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Regional IMF Meeting for Central and South-East Europe, Baltic countries and Community of Independent States – Russia, Ukraine, Byelorussia

FINANCIAL CRISIS, ACTION PROGRAM, ORGANIZING, TRADE UNION STRENGTHENING AND SOLIDARITY




Russian Miners and Metallurgists Trade Union, as organizer and host of the Regional Meeting, showed hospitality to approx. 50 trade union representatives from the Baltic to the Black Sea and Adriatic Sea, IMF members. Anne Marie Mureau and Lucie Studnicna attended the Conference as the IMF representatives. The Conference was opened by Mihael Tarasenko, MMWU President and Deputy in Russian ‘’Duma’’ with the subject: ‘’Impact of the financial crisis on the metal industry and employees in the Region’’. Reports were read on the same subject for the countries of Central Europe, Baltic and South-East Europe.

It was noted that there was a deep crisis in the metal industry, especially in the steel production and automotive industry. Companies are being closed down, number of employees reduced and presence of uncertain forms of employment more expressed. Employees are compelled to appeal to trade unions and they expect protection and taking actions. The consequences and presence of crisis are more expressed in countries being more open in the economic sense, without mechanisms for protection of domestic production and the market. Most countries take actions aimed at protection of companies and sectors being affected by crisis. Three hundred companies in Russia with strategic and national importance were given special advantages in the area of business operations. The participants reviewed the IMF Action Program for the period 2009 – 2014 and made their suggestions of the Draft Program and Statute. The IMF Central Committee scheduled a Meeting which would be held on May 23 2009 in Geteborg, Sweden, while the Congress would take place from May 24 – 26 2009.

Anne Marie Mureau spoke about global actions against uncertain employment in the light of financial crisis and results of the campaign against uncertain jobs, which the IMF launched in 50 countries with the participation of 79 IMF members, by indicating good results of the campaign and guidelines for the follow-up of those activities in 2009. The fact that trade unions are losing members and that their impact on social and economic events is becoming weaker, enabled the participants in the Conference to state their experience and point out the possibility for trade union strengthening and methods used by national trade unions in order to secure the representation on national level and restore employees trust and unity.

It was confirmed that the safeguarding of employee rights and protection of active trade union members was of crucial importance for stressing international trade union organizing and solidarity. Dragan Matic, representative of Serbian Industrial Trade Union, spoke about solidarity by pointing out a significant support, given to SITU by the IMF and EMF, for solving employment problems and taking unionist actions.

A conclusion was drawn that constant communication and mutual informing among the IMF members was necessary, especially stressing the necessity of joint union actions on national levels.

 
     
 
 
 
 
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