|
There is scarcely a basic right we share today that was not
fought for tooth and nail
by trade-union members yesterday
– or that, without them, could not easily be lost
tomorrow.
 The eight-hour working day
 The origins of May Day as an international celebration of working life lie not in
communism but in Chicago, where four anarchists were executed for ‘incitement’
following nationwide strikes for an eight-hour day on 1 May 1886. At the time, 12-hour
– and even longer – shifts were commonplace in the US, as they remain today in
many parts of the world. In France and Germany some trade unions now want to restrict the
working week still further so that employment can be more evenly shared – and a less
dominant feature of daily life. |
A living wage
 In 1888 the activist Annie Besant wrote a newspaper article called ‘White Slavery in
London’ about the dreadful pay and dangerous conditions suffered by young women
working at the Bryant and May match factory. Three girls suspected of giving her
information were sacked – and 1,500 women walked out in sympathy. The firm
capitulated. Many countries now have a legal minimum wage – a formal, if minimal,
recognition of union demands for human dignity. |
The vote
 The right to vote was conceded only reluctantly in the North. Unions played a major role
in founding (and funding) the labour and progressive movements that pushed for
‘universal suffrage’. In the South, unions have been the most consistent,
courageous and organized opponents of military dictatorship – and their members have
paid a heavy price. In 1979 at least 200 were killed during a general strike opposing a
military coup in Bolivia; thousands have been killed or imprisoned for resisting tyranny
in South Africa, Chile and Indonesia – as they were in Nazi Germany and the Soviet
Union. |
Democracy at work
 Experience in Scandinavia, Germany and Japan suggests that democratic engagement at the
work place promotes, rather than restricts, rewarding work. Union members have always
insisted on having some influence over the decisions of management, and they have helped
to generate alternative forms of ownership and control, including co-operatives and mutual
societies. |
To each according to their needs
 The idea that essential services, like healthcare and education, should be
‘public’ and ‘free’ to all at the point of delivery was first advanced
by trade unions. Their members still provide many of these services, which have been
starved of public funding. The sense of public service – every bit as much as
self-interest – is reflected in union resistance to ‘structural adjustment’
and privatization. This resistance is now a common feature of union struggles in Latin
America, Africa and Asia, as well as in the North. |
Unite and resist
 Such benefits have only been won by workers acting together through unions, and in
alliance with other social movements or political parties, for the common good. In recent
years, many rights have been lost or restricted – and inequality has spiralled to
historically unprecedented levels as a result. The international fightback, North and
South, is now under way. |
An invaluable and comprehensive guide to
trade unions and their history in almost every
country is provided by Trade Unions of the World, 2001,
John Harper Publishing, London,
2001.
|
New
Internationalist 341
