The role of the independent trade unions

Mrs Ana Conceição Pedro Garcia

My name is Ana Conceição Pedro Garcia. I am vice general secretary of the General Angolan Confederation of Independent and Free Trade Unions (CGSILA) and vice president of the Angolan Women's Peace and Development Movement.

The history of independent Angola could be described as a tangled inferno of bloody events which have destroyed its people, Angolan workers, the country's main productive resource. War is the hard, crude reality. And, to the frustration of all Angolan women, children and men, it's taking a long time to achieve a lasting peace. The war achieves nothing, builds nothing. It only brings death, poverty and oppression. Angolan men and women are prisoners in their own homes because of the war. They can't move around, or trade the goods they produce. The communications network has been completely destroyed. It is prohibited to use many roads and others have been destroyed. Because of the war, there is no national production; industry and agriculture are paralysed. There is no investment, there are no employment opportunities and work is precarious. Because of the war, there are displaced people, unemployment, social exclusion and marginalisation, egoism, plunder and corruption. Government institutions don't work properly and there are economic inequalities. Approximately 40 per cent of the urban population is below the poverty line and the situation is even worse in the rest of the country, where people are living in extreme poverty. Altogether, approximately 8 million Angolans are below the poverty line. This reality and the numbers involved leave no room for doubt nor indifference about the effects of the war.

The changes in international relations at the beginning of the 1990s affected the socio-economic and political situation in Angola, culminating with the installation of a democratic, multi-party system and trade union pluralism. It was necessary to adapt the Angolan trade union movement to the new international reality. This new historic phase in the country's history involved the implementation of a democratic and legal system, which permitted the existence of more than one trade union confederation. This new trade union confederation adheres to the principles and ideals of working together to achieve peace in the country through dialogue.

The CGSILA was founded on 18 July 1996 as a result of a split in the National Union of Angolan Workers (UNTA), linked to the MPLA and the only permitted trade union confederation at the time of the one party state. UNTA was an authentic trade union confederation, born during our country's liberation struggle. However, ideological differences and part of the membership's failure to understand and adapt to the changes that the country and the world were going through caused this split and the foundation of another confederation. This new confederation has eight national unions affiliated, which operate in 11 provinces of Angola. All are internationally affiliated to independent trade union federations and we have a coherent national and provincial structure. Our members in the provinces suffer repression because their unions are independent and free. Our representatives are simply trying to defend the interests of the workers. Of course, as social partners of the government, they should continue to participate in all development programmes within the limits established by labour and strike laws, and other regulations.

As an independent and free union, immediately after our confederation was established, we organised a strike in protest at the precarious situation of Angolan workers and to demand the rights that any worker in the world would expect to have. Our demands included the right for CGSILA to participate in national development, and to have a say in defining a national minimum wage, something that we still do not have in Angola. We also demanded a new general labour law because the current law is not appropriate for the new situation that the country is in. We also demanded the ratification of the principal conventions of the International Labour Organisation. We also demanded the implementation of the tripartite system and social consultation mechanisms that exist to regulate labour relations, in accordance with the tripartite principles established by the ILO. Furthermore, we demanded an end to attempts to stifle our unions' and our confederation's attempts to disseminate information. Although there is supposedly freedom of expression in the country, the independent unions are always prevented from informing the workers about the actions they are taking. In the current conditions in Angola, free trade unionism is only managing to develop through enormous sacrifices and willpower. Although the CGSILA and other trade unions are managing to establish themselves on the national and international scene, we are also experiencing enormous difficulties to maintain our work. Although the CGSILA is now recognised by the Angolan government, it is difficult to raise issues because the lack of resources makes it difficult to organise activities. The solidarity of the international free trade union movement is extremely important for the CGSILA because we know that there cannot be democracy in Angola without a real and lasting peace and without social inclusion. We also know that there can be no democracy in any country without the participation of the trade unions.

We in the CGSILA faced our first problems when we raised legal questions about the way our rights are not guaranteed. The government's first reaction was to confiscate the passports of the confederation's main leaders in an attempt to stop them maintaining contacts with other trade union confederations, especially in the West.

Since the CGSILA was founded, some affiliated unions have organised sector level strikes that were very embarrassing to the government but which were legal in the terms of the current strike law. Our demands were never met. One example of this is the government's failure to accede to our demand for a minimum wage. Wages are low in Angola; the lowest wage at the moment is no more than five dollars and even teachers only earn 20 million kwanzas, which is approximately 2.5 dollars.

ILO rules state that governments can subsidise trade union confederations. Unfortunately, the government does not respect our rights in this matter because it wants to weaken the independent trade union movement. The CGSILA is currently affiliated to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions which has its headquarters in Brussels. It is also affiliated to the Confederation of Trade Unions of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP) and it is a member of the International Organisation against Torture. We are members of the latter organisation because of the psychological pressure suffered by leaders of the independent trade union movement in our country.

The ideals that have always guided the CGSILA are spreading. The defence of the workers, the consolidation of the unions and democratic trade unionism are increasing in importance and we need a lot of international support from our partners to maintain this. We believe that unions are as necessary today as they have always been. Because trade unionism's field of action is broadening all the time.

In any society, an action or event always has an effect in all areas and accentuates how closely related are politics, society, economics and finance. Therefore, to fight for only one point of view, fight for only one cause, and to see only one side of the question is not good enough, in fact, it is suicide. Especially because the modernisation of the economy is a very serious challenge. That is why we defend the need to achieve peace in Angola through dialogue.

We represent the most precious part of civil society; the workers, and the progress and wealth they generate. The unions are a social partner that should be involved in the harmonious development of the country. Nowadays, organisational changes at work resulting from economic and technological development are transforming society. Jobs for life and continuous work for the same company are becoming much rarer. But in all this process of change, some things never change, and workers' rights will continue to be our main concern.

Thank you.

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Mrs. Ana Garcia is vice-chairperson of the Confederation of Independent and free Trade Unions (CGSILA).