"For the Welfare State"
is the name of a
broad coalition in
Norway which seeks
to reverse the trend
toward "growing
inequality, attacks on
public services, and
ruthless exploitation
of the environment.”
braved a cold and chilly night in February, 2001, to
demonstrate their support for the general-welfare
state and their opposition to neo-liberalism.
Asbjørn Wahl
Included in the coalition
are organisations representing public-service, clients, students, pensioners, farmers, and unions in both the private and public sectors.
are organisations representing public-service, clients, students, pensioners, farmers, and unions in both the private and public sectors.
Since then, they have been joined by twenty other national organizations, nearly doubling the size of the alliance. It currently represents about one million workers, in a country with a total population of roughly 4.5 million.
Included among the more recent affiliates are organisations representing public-service clients, students, pensioners, farmers, etc. In addition, a number of private-sector unions have joined forces with the initial six within the public sector. The size and scope of the alliance suggests that a broad popular movement is taking shape.
The poverty of disadvantaged individuals and the public sector has been growing steadily, alongside the equally steady expansion of the economic elite’s private wealth.
All over the world, public sectors and general-welfare systems are under increasing pressure from the forces of the global economy, in particular the interests represented by transnational corporations and international financial institutions. (For a general discussion of these and related issues, see The Price of Everything.)
Even though Norway is today wealthier than at any other time in its history, with an unemployment rate lower than in most other countries, social and economic inequality is increasing. The poverty of disadvantaged individuals and the public sector has been growing steadily, alongside the equally steady expansion of the economic elite’s private wealth.
According to a recent study, there are 70,000 children in Norway living below the poverty line, and that number is increasing. At the same time, there are twenty new millionaires every day. While average wages increased by fifteen percent during 1995-1998, corporate leaders increased their income by some 35 percent. During 1993-1999, public expenditures increased by two percent annually, while private consumption increased by an annual rate of 3.6 percent. The public share of GNP declined from 52 to 43 percent between 1992 and 1999.
Inevitably, this large-scale redistribution of wealth has caused financial problems in the public sector. Its growing impoverishment is creating dissatisfaction among citizens, and weakening its capacity to provide the universal services that are the essence of the general-welfare system. As the quality and reliability of service declines, the wealthy will be motivated to seek private solutions in order to avoid queues and deficiencies in the public system.
International financial speculation has made national economies tremble. Market forces have gained ground at the expense of public governance.
In the long run, these developments threaten the legitimacy and the very existence of the general-welfare state, which is why six of the country’s largest trade unions formed the alliance, ”For the Welfare State”. The political platform of the alliance is based on a broad global perspective and includes the following analysis:
”In recent years, neo-liberal politics have gained ground both nationally and internationally. Public services, democratic governance and public control are being weakened through deregulation, privatization and competitive bidding. International financial speculation has made national economies tremble. Market forces have gained ground at the expense of public governance. This has caused growing inequalities in society, attacks on general welfare and public services, and ruthless exploitation of natural resources and the environment.”
The alliance emphasizes that it does not defend every aspect of the current general-welfare system. There are many deficiencies, including inadequate public services. ”It is therefore necessary to strengthen and further develop the welfare state,” states the alliance. For this reason, it seeks co-operation with the users of public services. Such co-operation also provides a response to those interests which attempt to divide and conquer users and providers with the argument that, in defending general welfare, ”the unions are merely protecting their own narrow interests at the expense of ordinary citizens”.
The struggle is about protecting a strong public sector and creating a society which takes environmental challenges seriously.
Another key section of the platform states that the nation faces ”a decisive struggle for public services and the democratic governance of society. The struggle is about protecting a strong public sector and creating a society which takes environmental challenges seriously. We are experiencing a redistribution of wealth from the public to the private sector, and public budgets are being subjected to mounting pressures. The struggle is about what kind of society we are building for the future. The fight against privatization and competitive bidding is a defence of the welfare state, for a just and equitable distribution of economic resources.”
The essence of the platform is summarized in the following eight points:
It is unacceptable that, in a society which is wealthier than ever, private riches and public poverty are increasing simultaneously.
- We support the restructuring of the public sector, based on the security and motivation of employees, making use of their experience and creativity, and their knowledge of the needs of users.
- We are defending the principles of the general-welfare state, while rejecting a return to means-testing and the undermining of fundamental rights. We will therefore resist the growth of inequality and poverty in society.
- We support the democratically elected management of public resources, and reject the transfer of important public functions to market interests.
- We reject the current globalization of the economy which is based on liberalization, deregulation and the unrestricted flow of capital. We demand action against financial speculation and restraints on the enormous power of transnational corporations.
- We support the struggle for an equitable distribution of the world’s resources.
- We oppose the trend of converting public-sector monopolies into private-sector monopolies with the ”assistance” of transnational corporations.
- We reject the policy of tenders for public services, which is used to undermine the wages and working conditions of employees.
- We demand adequate funding of public services. It is unacceptable that, in a society which is wealthier than ever, private riches and public poverty are increasing simultaneously.
- Based on this platform, and an awareness that only a broad-based popular movement will be able to withstand the current offensive of market forces, the alliance has initiated a campaign whose primary objective is to build a political force strong enough to present a realistic alternative to neo-liberalism. The analytical perspective must, of course, be global; but the main task of the Norwegian alliance is to organise the struggle at the national level.
Since the Norwegian union movement has not been defeated as in Great Britain, the so-called "modernizers" within Norway’s Labour Party will find it difficult to shift the nation to the right.
The first year of the ”For the Welfare State” campaign has been devoted mainly to building and consolidating the alliance. The response has been overwhelming, far exceeding the most optimistic expectations of the founding members. Initially, there was some criticism from the powerful Confederation of Trade Unions (”LO”), both for entering alliances with non-LO unions and for ”not having sufficient understanding of the important role of the private sector”, as some leaders of private-sector unions put it. That criticism has dissipated, however, as other private-sector unions have joined the alliance, having realized that defending the general-welfare state is in the interest of all workers, not only those within the public sector.
The alliance was initiated, and in its early stages has been conducted, at the national level by high-ranking officials. This is both a strength, in terms of resources and legitimacy, and a weakness in that the project did not emerge from the grassroots. Efforts are curently being made to rectify that weakness by encouraging participation at the regional and local levels.
The alliance was established under a minority government based on a coalition of parties in the centre of the political spectrum. Subsequently, a minority Labour government came to power. This may create problems for the alliance, as several leaders of the unions and other organisations involved are members-- and, in some cases, high-ranking representatives-- of the Labour Party. These officials now find themselves in a conflict between the objectives of the alliance and their relationships to the Labour government.
The Labour Party is, itself, in the throes of a growing polarization between a faction of so-called ”modernizers” who have few objections to privatization, and so-called ”traditionalists” with a more critical view of privatized, free-market economic systems. Since the Norwegian union movement has not yet been defeated in the same way as in Great Britain under prime ministers Thatcher and Blair, the modernizers within Norway’s Labour Party will find it much more difficult to shift the nation to the right. The new alliance ”For the Welfare State” could very well have a decisive impact in that regard.
In short, Norway is currently in the midst of some interesting times.
— 4 July 2001
Asbjørn Wahl is a union official who at present is serving as secretary of the ”For the Welfare State” alliance. This article is based on his contribution to the book, Restructuring and Resistance: Diverse Voices of Struggle in Western Europe. Kolya Abramsky, ed. Current information about the alliance is available at http://www.velferdsstaten.no/english