From International Press Correspondence, Vol. 3 No. 22, 1 March 1923, pp. 172–173.
Transcribed & marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for the Marxists’ Internet Archive.
The West European trade union movement frequently publishes inaccurate news respecting the trade union movement in Bulgaria, the following will provide a true picture of Bulgaria’s trade union movement.
Before the war there were two trade union federations:
According to their published reports the membership of these trade union federations, at the end of 1914, was as follows:
The income received by these federations, in 1914, from members’ subscriptions was as follows: revolutionary trade union federation 15,535 leva; reformist trade union federation 3,920 leva.
Up to 1911 the reformist trade union federation was affiliated to the International Trade Union Central. The Budapest congress held during that year however, decided to regard neither Federation as affiliated until the two were united.
In 1914 Legien, who at that time was international trade union secretary, visited Sofia, with the object of bringing about an alliance of the two trade union federations, but the attempt was a failure.
Out of the separate craft unions belonging to the reformist central, only five were affiliated to their corresponding international centrals. The craft unions belonging to the revolutionary central were all, without exception, affiliated to their international
During the post-war period the reformist social democratic party (broad socialists) compromised itself completely in the eyes of the Bulgarian workers, in consequence of which it entirely collapsed. Its left wing broke away and joined the Communist Party. In September 1920, the two trade union federations united on the basis of revolutionary class war, in which action they were joined by all the unions affiliated to them. For this purpose a special declaration, signed by the executive committees of both centrals, was published. Thus the longed for unity of the Bulgarian trade union movement was realized.
The development of our trade union alliance since the war, both before and after the union of the two federations, may be seen front the following statements:
In 1922 more than 200 strikes had been carried out by October, participated in by no fewer than 20,000 workers. The overwhelming majority of these strikes were successful, a smaller number partially successful, and only a very small number unsuccessful. Thanks to these wage movements, wages were raised by 35 to 40%; between April and October 1922, in the tobacco, timber, shoe, sugar, and other industries, while the price of necessities during the same period rose at most, by 25%. (Compared with pre-war times 225 times).
The remnant of the “broad” socialist party still attempts to make a fraudulent use of the name of its lost trade union federation. At the present time this party is engaged in forming, in addition to its party central, a trade union committee with a secretary paid by the party.
This fictitious trade union committee however, has no workers whatever behind it, except a small number of the typograph-workers employed in the state printing establishment. This can be seen from numerous facts. During the recent sessions of the congress of the broad socialist party, a certain “trade union congress” was convened, as well as “congresses” of the separate unions. Despite these “congresses” –, of which nobody in our country even knows when and where they were held, there has not, up to now, been a single report published as to the membership and activity of these “unions”. Narod, the organ of the brood socialist party, published whole pages of reports of these congresses, but no figures were given regarding the membership, or the income and expenditure of these “unions”. Only the typographical workers belonging to this party published a detailed report, giving figures, according to which their union has 450 members.
The repeated challenges made by Rabotnitshesky Vestnik – the organ of the Red trade union federation – to the “broad” socialists, to publish the number of members in the broad socialist trade union federation, and to state where these members are hiding themselves, are either evaded or entirely ignored.
It is no wonder that this fictitious trade union federation, despite its affiliation to the Amsterdam Trade Union International, has so far paid no contributions to this body. (See report of the Amsterdam International.)
The “trade union secretary” paid by the broad social party serves it as an agent for supporting the bourgeoisie in its campaign of slander against the trade union movement. The strongest proof that this “trade union alliance” is a fictitious organization, lies in the fact that during this year, when a wave of strikes and wage movements was sweeping the country, not a single strike or wage movement, was recorded as being conducted by this “trade union federation”.
Nevertheless, the “secretary” of this federation took part in the congress held at Rome by the Amsterdam international, and delivered his speech in the name of the Bulgarian proletariat. Last year the same “secretary” participated in the conference of the international Geneva labor bureau.
But the climax of the whole matter is, that the international organizations refuse admittance to our unions on the pretext that they do not belong to this bogus central, which is affiliated to the Amsterdam International. On this account our unions are deprived of their international relations to the unions of other countries!
Another circumstance rousing no less indignation is the fact that this so-called central, to justify its existence, has published purely imaginary figures in its last year’s report. Here we read that there are 36,000 organized workers in Bulgaria, that the central affiliated to the Amsterdam International possesses 14,803 members, while our trade union federation, here designated as communist, possesses only 12,000 members, and that there are other craft unions with a membership of 9,197.
It may be plainly seen from the above that the statements of the Amsterdam International are false from A to Z. It is true however, that there are more than 30,000 organized workers and employees in Bulgaria; but these are members of the unions belonging to our trade union federation, which is affiliated to the Red International of Labor Unions.
Last updated on 11 August 2021