Take care, a train on strike may be hiding another...
The essence of a social movement is to continually question the facts of a
situation and to transform yesterdays certainties into todays doubts and to
supply tomorrows questions. As the relations of power evolve, problems
present themselves with more clarity. Those questions which are being raised
by the current strike action may be decisive for what is to come.
Today the strike has a grip on almost the totality of the public sector. At
the same time - at least in Paris - student agitation seems to be having
difficulty in transforming itself into a veritable movement. A minority is
engrossed in an assemblyist activism which cannot go beyond the corporatist
framework which is under the control of the unions. The real relationship
between delegates, students and coordinating groups is hidden by clashes
between splinter groups at the heart of the coordinating committees and
which are, little by little, losing all credibility and are only
coordinating manipulative projects. The activism of this minority has only
survived thanks to the breath of life given to it by the workers strike.
Despite the energy of some to get accepted certain political proposals,
despite the radicalisation of a section of the student body, this 'movement'
has been unable, up until now, to go beyond its corporatism, or to invent or
liberate creative subversion.
In the striking public sector, certain aspects are appearing in a new light.
The movement has been launched from the grassroots and has been carried
along by a profound feeling of discontent which has been with our society
for a long time. However, the vast majority of the strikers seem to have
become the consumers of their own actions; active participation is left to
the syndicalist militants. In some cases only collective engagement has been
preserved. Whatever may be the case, the depth of the movement has already
brought into being a dynamic which has gone beyond the initial objectives.
Faced with the brutal choices of power - just as much determined by the
strikers themselves - one might wonder what are the forces within the
movement and what are its perspectives. Globally the strike remains under
the control of the unions, even if the clout of the delegates seems to be
the determining factor.. The unions are the only ones in a position to
negotiate the 'big deal' which is being projected as a 'reasonable' way out
of the conflict. The explosion into daylight of the class struggle, is
necessary for the capitalists to take a realistic assessment of the
situation and to define the framework of a new 'general interest'. Such a
confrontation may not displease them in so far as the outcome may be reached
quite amicably. On their sidee, the unions also need to struggle to
reinvigorate them from a low starting point. The form taken by this conflict
is an indirect consequence of the crisis of French syndicalism and its
urgent need to recover minimum representation. This weakness of the unions
is also the strength of the movement. One new factor in particular, the
strikers show themselves to be receptive and also concerned by what is
happening elsewhere in society. They have proved themselves capable of
extending their stuggle by means of their own strength, coming out of their
places of exploitation in order to meet up with other workers and persuade
them to join the struggle. Many of them have come over to support the
students in their struggle.
The lack of creation of forms of organisation which are able to express the
determination and the new aspirations of struggle is the main weakness of
this movement. It explains the passive attitude of a section of the
proletariat. This absense is as remarkable as the fact that the isolated
struggles of recent times have given rise to numerous autonomous
organisations. Today any generalisation about the strike serves the union
interest, reinforcing in a like manner their ability to negotiate.
Henceforth the weakness of the autonomous movement faced with the machinery
of the unions is synonomous with its defeat. If the movement is incapable of
going further and creating independant organisations which can bring
together both the unionised and non-unionised, it will be as incapable of
forming links with workers in the private sector who at the moment are the
hostages of the boss class. When the moment comes it will no longer be a
case of fighting the take over of the movement by the unions. It will be too
late. The union bosses and those in power will share out the fruit of our
energy and our generosity. Those who struggle today will pay the bill
tomorrow. Henceforth only by going beyond the union framework will we give a
new burst of life to the strike, to young people who are instruggle in the
universities and the schools. Th opening up of the strikers to other groups
is one of the strengths of the movement
TRANSFER APPARENTLY INTERUPTED
FREEDOM PRESS
http://www.lglobal.com/TAO/Freedom