Global Balkans / EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article was written by Srdja Kekovic the Secretary General of the Union of Free Trade-Unions of Montenegro (UFTUM) following the mass protest of up to 1500 steelworkers from the Željezara AD plant in Nikšić who converged on the Montenegrin city of Nikšić last week to insist on government guarantees aimed at preserving jobs in the factory and ensuring that the terms of the privatization agreement are respected by the British/Dutch owner Montenegro Specialty Steels (MSS). The article includes a number of important points regarding the process of reform and privatization in the Balkans and for the trade-union movement in general on necessary steps during the economic crisis.

The Steelworkers
By: Srđa Keković

26 November 2009
FORUM, Vijesti

Congratulations to the steelworkers! Their massive and principled protest - held last week in front of the Ministry of Economic Development - showed us how to struggle for the preservation of our factories and jobs. According to the estimates of reporters on the scene around 1300-1500 workers of the Željezara (Steelworks) in Nikšić took part in the assembly. Imposing, wouldn't you say? Real trade-unions will always fight for the preservation of workers' jobs, particularly during an economic crisis. This is because a worker's job is priceless for trade-unions since a workspace that is extinguished is rarely revived later-on. Unfortunately, many of our workers and trade-unions have been caught sleeping through this particular aspect of the struggle with the end result being factory gates under lock-and-key, tens-of-thousands of jobs lost and the collapse of the working class' own socio-economic position.

This protest serves as an important lesson for assessing some of the social trends that have dominated the last two decades.

First, the mobilization of 90% of all Željezara workers in an active struggle for their rights shows that the working class, which had previously been caught sleeping is finally awakening and becoming aware of its class interests. This means that the workers are increasingly coming to realize that due to the lack of an articulated and continuous trade-union struggle they have slowly drifted from middle-class citizens to the position of a socially marginalized group living on the edge of or even below the poverty line.

Employers hold the power of capital ("money can turn things where the drill fails" as the saying goes), the government retains institutional power within the system (i.e. the mechanisms of rule), while workers have the power of the trade-union at their disposal. However, a trade-union cannot realize its strength if its members aren't ready to stand in solidarity with one another in the struggle for workers' rights. Only by standing in solidarity with one another can we constitute a respectable force that can stand up to capital's voraciousness and to specific government policies (unless we think that the government is without fault!). Solidarity as a phenomenon is picturesquely illustrated in the story of the splints. That is the story in which one splint is easily broken, but a number of splints tied together are nearly impossible to break. This means that only when we are united can we realize our rights, secure an acceptable wage for the labour that we offer to employers and ensure a decent existence for our families.

Secondly, the protest showed that it is "high tide" for the workers and that the staid cliche by which every workers' gathering is branded with some absurd political label no longer applies. It is clear that this time, in spite of the repeated use of such cliches, under the Steelworkers' umbrella one could find workers of any political orientation, faith, nationality and trade-union. That is as it should be, since the struggle to secure the socio-economic rights of workers shouldn't be confused with politicized conflicts. Politicians often cover their tracks by  trying to cast the blame for their failures on their critics, a practice that needs to come to an end.

Thirdly, the Law on Public Assembly grants citizens the right to peacefully assemble and publicly protest in order to express, among others, their socio-economic interests (as is the case here). However the relevant policing organs, for the umpteenth time, have taken the decision to disallow a protest that had been announced in an orderly fashion. The police wrongly concluded in their 'assessment' that the assembly would contribute to the disruption of public order and peace. Such a stance by the police shows that Montenegro still hasn't achieved one of the key principles of a democratic society - i.e. the right to free assembly, which is among the core principles of basic human rights. Along these lines, it is worth noting that a democratic society cannot be built by forcefully pacifying the discontent of workers and citizens.

Fourthly, the protest sent a dramatic message to the Government that the time has finally come to put a halt to the further closing-down of industry. Otherwise we will no longer need schools and universities that educate students in a variety of industrial disciplines, since young people won't have much to do with such diplomas in-hand. The government should offer credits to employers, but not so that these employers can then use them to cover the costs of severance or of laying-off workers, but instead to use such credits for new investments aimed at improving production and protecting jobs. Furthermore, the Government should concentrate on finding real strategic partners that will actually invest in new technologies and the creation of new jobs, which has not been the practice until now.

Fifth, at the protest, speakers pointed out that Montenegro is far from embodying a state that is defined by social justice. This is a fact with which I'm assuming a majority of our citizens will agree with. As a state that is well endowed with natural resources on a per capita basis we possess all of the preconditions to realize the constitutional postulate of Montenegro as a state of social justice. Incidentally, ensuring that this postulate is implemented is the main objective of the Union of Free Trade-Unions of Montenegro (UFTUM). It is therefore necessary to immediately accede to a different type of social policy that will be based on the just division of the entire social product, including the transparent taxation of capital and of luxury consumption whose proceeds can be channeled towards the disposal of existing social funds. It is important to note that when viewed from the European standards 'social justice' should include a lot more than the right to a citizen's simple biological survival.

The author is the General Secretary of the Union of Free Trade-Unions of Montenegro.