There will be several events worldwide during the third quarter of 2007, all, it occurs to me, concerned with the new edge of labour internationalism. This new edge is where it touches on or overlaps with the new emancipatory social movement thinking and action. I hope to later report back on these - including the one I won’t be present at! Detailed information about these activities, where available, is appended. This note may encourage others to attend or follow, or sensitise others to what may develop into a new wave of global labour solidarity. But, in any case, the note will help me organise my own mind for the events.

Old Labour Discontents and New Emancipatory Movements: A Season of Global Reflection?

Peter Waterman

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'Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer’
(William Shakespeare, Richard III)



There will be several events worldwide during the third quarter of 2007, all, it occurs to me, concerned with the new edge of labour internationalism. This new edge is where it touches on or overlaps with the new emancipatory social movement thinking and action. I hope to later report back on these - including the one I won’t be present at! Detailed information about these activities, where available, is appended. This note may encourage others to attend or follow, or sensitise others to what may develop into a new wave of global labour solidarity (compare Waterman 2007). But, in any case, the note will help me organise my own mind for the events.

The first will be the 30th anniversary of the Asia Monitor Resource Centre, Hong Kong, late-August, 2007. The AMRC is an NGO that has been providing information and support to workers and labour movement in the most rapidly-industrialising area of the world. In the 1980s it had a high profile as one of the bearers of the ‘new labour internationalism’, or the ‘new shopfloor internationalism’. It has evidently managed to survive the decline of this project in following decades. Its anniversary event is entitled ‘Labour Resurgence Under Globalization’ (Appendix 1) As someone who has followed the work of the AMRC since the later-1970s, and visited it in 1989, I have committed myself to speak there on the progress of such ideas of the 1980s as Social Movement Unionism, the New Labour Internationalism(s), and International Labour Communication by Computer. I will be trying to both make these relevant to Asia and to learn from the many Asian activists invited.

The second invitation is from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions and is for several union/social forum events. The KCTU was considered an exemplar of the new 'social movement unionism' in the 1980s-90s (Gray 2007), but it is today in some disarray and undergoing - I understand - a process of self-reflection. Thus, at a conference of the Southern Initiative on Globalisation and Trade Union Rights (SIGTUR), 2005, the KCTU President said that the trade union movement must


'enter a phase of experimentation. We need to fundamentally transform ourselves....If unions fail in this endeavor to re-organise then we have no future.' http://www.sigtur.com/index.php?option=com_content&task= view&id=1&Itemid=74.

This is stronger language than we are used to from union leaders anywhere. I expect to be addressing similar topics to those at the AMRC. And, obviously, finding out more about the relations of the KCTU with other worker and social movements locally and internationally.

The third event is the 43rd Annual International Labour and Social History Conference (ITH in German), Linz, Austria, mid-September, on ‘Transnational Networks of Labour’ (Appendix 2a,b). The ITH, in many ways a typically academic history body, has, over the last decade or so, repeatedly addressed itself to both historical and contemporary labour issues, with an eye to the newest social theory and movements. My paper here will be on ‘the internationalism of labour’s others’ – in other words on the international relations of new worker movements, often structured in network forms.

The one event I will - regrettably - not be present at is the ‘Global Dialogue for a Fair Globalisation’, organized by the somewhat anonymously-named ‘Global Network’, Lima, Peru, September 21-24 (Appendix 3). This is an intriguing event, because I cannot, at the moment of writing, find anything more about it on the web, even on the mother site of the Global Network, that of Solidar in Brussels (but keep an eye on the Red Global site listed below). One has to assume that it has been organized in something of a rush. Yet this is a major and innovative event, with many major international union and labour and social movement figures invited, from such bodies as Streetnet, Via Campesina, Focus on the Global South and the Maquila Solidarity Network. Another puzzle is why it is being sited in Peru, hardly a major site of Latin America’s current wave of labour and social protest - consider Argentina, Bolivia, Venezuela, Brazil (Latin American Perspectives Forthcoming, Chavez, Gavarito and Barrett Forthcoming). Perhaps it is being held here because of the local existence of a well-established labour NGO, PLADES. PLADES, which has grown during the decades of labour retreat or defence, is well-incorporated into the traditional European-based social-reformist institutions of union solidarity and development. However, these institutions have been themselves increasingly impacted by the new non-unionized (or non-unionisable) labour networks, often associated with the World Social Forum and the wider global justice and solidarity movement. And the international unions have been meeting with the latter since at least a Bangkok roundtable in 2001 (Waterman 2005). PLADES has also previously hosted such international events, one of which I attended (Waterman 2006). And I would like to hope that the holding of this seminar here might itself stimulate the growth and coordination of the many but disparate and local social protests which are occurring in Peru. Its outcome should provide a stimulus to the Global Network (which is really in need of a more specific name), and give an indication of how far the European-based internationals have traveled since Bangkok 2001.

Bibliography

Chavez, Daniel, César Rodríguez Garavito and Patrick Barrett. Forthcoming. ‘Utopia Reborn? Introduction to the Study of the New Latin American Left’, (Introduction to) Utopia Reborn: The Promises and Dilemmas of the New Latin American Left. London: Pluto.
Grey, Kevin.2007 ‘Chapter Four: Social Movement Unionism and the Korean Labour Movement’, in Korean Workers and Neoliberal Globalization. London: Routledge.
Waterman, Peter. 2005. ‘Talking across Difference in an Interconnected World of Labour’, in Joe Bandy and Jackie Smith (eds), Coalitions across Borders: Transnational Protest and the Neoliberal Order. Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield. Pp. 141-62.
Waterman, Peter. 2006. ‘Peregrinations of an (ex-) Pariah. www.nigd.org/nan/nan-doc-store/10-2006/peregrinations-of-an-ex-pariah
Waterman, Peter. 2007. ‘International Labour Studies (UK) in the Light of Social Justice and Solidarity (Globally)’ (Draft).
Latin American Perspectives. Forthcoming. ‘Globalizing Resistance: The New Politics of Social Movements in Latin America’, Latin American Perspectives.


Websites

Asia Monitor Resource Centre. http://www.amrc.org.hk/
Global Network/Red Global. http://www.redglobal.plades.org.pe/socios.htm
Solidar. http://www.solidar.org/
International Conference of Labour and Social History (ITH).
http://www.ith.or.at /ith_e/i_index_e.htm
Plades (Programa Laboral de Desarollo). http://www.plades.org.pe/index.php
Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. http://www.kctu.org/




Appendix 1: AMRC Anniversary


AMRC 30th Anniversary Conference on Labour Resurgence Under Globalization

BP International Hotel in Tsimshatsui on 27-28 August, 2007

PROGRAMME (Tentative)
Day 1

Morning
9 a.m. –
10:20 p.m. Opening Remarks by Apo, AMRC
Keynote Speeches
Peter Waterman, Researcher/Activist on Global Solidarity (Netherlands)
Sujatha Gothoskar, The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF)
Dan Byung-ho (Korea)

10:35 a.m. Tea break

10:35 a.m. -12:35 p.m. Panel Discussion 1
Theme: Contemporary Issues in the Asian Labour Movement
Moderator: Apo Leong
Speakers:
Ashim Roy, National Trade Union Initiative (India)
Marty Hart-Landsberg, Dept of Economics, Lewis & Clark College (USA)
Voravidh Charoenloet, Chiang Mai University (Thailand)
Elizabeth Tang, Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) (Hong Kong)
Chang Kai, Renmin University (PRC)

12:35 –
2 p.m. Lunch
Afternoon
2 – 4 p.m. Panel Discussion 2
Theme: Informalization of Labour and New (Alternative) Ways of Organizing
Moderator: May Wong
Speakers:
Committee for Asian Women (CAW) (Lucia Jayaseelan)
Wu Meilin, Hong Kong Women Workers Association (HKWWA) (Hong Kong)
Prof. Lu Ying, GZ Zhongshan University Legal Aid Centre/Xian/Bejing DW
Wulan Dari, Asian Labour Exchange (ALE)
[Total 4 Speakers; 15 min. for each]

4 – 6 p.m. Book Fair / Free time for small group discussions
Tea will be served.

Evening Free time for participants




Day 2

Morning
9 – 10:45 a.m. Panel Discussion 3
Theme: Triangle Solidarity; North-South Collaboration in the Asian Labour Movement
Moderator: Dae-oup Chang
Speakers: (tentative)
Clean Clothes Campaign (Netherlands)
Garrett Brown, Maquiladora Health & Safety Support Network (USA)
Lek, Thai Labour Campaign (Thailand)
Centre for Education and Communication (India)
[Total 4 Speakers; 15 min. for each]

10:45 –
11 a.m. Tea break

11 a.m. –
1 p.m. Panel Discussion 4
Theme: Occupational Safety and Health in Asia
Moderator: Sanjiv Pandita
Speakers:
Melody Kemp, OSH specialist/labour activist
Jagdish Patel, Peoples Training and Research Centre
Sugio Furuya or Dr. Yoshiomi emió (Japan)
Amanda Hawes, Cal-COSH (USA)
Prof. Sun Shuhan, School of Labour and Personnel, Renmin University (China)
Chang Kam Hong, Association for the Rights of Industrial Accident Victims (ARIAV)
[Total 6 Speakers; 10 min. for each]

1 – 2 p.m. Lunch

Afternoon
2 – 4 p.m. Panel Discussion 5
Theme: Labour and Trade Unions in the Transition Era: China, Vietnam and Laos*
Moderator: Tim Pringle, University of Warwick
Speakers:
Do Quynh Chi, Consultant in Industrial Relations (Vietnam)
Xu Xiao Hong, Zhejiang Trade Union School
Xian/Beijing DW group
[Total 3-4 Speakers; 10-15 min. for each]
*Laos to be confirmed.
4 – 4:15 p.m. Tea Break

4:15 –
6:30 p.m. Closing Summary & Open Floor
Moderator: Earl Brown, American Center for International Labor Solidarity
Rapporteur: J. John, Centre for Education and Communication
Closing Remarks: Prof. Stephen Chiu, School of Economics & Finance, Hong Kong University

Perspectives on the Asian Labour movement: the way forward
Taking “solidarity messages” from participants, and
Comments/queries from participants.

6:30 – 7 p.m. Break/Preparation Time for Closing Dinner

7 – 9:30 p.m. Open House/Closing Dinner
An evening of music, poetry reading, mingling and solidarity evening with the local/ regional groups in Hong Kong. Key partners of AMRC will be invited to be a part of the celebrations. Participants are asked to bring costumes, musical instruments and practice beforehand for this evening as this is a place for all to take part.


Appendix 2a: ITH 43rd Conference

43rd Linz Conference (September 13-16th, 2007)
Transnational Networks of Labour
http://www.ith.or.at/konf_e/43_konzept_e.htm
"Transnational networks" are currently an important topic of globalisation studies. They are analysed as a main vector of the globalisation of knowledge, norms, attitudes, cultural practices and lifestyles. Eventually, current global development in economy, society and politics bring this topic into the focus of research. Thus, analysts of those evolutions which we characterise as "globalisation" have brought fluctuating networks as form of organisation of a dynamic "space of flows" (Manuel Castells) into discussion.

Research on transnational networks is a necessarily transdisciplinary enterprise. A sociological and historical approach can be integrated with a perspective both from the viewpoint of economic and political science and from the viewpoint of globalisation studies.

Networks are more informal, more fluid, less consolidated than organisations. In times of expansion of a deregulated global economy, non-governmental organisations prosper. Transnational networks communicate with this world of non-governmental organisations, but they are not identical with them. Structured organisations may function as visible nodal points of informal networks. The examination of networks focuses our view on interactions between structures (organisations) and individuals under the condition of spatial distance. It is therefore not surprising that the concept of "networks" has become topical in the debates on "globalisation", where "de-spatialisation", transcending of borders and world-wide networking operate.

The concept "transnational", as distinguished from the notions "international", "multinational" or "cosmopolitan", aims to express a new quality of entanglement engendering global networks and organisations which transcend the space of the nation state. Such networks and organisations cannot usefully be analyzed in the framework of nation states, because they are situated beyond such borders.

There is an opportunity here to draw the attention to a Labour movement which has, in its international and global aspirations, developed trans-national forms of networks and organizations, even if many remain at an "inter-national" level based essentially on the nation state. This contribution of the Labour movement to the history of "globalisation" has been largely overlooked. The Labour movement is not often associated with qualities like "transnational" and with "network" forms of organisation because it is predominantly associated with the nation state, within the framework of which it rose to influence in Europe. The nation state, in its contemporary form of welfare state, contains Labour as well as Capital within its borders. Networks are flourishing in "civil society" that keep the influence of the state out, as much as possible, and where the role of the world of Labour is marginal. "Transnational networks" are situated beyond the aegis of the nation state. But this is just one side of the history of Labour. On the other side, as mentioned, we find its forms of co-operation transcending the nation state.

It is an aim of the conference to focus the attention on such forms of transnational networks in the history of Labour, as actors in the history of "globalisation". Which forms of transnational networks emerged, and what was their contribution to the world-wide spread ("globalisation") of political attitudes, practices, lifestyles, forms of action and ways of thinking? Which epistemic networks emerged? On a micro level, the ITH itself may be analysed as an epistemic network uniting persons and institutes of similar thematic orientations. How did communication in those transnational networks function? Which forms of links between individuals and organisations? More generally, which distinctive marks of transnational networks of Labour can be observed?

Networks may be constituted by the circulation of people and networks may be constituted by the circulation of ideas, concepts, beliefs, attitudes, without the necessity that the people who make them circulate, move themselves in space. This simple distinction may serve to establish a basic structure of the conference. Networks that move people or, the other way round, come into being by the circulation of people, shall be distinguished from networks that move ideas, concepts, beliefs, attitudes, or come into being by the circulation of such ideas, concepts, beliefs and attitudes.

An alternative structuring could follow a differentiation of cultural spheres and of the distribution of power.

The concept "transnational" should not obscure the fact that that, in most cases, networks with such a claim can nevertheless be fixed to certain spaces. Transnational networks also have a centre and a periphery. The rapid increase of transnationally operating non-state networks and "non-governmental organisations" corresponds to the "globalisation" of an economy evading state regulation. The centres of those networks and organisations operating in a trans-national identity are situated in the centres of global power, in the centres of the world economy. Values, ideas and practices spread by them are in principle compatible with values, ideas and practices in those areas, though they may not (yet) be held by the majority. The analysts of "transnational" trends, many of them themselves endowed with a transnational identity, are equally situated there as well as their institutes and their sponsors. Thus, the history of networks which are radically "alternative" – because substantially different in culture – is usually written in a perspective from these centres of global power. The conference will try to include in its perspective such "radically alternative" networks whose centres are/were not identical with centres of global power. One example could be the Communist International and its successor organisations.
A third structuring effort could distinguish types of networks of Labour following their forms of organisation and of action:
• Networks connected with international organisations of the Labour movement, from loose associations like the 2nd International to efforts to steer a "World Party" like the Comintern.
• Migration networks of all sorts of temporary and permanent expatriates: from mobility networks of workers to trans-nationally circulating elites of the Labour movement. This can be an opportunity to focus on political migration as a form of network communicating political concepts and lifestyles.
• Advocacy networks emerging from trans-national lobby-groups as advocates of certain issues.
• Transnational epistemic networks as organisers of knowledge-transfer networks of researchers, endowments, foundations, think tanks.
• Consultancy networks – Political PR-consultants, spin doctors, consultants in International Development, experts in global norms and morality defining and certifying rules of correct conduct, corporate social responsibility, etc.
• Networks of transnationally conceived social movements like the "Anti"- or "Alter-Globalisation movement".
The conference program is being worked out by a Steering Committee and shall be published on this site in May 2007.

Coordinator of the committee:
Berthold Unfried (Vienna)

Appendix 2b: ITH 43rd Conference Programme

Transnationale Netzwerke der ArbeiterInnen(bewegung)
Transnational Networks of Labour
Réseaux transnationaux du mouvement ouvrier

September 13-16, 2007
AK-Bildungshaus Jägermayrhof
Römerstraße 98, A-4020 Linz


43rd Linz Conference, organised by International Conference of Labour and Social History and Chamber of Labour of Upper Austria, kindly supported by the Federal Ministry of Research, the Provincial Government of Upper Austria, the City of Linz and the Friedrich Ebert-Foundation Bonn.

Simultaneous translation: German - English - French


PRELIMINARY PROGRAM
July 25, 2007


Thursday, September 13, 2007


9:00 am - 10:00 pm: Registration of the participants at AK-Bildungshaus Jägermayrhof
Römerstraße 98, 4020 Linz

12:00 am - 1:30 pm: Meeting of the Executive Committee and the International Advisory Board

1:30 - 2:00 pm: Break

2:00 - 4:30 pm: General Assembly of the Member Institutes of ITH

4:30 - 5:00 pm: Break


5:00 - 7:00 pm: Conference Opening by the President of ITH, Berthold Unfried,
and

Session I (Notions and concepts)
Susan Zimmermann (Budapest): Internationalismus – Forschungsstand und Forschungsperspektiven
NN: Historical network-analysis

7:00 - 7:30 pm: Break

7:30 pm: Conferring of the René Kuczynski Prize for outstanding publications on the field of social and economic history
Conferring of the Herbert Steiner Prize for the promotion of research on antifascist resistance, persecution and exile as well as the history of the labour movement

afterwards: Opening ceremony with representatives of the City of Linz, the Provincial Government of Upper Austria, the Friedrich Ebert-Foundation Bonn, and our host Mr Erwin Kaiser from the AK-Bildungshaus Jägermayrhof, and
Reception by the Mayor of Linz, Dr. Franz Dobusch, at Jägermayrhof




Friday, September 14, 2007

from 9:00 am: Session II (Migrations of people)
Dirk Hoerder (Arizona): Transnational, -regional, -cultural: Social History and Labour Migrants' Networks in the 19th and 20th Century
Gregor Benton (Cardiff): Chinese Seafarers and Labour Internationalism, 1911-1945
Mirta Zaida Lobato & Juan Suriano (Buenos Aires): Cosmopolitism, labor mobility and working organization in South American countries, 1870 – 1930

12:30 am: Reception by the Provincial Governor of Upper Austria, Josef Pühringer, at the Youth Hostel of Linz, Stanglhofweg 3, 4020 Linz

2:00 pm: Session III (Migrations if ideas and practices: foundations, think tanks)
Patrik von zur Mühlen (Bonn): Die Rolle von Netzwerken in der internationalen Arbeit der Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Jasmien Van Daele (Geneva/Amsterdam): Transnational networks of labour experts. Epistemic communities and the International Labour Organization

6.30 pm: Dinner at Jägermayrhof

8:00 pm: Panel Discussion
"Politische Stiftungen und Wissensnetzwerke"

Venue: will be announced later


Saturday, September 15, 2007

from 9:00 am: Session IV (Political networks & transfers of ideology)
Augusta Dimou (Ioannina): Conceptualizing the Social Subject in Early Socialist Discourses in Southeastern Europe. Possibilities and Limitations in the Transfer of International Paradigms
Ottokar Luban (Berlin): Die Zimmerwalder Bewegung als Netzwerk am Beispiel der Mitwirkung der Spartakusgruppe
Bernhard Bayerlein (Mannheim): Transnationale Strukturen und Netzwerke der Komintern: Wege zur Erkundung eines politischen und kulturellen Universums.

12:30 am: Lunch at Jägermayrhof

from 2:00 pm: Session V (Political networks & transfers of ideology)
Bruno Groppo & Catherine Collomp (Paris): The Jewish Labour Committee as network
Peter Waterman (Den Haag): Shall the Last Be the First? The Internationalism of Labour's Others
Ravi Ahuja (Heidelberg/London): Netzwerke und Arbeitsmärkte: Eine Annäherung an ein Problem transterritorialer Arbeitsgeschichte

afterwards: General discussion

7.00 pm: Dinner at Jägermayrhof


Appendix 3: Global Network Seminar, Lima


A Global Dialogue for a Fair Globalisation
Global Seminar, September 21-24, 2007
Lima, Peru
Objectives:
1. Plan a strategic focus and complimentary structure for the GN for the next 4 years
2. Share knowledge and expertise
3. Explore future trends affecting the work of the GN
DRAFT PROGRAMME
Friday, 21 September 2007
10.00-17.30 Regional seminars – to be held simultaneously
Saturday, 22 September 2007
Morning
09.00-09.45 Opening session – The Global Picture
Welcome and keynote address
Welcome address: Rodney Bickerstaffe, GN Steering Committee chairperson
Keynote address: Marco Aurelio Garcia, Adviser on international affairs, Brazilian
Government - TBC
09.45-11.00 Session 1: The nature of work today and the new division of labour
Richard Freeman - Herbert Ascherman Chair in Economics at Harvard University -
TBC
UNDP - name to be confirmed
Walden Bello – Focus on the Global South
Moderator: TBC
11.00-11.30 COFFEE BREAK
11.30-13.00 Session 2: The new actors in the global economy
The impact of Chinese investment – TBC
The G20 and the changes in global trade power plays – G20 secretariat - name TBC
The developing country multinationals – the case of Brazil – Observatorio Social
name TBC
The EU’s response – DG Trade – name to be confirmed
Moderator: TBC
Afternoon
13.00-14.30 LUNCH BREAK
14.30-16.00 Session 3: The state of the labour movement today
The global trade union response to globalisation - Guy Ryder, General Secretary,
ITUC - TBC
Organising in multinationals – Larry Cohen, President, Communications Workers’
Union - TBC
Organising in the informal economy – Pat Horne, Streetnet
The case of the Maquilas – Linda Yansz, Maquila Solidarity Network
Moderator: TBC
16.00-16.30 COFFEE BREAK
16.30-18.00 Session 4: - Alternatives to the neo-liberal agenda
The Latin American Left, regionalisation and national resistance - Daniel Chavez,
Transnational Institute
Goodbye social Europe, hello flexicurity? – Conny Reuter , Solidar
The resurgence of the social movements – Mr. Indra Lubis, of the International
Operative Secretariat, Via Campesina Asia
Moderator: TBC
18.00 CLOSE
Sunday, 23 September 2007
Morning
09.30 – 11.00 Trade and labour – perspectives on labour clauses in trade agreements
Latin American bilaterals – Diego Lopez, Chile
Japan – Philippines, ASEAN-EU FTA - LEARN
The US experience - TBC
EU perspectives – Harlem Desir, French MAP, Party of European Socialists - TBC
11.30-13.0 Sharing experiences of successful campaigns, key challenges for trade union
collaboration
Clean Clothes Campaign and the textile trade unions – Ester de Haan, International
Secretariat, CCC - TBC
Platforma Laboral des Americas – Victor Baez, General Secretary, ORIT
WTO – Elizabeth Tang, HKCTU
13.00-14.30 LUNCH
Afternoon
14.30-16.0 Workshops: Current campaigns
World Cup 2010
Decent Work, Decent Life
Beijing Olympics 2008
16.00-16.30 COFFEE BREAK
16.30-18.00 Labour education and resources
Media and worker’s education – San Francisco Workers’ Radio
Global Labour University/Global Unions Researchers Network – Ester Busser, ITUC
Geneva - TBC
e-learning – the PLADES experience
Wage Rates Database - LRS
18.00 CLOSE
Monday 24, September 2007
10.00 – 11.30 Workshops: Planning for the next 4 years
11.30-12.0 COFFEE BREAK
12.00-14.00 Where to for the Global Network?
Open discussion based on paper circulated before the conference and workshop input
14.00 CLOSE OF CONFERENCE

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