Action In the backdrop of the unprecedented crisis worldwide, the process of liberalisation has served to intensify the global crisis of capitalism..an study into how the working class struggle could be transformed into struggle for social change..

 Chittabrata Majumdar 

LIBERALISATION AND THE PEOPLE

In the backdrop of the unprecedented crisis worldwide, the process of liberalisation has served to intensify the global crisis of capitalism. A press release of ILO dated 29 May 1996 shows that by the beginning of the year 2000, the number of urban unemployed and quasi-unemployed would increase from 40 crores (400 million) as at the beginning of this decade to 100 crores (1 billion).

The population of industrially developed nations gets to remain more-or-less stable. But in Africa and Asia, the mounting poverty in the rural areas has caused a wide and continuous migration of pollution from the villages to the urban centres, and this has resulted in an unprecedented influx of population in the towns and cities of the third world. In the developing nations, the urban population was 50% of the total urban population in 1970. This figure stands at 65% in 1994. If the present urban rural 'one way nexus' continues, the figure will touch 80%.

Catherine Hagen, ILO's deputy Director General has commented that a production enhancing employment scenario alone can counter the terrible pressure of joblessness in urban centres worldwide. But in the background of mounting poverty, the capitalist system has gone in for a policy of liberalisation that encourages job-cuts rather job expansion.

The past two decades have seen productive employment get reduced by 15%. The corresponding figures in other EU countries are England (43%), France (23%), and Germany (14%). In the remaining EU countries, the rate has crossed 10%. Even the US is no exception in the regard, generally speaking.

As per the ILO survey, the little improvement that could be achieved in productive employment in some developing countries remains marginal in terms of the urban population. In these countries, the wages of workers are equivalent of quasi-unemployment. Whatever little social security the organised sector of workers enjoys is not available to their unorganised counter parts.

In sub-Saharan Africa, 60% of the workers are to contend with very low wages. In the Latin American and Caribbean countries (1990-94) 83% of the workforce are engaged in the unorganised sector. In India and Pakistan 75% & 70% respectively of the productive workforce are in the unorganised sector.

LIBERALISATION AND THE WORKING CLASS

The assaults on the working classes are not merely confined to curtailment of employment opportunities. The unprecedented development of science and technology and the equally unprecedented contraction of the market in the capitalist system have served to organise fresh attacks on the working class. The drive by the TNC's to capture limited markets available has led them to destroy establish, traditional industries of the Third world while intensifying inter se competition. The competition skills over onto areas of technological innovations and reduction of production costs. All over the world production units are victims of wide-scale retrenchment of workers.

This has also affected adversely the conditions of wage earning of workers. Temporary/casual workers are employed in a big way to deprive the workers of their derecognised. Existing labour legislation is not paid heed to. Hard-earned rights of workers are being taken away from them. Labour laws are being revised in the interest of the capitalists. In the third world, the circumstances of extreme poverty and unemployment have tended to make the workers agree to any amount of wages and to any working condition. 

The ILO Report on World Labour, 1997-98, given us an idea about the statuesque till date in the real collective bargaining. In countries like Belaress, France, Germany, Grease, Ireland, Sweden, Spain and Holland, 97.7% to 80% of workers enjoy this right. In Europe, England occupies the bottom spot with a mere 36.5% of the workforce getting to enjoy collective bargaining.

In the two Americas, in 12 countries, the coverage of collective bargaining ranges from 11.1% to 98.2%. Cuba enjoys the highest figure while USA languishes at 11.7%. In eight countries of Africa, the range is 40% to 25%. In Australia and Asia, the Australian worker enjoys the highest benefit with 65% of the workforce having the scope of collective bargaining. The figures for India >2%, Malaysia 2.6%, Taiwan 3.4%, and Philippines 3.7% represent the so-called 'low end' of the scale.

WORKING CLASS ORGANISATION AND STRUGGLE

There is a vituperative campaign that TU's are no longer able to look after the interests of the working class. The proprietors are more interested in maintaining individual based, as opposed to collective relations with the working class. Working class are allegedly 'moving' await from TU's, leading to reduction in TU membership.

It is true that in the emerging scenario of globalisation and liberalisation, the capitalist class has acquired more power and control and thus is being imposed on the working class in an aggressive and cruel manner. It is also true; the TU's are not able to attain success through persisting with traditional forms of movement. But there is no evidence either of reduction of TU membership or of a lack of urge on the past of the working class to struggle for its rights.

ILO Report (1997-98) provides data pertinent to such issues and we note that in 1985, the total TU membership for 37 countries in all the continents was 180,182,000. This increased to 192,947,000 in 1995. Continent-wise breakup is likely this: 

Some Countries show the following rate of growth:

The contraction of industries in Europe and the facts concerning collective bargaining go to how the reasons why TU membership has gone down. In USA, we have seen wide-scale retrenchment. In other parts of America, TU membership has gone up. In developed capitalist countries, unemployed has a social security net. This is not in evidence elsewhere. Unemployment gets aggravated herein the developing world. The increase in TU membership in Asia and Africa shows that the working class has moved closer to TU organisation. 

The ILO Report also gives details of man-days lost due to strikes and lockouts in 39 countries between 1993 and 1995: 

Year Man-Days Lost

1993 24,708,000 days

1994 23,611,000 days

1995 26,847,000 days

The unprecedented crisis of world capitalisation and the drive towards globalisation and liberalisation in this backdrop has created a new situation for the world workers' movement. De-industrialisaion and of this situation. These circumstances have tended to create some problems for TU's who would confine themselves to their own, narrow ambit of demands and to traditional forms of movements and struggles.

Gradually, it has dawned to the working class through their experience of struggles that it is the true process of globalisation and liberalisation which is squarely responsible for their problems of life and livelihood. The same evil has affected various other sections of people in different forms. Only by ensuring the decline and fall of globalisation and libralisation can the working class stave off the present assaults successfully. It is necessary for them to organise all other sections of the people who are concurrently attacked and to draw them into the folds of struggles and movements.