The Labour Start conference ended the day before May 1st. The number of participants exceeded 200, coming from some 30 countries. Here is a partial list: Albania, Armenia, Belarus, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lithuania, Myanmar, North Macedonia, the Netherlands, Norway, Palestine, Poland, Russia, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan.

A conference that was supported logistically and politically by the Georgian trade union, the GTUC. We will talk later about this trade union, one of the examples of the transformation of trade unions in the countries belonging to the former USSR, according to its own vision and according to the International Trade Union Confederation of which it is a member.

In this chronicle, I will concentrate on the aspects that have to do with the mission that brought me to the conference: solidarity with the trade unions in the Ukraine. Before, however, I would like to briefly review some aspects that caught my attention. First of all, the significance of such a conference.

The value of worker solidarity today

As Eric Lee and other Labour Start coordinators have said, the conference is a meeting place and a place for solidarity among trade unionists. It doesn’t matter whether you come on behalf of an organization or as an individual, everyone has a chance to participate, speak or apply for a workshop. In that sense it is a very democratic and open meeting that offers an opportunity in our days to exchange information and experiences. That, in my opinion, is the most important aspect. And that is what makes this conference so successful and fills a gap that for some reason the unions and the international trade union centers themselves need to fill. Especially in the face of a war like the one in Ukraine.

The other aspect that has to do with the previous one is the fact that it is, in essence, militant work. Based on a small network of coordinators dealing with areas or issues, and with a wider network of correspondents, Labour Start offers any trade unionist a global view of trade union or political struggles related to working class life. It is a window into the world of work, though focused on the material and concrete aspect of the struggle for wages, rights, working conditions and freedom. The other more general political aspects and position-taking do not enter into this site and this work.

Eric Lee stressed the value of workers’ solidarity in an “era of crises, wars and disasters.” At the end of the conference, he expressed the wish that he could hold the next conference in a Kiev without war and with fully re-established unions. We hope that this will be possible.

How the war in Ukraine affects neighboring countries

So the conference did not have an official position on Ukraine. But all the interventions by trade unionists from Georgia and all the others expressed their solidarity with the Ukrainian trade unions and their desire for victory over the invaders. The speeches in the plenary sessions by Olesia Briazgunova, international officer of the KVPU trade union, Ivanna Khrapko, head of the FPU youth coordinator, as well as young lawyer Inna Kudinska, member of the NGO Labor Initiaves, were among the most listened to and applauded. In the halls of the Georgian National University, where the conference was held, there was the same atmosphere as in the streets, bars, restaurants, and private residences of Tbilisi, where posters, graffiti, and banners in solidarity with Ukraine are displayed.

The speeches made by Belarusian trade unionists, including Maksim Pazniakou, were also listened to attentively. In a very short space of time, from 2020 to today, the situation in Belarus has completely changed. From a regime cornered by popular mobilization, the regime has moved to brutal repression and the dismantling of political and trade union opposition. Maksim recognized that independent trade unionism was not prepared for this. They were confident that the regime would yield to the pressure of mobilization. Workers had won some victories before 2020 and were the driving force behind the mobilization of citizens at the time of the election fraud. But Putin’s support for his protégé Lukashenko turned the tide. When the invasion occurred on February 24, 2022, independent BKDP unionism understood and fully supported its Ukrainian brethren. Now it is paying with the imprisonment and exile of its leaders for its firm and supportive stance.

Having a plan for social reconstruction

The workshop presented by the European Network of Solidarity with Ukraine (ENSU) was very interesting in the sense that it opened a reflection and some ideas for a plan for social and trade union reconstruction in Ukraine. Although the number of workshop participants was not large, interested people participated and asked questions, starting with Ukrainian comrades Olesia from KVPU, Ivanna from FPU, and Inna from Labor Initiatives.

Certainly the task we presented is not easy: to propose to Ukrainian trade unions to agree on a plan for the social reconstruction of the country; to have alternatives and a voice in the reconstruction that Ukrainian capitalists and international capital are pursuing; and to strengthen the trade unions in this process with material and political support.

The humanitarian tasks that trade unions and NGOs, feminists, etc. have to face because of the war are now in the foreground. But still, there is a growing awareness that a plan is needed and that Ukrainian trade unions should start thinking about it and elaborating it. If the Western and world trade unions do that, we should support them. And in this battle to strengthen class unionism, other unions in the region should also participate.

Is it too early to think about reconstruction?

But is it necessary to do it now? Our proposal as the European Solidarity Network with Ukraine (ENSU) is that yes, it is necessary to start drawing up this plan as soon as possible. So from now on, as long as there is still a war on. This means that we are looking at the prospect of Ukraine winning the war, rejecting the invasion, and achieving stability throughout its territory, with guarantees that another invasion and aggression by Russia will not be attempted again. It is important to start now because the bonds of solidarity must be used to find economic means for the functioning of the trade unions, inclusion as an agent with voice and decision-making power in economic plans, trade union and political training for the transition stage. Experience and a common analysis of transition periods is crucial: this is when the future of a country is at stake. Trade unionists from Georgia and Belarus used this conference to exchange views on their own mistakes with the Ukrainians. This must continue. This is solidarity.

The capitalists are already going to hold their own conference on the reconstruction of Ukraine in London next June. They will receive a lot of money from the European Community. So the trade unions in Ukraine and throughout Europe have the right to ask: how much money will there be for social reconstruction? If the productive fabric is not rebuilt with labor rights, with guaranteed stability, if the ILO’s labor laws and standards are not adhered to, and instead are restricted and retrogressed, will it be accepted that social dumping will be installed in Europe? A “social dialogue” that ties the hands of trade unions is the greatest betrayal of the Ukrainian working people who are defending their country today on the front lines and in the production of needed goods and services.

After this first debate, we should expect the FPU and KVPU unions to reflect on these issues. If they find it useful and positive, we will try to help.

---