Cobas
In Italy , the Cobas are basic unions that are organized locally and not on a management level. This differs fundamentally from the general trade union confederations.
history
The term comes from an abbreviation from the 1980s, the Co.Ba.S. ( Comitato di Base Scuola , in German: Base Committee School ). The term was subsequently expanded to include all base committees and has thus retained its current meaning.
After various approaches by workers' councils for self-administration in the metalworking sector , the first basic committees were founded in 1986 in the school sector together with the locomotive drivers of the Ferrovie dello Stato ( CO.MU ). As a result, Cobas were formed in all sectors, some of which are organized in networks , such as the Confederazione Italiana di Base Unicobas (cross-sectoral with a focus on schools), the Slai Cobas (metal processing) and the SinCobas . Among the most important organizations of the Cobas type is the Confederazione Cobas , which created the original Cobas della scuola , the Cobas sanità (Cobas health care), the Cobas Pubblico Impiego (Cobas public service) and the Cobas del Lavoro Privato (Cobas private business; for example: Enel , Telecom Italia etc.). Another important Cobas group is the Confederazione Italiana di Base Unicobas , which encompasses the school, university, education, healthcare, public service, local economy, metalworking and private sector.
The Unione Sindacale Italiana is also one of the base committees in Italy .
structure
The Cobas are workers' unions that, unlike the general unions such as the CGIL , CISL or UIL , are organized at the local level and have no higher-level management offices. This organizational strategy ties in with the organizational form of the so-called factory councils , which the majority of the unions abandoned after the union crisis in the 1980s.
The form of organization and the strategies of the Cobas led to the fact that a majority of the members came from the left political spectrum, from the anarchism movement or at least from the anti-liberalism or anti-capitalism movement . The Cobas mostly received support from radical left parties, such as the Rifondazione Comunista . The Cobas del Latte or the Co.SPLat are an exception. (Comitato Spontaneo Produttori Latte; in German: Spontaneous committee of milk producers ), which was founded by independent milk producers.