that this delay behind Europe's leading group should be made up as soon as possible. They will, therefore, devote extraordinary attention to educating not only trade unionists but also other employees, especially in the following areas:
1) modern company management methods and managing people within companies
2) economic evaluation methods of the success of companies and their future, supporting progressive entrepreneurial intentions
3) legal protection of employees' interests and their social and health insurance
4) the trade union task and methods work within a modern market economy and use its specific influence instruments and protect employees' interests
5) modern methods of information processing, especially using computers and modern communications technology
The trade unions will devote great attention to people who had been excluded for a long time from work and will contribute towards their retraining and adaptation to new working conditions.
Asserting trade union members' objectives and interests
The trade unions are fully aware of their responsibility towards the restored democracy in our country. They consider it as essential to systematically assert their objectives only through legal and democratic means. They insist on a similar approach from the other social partners. At the same time they are prepared to take advantage of all their legal means to attain these objectives and their members' interests which are an essential precondition for social and political stability in the Czech Republic. They consider strikes as an extreme measure. If, however, their social partners would be unwilling to negotiate and adhere to the accepted agreements, then the trade unions will not hesitate to use such measures.
- The trade unions consider as a basic means of democratically asserting the trade unionists as well as of the other employees joint interests, negotiations within the framework of the Council of Economic and Social Agreement. As a result they will request that this institute should become a part of our juridical system and they will definitely defend it.
- The trade unions will attempt to ensure that the representation of the social partners within the tripartite negotiations primarily from among the employers, should be representative and correspond to the real distribution of ownership within the society.
- The trade unions will work towards raising the expertise in representing their members' and other employees' interests
- The trade unions consider as essential elements consultations with representatives of various political parties for promoting their positions regarding proposed laws. They will also present their own laws through deputies from various political parties.
- The trade unions will work intensively through the media towards asserting the interests of its members and will require that the media should be democratically open to trade unions. They will support membership of trade union representatives within the radio and television broadcasting councils. A substantial portion of their resources will be devoted to publicising trade union positions and education in the interest of protecting working people.
The trade unions will not and do not want to replace political parties and they also will not establish close cooperation with any political party. They will continue to be open to various democratic political directions and ideologies. Within the trade union movement they will support the interests of employees, dialogue and cooperation regardless of their political, religious or other belief.
Trade unions for trade unionists
Trade unionists solidarity is based on the idea of mutual cooperation and joint effective use of trade union resources for the benefit of its members. The trade unions affiliated within the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions will work towards the gradual realization of the following forms of trade unionists mutual assistance:
- joint additional insurance against a possible loss of employment and for a possible long term retraining
- joint trade union strike fund
- trade union building savings and trade union building cooperatives
- trade union insurance companies providing advantageous rates to socially needy trade union members
- trade union educational fund to support young, talented trade union members
- legal consultative service for trade union members and their representatives in legal labour disputes
- joint trade union fund to support illegally prosecuted and discriminated key trade union members and leaders
Social situation of trade unionists and employees will require good use of trade union resources and property for protecting employees and providing assistance to trade union members in exceptional situations, in case of loss of employment or discrimination on the part of employers.
The immovable property Will be used substantially more effectively and conceptually to restore health and for the recreation of trade union members.
Part of trade union solidarity is also solidarity among generations. Retired trade union members are full-rights members of trade unions. Neither their task nor natural interests can be disregarded within the trade unions.
Trade unions' international orientation
The trade unions affiliated within the Czech and Moravian Chamber support development of democracy and freedom all over the world. The trade unionists consider as vitally important to the interests of our citizens the restoration and introduction of democratic and economically stable regimes in all the world's critical areas, protection of human rights and freedoms, including their universal and inseparable part - the right to free democratic trade unions.
The Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions will, therefore, orient itself primarily to the following tasks:
- as a member of the most representative world trade union centre, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), the CMK OS will take an active part in implementing its programme, especially in the activities aimed at strengthening of international trade union solidarity and at protection, strengthening and development of fundamental human and trade union rights, and it will strive for its own effective contribution to the ICFTU further activity;
- to deepen the cooperation with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), which is an irreplaceable social partner of the European organizations and institutions, and to take part in its activity for development of European dialogue and European integration;
- to develop activity in the framework- of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) the tripartite character of which provides for participation of trade unions in creating, observing and asserting of internationally recognized standards and recommendations;
- to cooperate with the Trade Union Advisory Committee to the OECD (TUAC), especially in connection to the activity of multinational companies and impact of the world economic and financial integration on changes in labour market;
- to develop and strengthen relations with democratic and free trade unions of Central and Eastern European countries, as one of the significant factors of democratic stability in these countries;
- to develop and further deepen relations with all democratic and free trade unions in Europe and on other continents and according to its possibilities to take share in solving urgent regional and global problems.
Strong trade unions - guarantee of social stability and democracy
The Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions is a voluntary association, representing unions in negotiations with the government and with other social partners in the Council of Economic and Social Agreement. The trade unions, aware of their responsibility, are attempting to merge their objectives and positions, to coordinate their approaches and within mutual cooperation they are governed by the principle of solidarity. On the basis of a democratically attained consensus the trade unions, associated within the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions will, therefore, attempt to complete the establishment of an effective and strong joint trade union central body. They will create the material and organizational conditions for its successful activity. The Czech and Moravian Chamber will especially fulfill the following functions:
1) coordinate trade union activities and projects
2) represent trade unions in negotiations with the government, legislative councils and nationwide employer representatives
3) represent trade unions towards international trade union organizations and institutions and similar national trade union central bodies
4) secure trade union services, especially analysis, prognosis and legal services for the needs of the trade unions as a whole and for negotiations with social partners
5) secure a unified information system for trade unions and the trade union central body which would simplify their coordination and effectiveness
6) represent trade unions in negotiations with other trade union centres which have been established on the basis of a political, religious or other specific orientation
7) coordinate activity of interest and special associations and organizations in defending rights and interests of trade unionists.
The trade unions will strive to create a modern, highly creative and flexible system of internal organization and decision making within the trade unions. It will be based on modern management principles, inexpensive as possible, not bureaucratic and systematically serve the interests and objectives of the trade union members as well as of other employees. The structure and methods of the Czech and Moravian Chamber work will be based on the experiences attained by the successful democratic trade union centres. The trade unions affiliated to the Czech-Moravian Chamber of Trade Unions believe that the trade unionists will accept the trade union's new role, expressed in this programme as their own and that they assist in creating a truly dignified, self-confident and responsible force. which will manage to gain respect from those who are traditionally afraid of unions and earn the trust of those who need them.
