French trade unions and the World Social Forum

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Many trade unionists took part in the second World Social Forum held in Porto Alegre, Brazil in January-February 2002 as an alternative to the World Economic Forum. French trade unions were widely represented and we review their involvement in this initiative.

The second World Social Forum meeting was held in Porto Alegre, Brazil from 31 January to 5 February 2002. The Forum, which was founded by the Brazilian Business Leaders' Association for Citizenship (Associação Brasileira de Empresários pela Cidadania, CIVES) and the Association for the Taxation of Financial Transactions and for Assistance to Citizens (ATTAC), had held its initial conference in Porto Alegre on 25-30 January 2001. From the outset, the Forum positioned itself as a citizens' movement to set out alternatives to the 'inhumane neo-liberal order, personified by the World Economic Forum in Davos' (in the words of the final declaration of the Parliamentary World Forum held at Porto Alegre in January 2001).

Davos World Economic Forum

From its humble beginnings as a European economic conference in the early 1970s, the World Economic Forum has gradually become an annual get-together for the world's 1,000 largest companies. The annual Forum held in Davos, Switzerland - which was held exceptionally in 2002 in New York - is now the largest annual meeting between government officials and business leaders. The organising foundation states that the Forum 'acts in the spirit of entrepreneurship in the global public interest to further economic growth and social progress'.

The World Economic Forum, which began as a private initiative of academics, the business community and politicians, has developed over time into a venue that part of the international trade union movement deems that it can no longer afford to ignore. By the same token, the World Economic Forum has set up a 'trade union council' in a bid to create ongoing dialogue between trade unions and business leaders. The International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) and some of its affiliated associations have thus regularly attended the annual Davos Forum over the past few years.

ICFTU deemed that the trade union movement could not be totally absent from an international forum where workers' interests were being discussed. For example, in an attempt to defend and advocate workers' interests, Marc Blondel, general secretary of the General Confederation of Labour-Force ouvrière (Confédération générale du travail-Force ouvrière, CGT-FO) has regularly taken part, under the ICFTU umbrella, in Davos meetings over the past few years. However, he stated that was under no illusions.

The other French trade unions have always had more misgivings with regard to the World Economic Forum. Of these, the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT), Unitary Union Federation (Fédération syndicale unitaire, FSU) and Solidarity, Unity, Democracy (Solidaire, Unitaire, Démocratique, SUD) have always been openly opposed to trade union participation in this type of forum.

First World Social Forum

Over the past few years, associations have been founded in several European countries, in particular France, to challenge the policies implemented at international level by both governments and multinational companies, covering a vast range of issues, such as the economy, trade, social affairs and the environment.

It was against this backdrop that ATTAC was founded in France. This association very quickly brought grassroots members of various left-wing trade unions and political groups under its umbrella. A number of unions thus lent their support to ATTAC from its very inception, including: the Banking Federation (Fédération des banques) and General Infrastructure and Transportation Federation (Fédération générale transports équipement) affiliated to the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT); the CGT-affiliated Finance Federation (Fédération des finances); FSU and several of its national-level trade unions (the SNUIPP, SNES and SNESup education workers' unions); the Federation of the Judiciary (Syndicat de la magistrature); the National United Tax Workers' Federation (Syndicat national unifié des impôts, SNUI); and the SUD-PTT posts and telecommunications workers' union.

Other supporters of ATTAC from the outset have included: unemployed organisations, such as Act Against Unemployment! (Agir contre le Chômage!, AC!), the Association for Employment and Solidarity (Association pour l'emploi et la solidarité, APEIS) and the National Movement of the Unemployed and Precarious Workers (Mouvement national des chômeurs et des précaires, MNCP); social exclusion victims' associations, such as Right to Housing (Droit au logement) and Rights First (Droits devant!); and farmers' trade unions such as the National Confederation of Family Farmers' Unions (Confédération nationale des syndicats d'exploitants familiaux, MODEF) and the Small Farmers' Confederation (Confédération paysanne).

Major international summits - such as the World Trade Organisation meeting at Seattle in 1999 (EU9912217N) and the G-8 conference in Genoa in 2001 (IT0108196N) - or regional organisation summits, such as European Council meetings (in Nice and Stockholm for example) have become prime targets for various protest actions by ATTAC and other groups.

This was the background against which CIVES and ATTAC created the World Social Forum as the 'antagonistic shadow' of the Davos World Economic Forum. At the initial meeting of the World Social Forum on 25-30 January 2001, numerous associations and trade unions developed the [Porto Alegre appeal for mobilisation](http://www.focusweb.org/publications/2001/Porto Alegre/POA declaracion - mov soc - ingles.htm). Among French organisations, this declaration was supported by the AC! and MNCP unemployed organisations as well as by the unions CGT, FSU, SNESup and SUP-PTT.

Second World Social Forum

Since the first World Social Forum, attitudes towards protest movements against globalisation have changed considerably. The (French) European Commissioner for foreign trade, Pascal Lamy, has attended meetings with ATTAC and has met with José Bové of the Small Farmers' Confederation. The political community is paying attention to these developments and the majority of French political leaders have publicly criticised the loss of human life in anti-globalisation protests, in particular, at the G-8 summit in Genoa in July 2001.

Trade unions have also significantly altered their attitude and have demonstrated a more understanding approach to demonstrations and opposition movements at major international conferences.

This was the backdrop against which the second World Social Forum was held in Porto Alegre on 31 January-5 February 2002. French trade unions, which had provided support for the initial meeting, were once again very well represented. Organisations such as SUD-PTT and various other Group of 10 (Groupe des dix) unions, CGT and several of its sectoral federations, FSU and several of its affiliates took part in many of the discussions at Porto Alegre and reported the proceedings widely in their various publications.

ICFTU, in conjunction with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) and the World Confederation of Labour (WCL), published a declaration on the occasion of the Porto Alegre Forum and the World Economic Forum meeting held in New York, entitled Globalising social justice, which had been one of the topics at the most recent ICFTU congress. This statement sets out the justification for ICFTU participation in both forums. It argues that workers' interests need to be defended and promoted at both. Some French unions, such as SUD-PTT, have made their disapproval of this approach very clear. However, those French unions that are members of ICFTU have provided strong support for this move (in particular CFDT and CGT-FO), as has CFTC, which is a member of WCL. CFDT has mainly focused its public statements on the need to discuss international civil society proposals, such as those developed at Porto Alegre, with political and economic leaders. The National Federation of Independent Unions (Union nationale des syndicats autonomes, UNSA) shares this opinion and passed several resolutions to this effect at its most recent congress (FR0202101N).

In answer to the question 'Porto Alegre or New York?', the president of CFDT, Jean-Luc Cazettes, clearly stated that 'Porto Alegre is a measure of the progress that has been made by organised civil society in terms of expressing itself and in the willingness to reconcile social progress with sustainable development.'

Commentary

Over the past few years, French trade unions have become very much aware of the whole range of European issues. Their participation in ETUC or the European Confederation of Executives and Managerial Staff (CEC) as well as France's annual meetings on the goals and procedures of the National Action Plan for employment within the framework of the European employment strategy, have strengthened their understanding of European issues. However, issues relating to economic and financial globalisation are less familiar to French trade unions. Nevertheless, the emergence in France of major protest movements against specific types of globalisation owes a great deal to the efforts of trade union activists and leaders. The ability of these movements to rally the population, especially the young, and the increasingly favourable public and media perception of World Social Forum opinions have resulted in all French trade unions paying greater heed and consideration to these issues. (Maurice Braud, IRES)