No. 90/1 November 1999
Mission of the WCL in Macedonia and Kosovo
TopWilly Thys, general secretary of the WCL, was in Macedonia for a meeting with
the Union of Independent-Autonomous Sindicates of Macedonia (UIASM), which had
applied for affiliation. The mission was for the WCL an opportunity to take
stock of the situation in the Balkans. In Skopje he visited the vice-minister in
charge of labour relations to insist on the Macedonian government ratifying the
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (no
87) and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (no 98) of
the ILO. These conventions had been ratified by the Yugoslavian government
before Macedonia separated from Yugoslavia. Given the fact that the trade union
in Macedonia will assemble its congress next spring, it was decided to conduct a
preparatory seminar and, after the congress, to make an effort to train the
officials. Our contacts with the Macedonian organisation enabled us to detect
that there is in Serbia an independent and democratic trade union, opposed to
the Milosevic regime, and to observe that the situation was still confused in
Albania; yet, it is advisable to keep a close eye on the evolution and to
encourage the setting up of democratic structures in a country where this seems
to be particularly difficult.
The general secretary also went to Kosovo where he had in Pristina a meeting
with the leaders of the BSPK, with whom he analysed the post-war situation and
measured the extent of the disaster. It was agreed to help this organisations
through the European Trade Union Confederation ( ETUC), the priority being to
restore the communication with the workers by means of a trade union bulletin.
The WCL delegation stressed the necessity of letting prevail tolerance again in
Kosovo, as this is a sine qua non for the rebuilding of the region and for the
economic reconstruction. It is worth mentioning that the little that is left of
the economy is now, by force of circumstances, in the hands of the KFOR. Our
brothers of the BSPK insist on an economic activity in normal circumstances and
on decent social relations. Lastly, Willy Thys was in Bucharest to visit the
WCL's liaison office; with our Romanian affiliates, Cartel Alfa and the CSDR, he
analysed the complex situation in the country. The mission to Macedonia and
Kosovo was composed of Willy Thys, general secretary, Olga Nicolae, head of the
WCL Liaison Office in Bucharest, and representatives of the ACV-CSC and the CNV.
It was conducted on 4-7 October 1999
TopThe Latin American Women's Committee (CLAMT) met at the UTAL on 13-15 September. The Committee is composed as follows: Carolina Serna from Nicaragua, representative of Central America, De Los Angeles Medina Franco from Paraguay, representative of the Southern Cone, Altagracia Jiménez from the Dominican Republic, representative of the Caribbean, and Miryam Luz Triana Alvis from Colombia, representative of the Andean subregion.
During three days the Committee drew up a plan of action for the next four years, based on the resolution of the Mexico Congress. In this new stage the Committee will organise workshops to strengthen the activities of all national organisations affiliated to the CLAT-WCL. The Committee wants all women who are already active in the organisations to raise their efficiency so that they gain access to leading offices. It was also stressed that the gender issue had to be dealt with both by men and by women. If not, it will be a too long wait for results.
TopThe general secretary of the WCL attended the ÖGB Congress, which assembled in Vienna, Austria, on 12-15 October 1999. The ÖGB is a single confederation composed of fraction, which assembled prior to the Congress. The FCG/ÖGB, which is affiliated to the WCL, held its Congress on Monday 11 October. Willy Thys addressed the Congress, pointing out the areas of special interest the FCG and the WCL share with regard to the human being, especially the human being on the fringes of society who is threatened more and more by the development of the situation worldwide. That is why the international, national and company unions have to expose the disastrous effects of the globalisation, which is harmful to the human being because free trade is considered more important than dignity, health, environment, ... He also warned against the flare-up of religious and political fundamentalism. He said that the uncertainty resulting from unemployment and poverty was giving rise to old nationalist reflexes with respect to the globalisation. Only a stronger international solidarity could influence the mechanisms of the globalisation.
He concluded by thanking the FCG for its commitment to the WCL's trade
action, expressing the hope that the FCG would continue its co-operation with
the WCL as a partner in Central and Eastern Europe.
He brought up the same issues in his address to the ÖGB Congress on 13 October.
He stressed the role of the Austrian within the European trade union movement,
with F. Verzetnitsch in the chair, and in building Europe. To this day,
fortunately, Europe had paid special attention to the common interest, he said,
adding that the struggle against globalisation and its perverse effects required
a greater international solidarity against a background of trade union
pluralism. He concluded by saying that the ÖGB, with her fractions, was a good
example of this.
TopThe Board of FIOST, which assembled in Sofia, Bulgaria, on 9-11 October 1999, observed that the workers are concerned about safety in rail and in road transport. Where the authorities withdraw and public transport is privatised, collective interests such as the safety of the citizens are no top priority anymore and profit becomes the main incentive of enterprise, says FIOST. This can lead to saving on necessary investments in safety and, in the process, to fatal accidents such as the ones in the Mont Blanc tunnel and in Paddington. The Board of FIOST expressed its sincere sympathy with the railway staff and the passengers who died in the Paddington disaster. In this connection it points again that rail transport must not looked at from a purely commercial and competitive perspective. It deplores that the unbridled competition at British Rail has caused the level of safety to go down considerably. FIOST calls on the national authorities to take more compulsory safety measures and to enforce them more stringently. It notes that, as far as the safety of the road transport workers is concerned, the European Union has still not made decisions to give the workers concerned a normal working week. As a consequence, the antisocial and unsafe working hours persist. The FIOST Board denounces the fact that, generally speaking, the safety level is going down because jobs are lost and the staff are given less frequently further training.
TopRoad transport is largely privatised and truck drivers are self-employed, either because they want it or out of sheer necessity. In Quebec the trade union confederations demand - in vain so far - that the government give these drivers the right to organise themselves in trade unions. The World Confederation of Labour (WCL) and its transport workers' federation, FIOST, support this demand. In their opinion the freedom of association is part and parcel of the industrial relations. Anyway, Canada ratified in 1972 the ILO Trade Union Freedom Convention (no 87). The WCL and FIOST take the view that all workers, regardless the new forms of employment that are emerging, are entitled to dignified working conditions. Small companies are under strong pressure to raise their productivity. In the transport sector, the WCL and FIOST observe, this pressure is detrimental to the working conditions and the safety of the truck drivers and the users. The WCL and FIOST support the demand of the Centrale des Syndicats Démocratiques (CSD) and other Quebec confederations that the right of unionisation of the truck drivers-owners be added to the provisions regulating the terms and conditions of employment.
TopJulius Nyerere, the first president of Tanzania, died on 14 October at the age of 77. To many Africans he was a "Father of the Nation". He was one of the advocates of Africa's independence and he played an active part in the freedom of his continent. The "Declaration of Arusha", which his party approved in 1967, remains printed in on our memory. The WCL honours Julius Nyerere as the man who was zealous for an alternative to the predominant economy and a fervent advocate of the third world and the South.
Top2-3/11 Follow-up Social Summit in Copenhagen+ 5, Geneva (Switzerland)
5-7/11 EZA Ireland seminar, Work in Europe,
Dublin (Ireland)
7/11 SAWF Congress (South African Workers' Federation), Johannesburg (South
Africa)
4-19/11 ILO Governing Body, Geneva (Switzerland)
5-6/11 ILO: Second Enterprise Forum
13-16/11 WFCW World Board, Brussels (Belgium)
15-18/11 CFTC international trade union seminar, Chalon-sur-Saône (France)
18-19/11 CFTC Congress, Dijon (France)
19-20/11 WCT Euro-Confederal Board
20-22/11 56th LCGB Congress, Luxemburg
21-26/11 Norm/Women Conference, San José (Costa Rica)
22-28/11 WFIW: seminar Latin American organisations
30/11-3/12 3rth WTO Ministerial Conference, Seattle (USA)
26-28/11 UGTM Congress, Morocco
CMT - WCL - WVA - TELE FLASH is a two-weekly information bulletin
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