Read this article in:
13 June, 2000Among the numerous items for deliberation, the 35-hour working week was hotly debated.
FRANCE: The 18th Congress of the French metalworkers' union FO Métaux, which met last week in Strasbourg, unanimously re-elected Michel Huc as its general secretary, as well as all Executive Board members. This will be Huc's last mandate at the helm of the federation, which is affiliated at international level to the IMF.
The introduction of the statutory 35-hour workweek as of January 1, 2000, with the resulting greater flexibility in working practices, was the subject of heated debate by the Congress.
Another key issue for discussion was the threat by the national employers' organisation, Medef, to withdraw from the joint management of state social security funds from December 31, 2000, a move which could have a major impact on the country's labour relations. In the meantime, the Medef has agreed to enter into negotiations with the trade unions with a view to reconstructing a new social security system covering pensions, health insurance and unemployment benefits. The Congress strongly denounced this attack by the employers aimed at destroying contractual policy in France. One delegate called it "social dynamiting" and said it was opening the door to the worst effects of globalisation.
Michel Huc, in his report to the Congress, said it was urgent to think of the trade unions' role in the present globalised economy and to make certain that working people would not be forced "to integrate into a society where there is only a place for winners." They had to act at the international level, and that was where the IMF came in. The IMF, he said, along with its affiliates, would have to be "ever more demanding with regard to their values and principles for which the International had been founded."
In IMF general secretary Marcello Malentacchi's address to the Congress, he underlined the topics of reduction of working time and trade union organising. The 35-hour workweek, of course, did not have only good points, but it was an act of solidarity with those trying to get into, or return to the world of work. With regard to trade union organising, this was one of the main focal points of the IMF's Action Programme. Without members, he said, "our organisations aren't representative or legitimate. Much of today's achievements and social progress is the result of our commitment and struggle, and we must know how to demonstrate what we have achieved." He referred to the huge potential for organising in new economic sectors such as information and communications technology.
The FO Métaux Congress unanimously adopted two resolutions. The first one concerns the structure and functioning of the federation as well as trade union organising. The second resolution is more general, dealing with policy, wages, safeguarding of jobs in a globalised economy, working time, social protection, youth, job training, the environment, and Europe.
The introduction of the statutory 35-hour workweek as of January 1, 2000, with the resulting greater flexibility in working practices, was the subject of heated debate by the Congress.
Another key issue for discussion was the threat by the national employers' organisation, Medef, to withdraw from the joint management of state social security funds from December 31, 2000, a move which could have a major impact on the country's labour relations. In the meantime, the Medef has agreed to enter into negotiations with the trade unions with a view to reconstructing a new social security system covering pensions, health insurance and unemployment benefits. The Congress strongly denounced this attack by the employers aimed at destroying contractual policy in France. One delegate called it "social dynamiting" and said it was opening the door to the worst effects of globalisation.
Michel Huc, in his report to the Congress, said it was urgent to think of the trade unions' role in the present globalised economy and to make certain that working people would not be forced "to integrate into a society where there is only a place for winners." They had to act at the international level, and that was where the IMF came in. The IMF, he said, along with its affiliates, would have to be "ever more demanding with regard to their values and principles for which the International had been founded."
In IMF general secretary Marcello Malentacchi's address to the Congress, he underlined the topics of reduction of working time and trade union organising. The 35-hour workweek, of course, did not have only good points, but it was an act of solidarity with those trying to get into, or return to the world of work. With regard to trade union organising, this was one of the main focal points of the IMF's Action Programme. Without members, he said, "our organisations aren't representative or legitimate. Much of today's achievements and social progress is the result of our commitment and struggle, and we must know how to demonstrate what we have achieved." He referred to the huge potential for organising in new economic sectors such as information and communications technology.
The FO Métaux Congress unanimously adopted two resolutions. The first one concerns the structure and functioning of the federation as well as trade union organising. The second resolution is more general, dealing with policy, wages, safeguarding of jobs in a globalised economy, working time, social protection, youth, job training, the environment, and Europe.