Dedalus and Arianna

«They explained how to plan a trade union struggle based on the American model. We got a better idea of the way a multinational corporation thinks and acts, we increased our political aspirations. I think we should try the road to international negotiation. Nothing actually prevents us from bringing the trade union experience into the EWC». Last January Carlo Quaini participated in a training course in Rome organized by the national Filcams with European funds. He left full of ideas and expectations.

«The directive should be updated to make the role of delegate eligible» he says. Bold ideas partially deriving from the limitations faced during his experience in the council. Quaini belongs to the so-called European Trade Union Working Group (EC), a sort of sub-EWC of Rexroth, a company acquired by Bosch in 2000, which, in its turn, has its own EWC, which should represent all the companies by which the corporation is composed by. Inside this Group there is therefore a double track where, sometimes, information stops flowing. Not because the company doesn’t provide clear and detailed documentation with prior notice. It is the very delegates who don’t invest enough on a unified and transnational type of communication.

«If we were appointed, the role of representatives would gain a binding and more complex meaning. This would place the EWC at the core of trade union activity. Delegates would feel more involved and employees would benefit from that. It would be a quality leap turning the councils into a stable loop in the gear of a European trade union movement and in the system of industrial relations.»

To Quaini, this change should go along with a change in the mentality that only proper training could grant. «Looking at Italy, I notice that trade unions are making huge investments in this direction». However, training also means on-the-job training. Maybe on the occasion of the EWC annual meetings, taking advantage of informal moments. It is here, through the human touch, that a certain idea of Europe and trade union representation can be born. «Networking is essential – concludes Quaini – we need to cultivate relationships, exchange views, be always present, let information spread around. We need to be ready to keep up with the world’s continuous changes, understand reasons and contradictions, and find common solutions».