When one looks at the news on TV these days one very often sees trade unions protesting against the massive austerity programs presented by governments from, for example, Greece, Italy and Spain. In other countries trade unions are not so much protesting on the streets. Instead they chose to negotiate with employers and governments in order to control the damage of the austerity programs to health care programs, unemployment benefits, pensions etc. Whatever their actions, today trade unionism is mostly damage control for all working people in general and for members more in particular.
Trade unions find themselves trapped in a kind of war between governments that are heavy indebted and the International Financial Markets that no longer has confidence that these governments will eventually repay these debts. This is another kind of war then the classical class-conflict which trade unions are used to. Therefore governments today cannot take side of the trade unions as happened in the past when European states became welfare-states. Thanks to the trade unions supported by European mainstream political parties like the Christian and Social Democratic parties the welfare-state more and more became like a Big Father (or Mother) providing for its citizens from cradle to grave.
It seems that because of the war between the Big Father and the Big Money Lenders the welfare-state of today is coming to an end. The State is now more an opponent of the trade unions than a friend. Even when those historic supporters of the trade unions, such as the Social Democratic and Christian Democratic parties, are in power. At the same time it has to be concluded that these and other political parties are in part responsible for the debt crisis. Their political class either did not understand how international financial markets work, or they had not the political courage or leadership capabilities to debate the budget problems in real terms with their voters and the trade unions. In stead of debating transparently and open on financial political priorities, in order to maintain the core of the welfare-state, they preferred to lend money on the international financial market.
They chose the easy way to please their voters. In the meantime they hoped that a miracle would happen, more economic growth and less unemployment, which would reduce the deficit. But in the real world there are no miracles and now the bill has to be paid. No more escapes are left, so taxes have to be raised and all kind of budgets have to be cut, from social-services to education, from health-care to public spending.
As far as we can see now the debt crisis will lead to a more liberal capitalist state where citizens will be converted into individuals who have to organize their own pension-fund, their own health-care insurance, their own unemployment-fund and their own education-fund. The only task left to the state will be to supervise that the individual contracts are legal and respected by the contracting partners. The state no longer organizes solidarity between its citizens. This will be the responsibility of the individual citizens themselves.
Of course this is not what trade unions want. Trade unions believe in a State that supports society in building institutions based on values as human dignity, solidarity and responsibility for the common good. Trade unions do not accept the liberal idea that the only task of the state is to guarantee the freedom of its citizens. To what extent the State should support the society in organizing solidarity is a question of political debate. Trade unions should play a key role in this debate and not stay trapped in the war between governments and International Financial Markets. Trade unions should clearly define what kind of state they want, how the state will be related to society and its citizens and what the leading guiding values and principles will be in the near future.
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