Europe: State of the Unions

Extract from Asbjørn Wahl Article:

Austerity Policies in Europe: There Is No Alternative

Most of the European trade union confederations are clinging to what in EU language is called ‘social dialogue’. This means that they act as if the class compromise is still intact, and that peaceful bi- and tripartite cooperation between labour, capital and the state is still the most effective way of promoting the interests of workers. That the class compromise has come to an end, and that the social forces with whom they seek dialogue are attacking public services, wages, pensions and trade union rights day and night, do not seem to weaken most European trade union confederations’ belief in social dialogue as the main way forward.

Anyway, the social struggle in Europe is entering a new phase. The crisis polarises differences and provokes confrontations particularly at the local and national level. General strikes are back on the union agendas in many countries, particularly in Greece, where the population is being exposed to draconian measures that threaten their general economic and social living conditions. In Portugal, Italy, Spain, France, Ireland and Great Britain general strikes and mass demonstrations have also been carried out, though with differing degrees of strength and intensity. Even if the outcome of these struggles so far is pretty uncertain, here is where we can find hope for the future – together with other, new and untraditional social movements. The European social model, such as we know it from its heyday, has at any rate been abandoned in reality by the European elites, even if they continue to pay lip-service to it.

A democratic solution to this crisis will require massive mobilisation in order to change the balance of power in society. Only if the trade union, labour and social movements are strong enough to pose a threat to the existing economic order, will the speculators and their political servants start to give in. That is why support for those who are now fighting to contain this cutback policy is so crucial. The restructuring of the political left will have to be part of the task. Either the trade union, labour and social movements manage to defend the social progress gained via the welfare state, or they risk being left with a right-wing authoritarian and socially degraded Europe. A great part of the social progress of the last century is at stake – and there are lots of alternatives.

Asbjørn Wahl is director of the Campaign for the Welfare State. He is also an adviser at the Norwegian Union of Municipal and General Employees and holds an elected position at the International Transport Workers’ Federation. His most recent publication is The Rise and Fall of the Welfare State (London: Pluto Press 2011), upon which large parts of this article is based.