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Conference on Organized labour

Responses to the Conference Paper 

Claude Kwaku Akpokavie
Director, Human Rights and International Labour Standards, World Confederation of Labour - WCL, Brussels, Belgium 

26 October 1998 

On behalf of the World Confederation of Labour, it is my pleasure to 

send you our initial remarks concerning the preliminary paper on the IILS's programme on "Organized Labour in the 21st Century".

TheWCL welcomes this programme and seeks to participate actively in it. We will soon be sending you a list of persons who could participate in this programme at a latter stage. We look forward to a close collaboration with you in the future.

NETWORK ON OrganizED LABOUR IN THE 21 ^ST CENTURY

The World Confederation of Labour welcomes the programme on "Organized Labour in the 21 ^st Century" as a means of evaluating trade union action, identifying the challenges posed and the possible future strategies of action. This paper is an introductory reaction to the excellent preliminary document circulated by the International Institute of Labour Studies.

Critique of the logic and not only its consequences: 

This research programme is relevant basically because the world, and more specifically the world of work, is undergoing a systemic change. This systemic change which is largely driven by transnational capital has narrowed down the finality of socio-economic activity to economic growth and market orthodoxy at the global level. The UNDPs 1998 Human Development Report vividly illustrates the consequences of this process of globalisation.

The preliminary paper of the IILS tends to focus on the consequences of globalisation on organized labour. However a principal challenge facing organized labour is the very logic of this systemic change. This is all the more important because with the fall of the Berlin Wall, the process of globalisation is taking place within the framework of a crisis of alternatives in which neo-liberalism is presented as the only, inevitable means towards development. Against this background, organized labour is faced with the important challenge of reinventing credible alternative models of development - a task it has had to undertake in the past. This capacity to propose credible alternatives to the on-going logic of globalisation as well appropriate sectoral policies in fields like employment, social security and sustainable development, is a key challenge facing organized labour in the 21 ^st century.

The last WCL congress addressed this issue in proposing a new equilibrium between social and economic objectives within the framework of a "global social contract" which integrates economic efficiency with the internationalisation of social justice, basic human rights, respect for different identities and the protection of the environment. This debate on alternatives is important because the way organized labour reacts to the consequences of globalisation is influenced also by its own alternative project to globalisation. This issue needs further elaboration within the IILS's research programme.

Trade union identity in a globalised world (of work): 

Several of the issues raised in the preliminary paper pose the question of trade union identity in the context of globalisation. Changing patterns of employment, new labour management relations, changes in the labour force and neo-liberal economic policies are all having an impact on union membership and the very role of trade unions in society. In addition to these, new management strategies are further fragmenting and individualising the work-force.

Even though it is true that many of these changes are being provoked by the process of globalisation, one must not forget that factors independent of globalisation, like deliberate anti-union legislation and union repression in both developing and industrialised societies, have been a crucial factor in undermining trade unions. Despite an apparent decline in the level of union membership, organized labour has nonetheless remained influential (by realignment in core sectors, opening up to new sectors, etc.).

Having said that, one cannot but agree with the general analysis of the research paper on the impact of changing employment patterns on union membership - particularly the challenges of organizing white-collar workers, female workers, part-time employees, workers with temporary contracts and migrant labour. There is also the specific challenge of organizing the unemployed and the growing numbers of retired workers in industrialised countries as well as homeworkers, and informal sector workers in the developing world. 

Against this background, one of the key hypotheses of the WCL and its affiliates has been to advocate a shift in traditional trade union identity to that of a social movement of all workers. This notion implies that while respecting the historical mission of organized labour, traditional trade union identity shifts to a more integrative identity which embraces all categories of workers - irrespective of their status, origin, gender or sector of activity.

The implication of this orientation has meant developing new ways of organization, new structures, integrating demands of "atypical" workers in trade union demands, and alliances with other social movements. This has led to initiatives like informal sector co-operatives, popular health insurance schemes, greater presence in the community where workers live, reinforcement of services to workers and so on. This orientation which is still in process, entails defending workers' rights as rights for all citizens.

Trade unions and social regulation of globalisation: 

Another key challenge posed by the paper is that of the social regulation of globalisation. There is no doubt that organized labour managed to develop a mechanism of social regulation within the state-centric system where the state played an important role. With the systemic change taking place, organized labour is faced with the key challenge of ensuring that minimum ground rules are established and that there is an articulation between social regulation at national level and at international level.

In this regard, the WCL and its affiliates have been involved in a wide variety of actions which includes the campaign to introduce core labour standards within trade and development agreements within a multilateral framework, works councils, divers social pacts at national or sub-regional level, campaigns on corporate social responsibility, codes of conduct, and so on.

A series of other issues are worth considering in this research programme. 

An important item is that of trade union structures within the globalised workplace. Considering that trade union structures have followed the evolution of company structures within a national framework, the challenge of developing appropriate structures at global level is of vital importance. This is particularly important because transnational corporations are increasingly organized in networks. What structures should trade unions develop to become a countervailing force to international capital?

Strategies of negotiations, protest and resistance of organized labour are also challenged by globalisation. The increasing importance of the media means that trade union strategies of resistance in relation to states and employers (particularly transnationals) have to be reviewed. To what extent can organized labour learn from the new social movements in this regard? What are the limits of such forms of protest? How is resistance linked to the capacity to propose credible alternatives?

The fate of organized labour in the 21 ^st century is also tied to the future role of the ILO. To what degree can the ILO and its tripartite system remain relevant within the systemic change taking place? How can the ILO continue to play a meaningful role in international social regulation vis-à-vis transnational capital? Some of the proposals of the WCL in this respect include the consolidation of the ILO, the promotion of other key ILO conventions besides the core labour standards, ensuring coherence between the ILO, the WTO and the Bretton Woods organizations, reinforcement of the capacities of the tripartite partners of the ILO, and so on.

Finally, the research paper tends to emphasise changes in the reality and the need to change. However the challenge facing organized labour in the next century is basically three-fold: memory, continuity and change. Memory because organized labour will have to know its roots and even re-introduce aspects of its past practices which are relevant to the present circumstances. One has in mind the importance attached to the social economy in the early stages of the emergence of trade unions. Secondly, organized labour would have to ensure that it does not throw away the baby with the dirty water. This implies faithfulness to its basic mission to defend and promote workers' rights. This is all the more important taking into consideration the continuity in repression against trade unions around the world. Finally, organized labour has to change in order to remain relevant to the needs of the times. In this process of memory, continuity and change, honest evaluation, discernment and strategic action is needed to map out the paths of trade unions in the 21 ^st century.