Greeting Message of the World Federation of Democratic Youth towards the 17th World Trade Union Congress

11 Oct 2016

17th CONGRESS

Dear Comrades,

The World Federation of Democratic Youth sends its militant and warm greetings to the 17th World Trade Union congress. WFDY is expressing its fraternal wishes to the congress which is realized under the title “Struggle – Internationalism – Unity Forward!”

In the world we are living today, it is important to know that a federation like WFTU is reinforcing by demanding the unity of the workers on international level, a unity that shall be based on the ideals of internationalism and the struggle of the workers for their rights.

Dear Comrades,

The 17th World Trade Union congress is organized under the hard conditions that the workers and the youth are facing on international level. The implementation of the unpopular policies, is the means to never change this insanity that leads millions of people into poverty and unemployment. We see that today the fundamental rights of the youth and the workers in education and work are under a permanent dispute, making even more urgent the need for the intensification and massification of the struggle of the youth together with the working class.

The youth and the workers are witnessing the class barriers in all areas of social life, targeting their rights, those class barriers are resulting by the application of the neoliberal policies. An attack is in front of the youth and the workers watching their labour rights degrading and disappearing. They are facing the institutionalization of cheap and flexible working part-time or limited-time. Furthermore, the climax of the attack of the system against the youth and the workers is also reflected in a lot of occasions on the attempts to criminalize the right to strike and the right to the organized struggle.

We are witnessing a period of a further sharpening of the class contradictions. It is true that the International capital found the best opportunity under the name of the continual crisis, to intensify the class exploitation, to attack the labor rights, to concentrate the wealth in the hands of the few leaving the humanity in the hard reality of hunger, poverty and misery. The permanent dispute of the fundamental rights of young people in education and work is making even more urgent the need for the intensification and massification of the struggle of the youth together with the workers.

Additionally, in the international context, we can see the imposition of the law of the powerfull against the weak. The US, NATO and the EU, as the most characterized examples of professing imperialism, are seeking their intervention in every part of the world, with companies that supposedly act for the purpose of combating terrorism. On the same time the imperialist centres continue to flagrantly violate the charter of the UN and to violate the international law. They continue to pursue crowding and using the United Nations, to serve the interests of the powerful of the planet. Their action, is destabilising the peace by intensifying the danger of war, by creating internal conflicts, by generating misanthropic ideologies like fascism.

Dear Comrades,

It is for all those reasons that we wish you to enhance your action and to keep struggling, especially today, where the workers of the world are facing the brutal consequences of the capitalist crisis, we recognize that your role in the international struggle and international solidarity of the workers is at least indispensable. We are taking the opportunity of the 17th congress to point out once more that the relationship between WFDY and WFTU remains strong and our cooperation will continue. We send the message that for 71 years now we have common struggles and we will continue struggling together under the non-stop action of the two federations in the service of the Youth, the workers and their rights, next to the poor and the oppressed people, always against imperialism, the system that provides distress, exploitation, ignorance and wars. Together we want to continue being the exponents of the aspirations and ideals for a world with real peace, without imperialism and exploitation, where the peoples will live within fraternity and freedom.

Finally we would like to promote that WFDY’s works now are found under the preparation process of the 19thWorld Festival of Youth and Students (WFYS). The WFYS is returning after 30 years to the region that it was born, and to a land where its people with their great sacrifice played a decisive role in the anti-fascist victory of the peoples. We are calling WFTU and the young workers to join us in the 19th WFYS in October 2017 in the city of Sochi in Russia, to celebrate together the 100th Anniversary of the Great October Socialist Revolution which is the main thematic of the upcoming festival, and to promote the ideals of the WFYS under the slogan “For peace, solidarity and social justice we fight against imperialism – Honoring our past we build the future”.

Long live the international solidarity!

Long live the anti-imperialist struggle!

Long live the 17th World Trade Union Congress!

Comradely

On behalf of the HQ of WFDY

Nikolas Papadimitriou

President