3rd International Automotive Workers Conference: Country reports show the challenges facing unions and struggles

Some highlights:

In India, 40 to 70 percent of the workforce now consists of contract workers, trainees, and casual workers. There are also a large number of trade unions. All of this makes union organizing and work more difficult.

In China, employees often work in the 9/9/6 system, often 72 hours a week.

The intensified exploitation is accompanied by increasing attacks on trade unions and workers.

For example, the Turkish delegation was not allowed to leave the country by the fascist Erdogan regime to attend the conference. The hurdles for establishing more militant unions are also very high, and only strikes over wage issues are permitted.

The report from Belarus notes that despite brutal repression, there is now a resurgence of struggles for workers' rights.

And in Brazil, at the end of 2023, the militant trade union CSP-Conlutas succeeded in forcing General Motors to withdraw its layoffs after a 12-day strike.

In many countries, workers are facing job losses as a result of the transition to e-mobility. There were hopes that unions and workers could shape this so-called “social and democratic transformation.” But there were also critical contributions, for example, based on experiences with co-determination in mining, which served to facilitate the uncontested elimination of jobs.

In the discussion, a speaker from India emphasized that further challenges include corporations using slogans such as “Made in India,” “Make America great again,” and “Our economy first” to harness workers to their economic and military wars.

The devastating consequences of the mutual destruction battle between the automotive companies were made clear in the report by the French trade union CGT Stellantis. The plant in Poissy is also affected by Stellantis' (including Opel, Peugeot, Citroen) questioning of seven plants in Europe.

"CGT Stellantis fully agrees with the analysis of its German colleagues:

➥ We must not wait until the closures are announced.

➥ It is time to organize international resistance.

➥ No plant should be left alone with the decisions of the corporation.

Our response must be international, coordinated, and proactive." That is why the CGT is proposing a European day of action by Stellantis workers.

There were reports from Germany about the auto industry's shift to a war economy—and criticism of it.

There were also reports about new challenges in light of the fascist AfD's influence on workers.

In short: many new challenges that will continue to be discussed in the coming days.