A logistic challenge

BY JESPER NILSSON Strategically placed in the middle of Europe, Austria has played a role in the international trade union movement that is larger than you might first expect. Austria was one of the seven countries which founded the IMF in 1893, and today the trade unions there are playing an important role in bringing together the West and the East. In a few years, tracking the mergers within the Austrian trade union movement will almost be like charting mergers in the automobile or aerospace sector. In January 2000, the trade union Gewerkschaft Metall-Textil (GMT) was created out of two other unions. In September last year, a decision was taken that the Agricultural and Food Workers' trade union and the Private Employees' trade union should create a new union together with the GMT in 2005. In the beginning of this year, the trade union for Print, Journalism and Paper as well as the Chemical Workers' trade union decided to join the merging process. Though he, himself, would deny any such description, one of the main actors in this work is Rudolf Nürnberger, president of the GMT. Q: Your trade union has gone, and will go through tremendous changes. Is this necessary? A: Developments in our country -- with concentration processes in the commercial and industrial areas -- show that it is necessary to cooperate, and ultimately to merge with other trade union organisations. This is a necessity, if we want to be able to represent our members in an effective way. Q: And most of the work is still ahead of you... A: The biggest challenge now is a project, based on a yearlong discussion within the trade union confederation, to remove the division between blue- and white-collar workers. You know, there was always the discussion: Who is blue, who is white? And why has one group got different social benefits and rights from the other? So, now we have taken the decision to create a totally new trade union, organising both categories of workers. And in about 2004-2005, a totally new union will be born, with more than 500,000 members. Q: How would you describe the purpose of this upcoming giant trade union? A: The objective will be to be able to provide its members and constituencies -- representatives, works' councils, shop stewards - with services in a more efficient way than today. It's a very ambitious project. And I assume that when the IMF opens its Congress in Vienna in 2005, the host for the Congress will be this new trade union. Q: It cannot be an easy task to create this huge organisation? A: We'll have to solve many problems. And we must put all emphasis on members' acceptance of these plans. It's a huge task, but we are approaching it with great commitment and engagement. Q: Traditionally, in many countries, there has been an almost tangible division between blue- and white-collar workers. Is that also true for Austria? A: Of course. But there was much more of that in the past than now. And since January 2000, in the collective agreements for the metal industry, there are no longer any differences based on blue-white criteria. And already since 10 years, the employees' and workers' trade unions have been acting as one tariff bargaining team in the yearly negotiations. Q: But the issue of bringing two cultures or two groups together is not solely about technicalities, about agreements and formal cooperation. It is also about psychology. Is there already some acceptance of your merger plans from the different member groups? A: The acceptance grows by the day. And many of our elected representatives in the works' councils are relieved at the fact that there will be no more division between workers and employees. Q: And the employers, how do they react to your plans? A: With less of an earthquake... They see that in the future they will have to deal with a larger and stronger trade union. But positive voices have also been heard. Some employers might appreciate that they will have to deal not with two or three bargaining partners, but one. Q: Without these planned mergers, in what shape would your organisation, the GMT, be in a few years from now? A: One of the most important processes going on in society is that more and more work is carried out as services. With a constituency of solely blue-collar workers, we would lose many members, especially the most skilled. So, this step we are taking is the only logical thing to do. It is a necessity! The experience from other countries, like our neighbour Germany, is also that trade unions must create larger and more powerful structures. Q: Let us shift focus. You are not only a trade union leader, but also a politician and a parliamentarian... A: Yes, for 20 years I've been a member of the Austrian Parliament, representing the Social Democratic Party. Trade unionists being very active in political parties is a long tradition in our country; it has been like that since 1945. Trade unionists use this opportunity to influence legislation in favour of their members - not only when a proposal is submitted to the parliament, but already when it is being prepared. Trade unionists provide arguments in the interest of the working people. Q: But this arrangement, doesn't it make it difficult for you -- the trade union leader -- to criticise your own party? Your party has governed this country for long periods, and its policies cannot always be in line with the trade union movement. A: We've had some situations... I remember the discussion about how to form a government after the parliamentary elections in the year 2000. The plans to form a coalition between the Social Democrats and the Conservative Party failed, one important reason being the trade union veto -- expressed partly through me -- against the coalition. The policies in the field of social security which the Conservative Party wanted to pursue through a coalition were simply not acceptable for us. We have never compromised. I admit that being a member of Parliament, in some situations you might be faced with a conflict of interests. But my mission as a trade unionist, representing the members, is always at the fore. Q: Now your party is in the opposition. Does that give you different perspectives in political life? A: It has, of course, meant a huge change. As a trade unionist and parliamentarian for the ruling party, you always had contacts with every minister in the government. Which could be of help. All that is now gone. To that comes this new government pursuing a very non-social policy. This has created enormous strains on and impairments of the social security system. So we must make all possible efforts to ensure that in the next elections there will once again be a change of government and that once again a more socially-aware and employee-friendly policy will be pursued. Q: Your trade union plays a significant role in assisting trade unions in countries applying for membership in the European Union. Explain why. A: One reason is obvious: they are bordering us. Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary -- since decades we have strong links with these countries. Our engagement also includes the countries which formed the former Soviet Union; the former Republic of Yugoslavia and Albania. We've been able to help trade union colleagues in these countries with courses, seminars, financial aid... I think that we have contributed with a small, yet significant part of the internationalisation of the trade union movement. And this is of course something we want to continue with in the future. From an Austrian point of view, we also see that when it comes to the enlargement of the European Union eastwards, many members express fear - a fear which is exploited by certain political right-wing parties, xenophobes, etc. I see the enlargement as an economic necessity and, at the same time, a chance for us as Austrians. But many people fear that jobs will move east, or that eastern people will come here and take away jobs. A lot of enlightenment must be carried out here, by the trade unions. We're talking about information, communication, education. It is not easy! Especially when one of the coalition partners in the government abuses this issue in its campaign work. Q: You often mention European-level trade union work. Is there a risk that you'll forget the global level? A: No, we do not forget the rest of the world. As an example, since a couple of years we have established contacts within the People's Republic of China. We arrange mutual exchange programmes with them; every year Chinese trade union representatives come here to attend seminars and receive training. We also have good relations with the American trade unions, at first hand with the Machinists and the Autoworkers. But we are a small union and must prioritise. And, by tradition, the priority is with our neighbouring countries. It is also for natural reasons. European trade unions must concentrate on European problems and issues. Political power is transferred to a European level, employers organise on a European level, and so the trade unions must play the game in order simply to be able to act as a counterpart when it comes to bargaining and collective agreements on a European level. That's why our main emphasis lies there. Q: The basis of all trade union work is organising. Do you have the experience most trade unions seem to have, that it is difficult to attract new members? A: Unfortunately, yes. To convince young people of the necessity of a trade union is one of our most difficult tasks. This is true, above all, for people with higher education, men and women from the internet generation who want to work individually at the computer. It is very difficult to convince these people about the benefits of joining a trade union. Is it possible? It's workable, but it could be better. Here I really must be self-critical. Q: Please, develop your self-criticism... A: The question of how to organise young people is very hard, I would say difficult, to answer. And we have asked ourselves over and over: How do we reach the young people? How do we reach the people in small and medium-sized enterprises? We have been trying for years, if not decades, and always with new methods. These have not, to put it bluntly, been successful. I must admit that. The proper recipes are not at hand. And there are some sectors, some companies, where trade unions simply don't have a foothold. But please, don't ask me why and how to resolve this. Were we to know, we would have done it in the past.