The European and global crisis has hit workers particularly hard – so it is all the more alarming that trade unions are not benefitting from this crisis of capitalism, and that so far they have been unable to mobilise mass responses to it. Right now, just when the idea of crisis-free capitalism is being exposed as a myth, surely unions should be acclaimed as experts about the crisis. Union aspirations, going back many years, for a social Europe, statutory minimum wages, and investment programmes for ‘Crisis countries’ should be at the top of the agenda. Instead, the crisis has brought us dismantling of social security systems, and ever more precarious jobs; at the same time, the attack on the benefits system in Germany (the ‘Hartz laws’) is being rolled out across Europe. These events create clear opportunities for unions to take a lead in the political process; but instead of acting as a channel for protest and discontent, and linking these with trade union aspirations, what we see is the European and global trade union movement slipping into lethargy, and wearily organising days of action and solidarity. This workshop track looks behind the scenes of union crisis policies, and seeks solutions and opportunities in Europe and around the world. As well as analysing symptoms of the crisis, we will consider union responses to youth unemployment, to destructive austerity policies, and concepts of a common European tax policy, and we will look at how to deal with growing right-wing populism. This will include examining different forms of right-wing populism within Europe and further afield. There is also a workshop on ‘Labour as a commodity’, which will focus on the role of unemployment within capitalism.
Key questions include: Where is the potential power of unions? What are the opportunities for European and global solidarity? How can unions become political and social actors in the struggle against youth unemployment and austerity policies in Europe, and against global damage resulting from the crisis? What can unions offer as an alternative to nationalist responses to the crisis?Workshops planned in this track:
- Rising Racism and Fascism in Europe+implications for Trade Unions
- The neoliberal regime of „activating and forcing people to work“in Europe. A challenge not only for initiatives of the unemployed
- Interaction of workplace struggles and the protests against the European policies of the Troika
- How do Trade Unions in Europe get more influence? How can we organize to get stronger? How do we react to results of the European Election?
