From: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu (Rich Winkel)
Subject: South American labor unions: "We are not a market"
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: rich@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: PACH
Date: Thu, 16 Apr 1992 22:18:00 GMT

/** labor.newsline: 182.0 **/
** Topic: MERCOSUR: Chem & Paper Workers **
** Written  5:30 pm  Apr 14, 1992 by ngonet in cdp:labor.newsline **
From: Jagdish Parikh <ngonet>
Subject: MERCOSUR: Chem & Paper Workers

/* Written  5:17 pm  Apr 14, 1992 by ngonet in cdp:dev.inttrade */
/* ---------- "MERCOSUR: Chem & Paper Workers" ---------- */
(Translated from the Spanish by NGONET, Casilla Correo 1539, 
Montevideo 11000, Uruguay. E-mail ngonet@igc.org; 
ngonet@chasque.org.uy; geo2:ngonet.)
_____________________________________________________________

SECOND MEETING OF CHEMICAL AND PAPER INDUSTRY WORKERS OF 
THE COMMON MARKET OF THE SOUTH (MERCOSUR), 23-25 March, 
1992.

LA FALDA DECLARATION - Cordoba, Republic of Argentina
"WE ARE NOT A MARKET; FIRST AND FOREMOST WE ARE A PEOPLE"

We workers of the chemical and paper industry of Argentina, 
Brazil, Uruguay and Chile (the latter acting as observers), 
represented by their trade unions, gathered in La Falda, 
Province of Cordoba, Argentina, between the 23rd and the 25th 
of March, 1992. We held the 2nd Meeting of Workers of the 
MERCOSUR Paper and Chemical Industry, and stated the 
following:

We are not a market, first and foremost we are a people. 
Integration has been taken up by businessmen and political 
leaders as a process to reinvigorate the conditions of capital 
accummulation and to increase the use of the resources, the 
population and markets of the countries involved in MERCOSUR.
It is our belief that MERCOSUR must achieve the unity and 
integration which most peoples have strived for in the course 
of history.

We stress the spirit of Latin American unity which was 
embodied in our freedom fighters. Integration has always been 
a goal of the workers and popular movements of our countries.
One of the serious problems we face is the establishment of a 
neoliberal economic model which places the whims of the market 
before social justice. This results in a regressive 
distribution of wealth and serious cutbacks in social 
expenditure.

To various extents, and using various economic methods, both 
governments and large corporations seek to diminish the 
State's regulating function in the provision of public goods 
and services.

We workers want integration to be a positive process for our 
peoples: one that improves their standard of living. For this 
to be possible, it is essential that organized workers and 
other popular sectors should play an active role in the 
implementation of integration. Although we think the creation 
of a labour commission within MERCOSUR is a positive measure, 
we believe it is not enough. Workers must be able to take part 
in all the subjects dealt with in the MERCOSUR treaty.
We workers of MERCOSUR do not wish to compete against our 
brothers and sisters. We will not accept economic well-being 
that is based on unemployment and penury for other workers. We 
do not want MERCOSUR to result in rivalry between nations but 
to act as an instrument of economic co-operation and 
solidarity among peoples.

It is very important to stress that our countries are now 
going through a phase of democratic consolidation. From the 
political point of view MERCOSUR must help support this 
process. Yet, our countries are dependent. This is especially 
clear if we consider our foreign debt, and the huge influence 
it has upon our political, social, and economic development.
Therefore, we believe that MERCOSUR must serve, among other 
things, to enable our governments to act together in the 
negotiation of our foreign debt in the most advantageous terms 
possible.

Based on these principles, the following topics were discussed 
in depth by the delegations of the MERCOSUR member countries:
1. the labour conditions of MERCOSUR workers.
2. labour legislation in MERCOSUR countries.
3. the social security and health situation of workers.
After this debate, a plenary session was held and further 
recommendations were unanimously approved.

These steps constituted a follow-up to the seminar held in 
Itapema, State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Thus, the workers of 
the countries taking part in the Meeting are striving to make 
the dream of a united and just Latin America come true.

We therefore express our commitment and our determination to 
see these principles and proposals implemented. We call for 
the next meeting to be held in Brazil, between the 9th and the 
11th of December, 1992, where we will take further steps 
towards the goals which have been laid down here.
** End of text from cdp:labor.newsline **

/** labor.newsline: 183.0 **/
** Topic: MERCOSUR: Workers & Environment **
** Written  5:31 pm  Apr 14, 1992 by ngonet in cdp:labor.newsline **
From: Jagdish Parikh <ngonet>
Subject: MERCOSUR: Workers & Environment

/* Written  5:19 pm  Apr 14, 1992 by ngonet in cdp:dev.inttrade */
/* ---------- "MERCOSUR: Workers & Environment" ---------- */
(Translated from the Spanish by NGONET, Casilla Correo 1539, 
Montevideo 11000, Uruguay. E-mail ngonet@igc.org; 
ngonet@chasque.org.uy; geo2:ngonet.)
_____________________________________________________________

PAPER PRESENTED BY THE ARGENTINEAN DELEGATION AT THE 
SECOND MEETING OF CHEMICAL AND PAPER INDUSTRY WORKERS OF 
THE COMMON MARKET OF THE SOUTH (MERCOSUR)
La Falda, Argentina, 23-25 March, 1992.
_____________________________________________________________

THE ENVIRONMENT AND THE WORKERS OF MERCOSUR MEMBER 
COUNTRIES (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay)

The workers of MERCOSUR member countries acknowledge that the 
issue of the environment and natural resources concerns them 
directly. This is not only because the environment constitutes our 
society's source of livelihood, but also because we are now facing 
intolerable levels of natural degradation. 

To varying degrees, the MERCOSUR countries have started to become 
interested in environmental issues. The beauty and natural wealth of 
our region must be considered to be the inalienable property not 
only of our peoples, but of the whole of humanity. Thus, any attempt 
to transform a particular area of this continent into a dump for 
industrial or polluted waste, affects the principles of sovereignty and 
social equity. The degradation of the cities in our region, caused by 
the unsound encroachment of land and the decrease in investments 
in the public sector, can be clearly seen. This is clearly connected 
with the living conditions of most of the working classes.

We workers reject the theory proposed by the world powers that 
population growth is the cause of ecological imbalance. The origins of 
this idea can be traced back to certain anti-social ideologies which 
propose birth control as an efficient means to redress the balance. On 
the contrary, we believe that the present situation is the result of a 
development model based on the intensive use of nature. Production 
is maintained through the low-cost exploitation of natural resources 
which are non-renewable or slowly renewable, while no 
responsibility is taken for their restoration.

Thus, there is a close link between the encroachment on "natural 
property" and the natural deterioration which is detrimental to the 
population. Certain companies refuse to pay for the technological 
changes necessary to reduce their own environmental impact.

A worker's family must incur so many expenses to make up for the 
higher cost of keeping the environment clean, that they could be said 
to amount to a tax on their salary. Thus, in the case of diseases such 
as child diarrhea and cholera, workers must spend increasingly large 
sums on prevention and on more strictly-controlled food products.

It was suggested to the delegations from Brazil, and Uruguay - as 
well as to the observer delegation from Chile - that they ought to 
consult technical advisors in order to draft a preliminary document 
on environmental issues. The aim is to submit it later to the United 
Nations Conference on Environment and Development to be held in 
Rio.

The disruption of the basic balance between economy and 
environment is something that concerns workers because it is likely 
to have negative effects on the lives of their children.

The delegation of Argentina deems this 2nd Meeting of Chemical and 
Paper Industry Workers from Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay to be 
the right place to state this issue so that it will be considered in the 
mid-term.
** End of text from cdp:labor.newsline **
Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive