France. No to the mystification of “social dialogue”! Yes to proletarian class struggle!

Prises de position - Prese di posizione - Toma de posición - Statements

Laurent Berger, leader of the numerically largest trade union confederation, the CFDT, recently declared in an interview that we must not “make the workers believe that it is the succession of mobilization days that will make the President of the Republic back down” (1). But that is exactly what he has been doing, with all the organizations forming the “Intersyndicale” (the “cartel” made up of the largest trade union federations), for three months now!

After noting the failure of this orientation, he has the nerve to say that “the struggle is not over”, because there is the May Day mobilization, the possibility – very not likely – of a referendum (a first request has already been declared invalid by the Constitutional Council) and the possibility of appealing to the administrative judge to challenge the terms of application of the reform… In short, he is pulling the wool over our eyes! Previously, the “Intersyndicale” had given people the impression that Parliament could replace the fight and prevent the reform; after the its final adoption following the rejection of the censure motion, it found nothing better than to “solemnly ask” Macron not to promulgate the law! For these true social firemen, it was “the only way to calm the anger”, “the choice of wisdom and pacification”. And they were still lamenting the lack of respect for “social democracy” (2)!

The facts show that this “social democracy” is an illusion, just like political democracy: what exists under capitalism is the struggle between the classes, more or less open, more or less “brutal”, but constantly waged by the bourgeoisie. The capitalists, of whom Macron is merely the agent, strive to maintain social and political peace because this is the best situation for the smooth running of their economy.

In times of economic prosperity and growth, they willingly pay the price in the form of social reforms and various small improvements: these are mere crumbs from the profits of the capitalists. But when hard times come, when economic crises begin to hit, these concessions become unbearable for them; then it’s time for the deterioration of the living and working conditions of the proletarians, lowering of wages and increase in unemployment, time for counter-reforms. As soon as the interests of the capitalist economy and capitalist enterprises are at stake, the bourgeoisie and its state never hesitate to redouble their attacks and to impose these interests by force, even at the cost of flouting democratic forms and of pushing their so useful trade union servants. If the latter are indignant (Martinez, ex-president of the second largest trade union confederation, the CGT, has criticized the government for “having walked over the trade unions”), they immediately reiterate that they “cling to quality social dialogue” (3).

It is not possible to truly defend the proletarians if dialogue with the class opponents, which are the bosses, their government and the state, is favoured, as the failure of the current and previous mobilizations shows once again: the trade union apparatuses clinging to social dialogue, i.e. to class collaboration, are in fact bound up by a thousand ties to the social status quo, to the maintenance and defence of the economic and social system of capitalism and the so-called “democratic” bourgeois political order. Therefore, they orient mobilizations so that they occur in a “calm” manner, so as to disturb the functioning of capitalism as little as possible; and for fear of “radicalization” they do not react in any way to repression, they do what they can to avoid the extension of strikes and ultimately to weaken the movement.

A real struggle, open and general, which really threatens capitalist interests and does not allow itself to be stopped by legal and peaceful constraints, is essential to defeat the attacks and to wrest concessions – before moving into the counter-offensive itself; but one cannot count on this for the collaborationist trade union apparatuses, which are fundamentally opposed to the class struggle. The proletarians, who have mobilized in their millions, possess a potentially enormous force capable of defeating all attacks if they break with the strategies of class collaboration and throw themselves into the confrontation class against class!

– Against pension “reform” and all bourgeois attacks, class struggle with breaking with the orientation of the organizations of trade union and political collaborationism!

– Unity and solidarity in the struggle of all proletarians, in the public and private sectors, employed and unemployed, workers and pensioners, men and women, young and old, French and immigrants!

– General increases in wages, unemployment benefits, pensions and all social minima!

– For the revolutionary struggle against capitalism, against its war preparations and imperialist domination, in unity with the proletarians of the world!

International Communist Party

Il comunista - le prolétaire - el proletario - proletarian - programme communiste - el programa comunista - Communist Program