The public sector negotiations are coming fast. Already, four trade union representing 400,000 workers have joined together in a Common Front for these negotiations. For many activists, this is an opportunity to finally prepare the response to the austerity policies that have succeeded one another since the 2008 crisis. While the prospect of a strike of more than 500,000 public sector employees promises to halt a bosses’ offensive which has been going since the 1980s, many obstacles still stand in our way.
Indeed, for the past decade, public sector negotiations have never ended well for unionised workers. Whether the suppression of the isolated nurses’ illegal strike in 1999, or special laws repeatedly passed throughout the 2000s, or when the union bosses signed a sellout agreement in 2010 based on wage increases linked to GDP growth (as if state employees can be responsible for the misfortunes of the economy!). If we look at the record of the past few years, we can say that three conditions are necessary for a true mass strike which can be turned against austerity policies :
1 - Ensure the unity of all public sector workers, as well as of the entire working class.
2 - Be ready to challenge any special law that the Liberal government will not hesitate to impose at the slightest threat by means heavy pressure.
3 - The rejection by general meetings of any sellout that will undoubtedly be signed by the major union federations).
What unity?
This unity is already under threat. Already 30,000 teachers of the Autonomous Federation of Teachers is not taking part (they say it is at the request of the CSQ (Centrale des Syndicats du Québec) which does not want to see their members leave to join a younger, more combative federation). The FIQ (Fédération des Infirmières du Québec or nurses union) members also refused to join the Common Front, which is understandable after they were let down and were jointly and severally left on the wayside during the 2010 negotiations. Also, poaching members between participants in the Common Front is increasing, pushing the union bureaucrats to further weaken unity to avoid losing their “market share” of contributions from the public sector. The Common Front looks more like a facade than a genuine attempt at union of workers. It must be remembered that unity has no value unless it is carried out by the rank and file.
Capitalist legality will be against us
Do not be fooled, there will be special laws, and if they are not challenged it will be a setback for our living conditions. Two things may hamper our ability to confront the bourgeois state and its repression. The first is the lukewarm attitude of union officials. We have to understand that union officials act in the capitalist legal framework and cannot defy it without facing repression that would endanger their positions. Its always more profitable for the apparatus to obey the laws rather than challenge them. With threats of fines and the logic of the class collaboration they will undoubtedly surrender. The other is the fear of defeat. The memory of the consequences of the illegal strike by nurses is still fresh in the memory of the men and women who took part. Without the prospect that we will not be isolated and betrayed, there will be hesitation and this reluctance could be fatal.
No crumbs, no retreat
There will be no real fight when directed by the major union federations. Jacques Létourneau, Daniel Boyer and Louise Chabot, have much more in common with Philippe Couillard and Pierre-Karl Peladeau than with a nurse or a road worker. Social peace, personal benefits, the growth of the capitalist economy is by, and for, them. They especially want to maintain their lifestyle and their privileges from our contributions. Nothing in their nature and in their situation is ready for the class struggle. We must prepare our work comrades to reject capitulations signed by the by the major federations.
Count only on ourselves ... for real
Faced with these difficulties, there are no miracle solutions. The apparatus of union control, the capitalist media , the bourgeois state and its police we will not offer gifts, the only solution is to organize more seriously.
Activists and the more conscious activists have to come together in autonomous mobilization committees in the unions and the state. They must be prepared to face the bureaucracy, to shake up the agenda of union leaders starting with local militant actions. Initiatives in this direction like the STAT[1] committee are promising. Recent years have clearly demonstrated that unions are not even able to carry out the most basic defensive actions correctly. It is time for workers to take the road of autonomy. Massive general assemblies are required, involving members of all unions and all sectors outside the framework imposed by our employers to build unity of the rank and file. It should also go to the other sections of the proletariat to unite with all struggles of our class. If we want to win, it will be through taking control of our struggle. The Common Front for this has to be more than one or two demonstrations on which they spend five minutes on television news, for it is the beginning of a real struggle against the devastating effects of the crisis of the capitalist system on our lives. It should not be sad repetition of previous failures. Victory and the eventual emancipation of workers depend on it.
Leaflet issued by the Internationalist Workers’ Group/ Groupe Internationaliste des Ouvriers
Affiliate of the ICT in North America
Footnote
[1] What is STAT? It comes from the latin “statim”, meaning immediately.
We are a group of workers from different fields in the healthcare sector. What brought us together was our understanding of both the urgent need to slow down and eventually reverse the constant degradation of our working conditions and the fact that this can only be achieved collectively. We believe that we are all in this together - nurses, PBs, secretaries, lab technicians, respiratory therapists, paramedics, maintenance workers, etc - and wish to promote solidarity among all workers.
If you are interested in joining us or would like to subscribe to our mailing list, please contact us via email at comitestat@gmail.com, we will be glad to hear from you. http://www.comitestat.org/