In the last year, a new trade union association has emerged in Czechoslovakia. KAREL HYNES, president of the Trade Union Association of Bohemia, Moravia and Slovakia (OSCMS — Odborove sdruzene Cech, Moravy a Slovenska) was interviewed in Prague for 91×ÔÅÄÂÛ̳ by ADAM NOVAK.
How did your union form?
We were founded in April 1991, 10 months after the old federation [ROH] was dissolved. Trade union rights were more and more under attack. Fifty-six per cent of the 8 million original members had left the unions. The new federation [the Czech and Slovak Confederation of Trade Unions, CSKOS — Ceska a Slovenska konfederace odborovych svazu] was not interested.
Two thousand dissatisfied militants founded OSCMS to stop the erosion of trade union rights, to build up the unions, and to make them a real force on social questions. We are a general union because we don't want to further divide the union movement. By our first congress in October 1991, we had 120,000 members. We now have 250,000 members and are growing slowly but steadily.
Leaders of the major federation CSKOS have dismissed you as "red unions", splitting the movement for political reasons.
I was and am a communist. But we have members from all political parties.
Our aim is not non-political; "non-political" doesn't mean anything, except maybe supporting the government. We have policies on defending certain rights, but we are in no way a party union. We want the greatest possible union unity and, wherever possible, a joint approach to management and the government.
We have good relations with the Christian unions. It's no secret that relations with the federation are worse. We have had one meeting with them and will have another exchange of views soon. Ordinary people know unity is necessary, but some of the federation's union leaders are not interested.
How many staff do you have?
One staff member and one secretary. We don't want a large secretariat; we would rather create full-time posts for lawyers and other staff in the regions, at the source. The other trade unions have only industrial structures and have abandoned the regions. This is a mistake; regional organisation is very important for unemployment, education and other social questions.
One woman produces our newspaper, Nase Prace, [Our Work] as a print run of 10,000. We want to go weekly as soon as possible. We are glad to have a growing number of correspondents; we want it to be a paper of the union members, to which the leaders respond, and not a paper of the union leaders.
What is your view of the economic reform?
The economic reform is asocial; it doesn't take social questions into account. None of the governing parties had the current reforms in their electoral programs. We simply cannot allow people to slide into real poverty through no fault of their own.
And privatisation?
Privatisation, originally one of the means to achieve the economic transformation, has become the sole goal of the transformation. We want the original reform program — equality of property and enterprise forms. We want to see the development of worker shares, ESOP [employee share ownership plan], cooperatives, etc. Privatisation is becoming increasingly political and its critics attacked more and more sharply.
What about the coupon form of privatisation that distributes shares to citizens?
This was supposed to be something for the people, but the investment funds are more and more important, and many of them have foreign capital behind them. So this is another back door way for foreign capital to buy up our industry cheaply.
Why are there still virtually no strikes in Czechoslovakia?
Fear, pure and simple. Everybody expects further job losses and does not want to be the first. Also, don't forget that people are not used to these new conditions. Before work moved to the people. Now they have no work.
What will OSCMS do about the federal elections in June?
The union as such won't stand in the elections, but 11 of our members will stand as union candidates with our program on the lists of parties of which they are members: five with the Left Bloc [sponsored by the Communist Party], and others with the Liberal Social Union [a Social Democratic-type coalition of the Socialist, Green and Agrarian parties].
Entering parliament wasn't our original goal; we've been pushed into it by developments. We want to be at the source of legislation and influence it.
The economic situation will certainly worsen after the elections. Do you think workers will become more militant and left wing?
I think this is happening now, before the elections. There is, however, sillusioned with the reforms will simply not vote. It is the job of the left to make them participate no matter which left party they will vote for.
How do you view the international trade union scene?
We aren't hurrying to join any international federation. Although we know we cannot sit on the fence forever, we don't want to be accused of being partisan at the moment. We have various contacts abroad, and our partners agree that we need a new approach in international trade unionism. Why should one federation liquidate the other?
What contacts do you have abroad?
We have contacts with 78 organisations across the whole world. We have particularly good relations with the French CGT. In several weeks, we will sign an agreement on cooperation.
They already help us with training. We can use their experience. They have information on transnational companies, many of which are coming here. They have developed training programs and information systems on health and safety and a lot of other issues.
Of course we cannot import anything lock, stock and barrel. CSKOS based itself on the British TUC. This is ironic, since the government has one British adviser who helped smash the British unions for Margaret Thatcher. In general we can learn from abroad, but we must always remember that we are at the start of a new system, and so many things are different from in the west.
What is your attitude to foreign investment?
We are not against foreign investment. The issue is the conditions under which investment comes. Foreigners must invest to produce, not to win markets or to speculate. A big problem is the government's policy of cheap labour to win investments. This is not good for us or for workers and weakens the struggle for better conditions. This surely reinforces the need for us all to work together.