Union broadside against IMF and globalisation
So blatant has the bosses' global offensive become that even the lynchpin of anti-communist trade unionism in the post-war period, the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU) has felt obliged to join the criticism of the "poverty reduction" policies of the IMF and World Bank.
An ICFTU statement to the Prague meeting of the global bankers on September 26-28 warns that:
"Never since the international financial institutions were created has the contrast been so striking between the growing wealth and prosperity enjoyed by a few and the increasing poverty experienced by a vastly greater number."
Far from the optimism of the WTO's Mike Moore, the ICFTU argues that "the number of those living in absolute poverty is increasing," and that:
"While the profit rates of many large multinational companies are at unprecedented levels, as are the incomes of the managers of those firms, the real wages for ordinary workers have been stagnant or declining in many countries in the world."
The ICFTU does not accept that this is any inevitable development: it is the outcome of deliberate policies, and the IMF in particular "must assume their share of responsibility for this situation of growing misery, inequality and uncertainty in a world of ever-increasing wealth."
But the ICFTU remains a reformist body, seeking to reform rather than overthrow the capitalist system. Its statement veers into the realm of fantasy with its demand that "the IMF and the World Bank must make major and concrete steps towards reversing the growing polarisation of wealth ... if they wish to preserve their credibility in combating poverty..."
Of course these bodies were set up precisely to consolidate the control and power of the imperialist powers which bankroll them and control their agenda and activities. They have no scope to reverse this role, no matter how the global union bosses may plead with them to do so.
The ICFTU draws attention to the fact that the big losers from globalisation include the majority of countries of central and eastern Europe, which "have yet to see the light at the end of the tunnel of transition to market economies.
"Except for a small minority of holders of large assets who have benefited from the privatisation of former public enterprises, most citizens in these countries have not seen an improvement in their welfare ... while most social indicators, including average life expectancy, have deteriorated significantly."
Life is no better for "the majority of countries of Asia, Africa and the Americas", which "find their economies in situations of stagnation if not outright recession, with growing poverty and unemployment."
The problem is that many of the countries have got into this position by implementing the IMF/World Bank guidelines.
The ICFTU quotes the example of Argentina, which over the last ten years has "privatised every public service capable of generating a profit, including the postal system; has substantially decreased social expenditures; has dismantled most tariff and non-tariff trade barriers and has 'dollarised' the national currency, thus renouncing any autonomous monetary policy," but which now faces soaring unemployment and falling real wages.
Poverty reduction programmes proposed by the IMF/WB revolve around draconian austerity measures and privatisation as part of "structural adjustment" packages.
Even more annoying from the ICFTU's point of view is the blatantly anti-union stance of the IMF and World Bank, and their indifference to social welfare, equality issues and workers' conditions and living standards, making it hard for the ICFTU to be seen to collaborate in such a one-sided "partnership".
After detailing the extent to which the IMF/WB can be seen to be clearly lined up with the forces of global capital against the working class, the ICFTU concludes by demanding they change course and "assume the necessary leadership" to propose a newly regulated international financial system.
Among the points to be included in these regulatory measures, the ICFTU embraces the call for "The establishment of a currency transactions tax to reduce speculative currency flows and to raise resources for the support of poverty alleviation".
The fact that such a basically right wing and collaborationist union confederation has been driven into such a political stance is a mark of the extent to which globalisation is polarising forces around the world.
The call for the IMF and WB to implement a "Tobin Tax" on speculation shows that the logic of neo-liberalism and globalisation is unacceptable to anyone who wishes to defend, or be seen to defend, the interests of the poor and oppressed.