THE DOWNFALL OF THE WCL (part 10)

De Belgian ACV Industrial Workers Union delegation. On the right in front Leon van Haudt. Next to him Michel André. Behind Leon sits President  Leo Dusoleil  with next to him Karel the translator.

Back to Sao Paulo. The aim of the seminar was to exchange experiences between European and Latin American unions and to strengthen solidarity. The hot topics of the seminar were of course liberalization (free market) and privatization. After the fall of communism, capitalism was the only remaining social-economic model on world level. Thanks to the former U.S. President Ronald Reagan and the former English Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher the so-called neo-liberal model was introduced worldwide as the only model for social-economic development.

During the seminar a semi-final match for the European Championship was held between Holland and Denmark. The Brazilian paper Sao Paulo combined in an article seminar with sports (23 of June 1992). After 2-2 the match was decided by penalties. Denmark won.

Our Latin American friends feared and hated this model. Capitalism had never worked out well on their continent. In Europe it was different. Since World War II capitalism had been transformed and became the foundation for the welfare state. Thanks to the European social dialogue, Europeans looked therefore to the neoliberal model on a more pragmatic way. On the contrary, our Latin American friends saw the neoliberal model as a new attempt by the U.S. to expand its economic power in Latin America. It was considered a new threat to their already weak position compared to the position of employers and politicians.

Our Brazilian friends organized a grand closing ceremony of the seminar together with one of the large metal unions of the region.

For European trade unions neoliberalism was a new challenge that they could face with a certain confidence, because in their own country and in the European Union trade unions are considered as serious social dialogue partners of employers and politicians. The Latin American unions didn't have confidence in politicians or employers because they don't hesitate to use repression against trade unions or at least to put them aside. Latin American unions distrust therefore any social dialogue. They see it as a trap with the aim to reduce their influence and resistance.

While I was in Sao Paulo, General Secretary Maritza Chireno of the Latin American Federation of Trade and Services FETRALCOS, held a seminar in a union training center on the coast. She had invited me to visit the seminar so she could introduce me as the new Executive Secretary of the WFCW, to which FETRALCOS belongs as a regional member. I felt honored by the invitation. Besides I wanted to share with her some of my preocupations regarding the upcoming World Congress (September) of WFCW in Chile.

Until then I had no communication with Hernan Baeza, president of the Union of workers at the National Bank and responsible for the organization of the World Congress. With less than three months to go, I had not received any information on the reservation of the hotel, the arrangements and the costs, the congress hall, the translation system with its booths etc. This was my first World Congress so because of this lack of information I became 

very nervous.

Visit of one of the slums in Santiago de Chile with Hugo Flores, President of the Association of slum dwellers Solidardidad (left). On the right Gerrit Pruim, secretary general of CNV Aktie Kom Over. (Jnue 1991)

On a previous visit to Chile, as an advisor of the CNV Aktie Kom Over (June 1991) together with secretary general Gerrit Pruim, I had met Hernan Baeza in his office at the bank. Following talks with leaders of slum organizations in Santiago, I proposed him to ensure together with his union that the slumdwellers could open a savings acount despite their low and irregular income. This would allow them to save for the purchase of the land on which their houses stood. Of course, they also should become the legal owners of their land. From our meetings with the slum dwellers we had learned that the legal uncertainty about the property of land and their house makes it difficult for them to get out of poverty. At the end of our conversation I had to conclude that Baeza was not interested in our proposals.

I assured Maritza that if I did not get the guarantee that the necessary preparations for the World Congress in Chile were not taken, I would propose the WFCW board with urgency to held the WFIW worldcongress in Europe. Maritza shared my concerns. She would discuss it urgently with CLAT. After all, as one of the founders of FETRALCOS Deputy Secretary General Eduardo Garcia was Honorary President of FETRALCOS. That would certainly help, as we thought and it did. The Congress was held in Chile.

In the middle Jan Dereymaekr of ACV Belgium, On his left side Amrita Sietaram of CNV Netherlands. On the end of the same row Guy Drillaud of CFTC French. In front the translator of LWU. The woman between Jan and Guy is also a translator.

Just before the WFCW World Congress (11 to 13 September), the Lithuanian LWU held its regular congress in Vilnius. There were indications that at the congress the decision would be taken to join the WCL. A reason to be present at the congress with a large delegation: Amrita Sietaram (CNV, Netherlands), Jan Dereymaeker (ACV, Belgium), Guy Drillaud (CFTC, France) and myself. Guy was there because his predecessor, CFTC Secretary General Jean Bornard had made the first contacts with LWU president Aldona Balsienne. Jean had even ensured that Aldona as a guest could be present at the meeting of the European section on the 17th of March in Brussels.

On the left Aldona Balsienne, President of the LWU. On the right Jean Bornard, Secretary Genral of the CFTC.

For reasons I don't remember but to our great disappointment the decision on joining the WCL was postponed . I had already been surprised that the ICFTU had been invited to the conference. I considered it as a not so good sign. I believed that the good contacts between LWU and the Polish Solidarnosc I had experienced during our mission led by Krisztoff Dowgiałło, would be of importance for the choice of LWU. We also had supported the LWU as much as possible , politically and financially. Of course, the WCL had limited financial resources, but I assumed that not only money plays a role in the decision on international membership or is this too idealistic ? If so, then so it will be. The WCL does not benefit from members who are only interested in money. And in case money was needed, we could find it always. A matter of faith in the good cause .

To be continued


The above story is a personal testimony of what happened at the end of the last century and the beginning of the new millennium in the international trade union movement, in particular in the WCL and CLAT.

THE DOWNFALL OF THE WCL (part 1)

Published in "CLAT Nieuws", july/august 1973. 

The following story is a personal testimony and not a historical record of what happened at the end of the last century and the beginning of the new millennium in the international trade union movement, in particular in CLAT and the WCL.

The formal merger in 1982 (in the years from 1976 until 1982 both confederations worked together very closely) of the Dutch Catholic Confederation NKV with the former social democratic NVV meant in a certain sense the beginning of the end of the international labour confederation WCL, the Christian-oriented World Confederation of Labour, the oldest world federation, founded in 1929 in Luxembourg by the NKV, the Dutch Christian trade union federation CNV and other European trade union confederations. During the merger between NKV and NVV it was agreed to join the international social democratic trade union confederation ICFTU, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions. The departure of NKV meant a considerable financial loss for the WCL.

The NKV was not the first confederation to leave the WCL under the influence of the shift to the left brought by the sixties. That honor belongs to Christian French Trade Union Confederation CFTD, then headed by general secretary Edmond Maire. I happened to be at the WCL Congress in Evian (1973) where this was happening. It was my first appearance in the world of the international labour movement, in this case as an observer on behalf of CLAT Netherlands, a Dutch NGO linked to the former Latin American Workers' Confederation CLAT. In those years CLAT Netherlands was one of the larger and well organized NGO's in the Netherlands.

As an observer, I was not involved in the WCL internal debates on the decision of the French CFDT to leave but I noticed that there was a lot of hassle. European trade union leaders, but also Latin America represented by CLAT general secretary Emilio Maspero, attempted to convince CFDT secretary general Edmond Maire during nocturnal conversations to stay within the WCL. For Maspero the departure of the French CFTD was an extra blow now he had to present for the first time in history of the WCL a new strategic document called "Towards the Liberation of the workers by the Solidarity Struggle".

Maspero had written this strategic document for the WCL with the intention to give a place to the Third World unions in the international labour movement. The document was a mix of Social-Christian beliefs linked to a certain kind of class analysis with the goal 'to liberate' the poor by way of a social struggle. It was a mix of social-Christian and Marxist thought from what was then called Third World option against capitalism and especially the North American capitalist imperialism, against the multinational companies as the so-called vanguard of that imperialist capitalism and a class analysis that would would bring real worker's democracy and social justice instead of communist dictatorship. The kind of thinking we already knew from the Colombian guerrillero Camilo Torres (1929-1969) and what later has become known as the Catholic Liberation Theology.

Published in "CLAT Nieuws"; september/october 1973

I remember that some NKV leaders did not agree with what they called a crypto- communist manifesto, remember that the Cold War was still in full operation, while others from the same NKV embraced the manifesto as a new combative beginning that the WCL would give a new start and new members. Although the document was adopted by a majority (almost 70%), a lot of Dutch, Swiss and Austrian delegates saw little merit in the new course. The Belgian ACV welcomed the document but had made some reservations. However, for the French CFDT the document came too late. They left the WCL. Moreover, the shift to the left of the French federation CFTD led to a separation of a more conservative part of it - the CFTC, which stayed affiliated to the WCL.

After the French CFDT in 1973 had departed, it was now in the late 70's that the NKV left the WCL. A federation with about 400,000 members which as already observed, meant a considerable financial loss for the WCL. Despite the new Third World course the WCL, which is now graced with the title of World Confederation of the Poor, had not affiliated new financially strong members.

The NKV had stipulated during the merger with the NVV a transition period for international solidarity. Although now affiliated to the ICFTU, the new FNV would stay involved in WCL unions in the Third World under the flag of the former NKV solidarity organization "Us and Them". The story was that the Third World unions were not to be allowed to become victims of the new relations in the Netherlands. This agreement was not always warmly welcomed by everyone in the FNV. So it appeared that "Us and Them" and the new FNV had great difficulty in the 80's with the political choices of CLAT during the political conflicts in Latin America, mainly in Central America.

As a fundamentally democratic organization CLAT was against any kind of leftist dictatorship. She was only willing to go in armed conflict as there was broad public support for it but even then CLAT remained cautious, not to say suspicious. The lesson was learned in Cuba. Who has the weapons, has the power and when the new rulers are not clearly democrats this would ultimately lead to the loss of trade union independence and pluralism. Hence CLAT was very critical on the armed Sandinistas in Nicaragua and the leftist guerrilleros in El Salvador and Guatemala. Thanks to former contacts between NKV leaders within the FNV leadership and the Dutch NGO CLAT Netherlands it was possible to discuss the matter on the highest levels of CLAT and FNV. The result was that FNV and CLAT stayed on speaking terms.

To be continued