Marxism and the Trade Union Struggle

TRADE UNIONS are deeply affected by the situation in which they operate. This is clearly shown if we compare the history of unions in Russia and Britain—one the home of the world’s first workers’ state, the other the first haven of mass reformism. Trade union experience in Russia was very meager. Before the 1905 revolution unions hardly existed. It is true that in 1901 a police chief called Colonel Zubatov organised a sort of union. In Petrograd it was called the Society for Mutual Aid for Workers in Mechanical Industries. Similar societies were founded in other cities. But when, after two years, these began to get out of hand, they were liquidated. The only authentic union established was that of the printers, founded in 1903. However in 1905, under the impact of the revolution, a limited legalization of trade unions took place. At the same time shop floor organization mushroomed as starosty (shop stewards) appeared, along with strike committees and factory commissions. The latter were directly elected by the workforce and “began to take charge of all matters affecting the internal life of the factory, drawing up of collective wage agreements, and overseeing the hiring and firing of workers.” The revolution also gave a massive impulse to the organization of trade unions. But