National syndicalism

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The aim of syndicalism was to organize strikes to abolish capitalism; not to supplant it with state socialism, but rather to build a society of working class producers. National syndicalism is a system that workers and employers elect representatives to form syndicates/corporations which manage worker and employer relationships rather than strikes. It's also used by the state to ask industries to help specific projects.

The Spanish Syndical Organization (OSE) was the only legal trade union in Francoist Spain. It was under government control. It was inspired by the ideas of José Antonio Primo de Rivera, who thought that class struggle would be ended by grouping together workers and owners according to corporative principles. At the very beginning of the Franco's regime, wages were directly fixed by the state and only later could workers and employers agree upon their wages through the OSE. Strikes were forbidden. Firing a worker was very expensive and hard. Previous unions, like the anarchist CNT and the socialist UGT, were outlawed and driven underground. Joining the OSE was required for all employed citizens. Other trade unions were forbidden and strongly repressed.