July 2014, Comunication Nº 5 (C)

General Secretariat, Communication No. 5,
July 2014
CONTENTS:
Comrades, this is an account of everything made since the COMMUNICATION number 4:
A) GENERAL SECRETARIAT (GS) accounts of the work done:
1.- I was in Geneva from 26 May to 6 June, on the occasion of the 103 ILO Conference. This travel, hotel and meals didn’t cost anything at all at UIS of Pensioners and Retirees because Mercè Escudé and I covered the entire cost with our direct and personal economy (besides we make no trade-union and personal activities).
On 05/27/14, I attended the meeting convened by the WFTU to plan the presence of class-unionism in the 103 ILO Conference. At this meeting I explained, to members of trade-unions of 5 continents, the celebration of the First World Congress of Pensioners and Retirees. I gave them the information regarding the approved documents and other decisions that have to operate the new UIS of Pensioners and Retirees (the No 10 of the WFTU). Also handed out in 6 languages (English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian and Arabic) our discourse as P&R to the 103 ILO Conference. It is, as ANNEX 1 on Communication No 4 (June 2014). It was an opportunity for make contact with news trade-union organizations of the 5 continents interested in helping run the UIS of P&R.
2-6-14, I could have an interview with ladies Maria Helena André, director, and Anna Biondi, director attached, responsible of the ACTRAV Office (Office of Workers' Activities) of the ILO, which takes care of the UIS. They pledged to help the UIS of P&R is recognized as an international trade union organization by the ILO, but they insisted that we "arrived late" to intervene in the Plenary of the Conference of the ILO 2014.
At the same time (2-06-14) I met with Pierre Martinot-Lagarde, another official of the ILO, Special Adviser, Department of relations and support for external programs called “PARDEV”. This is the officer who will process the official request that we must submit to be recognized by the Governing Body of the ILO, as UIS to the ILO. I already have the list of documents to submit and I will prepare it according to the central management of the WFTU.
Also I met Lubna Moussli, secretary responsible for the part called "Workers" in the ILO, Ms. Raquel Gonzalez, to organize an interview with her. Mrs. Gonzalez is the representative of the CSI in Geneva and therefore she was the designated responsible for the group of the Workers at the ILO. This is another example of non-democracy within the ILO.
I was called for the interview with Ms. Gonzalez for 3.6.14. I have a mail that says that propose is that the P&R UIS be affiliated to the “CSI”. They have no shame in their method of management, search affiliate organizations including the CSI even organizations that we have presented from the start as members of the WFTU. This is a sign of the desperate situation of loss of membership of CSI. In his Third Congress (Berlin 18 to 23, 2014), they set a goal to get 20 million new members.
On the reality of CSI today, I put a personal reflection about this International Confederation in ANNEX 4.
The interview with Ms. Gonzalez was, like the others mentioned, a sample of "courtesy" and good words that should be checked if she was sincere.
Theoretically, it is through these ILO officials who must reach the UIS information and invitations to participate in activities (with million dollar budgets) that the ILO organized centralized and decentralized worldwide.
If any of the board members of the P&R UIS learns ILO activity that considered relevant, it must notify the General Secretariat of the P&R to make appropriate arrangements.
See ANNEX 1, my report on what I think is the ILO.
In Geneva, I did several bilateral meetings with delegations from different countries. We also met with two trade-unions members from Geneva. Of these, I collected 200 Swiss to add to the finances of the UIS P&R.
Also in Geneva I could make a long interview with Valentin Pacho, responsible for UIS in the direction of the WFTU, which will help the development of the P&R.
2.- With the agreement of the Ministry of Finance, and responding to the request of the companion Vice President for Latin P&R, We helped Martha Hervas with 260$ to pay part of her journey from Ecuador to Colombia, to where she shifted to respond the invitation received from P&R of this country. Her union CTE had paid trip to Havana. All these activities are in the direction to realize the convening of the first congress of class trade-unions P&R of America.
3.- June 18, I moved to Athens to match the invitation P&R of PAME and participate in the Panhellenic action 19/6/14 of P&R held in that city. The costs of staying in Athens overshadowed the PAME P&R and, a small part, WFTU. The trip (€ 319.28) was paid for the finances of the P&R.
View the report in Annex 2 of trip to Athens with all the important information, especially in ANNEX 2.2 the summary of the Comrade Dimos Koubouris detailing the entire process of preparation that ensured the success of this struggle.
4.- I had a meeting (20/06/14) with the General Secretariat of WFTU, George Mavrikos Taking advantage of the trip to Athens, because we could not meet in Geneva. See ANNEX 3, a summary of the topics covered.
B) WORK OF OTHER MEMBERS OF MANAGEMENT
1.- At the meeting of the WFTU on 27/05/14, at ILO headquarters, I met for the first time that had been done, last April, in Bahrain, the UIS Regional Congress attended by many delegates’ countries in the region to constitute the UIS regional P&R. My surprise was huge (because they didn’t notice that they called this Congress) and immediately I asked that from Bahrain, they should send a detailed written report, which I will address members of the UIS when I get it. Comrade Ali Al Binali apologized for the delay in informing since he spent 70 days in jail for trade-union’s activities (I don’t know more details about this arrest).
2.- The comrades of the Class Union Front of France participated at 03/06/14, in Paris, in the great mass protest action of P&R of France. They sent information (photos and documents) to all members of the management of the UIS. Most important to the work of our UIS was the mass dissemination of a paper which reported on the creation of P&R UIS in Barcelona.
3.- Companion Martha Hervas has been in Colombia. The summary of what was done there was sent to members of the direction of the UIS by email. See ANNEX 5.
ANNEX 1.-
WHAT IS THE ILO?
WHAT SHOULD WE DO AS UIS OF PENSIONERS AND RETIREES OF THE WFTU
WHEN DEALING WITH THE ILO?
“ILO was born in 1919, after a terrible and widespread war, based on the idea that a world lasting peace could only be attained when based on a workers fair treatment. In 1946, ILO became the first agency of the United Nations” In 1919, the working class had a powerful reference in the URSS, the only country in the whole world where capitalism had ceased to exist.
The forces from the left accepted the primary composition of ILO´s board of directors. Since then, this composition has played a key role on the works and development of the ILO and was established as follows: 50% of the board´s members appointed by the governments; 25% appointed by entrepreneurs, and 25% appointed by trade unions. With the return of capitalism to those countries previously devoted to the building of socialism, ILO confirmed its aim in defending the capitalist economic system.
As we can read on the ILO´s web site:
“The ILO´s objectives are the promotion of labor rights, promotion of opportunities for a decent work, betterment of social and health protection systems and the strengthening of dialogue and discussion on labor matters.
As UIS we can accept these general objectives while at the same time we keep our discrepancies on the different views when dealing with matters such as “decent work” and “dialogue”.
For us, Pensioners and Retirees, there won´t be no real decent work as long as every inhabitant on earth has no granted the 5 main objectives established during the Internationalist Action Meeting held in October 3: 1) Potable water; 2) Enough food, 3) Public Health systems with quality and free access for all, 4) Education, Culture, Leisure and Transportation systems with quality and free access for all, 5) Decent housing.
For us, pensioners and retirees, there won´t be real dialogue as long as capitalism and imperialism exists. As those systems are the main cause for exploitation, wars, genocide and theft, real dialogue becomes impossible. At best, we can reach temporary agreements while at the same time we continue with our struggle to end with private property of means of production and to end with the NATO and any other imperialist’s platforms. Those supporting ILO´s usefulness point at the fact that inside this organization several rules and regulations are written in order to guide the proper functioning of labor activity.
However, it seems they forget that rules and regulations written and approved by ILO are only a theoretical guidance that governments are not compelled to comply with even when ratified by both parts, as can be seen with the killing of Colombian trade unionists, the industry accidents as those happened in Bangla Desh in 2013, and the mining wreckage happened in Turkey in 2014. This rules are only part of those laws, constitutions and declarations (including the Declaration of Human Rights) aimed to the enlarge and reassure capitalism as an economical and political system that, as slavery, is bound for disappear.
WFTU continues its struggle for the improvement of the rules and regulations emanated from the ILO, but with little confidence on it as a starting point from where we can put an end to the exploitation of man by man. It is here where the big differences between the class conscious trade unionism of the WFTU and the class conciliatory trade unionism practiced by ITUC lies. This confederacy, the ITUC, really trust and have confidence in the ILO´s usefulness and in the role it plays. In reality, it uses the ILO as a mean to ensure and continue with its class-collaboration trade unionism that is currently losing workers and popular support. (See Quim Boix´s article “WHAT IS TODAY THE ITUC?”)
There´s no true democracy inside the ILO, as ITUC has occupied the 25% delegate´s posts appointed to trade unions (with the exception of one post appointed for the first time to Chinese trade unions in 2014). That´s why decisions taken by the ILO are only “good words” for those trade unions engaged in class struggle.

MY WORKING PROPOSAL TO THE ILO: Based upon the above mentioned ideas, my working proposal to the ILO (a proposal that must be discussed on a collective basis) goes as follows:
1) A deep change in the language used by the ILO so it gives to everything its real name, starting from the “class struggle” concept and denouncing the use of new terms to disguise other concepts such as “exploiter”, turned into “entrepreneur”, and “trade unionist”, turned into “worker”.
2) Taking its rules and regulations in order to show that they are not complied at the capitalist countries.
3) The use of ILO´s platforms to spread the ideas supported by WFTU in order to enlarge the number of trade unions newly engaged in class struggle.
4) Ask for a part of the ILO´s immense economical resources for the benefit of workers instead of the enlargement and maintenance of the capitalist system and its current age of exploitation imposed on the whole of mankind.
EVERY APPROACH AND SUGGESTION TO ENRICH THIS PROPOSAL WILL BE WELCOMED.
Quim Boix
General Secretary of the UIS (International of Trade Unions) of Pensioners and Retirees – member of the WFTU.
http://www.wftucentral.org/?language=es
http://www.pensionistas.info/web/es
ANNEX 2.-
REPORT ON THE TRAVEL OF GENERAL SECRETARY OF THE UIS TO ATHENS
On the morning of June 19th, 2014, a meeting was held at PAME´s headquarters between the President and the General Secretary of the UIS of Pensioners and Retirees, comrades Dimos Koubouris and Quim Boix. Comrade Palmos Panagiotis (member of the Technical and Investigation Commission of our UIS) and other comrades of the Leadership of PAME (Pensioners and Retirees) were also present at the meeting.
A summary of the different ítems appear in ANNEX 2.1.
During the afternoon, from 17.00 pm till 21.00pm, a vindicative action was carried by Pensioners and Retirees all over Greece (see ANNEX 2.2., that includes the summary reported by comrade Dimos Koubouris and in ANNEX 2.3.- the speech issued by Quim Boix to 20.000 people present at the event).
ANNEX 2.1.-
Summary of the ítems discussed on the meeting of President and General Secretary of the WFTU´s UIS of Pensioners and Retirees Athens, June 19th 2014
1) To congratulate ourselves for the fact of being able to discuss our mutual worries as highest representatives of the UIS. We will go on doing it as many times as we need in the future.
2) To prepare the UIS´ guidelines for its participation in the Internationalist Day of Struggle called by the WFTU to be held next October 3rd. These guidelines will be stated on a document to be signed by Dimos Koumpouris as President of the UIS and by five Regional Vice-presidents.
3) To commissioning comrade Dimos the follow up of the reality concernig our UIS in Europe. This task will be performed with the help of WFTU´s headquarter located in Athens.
4) Start to prepare the leadership collective´s meeting of the UIS to be held in Bahrein next March 2015. At this meeting we should take stock of the work developed during the UIS´ first year of existente and therefore place the proposals for the coming year by approving the working schedules of the different secretaries and of the Technical and Investigation commission.
5) Ask comrade Palmos Panagiotis to coordinate the work to be done by the Technical and Investigation commission.
6) Remind all the organizations adhered to the UIS the need to comply – during the present 2014 - with article 48 of our regulations and to make their monetary contributions to the central finances of the UIS. For the time being, only two contributions have been made, those from Jubiqué (Spain) that will contribute with a yearly allowance of 700€, and from PAME (Greece) with a contribution of 2.000€ a year.
7) To prepare a dossier on the Pensioners and Retirees´ realities all over the wolrd, its struggles and demands.

ANNEX 2.2.-
Athens, June 24th 2014
To the Secretary of the World Federation of Pensioners and Retired Persons, Quim Boix,
Report on the action of pensioners in Greece
Since the early 2014, because of the major problems in access to Public Healthcare Public, pension cuts and increase of taxes to be paid by retirees in Greece; pensioners' organizations have organized and planned many major events in all the capital cities of the different regions of the country.
For the success of the events, a number of activities were undertaken:
-Association meetings were held in all the regions of the country, with successful participation and with the attendance of some Administration members
-Agitating material was elaborated and distributed to all associations, material which provided information about the situation of retirees and which established the framework for the fight against Healthcare problems, among others
-Most of the organisations held meetings, developing an action plan in each region by different routes; handing agitation material in banks, in the Agency for the Managment of Programs and Subsidies for the Elderly, in hospitals and health centres and in all the places where retirees meet
-In several areas, retiree associations performed agitation actions in collaboration with the Popular Committees and also with labour unions.
-At the same time, several unions have benefited from this action with an increase of new members.
150 leading retirees' organizations in 40 cities participated in these activities, in which information material was distributed with the participation of thousands of pensioners.
On June 30th 2014, a meeting of the Central Administration of the Federation of Retirees and Pensioners Organizations was held, recognising the positive results of this work and deciding that a national pensioners' demonstration would be organised in Athens against the new cuts in health and the new measures against the workers of the Social Security and Pension Syetem, this time with the participation of labour unions.
The demonstration wasn't only organized at a national level: retirees' organizations also organised agitating and propaganda activities for 45 days.
Meetings and demonstrations were organized all over the country and agitating materials were distributed (leaflets and banners), with debates organised in the meeting venues; and various actions by retiree associations were developed to enable the organised confluence of pensioners in Athens.
The demonstration, which was held in thecapital city of the country, was one of the most important in recent years: it was attended by about 20,000 people who came to Athens from all over Greece by land, sea and air.
In the demonstration, members of World Federation of Pensioners and Retired Persons were present and intervened: its Secretary General, Quim Boix and its President, Dimos Koubouris, among others.
Afterwards, a huge march to the Parliament was held and a resolution addressed to all political parties in the Greek Parliament was handed, all partis except the fascist Golden Dawn; and a representation of the demonstration has had a meeting with Prime Minister.
The activity of pensioners' organizations in Greece will continue in collaboration with the union movement.
With comradely greetings,
Dimos Koubouris

ANNEX 2.3.-
TEXT FROM QUIM BOIX IN ATHENES
Comrades and friends, pensioners and retirees: I speak as Secretary General of the one existing today worldwide organization of Pensioners and Retired. The International Trade Union class we created in the city of Barcelona, last February, with the presence of retiree organizations on 5 continents, including the PAME. The Secretary General of the P&R in the PAME. Comrade Koubouris Dimos, which is next to me, was elected in this Congress as President of this new international organization. They receive a greeting of struggle and solidarity of the tens of millions of PyR we are organized in unions and class associations around the world. We are a part of the WFTU. Today 20% of humanity, that is about 1,500 million people on the planet, is a pensioner or have conditions to be it. Ergo, has more than 60 years, although anti-imperialist governments in countries such as Bolivia, this condition and the associated legal rights are earned at age 55, men and women age 49 mothers of 3 or more children. They should also be entitled to a public pension, allowing people to live in dignity, which by accident or occupational disease can’t exercise their usual occupation. And this right can’t be conditioned by years worked, when it is capitalism that creates unemployment and prevents the work they wish. A right to public pensions that we started with decades of class and labor struggles that we now want to pass on to remove private pensions will be hard to come by today's youth and only benefit the big banks and their supporters, as unionism, class conciliation, practiced by the ITUC, ITUC and the ETUC, the European Trade Union Confederation. Capitalism us to deny or reduce this right. So the leaders of the IMF claim that pensioners live too many years, we are no longer productive. The Minister of Labour of Japan, reflecting the will of the capitalist multinationals, has come to recommend, on public television, suicide (Haraquiri call him there) retirees. No partners. Pensioners are not going to commit suicide, or Greece, or Europe, neither the world. We will continue to fight for our just rights. We fight for a public pension that allows each country a decent life, a life in which it secured water and healthy food, adequate housing, public health and quality, and a proper attention depending on our age and realities. Money's on Planet Earth, more than enough to ensure that all people over 60 have a sufficient state pension to live with dignity. Recall that the 85 richest people in the world have monopolized the same wealth as 3,500 billion poorest people, that is to say 85 people are richer than half of humanity, or put another way, each of these 85 people is wealthier than 41 million people together. That is capitalism and injustice consubstantial, and will remain so until we destroy our struggle as pensioners, next to all the working class. Today's action, as well as those that have been made and performed in all countries of the world, show our ability to win this battle. I just want to remember that we won great battle pensioners. I mean the one that won the Pensioners and Retired Ecuador, just 10 years ago, against the International Monetary Fund. This great organization of global capitalism would halve public pensions. The prime minister of Ecuador then Lucio Gutierrez as a lackey of big business, accepted the proposal, but could not carry it out; he could not do it because of the enormous struggle that organized pensioners and retirees. Died 20 pensioners on the breathtaking hunger strike developed, but the proposals of the IMF were not defeated and killed thousands of pensioners have died if halved public pensions. Pensioners, next to the working class, of which we are part, will win many more battles. With our seniority and experience of struggle we will help destroy capitalism, which is the great scourge of mankind. There is already, in Dakar, Senegal, a museum of the horrors of slavery. Sooner than later build the museum of horrors of capitalism, so that future generations do not repeat the experiences of exploitation of man by man, plundering of natural resources, or of genocide integer (Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya towns and now they try to Syria and Ukraine) for the benefit of multinational capitalists. The unity and struggle of the working class, and struggles like today, we ensure these victories. Pensioners and retirees will not stop fighting for a single day of our lives. Be assured that we will destroy capitalism and build a socialist society. A world without workers is impossible. A world without exploitative employers is possible and necessary. This new world, socialism, of all will make it happen. WFTU it helps us. LONG LIVE TO THE WORKING CLASS! LONG LIVE TO THE PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM! LONG LIVE TO THE PAME! LONG LIVE TO THE WFTU! Athens, June 19, 2014. Quim Boix WFTU Presidential Council Secretary General of the UIS (Union International) Pensioners and Retired (P & R) of the WFTU

ANNEX 3.-
ITEMS DISCUSSED AT THE MEETING WITH GEORGE MAVRIKOS
The meeting was used to report in full detail to WFTU´s General Secretary on the congress held in Barcelona last February 2014 as well as on the activities currently underway performed by the UIS of Pensioners and Retirees in each continent. The most important item was focused on the preparations for the presence og the UIS of Pensioners and Retirees at the Internationalist Day of Struggle to be held on October 3rd called by the WFTU .
The meeting also served to analyze the Spanish trade unionist´s reality. At this, both Quim Boix and Valentin Pacho agreed on the importance of promoting WFTU´s presence in Spain. Quim Boix committed himself to take the necessary steps in this direction, continuing with the activities that has been developing since April 2011, when appointed member of the WFTU´s Presidential Council.

ANNEX4.-
REFLECTIONS BY QUIM BOIX:
ON THE REALITY OF ITUC TODAY
In order to get a better understanding of the reality of the world trade union movement today, I have analysed the documents form ITUC’s Third Congress, celebrated in Berlin May 18-23, 2014.
The Congress documents can be found in four languages in the web site: http://www.ituc-csi.org (from this site I have selected eight texts showing what I am writing here).
On their web site they write: “The ITUC represents 176 million workers in 161 countries and territories and has 325 national affiliates.” This number, however, is certainly FALSE (even at the Congress it was publicly reduced to 170 million). For instance, the US trade unions affiliated to ITUC have admitted important losses in their membership (more than a third). This may be the reason why ITUC, at its Congress in Berlin, has set the goal of reaching 27 million new members.
Another fact, obtained from the USB (Unioni Sindicale di Base) from Italy as well as from ITUC leaders in Geneva, is the big loss of members of the CGIL, the historic Italian Trade Union Confederation which can be compared to the Spanish CC.OO., both of which have abandoned their class positions and transformed themselves into class collaboration trade union confederations. Today, the majority of CGIL members are P&R (Pensioners and Retirees) because the active workers have left the organization. It maintains the Pensioners and Retirees due to the Italian legislation which stipulates that the Pensioners and Retirees have to be member of a trade union “which administers the payment of the pension”, and this “recognition” by the bourgeois State is actually only given to the CGIL and not the USB.
This collapse in membership goes hand in hand with a mayor collapse of its trade union positions. While ITUC’s Second Congress (Vancouver, Canada, June 2010) was presided over by representatives from the FMI and the WTO, in the Third Congress the inaugural speech was given by the German genocide and pro-NATO foreign minister. In this way, ITUC once more shows its dependence on the bourgeois power which is financing it.
Taking into account the big amount of money which ITUC receives from the bourgeois state apparatus, as well as its membership collapse (which leads its Spanish organisations, CC.OO and UGT, to dismiss hundreds of salaried employees, and most recently, tens of lawyers in its Juridical Office in Barcelona), it is only the “external” funding which makes it possible to understand the type of Congress which has been held. It seemed like the Congress of a Multinational Capitalist Company with all the luxury surrounding it. The images which can be seen in its web site prove this.
In their documents, they once more use the phraseology preferred by the capitalism financing it: “social agents” instead of “social classes”, “peace in Syria” instead of “NATO’s genocide”, “decent work” instead of “ending man’s exploitation of man”, and much more of the same.
It is evident that they do not have any other option than feigning that they defend the workers but they quickly forget about the collective murders constituted by the big work accidents. Now they only emphasise the one in Turkey, because they already consider the one in Bangladesh to be solved with the pact they signed as ITUC with the multinational textile companies, a pact which the latter do not fulfil.
They are still in favour of Social Pacts, like the one mentioned in Bangladesh, which are reproduced in the countries where they can betray the wage workers. This is, for instance, the case with the Spanish CC.OO., which signs dismissal pacts against the will of the assembly of the PANRICO workers who have been on indefinite strike for eight months in order to defend their labour rights.
In their criticism of capitalist governments, they use terminology like “they have failed” in order to confuse the workers. This is the big ideological confusion of ITUC, i.e. working together with the management in order to create ideological confusion in the working class. They have not failed, they have done what interested big capital, and it is ideologically absurd that ITUC has faith in the G20 and other platforms of global capitalism, as can be seen in the texts the leaders of this Confederation issue and sign, and also in the collaboration platform between ITUC and the G20 (they call it Labour 20 – L20)
Among their congress resolutions, we can emphasise the support for NATO in Ukraine, the focus on the Climatic Changes (a theme which the class trade union movement analyses in a way different from the class collaboration), or proposals on how to improve the world “capitalist” economy with “ideas” like the Second Marshall Plan for Europa which is the bet from the European part of ITUC (the president of ETUC and General Secretary of CC.OO, Fernández Toxo, considers it to be the salvation for the workers when, in reality, it is one of the possible actions to be taken by big capital in order to continue achieving big profits).
Another of the “stars”, whom the ITUC leaders used in the debates during their Third Congress, was the ideologist of big capital, Sony Kapoor from the international think-tank Re-define (a cutting-edge enterprise in the advices to the capitalists) in order to show that they do not want to put an end to exploiting capitalism. This “star” defends once more the Private Pension Funds as the big packages of capitals capable of leading the economy (he said textually: “these fund must be invested in infrastructure, the money must be invested end send to the small and medium-sized enterprises”). This is to do what CC.OO. is doing in Spain, namely to take the money from the workers’ pensions so that the capitalists can use them to invest.
Their lack of presence in the real class struggles has led them to highlight as “leaders of the current world trade union movement” football players, taxi drivers and home workers whom we cannot deny are exploited, except for the famous and millionaire football player who was given a platform.
To sum up: a Congress which does not acknowledge the grassroots, the members in the enterprises, of the trade unions that “are in command” in ITUC (like in the CC.OO.). There has been no discussion of the Congress documents among the grassroots, neither before not after the Congress. And in spite of this observable fact (ask any intermediate ITUC leader what he or she knows about this Third Congress!), ITUC calls itself the world’s biggest democratic organization.
But lies will always be uncovered, sooner rather than later. The massive move from the yellow trade unionism, which ITUC represents and organises, to the class trade unionism organised by the WTUF will little by little be consolidated. The massive arrival of members to the USB in Italy is an example of this.
The future belongs to class trade unionism. A world without workers is impossible whereas a world without exploiting employers is both possible and necessary.
June 2014
Quim Boix

ANNEX5.-
REPORT ON THE VISIT TO THE BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY OF COLOMBIA
1.- After reading the report on the resolutions approved at the Foundational Congress of the UIS of Pensioners and Retirees adhered to the WFTU, the comrades members of the Colombian Organization of Pensioners (O.C.P) decide to immediately start an affiliation campaign among all sectors of working activities as the majority of their members come from the educational area while a very few of them from come from health services, communications, transportation and cement factories. I also checked that although there are other pensioners´organizations, these are scattered and without any links to the existing trade unions. That´s why the OCP comrades see the urgent need to gather as many pensioners as possible under the banners of solidarity and revolution, as the mentioned organizations focused their activities mainly on social events.
2.- This meeting was also useful to bind together pensioners from all working sectors all over the country and represented by: Ibagué- Cement workers; Tolima- Banking services; Bogotá- Communications; Boyacá- Teachers; Cartagena- Health and Communications; ; Santa Marta- Teachers; Bogota- Air servicemen; Bogotá- Teachers; Bogota- Accountants; Bogotá- WFTU´s coordination.
3.- In essence, the general outcome of the visit has been very useful to me, as I learnt from the comrades how their needs are equal to those of all pensioners and retirees. At this, I would like to point out the fact that in spite of been retired, those comrades still must pay a percentage of their salaries in order to get access to health service. Incredible and real as it seems, this can only happen following the neo-liberal recipes.
4.- It is surprising the scarce presence of women in the basic organizations; they´re also under-represented at the national Leadership. A call was made to work for the inclusion of women in the struggle for the claims and demands of pensioners and retirees.
Greetings
Martha Hervas
Vice President TUI-P&R-WFTU- ECUADOR
PENSIONERS´SECRETARY- CEN- CTE