LANDMARKS OF SOCIAL PROGRESS Social and emancipatory achievements – differing origins, individual pathways and specific trajectories illustrated by examples from various European countries: a reader European Federation of Building and Woodworkers Brussels, 2019 EFBWW European Federation of Building and Woodworkers Rue Royale 45 1000 Brussels Belgium Tel. +32 2 227 10 40 [email protected] www.efbww.eu ISBN 978-0-903109-56-7 (print) ISBN 978-0-903109-57-4 (e-version) Project carried out with the financial support of the European Commission. This publication reflects the views of the authors only, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, whether electronic, mechanical, by means of photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the permission of the publisher. While the information in the publication is believed to be correct, neither the publisher nor the authors accept any responsibility for any loss, damage or other liability by users or any other persons arising from the contents of this publication. DESIGN: Beryl Natalie Janssen PRINTED BY: Drukkerij Schaubroeck LANDMARKS OF SOCIAL PROGRESS This booklet is the result of an EFBWW project. Its content and the production is the combined and joint work of the project steering group, colleagues from various EFBWW affiliates who undertook the proofreading and a wide range of authors of the timelines and articles presented, namely: Boyko Atanasov (Sofia / Bulgaria), Pia Bang Jensen (Copenhagen / Denmark), Hans Baumann (Gockhausen / Switzerland), Iwein Beirens (Dendermonde / Belgium), Edith Bergmann (Hannover / Deutschland), Thomas Birg (Hattingen / Germany), Toon Boeckx (Antwerp / Belgium), Annick Cannaert (Brussels / Belgium), Linda Clarke (London / England), Eva Detscher (Karlsruhe / Germany), Martin Fochler (München / Germany), Rolf Gehring (Brussels / Belgium), Paola Giaculli (Berlin / Germany), Ulli Jäckel (Hamburg / Germany), Thorsten Jannoff (Gelsenkirchen / Germany), Jakub Kus (Warsaw / Poland), Alfred Küstler (Stuttgart / Germany), Mercedes Landolfi (Rome / Italy), Bill Lawrence (Newcastle-upon-Tyne / England), Karl-Helmut Lechner (Norderstedt / Germany), Juhani Lohikoski (Helsinki / Finland), Pierre-Gaël Loréal (Paris / France), Jesmond Marshall (Sliema / Malta), Gyula Pallagi (Budapest / Hungary), Matthias Paykowski (Karlsruhe / Germany), Hanne Reiner (Berlin / Germany), Ida Ricci (Rome / Italy), María Ángeles Romero Cambra (Madrid / Spain), Claus Seitz (San Sebastian / Spain), Jan Voets (Sint-Genesius-Rode / Belgium), Laurent Vogel (Brussels / Belgium). Project Coordinator EFBWW – European Federation of Building and Woodworkers Editorial Group Boyko Atanasov, Rolf Gehring, Mercedes Landolfi, Juhani Lohikoski, Ida Ricci, María Ángeles Romero Cambra European Federation of Building and Woodworkers PREFACE THE MANY DIFFERENT PATHS TO SOCIAL PROGRESS As trade unions, we find ourselves confronted, in Europe, with many different types of industrial relations, collective bargaining systems, forms of worker participation and participatory practices, vocational education and training systems, as well as differences in many other aspects of work and life in general. The experience of this diversity is shared by many other people and also by other organisations and institutions. his manifold divergence is largely „The social world is accumulated history“. istorically, it has been found that, conditioned by the local and historical This concise phrase beautifully sums up the despite all the national, cultural Tsituations in which the respective powerful effect that bygone times exert on Hand societal differences, general bodies, institutions and applied practices the present day. He goes on to say very emancipatory ideas and practical steps emerged and what preceded them. clearly, however, that to a certain extent this have spread across borders. Moreover, the specific form they have historicity is also mentally embodied in us, • The general human condition and the assumed influences their further in how we view and interpret the world. coexistence of human beings have development over time. Among other What one person finds perfectly normal historically led to the idea of universal things, this means that bodies sharing the may be utterly incomprehensible for human rights. This created a yardstick for same name may differ in how they operate, somebody from another country. What the free organisation of our own lives. making them rather difficult to compare. works councils can and should do, how they The term coined to describe all such social are elected, and what practices they develop • Today, work, technical development, interactions, in a positive way, is cultural is an example that we – as trade unions – wage employment and the global division diversity. The underlying idea is that we have to deal with again and again. of labour create general conditions that should regard other people and their serve as reference points for standards differing cultural practices as enriching shaping society and working life, for oreover, the different traditions and factors in our own lives and that our work, for protection against risks to life, forms of social protest that have practices can be a driving force in the lives and so on. developed in a specific country are of others. However, practical problems M not always ‚translatable‘ to other countries. • The more recent emancipatory immediately become apparent when it This does not mean, however, that the more movements of women are aimed at work comes to taking joint steps to shape our general goals of our work, such as striving and family, and thus at the whole of common future. After all, how does an for a social and peaceful Europe or society. This sets the standard that identically named institution in another endeavouring to promote citizens‘ emancipation must not exclude anyone. country actually work? Do we truly participation in democracy, cannot be understand each other? What do our Thus, the foundations have been laid for articulated relatively quickly and easily. interlocutor‘s expressions, demands, a notion of emancipation that does not Rather, it means that our starting points are thoughts and concerns mean? How would simply consider solidarity to be based on different, and therefore the paths towards any measure taken affect the individual achievement and return, but paves the way achieving those goals are not the same systems we devise to determine labour for ‚understanding‘ and plurality. everywhere. This highlights how important relations, workforce representation or it is for the success of our work at European social security systems? level and with a view to forging In an essay, commenting on the historical understanding between trade unions or authenticity of our social institutions, the colleagues in European Works Councils to French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu wrote: see other people against the backdrop of their specific circumstances, and thereby try to understand them better. For this will provide a far sturdier basis on which to chisel out potential common goals and ways of achieving them. hese considerations were the starting Naturally, the articles and timelines are e hope readers will find this point for and consideration behind meant to inform readers and constitute an booklet both stimulating and Tour EFBWW Landmarks of Social asset in themselves. But, at the same time, Wenjoyable. We also hope it will help Progress project, which we launched at the we hope they will encourage readers to foster better mutual understanding in our end of 2017 and which was completed in continue engaging with the issues joint European trade union work and July 2019, resulting in this booklet. The addressed. thereby contribute in some small way approach we chose to help improve our to efforts to secure a social, just and understanding of colleagues from other peaceful Europe. ven after the end of the project, its countries was firstly to collect timelines steering group intends to continue its Steering group – 12 / 7 / 2019 that provide insights into the development work on a voluntary basis, acting as a of the countries involved and secondly to E kind of community of interest. We want this draw up calendar sheets showing examples booklet to serve as a basis for encouraging of specific social conflicts and the progress European Works Councils to engage with made. These each consist of a main article the historical developments in the countries and accompanying shorter texts, covering they represent. Yet we also hope the specific aspects or people or showing how material covered will be taken up in events were culturally assimilated. other contexts, by, for example, 2019 Timelines and calendar sheets were other trade unions, policymakers, compiled by non-historians with different academics, workers and students. political and denominational backgrounds. Financial support from the European Accordingly, the assessment of historical Commission, among others, has enabled us events varies. In short, the contributions to present the booklet in eight languages, in this booklet are subjective. The same which will facilitate its dissemination. applies to the selection of topics and events The project steering group also intends to for the timelines. We do not consider document the materials on the EFBWW this a weakness. On