CFDT and CGT hold congresses and move closer together

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The two largest French trade union confederations unions, CFDT and CGT, held their congresses in December 1998 and January-February 1999 respectively. The major issue for both confederations was the consolidation of strategic orientations already in place. The congresses confirmed that the two organisations are moving closer together, which could significantly alter the contours of the French union movement in the medium term.

France's two largest trade union confederations - the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail, CFDT) and the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT) - held their congresses in December 1998 and January-February 1999 respectively.

The CFDT congress

The 44th CFDT congress took place in Lille on 7-11 December 1998. The main purpose of the congress was to build on the strategy of trade unionism based on negotiation, adopted by CFDT since its 1979 Brest congress. This already well-established orientation has been continued and strengthened under the leadership of Nicole Notat, who has been CFDT general secretary since 1992. It has been continually criticised by a minority group within the confederation, who present themselves as the representatives of a different CFDT approach - prevailing in the 1970s - which sets political objectives aiming not only at social change but at the advent of socialism through "worker self-management". At the preceding congress in March 1995, this left-wing group succeeded in persuading a majority (52%) of delegates to reject the outgoing executive's report on activities. This vote was more a moral sanction than a political one, mostly expressing disagreement with the terms of the change in executive in 1992. It did not prevent Ms Notat from polling 63% of votes cast and thus being re-elected as CFDT's leader.

The public sector strikes in December 1995, in protest at the Juppé government's social security reforms, intensified internal debate in CFDT. The minority opposition group was very active during these strikes, whereas the confederation's leadership supported only some of the strikers' demands and endorsed most of the substance of the government plan. In early 1996, the minority group organised itself into a fully-fledged faction, through the creation of the "United We Stand" (Tous ensemble) association and a newsletter with the same name, which was highly symbolic since it was a rallying cry used at joint union demonstrations in December 1995. A further area of disagreement arose with the appearance, in late 1997, of the "unemployed movement" (FR9801189F). While the CFDT leadership openly distanced itself from this movement, United We Stand activists actively supported it, especially within associations such as "Action against Unemployment" (Agir ensemble contre le chômage,AC!).

Despite United We Stand's efforts, which attracted much media attention, the faction did not make any headway in increasing its power base beyond its traditional strongholds, mainly in CFDT's general transport and civil engineering federation (Fédération générale des transports et de l'équipement, FGTE) and three regional unions (Lower Normandy, Auvergne and Provence). Federations such as those for banking, finance and education, which are sympathetic to the opposition faction, did not join it, refusing to draw up hard and fast battle lines and block the development of internal debate. United We Stand also had to face protesters even more radical than themselves. Railway activists ended up leaving CFDT to join the independent union network, Solidaires, Unitaires et Démocratiques (SUD), despite efforts by the leaders of "United We Stand" to persuade them to stay and join the faction in its struggle within CFDT.

The outcome of the Lille congress reveals the drop in support for the opposition faction within CFDT. Delegates approved, by a large majority, the union's policy orientations and threw out the opposition amendments. Nicole Notat's report on activities was approved by 73% of the votes cast, a virtually unprecedented, historic majority in CFDT, where a similar outcome has not been recorded since 1979. The general secretary was thus able to put the humiliation of the last congress behind her.

It was a bitter defeat for the opposition faction. However, the outgoing CFDT leadership did not seek to use its victory to stamp out its rival. If anything, the union's executive sought to shrug off the opposition group's claim that CFDT had made a policy shift. It clearly rejected the idea of a union of opposing factions, one advocating "shared-management trade unionism, governed by pragmatism and which had become action-shy ... and had imperceptibly opted for a strategy of accompanying economic liberalism", while the other was based on "the social movement elevated to the position of the key actor". So, it would seem that there is room in CFDT for a wide variety of types of trade union action, but the various forms of actions must be coordinated, leaving no room for factionalism. The leaders of the opposition group seem to have understood the thrust of this statement and to have engaged in a sort of self-criticism. They now want to transcend the sterile and bitterly hostile post-1995 debate. Without going so far as to deny the fact that fundamental points of disagreement still exist, they stated that they were prepared to change the rules of debate. As proof of their willingness to coexist under the same roof, they agreed to disband their faction and announced that they intended to put the United We Stand association on the back burner.

CFDT's new unifying approach has undoubtedly been conducive to the opposition group's return to the fold. The union's leadership has come out strongly in support of the 35-hour working week, following recent legislation on the issue (FR9806113F), and of job creation through negotiation and, in order to reach its objectives, CFDT has moved closer to CGT, which shares the same strategic priorities in this area (FR9811139F). Those other union organisations with which CFDT normally forms a coalition, which observers have become accustomed to calling "reformist", have shown more reluctance to cooperate. The opposition group within CFDT had long been calling for joint action with CGT. The two confederations' leaderships did in fact work together until 1980 and joint action continued to exist at a local level, in particular in the public sector.

The "trade unionism based on negotiation" approach seems to have borne fruit. CFDT's leadership has not only been able to boast an increase in its power base within the organisation, but can also point to the fact that support has grown for CFDT in the country as a whole. This growth in support can be measured both in terms of unionisation and in electoral results. Following years of members leaving the confederation in droves, CFDT has, since the early 1990s, recorded a continual increase in membership. The organisation reported 723,500 members in 1997, of whom 80,000 were pensioners. CFDT has also recorded improved electoral results. It polled 25.3% of overall employee votes in the 1997 prud'hommesindustrial tribunal elections (FR9712185F), in second place behind CGT, and made gains in the "managerial staff" college where it came first and won 31.5% of votes cast. It also improved its score in works council elections (FR9809131F) and is close on the heels of CGT.

The CGT congress

CGT held its 46th congress in Strasbourg from 31 January to 5 February 1999. The main issue under debate was a strategy embracing trade unionism based on "proposals" and negotiation, moving away from CGT's traditional tendency of mainly basing union action around protest. While the congress was a significant turning point in the CGT's history, it did not represent a complete break but rather the fruition of a process that had begun under the leadership of the outgoing general secretary, Louis Viannet. He had favoured the approach advocated by those who wanted to "modernise" CGT, by improving both its ability to listen to workers and to reach complex agreements, in cooperation with other unions, with employers from the private and public sectors. The CGT's embracing of the European Union was the logical outcome of this approach.

Mr Viannet had personally put forward the new general secretary, Bernard Thibault, as his successor. It was Mr Thibault who headed the commission responsible for drafting the policy paper which was subsequently passed by the executive committee and placed before the delegates at the congress for ratification. Mr Thibault had previously been general secretary of the CGT rail workers' federation (Fédération des cheminots). As a main leader of the strike movement in December 1995, he had gained high media profile and huge popularity with a great many French workers. At 40, he is one of the youngest general secretaries in CGT's history and the youngest major French union leader. This "generation jump" is not confined to the leadership strata but has also trickled down to the lower levels of the union. According to a sociological study commissioned by the CGT, the union's governing bodies are now much younger and have a greater female representation. For 80% of the activists present in Strasbourg, it was their first congress.

The new CGT strategy set out in the policy paper passed by the congress, was summed up in the watchword "protest-mobilisation-proposal-negotiation." Admittedly, some delegates present at the congress still found it difficult to come to terms with the idea, contained in Mr Thibault's speech, that "proposal is a militant act." However, this minority among activists was reassured by the balanced way in which Mr Thibault presented the new "protest-negotiation" approach. Like Nicole Notat, at the CFDT congress, Mr Thibault in effect "recentred" his speech to allow as many members to identify with it as possible. This difficult task was probably made easier by Thibault's double public image. He is seen as both protester in the 1995 strike movement and at the same time as a plain-speaking leader, with no taboos, capable of shouldering his responsibilities and of compromising when the time is right.

Even if some union militants are unwilling to forget their former differences with the CFDT leadership, the great majority have accepted the CFDT's olive branch. Indeed, the desire for union unity has remained just as strong among CGT militants as among their CFDT counterparts. This was demonstrated by the sustained applause for Mr Thibault, when, in his speech, he lamented the fact that "when union leaders are no longer able to shake hands, it is employers that rub theirs." The closer ties with CFDT were symbolised by the arrival at the congress of its general secretary, Nicole Notat, to a warm reception. Bernard Thibault had prepared the way for this visit by appearing at the CFDT congress, where he received the same warm welcome.

CGT now wishes, in cooperation with not just CFDT but also other unions, to reach its objective of implementing the 35-hour working week through negotiation. It has even stated that it is prepared to discuss certain types of flexibility such as the annualisation of working hours. The precedent set by the recent sector-level agreement on the 35-hour week in the textile industry, (FR9810137N) indicated that CGT is now ready to sign sector-level agreements jointly with other unions. Finally, the strengthening of ties with CFDT is a very important factor in the success of CGT's application for European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) membership, which is expected in spring 1999. Emilio Gabaglio, the general secretary of ETUC, paid a personal visit to the CGT congress, where he was warmly welcomed.

CGT hopes to capitalise on the more youthful image displayed at its congress and win back some of its support among workers lost over the past two decades. In spite of some encouraging signs, CGT has still not managed to turn around the old trend of declining membership and electoral support. At best, this trend has been slowed or levelled off, and CGT continues to lose members. In 1997, the union reported 634,500 members, of whom 142,300 were retired. These figures put it behind CFDT, which reported 723,500 members. However, in 1997, the CGT polled 33.1% in the prud'hommesindustrial tribunal elections and in 1996 it won 23.6% of the votes cast in works council elections, which puts it in first place electorally. Nevertheless, these percentages still show a downward trend.

Commentary

In the medium term, the most important result of the CFDT and CGT congress is undoubtedly the strengthening of links between the two union confederations. This alters the traditional contours of French trade unionism. CGT's "revolutionary" brand of unionism is normally pitted against the "reformist" unionism of CFDT and the other three main French union confederations (CGT-FO, CFTC and CFE-CGC). While this bipolar picture never took into account the complex nature of French trade unionism, the closer links between CGT and CFDT kill it off for good. We are witnessing the emergence of a new type of trade unionism, based on negotiation and the balance of power, which could potentially become dominant. It remains to be seen how the other unions, both the "protesters" and the "reformists", will now position themselves.

Historical and comparative analyses show that division has traditionally weakened unions and decreased their membership, whereas unions gain support when they are united. Both CFDT and CGT now hope to create dynamism based on a more youthful image and common policies. They have thus decided to launch a joint drive for unionisation in companies, designed to reverse the endemic union membership crisis in France. (Udo Rehfeldt, IRES)