Alliances against corporate globalisation

Asbjørn Wahl

Although it is a little hesitant and carefully worded, I very much welcome motion No. 5. Actually, parts of motion 8 proposed by the Austrian Railway Workers’ Union, which has now been withdrawn, were even better and more committed, but anyway, it is a very promising proposal the Executive Board has come up with.

The corporate globalisation, the offensive of the market forces, the attacks on public services and the welfare state which we have been witnessing over the last 20 years, have provoked the development of a rapidly growing counter-movement – including a number of NGOs, many young people, social movements and organisations all over the world. This movement of movements has been decisive in analysing and uncovering the true face of neoliberal economic policies and in mobilising resistance. To be honest, this movement, which is not anti-global, but anti-neoliberal, has been ahead of great parts of the trade union movement, which have had, and still have, difficulties in adapting to the new and harsh social and economic conditions.

The development of this new and radical global movement has been decisive in revitalising popular resistance and has created hope and inspiration for many of us. The impressive mobilisation of about 250,000 people in the streets of Genoa at the G7-meetinglast year and 500,000 people in the streets of Barcelona during the EU summit early this year are the last, impressive proves of the vitality and strength of this movement.

I have had the pleasure of being an active part in this alliance or movement over the last few years. This brought me to Seattle in 1999, Prague in 2000 and Gothenburg in 2001 – as well as to the two conferences which have so far been held by the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre last year and this year. It has been an enormous inspiration.

In particular I have been taking part in the development of one of the important networks of which this new movement of movements consists, the so-called Our World Is Nor For Sale network. It was born from the successful campaign against the Multilateral Agreement on Investment in 1997-98 and the fight against the neoliberal policies of the World Trade organisation up to the Seattle summit. Since then, the network has focused primarily on world trade, the WTO – and currently the WTO services, or the so-called GATS, agreement.

It was this network that developed the political platform which has formed the basis of the WTO-critical movement and which was signed by more than 1600 organisations all over the world, including a number of national trade unions. It was also this network that developed the political platform for the current international campaign against the ongoing GATS negotiations, which unfortunately is very little known to people, but which in the worst case could turn into the most severe and co-ordinated international attack on public services that we have seen till this date.

An increasing number of NGOs and social movements are joining the network. We have organisations dealing with the environment, with human rights and with development questions on board. We have solidarity organisations and broad national alliances, like the one I myself have been engaged in setting up in Norway over the last few years, the so-called Campaign for the Welfare State, which include a number of trade unions as well as other social movements and NGOs. The international organisation of landless people and small farmers, Via Campesina, is also a part of the network, as is the currently most rapidly growing international, French originated ATTAC movement.

Last but not least, a number of national trade unions, six or seven in Norway only, are supporting the network. Last year, we achieved an important breakthrough, when the Public Services International, as the first international trade union confederation joined the network. I was strongly involved in the efforts of getting the PSI on board, and it has played a very important role in further developing the network as well as the policies of the network.

The PSI now takes part in meetings of the network, it takes part in the monthly international telephone conferences that we have, it takes an active part in the information and discussion list we have established on the Internet, it takes part in developing policies and activities and it is promoting these to its affiliates. Currently it plays an enormous important role in developing, promoting and advancing the international campaign in relation to the ongoing GATS negotiations. By the way, we were very pleased to see the very strong statement that the Global Unions issued on the GATS agreement and negotiations a couple of months ago.

There are two important reasons why the trade union movement should join this new, popular movement. Firstly, because of its strategic position in society, the trade union movement is decisive if the aims of the movement are to be achieved. No other social movement can replace the trade unions in this regard, and without the trade union movement, the aim of a democratic, just, equal, environmentally sustainable society can never be realised. Secondly, the trade union movement needs the social and political pressure of this popular movement in order to create the political environment which makes is possible for it to achieve its own goals.

There are tensions between trade unions and new popular movement. These are partly the results of political disagreement, partly the results of different backgrounds, experiences and a lack of mutual contact and understanding. The trade union movement blames many NGOs for being undemocratic and non-representative organisations, and many NGOs blame the trade union movement for being bureaucratic mastodonts. To a certain degree, both are probably right. However, if this alliance is developed constructively and correctly, the two movements could reinforce each other and bring the struggle to a higher level.

I therefore hope that this motion will contribute to bringing the ITF fully into the popular movement against neoliberal globalisation. With its own history, experiences and activities, the ITF and its affiliates have a lot to contribute to this movement – and, I think we should admit, a lot to learn.

(Speech at the ITF Congress, Vancouver, 14-21 August 2002.)