The Workers' Demand for an Alternative to Dictate An alternative to the current direction of
dictate over
workers and society by the global cartels must be found. The
broad
denial of rights within this dictatorship of powerful
supranational
cartels is unacceptable in a modern society. People have rights
by
virtue of being human. Companies, no matter how dominant they
have
become in their sector, cannot be allowed to violate the rights
of
employees or others in society. Governments have a duty and
social
responsibility to stand up and defend their citizens. Modern workers refuse to be humiliated and have their rights violated. The Alcoa/Rio Tinto cartel is apparently drunk on the global strength of its operations and thinks that it can do whatever it wants without being held to account. This can be seen in its rejection of negotiations and imposition of a lockout even though the differences in the proposed contract of 2018 were minor. The cartel has something else in mind such as the complete destruction of the local union and any benefits, security and stability workers and their community have gained through previous contracts. The arrogance of the cartel can also be seen in the way it declared the lockout it had engineered as a "force majeure" beyond its control. In this way it refuses to pay for the block of energy Hydro-Québec produces and has set aside for the cartel at preferential rates. It can be seen in the apparent ease in which it has gained the compliance of the Quebec government for the lockout and the fraud of a "force majeure." The Quebec government for its part refuses to uphold its duty to its citizens and hold the cartel to account even though Quebec workers and Quebec hydroelectric power are the human and natural resource that the cartel needs for its aluminum operations not just at Bécancour but elsewhere in Quebec and likewise in western Canada. An alternative to the dictate of the global financial oligarchy is not difficult to imagine but difficult to bring into being precisely because of the power, social wealth and political allies the cartels have amassed. The alternative has to come from the organized strength and determination of the working class, which ABI workers are exhibiting in spades. This particular struggle can be won but everyone must become involved and raise their voices and intensify their active and conscious participation in the ABI workers' resistance to the denial of their rights. The Quebec government must be denounced and isolated as a vile sellout of the Quebec people and nation. What kind of government is this that refuses to hold a global cartel to account and allows it to abuse not only its employees but the Quebec people and their hydroelectric infrastructure? Let us all redouble our support and active participation in the struggle of the ABI workers for their rights and against the dictate of the global oligarchs. An alternative to dictate must be found! This struggle can be won!
This article was published in Article Link:   Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca |
The Alcoa/Rio Tinto
lockout
and dictate of terms of employment are not only an attack on ABI
workers but on all members of a civilized society. Employees must
be
accorded the respect they deserve as producers of the social
wealth
that companies crave and which the people, economy and society
require
for their existence. Respect and rights mean that workers must
have an
organized say and control over their terms of employment
including the
wages and benefits they are paid for their capacity to work and
the
working conditions at work. The terms of employment cannot be the
pragmatic product of what the company says it wants and needs to
compete in the global market. A collective agreement worthy of
the name
must be negotiated in an organized and respectful manner with the
representatives of the workers, and must gain the consent of
employees
and be beneficial for the workers, not just provide the company
what it
says it wants and needs.