As long as capital dominates human society, as long as people have to sell their labour power to the owners of means of production and work for capital in order to make a living, and as long as the system of wage-labour and the buying and selling of human labour power survives, no labour law, no matter how many clauses it contains in favour of workers, will be a truly free labour law - a workers' labour law. The Workers' true labour law is the abolition of the wages system and the creation of a society where all contribute, voluntarily and according to their abilities, to the production of necessities of life and the welfare of all, and share in the products of this collective effort according to their needs.
However, as long as the wage system is in existence, the worker-communist movement aims to force such conditions upon the labour relations and labour laws in this system as to ensure the highest possible degree of welfare and the best working conditions for workers, and to protect the working class and people as a whole from the destructive consequences of the wage-labour system. In this struggle worker-communism also aims for the introduction of employment practices and standards which help enhance workers' self-consciousness as a class, their organisation and their struggle.
The labour and social welfare laws, just like all the rights and obligations of citizens, must apply to foreign workers and other foreign residents of the country without exception. The worker-communist party stands for equal rights for all workers irrespective of citizenship, nationality, religion, sex, and so on. The party's main demands regarding labour and social welfare laws are as follows:
Labour law
1. Full and unconditional freedom of worker organisation.
2. Complete and unconditional freedom of strike. Strikes do not need the prior permission of the state or any state authority. Full payment of wages during the period of strike. Equal right of access to the media for strikers to put their case and respond to the claims of the state and employers. Banning strikes under any pretext such as 'national and patriotic interests', 'state of emergency', 'war', etc, would be illegal.
3. Prohibition of employing strike-breakers or police or army personnel to replace strikers, in all enterprises, state or private.
4. Right of workers to stop work while their complaints regarding actions of the employers and their officials, safety issues or unforeseen problems in the workplace, are being dealt with.
5. Freedom of picketing. Freedom for all to join picket lines, whether or not they are employees of the enterprise concerned.
6. Immediate introduction of a maximum 30-hour working week (five six-hour working days), a 25-hour week in heavy occupations, and regular reductions in working hours every five years. Inclusion in the working hours the time spent for lunch breaks, commuting, taking showers after work, literacy classes, technical training and general assembly meetings.
7. Two consecutive days off in the week. Weekends to be changed to Saturday and Sunday [from the present Friday] to conform to the standard in most countries, especially the industrially advanced. A minimum 30-day annual vacation. Short emergency leaves, in addition to the annual holiday, and without reductions in pay, to attend to unforeseen personal problems. The opportunity for women workers to take two days off during menstrual periods.
8. Prohibition of overtime. Workers' normal pay should be at such a level that no worker would be forced to do overtime out of economic necessity.
9. First of May to be a public holiday, as the International Workers' Day.
10. Eighth of March to be a public holiday, as the International Women's Day.
11. Prohibition of piece-rate work, such as piecework and contract work.
12. A minimum wage set by workers' representatives.
13. Automatic rise in the minimum wage proportional to inflation.
14. Determination of the minimum annual rise in wage levels by collective bargaining at the national level between representatives of workers' organisations and representatives of employers and the state.
15. Equal pay for women and men for similar work.
16. Prohibition of paying wages in kind. Prohibition of delay in wage payments. Prohibition of fines or any deductions from pay under various pretexts. Payment of wages for valid absences, periods of sickness and recuperation, strikes or any stoppage of production for various reasons or due to the actions of the employer.
17. Prohibition of linking workers' pay to circumstances and factors other than the act of work itself (such as increase in output, productivity, discipline, production targets, etc.). Workers' pay should be paid in one piece, as wages.
18. Prohibition of child labour. Prohibition of professional employment of children and youngsters under the age of 16.
19. Prohibition of assigning heavy work to pregnant workers or workers whose health would be at risk owing to their specific physical conditions. The right of every worker to refuse to do a work which he/she considers to be physically or mentally harmful.
20. Prohibition of firing. Full payment, at the same level as the last pay received, to workers whose enterprise is shut down, until new employment is found. The state has the responsibility to find comparable employment for workers who lose their jobs because of the closure of the enterprise. Vocational re-training, financed by the state, for workers whose profession or line of work becomes obsolete due to changes in technology.
21. Adequate unemployment benefit, according to the last pay received, for every unemployed person over 16 who is ready for work. Adequate unemployment benefit and other necessary allowances for all those who for physical or psychological reasons are unable to work.
22. Lowering of the retirement age for women and men to 55 years or after 25 years of employment (after 18 years in heavy occupations). Payment of a pension equivalent to the highest pay received when employed. Improvements in the pension along with the general rise in the level of wages.
23. Ensuring a safe and healthy workplace and minimization of work hazards, without regard to cost, by applying the most advanced facilities and resources in use throughout the world. Regular medical observation and check-ups against occupational hazards and illnesses, by medical establishments independent of employers, and financed by employers and the state.
24. Full insurance of workers against injuries and damages due to work, whether they occur inside or outside the workplace and without the worker needing to prove negligence on the part of employer or management. Full payment of pension to workers who become incapacitated as a result of injuries resulting from work.
25. Formation of adjudication and arbitration councils with members elected by workers.
26. Drawing up and enforcement of the internal regulations of workshops and economic and production units by workers' elected representatives.
27. Formation of workers' inspection commissions to supervise the correct implementation of the labour law throughout the country in all workplaces and establishments, including domestic services.
28. Obligation of the employer to consult with workers' representatives on any decision which in a substantial way alters the work methods, working hours, the workplace and the number of employees.
29. Right of workers' representatives to inspect the books of the enterprise in which they work. The employer is obliged to provide the workers with all the information they need in the course of the inspection
Social welfare and insurance
The party calls for and is committed to:
1. Payment of unemployment benefit equivalent to the official minimum wage to all unemployed persons over 16.
2. Payment of state pension equivalent to the official minimum wage to all persons over 55 who lack a retirement pension.
3. Placing under the guardianship of the state all children and youngsters under 16 whose subsistence and proper welfare is not taken care of through the family.
4. Free and universal health care. Regular check-ups and comprehensive vaccination of children. Adequate and suitable diet to be guaranteed for all children irrespective of family income, region, place of residence, etc. Eradication of epidemic and infectious diseases arising from polluted and unhygienic environments. Regular examination of everyone against heart diseases, common cancers and illnesses whose timely diagnosis is essential to their effective treatment. Serious improvement of standards of public health and the public's health-awareness. Expansion and organisation of the medical and therapeutic resources in a way that makes immediate access to a doctor, medicine and treatment easy for all.
5. Compulsory and free universal education until the age of 16. Free and universal higher education (university and specialization). Adequate grants for students. Eradication of illiteracy, and continuous raising of the public's level of education and scientific-technical awareness. Education is the right of everyone, and people's access to education and training should be totally independent of family income.
6. Guaranteed suitable housing for all, in terms of space, hygiene, safety and utilities (electricity, warm and cold water, bathroom facilities inside the building, air- conditioning, heating, connection to telephone and TV networks, and access to local public services). Housing costs must not exceed 10% of the individual's or family's income; any extra cost should be met through state subsidy. Homelessness or having to live in substandard housing is unlawful and the state authorities are obliged under the law to provide suitable housing for all citizens immediately.
7. Setting up special service centres, such as day-care centres, nurseries, canteens, self-service restaurants, modern launderettes, etc. locally and in housing estates to relieve the burden of housework and to facilitate participation of all people in social activities.
8. Creation of free sports, art and cultural facilities locally (gyms, theatres and workshops, libraries, etc.) with trainers and instructors.
9. Provision of necessary facilities for the active participation of the disabled and handicapped in all areas of social life. Provision of special facilities and equipment for the physically handicapped, in public places, on roads, housing estates, etc. Free provision of necessary technical instruments and aid devices to facilitate the daily life of the disabled.
10. Creation of facilities and service establishments to meet the needs of the elderly and to improve the quality of their lives. Provision of necessary resources and facilities to help the elderly continue to participate actively and creatively in social life.
11. Creation of a free urban bus and metro network.
12. Extension of urban services (electricity, water, telephone, educational, medical and cultural facilities, etc.) to all rural areas, and the elimination of the welfare disparity between town and country.
