A blog devoted to anarchism, socialism, evolutionary biology, animal behavior and a whole raft of other subjects
Sunday, November 07, 2010
CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT:
HEALTH CARE ACTION IN SAGUENAY:
Yesterday, November 6, the Collectif Emma Goldman of the Québec UCL, along with the student employee's union of the University of Québec in Chicoutimi organized a demonstration against the privatization of health care and fees for service. The following is translated from the original French at the Québec City Voix De Faits Blog. More details and photo reportage are available at the Collectif Emma Goldman site.
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Action In Saguenay
The comrades of the Collectif-Emma Goldman (UCL-Saguenay) and the Union of students employed by the University of Québec at Chicoutimi organized a demonstration on Saturday, November 6 action against fees for service and the privatization of health care.
About fifty people gathered outside the hospital in Chicoutimi. Hundreds of leaflets, stickers against the privatization of health and the Cause Commune Express Newspapers were distributed to passers-by and motorists. This action was intended to oppose the last budget tabled by the Minister Bachand and the gradual commodification of health, through fees for service and privatization.
"The " health franchise " of Minister Bachand is a real shame. Quietly what they want with this kind of measure is to introduce into popular opinion that the idea that everyone should pay for health care. We are going back to 50 years ago. Moreover, on November 1st, we celebrated the 40th anniversary of universal health insurance. The idea behind the scheme was to ensure universal quality free health care to everyone funded through a progressive tax. "The Charest government is taking the ax to an important part of our gains and our struggles ", said Stephen David Bellemare, President of the Student Employees' Union of the University of Québec at Chicoutimi.
Stephane Turcotte, spokesman for the Collectif Emma Goldman:
"Over the last thirty years we have seen attacks by successive governments, whether Liberal or PQ. Anything that is not beneficial to economic growth is considered unnecessary. Education, health care, social programs, public services in general are all affected by this ideology of capitalist profitability. These attacks are occurring throughout the West. Greece, Spain, England, France, everywhere they ask workers to tighten their belt when we know that all these governments have given billions of dollars to banks. It is an international struggle, we must never forget that. "
"Always in the service of the rich and business, this government despises the working class and poor. Charest and his cronies have chosen their camp for a long time and it is not ours. The government is working hard to destroy everything that was built in the public interest to ensure a society that is a little more fair and equitable ", Stephen David Bellemare expressed indignently.
==> More details and pictures on the blog of the Collectif Emma Goldman
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
CANADIAN LABOUR QUÉBEC:
CONSTRUCTION STRIKE IN QUÉBEC ?:
As August 30 draws nearer so does the deadline for a general strike in Québec's construction sector. As of today no further talks have been scheduled before the deadline. Whether the strike will actually happen or if it will be called off by a last minute deal like last May's construction strike in Manitoba is still in doubt. In the interim the unions involved (part of a five union common front) are mainly engaged in the tried and true tactics of on the job action such as work to rule, refusing overtime and taking all allowed breaks.
In the end these tactics may exert more pressure than the threat of a general strike which, as the writer of the piece below notes, would be rapidly legislated back to work. The delay since the opening of negotiations last fall in coming to a contract may possibly be due to employer intransigence. This suspicion is reinforced by what is also noted below, that any new contract will not be retroactive. In other words every minute of delay adds more to the construction company profits, and the companies involved would only soften their stance at the last possible moment to avoid serious disruption.
What can be done in such situations ? It may make me unpopular amongst "radical" circles, but it seems obvious to me that the possible general strike is almost certain to fail due to back to work legislation. That fact should be clearly pointed out, and the usual leftist cheerleading for "general strikes" should be muted. Not every such strike is a victory, and they often result in great defeats. And no such defeats do not necessarily "build militancy", let alone radicalism. At the same time the die has been cast, and Québec construction workers now have little choice but to go ahead with the strike unless the bosses back down. What should have been done long ago is the present pressure tactics at the actual job sites. A few days of such things actually costs the bosses far more than an ephemeral general strike that is rapidly legislated out of existence.
But that is a lesson for the future not for now. The following article is from the Québec City Voix De Faits blog, the blog of the QC section of the platformist Union Communiste Libertaire. The original French version can be read at that site. Molly takes full responsibility for any translation errors that the following may contain.
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Outline of the situation in Quebec.
Since January 2010, construction workers in Quebec have been working without a contract . Nevertheless , as many bosses as unions had announced in October 2009 , exemplary negotiations that would be settled by the due date of collective agreements. Practically nine months later , workers in shipyards have yet signed agreements and the situation is becoming increasingly tense .
What we should not lose sight of here is that the concept of " retroactivity " as if logic and common in the public service do not apply . Each day that passes represents several thousands of dollars of economic savings in the pockets of the bosses. In short , for almost nine months, the pressure tactics are one way : towards workers .
Recently , the unions began a common front in negotiations , all five represented in the construction field are involved this time , and began to implement a plan of pressure tactics voted for in a general assembly of the members present . Of course , for anyone coming from other areas of work , it is rather suspicious to see stewards on hand in the workplace asking members to leave. We must not forget, however, that construction is a sector that is excessively scattered over the territory and that is the only effective way to spread the word.
The media always refers to two or three " honest workers "who say they are not aware of all this is happening and that they felt " intimidated " or even " forced " to leave the targeted sites . First , ignorance of the current situation of these workers is their own fault as there are regular union meetings where it is possible for everyone involved to be informed. Then , all construction workers , including supervisors , are unionized and union representatives are equipped with cell phones reachable all week and just waiting to answer questions from their members . In terms of bullying , it is a little or nothing at all. On the site , workers present are not in the habit of being four and a half feet tall and weighing120 pounds . In short , of course, if a " union team " landed on construction sites, they are often large and heavy fellows , but they do not raise their voices except when necessary ( eg confrontation with employers or workers who are anti union ) . In short , we must take cognizance of the existence of these cases , but it is not necessary to make a big deal as in the mass media where one can see the boss' petticoat sticking out .
Employer Demands
The employer demands follow an inexorable logic exceedingly common in the capitalism of the twenty-first century : flexibility and deregulation . We want more hours working on construction sites with less overtime paid accordingly (time and a half , double time , etc. .) . We demand the elimination of many benefits deemed " unproductive " . These benefits can range from those called " team leaders "( a bit like a small foreman ) to work at night or in special conditions .
The bosses also want the best value for their money , otherwise there will be less of it coming into their pockets and that, that is the enemy of the bourgeois class . In this context, they want to cut down on operating costs directly related to the workforce . They want to cut the compensation offered for accommodation on remote sites , stretching the concept of the territorial zone of workers (a worker in the region of Quebec can not go, exceptions , and work in Abitibi) and in the industrial sector , begin to pay the worker only when physically present on the worksite . Thus one is left to go to different checkpoints for minutes or even hours, on his own time .
Basically, the employers' logic is simple: we want to increase competitiveness through deregulation, a reduction of wage costs and increased flexibility of the workforce . In short , they are quietly approached the model of employment in a fast food restaurant . Simply , the rules of collective agreements apply to all of Quebec , so we can immediately ask what the bosses want to really mean by 'competitiveness'.
Union demands
For the workers' representatives , the situation is quite different. They are asking to tighten the rules in connection with the territories of the workers, increase the premiums that employers consider "non-productive ", and to improve the concept of financial compensation for accommodation on remote sites . In short , as usual, the bosses and the workers both pull up the covers of their sides hoping to improve their lots.
It's a bit simplistic , but in terms of brevity and to avoid annoying repetitions , take the demands of the employers listed above and reversing them you get roughly the trade union positions.
The logic of the trade unions is also quite different. It is assumed that the construction market is moving in a "closed" way , that is to say that everyone should work by the same rules in Quebec , which eliminates the logic of competitiveness so dear to employers . In short , when the logic behind the demands are the opposite, do not expect the demands to be in close proximity to each other.
Interestingly , the issue of wages is hardly the order of the day!
Critique of the unions
We live in a system that leaves little room for radicalism , let alone anti-capitalism . So do not be surprised to see the central claim to be merely to improve conditions for workers under the current economic mode of production and no more.
Also , the construction environment is an area where everyone is unionized with no other choice but to settle down in one of five union centrals present . This leads to the perverse effect of disconnecting the unions from the unionized . General meetings are not held and efforts to attract the union members are hardly massive.
The centrals over time and except when negotiating collective agreements or filing grievances , seem like nothing more than service centers . There's even a central that looks more like a general store than a union , but this is not the subject of this text here. Obviously , it is the members who make their unions and it is they who must take action, but the absence of the option of organizing themselves has the perverse result of having an amorphous mass that is more reluctant to pay more for dues than anything else.
Finally, from a libertarian perspective , one could also wonder why one does not seek to change the very framework of functioning and take up, for example, a sort of anarcho -syndicalism, but that would be to live in a bubble, to ignore the society around us and to believe that the current trade unions have any revolutionary fervor .
The general strike?
It is effectively this option that is scheduled for late August , at the same time as it will nine months that construction workers are working without contracts and the bosses have saved millions of dollars in salaries .
This way of action will be hard , but will certainly be short. One of the major employers is the Québec state , especially roads. It should be understood that the four different sectors currently negotiating will return to work at the same time , even if only three out of four have agreements on principle .
This labor solidarity is good to see, but it will also certainly lead to a blow from the state expressed no doubt as a government decree that would force a return to work . In principle , workers should not admit defeat without at least trying to push , but also in principle, the Government will play its role in class struggle and will help its natural ally, the employers.
Meanwhile, workers continue to demonstrate their anger by randomly deserting work sites in the province one day at a time . Thus , legal or not , these means of pressure expressing the workers' anger will continue for a few weeks and , hopefully , will make the employers compliant before the end of the month .
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The author is a construction worker who is active in the UCL and his union.
Tuesday, May 04, 2010
Cause commune no 28
Le numéro 28 de Cause commune, le journal de l'Union communiste libertaire (UCL), est maintenant disponible sur le web.
3500 exemplaires papier de ce journal sont distribués gratuitement par des militantes et des militants libertaires, membres ou non de l’organisation. Cause commune se veut un tremplin pour les idées anarchistes, en appui aux mouvements de résistance contre les patrons, les proprios et leurs alliés au gouvernement. Vous pouvez soumettre un texte ou nous faire part de vos commentaires en écrivant à journal@causecommune.net. Si le journal vous plaît et que vous voulez aider à le diffuser dans votre milieu, contactez le collectif de l’UCL le plus près de chez-vous (voir la liste sur http://www.causecommune.net).
Au sommaire du numéro 28:
Budget antisocial - Il faut faire reculer le gouvernement!
L’anarchie de A à Z - X comme... XXX
Il y a 40 ans en Italie, l'automne chaud de 1969
Camarade Michel Chartrand
Livre : Les Jacobins Noirs - Toussaint Louverture et la révolution de Saint-Domingue
Un monarque élu au Saguenay
Sur les lignes...
Du côté des patrons...
Cause commune no 28
No. 28 of Common Cause, the journal of the Libertarian Communist Union (UCL), is now available on the web.
3500 paper copies of this newspaper are distributed free by militant activists and libertarians, members of the organization or not. Common Cause wants to be a springboard for anarchist ideas, in support of resistance movements against the bosses, owners and their allies in government. You can submit a text or send us your comments by writing to journal@causecommune.net . If you like the newspaper and want to help distribute in your community, contact the group at UCL nearest you (see list on http://www.causecommune.net ).
Contents of No. 28:
Antisocial Budget - We need to make the Government back off!
Anarchy A to Z - X as ... XXX
40 years ago in Italy, the hot autumn of 1969
Comrade Michel Chartrand
Book: The Black Jacobins - Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution
An elected monarch in Saguenay
On the lines ...
On the part of the bosses ...
Friday, April 02, 2010
15 000 people against the budget in Montreal
On 1 April 2010 some 15,000 people filled the business district in Montreal at the invitation of more than 95 organizations of unions, feminists and students. Was this was the first stage of a unified response against the Liberal budget ? Only time will tell. In any case, it was a beautiful demonstration of the great popular procession type, very diverse , unified and combative (at least at the level of rhetoric...).
==> Our photojournalism
Text of leaflet distributed by the UCL
Against privatization and price increases:
ONLY STRUGGLE PAYS
We now know that in the budget tabled on March 30 by Minister Bachand introduced a host of measures, each one more regressive than the other. Only think of the establishment of new health fees and the sudden increase of the sales tax (QST). Rich people will do very well, as usual. Nothing in this budget calls into question their privilege and their little tricks to hide their money in tax shelters. Once again, it is us who are required to make the sacrifices.. Enough!
The worst is yet to come
Other measures, even more worrisome, are announced in this budget and will arrive later: health care billing based on use, further increases in tuition in 2012, a marked increase in electricity charges beginning in 2014 (3 7% per year until 2018). We have not come to the end of the tunnel, all the more as that there is no guarantee that the government won't add other rate increases to this list.
This budget custom made for large corporations and the ruling class, directly inspired by neoliberal ideology, also announced major cuts in public services ($ 15.4 billion in cuts over four years). While asking us to tighten our belts and pay more for reduced public services , the government reduced the tax burden on businesses, a move that will cost $ 729 million in 2010. After the end of the budget exercise, the effort asked of companies will be four times less than that required by "taxpayers". Thus, paper mills and aluminum smelters, two particularily energy hungry industrial sectors , will be spared from the rate hikes planned by the Government . And we continue to talk to us of equity and justice?
The crisis of capitalism on the backs of the working class
By increasing rates and introducing in the coming years a so-called "user fee" in the health system, the Liberal government adjusts itself to the global economic crisis. It tries to raise the budget of the state by first picking our pockets. Of course, no question of touching the advantages accorded to the rich. We know the song: if you tax companies more, they will move elsewhere. As wage earners, we are held hostage by the wheels of the economy where capital makes its own law. The state, in complete fidelity to the private sector completed the job by throwing on the backs of the people the burden of the deficit generated by the crisis of the capitalist system.
Redistributing wealth, beginning the response
A tax system even one more "progressive" will not fundamentally solve the unequal division of wealth in our society. Ultimately, to definitively resolve this problem, we must take the riches that the bosses and leaders have stolen. It is necessary to consider ways to free ourselves collectively, once and for all, from domination by the capitalists, by a takeover of our workplaces and self management of the means of production. True social justice can not be summarized as a tax credit even "solidarity"; it must come about through economic and social equality.
For now, we must fight together, shoulder to shoulder to defeat this government. We can roll back the Liberals, especially in terms of the measures announced in the medium term. There is public discontent with this government and its shenanigans. But to succeed, we need a broad movement, united and combative, ready to begin the showdown with the State, as was the case in 2003 (organized labor) and 2005 (student movement). We must also learn from our mistakes, notably in not allowing union leaders to set aside more radical agendas and initiatives (including the perspective of a comprehensive general strike). It is not by dialogue and working together that we can make the government bend, but by creating relations of strength. By submitting this budget, the government declared war on us. As always, the State has chosen sides in the class struggle. It is time to build ours.
The demonstration on April 1 is an important step in this direction, but the change must continue. Workers, students, retirees or unemployed: we are all attacked by these anti-social policies. And it's together that we must respond.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Abitibi workers to maintain blockade
The 300 hundred employees of the AbitibiBowater paper mill in Beaupré say they will maintain a blockade at the plant, north of Quebec City, until they get their severance pay.
The workers, who said they are owed a total of $12 million, set up a trailer blocking the road leading into the mill on Monday.
The workers are owed between $40,000 to $60,000 each, said Leclerc.
Each worker must file a request for compensation through the court-appointed bankruptcy trustee, he said.
The deadline for the forms to be submitted is April 7, he said.
The barricade will stay put until the workers are offered the full amount of their severance packages, he said.
Agreement with union
AbitibiBowater announced plans to shut down its Beaupré plant and to suspend operations at three other Canadian plants in September.
The company has been operating under creditor protection in both Canada and the United States for almost a year. It filed to restructure after struggling amid slumping newsprint demand and debts approaching $5 billion.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
MOUVEMENT ANARCHISTE DU CANADA/CANADIAN ANARCHIST MOVEMENT-MONTRÉAL:
MICHAEL SCHMIDT TOUR-CONFÉRENCE EN MONTRÉAL/MICHAEL SCHMIDT TOUR MEETING IN MONTRÉAL:
Molly a été mentionné précédemment la tournée livre pour promouvoir
Molly has previously mentioned the book tour to promote 'Black Flame' in Ontario. There will also be a meeting in Montréal. Here's the news from the Voix De Faits blog.
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De la visite sud-africaine à Montréal
Pour les gens de Montréal, une activité qui risque fort d'être intéressante (tiré du blogue La Commune).
Black Flame tour-Conférence montréalaise avec l'auteur Michael Schmidt.
L'UCL-Montréal vous convie à une conférence de l'auteur sud-africain Michael Schmidt qui présentera son livre Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism. La tournée ontarienne organisée par nos camarades de Common Cause s'arrêtera pour une seule conférence au Québec. La conférence montréalaise organisée par l'UCL aura lieu vendredi le 19 mars. Nous aurons plus de détails à vous fournir dans les prochains jours. Inscrivez donc cette soirée dès maintenant à votre agenda...
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The South African Visit to Montréal
For the people in Montreal, an activity that is likely to be interesting (from the La Commune blog).
Black Flame Montreal conference tour with author Michael Schmidt.
The UCL-Montréal invites you to a conference with the South African writer Michael Schmidt, who will present his book Black Flame: The Revolutionary Class Politics of Anarchism and Syndicalism. The Ontario tour organized by our comrades of Common Cause will stop for a single conference in Québec. The Montreal conference organized by the UCL will be held Friday, March 19. We'll have more details for you in the coming days. Mark this evening now on your calendar ...
Friday, January 15, 2010
Joint statement from Miami autonomy and solidarity and the Batay Ouvriye Haiti Solidarity Network
Send money to Batay Ouvriye using paypal
01/14/09- A natural disaster has descended upon Haiti whose scope we only are seeing the surface of at this time. The Haitian people will be struggling to rebuild their lives and their home possibly for decades in light of unprecedented collapse, both physical and social. Yet despite the unpredictability of earthquakes, this disaster is unnatural, a monstrosity of our time. The extent of the damage of the earthquake is part of the cost of unrestrained exploitation which at every step put profit above the health, safety, and well being of the Haitian people. While the world watches on ready to help, power is being dealt an opportunity. The Haitian workers and peasants have been fighting for their rights to even the most basic level of existence for decades, while the UN-occupying force, the state, and the ruling elites maintain the social misery without relenting. Now as Port-Au-Prince is in rubble, new opportunities arise for rulers to rebuild Haiti in their own interests, and likewise for the Haitian workers and peasants to assert their right to their own Haiti, one where they will be not be forced to live in dangerous buildings, and work merely to fill the pockets of elites, foreign or domestic.
As we move from watching in horror to taking decisive action, progressives can offer an alternative. There is a strong and beautiful desire to do something, to help others in this time of need. Our actions are strongest when we organize ourselves, and make a concerted effort in unity. Right now we can have the deepest impact by committing ourselves to act in solidarity with the autonomous social movements of Haiti directly. They present the best possible option for the Haitian people, and are in the greatest need. At the same time, we are in the best position to help them out our common interest as people engaged in struggling against a system that works to exploit us all. We are calling for solidarity people-to-people engaged in common struggle. It is not only a question of money for AID but also an autonomous and independent act of international solidarity that illuminates the bankruptcy of the occupying forces, multinational corporations, and Haitian elites that are primarily responsible for the decayed state of Haiti. There will be aid flowing and money given as a form of charity until the next disaster. Our act of solidarity should, in no shape or form, be solely an act of humanitarian aid. It should not be an apolitical act, and we shouldn't give the green light to those that wish to capitalize on the suffering of others. It should be an act of solidarity to the struggling people of Haiti and their organizations while at the same time rejecting the totally inept Haitian elites and their state apparatus for bankrupting Haiti. The earthquake is a natural disaster, but the state of Haiti, the abject poverty of the masses and the vile injustice of the social order, are unnatural.
We have a relationship with one organization, Batay Ouvriye, and are putting our resources and time into helping Batay Ouvriye to help rebuild from the catastrophe and maintain the struggle for a better Haiti and a better world. Batay Ouvriye is a combative grassroots worker and peasant's organization in Haiti with workers organized all over Haiti, especially in the Industrial sweatshops and Free Trade Zones.
We have set up a means to send money to Batay Ourviye. Send money to Batay Ouvriye using paypal or email: miamiautonomyandsolidarity@yahoo.com
Money Orders/checks: Payable to Miami Workers Center (in memo write MAS) Miami Workers Center 6127 Northwest 7th AvenueMiami, FL, USA 33127-1111
Une catastrophe naturelle vient de s'abattre sur Haïti, dont nous n’entrevoyons encore que la surface. Les haitiens vont devoir lutter pour reconstruire leur vie et leurs maisons, et ce vraisemblablement pour des décennies considérant cet effondrement sans précédent, à la fois physique et social.
Pourtant, malgré les l'imprévisibilité des tremblements de terre, ce désastre est contre nature, une monstruosité de notre temps. L'ampleur des dégâts du tremblement de terre fait partie du coût de l'exploitation effrénée qui, à chaque moment, met le profit devant la santé, devant la sécurité et devant le bien être du peuple de Haïti.
Lien:
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
LA POLITIQUE CANADIENNE/CANADIAN POLITICS:
LES RETRAITÉS CONTRE LES TRAVAILLEURS/PENSIONERS VERSUS THE WORKERS ????
Au Québec il ya eu une tentative de la part des retraités de l'Union d'avoir les divers syndicats enregistrés comme «lobbyistes». quand il s'agit de negtiations pension. Il est douteux si un tel déplacement sera de toute bénéficier les retraités d'aujourd'hui au Québec. Il convient également de s'interroger sur les arrière-pensées derrière une telle initiative. Voici le rapport de la Gazette de Montréal.
In Québec there has been a move on the part of union pensioners to have the various unions registered as "lobbyists" when it comes to pension negotiations. It is doubtful if such a move will be of any benefit to present pensioners in Quebec. One also has to wonder about the ulterior motives behind such a move. Here is the report from the Montreal Gazette.
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Make unions subject to lobby laws: ex-workers:
By KEVIN DOUGHERTY,
The GazetteDecember 19, 2009
Quebec's lobbying commissioner is deliberating on a request by an association of retired public-sector employees that public-sector unions be required to register as lobbyists.
The Association québécoise des retraité(e)s des secteurs public et parapublic wants the unions, whose negotiations are normally exempt from the lobbying law, to register as lobbyists when the talks turn to pension changes.
Luc Vallerand, director-general of the AQRP, said his association wants to use the lobbying law to influence the unions.
"We want to be consulted," he said.
And Vallerand says it is not ethical for the government to negotiate with the common front of 475,000 teachers, hospital workers and civil servants until the unions register as lobbyists.
Under the province's tough 2002 law on lobbying, a lobbyist is anyone who communicates orally or in writing with elected officials or their staff, senior civil servants or government enterprises, such as Hydro-Québec, to influence a decision.
All lobbyists must register with the lobbying commissioner, explaining each mandate they are pursuing.
Marjolaine Perreault, spokesperson for the Secrétariat intersyndical des services publics, the largest group in the common front, representing 300,000 teachers, daycare workers, hospital workers and civil servants, had no comment on the AQRP request.
Mélanie Malenfant of the Quebec Federation of Labour said the QFL is not taking seriously the AQRP's request and considers all issues on the bargaining table, including pensions, as part of the negotiating process.
Jean-Pierre Larche of the Confédération des syndicates nationaux noted that CSN president Claudette Carbonneau is already registered as a lobbyist for issues unrelated to the bargaining table.
"There is nothing to it," Larche said of the AQRP position. "It's a negotiation. It isn't lobbying to influence a minister."
kdougherty@thegazette.canwest.com
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Et ice est une opinion anarchiste de la blog Voix de Faits./ And here is an anarchist opinion from the Voix de Faits blog.
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Du syndicalisme au lobbyisme:D'après le Devoir, ça grogne du côté du Commissaire au lobbyiste du Québec pour que les syndicats complètent leur étiquette officielle de lobbyiste en chef. Même l'AQRP, l'Association québécoise des retraités des secteurs public et parapublic, attaque les syndicats pour qu'ils s'inscrivent officiellement lors de leur négocation! On savait que l'AQRP a quelques relations nébuleuses avec les grandes centrales syndicales. Rappelons surtout le dossier des retraites où elle plaide pour être à la table de négociation, craignant que ses membres - les retraitées- qui ne sont plus membres des centrales syndicales ne soient pas représentées. Mais là! Tant qu'à moi ça vole bas: pousser pour que les syndicats achoppent leur (dernier!) petit pouvoir de mobilisation et de contestation auprès du gouvernement!
Il est vrai que dans les faits, c'est peut-être seulement un titre de plus, voire une question d'image, puisque les grandes centrales agissent déjà comme des groupes de pression à saveur lobbyiste (d'ailleurs les chef.fes syndicaux sont pour la plupart déjà inscrites). Mais sur le long terme, cette entourloupette légaliste ne servira pas la cause des travailleurs et des travailleuses.
Surtout qu'idéologiquement, on entérine
1) que le gouvernement, en tant que patron, use de son pouvoir législatif pour baîllonner le combat syndical: d'où l'idée que les syndicats doivent inscrire leur négociation dans le registre des lobbyiste puisque la négociation du contrat de travail en lui-même ne requiert pas d'inscription au registre, seulement ce qui est encadré par la loi (les retraites par exemple).
2) que les syndicats sont un parti-pris comme un autre, au même titre qu'une entreprise privée ou qu'une branche d'industrie (le pétrole par exemple?); contrecarrant leur pouvoir de justice sociale pour tous et toutes et leur lutte pour l'amélioration des conditions de vie universelle, les faisant retomber au niveau d'une défense de droit lobbyiste du "plus pour soi, je m'en fiche des autres!".
Même s'il faut admettre que les grandes centrales syndicales négocient souvent lobbyistement, cherchant à protéger les acquis de LEURS travailleurs et travailleuses plutôt qu'à abolir le rapport capital-travail et à travailler pour l'ensemble des travailleurs et travailleuses exploitées, il n'en reste pas moins qu'ils sont un levier important pour la défense de la justice sociale. À ce point tel important que le gouvernement et le patronat ont compris depuis longtemps qu'il valait mieux encadrer leur puissance de frappe avant qu'elle ne porte le coup final.
La négociation des retraites risque d'être un sujet de plus où, sans démonstration collective de l'importance de la liberté syndicale, le dossier risque d'être clos avant même d'avoir instaurer un débat démocratique dans les instances syndicales. Toujours au profit des mêmes; toujours sur le dos de notre liberté à nous et de notre autonomie organisationnelle.
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And also in English.
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FROM UNIONISM TO LOBBYISM:
According to Le Devoir, the grumbles to the the Commissioner of Quebec Lobbyists are that the unions adopt the official label of lobbyists. Even AQRP, the Quebec Association of Retired Public and Parastate sectors, demanded that the unions to formally register their lobby business! We knew that AQRP has some nebulous relationships with the major trade unions. Recall especially the issue of pensions where it pleaded to be at the negotiating table, fearing that its members - the retired, who are no longer members of trade unions were not represented. So there! But it appears to me very much a drive for unions give up their (last?) little power to mobilize and challenge the government!
It is true that in practice it may be only a simple title , even a question of image, since larger organizations are already acting as pressure groups lobbying to their tastes (besides the union chiefs are mostly already signed on). But in the long term, these legalistic shenanigans will not serve the cause of working men and women.
Especially ideologically, it confirms
1) the government as a boss, uses its legislative powers to gag the union struggles: hence the idea that unions must register their negotiations in the register of lobbyists as bargaining since the negotiation of work conracts in itself does not require registration, only what is framed by law (eg pensions).
2) that the unions are biased like any other, just like a private company or a branch of industry (oil for example?); Counteracting their power for social justice for all and their struggle to improve living universal conditions , making them fall into a lobbyist defense of "more for itself, I do not care for others!".
Even if we admit that the main trade unions often employ lobbyists, seeking to protect the achievements of their workers rather than abolish the capital-labor relationship and work for all exploited workers , the fact remains that they are an important lever for the defense of social justice. At this point very important as the government and employers have long understood that it was better to regulate their punching power before they deliver the final blow.
The negotiation of pensions may be more a matter of where, without the collective demonstration of the importance of union indpendence, the case may be closed even before a democratic debate in the union bodies. Also always to their own benefit , always on the backs of our freedom and our organizational independence.
Friday, December 04, 2009
Voici le communiqué émis par «Flamme Québec» suite au rassemblement d'hier. Notons que Michaël Lessard, militant du CMAQ, a accepté de partager avec nous quelques photos du rassemblement (elles sont ici).
Friday, November 27, 2009
Le périodique La Sociale, du groupe lillois de la Coordination des groupes anarchistes (CGA), propose ce mois-ci un survol ma foi fort bien documenté du mouvement anarchiste québécois.
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Alll that is neither here nor there. The important point is that government corruption is hardly restricted to the city of Montréal. It is a constant across municipalities in Canada, and is also very much present in provincial and federal government contracts as well. The call from CUPE is echoed in a more expansive way at the Fagstein blog where the blogger calls for a much wider public inquiry into municipal politics in Canada. Government, by its very nature is corrupt, but it would be wise to make as much of it as possible transparent and to put as many restrictions on it as possible. Here`s the article from CUPE.
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CUPE CALLS FOR PUBLIC INQUIRY INTO QUÉBEC MUNICIPAL SECTOR:
In the wake of municipal elections plagued by scandals and allegations of corruption, the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which represents the vast majority of municipal employees in Quebec, is demanding that the Charest government take immediate action to clean up municipal affairs regulations, notably those governing the project bidding process and party financing.
“It is critical that we restore municipal public and parapublic services to their rightful roles. It is clear to us that making legislative changes to the way municipality’s award contracts is not enough,” asserted CUPE Quebec director Michel Poirier. “We have to be able to justify the contracts awarded to external firms and establish the necessary safeguards to foil any attempts at implementing a system of cronyism or patronage.” According to the union leader, while it is imperative to restore sound contract awarding and municipal management practices, the methods announced thus far are insufficient and serve only as a smokescreen to keep those truly responsible from being identified and avoid a public inquiry into the municipal sector.
The minister has already announced a meeting in Quebec City to discuss ethics and the contract-awarding process. CUPE has asked to be included in these discussions. “We want to be there; we have a unique and vital perspective on the issue. Our 25,000 members have an inside view of what’s really happening with the contracts for snow and garbage removal, IT systems, and water meters.”
Municipalities are among Quebec’s biggest suppliers of contracts of every kind. “Given this, the least that should be done is to make sure these contracts don’t result in kickbacks and handouts to friends of the system. In recent weeks, public services have been shown to guarantee us fair prices, transparency, and accountability. What we need now is for the contracts awarded to external firms—and there’ll always be such contracts—to be above all suspicion as well,” added Michel Poirier.
Party financing to be reviewed
In the same vein, CUPE is also calling for changes to be made to the regulations on municipal political party financing. According to CUPE, this is often the source of contract allocation scandals. “Anonymous donors, companies that pay employees to make contributions to parties, $1,000-a-plate dinners, and the ability to hide the origin of 20% of funds raised—it’s all nonsense! Beefing up rules to promote popular and transparent financing is a critical first step toward cleaning house in municipal politics,” the director of CUPE Quebec concluded.
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If anyone is interested in an anarchist analysis of Québec's municipal elections I can suggest the article 'Ville de Québec: L'opposition sera dans la rue' at the Voix de Faits blog. En Français évidemment.