THE DOWNFALL OF THE WCL 45 (Investment Fund International Trade Union Movement)

WFCW President Roel Rotshuizen visiting the Ghana office in Accra. 
On his left Kanga of the Ghanese agricultural workers trade union. (February 1996)

During a WFCW (World Federation of Clerical Workers) mission to West Africa together with president Roel Rotshuizen and Nebeyu Shone, CNV coordinator for international cooperation in Africa (February 1996), I got the idea to set up an investment fund for the construction of trade union houses for WCL members. A visit to the building of the Ghanaian trade union movement, which was just liberated from the one-party regime, gave me the idea. The trade union building had been donated by the British TUC - I believe - during the independence of Ghana: an ugly flat of concrete with about 5 floors. After all these years the building looked bad. The elevator did not work. There was a lack of maintenance, a well known symptom of lack of money or wrong priorities.

Back at home, I wrote a Memoradum containing the main arguments for establishing an investment fund (16 April 1996). The reason why such an investment fund is needed, is mainly explained in section 3 of the memorandum: " generally international solidarity funds refuse to finance similar infrastructure costs (trade union houses and furniture), and an (international) system of credit does not exist in this area. The result is that many trade unions stay in a vicious circle: too few resources to purchase or to rent a trade union office or training centre, resulting in poor service to its members so membership remains low which means little income and therefore no money to buy the necessary things. The investment fund is meant to give a helping hand so the vicious circle will be broken down.

Official meeting at FOPADESC, the training and office centre of the 
WCL regional organization ODSTA in Lomé, Togo. 
From left to right: Kanga from Ghana, Adrien Akouete (secretary general ODSTA), 
Asante (director FOPADESC), Shone (coordinator international cooperation CNV) 
and Kikongi (president ODSTA). Photograph made by Petrus, february 1996

The idea was that the fund would become an instrument to promote a dialogue of solidarity by providing loans that will enable the unions to build their own union house and to furnish it. Since a loan must be paid back with interest, the unions were encouraged to present a scheme of repayment based on the possible growth of trade union membership as well as activities, for example training and education. That income could be anything. In the first place, of course, dues payment followed by for example rental canteen or meeting rooms, the fees for copying documents etc. It was up to the trade unions to see what possibilities exist and to decide which direction to go.

The underlying idea was also that the unions take more care of a self-financed building than when the building is donated. An experience I had gained working with cooperatives in Costa Rica. A second rationale was that the trade unions would also wonder what kind of of a building best suits their needs, a building adapted to the conditions in the country and to the trade union. Such a building would immediately be an expression of self-awareness. I admit that it was an idealistic thought, but a degree of idealism is needed if one wants to make progress.

Visit to the Benin Trade Union Confederation CGTB. 
In the middle Pascal Todjenou, Secretary General. 
The CGTB was affiliated to the WCL.

We succeeded to convince the Dutch CNV unions in the construction and services sector to participate in the investment fund, soon followed by the Belgian ACV trade unions in the construction and services sector together with the Foundation of miners. The Swiss CNG Construction trade union decided also to participate. Ultimately, the fund received almost half a million Euros from trade unions that were also members of the WCL International Trade Union Federations.

The first meeting of the participants was held on March 18, 1997 at the CNV Wood and Building Federation in Bunnik, Netherlands. Present were the donors of the first hour. One of the main decisions was that the donated amount of money should be considered as a loan without interest. WCL General Secretary Willy Thys proposed that WCL should administer the fund. But it was decided to set up a foundation that would administrate the fund. Willy Thys also informed that WCL and ACV President Willy Peirens wondered why such a fund was established. CNV President Anton Westerlaken did not answer to the invitation to participate.

Family Photo during a WFCW regional seminar in Fopadesc (October 1997)
In the middel of the first raw Adrien Akouete, secretary general ODSTA. 
On his right side Koffi Zounnadjala, 
secretary general of the Pan African Federation of Employees FPE. 
On the first row on the left Ivo Psenner (Austria), 
President of the European organization of the WFCW. 
On the other side Charles Steck (Swiss), 
secretary of finances of the WFCW. On his left Chris Lenaerts,
from then WCL secretariat.
Charles has passed away last year.

The WCL African Organization DOAWTU had a regional office and training centre in Lomé, Togo called FOPADESC. This center is equipped with class rooms and meeting rooms, offices, a restaurant and and sleepingrooms. The building was financed by ACV Construction and Wood. After the merger on African level the building was acquired by the new African organization.

The foundation was officially registered in the Netherlands as "Investment Fund International Trade Union Movement". Article 2 on the aim of the foundation, reads as follows: the fund commits to invest in real estate of WCL affiliated trade unions in Eastern Europe and the countries of the Third World and in everything else what is directly or indirectly related. The foundation is a non-profit organization.

Soon after this, the foundation received the first applications for a loan . There were requests from Africa and Asia for full or partial funding of a trade union building sometimes combined with a training center (Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Indonesia and Philippines). The applications were reviewed by the Secretariat on their financial viability, the applicant's own contribution to the costs of the new building and the future development of the trade union. When both sides agreed on the terms and conditions, a contract was drawn up in which the amount of the loan was recorded, the repayment terms and a fixed (low) interest.

The opening ceremony of the UTAL in august 1975. 
From left to right: secretary of Emilo Maspero, secretary general of CLAT. 
Next to him Eduardo Garcia and Henry Molina, both Deputies Secretary General of CLAT. 
Next to Molina is José Jesus Plana, Director of the new UTAL. 
On his side Acacia Fernandez, 
wife of Emilio Maspero and Director of ILACDE.

The WCL Latin American organization CLAT had bought a seminary in San Antonia los Altos, nearby Caracas, Venezuela. The building was converted into UTAL (Latin American Workers University) with meeting and training rooms, offices, a restaurant, a small shop,a library, a communication office and many sleeping rooms. The purchase of the building had been made possible by the German Christian Democratic Foundation Konrad Adenauer. The necessary reconstructions was financially supported by several Dutch Non Governmental Organizations. The UTAL became a proud symbol of the development of CLAT as regional organization. After the merger of CLAT and ORIT into CSA, the building was sold to the Venezualan Government by ILACDE, the CLAT Foundation for International Cooperation and owner of the building.

The first few years the foundation worked well. There was a kind of dialogue between the Fund and the trade unions that asked for a loan. However, after a while some trade unions fell back in the old habit to use the money to support their favorite partners. Some members of the fund hinted that a loan had to be granted anyway even if the proposed contract was not respected and in some case even when signing of it was not realized. With the announcement of the merger between WCL and ICFTU and its International Trade Federations, the foundation eventually came to an inglorious end.

At the official opening ceremony of UTAL also was present Jef Houthuys (between Maspero and Parra), 
President of WCL and the Belgium Christian Confederation ACV. 
On his left Emilio Maspero and Eduardo Garcia. 
On his right Rangel Parra, 
Secretary General of the Latin American federation of Farmers (FCL). 
Photographs made by petrus, February 1975.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE WCL 40 (The Death of Emilio Maspero)

CLAT Secretary General Emilo Maspero at the VII CLAT Congress in San José, Costa Rica, November 1977

Has the death of CLAT General Secretary Emilio Maspero in the year 2000 something to do with the fall of the WVA? Some believe so. They think, that if Emilio Maspero would be still alive that CLAT and WCL probably still would exist. I suspect too, but of course I am not sure about it. Why the suspicion? Because Maspero was unquestionably a man with a clear vision, self-confidence, strategic insight, authority and independence.

The Dominican trade union leader, former General Secretary of the FEMTAA (International Federation of Workers in Food and Agriculture) and now General Secretary of the CLATJUP (Latin American Federation of Pensioners) José Gomez Cerda has known Emilio Maspero for nearly a lifetime. He characterizes Maspero as follows in his in Spanish written blog “Emilio Maspero: el dirigente sindical" :

Emilio Maspero speaking at the opening of the VII CLAT Congress. 

"The charisma of Maspero had to do with his style as a speaker: frank, clear, lucid, with good intonation, clear ideas, profound messages, excellent diction, proposals for problems and a message of hope for the future of the workers. He was able to excite people, he always left a reflection for the listeners. Emilio spoke from the heart, and he believed what he said, thus convincing the audience.

After “America Latina, Hora Cero” he did not write many books, but if you would collect all his ideas, you could publish dozens of books with his works.

As ideologue Emilio had clear thoughts, he was an intellectual, a philosopher with humanistic and christian principles, he always presented the Christian social doctrine, adapted to the workers, to the trade unions, he never denied being a Christian, on the contrary he told everybody everywhere.

As strategist Máspero knew where he was going, what were his objectives (which were those of CLAT) and where he wanted to arrive. He knew to detect who the opponents were, and "how to distinguish to unite" . He knew also to listen to all sectors, to read,to study and to write, (although this looks easy, this is very difficult for an international leader who is permanently in action), what always kept him aware of all world events.

As tactician, Emilio knew how to use human and financial resources, so that they could better serve the cause. He had a natural flair for understanding situations and people.

As a trade union politician, he was an example of daily work with an incalculable production, of permanent action, at the events, where problems existed, always giving input, criteria, suggestions, ideas, reflections. He made every effort to fulfill his promises. As a good executive his first work was to fulfill and to enforce the agreements and resolutions of the management bodies.

These virtues, together in one intelligent leader with the privileged memory of time for events, people, dates and appointments, made of him one of the best international and world leaders, because his contributions were not only for CLAT, but also for his duties as Vice President of the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), which allowed him to give his views, opinions and ideas in global seminars, conferences and meetings.”

Emilio Maspero was a charismatic trade union leader and therefore 40 years the uncontested Secretary General of CLAT .

Emilio Maspero was therefore the uncontested leader of CLAT at the beginning of the sixties of the last century until his death in 2000. You can characterize him as a Latin American caudillo for trade unions. A caudillo has its positive sides, as mentioned above by Gomez Cerda, but there are also negative aspects.

Through his indisputable leadership Maspero had become CLAT over the years. The result was that after some time no fresh blood came into the organization. For a democratic organization like CLAT renewal of leadership and governance is vital so that new insights, changes and structures get a chance. The lack of innovation at the top led to stagnation in leadership and ideas and that probably has been one of the reasons that only six years after the death of Maspero, CLAT disappeared.

From right to left: Maspero talking to his wife Acacia and to Enrique Marius, Deputy Secretary General of CLAT. Enrique Marius and Acacia Maspero were responsible for ILACDE, the CLAT foundation for international cooperation that made possible the financing of many projects

Another reason is probably the lack of sufficient financial resources to maintain the Latin American trade union empire built up with the help of foreign aid. Training and education centers were distributed across the continent, with the Latin American Workers University UTAL in Venezuela as a spider in the web. The UTAL was an original idea of Maspero intended as an instrument for the emancipation of Latin American workers and the people. Led by Maspero, CLAT made training and educational the heart of its action in response to the lack of education for the common man and the high illiteracy rate in Latin America. A costly challenge for a trade union because education is expensive and could therefore not be achieved without financial support from outside.

But foreign aid is a double edged sword. In most countries of Latin America, the trade unions could not afford such training and education institutes. Also in Europe, unions are helped by their governments or employers with grants to finance their education and training structures. But financing from outside may also be an obstacle to the development of initiative and personal responsibility. It undermines self-finance of activities and structures. Maspero and CLAT have not been able to find a satisfactory solution to this issue.

 WCL Secretary General Jan Kulakowski was also present at the opening of the VII CLAT Congress. On the right  Alsimiro Herrera, Secretary General of the Costa Rican trade union confederation, member of CLAT and WCL.

This had its impact on the WCL. The WCL financially always has been a European affair. With the departure of the French (CFDT) and Dutch Catholic trade union confederations (NKV) in 1973 during the XVIII Congress of the WCL in Evian, France, the financing of the WCL became even a matter of only a few European countries with Belgium as first , Netherlands as second and France third. Although CLAT had grown in membership over the years, however, it appeared barely able to support the WCL financially.

Rather the reverse was the case. The WCL was seen by CLAT as a tool to finance the trade union movement in Latin America. Given the wealth of Europe, this appeal to European solidarity of CLAT (and unions from other continents) was understandable but the result was, that despite the democratic goodwill in the WCL, the ultimate authority stayed in Europe and particularly in Belgium, because of the enormous preponderance of the Belgian trade union ACV-CSC in WCL.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE WCL 39 (ITF's and the WCL secretariat)

In memory of Charles Steck, who died last week 

Last week Charles Steck died. He was treasurer of the WFCW (World federation of Clerical Workers) from 1993 to 2004 (at the front, second from right). The photo has been made in Lomé, Togo at a meeting of the WFCW World Board in 1997 held in the training centre of ODSTA (African regional organization of the WCL). It is tradition to make a picture with the traditional African chief (in front, in the middle). 

As a treasurer, Charles was strict, but with his heart in the right place. He was a man of few words, but with a lot of commitment to the WFCW. He was also much more than a treasurer. He organized seminars for the European organizations of the WFCW about themes such as computerization, increased flexibility, new organizational models, etc.. For Charles the union was primarily a way to give the employee a firm place in the new working conditions by confronting the challenges. Since Charles and his wife Marilena (in front, on the left of the traditional chief) had met with Africa, he strained together with Ivo Psenner, European president of the WFCW (front extreme left), to help financially and otherwise trade unions in Togo.

In a subsequent seminar with leaders of trade unions from other African countries, it was decided to establish an African organization (FPE). As a treasurer Charles made special effort to make possible the WFCW World Congress in Lomé, Togo which was held in 2001. That was the first time an International Trade Union Federation of the WCL held a world conference and later a World Congress in Africa.

Because of the lack of a profound analysis, it is not surprising that the conclusions of the 'Willy Thys paper' brought nothing new. Of course, there must be an efficient service to the members, more coordination of activities, a program of activities related to multinational corporations, activities in the areas of health and safety, rationalization of the institutional operations and much more. But quite apart from the fact that the ITF's were already doing this already for a long time, it is not enough to win new members. Why should one become a member of the WCL if one could get the same and even more with the ICFTU and its International Trade Federations?

To stand out in a credible way, the WCL should dare to present their own vision about man and society, about employer and worker, about the union and private enterprise, about government and state, about capital and labor, about family and so on. Though the WCL had traditionally its own christian and humanist inspired vision, this was not used actively anymore. Of course, that vision had to be adapted on the consequences of the fall of communism and the new developments in the world, but that did not happen at all.

As one can see already in 1998 the international trade union federations in the private sector coordinated together with their regional organizations and CLAT a seminar in the Workers University UTAL of CLAT. 1. Jorge Lasso, Secretary General of the Latin American Federation of Campesinos 2. Doekle Terpstra, President of the World Federation of Industrial Workers 3. Eduardo Garcia, Deputy Secretary General CLAT 4.Victor Duran, General Director of UTAL 5.Eduardo Estevez, Confederal Secretary WCL 6. Dick van de Kamp, Secretary General of the World Federation of Building and Wood Workers 7.Pedro Parra, Latin American Federation of Industrial Workers 8.Marcelo Luvecce, Secretary general of the Latin American federation of Building and Wood Workers 9.Jacques Jouret, President of the International Federation of Textile and Clothing, 10. Bart Bruggeman, Secretary General of the International federation of Textile and Clothing 11.Jacky Jackers, President of the World Federation of Building and Wood Workers 12. Fons van Genechten, Secretary General of the World Federation of Industrial Workers 13. Carlos Gaitan, Secretary general of the Latin American Federation of Industrial Workers 14.José Gomez Cerda, Secretary General of the World Federation of Agriculture and Food Workers

Instead, the WCL choosed for non ideological pragmatism and went on the easy road of rejecting neoliberalism and capitalism as diseases that needed to be be eradicated, saying that the growing globalisation of production and marketing was only bad news for the workers like also the flexibilization of labor and so on. Trade unionism meant more and more protest in stead of also looking for creative answers on the new challenges after the fall of communism and the growing industrial globalisation. The WCL was losing his own voice in the international concert of trade union voices. It became part of the big international choir of international trade unionism, without having an own voice.

At the same time the WCL was restructured on the level of the international secretariat under the guidance of the Secretary General himself. Central and Eastern Europe were not anymore a priority. The Coordination Committee for Central and Eastern Europe and the coordination secretariat for Central and Eastern Europe, established in Bucharest with the help of Cartel alfa, were dismantled. The special budget developed for activities and missions in Central and Eastern Europe was stopped and so there came an end to the special financial support for the new members in central and eastern Europa. This was very painful, because everybody knew that the development of a "new" trade unionism in that part of Europe was for long term, as part of the development into a democratic society and state. What happens today in the Ukraine and the Russian actions on the Krim and in Eastern Ukraine are a demonstration of this.

In spite of the 'Willy Thys' paper on International Trade Action Federations nothing new happened for international trade action. On the contrary, the Secretary General wanted even that the ITF's paid extra for services of the WCL secretariat besides the contribution they already were paying to the WCL. The small amount of money the ITF's received yearly from the ILO for special activities was not used anymore for their activities but went onto the general WCL budget. Manpower to support the ITF's was not extended but in stead more limited. All this together gave fuel to the animosity of the presidents of the ITF's towards the Secretary General.

Photo of the participants of the World Congress of the World Federation of Industrial Workers. President Jaap Wienen (1), Secretary general Fons van Genechten (2), former President Leo Dusoleil (3), Vice-President Carlos Gaitan (4), Board member for Central and Eastern Europe Achille Dutu (5), Pedro Parra (6), Secretary General of the African Federation of Industrial Workers Romuald Nuwokpe (7), President of the Miners Foundation Jean Marc Mohr (8), board member of the Miners Foundation Albert Hermans (9), Italo Rodomonti (10)

Another debate should have been about how a minority organization like the WCL should operate on international level especially within the ILO. One of the possibilities to let hear more loudly the message of the WCL and its ITF's at the ILO was to look for a lobbyist with a lot of trade union and (international) political experience while also speaking fluently different languages and convinced to present the vision and ideas of the WCL on all levels. The opportunity was there because of a change of personnel, but in stead, two young trade unionists were put in the ILO office of the WCL. Therefore, the ICFTU got all the space to do what they wanted in the ILO.

On the other side, the highest priority - financially and in manpower - was given to the renewal of the press office. The Secretary General wanted more attention in the international press for the WCL. This is of course very difficult because why should journalists be interested in the WCL that as an international organization cannot organize strikes or other protests to influence decisions on world level? Moreover, for international trade union organizations there are other ways to influence decisions on international level like for instance the ILO and other UN agencies, like the European Union and its institutions and so on. And another question, is it necessary for the WCL members to read about the WCL in the international press ? What is important for them is to be informed about what is going on in the international field of labor, to get the latest information and if necessary to get access to international institutions.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE WCL (PART XIX)

The last picture I made of Emilio Maspero, was in November 1991 during the general assembly of CLAT Netherlands. Second from left is Emilio Maspero. To his left is Leonie van Bladel, President of CLAT Netherlands. To his right CLAT deputy general secretary Enrique Marius. Standing in front of the painting of the Dutch Queen Beatrix, made in Haiti, Hedy d'Ancona, Minister of Culture.

Unlike the European trade unions, the unions on the American continent don't have a common project similar to the European Union. On the contrary, until recently CLAT was convinced that the North American labor movement defended interests opposed to those of Latin America. At the time of the Cold War the AFL-CIO even placed the interests of the U.S. above the struggle for democracy and social justice in Latin America by defending the foreign policy of the US sometimes together with military intervention (Cuba, Dominican Republic, Chile etc) and even supporting dictatorships (Paragua, Nicaragua) . Has this been changed since the end of the Cold War? Maybe nowadays the AFL-CIO feels more connected with the Latin American trade union struggle for democracy and social justice than before but the question remains which model the AFL-CIO sees as the most appropriate for Latin America? That of neo-liberal capitalism, which has indeed brought much prosperity for North American workers, or the European model with its social dialogue, its network of social and health services, protection of the labor market etc.?

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez identified himself strongly with the Great Liberator Simon Bolivar (digital photo composition by Petrus)

In this ongoing debate between the northern and southern part of the American continent, which was conducted by CLAT with a certain ferocity, the Twentieth-Century Socialism of Venezuelan President Chavez sowed once again confusion. Just then also died Emilio Maspero (2000), the man who had made CLAT great with his intellectual power and energy. And if that was not enough, shortly thereafter from Europe came the first rumours about a merger of the WCL with the ICFTU. For CLAT General Secretary Eduardo Garcia, who had become the successor of Emilio Maspero, it must have been difficult times. How CLAT was going to continue without the WCL because it became soon clear that particularly the Belgian ACV/CSC was serious about the merger (under pressure from the Walloon side ). Without WCL there would be no more international political and financial backing for CLAT. The merger of WCL with ICFTU would certainly lead to financial problems and that would be very bad at all for CLAT with its headquarters and training and education center UTAL in Venezuela, the very country of President Chavez.

The tragedy is, that despite the many millions of dollars in aid from Europe during the last decennia, the CLAT had not succeeded to become financially independent. There are many causes for this. First of all the overall lack of political stability in Latin America due to poverty , social injustice , undemocratic political leadership , unemployment , the place of the military in the political system ( in some Latin American countries the budget of the army is many times larger than for example of the ministry of education or social services programs ), and so on. The second cause is the inability of unions to develop a sound financial policy. Solidarity is a commonly used word in Latin America, but it appears very difficult to put it into practice. Besides, trade union members feel more like a victim without self-esteem than people with confidence in the future. Many trade unions promote this culture of "being victim", not realizing that this undermines the confidence of their own members. All this is reinforced by a widespread lack of trade union democracy and transparency, whereby many trade unionists distrust the trade union and do not see their own trade union as their own responsibility. The consequence is that the payment of trade union contribution is low and irregular.

Opening of the UTAL in 1975. From left to right: Victor Duran who became later Director of UTAL, José Merced Gonzalez who was also WCL Confederal Secretary and Rangel Parra, General Secretary of the Latin American Federation of small Farmers (FCL).

Of course, CLAT also looked for other financial sources than membership fees, to finance its budget. For an international organization this is not easy . Nevertheless, with foreign aid in the course of decades, many projects have been set up , designed to make possible self-financing of CLAT. Many of these projects failed, due to lack of entrepreneurial and management skills. To lead succesfully a business requires other skills than leading a union. For example, thanks to the support of the Dutch NOVIB , CLAT had in the seventies its own printing company in Caracas, Venezuela . Despite the support of two Dutch experts paid by the NOVIB, the company had to be sold after some years . CLAT has also tried to reduce the costs of UTAL by renting it to outsiders but also failed to a large extent and had to knock back on the doors of European donors.

On WCL Board Meetings Emilio Maspero talked about opportunities to present projects in the various bodies of the European Union to support the WCL and its regional organizations, including CLAT . He spoke at one point even about the golden mountains of the European Union. A misunderstanding that I would have liked to make clear to him, but I believed this was a matter of discussion to be led by WCL chairman Willy Peirens. As a member of the Steering Committee of the European Trade Union Confederation ETUC, he was well informed that the European Union was the domain par excellence of the ETUC. Since WCL unions are a minority in the ETUC it was hardly possible to make use of EU funds. In the framework of the Phare-Tacis program repeatedly it has been tried to present projects with the aim to build democratic unions in Ukraine and Belarus. But one way or another, those WCL projects never met all bureaucratic requirements . After being rejected two, three times, while others less well–founded projects were approved , there was no other choice but to give up.

Left we see Arie Hordijk (1927-2010), former Secretary General of CNV Netherlands. he is one of the speakers inuring a protest against cutting back aid for development before the Dutch Parliament. In the middle Gerrit Pruim, Secretary of CNV Aktie Kom Over (changed to CNV Internationaal). The Dutch confederation CNV organized  the protest. On the right you see as one of the speakers the Dutch politician Cor Kleisterlee.The other speaker was professor Jan Tinbergen, Nobelprize winner for his work on macro-economics.  Hordijk together with CNV chairman Lanser played an important role in the transformation of the International Christian Trade Union Confederation (ICTUC) into the World Confederation of Labour (WCL). Based on personal experiences and meetings with trade union leaders in the Third World, they came to the conclusion that a purely Christian international had no future while religiously inspired unions do have.

Indeed , the ACV/CSC was watching that even the possibility of a conflict between the ETUC and WCL on available European funds for the WCL or its regional members, should be avoided. Thus, the WCL was not allowed to become a member of the Christian Democratic oriented European Centre for Workers' Questions EZA (the work of EZA is supported financially by the European Union), despite the request of the then new chairman Arie Hordijk, former General Secretary of the CNV ( a key member of WCL) and EZA General Secretary Joachim Herudek. It was said that EZA was an unfair competitor of the European Trade Union Institute ETUI, the Research and Education Center of the ETUC. But to my great surprise the WCL became member of EZA inmediately after the arrival of General Secretary Willy Thys (former ACV/CSC Boardmember). I can only imagine that this was possible because of a certain kind of understanding with the ETUC on the future merger of WCL and ICFTU . The pieces on the European chessboard were slowly pushed in the direction of the merger between WCL and ICFTU while most WCL members stood outside the game.

Before his retirement Joachim Herudek was Secretary General of EZA. 

Curiously but appropriate in this setting, was the prohibition of Willy Peirens to lobby at the Christian- Democratic oriented European People 's Party EPP and other Christian-Democratic personalities at high political positions. Looking for financial support for the 23th WCL World Congress that would be held in Mauritius in 1993, Carlos Custer and myself had a conversation with Miet Smet, Christian-Democratic Minister of Employment and Social Affairs in Belgium . During that time Belgium had the Presidency of the European Union. Therefore Minister Miet Smet was also President of the European Council of Ministers of Labour. We believed she could give a financial hand to our international seminar prior to the Congress by delivering one or more speakers funded by the EU or some other kind of financial support. The WCL president rejected our efforts declaring that the Minister of Labor made life of ACV/CSC difficult. The argument that we spoke to her as the President of the European Council of Ministers of Labor and not as a Minister of Labor of Belgium, was not accepted.

The WCL Board Members at the 23 Congress 1993 in Mauritius. From left to right: Bogdan Hossu, President of Cartel alfa Rumania, Anton Westerlaken, President of CNV Netherlands, Emilo Maspero General Secretary CLAT, Willy Peirens President WCL and ACV/CSC Belgium, Akpemado General Secretary ODSTA, Michel Bovy, President International Trade Federation FIOST and Belgium Transport Trade Union. Re-elected General Secretary Carlos Custer just walks away.

In the same period I had a similar experience after a meeting with Leo Tindemans (1922-2013), former Belgian Prime Minister and former president of the Christian Democratic European People 's Party EPP . Although Leo Tindemans clearly demonstrated to be ready to establish contacts with the WCL , which he knew well from earlier times, WCL President Willy Peirens did not want to give a follow-up arguing that ACV/CSC had bad experiences with him on national policies. Again, the argument that Tindemans now is more a European than a Belgium politician was not accepted. Once again the WCL was blocked to develop contacts with one of the most powerful political parties in the European Parliament and the European Commission. I was wondering why this was happening because I was sure that ETUC and ICFTU officials maintained contacts with high ranking European Social-Democratic politicians. Also it was very frustrating that ACV/CSC representatives in the WCL Confederal Board insisted upon me as a confederal secretary for Europe, to lobby for more financial support for the WCL, but in practice I had no room for lobbying within the European Union. The result was that on European level the WCL became more and more a political orphan. How could the WCL survive in such conditions?

To be continued