UNSA Congress
Download article in original language : FR0504102NFR.DOC
The Union nationale des syndicats autonomes - UNSA, (National Federation of Independent Unions) held its fourth national congress in Nantes in March 2005. Even though the Federation’s initial attempts to have the Courts recognise it as a representative body failed, the organisation, buoyed by its score at the latest industrial court elections, is determined not to rest on its laurels and to press ahead with its growth.
The National Federation of Independent Unions (Union nationale des syndicats autonomes, UNSA), created in 1993, held its fourth congress in Nantes from March 15 to March 18. In the opinion of the organisation’s Secretary General, Alain Olive, who aimed to make the meeting a focal point for discussion and debate on policy, trade unionism must tackle the issue of 'the weakening of wage-earning society under the double hammer blow of globalisation and the retreat of the welfare State'.
In his report covering 2002-2004 (endorsed by 90% of votes cast), Alain Olive (re-elected together with the 10 other national secretaries at the congress) focused on the line consistently followed by the organisation, based on secular, reform-oriented trade unionism with particular emphasis on the independence of its affiliates and the body’s support for a social Europe.
In his opinion, action in opposition to both the Far Right and pension and health insurance reforms had helped to forge and strengthen the organisation’s identity. In the same way, support for the Treaty on the European Constitution was completely in line with the entity’s Europe-friendly positions and policies developed over many years (FR0202101N). According to observers, there was lively debate over the congress’s general resolution (67% endorsement) that 'it is clear that the Treaty on the European Constitution fails to meet all our goals. Nevertheless, the European Trade Union Congress and its affiliates have made the maximum possible gains in the economic, social and political context prevailing during the 18-month long Convention and the 12-month Intergovernmental Conference (Conférence intergouvernementale - CIG). As a result, the UNSA supports the Constitution, in spite of its limitations, because the benefits for workers and citizens are undoubtedly an improvement on current provisions'.
The debates at the congress raised concerns over the transfer of state civil servants to local authorities (FR0410105F) and more general social or societal issues such as secularism, welfare and life-long learning. There were calls for an education-based society (FR0411106F) and sustainable development.
The UNSA 2005 congress called for policies to promote growth and employment and stressed the importance of developing proposals to tackle the destructive effects of restructuring. There was a call for an overhaul of unemployment insurance in order to provide better security for employees and for gender equality in the workplace. The organisation reiterated its commitment to social justice and solidarity. As a result, it was deemed necessary to continue action within the framework of the European Trade Union Congress in order to protect and promote public services and the welfare system. This required a commitment to the development of a social Europe and regulations on globalisation with a solidarity-based social focus.
In addition, the congress confirmed the position the National Federation of Independent Unions sees for itself within the trade union landscape and identified areas for improvement. The organisation wishes to improve its standing as a trade union. It also wants to boost its election scores based on its success at the latest industrial court vote, where, by increasing the number of union slates it was able to gain approximately six points (FR0301107F). There was a positive report on legal assistance for members, the setting up of branches at départemental level and the creation of union federations. The congress also focused on unionisation and the training in union activism needed to consolidate existing achievements and prepare the future. The National Federation of Independent Unions’ congress asserted that it was prepared to 'develop a frank and honest relationship with other French trade unions on the major demands common to them all'.
The refusal by the State Council (Conseil d’Etat), in late 2004 to bestow nationwide representative status on the National Federation of Independent Unions was deemed unacceptable by the Secretary General. As a result, new action was undertaken to take France to the European Court of Human Rights for breach of sections 10, 11 and 14 of the Convention on Human Rights. In the opinion of Patrick Gontier, the Secretary General of the Education Union, the National Federation of Independent Unions’ largest affiliate, this action had at least the effect of raising the issue of social democracy in a novel way.
This information is made available through the European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO), as a service to users of the EIROnline database. EIRO is a project of the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. However, this information has been neither edited nor approved by the Foundation, which means that it is not responsible for its content and accuracy. This is the responsibility of the EIRO national centre that originated/provided the information. For details see the "About this record" information in this record.