Subject: M-I: EuroMarches v. Unemployment/round-up of news (fwd)
From: jschulman-AT-juno.com (Jason A Schulman)
Date: Wed, 11 Dec 1996 13:11:33 EST


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: 11 Dec 96 05:47:39 EST
From: International Viewpoint <100666.1443-AT-CompuServe.COM>
To: ".Press English" <fi-press-l-AT-sonne.comlink.apc.org>
Subject: EuroMarches v. Unemployment/round-up of news

This is for publication in the January issue of IV -- updates to me ASAP
please. Adam

European Marches against Unemployment, Job-insecurity and
Marginalisation

An all-Europe co-ordination meeting was held in Brussels on November
30th 1996.

It was decided to change the date of the European Hearings against
Unemployment, Job-insecurity and Marginalisation to 22-23 February, at
the request of the British and Spanish participants. It seems that a
number of congresses and trade union meetings are planned for the
original Hearing date, the first weekend in February. The next,
essentially "technical" all-Europe co-ordination meeting will be held in
Brussels on Saturday February 1st.

Participants discussed both the routes and the type of march planned.
These ideas will be circulated to national organising groups in a later
document. There was also discussion about the European secretariat for
the marches. The general idea is to move as quickly as possible (i.e.
>from January-February) towards a genuinely European secretariat, with
participation of all the countries which wish to do so. The presence of
the Belgian and Dutch organisers seems indispensable, given that most of
the proposed march routes pass through these countries, with the
potential for larger events in Brussels in Amsterdam

The European Network of Unemployed (ENU) has agreed to support the
European Marches. At their recent conference, in Ireland, contacts were
also made with an Austrian group, and with organisations in Hungary and
Poland, non EU countries. The Dutch ENU network (one member of which
represents the ENU secretariat) will co-operate with the march
organisers in the reception of the marchers in Amsterdam. For this, they
will need to know which towns the marches will pass through as soon as
possible.

Kairos Europe and various national groups of the Helsinki Citizens'
Assembly, two networks of "civic" movements concerned with political and
cultural questions, have also indicated their interest in the marches.
Following the Florence Appeal, the European Christian Forum wishes to be
represented in the European secretariat.
Country-by-country presentations
In Belgium, the March organising group*1 held its first meeting on
November 4th, and decided to seek broader contacts, including the trade
union federations. On December 12th, working groups stressed that the
march title and slogans should be positive expressions. It was also felt
important that participation in the marches be an individual initiative,
rather than the simple expression of organisational decisions. There was
a suggestion to prepare a "Marcher's Card".
The group also discussed the relationship between the marches and other
initiatives, so as to enable the establishment of the widest possible
reception committees, and the reception of the marchers by the mayors of
the towns they pass through.
At the February Hearings, the Belgian organising group suggests putting
the emphasis on the testimony of the excluded, and reports on
activities, rather than "big debates." To link the Hearings with the
broader social movement, it is planned to organise five small Belgian
marches, which will converge on Brussels. It was also suggested that the
Hearings enable people to attend "as a family". This obviously creates
the problem of child-space.
In the Netherlands, a conference "For a Different Europe" was held on 19
October. This is a step towards the organisation of a counter-summit,
larger than the reception of the marches, with workshops on ecology,
democracy, etc. Participants offered to support and prepare the marches
in the April-July period, with groups coming from all over the
Netherlands, and including trade unions, unemployed groups, and
individuals. There was a strong demand for precision about what marchers
>from other countries will expect from the Dutch organisers, particularly
in logistic and financial terms. Who will pay for the section from the
Dutch border to Amsterdam?
A representative of the Irish group INOU reported that the idea of a
"Celtic" march (Ireland, Wales, Brittany) is gathering strength. local
marches in Ireland will be received by the mayors of the towns they pass
through. Irish participants in the 30 November all-Europe planning
meeting expressed sharp criticism of the monetary union and its
consequences, and enquired about the position of the European Trade
Union Confederation. They stressed that Ireland is further away from
continental Europe than people often think, and that there will be a
problem with financing the transportation of the Irish marchers.
The British Committee for the European Marches held a conference in
Manchester on 26 October, with about 50 participants, including trades
councils and unemployed groups. There were participants from London,
Birmingham, South Wales  but no-one from Scotland. British participants
at the Brussels meeting raised mainly tactical questions. It will be
necessary to pay something to unemployed participants in the British
marches, since by leaving their place of residence,  they will loose
their unemployment benefit payments.
Since the Manchester meeting, the organisers have received the support
of more trade councils, and a group of left parliamentarians from the
Labour Party. The organisers are currently seeking concrete offers of
support, including trade union sponsorship of 250 marchers, work with
homeless groups, etc. They hope to organise a coach to the Brussels
initiative.
The German organisers held a meeting with unemployed organisations, left
currents and parties on 31 October. The Socialist Democracy Party (PDS)
gave its support. A secretariat was established for regional
co-ordination. There was discussion on the programme, and the
orientation of the marches, the rights of immigrants, links to Eastern
Europe and the South, and monetary union. The next meeting will be held
on 19 January in Hannover. A conference to discuss and prepare the
marches will be held in Mannheim on 15-16 March. A meeting of left
oppositionists in the DGB trade union federation will also be held. This
should make it easier to win the support of local trade union bodies.
In Switzerland,  ADC Lausannewants to organise a march segment between
La Chaux-de-Fonds (Jura), Laussane and Geneva. They are seeking wider
contacts. Switzerland is not in the EU, of course, but organisers felt
this did not prevent Swiss participation. "this is a march against
unemployment, " one said. "Not about whether we are for or against the
EU."
Spain's CGT [anarcho-syndicalist] trade union confederation will
participate in the marches. The Madrid CGT considers the Florence appeal
to be very weak, and would like to see an explicitly anti-capitalist and
anti-Maastricht text. The Madrid CGT is for the absolute autonomy of the
marchers, and will be on the watch for any attempt to "capture" or take
credit for the marches.
In Catalonia, the march will be co-ordinated by the "Civic Round-Table
for Social Rights" (Mesa civic pels drets socials) which organised a
series of smaller marches in 1995. The Mesa, which brings together trade
unionists, unemployed groups and intellectuals, also benefits from the
indirect participation of the "critical sector" in Iniciativa per
Catalunya, the local version of Spain's United Left.
The French organising associations*2 meet regularly in the interim
European secretariat, which seeks to deepen the preparation of the
marches, and widen support, particularly among trades unions. A common
meeting is planned for December, with local committees, civic groups,
and trade unions. Contacts have already been made with the FSU, the left
in the CFDT, the Group of Ten, SUD, etc). They will seek the support of
parliamentarians and political organisations, while preserving the
autonomy of the movement.
The Hearings of the AC! movement (which has about 100 local committees)
resolved to participate actively in the marches, to denounce
neo-liberalism and Maastricht, "without limiting themselves to a narrow
EU framework  in our discussion of Europe". The General Estates of the
Social Movement, which were created during the social movement of
November-December 1995, and which bring together actors from those
movements, trade unionists, and intellectuals, hope to generate similar
support all over Europe.
As for the organisation of the marches, France will be a host country
for marchers coming from Spain and Portugal, Italy, Switzerland, Germany
and, to some extent, Ireland and Great Britain. These marches will
converge towards Belgium and Amsterdam.

1. Groupe d'initiative Belge pour les Marches europeennes, Coordination
Bruxelles Wallonie Flandres Sans-Abris (Homeless Co-ordinations),
Mouvement de la Paix (Peace Movement), Kairos Europa
2. AEC (HCA-F), Comite des Sans-Logis, Chomeurs et Precaires de Paris,
CNT-AIT Nord-Pas de Calais, Collectif national AC!, Coordination moins
de 25 ans, Droit au Logement, Droits Devant!, Etats Generaux de
Mouvement Social, Movement National des Chomeurs et Precaires,
Organisation Communiste Libertaire, Precarite exclusion Jeunes 18-25
ans, SSIPPE-CNT Nord-Pas de Calais, SUD Cheminots, Secretariat des
Marches Europeennes.

European Hearings against Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Exclusion,
Brussels, 22-23 February 1997

The Hearings will have three functions.

7 Exchange information and experience between unemployed groups,
associations and trade unions at the European level. This implies
organising lots of workshops, so that the militants can express
themselves, and allowing for sufficient free time for the informal
exchanges.

7 In-depth discussions on the positions of each participant, given
his/her country of origin, militant activity, and ideological
convictions.

7 Preparing joint activities, above all the Spring marches.

The working languages for these hearings are English, French,
Castillian, German, Italian and, probably, Dutch.

Draft Agenda

Saturday 12:00  Reception, greetings, reading out messages, short videos

13:00   Presentation of the agenda and the material conditions of the
hearings, presentation of the general project at the European level.

14:00   Workshops
        7 Unemployment in the various countries, systems of support and
benefit, the work of associations.
        7 rising job insecurity and flexibility. The role of trade
unions in the struggle against unemployment.
        7 housing
        7 social and cultural marginalisation
        7 public service, defending "welfare"
        7 the right to asylum, and the situation of non-nationals

17:30   Parallel workshops for each march route, including (probably)
        7 Ireland, Britain, France, Belgium, Holland: to discuss one or
two marches: Ireland, Britain via London, northern France, Belgium,
Holland; and Wales, Brittany, France via Paris, Belgium via Brussels,
Amsterdam.

        7 Italy, Switzerland, France, Germany, Holland: starting in
Italy, then joined by the Swiss of the Lake Geneva region and the French
>from Grenoble, continuing to Basle, and then descending the Rhine valley
into Holland.

        7 Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland: a Nordic march

        7 Germany, Holland: starting in Berlin, with a possible south
German march, passing via Munich. This would allow the Austrians to
start a march.

        7 There will also be an "Amsterdam" workshop, which will discus
the problems of reception, tasks linked to the demonstration, and the
debates during the counter-summit.

20:00   dinner and social evening (but with a "Manifesto" working group,
in which representatives of each working group will try to amend the
text.)

Sunday, 09:00-12:00     workshops on the general orientation of the
marches
        7 European institutions and their policies (single currency,
etc.) and the consequences for employment (introduced by Kairos?)

        7 The Europe we want to build. What opening to the East and the
South? Refusing Fortress Europe (introduced by someone from the Spanish
state, maybe the CGT).

        7 Essential emergency measures for Europe, social Europe
(introduced by the reporters of the Saturday workshops).

        7 Abolishing unemployment, reducing the working week, full
employment (introduced by AC!, Michel Husson and/or Ireland's INOU?)

        7 Specific women's demands (introduced by Germany)

        7 Finance, the resources needed for such a policy

13:00-15:00     Plenary session, lunch break, approval of the manifesto
and the principle points of the march strategy.

Invitations and observers

The proposal is to have a wide range of invitations and observers, going
beyond the forces which will actually participate in the organisation of
the marches. We will invite associations and trade unions, intellectuals
engaged in the struggle against unemployment and marginalisation,
parliamentary groups in the European Parliament, and various political
currents. These invitations do not imply the obligation to make a speech
(although anyone who wants can express him/herself in the workshops).
The president of the hearings will read out a list of invitees and
excuses.





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