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Summary of Session 2

Study Circle PER1 (Juan Carlos Vargas)

Regards from your Peruvian partners, comrades, compaņeros, etc.. We are very excited to share our opinions with all of you. We had a very useful and large session 2. We share much information about TNC’s . We had 2 absents. One of them send us a urgent fax, because there was a important meeting in his trade union. We were 16 people talking and working very hard. We finish our meeting 9:45 p.m. We appreciated the opinions of comrades from, Sweden, Barbados, Estonia, Bulgar ian, Spain and South Africa.

We respect the order of the materials. In the following you can read main ideas around the issue.

ŋ What are the TNCīs?

Activity 1

In the first part, we shared the summaries from other study circles, practiced a brainstorm about similarities and differences among us. The first conclusions are the following:

DIFFERENCES WITH OTHER CIRCLES

• Participants and facilitators: We are a big group. In other circles there were 3 facilitators
• We have more information about TNC’s. The concept of TNC’s is not new for us. The neoliberal structural adjustment has permit to know more about TNC’s, because there are more TNC’s operating in Peru, now. TNC’s and the foreign investment are issues related.
• The study Circles run in different social and political conditions. In some cases, these affect our program. The Peruvian trade unionist haven’t facilities to participate in educative activities. Then we usually have to work after 6 p.m. This is part of effects of structural adjustment in union activities. Other circles can be facing other contexts.
• Some differences in expectations. There are many expectations about study circle course. We share the majority Although, we felt some differences. In some cases other opinions suggested this course will be useful to fight with TNCīs rapidly and directly. For us, the Study circle program is only introducing the main issues around TNCīs. First, We have a big internal challenge to introduce this issue in the agenda of our organizations
• There are different experiences, as a South Africans friends, about International Solidarity Campaigns.
• Different Past Political Experiences. The political history affect teh perception about TNCīs in our countries. Past success o failures create conditions to reject or let TNCīs operations in our countries.
• Diversity of participants. We are involved comrades from out of place where run the study circle.

SIMILIRATIES AMONG STUDY CIRCLE S

• A little experience of INTERNET use
• All of us came from organizations related with workers.
• We are affected and hit by TNCīs strategies.
• The whole group speaks only local language.
• We want to know what are TNCīs and its effect in national and international level.
• We want to live the experience of study circle.
• Appreciate the international solidarity.
• We are very pleased of being together
• A few women participant in our circles. Obviously, this is related with gender problems in trade union world
• We would like to exchange opinions through Internet.
• We need to manage new technologies of communications to face the Globalisation.

ACTIVITIE 2

We worked four readings. These are the main conclusions:

Reading No 1 "What are the TNCīs ?

Why TNCīs operate in our countries ?

• Economic advantages
• Accumulation of capiatl and power
• Special Taxes advantages
• Low salaries
• Labor laws
• Access of raw materials
• More economic profits
• Access to our markets
• High future potential

Reading No 2 " Rise of TNCĻs"

• 1.Multilateral institutions as a IMF, World Bank, Interamerican Bank, make the political lobby now. Increase influence at international level, try to project and base a kind of liberal structural reform. TNCīs are the main agents of this process
• 2.TNCīs affect International scene. Economic power of TNCīs let them to modify international agenda in some cases.
• 3.TNCīs are more powerful in our countries than theirs.
• 4.Open the market in the third world is a big objective of TNCīs.
• 5.Structural reforms are very deep. These reforms will affect our countries in next 20 years.
• 6.The impact of Globalisatión in our cultures, affect our consume habits.

Readings No 3 "some important facts about TNCīs"

• 1.Historic process It is reproduced. Bigger accumulation processes are concentrated in the North. This reproduce international hegemonies
• 2.Legal stability seems to be the main factor to decided to TNCīs to invest in countries in the south. TNCīs require this. They want to save its profits in the future not only in the present. The IMF, World Bank extend this kind of certification, If the country apply its program.

Reading No 4 " Típical TNC's"

• 1.Their ambit is the world market
• 2.Diversity of production
• 3.Monopolic and Oligopoly trends in TNC's
• 4.Research about products are concentrated in TNC's not in governments.
• 5.TNC's are very complex in their organization and operations.
• 6.TNC's use new technologies.
• 7.There are strategic alliances among TNC's

ACTIVITIE 3

Impact of TNC's in our country

We discussed about information we got on TNC's. We share with your some information about TNC's in Peru.

Main investors in Peru.
September 1997.
Fuente CONITE.
(Millons of de dollars)

Main sectors.

• 1.Communications 29%
• 2.Mining 19%
• 3.Energy 19%
• 4.Industry, finance (10%), banks 15%
• 5.Comerce

Employ and Foreign Investment

• 1.TNC's has reduced employ. Privatization has been accompained with programs to reduce personal
• 2.Low standard jobs.

Example:

Telefonica from Spain

Spanish TNC bought Peruvian public company of communications. Telefonica found 12,000 workers in en 1993. We watch the following changes:

• 1993 12,063 Trabajadores
• 1994 8,894
• 1995 8,486
• 1996 6,240
• 1997 6,120

El personal of the company was replaced by people from littles companies. While Company was reducing 50% of personal, telephone requires increase in 200%. The Company required 25,000 workers in 1997. So, 19,000 workers came from subcontractors.

What powerful are TNC's in our country ?

The government is more sensible internationally. In some sectors, the government doesn't take decisions without ask TNC's first

What are attitude of trade unions and based?

Trade unions are weak in this moment. Foreign investment has got a big prestige in countries that need capitals. This perception is changing in some sectors. Mainly in service sector where TNC's bought public companies (energy, water, communications). The raise of prices and fees has affected poor people. Now, Based Organizations are fighting against TNC's with support of consumer associations.

Trade Unions haven't built a strategy for the TNC's. They manage only a traditional radical speech against foreign investment. Unions individually has showed more initiatives.

TNC's has introducing changes in the way to bargain and organize the work.

CREATIVE WRITING

We get a profile of 4 TNCs.

Shoguang from China; Telefonica from Spain; Volvo from Sweden; Endesa from Spain.

Actividad No 5

Summary and Evaluations

It was a very fast evaluation. We hadn't enough time.

• 1.The people should be on time. We should manage the time better. The materials and activities were too.
• 2.Session 2 was more useful because we share many information about TNC's. The quality of readings was very good.
• 3.It was useful and important to have members from TNC's.
• 4.We get more space for the group and they feel more comfortable
• 5.We will have a little library with books, magazines to our study circle.

Links Conserning this summary

• Endesa (in spanish)
• Volvo
• Telefonica

Study Circles other summaries

[Session 1]/ [Session 2]/ [Session 3]/ [Session 4]
[Session 5]/ [Session 6]/ [Session 7]/ [Session 8]

Summaries of session 2

• BAR1 (Ulric Sealy)
• BUL1 (Plamen Dimitrov)
• EST1 (Tiia Kask)
• GBR1 (Peter Emery)
• PER1 (Juan Carlos Vargas)
• RSA1 (Martin Jansen)
• SPA1 (José Luis Ferrándiz)

• Alana's Comments

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