I spend a few days in Geneva attending the Annual ILC. The WFTU activities in the sideline of the 101st ILC were once again more enhanced. This year was more successful. Hundreds of members and friends of the WFTU attended all the activities and meetings, shared experience and discussed proposals for action addressing key issues of the international trade union movement: the struggle against the transnational corporations, the WFTU Plan of Action, the need to express solidarity to the people who are confronting
additional difficulties like Palestine, Colombia, Philippines, Bahrain, Kazakhstan, Greece and Swaziland etc.
All the inputs of the guest speakers projected the positions of their national trade union movement. They underlined the role of internationalism and proletarian solidarity.
However, it was quite a surprise that the trade unionists from Swaziland never showed up to address the WFTU Meeting in solidarity with the Swazi people. They were invited on time and that's a fact. So what happened?
They were "afraid" to attend the meeting; they were "afraid" to talk in a meeting of 120 trade unionists from 42 countries.
From my observation, the WFTU is always present on the side of the Swazi people in their struggle for democracy, labour and social rights and also the WFTU has the responsibility to intensify its efforts. The WFTU has close relations with PUDEMO and all the democratic organizations of Swaziland. It organized a mission for solidarity and common action with the Swazi Federations in July 2011. It organized an International Conference inside the European Parliament in September 2011 in Strasbourg, France. The WFTU participated and greeted the first TUCOSWA Congress and immediately condemned the de-registration and the constant attacks against the political and trade union rights. It constantly denounces the imprisonment and the attacks against the militants. In its resolution at the
Presidential Council which took place in South Africa on February 2012, the WFTU aimed to enhance its action and its efforts to mobilize its affiliates and friends in solidarity with the struggle of the Swazi workers and poor people.
Within this framework the WFTU organized a large activity in Geneva, on June 11th, 2012. The trade unionists from Swaziland had been timely invited and had welcomed this solidarity event.
Why did they not participate? What stopped them from sharing with their brothers in the other countries the truth about Swaziland? What made them deprive from the international trade union movement the necessary information that will help them act, according to their internationalist duty, in solidarity with the Swazi workers and poor people? Who disallowed them from participating in a large internationalist activity and project the position of the Swazi people?
Many might jump to the conclusion that its ITUC's fault for threatening them, for blackmailing them, for promising them financial assistance. I agree and usually its like that. Not only in Swaziland but also in Tunisia, Nepal, in South Africa, in countries of the Central America and Latin America.
However, besides the ITUC leadership, it is also the fault of those "trade unionists" who sell their country and their soul for a fistful of dollars.
It is the fault of those "trade unionists" who sell out their ideology, their principles and their rich history to become beloved by Brussels.
The conclusions that derive out of this wrong stance of the "trade unionists" from Swaziland are the following:
a) the classist trade union movement continuously supports the struggling people.
b) At the same time, it struggles against corruption, concessions and compromises of "trade unionists" who sell-out their principles
c) It must intensify its efforts so that the elected trade union leaderships are stable, fearless and have solid ideological, political and class-based background.
