-~ Published by the Internationsl Secretariat of the Fourth Internaticoval
March 13, 1963
SOLIDARITY FOR FRENCH MINERS SPREADS ACROSS DUROPS
By Pierre Frank
PARIS, March ll -— France's coal miners have been out on strike since March 1. Other strikes have likewiis been calied, the iron miners in the east, the natural gas workers of Lacy.
The miners’ struggle, by far the most important, has aroused strong feelings of solidarity. In the mine areas not only «he : workers in other industries, but the mine engineers, small Z businessmen, even the clergy, immediately supported the demands of the miners as justified. They were followed last week bi Lifteen-minute solidarity stoppages throughout France. In addition, the gas and electric workers stopped work for two houwrs in token of their sympathy and the railway workers are scheduled to follow up with similar action. Expressions of solidarity a:re now spreading across the entire continent of.Evrope. Coal has become “hot eargo" and workers in other countries are refusing to handle deliveries for France.
The point of departure for the miners’ movement was the demand to bring their wages back to the level lost through infla~ tion. In recent years, faced with mounting prices, workers in private industry, above all the skilled layers, have been adle to naintain their standard of living, primarily because of fuli employment and a scarcity of labor. But government workers and functionaries, employes of cities and public services and of nationalized enterprises (like the mines) have not received sufficient wage increases to make up for declines in the standard of living.
The miners have felt this particularly acutely. Right after the war, when there was urgent need for their labor, they made gains, Today with the decline of coal as a source of energy, they er nrrenermnener renee tert gn eg ees he mine engineers are highly qualified technicians who constitute T t the actual management of the nationalized mines. Their expressions of sympathy with the strikers, including the donation of two days pay, is unprecedented. OPER NEAT RI me arn
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are working in a sick industry. Statistics show that since 1957 wages of the miners have falien 11.5 per cent behind those of private industry. :
After heating around the bush for a long time, the governnent decided on a derisory increase of two per cent at the beginning of this year and another increase at the end of 1963 which would have brought wages up a total of 5.77 per cent.
Why such an attitude on the part of the government? If one disregards the traditional red tape (and this has played a certain role), the main reason is that the government wants to hold down inflation, setting an example by limiting wages.
It also appears that at the end of February the government, like the unions themselves, had no clear idea of what the reaction of the miners might be toward the limited increases that were granted. The CGT (Confederation Generale de Travailleurs), to which most of the miners belong, did not call for more than a two-day work stoppage before taking a definitive decision. The other unions, the FO (Force Ouvriere) and the CFTC (Confederation Frangais des Travailleurs Chretiens), called for an unlimited strike .
Eut the government happened to give an impulse to the struggle as well as a political tone to it by deciding to "requisition" the miners; in other words, to mobilize the miners on the job and force them to work like soldiers. In this way the govern~ ment dealt a blow to the right to strike.
It was not the first time the government has acted in this way. However, up to now it has issued such an order only to small groups of workers (a couple of hundred or so) and the unions limited themselves to registering some timid protests.
Requisitioning the miners was a little too big a bite to swallow in this way. The first to go out on strike despite the _Xequisition were the miners of the Lorraine basin, which is second in importance among the coal fields, and where the government formerly could have counted on a certain response. The labor movement is weakest in the Lorraine basin. In the referendum last ‘October and in the elections in November, de Gaulle got an sighty per cent "yes" vote in the Lorraine and candidates of the de Gsaullist UNR (Union pour la Nouvelle Republique) displaced the former office holders belonging to the MRP (Mouvement Republicain Populaire). Once the Lorraine basin went out on strike, success was assured in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais, where Communists and Socialists are dominant and where in the elections of last Novem= ber they aided each other.
On the eleventh day of the strike, the movement is continu-. ing without the least sign of weakness. The only men going down inte the mines are the security teams which the strikers thenselves organized to see that no damage occurs below while the pickets watch the gates above.
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Through Prime Minister Pompidou, the government vainly pleaded with the miners in a "fireside chat" March 8 over the radio anc television network to go back to work. Squads of the CRS (Compagnie Republicaine de Securite, the French gendermeric) have been sent into the strike regions, but they are being discreetly kept in their barracks for the time being.
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This is the first big workers struggle since de Gaulle came to power in 1955. It also happens to be a etruggle against the govermment-—as-boss. It is pointless to debate whether the government made an error, as a big sector of the press believes, in going as. far as a “requisition” by a decree "made out at Colombey~ pe alana (where de Gaulle lives) and signed by de Gaulle himeelf.
Error or not, the government power, after having put an ené to the war in Algeria (and to Go this it had to turn primarily against the extreme right in France), naturally inclines now +o turn against the workers. Error or not, it is now committed te a requisition decree, and it is invoking the authority of the state; that is, demanding a return to work before considering any new negotiations on wages. It is quite probable thet at the present moment, the government is not se much preoccupied over upping wages an additional small percentage as over the probler of enforcing the requisition decree.
The miners in France have a tradition of long and militant, if rare, strikes, The last big strike was the one in i9-/. notable for its battles with the CRS. After it was lost, tie. trade-union split occurred that gave birth to the Force Ouvriere. This time the strike shows a power of united action among the unions such as hss not been witnessed for a long time.
Up to now the strike has developed in calm fashion in the tradition of the miners, with narades, rallies, music and the singing of the Internationale. The government appears to be letting it proceed; 1¢ has received all kinds of appeals for an understanding, etc. Probably the situation will not crystailize for a while.
But it is quite clear that the government has not given up thought of a test of force, while the unions (a11 of them) although standing firm up to now on the right to strike, have been anxious to open negotiations. A number of people, it seems, would iike to help the government save face. The danger is that it wiil work out the other way and they will open a breach in the ranks of the strikers. .
In the present political situation in France, the main con« cern of the workers’ movement is to assure the miners of complete solidarity, first of all in compelling the withdrawal of the | ‘requisition, secondly in putting the squeeze on for the wage hike.
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The first demonstrations of solidarity, as we have indicated above, have been very good. The collection of funds poses the necessity for a Joint Solidarity Treasury. Another need is a Central Strike Committes; that is, a united front of the miners. federations. Other demonstrations must be considered if the government does not give in, especially street demonstrations. The miners must net be left to face the CRS alone.
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It was the government whieh, in its way, brought the miners strike to a political level, as was noted. But we have not reached the point where the miners and the working class in generai have joined battle, even objectively, against the de Gaullist regime as such. We are only at the first great confrontation between the workers and a regime of which they do not have a clear understanding, the traditional working-class parties having done nothing to clarify them on this subject.
The power of the workers on the level of economic demands is proving to be very great; the same cannot be said for the political level. But it is through such corfrontations, with all. they place at stake, that the political consciousness of the workers will be revived and developed.