Mensagem à Zenroren do Japão

Message of CGTP-IN PORTUGAL to Zenroren’s 26th Regular Convention

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

On behalf of CGTP-IN leadership and in the name of the Portuguese workers and people we represent, we convey to Zenroren and to your affiliated unions and workers all across Japan, the most fraternal greetings and wishes of success for your debate and decisions, which are in the best interest of the Japanese workers and people.

Your Convention takes place in a crucial moment of your collective life. We are well aware of the very serious consequences of natural disasters like the earthquake and tsunami, but also of the catastrophic nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. We reiterate our deep solidarity with the workers and people killed, injured and strongly affected by these calamities.

Adding to this, we know well of your current government’s push to accentuate its anti-worker neoliberal policies, translated, among other, into regressive measures on collective bargaining, social security, cuts in salaries and working conditions, resuming of nuclear power generation. To this attack on the working people and families, Zenroren is organising militant resistance and fight back, mobilising the workers to defend their rights and gains. We stand entirely on your side, with our unequivocal solidarity!

Brothers, Sisters,

In fact, we are currently living, at a global scale and especially in the European Union, a particularly difficult moment in the lives of men and women workers and peoples. In the context of the worst episode of the system’s crisis, since the so-called Big Depression in the 30’s of the last century, we are being confronted with an extremely violent offensive against historic rights and gains, in terms of economic, social and labour rights.

To be sure of the cause of the crisis is a crucial point. Neoliberals say that the cause lies in bad management, scandals, the global financial system, speculators, the golden boys etc. In our view, this crisis is not a mere distortion of the capitalist development. It is a product of the capitalist development itself; it is a systemic crisis of capitalism. 

In Portugal and in many EU member states, unemployment and precariousness are reaching unbearable levels, work incomes and pensions are losing purchasing power and are suffering cuts in real terms, social and labour rights are weakened or mutilated, retirement schemes are undermined, fiscal injustice is increasing and there is a stronger wave of privatisations and attack against the public services and against the state social responsibilities, nowadays done in the name of the so-called austerity policies, of the deficit and of public debt in the European Union and namely in the Euro Zone.

This is being confirmed by the measures imposed in the vast majority of the EU countries, being particularly violent in countries where IMF, ECB and EU “troikas” have been imposing bail-out programmes, which in fact are aggression tools on national sovereignty. This is confirmed by the developments in Greece, Portugal and Ireland, and now also starting in Spain, Cyprus and Italy.

Colleagues,

The situation is Portugal has become disastrous. Since 2010, several austerity programmes were adopted. But not totally satisfied, the Portuguese government asked in April 2011 for a financial “bail out” of the EU, accompanied by the IMF and the European Central Bank (the ill-fated troika, also doing their “dirty work” in Greece).

This bail out programme, which has been renamed by our workers and people as an “Aggression Pact” is provoking the general impoverishment of the population by intensifying workers’ exploitation: they wish to make unfair dismissals become legitimate, confronting Portugal’s Constitution; cut back redundancy pay; reduce unemployment benefits and ostracise the unemployed; to attack collective bargaining, trade unions and the right to negotiate; to rob Christmas and holiday bonus pay from workers and pensioners; violently raise taxes and prices of essential services and commodities; severely cut in health, education and social welfare; dismantle public services and privatise strategic companies and industries.

Sisters, Brothers,

Given the dimension and depth of the current neoliberal offensive – the trade union, worker and popular struggle needs to be intensified: to defend alternative paths and historical rights and gains; to value labour and the workers; for a future with rights for the new generations; for the development of the productive fabric; to defend democracy and national sovereignty.

This is why, in Portugal, in the workplaces and on the streets, our Trade Union Centre is leading the struggles of workers, unemployed, youth, women, pensioners and other popular layers hit by the violent offensive.

What capital fears most is the organized struggle of the masses. They know that it this struggle, always starting and based in the workplaces and in the grassroot popular movements, which will be able to defeat the capitalists and ultimately put an end to workers and peoples’ exploitation.

Since last November, we have already organised 2 massive general strikes and dozens of huge demonstrations and protest events.  The Portuguese workers and people are taking to the streets in not just to protest but also to demand a new course for our country, for Europe and for the world.

We believe that this is the path to bring about change. By resisting and fighting, by proposing worker and popular alternatives, by mobilising the workers in the work places and on the streets, by promoting unity of purpose at national, European and international level.

Brothers and Sisters,

The massive trade union struggles and actions taking place in Japan, with the decisive leading role of Zenroren and the involvement of other democratic and progressive forces, are also shining examples that indignation, protest, resistance and struggle against global capitalism are also growing in Japan.

This is why we need to strengthen the bilateral and multilateral bonds of the class-oriented trade unions. At bilateral level, we are very pleased to confirm that a delegation of our organisation will visit Japan, invited by Zenroren, in September of this year, allowing for the consolidation of the extremely fruitful relations of friendship and cooperation that have always linked our two organisations.

Looking forward to that moment, we wish you great success in your 26th Regular Convention.

Augusto Praça

International Relations Secretary

Executive Board

CGTP-IN

PORTUGAL