World Labor Unity/Chapter 11
XI. The London Unity Agreement
1. The Joint Conference affirms that national and international unity must be recognised as the first essential condition to enable the Trade Union Movement to defend effectively the present position of the workers against attack and to achieve the social and political aims of organisedLabour, as set forth in the declarations made by the workers of many countries.
2. The political situation in nearly every so-called civilised country is dominated by reaction, and in many countries the increased power of co-ordinated capitalist interests is evident. This is shown by the continued persecution of leading Trade Unionists, who in the exercise of class prejudice on the part of employing interests are suspected, persecuted, thrown into gaol, and even tortured by those in power.
3.In the industrial and economic field the capitalists of all countries are forming their united front—a united front for the exploitation of workers all over the world. The workers in the meantime remain divided, and in some countries are formed into antagonistic groups. Instead of being employed in the task of defence against capitalist aggression they are plunged into bitter quarrels and dissensions.
4. In nearly every country, in consequence of the growing power of the capitalist class and the lack of unity among the workers, advantages gained in the direction of reduced hours of labour and increased wages have been lost. Where the eight-hour day has not been abolished it is imperilled. In many industries the hours of labour have once more reverted to nine, ten, or even more hours per day. …
5. Through the economic paralysis of Europe caused by the world war, millions of workers are unemployed and with their families are being driven into the depths of despair, starvation, and degradation. Wages, never sufficient to maintain a decent standard of life for the workers, have been reduced by 20 per cent, 30 per cent, and in some cases over 40 per cent. The standard of living in many countries is now below pre-war level.
6.The hope of better times which existed among the workers shortly after the great world war and which they were led by unscrupulous politicians to believe would be the result of their enormous sacrifices, has now disappeared and given place to despair. The pledges of politicians and the promises of capitalists during the war and directly after it have been cynically repudiated. The blind faith that inspired the workers to fight for their respective Governments in the universal catastrophe in which millions of their class were killed and maimed has been shattered. After the greatest sacrifices and the severest sufferings, they are now faced with little prospect of a better life for the workers.
7.Already it would appear that a new war, more terrible, more monstrous than anything known hitherto, is being prepared. New weapons of destruction are being devised; the chemists and scientific thinkers of European countries are devoting their knowledge and skill to the task of inventing new weapons of torture and destruction for use not only against the soldier but also against the civilian. In the meantime so-called disarmament conferences are merely encouraging dangerous illusions. They are being used to deceive the workers and lull them into a false state of security. But the capitalist politicians and employing interests are no longer able to hide the fact that new armaments are being built up, greater than before and more deadly.
8. There is but one power that can save mankind from being plunged into another universal catastrophe. There is but one power which can defend the workers of all countries against political and economic oppression and tyranny. There is but one power which can bring freedom, welfare, happiness, and peace to the working class and to humanity. That power is the working class, if well organised, properly disciplined, self-devoted, and determined to fight all who would oppose and prevent its complete emancipation. The working classes, if united nationally and internationally, would constitute an insuperable barrier to capitalist oppression and an unbreakable bond of peace and economic security. The workers are able to defeat all those who by their reactionary tendencies keep the workers divided. So long as the capitalist system continues there is danger of war. The merciless struggle for supremacy between the conflicting vested interests of competing groups of exploiters will, as in the past, eventually provoke a new crisis plunging the workers of the world into another disastrous war.
"For the above reasons the British and Russian trade union representatives reaffirm the agreement made in Moscow between representatives of British and Russian organised labour to promote international goodwill amongst the workers as a means of more adequately safeguarding the interests of international peace.
"As a result of the discussions at this London Conference and of the agreement reached there, joint efforts, as provided in the procedure laid down in the British declarations, will be made to induce the Amsterdam International, in all goodwill, to agree to a free, unconditional, and immediate conference with representatives of the Russian Trade Union Movement.
"We also jointly place on record our determination to maintain and weld closer the friendly relations of the British and Russian Trade Union movements by taking such joint action as is provided for in the agreements arrived at by this Conference.
"The representatives of the British and Russian Trade Union Movements herewith declare their intention to do what they can by joint means to bring about international unity. The need and importance of international unity is recognised by millions of organised workers throughout the world. Their co-operation in the task of removing racial prejudices, artificial barriers, and economic obstructions to their joint development is assured. Knowing that unity brings power we are convinced that the workers of all countries joining hands across the frontiers, will work together to secure their emancipation.
"The mottoes to be inscribed on our international banner must continue to be the following:
"WORKERS OF THE WORLD, UNITE!"
"LONG LIVE A WORLD-WIDE FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS!"[1]
This agreement was unanimously adopted by both the British and Russian delegations, It was endorsed by the General Council of the British Trades Union Congress on April 21, 1925, and by the All-Russian Trade Union Council at its meeting April 30–May 8, 1925.
- ↑ Labour Monthly, May, 1925, p. 304 ff.