Greeting to the XIIIthcongress
of theTUI of the transport workers of theWFTU
Comrades,
In the name of the millions of members it represents, the TUI of the P&R (Pensioners and Retired) of the WFTU greets the XIIIth congress of the transport workers and wishes you a lot of success in your work, your debates and resolutions.
Your congress is held during a period of profound anti-labour offensive on all continents, which capitalism and governments support while trying dump the weight on to the working class., The transport, the strategic sector for capitalism is an integral part of the process of globalization, production and trade and supplies to the exploiters the vital distribution of production by creating a direct link between companies and world markets, strengthens the increasing trade; all this confers on transport a strategic position.
The resources, the products circulate on the planet in a continuous flow, without the same compulsory limitations imposed on people when their immigration is of no use to capitalism
Multinationals, with their subsidiaries, established themselves in several countries:
- to have a direct access to raw materials
- to be able to by-pass certain obstacles in trade
- for the search of the cheapest workforce
Multinationals are a threat for states, creating their own economic space independently of them, they exploit for their selfish profit the disparities of the social or environmental legislations.
Multinationals massively exploit the natural resources of a country or re-locate their most polluting activities towards the least demanding states.
Besides influencing states by an unacceptable lobbying, their power goes as far as controlling governments and even overthrowing a regime which is not in their best interest.
A historic example of this, the multinationals which participated in the military coup d’état against Salvador Allende in the same country where this XIIIth takes place, in Chile in 1973.
Multinationals, and especially those of the transport, deprive the states of means to intervene in their economic evolution, in the standard of employment, the standard of living and the social welfare of the populations; they play a major role in globalization by implementing the financial globalization, the world organization of production, the free circulation of goods. They are the key factors to a growing exploitation of ex colonial countries.
These companies need the transport to forward their products as well as to send their message. The paralysis of transport by a general strike on an international level would totally block the economy, this explains the strategic importance of the TUI of transport to coordinate the struggles on an international level.
Concerning the social problems of the transport sector, we have to remember that this sector undergoes unprecedented attacks of various governments who want to destroy all public services with consequences:
• deletions of services
• the massive deletions of jobs in all public sectors of transport
• the worsening of the working conditions to lower production costs, with for objective : to be able to transport in the lowest possible price towards consumer markets products made in the countries which practise social, fiscal and environmental dumping.
The consequences of these policies confront the workers with a global offensive which has the same effects in every country and gives the labour class union big responsibilities and an enormous challenge.
A strong TUI of transport is essential to unite the transport workers of the planet to defend their demands on an international level. And so, from the actual problems of every country, we can develop a large protest movement and fight against the capitalist policies which have as a consequence the grave problems with which the workers and the peoples are confronted today, despite the objective differences which exist in the labour union at a global level.
This congress has to strengthen the WFTU, the only world association of labour unions which fights against the capitalist exploitation, against the imperialism, the only class organization on a global level.
The TUI of the P&R of the WFTU wishes you a big success for your congress, you can count on the solidarity, the collaboration and the support of the union veterans who make up the TUI of the P&R of the WFTU.
LONG LIVE THE XIIITH CONGRESS OF THE TUI OF THE TRANSPORT!
LONG LIVE THE PROLETARIAN INTERNATIONALISM
LONG LIVE THE WFTU!
Quim Boix General Secretary of TUI of Pensioners and Retirees (P&R) of WFTU
Barcelona, September, 2014
