In the photos that accompany this text, you can see information plates hanging (in and out of its offices in Dakar, Senegal) on the walls of CNTS (National Confederation of Workers of Senegal).
By Quim Boix, Member of the Presidential Council of the WFTUThese plates show and remember the money contributed to the existence, opening and operation of said premises, by CCOO (Spain) and the Peace and Solidarity Foundation, with the help of the Government of Andalusia (southern Spain) and other organisms.
Actually the money comes from the Troika (IMF, EU and European Central Bank), as it is these agencies that include those that provide the necessary capital, based on the so-called “Programs ODA, (Official Development Assistance)” channeled through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Autonomous Community.
Given the early history of CCOO (as it was, for decades now, a Union of class solidarity and internationalism) may seem normal to help internationally.
But today is not the CCOO of Spain who can pay huge amounts of money to be allocated across the world to help trade unionism fo class conciliation.
CCOO has serious economic problems due to the continued loss of affiliates (who disagree with its acting, since its leaders left the class-oriented unionism). CCOO is -since a long time ago- dismissing part of their paid staff (applying the laws of the Popular Party slashed the rights of dismissed). Therefore CCOO don’t have their own money and their “solidarity” is that of the simple carrier of the money (although for this work they charge a part of the money given by the Troika, in salaries and travel).
Given this reality, CCOO leaders are letting themselves be boght for a little money. They “sell” the international prestige acquired byt the CCOO in the fight against the fascist dictatorship in exchange for a pittance in money. For capitalism is an interesting purchase. For very little money, the CCOO appear to have paid for the offices (and that’s how union leaders explain it, as they cannot say they have been bought by the Troika) and it is more acceptable to the bases, that have class consciousness, than if it appeared that the “gift” is from the leaders of capitalism.
The sums of money transported are enormous, since Dakar is just an example. We could provide similar photos of many local unions, including Latin American as well.
Obviously the capitalist system only “helps” to the organizations that have a “behavior” useful to capitalism. Capital institutions don´t help those who struggle to end the exploitation of man by man.
The FSM considers useful to the working class around the world to know this reality.
Capitalists are not wrong to help their friends and colleagues.