“CCOO WILL NEVER BE AGAIN A CLASS TRADE UNION”

“CCOO WILL NEVER BE AGAIN A CLASS TRADE UNION”
This statement doesn´t come from myself but from George Mavrikos, General Secretary of the WTUF (World Trade Union Federation), and was made in front of myself and in the presence of Carmelo Suarez, General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Peoples of Spain (PCPE).
At this point, Carmelo expressed his opinion on the same way. In fact, when talking about CCOO, both of them base their conclusions on their respective and long lasting experiences in the struggle against the reformist trade unionism.
Those struggle against the former class unions turned to reformists positions in part due to the entrepreneurs´ influence has been carried on in many countries all over the world. However, this step-back concerning the class unionism started in the USA just to be repeated in many European countries till nowadays, when its reaching other countries formerly under the rule of colonial powers.
From a personal point of view I can talk about the long struggle from the inside of CCOO in a vain attempt to keep the union on its original class conscious line
Many of us were among CCOO´s founders during the 60´s. Our task was carried out through great efforts and perils, and included the killing of some members and many cases of torture, exile, hunger and the lost of hundreds of jobs. It also came along with great and numerous acts of solidarity, especially those coming from the WTUF. It is also imporatnt to say that this was the common effort of communists, socialists, nationalists, cristians and people coming from the whole spectre of the Left.
The fisrt CCOO were born as a class conscious, independent trade union open to every worker,  based on internal assembly, democracy, internationalism, unity, and with a clear aim of confrontation against capitalism (as I wrote in my article from last year). Unfortunately, from the Moncloa Agreements signed in 1977, and thanks to the eurocomunist influence of many of its leaders, the union responsible of so many heroic struggles against the fascist dictatorship and also responsible of so many conquests on behalf of the working class – being at the same time a clear instance to be followed by many unions in South America – has been slowly turned into a yellow trade union whose pattern should be imitated by the reformist unionism while at the same time turns out to be a useful tool in the hands of the great capital. This “evolution” has lasted more than 30 years. During this time the class conscious positions inside CCOO have been gradually reduced to minority. For instance, in Catalonia, in 1983, those still defending class unionism still won the right  to respect the decisions taken at the workers´ assembly prior to any agreement to be signed by the union as part of an enhanced pact.
But now, at CCOO there are not anything as asking the statutory organs before the signment of any agreement while at the same time obedience to the highest union´s echelons is strictly required from the rest of cadres at the risk of being fired in case of  someone opposed to the decisions adopted at the upper levels.
To begin with, CCOO abandoned its relationship with the WTUF during the 80´s in order to have free hands to sign any kind of the so called Social Pacts (that is to say Pacts that as a matter of fact deny the class struggle) always against the Spanish working class´interests.
Concerning the company known as SINTEL, whose workers, in order to keep their jobs, camped for more than six months in one of Madrid´s main avenues, the Pact signed by Jose María Fidalgo, then General Secretary of CCOO, allowed TELEFÓNICA, one of the biggest Spanish transnational companies, to cut its number of employees from 70.000 to less than 30.000 – as a result of this Pact we can see the strike actually in full force of those working under contratc with MOVISTAR/TELEFÓNICA.
To this we must add the so called Toledo´s Agreements that signaled the beginning of the end of Pensioners and Retirees´rights, and the Social Pacts whose main direct consequence is the losing of salaries and the general delay in the age of retirement along with the worsening conditions when dealing with decent public retirement pensions.
It is true that a long struggle has taken place from the inside of CCOO during the last decades: there was a time when alternative lists and documents quite a lot different from those coming from the high levels were available at congressional processes; even a critical faction was legalized inside the union (great energies were devoted then to this faction) and that many attempts to stop CCOO´s conversion to capitalism took place… However, not even this critical faction exists today, while at the same time there are still at the base of the union small groups trying to act as a class conscious union (couldn´t be other way, as there will always be a fighting working class). Thanks to this groups some great struggles have been carried out in companies such as Coca-Cola, Panrico and the minning areas. Those workers are CCOO members faithful to the former principles of the old CCOO opposed to Franco. But even then their struggles only serve to bring parcial victories to the workers of the mentioned companies. They don´t take part in the CCOO´s decision processes, not even critize (afraid of being expelled from the union as it has happened in some cases) the Social Pacts signed every year by their union´s leaders. In reality, their correct struggle at their own companies (they usually work for big companies and factories) forgets that class conscious unionism must work on a wider level in order not to degenerate in corporate unionism and therefore negative to the whole of the working class´ interests in the general struggle against capitalism.
Today, this union base members have tried to influence inside the CCOO´s framework through the platform called GANEMOS CCOO (Lets win CCOO), but they can´t and the won´t be able to introduce any substancial change concerning the important and negative decisions taken by CCOO´s leaders. A very recent instance of this situation is the new Social Pact ready to be signed by CCOO, UGT  and the big company owners (always over the old scenario of a fake  confrontation just to pretend that negotiations are underway) that will mean a new victory to the owners and to the capitalists as it will change the IPC index for the GNP index, an old claim from the CEOE (Entrepreneurs biggest and most powerful Association) that CCOO has declared will be accepted although this acceptance means a contradiction with its own congress´documents (anyway, is a common trait of CCOO to be unfaithful to its own congressional agreements); it is also important to note that this agreement will leave the salaries rise almost at the complete disposal  of the company´s owners.
Personally, I don´t know (in spite of many requests to those that still consider of any worth their CCOO´s membership) neither a document, nor an internal battle against the reformists policies of the union issued by this base members still trying to exercise any kind of class unionism from CCOO´s rank and file. Needless to say that in the event of any class conscious action taken by CCOO it will serve only as an excuse from the leadership´side in order to continue with its long tendency of betrayal to the working class. This May 1st., CCOO has been once again an efficient tool on entrepreneurs´hands, as you may see in both its slogans and its proposals.
CCOO never aims any attack on Capitalism; they just say that the whole system has been badly handled. In this sense, CCOO acts as IZQUIERDA UNIDA+PODEMOS+PSOE do in the political arena, creating a big ideological confusion among the masses. In order to restore class unionism a wider view is needed far beyond the interest of the workers of one single company, far beyond of isolated struggles (no matter what its grade of unity) in which workers may take part.
It is necessary to have a clear vision of the whole picture, to keep a clear conscience of the class struggle as a whole, and to see how the big trade unions are being used by the capitalists and its allies, as they have become higly useful in the ideological struggle: these are the ways of the present day CCOO to prevent any rebellious attitude from the side of the workers against those who exploit them (far, far away from the ways it had when we founded the union during the 1960´s).
Today is absolute necessary to be sure that class unionism, the only one able to confront capitalism, must comply with the ten features previously mentioned: being a class union, independent, democratic, representative, submitted to the workers´assembly, wide open to participation, united, aimed to politics and to society and internationalist. Without all this features and without the coordination with the class struggle at nacional and International levels there won´t be any chances for trade unionism to end with capitalism, as  this must be the main objetive of class unionism. Not anybody should lie to himself: as stated by Georges Mavrikos and Carmelo Suarez, “CCOO will never be again a class union”.
May 2nd, 2015                                                      Quim Boix  
WTUF´s  Presidential Council  and General Secretary of WTUF´s TUI of Pensioners and Retirees