Just a brief post from the 2016 Summer School of the Global Labour Institute (GLI). Please follow the fascinating, thought-provoking programme via Twitter or Facebook or live streaming:
https://twitter.com/hashtag/iss16
https://www.facebook.com/globallabourinstitute/
http://global-labour.net/iss16/
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| This year's group photo - somehow I ended up with the 'R' in solidarity. |
So invariably, we kicked off on Monday with Asbjorn Wahl (Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees) with a session on developments with the capitalist economy (particularly around financialisation) and the extent to which organised labour has a defined anti-capitalist strategy.
Of course it is true to say that most established 'traditional' unions have no anti-capitalist agenda. Instead, and certainly the case in industrialised economies, the focus is on gaining comparative advantage for organised workers. This was a fascinating session, with opportunity for discussion, and which fed into today's focus on the environment. Taken together the sessions revealed that the compromise and embededness of some labour movements with capitalist economies require some urgent thinking on the part of those movements on their future survival.
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| The uncompromising position of the FSIE Teachers' Union of Romania. Thanks to Peter Damos of the union for proudly wearing showcasing this logo all week. |
http://www.itfglobal.org/en/cross-sectoral-work/supply-chain-logistics/in-focus/industrial-hubs-programme/
One of the most impressive elements of the Hubs idea is that it has come from, and is built on, activist knowledge and experience of the differing employers/sectors allied to logistics hubs. Although the ITF should be congratulated for developing and piloting the programme, it is important to note that the core philosophy is the simple notion of trade union solidarity. How did it come to this that we need to think through and strategise upon how workers inter/intra the movement co-operate and support one another's struggles? This is not, of course, to criticise the ITF, but to support the GLI's insistence that labour movement activity rests on a clear platform of political goals and values.
Today's session continued the focus on labour movement responses to transnational capital with a presentation by Paula on the ITF's campaign focusing on DHL. John Storey of the GLI drew on his experience as a UNITE activist within UNILEVER to discuss the IUF's Casual-T campaign (http://www.iuf.org/casualtea/). Angelo Gavrielatos of IE provided a sound analysis of the extent of the agenda of capital in the education sector, Finally, Mora Sar of the Food & Service Workers' Union of Cambodia provided insight on a campaign at a large Carlsberg plant.
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With Baba Aye of the Medical & Health Workers' Union of Nigeria and Michael Ayuraboya of the National Association of Graduate Teachers of Ghana
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Tomorrow's focus is explicit;y around the political state of organised labour and Friday is spent concluding the Manifesto of the Summer School.
The Manifesto (here is a link to last year's: http://global-labour.net/iss15/) provides a great insight both into the focus of the Summer School and also its outcomes - well worth reading, and please use the GLI link at the top of the page to read this years which will be published in a month or two.
Attending the Summer School has been particularly valuable as I continue with writing up my doctoral thesis. One of the key, re-occurring themes of the Summer School so far, and that my thesis discusses, is the political sustainability of traditional models of trade unionism in the face of rampant financialised capital.
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| In fine form (as ever) John Hilary of War on Want |
The quote from last year reflected his concerns around continuing deep-seated and rising economic inequality, particularly across the famed American middle-class, the bell weather socio-economic group in America.
The second quote is from the Gen Sec of the ITUC, Sharan Burrow: We are not only losing collecive bargaining rights, we are now effectively in a labour war across Europe, the US, emerging democracies. Why? Because the old stakeholders who drove the neo-liberal economic policies that would seem to be foul policies, the Washington consensus if you like, are back in control. We thought the global financial crisis showed them that this was a failed economic model. We were wrong.We now have a situation where we are largely engaged in what I can only describe as a labour war.
As Dave Spooner of the GLI has repeatedly asserted throughout the week thus far (and has maintained throughout his working life within organised labour) is that the movement has the capacity and ability to generate a response within the context of this war.
There has already been some really valuable insight on how workers have regained power and control in the workplace and in local communities in what appeared to be hopeless situations.
Dave kicked off the week reminding us of the valuable role of Paulo Freire in shaping the approach to workers'/adult education and it's helpful to finish this post with a quote from him in the context of the the new ideas that can come from the knowledge that workers create, even in what appears to be overwhelming situations:
Critical and liberating dialogue, which presupposes action, must be carried on with the oppressed at whatever the stage of their struggle for liberation. The content of that dialogue can and should vary in accordance with historical conditions and the level at which the oppressed perceive reality.
In Solidarity
Ian
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