From April 20th to 22nd, 2023, the 34th KGZE took place in Vienna / Austria on the topic "How can trade unions contribute to the future viability of our society? Do our Christian social values have a motivating and inspiring effect?”, organised by ÖZA (Austrian Center for Employee Education), in cooperation with EZA and funded by the European Union.
Seventy-eight representatives of workers from Albania, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, North Macedonia, Austria, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Czech Republic and Ukraine took part in the conference.
Thursday, 20. April 2023
Introductory seminar unit: Europe is being rocked by 'multiple crises'. EZA Secretary General, Sigrid SCHRAML, describes the current crisis in Europe, which not only challenges the EU and our governments but especially the population and us as employee representatives. Andreas GJECAJ, General Secretary of the Christian Trade Unionists (FCG) faction, describes possible ways out of the crisis using the "Social Teaching Roadmap" that the FCG published in 2020 (in the first lockdown in all of Europe) (brochure).
Festive opening of the KGZE 2023 and welcome by the organisers: In his welcoming address, President Norbert SCHNEDL refers to the special time in which this KGZE takes place. Especially the 2 participants from the Ukraine are warmly welcomed in Vienna. We see this crisis as a challenge and want to contribute to the future viability of our society with our conference. On behalf of EZA, Piergiorgio SCIACQUA welcomes the participants of this KGZE in Vienna. He sees populism as a great danger and also describes the difficult geopolitical situation in Italy (Mediterranean). The Austrian Federal Government apologized to Chancellor Karl NEHAMMER at short notice because of a "car summit" and Foreign Minister Alexander SCHALLENBERG emphasized the importance of dialogue in the KGZE in a video message to the participants.
Friday, 21. April 2023
As trade unions, how can we take countermeasures in the event of "multiple crises" and create optimism for a promising future?
Michael SCHEDIWY-KLUSEK, ÖZA, moderates the first seminar block on Friday. In his speech, the President of the LCGB, Patrick DURY, describes the current crisis. In Luxembourg, there is a great need for integrating workers from various countries. The Austrian member of the National Council, Romana DECKENBACHER, calls the motto of her commitment: "Fair in dialogue - strong in the matter!"
„How important is “social dialogue” in dealing with crises? - How does it work better?”
As an expert in social ethics, Dr Karin PETTER-TRAUSZNITZ, Austria, the second seminar block. With his PowerPoint presentation, Tobias SONNWEBER, from the Austrian Federation of Industrialists, presents the IV's position on social dialogue. As a classic counterpart, Wolfgang PISCHINGER, who also negotiates the collective agreement for banks in Austria, also uses PowerPoint to describe the Austrian practice, according to which 98% of all employees in a collective agreement work as a social partnership that has been tried and tested for decades.
"How can the dialogue between the generations succeed better - as a significant contribution to sustainability.”
This seminar unit will be moderated by Alex JANSA, Austria, general secretary of the FCG youth..
Anna ZIETIK, from the EZA youth platform and as a representative of the Polish trade union youth committee, Solidarnosc presents her thesis: She emphasizes that new forms of communication and various tools must be used to reach younger people (e.g. social media, Skype). In her PowerPoint presentation, the President of the FCG Youth, Desislava FATAHI, Austria, shows the successful model of "Generation Days", where our young people enter a substantive dialogue on various topics with our pensioners. The "social media presence" of the FCG youth has also improved significantly in recent years.
"Sustainability based on concrete examples: How can we become more digital, relational and greener?"
Denis STRIEDER, ÖZA, will moderate this seminar unit. The Secretary General of Catholic Action Vienna Christoph WATZ, Austria, presents the KA-Vienna campaign on "Ecological Conversion". Above all, a deceleration through stricter speed limits is required. According to Dorothe Sölle, "There's nothing you can do about it!" is the most godless of all sentences—the Univ.-Prof. Milan KATUNINEC from Slovakia emphasizes that Pope Francis has set a direction for us with his encyclical Laudato Si when he writes: "Let us go forward singing! May our struggles and concerns for this planet not take away our joy and hope!" The "digital transformation" is the most significant change in our way of life since the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century. We must create a Europe worth living in.
Saturday, 22. April 2023
Country reports from the participating countries on the current status of crisis management and social dialogue.
Moderator: Michael SCHEDIWY-KLUSEK, ÖZA
LITHUANIA: With a PowerPoint presentation, Jelena SOMS describes the role of the trade unions and what has developed positively and negatively after overcoming the pandemic. Better use of the computer, less direct contact (isolation, depression, ...) - challenging role in social dialogue.
ROMANIA: Prof. Viorel ROTILA describes the general situation in Romania with PPP and sheds light on the health trade union. He suggests using the EZA platform for data exchange as well. We have tons of data, but we need to filter out the “right” ones.
SERBIA: Mara ERDELJ also shows a PPP. She calls for a "revitalisation" of the trade unions in Serbia and the WOW. We must form networks and expand training programmes, e.g., for the proper negotiation. They organise street campaigns as well as a short text every day on the homepage: hygiene of the soul!
SLOVENIA: Klemen STIBELJ describes the situation in Slovenia, where ZDNSi has tried establishing Christian social values in employee representation for around three decades. Elections have taken place in Slovenia again, where a candidate with no political experience has won, and the population has great distrust in the political system.
ALBANIA: Bilbil KASMI reports on improving talks among Albanian trade unions. The government was overwhelmed during the pandemic, and there was hardly any help from the government in Albania. Because there is no visa requirement for Albanians, 400-500,000 people have left the country - mostly young and well-educated people who are now missing everywhere.
UKRAINE: In his country report, Yuriy KURYLO expresses his heartfelt thanks for the solidarity expressed by all participants of the KGZE. After Russia invaded foreign territory, war raged in his country (bombs, tanks and grenades, ...), and the question is whether the European values of freedom, democracy and human rights will continue to exist in Ukraine. He is grateful for any form of support!
The ÖZA President, Dr Norbert SCHNEDL, Austria, draws seven conclusions from the KGZE.:
Crises are always challenges:
We want to get away from the "multiple crises" that are currently shaking the whole world, such as Russia's war of aggression in Ukraine, the resulting wave of energy shortages and the increase in the price of many goods, the climate crisis, the corona pandemic and many others. Do not let our hope for a promising future for the planet be stolen, and courageously tackle the search for solutions.
The “Christian Social Teaching” is a valuable roadmap:
We will no longer be able to return to the time before these critical phenomena - and we don't want to. Instead, we are guided by the seven principles of social teaching: Even in the "digital age", there is a need for ethics that protect human dignity; it needs the political will to commit to the common good and the fair distribution of the interests of this earth. The principle of subsidiarity applies in the EU as well as that of solidarity and democracy. And without sustainability, the planet would not survive.
Unions are an indispensable hope for the future:
Those affected organise themselves in trade unions. We are a struggling organisation dedicated to working people's rights. We usually do this through negotiations and are used to finding excellent and workable compromises with collective agreements and changes in the law. We work around the clock on solutions - because standing together in solidarity achieves more than giving in to outrage out of anger and fear.
The "social dialogue" is a hallmark of Europe:
We are committed to the tool of "social dialogue", as it is also laid down in numerous EU treaties - most recently in the "social pillar". This distinguishes Europe from other regions, such as the USA or China, where we compete economically on the world market. We accept the challenge of surviving in this competition with the European market economy model, which knows social and ecological barriers because we want to live in a "civilisation of sustainability" that accepts rules.
We see dialogue between the generations as the key to a promising future for 8 billion people on Earth:
In many places, people can no longer talk to each other - or what is said is no longer understood by the other person. Especially with the increased use of "social media", where young people are connected via a wide variety of channels, the conversation thread seems to be completely broken. We must refrain from allowing that but rather consider which message arrives via which channel, i.e. connects the sender and receiver in our work. New forms of communication will decisively shape the future of our planet!
Future viability also depends on our courage to accept the challenges and help shape them:
It is becoming increasingly clear that digitisation and artificial intelligence - i.e. self-learning computer programs - will change our society as radically as the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. At the same time, with the constant sensory overload, we have created a "pseudo-closeness" that makes young people less able to relate and increases loneliness. Along with the major issues of "global warming" and "demographics", a world view has emerged that is expressed with actions as the "last generation". However, we do not want to be the last, but rather the first generation who understands that this earth is a small planet that deserves protection..
Country Reports: Solidarity with Ukraine!
It was with great pleasure that we also welcomed participants from Ukraine to our KGZE conference in Vienna. Around 80 participants from 16 European countries agree that we strongly condemn Russia's attack on a neighbouring sovereign state! War is not a solution, but it brings people a lot of misfortune, misery and death. In Ukraine, people are also fighting for the European values of freedom, democracy and respect for human rights. Therefore we want to encourage all people in Ukraine with our solidarity address!
At the same time, the country reports expressed that the multiple crises of the last few years affect all of Europe - all of us - and we want to continue to strengthen and encourage ourselves to bring our values into society in the respective countries.