Workers' Liberty

Translation and commentary by VM of article appearing at http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3232,36-653734@51-641597,0.html


Trade unionists of France, you are not alone, by Jane Carolan and Ian Davidson
Letter appearing in Le Monde, 25 May

We know that in France some people are saying that French trade unionists would be alone, in the EU, to call for a 'no' vote. We have heard John Monks (President of the European TUC) explaining that his organisation supports the Constitution. And, although the ETUC approves it, it has nevertheless criticised some aspects of it. And its leadership has lined up the national trade unions behind the yes without even asking their opinion!

In Britain, the TUC has refused to approve the Constitution and abstained during the vote at the ETUC. This example illustrates the behaviour of those in the yes camp, who try to promote the idea that the partisans of a left-wing no are isolated. In reality, we are not alone.

Throughout Europe, trade union militants and grassroots socialists are joining together to say that the Constitution is unsatisfactory and that another Europe is possible. This remark applies especially to the French left, which is the inspiration of the British labour movement. We have led a successful legislative [? - VM] campaign to return a Labour government to power. We will be able to begin our campaign for a left-wing no, which we believe we will be able to win when we have our referendum in 2006.

The leadership of Unison, the biggest British trade union, will recommend to its members, at the time of its conference, to lead a no campaign. Other federations, notably in transport and food [? – VM], will join in. During the referendum campaign, the trade unionists will be joined by a large group of MPs and hundreds of Labour Party elected representatives. They will represent the millions of Labour voters who want a non-neoliberal Constitution. Our campaign will demonstrate that the no in Great Britain is not necessarily synonymous with Euroscepticism.

In our role of trade unionists, we worry about the negative effects that this Constitution will produce in the fields of education, health and employment. We reject its Blairite character. It gives the lion's share to the market and to big business, but scarcely meets the needs of workers, doesn't protect public services and will prevent Europe playing a leading role in the construction of a peaceful world.

We reject a Constitution the majority of whose articles prescribe neoliberal policies. This type of provision has no place in a Constitution. Those French Socialist voters who vote no on 29 May will do so because they are doing it in the interests of the French people. In voting no, because they know that this choice and these motivations are shared by many socialists in the UK and in all Europe.

Jane Carolan is a leader of Unison, the British public service union. Ian Davidson is a Labour MP in the UK.

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VM, translator, comments: Jane Carolan and Ian Davidson are involved in the Centre for a Social Europe. You can find out about this campaign here: http://www.nocampaign.com/who-we-are/centre-for-a-social-europe.aspx

Look elsewhere on the same website, and you will see that other supporters of "No – the campaign against the European constitution"/ "European No Campaign" include Tory MPs. It's scarcely credible that Tory MPs subscribe to the views outlined below, the reasons the Centre for a Social Europe advances for calling for a vote against the proposed constitution. Yet here are all these people sharing a website.

Seeing who's signed up from France is even more scary; they include the right-wing MP Philip de Villiers, who campaigns against letting Turkey into the EU. Bizarre bedfellows and auguring ill for any British "left-wing" no campaign.

"The Centre for a Social Europe [text from the website, http://www.nocampaign.com]

"Voters value the UK's membership of the European Union but they want to see the EU adapt and change for the 21st Century. The Centre for a Social Europe (CSE) was set up to develop and promote a progressive agenda for EU reform. We believe that the EU Constitution takes the EU in the wrong direction and we should reject it as a first step to reforming the EU.

"The supporters of the CSE come from a range of academic, political, trade union and ecologist backgrounds. We believe that good Europeans shouldn’t shy away from criticising the EU. Ultimately we want to see an EU that gives the people of Europe a framework for promoting equality, peace and social justice while retaining accountable structures based on democratic nation-states."