N° 109-110 / 15 August - 1 September 2000
WCL mission to Moscow and Kazakhstan
WCL mission to Moscow and Kazakhstan
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A WCL delegation, composed of general secretary Willy Thys, vice-president in charge of Central and Eastern Europe Bogdan Hossu and leader of the Eastern Europe Liaison Office Olga Nicolae, has paid a visit to the general trade union confederation CGS, a regional organisation uniting trade unions from the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), which is part of the former Soviet Union. The visit was an opportunity to have a fruitful exchange of views on the international situation and the globalisation-related problems, particularly in the countries involved. There were several contacts with trade federations. Another topic was the transition in those countries, a situation that is growing even worse due to the ineffectiveness of the state apparatus and to the IMF’s measures; another consequence is the exclusion of the weakest from social security.
The privatisation of many industrial enterprises is confronting the trade unions with an important challenge: the development of a new kind of trade unionism. This will be the context of the future co-operation between the WCL and the CGS.
At the invitation of an independent union the delegation also visited Kazakhstan. Thanks to this extremely important visit the delegation got a better insight into a very particular area. The country has favourable development prospects thanks to the recent discovery of sizeable sources of oil (2.4 billion barrels). As a result, the unions in the country will soon be confronted with games played by multinationals. More-over, the restructuring of the industry, in particular of the mining industry, has already resulted in a high rate of unemployment jeopardising the social security of the workers. The reports and conclusions of both missions will be discussed at the European Section meeting on 6-7 October next.
WCL mission to Indonesia
Necie Lucero, confederal secretary, has been invited to represent WCL in the Congress of SPKP (Indonesian Trade Union to Uphold Justice, Prosperity and Unity) and the council meeting of the BATU Indonesia Group on 1-4 July 2000. SPKP is a newly founded federation with 30,000 members from formal and informal sectors headed by Andre Maramis.
The BATU Indonesia Group was transformed into a Confederation during the meeting which now stands for Buruh Indonesia Gunabakti or the Confederation of Indonesian Trade Unions with ASOKADIKNA (trade federation for teachers), SPTU (trade federation for transport) and SPKP as its member federations. Chairing the new BIG is Soeganda Priyatna as its interim president until its Congress in the year 2001
WFCW: respond to globalisation
Trade unions from thirteen countries, including from Eastern Europe, assembled in Anthering near Salzburg in order to find better ways to respond jointly to the globalisation. According to Piet Nelissen, executive secretary of the World Federation of Clerical Workers, trade unions keep thinking in national terms despite the fact that the economic situation has completely changed and companies are acting globally. According to the WFCW it is not necessary to stop the globalisation but to find a response to it. This requires from the trade unions a broader way of thinking at the international level. The debates went to show that in Europe it has been possible to work cross-border since 1994, when a number of directives on the creation of European works councils were adopted. Each company employing over one thousand workers and more than 150 workers in at least two European Union member states must stimulate the creation of a cross-border European council. To date, 458 companies (35%) have seized this opportunity. But according to Charles Steck a directive does not alter the heart of the matter. What matters is to take cross-border actions and to exchange information in order to raise the trade unions’ awareness of the need to think more broadly, more globally, even it the works council remains the basic reference in case of a decision on relocation. It is therefore important to apply minimum directives so as to prevent that decisions made in one country run counter to decisions made in other countries.
Human rights violations – update
Guatemala : By letter to the president of Guatemala the WCL denounced the murder of Oswaldo Monzón Lima, general secretary of the Sindicato de Pilotos de Combustibles in Escuintla. He was unlawfully confined on 20 June, and his body was found on 23 June. In October 1998, he had already been threatened with death by his employer, Mario Ortiz Barranco, owner of the transport company J.O. Gaitán S.A. In the same month he had been dismissed for having created a union in the company. He had also fallen prey to all kinds of harassment.
The WCL urged president Cabrera to order an investigation so that the culprits can be prosecuted and tried.
By letter to president Cabrera the WCL also denounced the human rights violations in the country. It is indeed outraged at the murder, on 20 July, of José Alfredo Quino Matzar and Maria Elena Meija, leaders of the Coordinadora Regional de Cooperativas Integrales – CORCIU, by an armed gang in the region of San Andrés Sematabaj, Sololá.
The WCL insists on an investigation in order to get the culprits punished in conformity with the national law and it demands respect for the physical integrity of each citizen.
Cuba : Several leaders of the single council of Cuban workers, among whom general secretary Pedro Bablo Alvarez Ramos, were arrested while they were preparing the organisation’s first Congress. The WCL turned to the Cuban authorities to get them free. P. Ramos was released, but the other trade unionists are still in prison. Such arrests are normal practice in Cuba; they are intended to destabilise independent organisations.
Korea : The WCL was informed that on 29 June and 1 July around 2,700 trade unionists were arrested and placed under restraint after peaceful sit-ins of workers. Many workers, among whom pregnant women, got injured when the riot police intervened. Most trade unionists were released within 48 hours, but at least sixteen of them were indicted, and twelve remain in prison. By letter to president Kim Dae-Jung, the WCL insisted on the immediate release of the workers and on the annulment of the indictments. It demands that the government honour the commitment it made to the ILO, ie full exercise of trade union freedom.
Pinochet
When Great Britain decided to send ex-dictator Pinochet back to Chile, the WCL stated in its reaction that it was the fact of his trial that counted, not the place of the trial. "The Chilean authorities have to show consistency in their statements on lifting the immunity and on the trial of the ex-dictator before the national courts", the WCL wrote in a press statement. The first hurdle has now been cleared. The actual verdict will show if democracy is correctly applied and justice correctly administered in Chile.
Invoking reasons of health for somebody who himself never displayed humanity towards the people who were confined, tortured or murdered by his order, is an insult to the victims of repression. No matter what the outcome will be, the Pinochet case has led to a tremendous progress in international law, because dictators of all kinds will no longer be able to hide behind their immunity. This evolution will not be completed until dictators are tried before an international court and no longer depend on the legal system of just one country.
Schedule of activities
8/9 Gender training (Belgium)
11-15/9 Training seminar on media Ter Nood (Overijse, Belgium)
25/9-13/10 2nd training seminar for trade union officials Ter Nood (Overijse, Belgium)
28/9-1/10 WFIW/WFBW/IFTC: CEE seminar Budapest (Hungary)
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