8 November 2014
Is the European Union good for Trade Unionists?
Speaker: Luis Miguel Pariza: Member of the European Economic and Social Committee
Good morning, and warm thanks to ERIS for this invitation. It is a great honour for me to be here with you again, at a meeting of good friends. We are all committed to workers’ fight for social justice, decent work, equality and solidarity: in England, in Spain and throughout Europe.
Europe’s workers are going through very difficult times, and have to face major challenges.
At other moments in history, trade unions also had to tackle serious problems. Circumstances have changed a great deal over the last 200 years, and the problems are different. However, the main dilemmas are similar, and the questions are much the same:
In Europe we have different trade-union models, with different systems for collective bargaining and for political and institutional participation. The role played by trade unions in the United Kingdom, Spain, France or Germany is very different.
However, despite these differences, Europe’s workers and trade unions started out on the path of cooperation extending beyond their company and beyond their country a hundred and fifty years ago.
Since their inception, the work of trade unions has always had an international character, and internationalism is still a very important feature of our work today.
Trade unions have been in the vanguard of change. Faced with divisive nationalism, we have raised the flag of solidarity and universal brotherhood.
This week we are celebrating the 150th anniversary of the founding of the International Workingmen’s Association, known as the First International. On 28 September 1864 in St Martin’s Hall in London, British trade unions held a meeting in which French trade union representatives also took part. It was the start of the International, which representatives from other European and American countries later joined.
The General Rules they adopted defined the International as “a central medium of communication and cooperation between workingmen’s societies existing in different countries”. It was not a supra‑national trade union organisation, but an organisation for promoting social revolution against capitalism.
We are all familiar with the way the ideological and political debates of trade unions and political organisations developed over the years. A lot of water has since run under the bridge, but workers’ struggles have succeeded in influencing key historical events.
Things are very different today, but since then, with different models and systems, trade unions have continued to strengthen their cooperation, both in Europe and internationally.
Our grandparents had to tackle the debate about the war between European nations in 1914 and 1939. Today we are commemorating the centenary of the first world war, and exhibitions and conferences are being held in all of Europe’s capital cities.
Discussions between European trade unionists were very difficult: How were they to continue cooperating when their governments had declared war? How were they to resist the war? How could they turn the war into revolution?
Europe’s workers and trade unions learned in the first half of the 20th century that in order to defend labour and social rights we also have to defend democracy and human rights against totalitarianism. And we also learned that we have to overcome nationalism and strengthen the ties that bind us.
The European integration process
This began more than fifty years ago, with the aim of avoiding new wars and improving people’s quality of life. To this end, not only were new political cooperation and security systems set up but also an economic community, starting with the coal and steel sectors.
1951 thus saw the setting-up of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), which led to the signature in 1957 of the Treaty of Rome establishing the European Economic Community. A Customs Union was introduced between Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.
As an alternative, in 1960 the United Kingdom and six other countries (Austria, Denmark, Norway, Portugal, Sweden and Switzerland) set up the European Free Trade Association, EFTA. However, the success of the European Economic Community led Denmark, Ireland and the United Kingdom to decide to join the EESC in 1973.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) was also founded in 1973. This was a highly important step in uniting European trade unions and overcoming ideological and national differences. The establishment of the ETUC presupposed a strong political commitment to European integration on the part of the trade unions.
From the start, the ETUC has worked to defend the ideals of Europe’s workers: a peaceful, stable Europe in which workers and their families enjoy human, civil and social rights, together with a high level of employment and good working conditions.
Greece joined the European Communities in 1981, followed by Spain and Portugal in 1986. 1989 saw the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany.
Ten new countries from central and Eastern Europe (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus) joined in 2004, and Bulgaria and Romania followed in 2007. More recently, Croatia has become a member. Today there are 28 Member States.
The integration process took concrete form with the creation of the European Communities in 1967. Later, the first European Parliament took office and the European Monetary System was set up. The Common Agricultural Policy was developed, followed by the regional development funds.
In 1993 the Maastricht Treaty established the European Union. 1994 saw the start of the second stage of Economic and Monetary Union with the establishment of the European Monetary Institute, followed in 1999 by the setting-up of the European Central Bank. In 2002 the euro became the currency of most EU Member States.
In 1999 the Treaty of Amsterdam created the High Representative for External Affairs and Security Policy, and the pillar of immigration policy, security and justice.
A Convention was then set up with the aim of turning the European Treaty into a Constitution. However, following rejection by the citizens of France and the Netherlands this was withdrawn and was replaced by the Lisbon Treaty, which improved the institutional system, strengthened the role of the European Parliament, and enshrined the Charter of Fundamental Rights.
A key moment for Europe came with the creation, in the Maastricht Treaty, of the legal title of European citizenship, whereby all citizens of the Member States are also EU citizens; as such, we are protected by the Charter of Fundamental Rights: the rule of law, non-discrimination, equality between men and women, free movement, voting rights, and so on.
Among the rights enjoyed by all EU citizens is the right to travel and reside freely anywhere in the European Union.
In addition, the Schengen Treaty abolished border controls between 26 Member States. The United Kingdom and Ireland are not part of the Schengen area. As British citizens, you therefore do have to cross a border to enter Spain or France.
From the outset, trade unions decided to participate in the European integration process. We were already part of the ECSC Consultative Committee, until the ECSC’s competences were brought within the European Union in 2002. The Consultative Committee was subsumed into the European Economic and Social Committee by setting up the Consultative Commission on Industrial Change (CCMI), of which I am currently a member.
The European Economic and Social Committee was established by the Treaty of Rome in 1957, and trade union representatives have formed an active part of it ever since. I have been a member since 1999.
Over those years, Europe’s trade unions have had to face major challenges, and we have also had to overcome ideological and political differences. Reaching agreement has not always been easy.
The trade unions have generally supported the European integration process as a way of avoiding further wars and consolidating democracy and the protection of human rights.
However, we have been critical of the imbalances of the Customs Union and the European Union, as they initially lacked a social dimension.
We have always argued that the operation of a large European single market needed social regulations in order to prevent social dumping and to improve workers’ rights.
Social regulations must guarantee the right to collective bargaining and social dialogue, and EU-wide rules are needed to protect the employment rights of workers, with a European social model that extends social rights to social security, health and education, and high-quality public services.
In Europe’s trade unions we have campaigned for years for common rules on health and safety at work; for a guarantee of the right to free and fair movement for workers; for education and training systems that facilitate equal opportunities; and for the creation of an economic and social cohesion policy.
To put it simply: for the single market to benefit people as well as businesses.
During the first stage of European integration, work focused on establishing the Customs Union that eliminated trade barriers, and on competition policy.
However, from 1980 onwards the trade unions managed to include in the European political agenda the need to give the single market a social dimension; without this step we could not accept the introduction of Economic and Monetary Union.
The efforts of trade unions and workers succeeded in changing European governments’ agenda so that they took account not only of the interests of businesses, but also of those of workers and citizens.
This marked a new stage in improving the EU’s social dimension. Advances were also secured in the protection of human rights.
Here I would like to highlight the adoption of the Social Charter, proposed by the European Economic and Social Committee and adopted in 1989. Although the UK did not sign up to this initially, the Labour Government did so ten years later.
And the Charter of Fundamental Rights (which the Lisbon Treaty made legally binding and which incorporates the rights contained in the Social Charter). The Cameron Government, following the wishes of the economic authorities, wants to withdraw the UK from the Charter.
The Charter introduced a “horizontal social clause” under which the Union, when drawing up its policies, must take account of the requirements of a high level of employment, social protection, education, training, health protection, equality and other fundamental rights.
The Charter thus obliges the Commission, Parliament and European Council to take account of employment and social protection in their economic governance. On this basis the ETUC draws up its requirements for changing the direction of economic policies.
However, “social Europe” has many enemies, and their political influence has grown during the crisis. The neoliberal model is taking hold of governments’ political agenda.
With the current economic crisis, Europe’s conservative parties and economic authorities are attacking the European social model, and to do this they need to weaken the trade unions. The economic crisis has led to serious reverses in “social Europe” and in workers’ rights.
A new political cycle in Europe
The European Union is entering a new political cycle: in the context of the economic crisis, and of a rise in nationalist ideologies and xenophobia.
Today more than ever it is necessary to strengthen the ETUC and to press ahead with European integration. We must prevent reverses that could lead us once again to disaster. Nothing is set down in the future that would prevent Europeans coming to blows again and repeating past errors.
What are the main challenges for the next few years? I shall just mention a few.
Ten days ago the new European Commission headed by Mr Juncker started work; I hope he will show greater political autonomy from governments than his predecessor, Mr Barroso. I hope he will be able to mobilise the money he has promised to re-activate investment.
The first major challenge is to create jobs. The economic crisis and austerity policies have brought unemployment to intolerable levels all over Europe.
The ETUC maintains that a radical shift in policies is vital. Austerity policies and cuts in investment and in public services must end.
At the ETUC executive committee meeting on 21 and 22 October and the social dialogue summit on 23 October, the trade unions called for greater flexibility about budget stability and the launch of a broad stimulus package, with an investment plan of 2% of annual EU GDP to support sustainable growth and reindustrialisation for Europe: a sort of Marshall Plan. The aim is to create 11 million new jobs.
The ETUC president (an old friend of mine), Ignacio Fernández Toxo, and its secretary-general, Bernadette Ségol, proposed to the new Commission that economic governance should fully take on board social-policy objectives, bringing an end to austerity, and that social dialogue should be strengthened.
The new Commission must commit to facilitating social dialogue, as this is the best policy instrument for ensuring that changes are fair. EU employers’ organisations do not want to commit to social dialogue with the trade unions because they know that the Commission is on their side. For social dialogue to work, the Commission must defend the general interest, not that of the bosses.
Another key concern of the ETUC is the negotiating processes for facilitating international free trade. These must respect Europe’s social and environmental regulations.
The negotiations with the United States on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) are taking a negative approach and lack transparency. The agreement will give multinationals and financial capital a power that goes above European and national laws and will seriously threaten workers’ rights and public services.
Another very sensitive issue for trade unions is the REFIT (Regulatory Fitness and Performance) programme, which has been presented as a way of simplifying legislation but is actually a political scheme to deregulate workers’ rights and obstruct social dialogue.
The fight against social dumping is one of the main tasks facing Europe’s trade unions, and must be one of the Union’s priorities. Businesses must not be allowed to use worker mobility as a means of social dumping.
The ETUC defends free movement in the EU, and opposes those governments that seek to limit it. Mobility of workers must be voluntary and fair, and we have therefore proposed that the directive on the posting of workers and immigration legislation should guarantee equal treatment and non-discrimination in pay and in employment and social rights.
Europe must ensure its energy supply, strengthen its commitment to fight climate change, and increase its use of renewable energies. A political framework is now being discussed for the 2020-2030 period.
The ETUC has proposed that this package should include fair transitional systems so as not to destroy jobs; and also that the EU should commit to developing a low carbon economy that will make for a new, more sustainable industrial policy.
The EU also has to clear up some areas of uncertainty. The United Kingdom needs to adopt a position of greater commitment towards integration. As trade unions, we cannot accept that the social regulations and Charter of Fundamental Rights should not be applied throughout Europe. This same demand holds true for the Czech Republic and Hungary.
Adoption of the euro must be open to all, but the euro area needs to strengthen its governance systems: the European Central Bank, banking union, fiscal coordination, harmonisation of some taxes; and also, in the medium term, the creation of a European Treasury, own taxation, and mutualisation of the public debt.
We are likely to see a two-speed Europe if all governments are not prepared to make the same commitments and proceed at the same pace. The Member States that want to press further ahead with integration cannot waste time. The world is anxiously awaiting our decisions.
Europeans again find themselves faced with an upsurge in nationalism that in the past has had dire consequences. Once again, xenophobic and extremist ideologies are colouring the political activity of Europe’s governments.
In the European Parliament, the number of MEPs belonging to these groups has increased. The ETUC hopes that the new Commission and the new Parliament will not introduce policies tainted by these ideologies, and that the EU institutions will provide a firm barrier against the destructive tide of nationalism and xenophobia.
Europe must play a more active role on the international stage. The High Representative and the European External Action Service (EEAS) should encourage new initiatives to reduce international tensions and crises. The war in Ukraine must be brought to an end, and relations with Russia improved. In Africa and the Middle East, the EU must assume greater responsibility for peace and development.
There are more displaced persons and asylum seekers in the world today than at any time since the second world war. Europe must make new commitments to protect these people and cooperate actively with international bodies such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and establish a more open, solidarity-based common asylum policy.
Europe cannot continue to be a fortress that prevents the arrival of immigrants. In a globalised world where capital and goods move ever more freely, the European Union must have more flexible systems for granting visas, and a more open immigration policy that shows greater respect for human rights.
The ETUC has set up a coordination group on worker mobility and immigration, of which I am a member, to press the EU institutions to make these policies more open and ensure equal treatment and non-discrimination of migrant workers.
There will be other important topics on the new European agenda for which the ETUC will have to use its influence to defend workers: in the policies on industry, transport, infrastructure, agriculture and fisheries, education and culture, regional and cohesion policy, and others. We can talk about these in the debate.
As you can see, the European agenda for the coming years is very long, and represents a major challenge for the trade unions.
I hope that our response, the ETUC’s response, is right, and I want the UK trade unions to remain committed alongside other European trade unions.
We share the same aim: to ensure that the Europe of tomorrow is a vast area of peace, democracy, human rights, solidarity, justice and social equality.
Thank you very much.
0 Comments