Two members of the second biggest Argentinian labour union, the Argentine Workers Central (Central de los Trabajadores Argentinos, CTA), went to southern Africa last September, to discuss different approaches to union mobilisation. Over twelve busy days, intense discussions were held on new forms of union mobilisation. Meetings were mainly organized in the region of Cape Town and then Johannesburg in South Africa, and in Maputo in Mozambique. Two hundred unions gathered to learn from the CTA, and to reflect on the evolution of commitment within the unions.
Two visions for the same goal : unite the workers, active or unemployed, to fight for their rights
Meetings and debates targeted the differences between unions in Argentina and in South Africa. The CTA has a very special status in Argentina : it is not recognized by the Kirchner government. Created directly after the Argentinian economic crisis in 2001, it has progressively replaced the general workers’ union (CGT) which was considered too close to the government. In seven years, the CTA has grown considerably thanks to its new approach to unionism, which consists of mixing workers from different professions with the unemployed. It coordinates the different social groups, in order to create a different project in Argentina, and to give workers more rights. Membership is handled directly by the CTA or through federated unions.
This meeting highlighted the profound issues governing labour unions in South Africa and Mozambique. They remain much more specialised in the representation and strict organisation of workers, hence the importance of these exchanges between the different types of union organisations. Following this meeting, Cosatu, one of the biggest South African labour unions, with 1.6 million members, admitted that it needed to rethink its unionist committment, taking into account the fact that to unify the working class, this class must be properly identified, and accepted in its different forms, without the exclusion of any category.
The promising example of a factory without bosses
The example of the Argentinian factory Zanon Ceramic, now transformed into the factory FaSinPat (factory without bosses) in 2001, has been much discussed, because it represents a successful model of self-management. Following an economic crisis, and deterioration in work conditions (increase in hours and rhythm of work, repeated work-related accidents), the exasperated employees went on strike. Their demands concerned security and health in the workplace, and the hiring of a permanent nurse. Management’s response was brutal: the workers were fired. The strikers then decided to occupy the site which had been put up for sale and, after a drawn out debate, the workers decided to take over the factory. They claimed right of ownership, arguing that many of the employees had not been paid for months. After more than two years, new hirings and a production increase, this venture has continued on an international level. These worker-managers share their experience with other organisations, as with the meeting in South Africa. Carrying this experience beyond the Latin American continent, unions are strengthened: thus the association Ilrig, by publishing a brochure on the meeting, passes on the message, and offers south Africans inspiration from success stories around the world.
Also read: Resonances Latin America N° 25 - June 2008
