Liberalisation of Transport/Privatisation and Deregulation

05/C/15-Motions-5 2nd ORDINARY ETF CONGRESS, MARIEHAMN, 25-26 MAY 2005

Agenda Item 15: Motions

MOTION 5 – The Liberalisation, Privatisation and Deregulation of Transport

This ETF Congress notes with concern the EU Commission’s focus on liberalisation of all services, including transport. Privatisation and deregulation of transport services – road, rail, air, ports and sea – poses major threats to job security, wages and conditions and collective bargaining agreements affecting our members in these industries.

Since the last Congress we have seen the EU Commission intensify its efforts to liberalise port services, passenger transport on road, rail and inland waterways as well as the entire services’ sector through the Services Directive. Through the ongoing renegotiation of the WTO services agreement (GATS), and through other so-called free trade agreements, the EU Commission is trying to impose this neo-liberal policy on a great number of countries all over the world.

The ETF Congress strongly opposes the aims and objectives of this liberalisation strategy, which seeks to undermine workers’ and trade union rights in order to reduce the cost of labour for employers. Congress also strongly believes that the quality of the service delivered to the public is worsened by this policy of privatisation and deregulation, which reduces public accountability and control.

Congress notes that this liberalisation strategy, which is supported by governments, employers and the EU Commission, has little or no support amongst workers and citizens in Europe. Furthermore, when unions and civil society have organised to resist such measures, they have frequently met with a high degree of success.

This Congress congratulates particularly the ETF Dockers’ Section for their tremendous victory in defeating through combined industrial action and effective campaigning the EU Ports’ Liberalisation Directive. We also welcome the halting of the Commission’s forced liberalisation of public transport following the campaigning efforts of the ETF Road Transport Section together with widespread opposition from local authorities across Europe.

Nevertheless the Commission with the support of many national governments is still pressing ahead with further privatisation and deregulation policies affecting almost all ETF Sections. Rail freight is to be liberalised across Europe by 2008 and passenger services will follow soon afterwards, in spite of the disastrous experience of rail privatisation in the UK. Deregulation of road freight is being actively pursued in an attempt to break trade union organisation and allow employers to use low cost labour. In spite of the massive defeat for the Commission over their initial proposal for liberalisation of ports, they have now published almost identical proposals under Ports Package 2. We congratulate the Dockers Section for establishing its own opposition web site with on-line petition www.pp2stop.org

We oppose the Services White Paper, which foresees the fragmentation and privatisation of hospital services and the dismantling of national health systems so that private capital can be allowed lucrative contracts from the public purse. Similar inroads into public services are intended for social services, housing and other essential public services across Europe. We congratulate the EPSU for its campaign on this matter and welcome closer relationship between the ETF and the EPSU including joint campaigning activities, joint lobbying etc.

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The draft Services Directive not only foresees the liberalisation of all public services but seeks deliberately to undermine trade unions and collective agreements on pay and conditions with the notorious “country of origin” principle which allows companies winning contracts to use labour under the terms and conditions and according to regulations which apply in its home member state.

Thanks to the active campaigning work undertaken by the trade unions and a wide coalition of NGOs and progressive civil society organisations, the EU Commission has been forced onto the defensive over its initial proposal for a Services Directive (otherwise known as the Bolkestein Directive). The mobilisation of workers and citizens on 19th March in Brussels, to oppose these measures and the demise of the vision for a Social Europe, was very much welcome. The broad coalition of organisations which initiated and organised this rally, including ETUC with the support of ETF, EPSU and other trade union organisations, the European Social Forum, as well as a number of social movements and NGOs, represented an important step towards building a counter-force against the neo-liberal agenda in Europe.

This ETF Congress commits itself to strengthening our efforts to oppose EU liberalisation policies of privatisation and deregulation, by using co-ordinated trade union strength and organisation, including industrial action where necessary. This fight-back strategy demands the building and strengthening of alliances with other trade union organisations and federations as well as with progressive NGOs and social movements.

This Congress therefore calls on the ETF Executive Committee to draw up as a priority a programme of action to mobilise its affiliates, build alliances and develop a campaigning strategy to defend our members and the interests of the citizens of Europe.

Submitted by:

Fagforbundet, Norway, Transport and General Workers’ Union, Great Britain & Ireland, NUMAST, Great Britain, TSSA, Great Britain, OGBL - Transport, Luxembourg, FCT - CC.OO, Spain, Norsk Lokomotivmannsforbund, Norway, GdEÖ, Austria, GdG, Austria, FNCTTFEL, Luxembourg CGT Federations, France Svenska Transportarbetareförbundet, Suède