Privatization, resistance and services in the EU – a Finnish perspective

Privatization, resistance and servicews in the EU – a Finnish perspective

JP (Juha-Pekka) Väisänen
Communist Party of Finland, Chairman
European Left Party, Member of Executive Board
Intervention “Alternative left economic and social policy” seminar organized by the Bulgarian Left and the European Left Party in Sofia 12.4.2014

Pamela Anderson, TV-star and sex symbol has said that it is great to be a blonde. With low expectations it is very easy to surprise people. Same we can say about the bourgeois political white elite in Finland – another very blond but bold example playing stupid but acting with an international plan of austerity.

Neoliberal politics have strongly drawn guidelines for Finnish decision making in the North of Europe. Working class has been fooled with great ideas like European Union, same currency or Peace to surrender capitalism.

In the name of common good Finnish government has just few weeks ago agreed about new cutting lists of some 3 billion Euros. A the same time with this news Left Alliance left government after three years collaboration with the forces of the austerity. Soon after that Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen informed that he will also leave the ship. Capitalists of this government have so far made cuttings of total 8 billion. Some say the ship has hit the rocks and the rats are leaving.

In this Finnish situation it is great to be a communist. From a communist point of view leftist and social democratic oriented political forces have strongly adopted logics from the bourgeois elite and accepted right wing austerity measures. Trade unions in Finland understand EU concepts of freedom and business so well that it has forgotten its basic function.

Quoting Pamela further we can say that “With low expectations it should be easy to surprise the working class”. But for a very long time in Finland no real surprises have been done or seen. This is a place for self criticism also.

Battle of public and private is going strong. We are not those who stay still and wait for these surprises. We are those who demand a change in the politics and the blond puppets of EU austerity not to be reelected.

This international class struggle needs an honest radical left front to coordinate how to fight back all the EU- austerity measures, privatization and cutting lists. This international class struggle needs an honest radical left front to invite new forces and faces to speak for their rights and to build speakers platforms like Lenin said. We don’t do the change alone but YES we can and we will do it together with mass movements, critical trade unionists, peace activists, feminists, LGTB volunteers and with all those who want an alternative to the current capitalist exploitation.

Dear comrades,

Working class in Finland, in the EU – in all Europe and globally deserves better politics. We the 99 % deserve a better society. Unemployed and the workers who are now doing a job of two or more people deserve better basic services. European working class deserves a trade union to defend workers’ rights and fight for a change for the poor, for those of low-income, for the disadvantaged and for all of us. We deserve much more than political elite in European Union is now offering us. Which in concrete is a very bad deal of growing unemployment, racism and threats of war.

Thank You for inviting me to speak in this important political act here in Sofia. Thank You Bulgarian Left, European Left and Thank You Margarita Mileva

I come to this meeting directly from the European Left international seminar on debt.
Throughout the whole day economists, sociologists, trade unionists, politicians of the Party of the European Left and members of social movements of over 20 different countries analyzed the causes and consequences of the policy of EU-austerity and the pressure that the payment of debt is causing on the peoples of Europe.

European Left discussion shows that we need to find ways to strengthen collaboration among the left forces and fight for a real political change in Europe. European Left president Pierre Laurent in his speech in Brussels mentioned that the debate of the debt must stop to be a taboo. Issue of debt should be placed in the heart of the political, economic and social debate.

I find it very important in this situation that people in all over Europe have to be explained why we have to reorganize and also cancel some of the debt to the European countries in crises. So far the public has only followed the logics of the banks and business which with the so called aid packages has led to mass unemployment figures, cutting wages and pensions, shutting down the public services and privatizations like the Greek national radio and tv-station as well as also water and energy companies.

Now we hear Alexis Tsipras speak in Brussels seminar on debt and his message is clear. We need a European conference on debt like the one done in 1953 in London. Now the roles have changes. In 53 it was Greek to cancel German debt.

At this point we need to act cool and clear minded. From the Banks and business perspective it is, of course disappointing when their power will be limited. But it is about time to hear the perspective of the working class too. Greek, Southern European and all workers should understand that the international neoliberal politics is hitting us all, not equally but it is hitting us all.

Therefore from working class point of view the initiative of Alexis Tsipras and European Left to reorganize and cancel some of the debt in the countries in crises and to form a European congress is very logic and very much needed.

It is also very important and especially in a debate against nationalist right wing populist that we concretely demand the banker’s, businessmen and the financial speculators to pay the crises they themselves created.

PRIVATIZATION and EU

Privatization means ideological battle and EU is our joint battle ground. European Union stands for ideas of freedom. It would be a wonderful thing if it meant freedom of the working class but sorry to say comrades it does not. It means freedom of the capital, business and freedom of the money.

Therefore it is not possible to build a different kind of Europe within the framework of EU treaties. Doing so demands that we break with the EU in its present form. I believe that we must start to dismantle the EU’s structures and powers, and that decision-making must be returned to the people. We can create a different Europe only with countries’ voluntary collaboration. Cooperation between European countries on environmental issues, harmful forms of competition and on eliminating racism and xenophobia is crucial. It is also essential to develop European cooperation by extending it to the eastern regions of the continent.

The EU markets itself as a project of peace and harmony. In reality, the union is an imperialist structure, an engine of capitalist class struggle that promotes the interests of large corporations in their efforts to expand and maximize their profits. Its aim is to combine the power of big business and EU member states into a solid political union, an economic and financial union, and with a common security and military policy.

The purpose of the EU is to support the dominant positions and profit seeking of transnational big capital by cutting back on labor costs and social spending, combating trade unions and collective-bargaining agreements, dismantling and blocking national-level regulations and taxation practices, accelerating the growth of monopolies, and subjugating developing countries.

Dear Comrades,

I wish to show with more details one very fresh example of plans of privatization and how EU austerity politics hit municipalities in Finland.

A new social and healthcare plan has just been introduced. Old so called welfare state Finland will now be divided into five big social and healthcare areas. In Finnish scale we are now talking about gigantic figures. Social and healthcare services together make more than 20 billion in Euros and affects 265 000 workers. Each of the five sectors will have a university hospital as its center. More than half of the local communities’ budget decision making will be given over to five administrative directors. Each of the sectors will have to take care of more than over a million of people’s services. Each of the sectors will have some 60 municipalities included. In practice, the power will be centralized in to five big cities and large parties representing the 5 areas.

According to Finnish constitution municipalities are sovereign. Despite the constitution or democracy all the political parties in the parliament stand for this social and healthcare change. Even The Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees (STTK) has just announced its support for this anti-democratic and anti-human development.

I absolutely cannot understand why any Trade Union or the Finnish parliamentarian left supports this totally big capital run development that removes the democratic rights from the elected representatives of the residents to a group of five men. I absolutely cannot understand why forces that call themselves progressive want to open public services for privatization.

Communist Party of Finland is opposing this development. We think YES there is an alternative for EU-austerity and privatization of the basic services. Municipalities and the people of municipalities should have the power to decide about the most important welfare issues, such as health care services. According to many investigations services that citizens have close to the neighborhood they are living are considered to be the best. That is so according to economical and quality measures and in terms of participation. Empowerment of the people is necessary. Therefore CP Finland is demanding to stop the destroying of the welfare state. We need democratic welfare municipalities and services in walking distance.

Power to the people – No to EU.

We are living rough times. The common interests of the working class exist independent of EU structures.The EU undermines the security offered by collective bargaining agreements, imposes longer working hours and favors the use of cheap labor. The economic crisis has promoted waves of redundancies. The EU has been trying to improve competitiveness by internal devaluation, and trampling on people’s wages and working conditions.

The EU’s free movement of labor and capital has led to workers being brought to Finland who are paid lower wages than stipulated by Finnish collective bargaining agreements, the aim of this is to drive down the price of labor. Slave labor and human trafficking are also increasing massively in the EU area thanks to the common market area.

Dear comrades,

Yes that all is true, but not the whole picture. Yes there are important signs of change and resistance in the bigger picture. For some years we used to find these signs of progress almost only in Latin America – which still goes strong with the left forces in the front. Today the concrete actions of change and resistance can also be found in our own European corners.

Just few weeks ago streets of Madrid were filled with people demanding an end to EU austerity. There have been huge demonstrations in Portugal and France. Also Greek comrades are seriously changing future of the country for the good of the working class. This has been partly because of the well done politics of the radical left forces. Also mass movements, peace movement and the trade unions play an important role in organizing these platforms for the alternatives.

European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has changed its politics – One could say they have taken a step to the left. In the all European demonstration 4. April there were 50,000 people in Brussels to demonstrate against austerity and for investment, quality jobs, equality. ETUC declares that current European situation is the result of austerity policies which encouraged internal devaluation, privatization of public services, cuts in wages, pensions and welfare payments.

Bernadette Segol, president of the ETUC says “We are caught in an economic downwards spiral, and in increased public debt. The recession threatens to spread across the entire continent with impact on the global economy. These policies also exacerbated the EU economic and political divergences instead of overcoming them.” These are the Words and the message that we also need to hear from Finnish trade unions.

4. of April radical left forces and critical trade unionists were in the streets in Helsinki and Tampere. Three big Finnish trade unions The Finnish Trade Union Confederation (SAK), The Finnish Confederation of Salaried Employees (STTK) and the Finnish trade union confederation Akava, all three are members of ETUC and all three were absent from the event against austerity politics.

The Finnish three have besides being avoiding the radical actions of its mother organization, out loud supporting the trade agreement between the European Union and the United States. Dear Comrades, I hope that with that concrete example You understand the harsh and difficult situation in my country.

European and International examples and collaboration is oxygen to survive in a Finnish kind of a neoliberal situation where even trade unions are supporting ideas of the big capital. We consider our EU electoral list as a radical platform to catalyze public debate about alternatives. We find the collaboration with European Left Parties essential and very necessary in our international class struggle.

Together with European Left, Estonian Left and critical trade unionists we will organize an international seminar 17.5. in Helsinki. Seminar is about EU liberties and the challenges of the trade union. Together with the Estonian left we have prepared a joint action campaign with Multilanguage leaflets. With this campaign called “Same Rights” we will encourage immigrant workers mainly Estonian and Russian to contact Finnish trade unions and organize them. Campaign also informs foreign workers about their rights. Both parties also declare the need change current political situation, make better the workers’ rights so that workers will be equally paid for equal work done.

Dear comrades

I wish to end my speech by pointing out also the issue of Peace. We have Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen visiting Sofia for the 10th anniversary of the country’s membership of Nato.

In the heated up situation with the Ukraine and Crimea crises Rasmussen said that Allies must stand ready at all times to deal with the unexpected. I know that peace loving people in Bulgaria have opposed Rasmussen’s visit and said that it is not needed to accept orders that could involve Bulgaria in a conflict against Russia.
In these difficult times of austerity and treats of war I wish us more power, more skills and more hope.

Politics, dialogue and Peace – from working class point of view is always the best

JP Väisänen