THE DOWNFALL OF THE WCL 46 (a new federation)

Together with Jacques Jouret (President of the ITF Textile & Cloithing) Jacky Jackers
(President of ITF Construction and Wood) was the initiator for the establishment
 of an independent and autonomous secretariat 'trade action'.
The photo was taken during the Congress of the Pan-African Federation of Building and Wood in Lomé 2003

Since the memorandum of General Secretary Willy Thys about the International Federations, the relations between the Presidents and the WCL General Secretary had not improved ( see: The Downfall of the WCL 38, trade union action paper http://internationalworkers.blogspot.be /2014/08/the-downfall-of-wcl-38-trade-union.html ). The problems between the International Federations and the WCL existed already at the WCL World Congress in Mauritius in 1993. The International Federations felt that they received too little support from the secretariat despite their generous contributions to the WCL. Therefore, the Congress decided that the WCL would make available to the Professional Action 3 full time Executive Secretaries. During the Congress, a start was made through the election of a second Executive Secretary in the person of Dirk Uyttenhoven coming from ACV Textile. Thus there were 1.5 Executive Secretaries, including myself as a half Executive Secretary. However, to 3 full time Executive Secretaries it never came in all the years until 2000.

In the front row third from right WCL Secretary general Willy Thys. Behind him on his right side IFTC President Jack Jouret.
The second left of Jouret is Dirk Uyttenhoven, once an Executive Secretary of the WCL for the International Trade Federations.
The photo has been taken at the IFTC World Congress in Doorn, Netherlands 2003.

For President Jacky Jackers of the World Federation of Building and Wood (WFBW) and Jack Jouret of the International Federation of Textile and Clothing (IFTC) this was an eyesore. Add to that the differences about the affiliation policy between them and the WCL General Secretary and it becomes understandable that the two Presidents were looking for a way out by establishing a common secretariat, independent of the WCL and autonomous. They decided to invite the World Federation of Industrial Workers (WFIW) as so-called "market oriented trade union" to participate The recently elected WFIW chairman Jaap Wienen was prepared to join the 2 International Trade Federations (ITF's) in this common secretariat. For not entirely clearly reasons, the World Federation of Clerical Workers ( WFCW) WVB, although a white-collar union but also a “market oriented trade union” was not invited, despite insistence on my part. Given the poor relations between the WCL Secretary General and myself, it will surprise nobody, that I agreed with the creation of such an independent secretariat of the mentioned 3 ITF's.

The Executive Board of the World federation of Industrial Workers. From left to right:
Leon Van Haudt (finances), Fons van Genechten (secretary general), Jaap Wienen (president),
Carlos Gaitan (vice-president) and Piet Nelissen (executive secretary).

On January 1, 2000 came into force which was simply called the Federation. The three Federation members - WFBW, IFTC and WFIW - paid from that time on not anymore membership fees to the WCL. However, ACV/CSC Building & Industry continued to pay its voluntary annual contribution to the WCL. However, the WCL was expected to provide a number of previously defined services:

- Connection of the Secretariat of the Federation on the computer network of the WCL with corresponding services.

- WCL makes available his mailing address for the Secretariat, as well as telephone and fax.

- WCL provides translation of the documents that are presented by the Secretariat

- WCL provides administrative financial services to the Federation.

- Under the supervision of the Executive Secretary (Piet Nelissen) WCL provides support for the administration of the staff.

Visiting the Minister of Labour of Benin (2000). From left to right: Nebeyu Shone (director coordination office CNV International),
Isabelle Vos (assistant-secretary ITF's secretariat) and Roel Rotshuizen (president World Federation of Clerical Workers)

The three Federation Members agreed on a mutual key for the distribution the costs of the Secretariat. The Secretariat consisted of a full-time Executive Secretary and two assistants / secretaries. Each International Federation would finance its own activities as there are statutory meetings, seminars, regional meetings, conferences etc. Obviously, the Federation relied on other NGOs for the co-financing of activities in the continents as for example CNV International. The Executive Secretary of the secretariat of the Federation continued to attend the usual weekly coordination meetings of the WCL. The WCL General Secretary on his turn continued to attend the coordination meetings of the Presidents of the International Federations, the so-called Trade Action Committee CAP.

On the 25th WCL World Congress in Romania (20-27 October 2001) WFIW Chairman Jaap Wienen (boardmember of the CNV Industrial Trade Union) was elected WCL Deputy General Secretary. Under his leadership, a major three-year project was launched to strengthen the WCL international trade union federations (ITF's), funded by CNV International. Talks about the project had already started from 1999 onwards until the WCL Congress (memorandum of Jaap Wienen to Jack Jouret as the President of the 'Trade Action Committee' January 7, 1999). The project was a so-called "training the trainers" project. The project provided training programs for key members of the trade union federations (trade action) in the continents who in turn could train other people of the federations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The courses covered a wide field of skills, from communications to administration, from management to decision-making. The technical implementation was in the hands of three specially recruited staff members and a secretarial assistant, all managed by Jaap Wienen.

Although Jaap Wienen himself as chairman of the WFIW had supported the establishment of the Federation of the 3 ITF's, the project for the strengthening of the Trade Action was held totally outside the ITF's. In practice, it was a WCL project carried out with the help of the regional WCL organizations in the continents. The ITF's could only give advice through the WCL Trade Action Committee (CAP) and through their Executive Secretaries.This structure - political and financial – with the Deputy General Secretary of the WCL as a project manager reinforced the centralized nature of the WCL secretariat instead of strengthening the structures and the networks of the ITF's. This was not only contrary to the WCL professed principle of subsidiarity but worsened also the already existing confusion between the regional organizations and the regional federations affiliated to the ITF's. The International Federations stood practically with empty hands.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE WCL 43

Eduardo Garcia Moure (centre) and Julio Robert Gomez (left on the photo) were two of the protagonists of the merger of CLAT with ORIT into the CSA. 

In May 2000 it was announced that CLAT General Secretary Emilio Maspero was deceased as a result of cancer (see my previous blog). Unfortunately, the outside world was never informed. I have no idea why this has not happened. Perhaps dying by cancer is still a taboo in Latin America. Maybe Maspero himself and the CLAT Board Members, which I assume they were aware, were afraid of political consequences and conflicts over his succession.

Maspero was succeeded as General Secretary of CLAT by the Cuban exile Eduardo Garcia, for decades a member of the Executive Committee of CLAT. It was no secret that Enrique Marius, Deputy General Secretary of CLAT for international relations, was disappointed at this turn of events. He would have loved to be the successor to Maspero. But Eduardo Garcia was much better known and more popular in Latin America than Marius. As director of ILACDE, the Institute of CLAT for international cooperation, his position was not easy. Incidentally he had to criticize member organizations of CLAT because of shortcomings in the presentation and implementation of projects.

Enrique Marius, Eduardo Garcia and Rodolfo Romero (Paraguay) were the only ones of the newly elected board CLAT who lived and worked in Caracas. The other Deputy General Secretaries of CLAT - Felicito Avila (Honduras), Julio Roberto Gomez (Colombia), Mario Morant (Argentina) and Anselmo Pontilius (Aruba) - continued to work and live in their own country. The new CLAT Board continued the policy of Maspero. Unfortunately was lost on this occasion the opportunity to make some innovations in the Board and the CLAT policy. It would have been good for CLAT, if a woman had become member of the board, as well as a representative of the trade union action. It might have led to a shift of less (party) politics unto more practical trade union work.

This photograph gives a rare view of Secretary General Willy Thys with his whole WCL secretariat with in the center the ILO Director General Somavia and WCL President Fernand Kikongi. On the left of the center: Eduardo Estevez (Argentina), Fred Pools  (Belgium) and Toolsiray Benedin (Mauritius).On the right: Necie Lucero (Philippines) and Piet Nelissen (Netherlands)

In the autumn of 2000, the WCL Confederal Board met in Washington. WCL had managed to invite two keynote speakers for this meeting: the Managing Director of the IMF, Michel Camdessus (France) and ILO Director General Juan Somavia (Chile). It proved that the WCL as a minority organization, was able to conduct a social dialogue at the highest level about social and economic policies for the benefit of workers worldwide.

Especially the Belgium trade union confederation ACV/CSC did important work in this area because of their good relations with the governor of the Belgian National Bank and the presidency of the Human Rights Workers Group at the ILO. With financial support from the Belgian government several international meetings were held in Wahington during which WCL leaders from different continents had meetings with IMF experts and World Bank staff. At these meetings, the trade unions could express their criticisms and demands on the role of the World Bank and IMF in the international debt crisis, its reform policy and its consequences for developing countries.

For this Confederal Board I had planned to raise the question about the organization of the secretariat, by not presenting the usual report on European activities. Of course, it is not customary to do so but there was no other way left. The secretary General did not want to take measures to strengthen the European secretariat. It was a personal form of protest against the state of affairs at the secretariat. Due to lack of resources and vision, all the work in de past in Central and Eastern Europe threatened to have been for nothing. That in itself was reason enough to pull the bell but there was more. By neglecting the European base of the WCL, the survival of the WCL became itself at risk.

IMF Managing Director Michel Camdessus speaking at the WCL Conferral Board meeting in Washington (2000)

My protest was not successful. That the continents stayed silent, I could understand from their point of view that Europe is for the Europeans. On the other hand, I expected that high level WCL leaders would have the insight that a weak European base eventually had to have an impact on the survival of the WCL. The European unions were, after all, by far the largest financiers of the WCL, on the first place the Belgian trade union confederation ACV/CSC followed by the Dutch trade union confederation CNV.

That the ACV/CSC trade union confederation did not react and thus supported their General Secretary was logical and understandable. But that no European organization reacted, not even “my own CNV”, I found very disappointing. I had hoped that my action would have resulted in at least a debate, a debate that had come to a dead end at the secretariat. Also I did not succeed to develop a common WCL policy vision on European affairs, while on the European agenda there were new ambitious European projects like the introduction of a common currency, that is to say the Euro, that in one or another way would affect all European Union workers. Apparently such policy was the exclusive domain of the ETUC (and I believe, in consultation with the ICFTU).

My position was already not easy. It had started earlier with an overt accusation of the General Secretary on a European coordination meeting that I had organized without budgetary coverage, projects and missions in Central and Eastern Europe. I was shocked that this was not discussed beforehand because then he would have been aware of the falsity of his claim. However, during this meeting ACV / CSC policy officer Paul Buekenhout openly recognized that spendings were indeed justified in view of the financial commitments of the ACV / CSC trade union confederation itself. Later, the Secretary General attempted to dismiss me. Thanks to the CNV trade union confederation those actions had no results. Obviously the situation between General Secretary Willy Thys and myself had become increasingly difficult.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE WCL 37 (trade action paper WCL Secretary General Willy Thys)

Hans Brüning (right), Secretary general CNV and treasurer of the WCL together with Nebeyu Shone, Coördinator CNV Aktie Kom Over and World Solidarity in Senegal, April 1998.

To make support more concrete to the WCL International Trade Federations, the Dutch trade union confederation CNV sent on October 16, 1998 a letter to WCL Secretary General Willy Thys with the offer to fund a full-time Executive Secretary for the WCL Secretariat: "In the recent past, some Dutch unions (CNV Trade Union Wood- and Building, CNV Industries) indicated its willingness to invest in a (part-time) staff for the WCL Trade Action Secretariat. This willingness is still ongoing. In informal contacts I have pointed out the possibility of combining this job with general policy and / or study tasks for the WCL. In this way a full-time position may arise. "The letter was signed by Hans Bruning, CNV secretary general and treasurer of the WCL. However, for unknown reasons the letter did not get any follow-up at the WCL Secretariat.

In stead, shortly thereafter (January 23, 1999) Willy Thys himself published a paper titled “The Trade Union Action of the WCL”. It was a complete surprise. Nobody at the WCL Secretariat had been consulted, nor the presidents of the International Trade federations. It is highly unlikely that Willy Thys had not consulted somebody. The question therefore is, who's voice was also heard in this paper? Was it the voice of ACV/CSC President Willy Peirens, also WCL President?

When the paper was published, all attention immediately went to one sentence in the first paragraph called “Findings”: " I would like to point out that the Belgian trade union Energy and Chemicals is considering to stop its international membership in 2000." This meant that another Belgium trade union would leave the WCL, in this case the World Federation of Industrial Workers (WFIW). This was rejected straight forward by all parties involved. As Executive Secretary of the WFIW for many years, having good relations with its president Leo Dusoleil and all other members of the Board, I never had heard such kind of rumors. Then, what was the goal of this remark? To put the International Trade Federations with mostly Belgium Presidents further under pressure?

Willy Peirens (left) and Willy Thys in Vancouver at the World Congress of the ITUC, June 2010. See also the blog of Luc  Cortebeeck, at that time President of ACV/CSC.

Another one of his "findings" was that “the German speaking organizations find insufficient trade action on European level”. I suppose that he meant the Austrian trade union members of the ITF's. After all, the trade unions of the German Christian Trade Union Confederation CGB were tolerated as members of the ITF's but not considered as serious trade unions. The Austrian trade unions indeed were not satisfied with the WCL support to the ITF's. According to the Austrian trade unions the WCL Secretariat should give more service to the International Trade Federations for the amount of membership fee payed to the WCL. As an Executive Secretary for International Trade Action, I had communicated this complaint to the WCL Secretary General, however without any result. On the contrary, Willy Thys wanted that the Austrian Christian Fraction ÖGB/FCG paid more membership fee directly to the WCL, and as a consequence less to the International Trade Federations. This was not accepted, nor by the ÖGB/FCG, nor by its trade unions.

Farewell Party of Leo Dusoleil receiving a gift.

As regards the Belgium Energy and Chemicals Trade Union there had been rivalry between its President Fons van Genechten and Doekle Terpstra, President of the CNV Industrial Trade Union, on who would become the new President of the WFIW. Leo Dusoleil left the Presidency of the WFIW at the World Board meeting in Vienna. (june 1998). During a meeting with Fons van Genechten, I told him that I preferred Doekle Terpstra as President of the WFIW because it would involve CNV more in the WCL than ever before, which I believed was very important for the future of the WCL. Until then only one of the 8 International Trade Federations - the WFCW with President Roel Rotshuizen - had a President coming from CNV.

The new WFIW Board with all participants of the World Board. Sitting in the middle the newly elected President Doekle Terpstra (Netherlands). 

Doekle Terpstra was elected as President of the WFIW at the same World Board meeting in Vienna. His presidency might open new perspectives for the WFIW and the WCL. Doekle Terpstra was a strong and charismatic leader with a broader vision on the WCL than a sound financial policy. However, to my disappointment his presidency did not get time to consolidate because after already one year he became President of the confederation CNV. He left therefore the Presidency of the CNV Industrial Trade Union and therefore also of the WFIW. However, Terpstra came back to the wCL as member of the Executive Board. Jaap Wienen, the treasurer of the CNV Industrial trade union, succeeded him at the WFIW. It was the first step of Jaap Wienen towards a career in the WCL and later the ITUC.

The negative tone of the paper could also have been caused by the internal divisions of the ACV/CSC leadership over its policy on the ITF's. Since my arrival at the WCL, there was an ongoing internal debate on the highest levels of CSC/ACV on the International Trade Federations. Sometimes during certain meetings, I got an impression of this debate. Leaders from trade unions affiliated to ICFTU oriented international trade federations gave unjustified critical comments on WCL members. The most heard one was that the WCL regional organizations, especially CLAT, blockaded international cooperation.

Also several times, the Director of the CSC/CNV International Department Jan Dereymaker proposed some kind of deal about the International Trade Federations, a kind of in between solution that would give more room to the ACV/CSC trade unions to join the ICFTU oriented ITF's. I do not remember the details but I did not want to discuss the proposal because I believed still in the survival of the WCL. However, in retrospect it would have been wiser to have started the debate, because once when the question of the merger came out to its full extend, it appeared to late for this kind of debate.