Italy – Per la Democrazia Popolare: FOR CLASS UNITY AMONG WAGE-EARNING WORKERS
We hereby share a translation that we received of a text published by Per la Democrazia Popolare on the 14th of May.
FOR CLASS UNITY AMONG WAGE-EARNING WORKERS:
ON THE TWO GENERAL STRIKES OF 18 AND 29 MAY
Two distinct trade union and political blo, linked to alternative trade unionism and movements opposing the Meloni government, have called for two ‘general strikes’ in the second half of this month, a few weeks apart.
In the first, the USB is the dominant force and therefore, given the stance and positions of this trade union, the strike on 18 May is gaining support and backing from all political forces associated with the radical left. In particular, the strike on 18 May is supported by Potere al Popolo [ PAP ] and the Rete dei Comunisti , including the youth organisations OSA and Cambiare Rotta.
In the second grouping we find SI Cobas alongside the CUB, ADL Varese, SGB, USI-CIT, Slai Cobas and sectors of the movement.
In both cases, whilst the approach refers to the defence of the economic interests of the proletariat and the popular masses, support for the Palestinian people, and opposition to rearmament policies and warmongering enterprises, it does not place at the centre either the fundamental contradiction of our era—that between imperialist countries and oppressed peoples—or the need to link economic and trade union struggles with the struggle against imperialism and fascism. The issue of fascism, now on the rise in all imperialist countries, starting with Trump’s USA, Tsar Putin’s Russia and the China of the new emperor Xi Jinping, is not even mentioned, despite the blatantly fascist nature of the current government.
At the same time, bombastic statements are made about the need to “change everything”, to “secure substantial pay rises and decent pensions”, and to “overthrow the Meloni government”, without saying a word about how any of this could be achieved given the current balance of power. Without therefore taking into account a social reality heavily shaped and regimented by employers’ fascism and by the reactionary trade unions (CGIL, CISL and UIL) that dominate factories and workplaces, as well as by the actions of a government which, with the substantial support of the social-fascists of the PD and the M5S -who are careful not to offer the slightest opposition- churns out decree-laws every day that sweep away the remaining trade union, political and opposition rights of wage earners, the masses and rebellious young people.
Furthermore, neither 18 nor 29 May will be anything remotely resembling ‘general strikes’, given that the forces calling these actions are unable to organise strikes across different sectors and categories of workers, with the result that such ‘general strikes’ generally amount to mere propaganda initiatives in support of their respective political and trade union agendas.
A further highly problematic aspect of these two strikes is the umpteenth revival of corporatist logic, whereby the forces of grassroots and alternative trade unionism promote and fuel divisions amongst wage-earning workers, young people, the unemployed and those in precarious employment, precisely at a time when, in the struggle to defend material interests and democratic and trade union rights, anti-imperialism and opposition to the fascist government, it would be necessary to promote the greatest possible unity among the various sectors of the proletariat and the popular masses.
A further highly problematic aspect of these two strikes is the umpteenth revival of corporatist logic, whereby these forces of grassroots and alternative trade unionism promote and fuel divisions amongst wage-earning workers, young people, the unemployed and those in precarious employment, precisely at a time when, in the struggle to defend material interests and democratic and trade union rights, anti-imperialism and opposition to the fascist government, it would be necessary to promote the greatest possible unity among the various sectors of the proletariat and the popular masses.
Despite everything, there is no doubt that, albeit in a disorganised manner and without a clear collective trade union and political identity, sectors of militant workers and students will take part in these two strikes; in whatever form they can, they will throw themselves into the struggle, going beyond the corporatist logic and the limitations of the trade union and political forces that promote them.
The two May strikes bear witness to the urgency of rebuilding the Communist Party, without which no class-based trade union can be built. They are therefore an opportunity to work towards bringing together the most conscious and militant workers and young people present in both camps, around programmatic content and a genuinely class-based, anti-imperialist and anti-fascist line.
Today, it is essential that this work of class unification be carried forward, not only in relation to these two strikes, but above all in day-to-day trade union work. This involves operating according to the conditions and sectors within the various existing collaborationist and reactionary trade union organisations (CGIL, CSL, UIL) or within the reformist and opportunist ones (USB, SI COBAS, CUB, CONFEDERAZIONE COBAS, SGB, USI-CIT, SLAI COBAS, SLAI PROL COBAS, etc.).
Where conditions permit, in particularly favourable circumstances likely linked to specific local situations and disputes, one might perhaps attempt to form independent class-based trade union committees and bodies.
In any case, it is clear that communists undertaking such work, particularly within reactionary, reformist and opportunist trade unions, must do so by organising and coordinating themselves in the organisational forms best suited to safeguarding the workers they organise from spying, provocations and reprisals—not only from the bosses, but also from these very trade union apparatuses themselves.
Trade Union Initiative, formed within the Collectives for People’s Democracy as a body to combat the reactionary and opportunist line of the current collaborationist and reformist trade unions, and to support the development of class consciousness and a class-based trade union orientation among workers, young people and proletarian students, calls for participation, wherever there are genuine mass initiatives, on the basis of these critical positions regarding the strikes of 18 and 29 May.
INIZIATIVA SINDACALE – PLDP
