In a few days, the consultation will start between the government of Egypt and the delegation of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the loan of 4.8 billion dollars towards Egypt, which has been agreed and was postponed due to the outburst of the anti-governmental demonstrations of last month against the dictatorial grasp of total power by the President of Egypt, Morsi.
Two months ago, in November 8th, 2012, a meeting took place between the delegation of the IMF in Egypt and the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions (EFITU) and Egypt Democratic Labor Congress; two organizations which were founded after the “Arab Spring” with the support of the American Federation of Labour – Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO) of USA. Needless to say that AFL-CIO is one of the basic supporters and funders of the President of the USA, Barack Obama!
A delegation of the ITUC also attended this meeting as ITUC is heavily providing them with its skills and funds and is politically directing them. The ITUC is the “organization” which during the Cold War was involved in all the dirty work of the imperialists and after the counter-revolution in the Soviet Union it undertook the task to reshape the trade union map in the former socialist countries, in benefit of the IMF and the World Bank. Today it actively participates in the creation of the “new Middle East” serving the interests of the multinationals.
The abovementioned Egyptian organizations presented to the delegation of the IMF their positions regarding the loan for Egypt. Pointing out the existing problem of corruption in Egypt, they asked from the IMF for transparency in the procedure, social justice, control of the free market and the increase of work-places!
However, it is common knowledge that the Egyptian government has already agreed in a series of anti-labour measures, as a precondition for the loan, which contradict with the pre-electoral promises of the “Muslim Brothers”. These commitments are the cuts in the state subsidies, which are crucial for the survival of a large part of the population, the rise of the prices in basic goods, the complete privatization of the public enterprises etc.
Our experience, as a class-oriented trade union movement of Greece is that with the memorandums signed by Greek governments with the IMF and the European Central Bank, a huge burden has been inflicted to the workers: Unbearable taxation, extremely high unemployment rates were created, salary cuts and a complete demolition of all the labour and social-security rights. All in all, it is the Capital that is using the loans of the IMF and the European Central Bank, in order to overcome its crisis for its own benefit.
This is the blatant truth that is being hidden by the so called “independent trade union organizations” such as the Egyptian Federation of Independent Trade Unions and the Egypt Democratic Labor Congress: that from the IMF loan only the interests of the foreign and local capital in Egypt will be benefited. They spread lies and lull the Egyptian workers bearing the mask of militancy and independence by presenting shamelessly the hyenas of the imperialism as a charity fund!
Now it is clear, what was the real purpose behind the creation of such organizations in Egypt by the ITUC. They have nothing to do with the need for the strengthening of the class-oriented pole in the Egyptian trade union movement. They created puppet-trade unions which would better, faster and in a more modernized and skillful way, sell-out the Egyptian working class and its wealth-producing recourses to the local and foreign monopolies.
It is not by chance, that the positions of these organizations are promoted by the Solidarity Center of the AFL/CIO, which is famous for decades for its programs of corrupting the consciousnesses of trade unionists in all countries that have accepted “loans” by the IMF.
In our country, Greece, which for the last year is in the center of the cyclone of the IMF policies, the revival of a powerful class-oriented movement in alliance with the movements of the poor peasants, the self-employed, the movements of the youth and women, can become an obstacle to these capitalist plots and to open the road for a development according to the interests of the working people. This can only be materialized by holding in our hands the means of production and the power.
From our own experience coming from our struggles, we believe that the class-oriented forces in Egypt must examine and confront these supposedly independent trade unions which are a creation of the supporters of the multinationals.
No trust to the trade unions-marionettes of the imperialists.
No delusion for those who present themselves as independent while they are being heavily funded by the ITUC and the international imperialism.
No delusion about the role of the IMF. Prosperity for our Peoples will only come though the abolition of the exploitation of human by human and the end of the capitalist barbarity.
The trade unions in Egypt and around the world must be in the hands of the workers and must serve the interests of the working class. In international level these interests are expressed by the World Federation of Trade Unions (WFTU).
January 10th, 2013, Athens Greece
