Where is the European general strike? Understanding the challenges of trans-European trade union action against austerity

Abstract

The 2011 ETUC Congress in Athens adopted a proposal by two Spanish trade union confederations that called on the ETUC to examine the possibility of undertaking coordinated European strikes, including a European general strike. These strikes never materialized and the ETUC’s European Day of Action on 14 November 2012 was less a powerful expression of pan-European solidarity than a reflection of precisely the social division that it was mounted to combat. This article explores some major determinants of solidarity. It then identifies major constraints on building international solidarity. This is followed by a brief outline of the preconditions of collective action. The transnational campaign of dockworkers against the so-called Port Packages in 2003 and 2006 and the mobilization against the Bolkestein Directive in 2006 are chosen as examples of successful transnational action that illustrate both the challenges met by unions and the factors that favour success. The article concludes with a brief discussion of the more difficult conditions and prospects for transnational action against the current European austerity measures.