After October 12, the movement against
the attack on pensions has reached a critical threshold. The great days
of action are no longer the centre of gravity, although they are still
massive and increasingly militant, as shown by October 19. Now, the
central axis of the struggle has shifted onto open-ended strikes and
pickets blockading different sectors of the economy.
the movement has taken the form of a proliferation of initiatives:
walkouts, pickets, blockades, demonstrations… In the best tradition of
the French workers’ movement, the strike is growing on the initiative
of union branches, local unions, the inter-professional General
Assemblies, etc., in spite of the passivity of the union leadership,
which is not giving any "lead". To this we have to add the increasing
involvement of the youth, now with the entry onto scene of university
students, following the path of school students who have already
massively mobilised. The ground under the feet of the Sarkozy government
is becoming shakier by the day.
In the country of the June 1936 and May 1968 movements, nobody can
say where this strike movement will end up. Already, all sorts of
demands ‑ on wages, working conditions, employment ‑ are being attached
to the demand of the withdrawal of the Woerth reform. The movement feeds
on the anger and the frustration built up within the mass of the
population in recent years. The authority of government is in free fall
and Eric Woerth is the most discredited man in France. Yet Sarkozy sends
him to speak on television shows to explain that the reform embodies
the "general interest", two words that resonate strangely in the mouth
of the Minister of Labour and Corruption.
The facts continue to contradict the statements of the government.
Woerth says the movement is "decelerating" when it is growing stronger
every day. Not long ago, [Secretary of State for Transport] Dominique
Bussereau said that there would be no shortage of fuel, when motorists
can witness for themselves that the opposite is the case, i.e. large
scale scarcity. [Prime Minister] Fillon swears that the government will
not allow blockades to develop, but throughout the country they are
multiplying. And so on. The government is sinking into a grotesque
denial of reality. Its impotence grows by the day. This further
undermines its authority ‑ and boosts the morale of young people and
workers in struggle.
Recently, right-wing UMP leader, Xavier Bertrand called on the so-called "silent majority"
to express their support for the Woerth reform. This call was obviously
lost into oblivion. Someone obviously had forgotten to inform the
leader of the UMP that all opinion polls for several months have been
showing clearly that only a small minority of the population supports
the government’s plan. The vast majority opposes it, just as it opposes
the government as a whole and especially Nicolas Sarkozy. Public opinion
is against despite the permanent media fanfare ‑ and not a very
"silent" one at that ‑ trying in vain to convince us that reform is
"essential", etc.
The servility of the media industry is evident. The official news
distills all the lies of power. They try to discredit the movement by
constantly broadcasting images of clashes between security forces and
"youth gangs" (which are infiltrated by agents provocateurs). They
remain silent about the powerful movement that is growing, affecting
many sectors of the economy. But this has its limits. Instead of
discrediting the movement, the mainstream media are discrediting
themselves.
The power of the working class
movement is the answer to all those sceptics who, for the last 30
years, have made speeches on the "powerlessness" and "atomisation" of
the working class, even about its "disappearance". In reality, workers,
potentially, have absolutely enormous power. They constitute the
overwhelming majority of the active population. Nothing works without
their permission. The first consequence of a great strike movement is
precisely to make workers aware of their own strength. “The
country is us!" said a striker recently at a refinery in front of the
television cameras. This truth has revolutionary implications. Once the
workers in action become aware of their collective strength, it is not
easy to stop them!
In France and across Europe, the growing integration and
interdependence of different branches of the economy have greatly
strengthened the potential power of working people. We have seen it now
with the strike in the ports and refineries, whose impact on the overall
national economy is very important. Similarly, a general strike of the
lorry drivers, railway workers and all transport workers would
completely paralyse the country. There is another call for an indefinite
strike of one significant section of workers, which is weighing on the
already sombre atmosphere at the top of the state: that of the union of
cash distributors. In 2001, already a powerful strike in this sector had
paralysed the circulation and supply of banknotes.
Tuesday, October 19, Francois Fillon announced a "plan for fuel transportation," which would allow a "return to normality" within "four or five days." This
announcement was made 48 hours after the already forgotten announcement
that there would be no shortages. However, the Prime Minister is not
very generous with words when talking about the details of this "plan".
That is because unless the members of the government are sent to man the
service stations themselves, they will have to rely on the workers to
do it. However, workers in this sector do not seem very well disposed
towards the government! "Requisitioning" of strikers ‑ with threats of
five years in prison ‑ is an outrageous violation of the right to
strike. Their main effect will be to increase the anger and
determination of the mobilised workers. There will be no "return to
normal" as the strike at the ports and the blockades of depots and
filling stations will remain solid.
The use of force to unblock the schools, roads and fuel depots is
another blatant attack on our democratic rights. But here, the
government is playing with fire. Repression could also radicalise the
movement. The death of a young person, for example, would trigger an
angry mass reaction. Last week, the CGT representative of a refinery
strike warned that if the government cracks down on youth, "we will move
to an insurrection."
Develop an indefinite strike
has explained that the government’s determination to attack our pension
system would not be stopped by "days of action", even if these are
massive. Everyone is now aware of this. The obstinacy of Sarkozy is
perfectly normal in terms of the class whose interests he defends.
Facing a major economic crisis and a record public debt (80% of GDP),
the capitalist class has no choice but to attack all our social gains.
Today it is pensions. Tomorrow will be health insurance, national
education, social housing, unemployment insurance, and again pensions,
etc. After pouring billions of euros into the coffers of the banks and
multinationals, the state wants to recover the money at the expense of
the vast majority of the population. Capitalism has come to mean
permanent social attacks.
In this context, only the generalisation of a movement of indefinite strike action
can force Sarkozy to back down. It is true that such a movement cannot
be simply sucked out of thin air at any moment. We should not raise the
slogan of an unlimited general strike in a light-minded manner. It is
only necessary in specific circumstances: when it is the only one which
can advance the movement and when the mood of the working class is ready
for it. Today, all these conditions are clearly present. A
general strike would be the direct, logical extension of the present
multiplication of strikes that each day paralyse the country a little
more. Calls in this direction are being made from many union structures ‑
not only trade union federations, but also inter-professional General
Assemblies held at departmental level, in the Ardennes and Haute-Loire.
Moreover, opinion polls show that faced with the obstinacy of the
government, all the forces of the working class and youth are prepared
for a long and widespread strike movement.
The development of an indefinite general strike should be accompanied
by democratic centralisation and coordination of the movement. Sectors
on strike should coordinate at local and national level, on the basis of
delegates elected by General Assemblies, and with the right of recall. A
national inter-professional coordination of such delegates could
centralise information, circulate it, discuss the movement from day to
day and take the necessary initiatives to strengthen the strike. The
national "Intersyndical" [trade union alliance], many of whom speak
about quitting the movement after the Senate vote, cannot play this
role.
The government says that Parliament represents the “will of the
people”, and as such it can legitimately vote on the Woerth reform. But
in reality, the parliamentary majority is the voice of a small handful
of big capitalists who hover over the pensions "market" like vultures.
Facing them there is an overwhelming majority of young people and
workers opposed to the reform. This contradiction between Parliament and
the labour movement will be settled by the struggle itself. According
to an opinion poll by BVA published today, October 20, a massive 59% of
those asked said they were in favour of "the unions to continue their
appeals to strike movements and demonstrations after the approval of the
text of the pensions reform by Parliament". The union leaders who say
the Senate vote "will change the situation" seek to cover their
capitulation with an institutional veil. The movement is growing and
spreading. We must strengthen and develop it, whatever the reactionary
majority who controls parliament thinks.
