A-Infos (en) France, UCL AL #348 - Trade unionism, National Trade Union Congress: Solidarity at a turning point (ca, de, fr, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

The 9th national congress of the Solidaires Trade Union will take place 
from April 22 to 26. How does a Solidaires congress work and what are 
the main issues? ---- The congress will be an opportunity to look back 
on the last three years. Beyond internal questions, questions arise 
about the effectiveness of our action on wages, the fight against the 
regression of rights, the rise of the extreme right, the resurgence of 
war in Europe and the acceleration of the climate crisis. ---- What 
democracy in Solidaires? ---- The democratic question is a cornerstone 
of the self-managing union movement that Solidaires embodies in France. 
But what is really happening in the organization of the congress?

The national committee (Parliament of the Union where the national 
unions and the UD departmental unions are represented) decided in July 
2023 on the themes of the congress.

Then commissions, coordinated by the national secretariat and open to 
the participation of each national union and each UD, took place in the 
fall. They resulted in a "version 0" of the texts which must reach 
consensus to serve as a basis for amendment. Then the national committee 
of January 2024 validated these texts.

Then, the unions and UD made amendments. A commission met to integrate 
those who improve the texts by consensus. What remains now are the 
amendments which bring new ideas/positions, request deletions or massive 
rewritings which will be discussed in congress.

In congresses and in the Union, it is the practice of consensus which 
takes precedence, to avoid a "minority/majority" system, a source of 
internal tensions and the risk of sectarian sclerosis. Thus each 
congress committee discusses the maintained amendments and sees if they 
can be integrated.

She has complete freedom to rewrite proposals and integrate them. If 
there is no consensus, the structure which carries the amendment can 
decide to withdraw it or submit it to a vote by the congress. There we 
need  2/3  of the votes in favor in the college of national structures 
and in that of the UDs for the amendment to be validated.

In short, going to a vote is not the best way to get a position across.

To hold the debates, Solidaires has adopted a charter for congress 
participants "For a solidarity congress free of oppression, inclusive 
and welcoming" and a specific unit set up during the congress.

But what is this congress talking about?
Basically, there are 3 resolutions. The first "Our unionism in a world 
in crisis" addresses the positions, alliances (in particular the 
Ecological and Social Alliance, formerly Plus Jamais Ca) and priorities 
for the next 3 years to deal with social and ecological emergencies, the 
rise of the far right, etc.

The second "Enrich, adapt and develop our demands" allows us to explore 
certain subjects in greater depth, in particular concerning women's 
rights (menstrual leave, control over one's body, domestic violence, 
abortion), disabilities and ableism and the construction of inclusive 
unionism, strengthening social protection (extended to food, housing, 
environmental issues, etc.).

The third resolution, "Our union tool", will raise the question of unity 
and inter-union recomposition. It will also address the development of 
the Union in sectors and territories, the place of staff representation 
bodies in Solidarity unionism, the strengthening of training, internal 
democracy and the establishment of a protocol in the event of presence 
far-right within Solidaires.

An alternative unionism still relevant today?
Solidaires, who has just turned 25, has had to face various problems in 
recent years. The most serious certainly remains the "trade conflict" 
which highlighted the undemocratic practices of what was called the 
"trade and service federation". Unfortunately, if the Union showed its 
capacity for reaction and collective defense by suspending this 
federation, it remained in the middle of the watch by not being able to 
exclude it: this requires unanimity and certain unions for different 
reasons, did not follow the vast majority of structures.

Developing a unionism of struggle and social transformation and having 
explicitly called for the strike to be renewed until March 7, 2023, 
Solidaires had a strong exposure during the retirement movement. But 
does this translate into membership and the strengthening of our 
unionism? This is what we will have to check in a period of transition 
for Solidaires which has seen the number of members stagnate and perhaps 
slightly decline.

Two "timeless" issues since the creation of the Union will be in the 
game again. On the one hand, make sure to build the Union and avoid 
selfish selfishness or the "self-interested" relationship with the 
interpro. On the other hand, move forward with our structuring to 
facilitate unionization and accelerate our development in the private 
sector.

Finally, the congress will discuss the question of union recomposition 
with the stated objective of opening a discussion on this theme after 
the congress. The context of the exchanges between the CGT and the FSU 
initiated at the end of last year opens up possibilities while being 
complicated. The FSU continues to work with Solidaires on this subject 
(even if the CGT takes precedence among the majority Unity and Action 
movement, close to the PCF).

On the CGT side, if the public discourse agrees with that of Solidaires 
on "the threats of the extreme right", the door to a recomposition is 
for the moment closed because of tensions which exist in certain 
sectors, such as rail. This is a turnaround compared to the "Martinez 
period" which was more open towards Solidaires.

Where we see the concrete impact of the last confederal congress of the 
CGT, with a "leadership" in which the rail, energy unions and the PCF 
occupy an important place and where part of the CGT does not want burden 
yourself with the "leftists" of Solidaires.

In the end, we will see at this congress if the Solidaires project of an 
alternative unionism in close connection with the social movement is 
capable of continuing to adapt to the period and finishing its youthful 
transformation to fully enter its adult life. .

From libertarian communists to Solidaires

https://www.unioncommunistelibertaire.org/?Congres-syndical-national-Solidaires-a-un-tournant
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