Any important experiences in struggle of any section of the international working class must become the property of the whole movement. In this way, the most advanced methods, the most daring and imaginative tactics can become generalised across frontiers; in this way, the working class will rediscover its international character.
An unusual reception awaited gas and electricity workers in the French town of Brest when they returned to work recently after a successful strike. Instead of brickbats, they were treated to extra-large tips-and this after the town had been without electricity for nearly three weeks.
The problem which had led to the strike was that there were too few gas and electricity workers. Redundancies had produced massive speed-up and very dangerous working. The traditional 24-hour stoppages solved nothing and were regarded as simply leave without pay by the workers. Negotiations resulted in the inevitable "we will see what we can do. "we will study the question'.
STRIKE COMMITTEE After six months spent discussing and preparing the ground, the delegates from the two main union federations, the CGT and the CFDT, called a mass meeting to discuss the issue. It should be pointed out that the CT delegate was not, as is usual, a Communist Party member but a long time member of the French section of the Fourth International, the Ligue Communiste. The mass meeting elected a strike committee-but a strike committee with a difference. This committee involved all the workers, unionised or not; it met every day in open and public session (sometimes 300 workers attended); it set up a commission to establish links with other factories, and a second one to explain the workers actions to the public.
The mass meeting decided that the best way to discover accurately how many more workers should be taken on was to return to the local plants, elect local committees, and discuss the whole work process thoroughly. Each plant would then discover how many more workers were needed. This done, the manage ment was approached with a figure of 75 extra workers. They replied that they would only negotiate with the CFDT and CGT; the workers explained that things were different now that they had a strike committee representing all of them. There would be no negotiations except through that committee and in public.
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Brest workers faced general problem: photo shows striking gas and electricity workers in Paris, January 1972.
The electricity supply board was thrown into a spin by all this; telegrams and state bureaucrats sped backwards and forwards between Paris and Brest. Meanwhile a solidarity committee had been set up in the town. The strike committee produced and distributed 25,000 leaflets to working class homes explaining why the electricity and gas supplies were cut off and also telling other workers how they were organising their struggle. Every now and again they were approached with requests for electricity to an individual household or institution. Each case was reviewed by the strike committee. If they approved it, someone would be sent to switch the juice on. If not, the reasons were given.
The remark of one worker needs no further elaboration: From the moment the conduct of the strike became everybody's affair and not simply that of a few leading trade unionists, it was obvious that the strike became ten times more solid."
Despite a compromise attempted by a leading CGT official from Paris, it was the gas and electricity boards which caved in. It was agreed to take on 55 of the 75 extra workers that had been demanded.
NOT THE END But that was not the end d it all. The workers didn't want to go back to business as usual, nor did they want to go back to the separated unions as before. They wanted to keep the strike comNational Union of Students and the Indochina Demonstration Red Mole Reporter The NUS at its November conference, agreed to sponsor the Indochina Solidarity Campaign and affiliate to its founding conference. Six weeks later however, at the NUS Universities specialist conference, the NUS leadership refused to support the first actions taken by the ISC.
The position put jointly by the International Socialists and the International Marxist Group was that the NUS, as a supporter of ISC, should tell students to attend the 'solidarity rally organised by the ISC and not the peace rally organised by the British Council for Peace in Vietnam before the joint ISC-BCPV demonstration on January 20th. RARISIENNE mittee which had organised their unity in action.
But what role was it to play? Some workers thought it should actually run the plants. But it was pointed out that this would inevitably end up in collaboration with the management. Instead they called it the Co-ordination Committee, its job being to meet weekly and check that management was carrying out what they had agreed to do. As the CT delegate said, "it's a sort of permanent workers control over the management of personnel". And another worker pointed out that, "if another demand comes up, say a wage claim, now that we are on the prowl we can set up the Strike Committee again".
The Brest electricity and gas workers were not the first workers in France to elect a strike committee. But it is the first time such a thing has happened in so isolated a centre. Workers who know how hard it is to fight redundancies can appreciate what a victory it is actually to increase the work force. Such a struggle has already had important repercussions at a national level in France. Together with other recent strikes, it has shown that the bosses can be beaten even on questions which before were not taken up seriously by the unions. Brest also shows the French Communist Party and the Socialist Party that the working class are not sitting with their arms folded waiting for the General Election in March to solve their problems for them. By their actions now they are consolidating the changed relationship of forces with the ruling class.
The leadership covered up its tracks by distorting the positions put forward by the ISC. A circular put out by the NUS central office for example, warns students that "the Executive has been advised that some organisations affiliated to ISC may organise an alternative demonstration also on the 20th January. The Executive would advise all students not to support this splittest move but to participate in the main demonstration". This, of course, is just not true.
We look forward to their explaining this refusal to implement conference decisions at the next NUS conference when the NUS especially when the CP-sponsored "left', Mike Terry, puts himself forward for election.
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C.GI GAVIERO & ELECTRICHENS ASM, DE LA REGION