Page:Trade Unions in Soviet Russia - I.L.P. (1920).djvu/18

 of the Conference to continue the coalition with the bourgeoisie so "happily" commenced from the first days of the February revolution.

In spite of the theoretically incorrect light thrown by the third Conference on these questions and the bias towards coalition, this Conference played an important role in the unification of the trade unions of the whole of Russia. The Conference advocated the industrial principle of organisation, decided on the subordinatipn of the factory committees to the union, passed a number of resolutions on female labour, unemployment, conciliation boards, industrial courts, labour secretariats, factory inspection, municipal policy of the trade unions, national sections, educational activity, proletarian co-operative societies, trade union press, 8-hour day, and, finally, established an All-Russian centre of the Trade Union movement: the All-Russia Central Council of Trade Unions. Much in, these resolutions is incorrect; as, for instance, when the Conference advocated joint labour exchanges, participation of the unions in the establishment of an unemployment fund instead of State insurance against unemployment; but, nevertheless, these resolutions were of tremendous importance tor the Russian Trade Union movement, because whether good or bad, they gave a certain summing up of the economic struggle and because they were the first resolutions of a real All-Russian Conference.

The Third Conference, while stating a number of economic problems, failed to indicate a most vital thing, viz., how to put these resolutions into practice and, at the same time, maintain a cautious attitude towards the other "productive classes" of Russia. In the meantime the Russian bourgeoisie, thrown into confusion in the first weeks of the February revolution, and retreating before the sudden pressure of the working masses, rapidly began to organise and seized the most important strategic points in the class struggle—the government institutions and the State machinery. Before the Revolution the Russian bourgeoisie was excellently organised, the manufacturers' Societies, the Chambers of Commerce, Manufacturers' Councils, Bankers' Councils, Syndicates, trusts, etc., all these were created long before the Revolution and all these were put into use against the workers from the very first days of the February Revolution. The economic battle surged round questions like those of taking on and dismissal of workers, 8-hour day, sickness insurance funds, increase in wages, rights of the factory committees; and their control over factory administrations. Making concessions in politics, agreeing to the most democratic electoral rights and the proclamation of all liberties, the bourgeoisie, with all the greater energy, fought every inch of the ground for their economic rights and privileges. Not being able to defeat the proletariat in open battle, the bourgeoisie commenced a policy which, in Russia, accquired the name of sabotage, the essence of which consisted in deliberately disorganising factories and other undertakings for the purpose of driving the workers to starvation. The revolutionary introduction of an 8-hour day roused the mad hatred of the employers, but, nevertheless, they were compelled to reconcile