Confédération générale du travail
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| General Confederation of Labour | |
| Confédération générale du travail | |
| Founded | September, 1895 |
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| Members | 710,000 |
| Country | France |
| Affiliation | ETUC |
| Key people | Bernard Thibault, secretary general |
| Office location | Montreuil, France |
| Website | www.cgt.fr |
The General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail or CGT) is a national trade union center, one of the five major French confederations of trade unions. It is the largest in terms of votes (32.1% at the 2002 professional election), and second largest in terms of membership numbers.
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[edit] Before World War II
It was founded in 1895 from the merge of the Fédération des bourses du travail (Federation of Labour Councils) and the Fédération nationale des syndicats (National Federation of Trade Unions). Up until 1921 the CGT was dominated by anarcho-syndicalists. During this period, the CGT was violently opposed to both the authorities and to employers. Moreover, it refused to become affiliated to a political party. In 1906, the Charte d'Amiens proclaimed the independence of trade unions. Furthermore, under the leadership of Léon Jouhaux, the confederation joined the "sacred union" during World War I, which provoked the CGT's first internal division. While Jouhaux tried to associate the CGT with the authorities, his opponents criticized the pervading air of nationalism. They welcomed news of the 1917 October Revolution with hope.
Following the Revolution in Russia, the French labour movement became increasingly divided between "revolutionaries" who supported the Bolsheviks and strong action at home and "reformists" who favoured moderation and re-affiliation to the pre-war Second International. One outcome of this division was the expulsion of the "revolutionaries". Following the 1920 Tours Congress during which the majority of SFIO members voted to accept Lenin's 21 Conditions, leading to the creation of the French Section of the Communist International (SFIC), the CGT also split. Radicals created the United General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail - unitaire or CGTU), where communists cohabited with anarchists, revolutionary trade unionists... Anarchists Paul Cadeau, Labrousse and Pierre Totti were elected at the provisional bureau of the CGTU in December 1921. But at its first Congress, the majority of the CGTU voted for Gaston Monmousseau's motion to join the Profintern (Red Syndical International), with 741 voices, while the anarcho-syndicalist motion, refusing submission to parties and upheld by Pierre Besnard was supported by 406 voices.
However, the new CGTU direction remained divided. While Gaston Monmousseau, who came from the revolutionary syndicalist movement, was quickly evolving towards Communism, his colleagues, Marie Guillot and Léopold Cazals wanted to retain some independence for the union. They resigned in July 1923, and the second CGTU Congress, in Bourges in November 1923, marked the victory of the Communists. 1 114 members voted for the membership to the Profintern, while only 220 opposed themselves to it. However, until 1931, a minority remained in the CGTU, opposing the Communist majority. It included the FEN teachers' union, as well as Maurice Chambelland, close to Pierre Monatte and collaborator of the latter's review, La Révolution prolétarienne (The Proletarian Revolution). This minority was expelled in 1932 with the stalinisation of the movement, while Benoît Frachon became its national secretary in 1933. Frachon worked again for the unification of the labour movement, achieved at the Toulouse Congress of 1936.
Meanwhile, the non-communists had founded the Revolutionary Trade Unionist General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail - syndicaliste révolutionnaire or CGTSR).
In 1934, left-wing parties chose the union in order to counteract the far-right. Two years later, the Popular Front won the 1936 legislative election. At the same time, the CGT and the CGTU were reunited. Benoît Frachon negotiated for the CGT the 1936 Matignon Agreements in June with the employers and the government.
Nevertheless, the communists were ejected as a result of the German-Soviet pact in 1939, then the CGT was dissolved by the Vichy government.
The CGT transformed itself into an underground organization in the Resistance. It became increasingly influenced by the French Communist Party. After the ejection of the communists from the government and the 1947 general strike a further split took place, this time involving the departure of the reformist right, followed in 1948, when Léon Jouhaux founded Workers' Force (Force ouvrière or FO) with CIA support. This one criticized the communist influence as being incompatible with the Charte d'Amiens. In order to preserve its unity, the Federation for National Education (Fédération de l'Education nationale or FEN) left the CGT but did not join FO. The communist Benoît Frachon became leader of the CGT.
[edit] After World War II
Although the CGT was dominant in French trade unionism, it was isolated until 1966. At this moment, it chose to coordinate its actions with the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (Confédération française démocratique du travail or CFDT). During May 68, the confederation was criticized by the far-left because its leader Georges Séguy had signed the Grenelle agreement with Prime minister Georges Pompidou. In the 1970s, it supported the "Union of Left". But after the defeat of the 1978 legislative election, the alliance with the CFDT was broken.
The election of Henri Krasucki in 1982, followed by the resignation of the communist ministers two years later, led to a radicalisation of the confederation. Finally, during the 1990s, under the leadership of Louis Viannet and Bernard Thibault, the CGT cut organic links with the French Communist Party and succeeded in remaining one of the two major French union confederations.
[edit] From the 1995 general strike to today
It was the leading trade-union in the 1995 general strike against Alain Juppé's plan of Welfare State reforms (in particular concerning pensions). The CGT also protested against UMP minister François Fillon's project of pensions reforms in 2003. In February 2005, the National Confederate Committee (CCN), the "Parliament" of the trade-union, rejected national secretary Bernard Thibault's support of the TCE. Therefore, the CGT actively supported the "NO" during the 2005 referendum on the TCE (Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe), criticizing its neo-liberal orientation and weaknesses concerning the few democratic measures about the working of the European Union (EU) institutions.
In autumn 2005, the Marseillese section of the CGT, representing the more radical faction opposed to Bernard Thibault's more centrist views, demonstrated against the privatization of the SNCM ship company. The CGT then supported the estudiantine movement during the 2006 protests against the Contrat première embauche (CPE, First Employment Contract).
The CGT left the Communist-oriented World Federation of Trade Unions at its 1995 congress and became a member of the European Trade Union Confederation in 1999. It is also a member of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) created in 2006.
[edit] Famous members
- Benoît Frachon
- Léon Jouhaux
- Henri Krasucki
- Missak Manouchian
- Marcel Paul
- Fernand Pelloutier
[edit] See also
- List of trade unions
- Anarchism in France
- Politics of France
- other trade unions
- Mouvement des Entreprises de France
[edit] External links
- Official site of the CGT
- The beginnings of the CGT, 1895-1921 An account and analysis of the anarchist origins of the CGT, and the later rise of the Communist Party within in it.
