Grass-roots recomposition in the trade unions low union, which everyone rejected. In our enterprise, for example, in the key fuels industry, this union never included anybody more than the leaders.
The problem was to find some sort of initiative that could serve as a basis for reviving union activity. Often it was
The following interview was given to our special correspondent in Montevideo by a member of the provisional union leadership in the state trust
(Fuel, Alcohol and Cement Administration).
people work in this trust, which is one of the largest enterprises in the country and one of the crucial centers of energy production.
centralized, divided into various sectors, some of which operate in the
Could you explain how people saw the 1973 coup and how the union movement was slowly reorganized in a pace-setting enterprise like ANCAP?
The backbone of our union is in the fuels sector, especially the refinery, which is the cornerstone of the
There, the resistance to the coup d'etat followed the line adopted by the CNT - general strike against any
So, we occupied the enterprise, there were even sabotage actions.
were cleared out by force, despite the support we got from the population throughout the area.
The army came in with light tanks. We had to choose between total confrontation and negotiation. The majority was for negotiation, hoping to reach a general compromise with a Peruvian-style military-populist dictatorship.
We kept up a campaign of action for a week more on the basis of this agreement, while continuing a discussion in the union. A more determined group of activists took form.
There was even an attack on the enterprise, followed by a strike and a walkout, despite the dictatorship's decree conscripting the workers.
Everyone hid.
The army took the workers who were still in the factory hostage.
The factory started up again on a limited basis under military control.
As soon as you raise the question of the 1973 coup d'etat with workers who lived through it, the discussion turns around the general strike.
The balance sheet of this strike seems to be at the root of the major political currents that still exist in the workers movement.
A.
Some people think that this general strike was a success, others don't, and still others think that it was a defeat that led to the outlawing of the CNT and the breaking up of the workers organizations.
What should have been done?
The provisional leadership of our union has a clear position in this controversy.
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About 6,500 strategy for meeting the coup d'etat nor any real alternative to put forward. only objective was to resist. So, the end of the general strike left a big vacuum. A broad critical current developed around drawing the lessons of this defeat. produced a situation that would influence the whole process of rebuilding trade-
Since 1973, the CNT has been banned, and the coup de grace came in 1975 with the arrest of the Communist Party leadership. In the meantime, the repressive apparatus carried out a general purge, not just of leaders but even of union activists. We entered into years of silence.
People looked for individual solutions to their social problems. A lot of people had a regular eight-hour job and then moonlighted for another eight hours. Above all there was fear of arrest and torture. These general conditions were aggravated by a more subjective obstacle to reorganization. There was a skepticism about union activity created by a wrong orientation - or worse - in the general strike. But this critical spirit could also have a negative side, providing a pretext for doing nothing.
Q. But despite all these obstacles the trade-union movement revived. What was the point of departure for the reorganization?
A. In our case, the reorganization petitions on specific questions, demands so elementary that it was hard to object to them. Collective petitions were banned. Only individual requests were allowed. So, you had to sign your full name on the petitions, which in those times was quite a heroic act.
One of the first important petitions was started in the refinery in 1981. The conditions are unusual here, in the sense that there are a lot more possibilities for discussion than in a shop. So, we discussed documents, and were able to organize the discussion so that everyone could read and comment on the drafts and add their own suggestions.
There were a lot of suggestions. Because in eight years we had lost innumerable gains both with respect to hygiene and work organization. So, demands arose for winning back things. Finally, we combined the draft and the comments, and on this basis made a final proposal, which was circulated again to get the maximum commitment from the largest possible number of people.
In view of what had happened in 1973, the authorities at first showed a certain tolerance, so as not to provoke the refinery workers. Other sections, such as maintenance, wanted to take up the petition themselves. straw that broke the camel's back. A new witch hunt started up, they started making blacklists again and so on.
Then, there was sort of a chain reaction. To start with, in the absence of any possibility for dialogue, resentment had built up. All that was left to do was to organize and mobilize to break out of the straitjacket.
Q. Since ANCAP is a public trust, you could not invoke the trade-union reorganization law like workers in the private sector.
A. The 1981 trade-union reorganization law applied only to the private sector. In the public sector (250,000 jobs, representing one third of the wage workers in the country), trade-union reorganization remained underground. As in the private sector, union activists in the public sector took advantage of this law to subvert its purpose. Although the law was unacceptable, they demanded the same rights under it as the workers in the private sector.
International Viewpoint 4 June 1984
I won't go into all the fetters imposed on the associations the law provided for. The important thing was that these associations had the right to hold meetings and to take initiatives (although not to strike), after asking permission from the government, of course.
Then, taking advantage of the least opening, the traditional mechanisms started operating again. This continued up till May 1, 1983. At that time the petition to the government for permission to celebrate May Day had an enormous psychological importance. It was the sign that the time had come for winning back our lost rights, and this was an encouragement to the workers in the publie sector.
In ANCAP, we started to raise our heads, to make public statements condemning the fact that the state was denying to its workers those granted to workers in the private sector. Up until then, trade-union activity had remained on the molecular level. After May 1, 1983, a structure was formed, by base groups in shops and sections naming delegates to a coordinating committee.
There were as many coordinating committees as there were production units (the refinery, maintenance, administration). And there was an overall coordinating committee for the enterprise. This structure started to publish resolutions and to publish a bulletin called Antorcha ("Torch"), the same name as the old union bulletin.
The government left a certain amount of slack, which was the result of the relationship of forces. While it was not in a good position to strike back, we also left it few pretexts. We always demanded legal and public recognition. sent a letter to the authorities, specifical-
Ministry of Labor, explaining the nature and objectives of our organiza-
Our intermediaries were the representatives of the PIT, in which we participated from the outset. A labor confederation is for everybody. The law could prevent us, but workers cannot exclude
The authorities did not answer How do you see the new stage opened by the January 18 general strike?
When the perspective took form general strike, ANCAP union, faithful to its tradition, considered that support for the strike should be decided on in a general assembly. This brought a good result, 100% in the more militant sections of the enter-
This success buoyed up the workers and the general morale, despite the banning of the PIT.
A new stage has opened, in which the objective is to win recognition of the PIT as the country's single labor confederation, the continuer of the CNT's tradition. Along with this, we are continuing the fight for the freedom of public workers to organize.
The ANCAP union never definitively lost its headquarters. But most of the union headquarters were not only taken over by the military but were also symbolically transformed into commissariats. a wreck. It has been empty for ten years. But on the basis of this title, we intend to regain our legality with a massive camProtest by mothers of the Uruguayan missing (DR)
paign of resigning up old members and signing up new ones.
This decision was put to the general assembly and made public in the January 24, 1984 issue of our bulletin. have held an assembly of 200 workers for reaffiliation, which was announced pub-
The police intervened, telling the workers to leave and leave no one in the hall but the presiding committee. was a general reaction of solidarity in defense of our rights. So, this assembly remained a bit inconclusive. Therefore, we told the police that we wanted to be allowed to complete it. They replied that was banned, and what is more, it should be held in a union hall.
Since then, we have been trying every recourse open to us to get legal authorizaauthorities don't know quite what to do. They keep passing the buck from office
We present ourselves everywhere with a request signed by the workers with their full names, and they politely refer us on, right up to the minister.
In the PIT, ANCAP presented a balance sheet of the January 18 strike different from that of the majority. The majority balance sheet got ten votes out
Your counterreport got five and there were five abstentions. Why did you present an alternative balance sheet?
On the balance sheet of the January 18 general strike, ANCAP found itself in a minority in the PIT. The problem is one of united action. Bourgeois sectors of the opposition, such as the traditional parties, did us harm and played into the hands of the government by denouncing the strike in advance as inopportune or irresponsible. The balance sheet presented by the majority in the PIT covered this up too much.
In any case, we are members of the PIT. We participate in its initiatives. But we retain our right of criticism, and we are suspicious of uniting with or compromising with the political parties. We can take concrete initiatives together with them, but not negotiate any sort of
CU EST MON FILS?
intermediate-range political project.
Q
In other words, this difference on the balance sheet could lead to different points of view on a "social pact, " which
Rafael terama some people are beginning to talk about in connection with the elections next November?
A. The question is under discussion, and this is a rather delicate matter. The fall of the regime cannot just take us back to the point before the coup d'etat
Détenu et Disharo
1° octobre 1976
ARCENT*
International Viewpoint 4 June 1984 in 1973. We cannot accept any sort of pact that would take us back to the situation that gave rise to the coup. We have to get a new situation that offers the workers a chance for a decent life. In other words, we have to finally win the demands the working class in this country have always raised. This objective may be pursued in common with other sections of society, such as students and the poor masses, who follow the lead of the workers.
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