精靈之屋

跟前文也有點關係。每次在英國學術界聽人家談全球公民社會(Global civil society)或全球工會運動 (Global trade union movement)，剛開始充滿期待，聽幾次後屢屢失望。尤其是那些愛談勞工(或工會)要跨國團結對抗全球化這類說法的學者，當然相信他們都是『好意』，但運動的路線和方向還是得又『做』又『談』。有一次在學校又聽到類似說法，講者大聲疾呼工會運動不要被『在地』侷限云云，之後我忍不住回應：『在地和全球應該不是兩組對立的概念，沒有在地的基礎，抵抗如何出現在全球的層次？沒有全球的視野，在地當然只會零星。』

與其屢屢疾呼跨國團結的重要，不如把時間省下來仔細找出幾個案例研究(case studies)或探討是什麼在阻礙跨國團結。老是擁抱美麗的口號，聽久也會空虛。就說全球化吧，跨國公司雖然搞國際勞動分工，但權力仍然集中，工會呢？還是被民族國家界線綁的死 (台灣還被切割得更零碎)，同屬某跨國公司(集團)沒有辦法直接互相組織，得先加入各國內的聯合會，再經由聯合會加入國際工會聯合會，繞很遠的路還是間接組織。資本跨越了民族國家的界線，但工會組織呢?我們有沒有可能成立跨國的單一工會？

這樣的想法跟學校裡遇過的人聊過幾次，雖然他們也都做勞工研究的，也許是表達不清楚，並沒有得到過回應，感覺像是我在講天書。今天看到一篇新聞，真讓人期待:

英國的Amicus,德國的IG-Metall 和美國的 United Steelworkers and the International Association of Machinists 近日簽署合作協定，此舉被認為是朝向跨國單一工會的一大步。

Amicus, IG-Metall and two US labour groups join forces to confront the power of the multinationals

Oliver Morgan, industrial editor
Sunday December 31, 2006
The Observer 

British, American and German unions are to forge a pact to challenge the power of global capitalism in a move towards creating an international union with more than 6 million members.

Amicus, the UK's largest private sector union, has signed agreements with the German engineering union IG-Metall and two of the largest labour organisations in the US, the United Steelworkers and the International Association of Machinists, to prevent companies playing off their workforces in different countries against each other.

The move, to be announced this week, is seen by union leaders as the first step towards creating a single union that can present a united front to multinational companies.

Derek Simpson, general secretary of Amicus, said: 'Our aim is to create a powerful single union that can transcend borders to challenge the global forces of capital. I envisage a functioning, if loosely federal, multinational organisation within the next decade.'

Amicus is itself planning to merge with the Transport & General Workers' Union in May to create a 2 million-strong labour organisation. Between IG-Metall's 2.4 million members, the USW's 1.2 million and 730,000 at the Machinists', a merger would create an organisation with some 6.3 million members.

Simpson added that multinational companies 'trade off countries and workforces against each other' and that forging such solidarity agreements as have been signed with German and US unions is the best way to combat such practices.

UK unions have repeatedly claimed that global companies shed British jobs first because employment protection legislation here is weaker than elsewhere. In April, for example, Peugeot announced it was closing its Ryton car manufacturing plant near Coventry with the loss of 2,300 jobs, saying that work would be transferred to Slovakia, where labour costs were cheaper, and France, Peugeot's home turf.

Simpson's views are shared by Tony Woodley, general secretary of the T&G, who said earlier this month that a trade union acting in a single country was an idea whose time had passed.

The T&G has worked closely in the past with overseas unions. It has combined on organising and campaigning activity with SEIU, the North American service employees' union, which has 1.3 million members. Although the T&G has not gone as far as Amicus in turning co-operation into formalised agreements, Woodley has said he believes unions must act together internationally to combat the growing influence of global capital.

Simpson has said in the past that UK unions are currently small players and need to grow in scale. He believes that unions have not managed to maintain their influence in the face of the growth in influence of global companies, a fact demonstrated by the demise of the wage premium between unionised and non-unionised workers.

Amicus has discussed a merger with IG-Metall in the past. In 2000, Sir Ken Jackson, Simpson's predecessor, held talks with Klaus Zwickel, then head of the German union, about such a move.