Negotiating under Constraint: CGT Representatives’ Appropriation of their Role as a “Social Partner”
This article focuses on the strategies of negotiation and mobilization of some French trade union leaders (Confédération générale du Travail-CGT) facing important governmental reforms of the welfare system. This period (2003-2006) initiated a long process of structural reforms that have been accelerated since 2008, in answer to the economic crisis. The analysis of trade union autonomy during the negotiations of these reforms has to be included in the framework of the wider issue of the transformations of trade union action. Analysing the action of the trade union leaders contributes to highlight the mechanisms of their involvement in collective bargaining. It also helps to understand the effects of their institutional involvement in their manner of protesting against governmental decisions. Their commitment in these procedures of dialogue has nothing mechanical or of consensual. At first, it is the consequence of their political and militant weakening. This situation modifies their perception of their own interest to reinvest the game of the collective bargaining. It incites them in particular to value the production of economic arguments and counterproposals to justify their opposition to the governmental projects. The investment of these institutional modes of action does not exclude the use of collective action. But, it contributes to change trade union strategies: because of the limits that these union leaders stand out to increase their legitimacy in the negotiation, and also because of their difficulties to organize collective action. Analysing the strategies of CGT’s leader shows that the institutionalization of labour unions obstacles necessary to enter in conflict. It rather highlights the institutional, political and organizational factors that determine how they adapt and combine the practices of the negotiations and the collective action.