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Away For The Games

Oil on Troubled Waters

By Peter Lewis

Spontaneous action by French transport workers has sparked a wave of protests over fuel prices that threatens to plunge Europe into economic crisis. And it's all happening outside the established union structures. What''s going on?

It started with the fishermen who trawl the English channel, but it spread like wildfire. Farmers, bus drivers, truckies, taxis, emergency services, anyone who relies on fuel to perform their work joined forces to protest the spiralling costs of keeping their vehicles on the road. In the cities, but also the small towns and villages that make up France, ordinary workers have taken a stand, joining forces to blockade petrol stations and local markets, paralysing everyday life.

Within a week petrol stations across France were running dry as the blockades preventing fuel deliveries began to bite. By the time the French Government - whose high taxation rates have compounded rising oil prices to push fuel into the luxury goods category - buckled to pressure, the action was breaking out in Britain and Belguim and beyond. Now the issue is dominating global talks with governments pressuring the OPEC nations while being forced to reexamine their own revenue raising policies. Fears are growing that prolonged disruptions will lead to an economic slowdown across Europe. If ever a local issue has had global repurcussions, this is it.

The surprising thing about the oil blockades emanated from a country with a formal unionisation rate of less than 10 per cent. France's union movement is Balkanised - three separate confederations and a phalanx of small unions alligned to noone. The French union movement's strength lies in its political influence, it still has formal positions in the state's social welfare structures. That influence can be seen, for instance, in the cut in working hours that the Socialist government has phased in over the past two years. But in terms of membership, the movement is in a sorry, almost terminal, state.

But despite the formal membership levels there is a culture of activism that means people are prepared to take direct action. Some would trace it as far back as the revolution, in France the concept of taking to the streets is an action held with near reverence. You can see it when confronted by one of the blockades, as I was outside Riberac, in the south-east. People are frustrated at being held up, but there's also a respect for those taking part in the action.

And while they may not have the backing of the big confederations, the workers play smart. Cars are allowed through every twenty minutes, so while people are delayed in their daily activities they are not thwarted. In that time, the protestors hand out information and explain their greivances, ensuring those effected understand why. while British blockades have split the labour movement, with TUC chief John Monks being forced to condemn the action, the French workers have walked away united and victorious.

Trying to understand this success raises some interesting issues for a country like Australia, which still equates numerical membership levels with industrial strength. For starters, the activity outside the official structures means it is more difficult for authorities to control a dispute, it's almost a case of how mad are these people?And when you look into the eyes of an angry French farmer that's a tough question to answer. And without formal union ties, laws like Reith's secondary boycott laws would be totally useless - that boycotts are real but the action is so spontaneous it would be impossible to track the source.

My theory is that it also comes down to broader aspects of the French culture. This is a country where workers still stop for a two hour lunch in all but the capital cities. Its an integral part of life and culture. Indeed, you can imagine the truck drivers and farmers whinging together over bread and cheese in one of the little cafes that are often the only commerical outlet in a town. What appears to be spontaneous is also a product of a lifestyle that gives people time to talk.

If this is the case, some of the answers to recreating an acitivist workforce in Australia may lie in understanding our own culture. Some unions are already doing this by doing their organising in pubs outside working hours, or through community meetings. But more needs to be done in understanding the lives of members and making unions part of that, rather than expecting workers to adapt to union culture. I mean, would the French have mobilised if they had been forced to attend endless committee meetings to get the action approved ?

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  Issue 71 contents

»	Protesting Posties Blast Bosses in Swank Hotel
»	Mario Carries Torch For Workers
»	Union Flag Flies High At Olympic Park
»	International Passport for IT Workers
»	Homecarers Strike Another Blow Against Outsourcing
»	Alliances The Legacy of S11 Say Protestors
»	Violence Rife Against Union Activists
»	Call Centre Workers Compo Call Answered
»	Better Pay, Big Screens and Ice Cream for Bus 2000 Drivers
»	'Appalling' Detention Centres Behind Riots
»	Election of Burmese Official A Slap In The Face

»	Away For The Games
»	Sport
»	Labour Review
»	Tool Shed

»	Listen To The Young

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