Congress of the Dutch as a great victory and a model of how actions against layoffs
Fourth Internationalists
During the week of teachers strikes,
The Dutch section of the Fourth International, the Internationale Kommunisten throughout the country showed bond (IKB, International Communist League), held its seventh congress January their solidarity by joining in these ac-
8-10. The event had originally been scheduled for December. But in view of the
But the union leaderships took scope of the discussion it was decided to extend the discussion period and hence their distance from the spontaneous strikes of pupils.
In the course of the precongress discussion, three tendencies were formed, of which one gained an absolute majority (51.5%).
In the same period, youth staged action defining the political priorities for the coming period, an action program tions throughout the country and demona document on building a class-struggle tendency in the union movement, and strated massively in The Hague against a resolution on the Dutch Social Democracy and the tasks of Dutch revolutionthe attack on unemployment benefits for
16-year-olds and 17-year-olds.
There will be two main axes of the IKB's work in the coming period - the unions did nothing to back up these and the struggle against wage reductions, actions. To the contrary, various unions
The congress decided to focus the work of the entire now want to talk to the bosses about organization more on these main tasks than had been done before.
hiring more youth for a 32-hour week for
In all branches, comrades should become members of the most important peace organizations in order to participate more fully in the movement and in
In general, we see great militancy on
The resolution centered around the need for the IKB to link up with the the part of the workers, women, and radicalizing sectors of the peace movement and the unions, even if this radicali-
At the same time, on the part of zation does not go beyond the left-reformist framework the union leaders, we see a still greater
It is only by sharing in the struggles of the advanced sections of the working inclination to capitulate and a stronger class and in their grappling with their problems that the struggle as a whole can reluctance to organize struggles. As for and progress can be made toward building a revolutionary the PvdA leadership, it has at best given
It would be wrong to try to counterpose a readylip service to the actions that have been made perfect program to the solutions that are thrown up in the course of the
It has not made any real
So, a central point was also the need for the unity of the entire workers move effort to build them or to call actions ment, and therefore for actions and initiatives to that end, insofar as possible. In to bring down the government.
this context the PydA will be more important for us in the coming period than
The Social Democracy also takes on greater importance for another reason.
At the moment, the Netherlands is ruled by a right-wing government. Mobiliza-
Nonetheless, this wave of militancy tions come more immediately into collision with this government.
• has not failed to have an impact on
More and more, the political resolution pointed out, mobilizations and discussions are going to focus on getting rid of this right-wing government.
the union leaderships and the PvdA tops.
In the past period, we have seen actions this context, propaganda for an alternative — a government of the workers parevery day - by youth, railroad workers, ties — is going to assume more weight. As by far the biggest workers party, the
"Kick out Lubbers!" and teachers, government workers, women will be the main slogans for the IKB in the coming period, minimum getting unemployment to be adjusted for the concrete circumstances benefits, invalids, the growth of ac-
At this congress, the largest so far of the IKB, there was extensive discussion tions and of 23 committees against
What sort of an action program do we need?
the cuts in social security for women, the main axes today for building the kind of class-struggle left wing in the trade committees against the increase in the unions that has not been seen for a long time? How should we assess the peace price of gas, committees against higher organizations? Can we expect differentiations within the PvdA? Is the trade-union movement going to play a more independent political role?
rents, against initial payments for medi-
This congress registered an increase in cine, peace movement demonstrations,
This was reflected, among other things, in the report by a worker at the and so on. These actions are putting on about the struggle going on now to prevent the closing of increasing pressure for action against the
More of the delegates were working in key industrial sectors and/or right-wing government.
were members of the revolutionary youth organization Rebel.
At the end of last year, the leader of greetings from representatives of the United Secretariat the biggest union confederation (the of the Fourth International, a representative of the left-reformist Pacifist Social-
FNV), Wim Kok, signed an agreement ist Party (three seats in parliament), various foreign workers organizations, and with the head of the employers associa-
Vrouwenvuist from Eindhoven.
tion, van Veen. In the agreement, it says port by Rola Jansen, speaking in the name of the national leadership of Rebel, on the building of the revolutionary youth organization.
that cost-of-living increases are to be traded for shorter hours.
But now, after the concrete content of this has been discussed in the factories and shops, it
6 postpone the congress.
aries toward it.
fightback against nuclear weapons its discussions.
be carried forward party in the Netherlands.
evolution of these sectors themselves.
PvdA holds the key position.
workers parties!"
of the following points:
The congress heard the women's action group and the smallest two.
The congress passed a resolu-
In
"For a government of
What are the number of IKB members in in-
at the February 5 conference of of ferries
Both maneuvers were con- | try's federal institutions. I mentioned the reflected the pressure there is on these organizations to do something.
On January 15, the National Council of the PvdA decided, against the will of the party leadership, to begin a study of the potential and limitations of civil disobedience, and decided that even after a decision by parliament to site the missiles the PvdA would continue to resist this.
The whole right-wing press and all the right-wing politicians have gone after the PvdA to show how undemocratic it is to consider civil disobedience. They also know that a PvdA that led actions against this government would not only become enormously popular but could bring the government down.
THE MISSILES DEMONSTRATIONS
It can easily be seen that in this whole context, actions against the new missiles take on a continually greater importance. These actions lead to successes; they have already produced big divisions in the government parties (especially the CDA). And they might even lead directly to toppling the government. It is more and more clear also that this year for more and more organisations, groups, and individuals the antimissile actions are going to be central in finding a way to fight back against the right-wing government.
The peace organizations have quite ambitious plans for action. On Saturday, February 5, there was a very well attended national conference to work out tered peace activists by Mient Jan Faber, who was cited not long ago in Newsweek as "as dangerous to the security of the West as Andropov." He said: "It would be good for the CDA to collaborate with the peace movement, but on the basis of our demands, that is, not one missile, no matter what comes out of Geneva. And, he stressed, the peace movement is not nationalistic but internationalist. If the government decides not to site the missiles, then we won't have to demonstrate here, "well hire a couple and go over to England."
Former Premier van Agt has said that in studying civil disobedience, the PvdA was doing something dangerous. "It's letting the genie out of the bottle" He was right. This government is far from being as firmly in the saddle as it claims. Even the PvdA leader Joop den Uyl has said that he does not think the government can remain in power more than six months. The coming year, in which the fight against the missiles will be central, is going to be an enormously important one.
their implementation. Among other things, October 29 was set as the date for a national demonstration in The Hague. The actions are to begin at Easter.
The unions are being approached di-