The government continues to make it clear that any strike action will not be tolerated. If the actions of the Liberal government of 2012 are any indication of how this government will respond to a mass defiant movement, they won’t be backing down simply because of mass demonstrations or even a prolonged student strike. The workers must be brought into the struggle in a concrete fashion. Only the working class has the power to shut down the economy and force the question.
Unfortunately, trade union leaders have been equivocating on the question of organizing a general strike to fight the austerity. CSN president Jacques Létoureau was quoted in Le Devoir in early February stating that, “The labour movement excludes the possibility of holding a general strike.” This caused somewhat of a backlash from many workers who are upset that the leadership is deciding which actions are acceptable without any input or vote from the rank and file. This sentiment was evident in a letter sent from the president of the teachers union of CEGEP Marie-Victorin, Charles Lemieux, to Létourneau and CSN vice president Francine Lévesque. This letter admonished Létourneau and Lévesque and stated that “Our general assembly considers it unacceptable that our representatives have publicly committed our members to the road of concessions and have excluded the possibility of holding a general strike while we are in the process of organizing a decisive struggle to defend our working conditions and public services against a neo-liberal offensive of unprecedented scale.” As well, the health care workers of Sept-ils in January voted 89.3% in favor of “an escalation of pressure tactics leading up to a general strike” in January.
Recently it looks like the pressure from below has been breaking through and some union leaders have starting talking about organizing a general strike for the 1st of May. In a video which was published online on February 21st, Marc Ranger (the president of the coalition of municipal worker’s unions representing over 65,000 workers) met to discuss with Marjolaine Aubé (the president of the CSN health workers of Laval) and Gilles Tremblay (the president of the FTQ health and social service workers) and they spoke about the question of organizing a general strike for May 1st. In this video, Marc Ranger says, “We need to shake things up like never before. On May 1st, we’ve already brought out 100,000 people, therefore this time it must be historic. I’ve already began speaking about the idea, and our people have taken it on, especially the concept of a 24 hour general strike. It captures the imagination.” Marjolaine Aubé added that “We will give them a real statutory holiday, we will shut down the province, we will shut down the bridges.” Gilles Tremblay then chimed in, “Legal strike votes will be happening in April, the collective agreement will be over and we will be able to launch the strike against austerity.”
Unfortunately this was immediately followed by confused statements by union leaders in Quebec City about how they had “no particular mobilization plans for May 1st,” and that they would be focusing more on challenging the austerity measures in court. Also, there has yet to be a public statement from any unions about plans for a 24-hour general strike, but the pressure is clearly mounting. This would be a huge step forward in the consciousness of the workers in Quebec. A 24-hour strike which would shut down the entire province would be a clear demonstration of force. It would also show the workers their own strength and give them confidence.
No compromises, no backing down!
The experience of the labour movement in Quebec is that every time they pose a serious challenge to the government in the form of mass strike action, the government has been quick to create new “special laws” to take away their democratic right to strike. This was the case in 1972 with the common front general strike, the 1982 teachers strike, the 1999 nurses strike and more recently with the 2013 construction workers’ strike. All were legislated back to work. But what will our response be to this if the government simply creates a new authoritarian law to take away our rights? This is a serious question, which in fact is being asked by many rank-and-file workers in the province who are looking for a firm answer from their leaders.
Recently union leaders held a province wide speaking tour where they held public forums in each community to talk about the austerity measures of the government and mobilizations to fight back. During this tour, FTQ leader Daniel Boyer told the media that “In three or four regions, I was asked if I was ready to go to prison. There are members who are ready to defy a decree or a special law.” This is obviously in direct reference to the last time union leaders defied back to work legislation in 1972 with the historic common front general strike. The government responded by placing the three main union leaders in jail, including the FTQ’s Louis Laberge. But will they be ready to do the same? The working class in Quebec is starting to relearn its great traditions of revolutionary class struggle from that time and is demanding consistent firm leadership which isn’t afraid and will do what it takes to defend their interests.
Due to the global capitalist crisis, the government has no room to move and is therefore defending the interests of the capitalists more clearly than ever. We can find no solace in some sweetheart deal as was possible in the past. Only a mass struggle on the part of the working class of Quebec can force the government to back down and stop the austerity measures. Weakness and hesitation on the part of the movement invites aggression and therefore decisive and firm action is required. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of equivocation on the question of a 24-hour general strike and this can only sow confusion among workers and weaken the mobilizations against the government.
Union leaders must cut through this confusion and make a common call for a 24-hour general strike against the austerity measures! But this needs to be more than just a declaration. A general strike is a serious undertaking and must be properly organized to make sure the workers are brought out in full force. A real general strike affects not only unionized workers, and therefore all efforts must be made to involve all sectors of the workers and oppressed. Solidarity committees should be struck in each community in order to unite all sectors; unionized and non-unionized, youth and students, women and immigrants, etc. A one day strike is in essence a massive show of force, a huge demonstration of the collective power of the working class. Hopefully, such a show of force will be enough to beat back the austerity of the government but if they refuse to back down then larger actions must be prepared.
But are the union leaders prepared to do what it takes to defeat the attacks of the Liberal government? The betrayal of the general strike movement 10 years ago still leaves a bad taste in many worker’s mouths. We must fight to have democratic control over our organizations and our leaders from the bottom up. It is vital that the rank and file control the movement. Therefore, any deal to conclude the movement must be put to a vote of the rank and file. We cannot have this decided by a backroom deal by bureaucrats but through a democratic vote from the workers.
The ideas on which this struggle is waged is of prime importance. We must fight for the propagation of the correct ideas and methods which can lead this struggle to victory. The economic crisis which began in 2008 still persists and there is no recovery in sight. The austerity is therefore not solely ideological but linked inherently to the crisis of the capitalist system. Therefore, in order to defeat austerity, we must defeat the capitalist system itself and create a new society based on human need and not corporate profit. The struggle for a socialist perspective within the movement is the struggle for ideas that can defeat austerity once and for all. This is the goal of La Riposte here in Quebec. If you agree with our ideas, please join us in the struggle and fight for ideas that can win!
