Marco de Rogelio

Two organizations bear today the name of National confederation of work to France.

History

In the beginning, the National confederation of Work is a French trade-union confederation created in December 1946 with Paris.

This organization was rested by militants of the Confederación nacional LED trabajo (Spanish CNT) in exile and former members of CGT-SR (SR for trade unionist-revolutionist) as well as young people having taken part in the Résistance, who left CGT because of communist seizure on this organization. It took its name in reference to Spanish CNT.

After one period of relative development after the second world war, the CNT becomes a movement more or less groupusculaire starting from the rise of FO, scission of CGT, and the remainder until in the years 1990, where she knows a certain militant revival.

For this period when the number of members does not exceed the hundred people, two scissions took place within the Confederation:

the first scission which took place in 1977 for reasons related to the evolution of the political situation in Spain (death of Franco, democratic transition,…), was known as 2nd UR or of tower of Auvergne (of the street name where their bookstore is located), and concerned primarily the Parisian Regional union. It should be noted that this first scission is obsolete since CNT 2nd UR and the CNT HAVE reunified on March 30th, 2006, by the means of a decision taken as a general meeting.

the second scission intervenes in 1993 and is founded on differences in positions within the CNT: one is attached to the principle of non-participation to the professional elections and affirms its anti-politisme, i.e. the refusal to collaborate or even cosigner of the leaflets with political organizations, considered as enemy of the workers-euses as well as the other defenders of capitalism who are the State or the Churches, refusal of the media spectacle…), the other part does not conceive this position of non-participation to the professional elections like absolute, in particular in the companies where the fight is difficult and that she considers impossible without acquiring a legal statute which protects the local union. It is authorized moreover to face the arguments of the political organizations on the ground of the social struggle while taking part in the inter-union ones.

This attitude will involve the exclusion of this second tendency of the International association of the workers (A) to the congress of Madrid in 1996. Indeed, for the organizations of HAS, this position is a failure with the principles anarchosyndicalists which govern association. However, this vote will remain for excluded from HAS nondemocratic (few sections to the vote and difference in voice too weak).

With final, the part of the CNT which remains within HAS guard the initials of " CNT-AIT" , while that which in is excluded, after having during some-time maintained initials CNT/AIT is satisfied with " CNT". For better distinguishing these two CNT, one is sometimes called " AIT" and the other " Vignoles" (of the " or street name which lodges its Parisian seat); CNT-F" (of the name of its field Internet). The latter maintains the relationships to other trade unions excluded from HAS (like the Spanish CGT scission of with CNT - E) or having left HAS it (like Swedish SAC), and even with FAU (Web site of FAU), section of HAS in Germany, even if the latter with its congress of 2007 were shared on this question. It also maintains good contacts with trade unions of the third world (such as GEFONT in Nepal or CGT-B in Burkina, etc… trade unions which are in mobility Marxist-Leninist).

A problematic time, the relations between the CNT and the CNT-AIT were standardized, each organization having chosen to develop its own way according to its own designs. The CNT tries to develop trade union branches of industry and local unions of companies - that she considers closer to realities of the workers in the companies - while maintaining the interprofessional activity within the geographical unions (local, departmental regional) concerning for example the transverse social solidarities and also topics such as the anti-sexism, the environment. This mode of organization does not prevent for these militants the action and interprofessional solidarity: they do not see there contradiction but a complementarity.

The CNT-AIT estimates that this approach (by branch of industry even trade unions of trades…) is not faithful to the unit of the workers and tends to a certain corporatism. In addition, the strategy chosen by the CNT for their attempt at establishment in the companies (by the means of the elections of staff representatives such as the union delegates or the work's councils) is for the anarchistic militants of the CNT-AIT in contradiction with their refusal of the delegation of powers. The CNT-AIT privileges in practice the structuring of its trade unions on the intercorporatif mode, which corresponds to its local reality (many reduced militants and in very different sectors) and to its anticorporatism. What does not prevent it from also intervening in the companies, where it promotes the autonomous organization of the workers in the form of councils or basic committees (Town hall of Blagnac, Louisiana Plasturgie, Newells Métallurgie, Old people's homes Providence, etc…).

In conclusion, one can say that after almost 15 years of scission, the two organizations strongly diverged in their political positions as long as practical: the CNT finding the way of the revolutionary trade unionism of the CGT of before the First World War, the CNT-AIT as for it seeking to reinterpret anarcho-syndicalism, with the lights of other experiments of the revolutionary movement (situationnism, Communism of council), to give life to the concept of popular autonomy

The CNT

CNT integrates in its statutes the Charte of Amiens (1906, CGT), the Charte of Lyon (1926, CGT-SR) and the Charte of Paris (1946, CNT). She asserts herself of the CGT of the origins, the CGT-SR and the experiment anarchist-trade unionist of the Spanish revolution. The CNT wants to be opened with all the workers on a mode of organization which corresponds to the libertarian federalism (self-management, direct democracy, autonomy and sovereignty of the trade unions,…). Its operating process brings it to the libertarian and by certain aspects to its project closer to the libertarian Communism. Its position is to refuse any specific ideological label, if not that of the Anarcho-syndicalisme and the revolutionary Syndicalisme Fondation Pierre Besnard, Fondation animated by militants of the CNT having for goal to present the theories and practices of anarcho-syndicalism and the revolutionary trade unionism in France and abroad ]. For is a thorough presentation of the CNT, to click here Anarcho-syndicalism and revolutionary trade unionism, Article of the Web site of the CNT presenting the history and the references of CNT] and here the CNT, it what? , Leaflet of presentation of the CNT (format pdf - 4 pages - 400 KB) ].

Concerning the number of members, the CNT knew since the scission of 1993 a certain development (passer by of a few hundreds of members with 1200 members, official figures of the Congress of Agen 2006). However, it is advisable to recall that taking into consideration the number of affiliated in the institutional trade-union organizations (CGT, CFDT, FO) or even on the way to be it (CUS), the numerical rise of the CNT remains very modest all the same.

The project fallen through of the government of Edouard Balladur to found a Contrat of professional insertion (CIP), in 1994, the fight antifascist initiated by the SCALP (Sections straightforwardly anti it PEN, of which historically first was founded in Toulouse in 1984 in the buildings of the CNT-AIT) in the universities or the combat in favor of without-papers, to which united the CNT, are at the origin of the adhesion of many young people in the two CNT, even if the CNT known as of the " Vignoles" more largely profited from this phenomenon. In the same way, the CNT knows an increase in the number of its militants at the time of the social movement of December 1995 against the Juppe plan.

The CNT is able to federate in the demonstrations the various components of the libertarian movement, at the time of the large processions, in particular that of May 1st in which it takes part since 1995, recognizable with its emblem, a black cat roughcast on red bottom.

The increase in the number of members of the CNT also influences its composition: many young people, attracted by the ideas Communist-libertarians associated with the trade union, multiply thus the sections cenetists in the colleges and the universities, a little everywhere in France, and increase the audience of the trade union. But also from the trade unionists disappointed by the practices of the institutional trade unions or the tagging along of the trade unionism protestor come to join the CNT as well as young employees who begin a trade-union engagement on their work place sometimes carrying questioning on the concept of collective and self-management trade-union practices.

By its structure of “revolutionary trade union”, the CNT is as well worried problems involved in work and wage-earning, that political questions; and it is present concretely in many “combat” which take place a little everywhere in Europe and in the world (against-tops of the G8, FSL, solidarity with the fight for the release of the Palestine…), which give the opportunity to him to show its influence. With the international level, the CNT works with other sections outgoing or excluded from HAS, like respectively Swedish SAC or the Spanish CGT.

The CNT today is often participating with many gatherings and demonstrations (against the laws Fillon, against CPE…). The CNT is also organizing concerts in its Parisian buildings (In particular of the groups of Punk, Oi!, Ska or punk Street, but also haversack, French song.) The CNT syndicates personnel of education within the Trade union CNT-FTE (Federation of the workers of education), of the students, the researchers and paid University in the section superior-research as well as workers of all the public or deprived branches (except for the employers and police force regarded by this one as enemies of the workers).

Federations of the CNT:

Federation of the Communication, the Culture and Spectacle (CNT-CCS)
Federation of the Workers/eurs of the Earth and the Environment
Social Federation CNT-PTT
Health Federation and Territorial public function
Federation of the building and public works
Federation of the Workers/eurs of Education (CNT-FTE)

The CNT-AIT

The CNT-AIT remains on the line of refusal of the representation (that it is electoral or media), with the profit of the direct action (i.e. the action without intermediary, elected official, media nor mediator).

The position of the CNT-AIT opposed to the electoral representative system beyond being principielle is especially the assessment of decades of participations in the representative authorities of the personnel (carpenters at this meeting in Toulouse in the Sixties, factory mazda of Bordeaux in the Seventies, Transports of the harbor in the 80, private clinic of the Orange trees and the Cinema of Bordeaux wine in years 85-88), participations which showed all that it were not used for nothing to develop working autonomy. Because if these experiments showed that the CNT could finally make the same trade unionism of service as all the other trade-union organizations - and even to compete with them on their own ground, the electoral ground - this tactic did not bring to a development of the self-management of the fights by the employees. On the contrary, these experiments showed that the participation in the authorities of coadministration (union delegate, work's council) does nothing but reinforce the delegation of powers and thus the mechanism even of a system that however - because revolutionist - the militants anarchist-trade unionists wish to cut down.

In the same way, the experiment of fights accumulated since the scission brings it to a process of reflection on anarcho-syndicalism, to bring up to date the principles and the tactics, and to put them in phase with the political situation and social of our time.

Misant on the radicality, but as on a certain theoretical coherence, the organization does not make the same numerical great strides as the CNT, by not making a fundamental stake. To note that recently again groups were assembled, in particular in the North of France. Before any local section of HAS, it tries to show the need for the internationalization of the fights (strike at MERCADONA or resumption in self-management of the production of bicycles STRIKE BIKE for example).

The CNT-AIT rejecting the fights " parcellaires" , prefers to develop a step globalist, seeking to connect the fights between them and to extend them. That leads it to redécouvrir the historical experiment of DRILLED Argentinian, ignored in the Western countries.

Thus, it fights against nationalisms, preferring to work for the freedom of all exploited, men and women, and not only those of an area in particular nor for alliances collate with a nationalist local middle-class.

During the fight against the CPE, it took part in tendency Neither CPE Nor TDCI, contributing to try to put the question of the wage contractual exploitation at the center of the debate. Its local groups also took part in the various attempts at Assemblies of popular resistance which were created spontaneously in certain cities following the election of Nicolas Sarkozy.

Conclusion

By their internal organizations of the libertarian type (Direct democracy, Self-management) and by a radical speech, these two trade unions still allure. On this level, there are few things which distinguish the two organizations. But will of development of the trade-union establishment in the companies of the CNT known as of the " Vignoles" - which takes part in a selective way in certain professional elections - a denunciation on behalf of the CNT-AIT involves, (which sees there the danger of a collaboration of class in the participation in some professional elections that it is), the CNT known as of the " Vignoles" considering as for it " too much dogmatique" the position of the CNT-AIT on this subject.

See too

* Libertarian Anarchist-Communism

* Anarchism

* Communism

* Extreme left

* revolutionary Movements

* Socialism

* Self-management

* Spanish Revolution

* Trade unionism of fight

* Charter of Amiens

* International association of the workers - Confederación nacional LED trabajo

* History of the libertarian movement in France

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