(en) France, Alternative Libertaire AL #245 - Industry: A
healthy dose of radicalism (fr, it, pt) [machine translation]
For over a year, the so-called law of "security of employment" has resulted in many social
regression, since it allows the employers to lay off more easily in both form and
substance. However, local mobilizations do not weaken and sometimes take more radical and
collective forms ---- The job cuts were facilitated by a dual trend. First, legislators
involved, particularly through the law called "secure employment". On the other hand, the
permanent blackmail to employment encourages unions to negotiate social decline against
the attacks suffered by the employee-es. Hierarchy is called into question by agreements
between the state, employers and trade unions, which are then translated into laws. It has
no other purpose than to place "collective bargaining" and therefore the balance of power
between employers and employee-es, in the arrangement where it is less favorable to them.
The various laws that have followed for years, the ideological hype about the "cost of
labor" (without addressing the issue of cost of capital) and the duration of working time
- with the announcements of the Minister of Economy, Emmanuel Macron, who wants to
"soften" the thirty-five am - make sense of an overall strategy of the capitalists. It
aims to break any confrontation and permanently divide the workers. Replace the class
struggle by a backup interclassist interest - or at least give the impression that they
exist - must necessarily pass, an employer's point of view, a case of the trade union
struggle and representative bodies. In doing so, such a strategy also aims to immerse
employee-es in a defeatist and sustainable climate of fatalism. Does this mean the end of
the struggle?
Renewable strikes and blockades
It is in a particular phase of capitalism that our struggles are taking place: that of a
refusal to compromise which undoubtedly leads to break and suppress the movement of a
hand, but can also occur here and there the opposite. This is the case right now in two
very symbolic businesses struggle.
The first Ogura, is a subcontractor to the automotive located in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais
area. The company has fewer than 100 employee-es and even announced several waves of
layoffs. The majority union since the last elections, SOUTH Industry, did not skimp to
build the relationship of forces: Regular communication with employee-es, regular
walkouts, first action punch with union teams automakers November 21 which will secure the
industrial area on the day. And preparation of a renewed strike with a simple but
effective word order: the occupation of the factory as job losses will not be canceled!
The same rage, based on the long work done by the CGT and SUD union teams in the industry
in a business near Le Mans, LTR, nourishes strike since mid-November to prevent dismissal.
Here again, the abandoned earlier slogans were handed over to the agenda: "There is no
possible discussion with management, the works council can not really delaying layoffs,
and the government given carte blanche to employers. What else to use means of more
radical actions and to block everything? " analyzes one of the strike leaders.
Neither the writ, nor threats of management will have for now weakened the movement. And
strike funds, symbols of a truly effective solidarity, fill gradually. Here and there,
many employee-es not or no longer believe in the "social dialogue" and to realize that
confrontation is inevitable.
Concrete unification
On one hand, the employers and the government explain that the struggles would no longer
be needed. Yet they continue indeed, with ever present, even increasing intensity, if we
judge by the chosen modes of action. On the other hand, some political parties are calling
for the convergence of struggles as if it was enough to repeat it exists, forgetting the
way the reasons why the employee-es to lose interest, including report of these parties to
the social movement (desire for control, disconnection, electoral games...).
The practical unification of different struggles must find an even stronger signal even as
some employers will scroll the street. The challenge is not to define an endless catalog
of demands which will affect a public activist, but rather to highlight some claims of
social transformation, shared, allowing a broad movement by and for workers and women
workers around the central question remains employment. Now, this idea of a short and
eloquent platform claims to be debated, away from political considerations, as a mandatory
horizon to transform energetic local struggles into a national movement.
RoberK (AL Montreuil)
http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Industrie-Une-bonne-dose-de
