The young Dutch theologian, W. A. Visser ‘t Hooft, commenting on the significance of the depth and range of the background documents prepared for the 1937 Oxford Conference on life and work noted that:

"The study volumes served to stimulate thinking in theological faculties, in forums and among lay groups; direct comment on the report solicited from the churches, was disappointingly meagre". (E. Duff, 1956, The Social Thought of the World Council of Churches, London, Longmans, Green and Company p 37).

Abrecht reflecting on the role of the World Council of Churches, (WCC), wrote that:

"The question of the adequacy of the World Council of Churches’ social thinking raises the prior question: what is its nature and content." (P. Abrecht, The Social Thinking of the World Council of Churches, Ecumenical Review 15: 3 July 1965).

Looking back over the past few decades Abrecht, attempting to answer the question of the nature and content, asserted that ecumenical social thinking developed according to the following pattern:

By the 1990s, Ellingsen, following a most exhaustive study concluded,"The church statements issued in the 1990's resemble in other ways the earlier ones in which this book has focused. All of them share common collective weaknesses. The more recent statements are on whole still shallow in their concrete ethical proposals, more inclined to articulate general principles than to define concrete steps to action." (M. Ellingsen, 1993,  The Cutting Edge, How Churches Speak on Social Issues, France, WCC. p 151).

For organised labour and the working life of people in the pews of members churches of the WCC, the history of the ecumenical movement’s involvement in economic and political issues is one of almost total disregard for workers and trade unions; it is a history of marginalisation and rejection of the very issues which are the essence of the struggle of workers and their organisations.  Workers, and the trade union movement specifically, have been systematically excluded from the development of the ecumenical movement’s understanding of the critical issues of labour in relation to economic and political issues.

VI. Chronology of Marginalisation

Following the Stockholm "Universal Christian Conference on Life and Work", Duff notes that the secretariat which was established maintained an active collaboration with international organisations, "particularly with the ILO" (Duff. P 32).  Given the degree of working relationships it comes as no surprise to find that at the second conference of the Life and Work movement (Oxford 1937):

"A major approach was achieved with the trade unions and the International Labour Organisation, tending to overcome the bourgeois imprisonment of the churches especially in the west." (J. De Santa Anna, The Economic Debate in the Ecumenical Movement, in Church and Society, ed. E. Castro, 1985, WCC p 99).

At no point since then has the WCC engaged in such a relationship.   At no point has there been a relationship with an international trade union secretariat or active collaboration with any of the major international federations of trade unions. While various units of the WCC established relationships with international business organisations and employer organisations, such relationships were not encouraged with the international trade union movement. Duff's overview of the social thought of the WCC up until 1956, for example, contains only two references to trade unions.

The 1948 Amsterdam Assembly of the World Council of Churches, was able to conclude, without any reference to those most affected, i.e. workers, that it could not   "resolve the debate between those who feel that the primary solution is to socialise the means of production, and those who fear that such a cause will merely lead to new and inordinate combinations of political power." (Abrecht, 1965. p 247).

By 1954, the WCC Assembly (Evanston), despite two major sections on social questions ("The Responsible Society in a World Perspective") and the role of work ("The Christian in His Vocation"), shows similarly, a singular ineptness in its handling of organised labour.  It asserted first that,  "the churches must never fail to recognise that the worker should have a status in society which accords with his responsibility and his human dignity." (W.A. Visser ‘t Hooft ed, 1955, The Evanston Report: Second Assembly of the WCC 1954, London, SCM, p 118).

But this recognition was conditional: it should be set in the context of the churches recognising the valuable contribution which the skilled executive has to make to society and that "serious problems arise from the great importance of organised groups such as trade unions......Christians bear witness that these groups must be responsible to the whole of society, that their leadership must be responsible to their members, and that their members will participate responsibly in the organisation" (page 119).

The understanding of the responsible trade union (in the eyes of the Assembly), was that it must "fight exploitation" and "cooperate with management" (page 120).  All this from the Assembly with some 60 bishops 30 professors and one Duke of Jarvis!

In June 1961, there appeared perhaps the only considered statement ever made by the World Council of Churches on the issue of work, workers and trade unions. It referred to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), made no reference to any international trade union organisation, and asserted that,  "justice for the individual worker in the West has depended on the development of organised labour" (P. Abrecht 1961, The Churches and Rapid Social Change, London, SCM, p 181).  Interestingly, presentingly little or no evidence, the author went onto suggest that while this was the situation in the West, "The specific problems of trade union development in Africa and Asia countries are well known; trade union instability; the lack of understanding among workers of the nature and program of trade unions; the lack of leadership..... " (p 182).

Despite what in general terms was one of the first thoughtful reflections on organised labour, the 1961 Assembly report of the Committee on the Department of Church and Society, a few months later, even while debating the meaning of work and human relationships in industry, could make no reference to trade unions and their role in the meaning of work .

The WCC’s Department of Laity after a six year study program on "the common Christian responsibility towards of social change" and obviously not having read Abrecht’s book, produced a special edition of their journal, on, "Christians in Power Structures". (Laity 14. 1962). Of the five major articles, one was written by a director of Unilever and the other by a partner in the Oriental Trading Company (India). It is of further interest to note, that three of the contributions in that special edition originated from a major conference of industrialists held in Bossey in May 1961.

The 1966 World Conference on Church and Society, further contributed to the ever widening chasm between the ecumenical movement and organised labour. This time the seduction of the ecumenical movement by academics, economists, and business was almost complete. Of the 186 lay participants there were 55 businessmen, industrialists or the self employed, 28 academics, 28 economists and 2 identified as trade unionists. One of the major contributors to the background document on economic growth, which also discussed the issues of workers and their organisations, was a director of Unilever (Netherlands).

It comes then as no surprise to find, out of the two hundred page report, there is but one suggestion, and it is only a suggestion that, "Christians can make a vital contribution through active participation in trade unions and professional organisations". (World Conference on Church and Society, Official Report, 1967, Geneva, Page 62)  No reference to trade unions appeared in any of the action programs recommended for churches. While the United Nations is recognised as, "the best structure now available to pursue the goals of international peace and justice", the International Labour Organisation was ignored.

Despite the assertion that the WCC’s approach to economic questions is to provide "the basis for the dialogue" (De Santa Ana 1985 p. 98), in terms of industry, that dialogue has rarely been inclusive.

An ecumenical movement concerned with "dialogue", with the issues of human values in industrial society and with an astute analysis of industrial issues, should never have permitted itself to be positioned by business in such a way.

One intriguing aberration from the steady alignment of the ecumenical movement with business and the continuing marginalisation of organised labour and the trade union movement, was a small unit in the WCC which focused on migrant workers.  In a forty year history, so far as can be ascertained by the record, it is the only unit which organised a conference with an elected officer of the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions as a speaker and consultant; through the 1960s it regularly carried news of the trade unions and the ILO; and it actively encouraged cooperation specifically with international trade unions. It was probably the only unit which continued a relationship with the ILO, with staff from this unit staff even moving to the ILO from the WCC.

The participants in the group discussing the ministry of laity at the Evanston Assembly in 1954, concluded that the church had a tendency to choose lay leadership of a congregation from among white collar workers often preventing others especially young industrial workers from feeling at home in the church . (Evanston Report, p 168). The fruits of this tendency was increasingly being seen in ecumenical conferences.

The report of the WCC Nairobi Assembly (1975) major discussions and debates on human rights, political and economic power, the empowerment of people and justice, has but one reference to trade unions (Breaking Barriers: Nairobi 1975 Official Report of the 5th Assembly, 1975. P 137). Although there were many references to international UN agencies as a primary focus for WCC involvement, it was able to ignore the ILO, and its role in the protection of worker rights, an integral dimension of human rights.

The preparatory readings for the 1979 world conference organised by the WCC on Faith Science and the Future, edited by a small group of economists and academics, contained three pages on organised labour. While a thoughtful reflection, which noted that, "organised labour ..... will have to take an active and more direct part in the formulation and implementation of all aspects of national economic policies.", it was ambivalent about the role of trade unions; (it is interesting to note that the ecumenical movement appears more comfortable with the term "organised labour" than "trade unions"), and it made no suggestions of any relationship or common interests between the churches and the trade union movement.

"promote further meetings between scientists and engineers, economists and other social scientists together with the theologians and ethicists, to explore the contemporary understanding of the terms ‘employment’, ‘unemployment’ and ‘the nature of work’ in different regions. If possible these groups should address themselves collectively to the task of developing a theology of work which is consistent with the prospects of diminishing levels of paid employment for large sections of the community in both industrialised and developing countries." (Faith and Science in an Unjust World, Report of the World Council Churches on Faith Science and the Future, p 123).

Such arrogance on the one hand, and the implicit trust in "economists" and "other social scientists" is breathtaking in its naiveté.

By the early 1980's, debate in the WCC was focused in a number of units including the Program on TNCs. Despite calls from at least one European based conference organised by the Program, "that systematic dialogue with trade unions should receive greater priority within the WCC", this plea was ignored, not only by the WCC but also by all the regional meetings organised over the life of the Program.

For example, the information dossiers prepared for the Program by the WCC’s Commission on the Churches Participation in Development (CCPD) carried few, if any documents, from trade unionists.

Published at this time, is (still)  the only document ever produced by the WCC totally given over to the issue of worker rights. (A. A. Evans, 1981,  Worker’s Rights are Human Rights: A Guide to Industrial Labour Standards, Rome IDOC/WCC).  In the preface, the Executive Secretary of the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs of the World Council of Churches, wrote:

"The relationship between Christian Churches and organised labour has always been somewhat ambiguous. Workers movements have rarely received the full support and solidarity of church hierarchies. The French worker priest movement or the network of urban and rural mission have been notable exceptions in church history that has by and large ignored, opposed or coopted labour unions. Few meetings or conferences organised by churches, even within the ecumenical movement, have ever fully involved trade union representatives or have included significant numbers of workers as participants. The leadership of most churches is made up of persons born and raised in the middle and upper strata of society, rather than those rooted in the working class."

By 1988, CCPD was dominating the economic and political debate in the WCC. The other major unit concerned with the issues of the economy and industry, was Urban Rural Mission. With its own network and programs, it remained at arms length from CCPD s strategies; and in fact, during the 1970s and 1980s was in "competition" with CCPD, over access to "networks" each unit claimed to have.

Both Church and Societ and CCPD, however, excluded organised labour through the trade union movement from the World Council of Churches’ economic debate. In a major exploration of the implications for the church of economic issues, CCPD produced a document, (R. Van Drimmelan 1988, Economics: A Matter of Faith, WCC) which, in 70 pages made four reference to trade unions; and those all by one author in the context of unions as "counterbalancing forces". Much on "capital", "production", "economic systems", but nothing on organised labour and unions.

It was also that document which identified the fundamental flaw in the ecumenical movement’s analysis of economics: in his contribution, Preston noted that "behind economic power is political power, and more analysis of the latter is required." (R. Preston, "Agreements and Doubts", in Economics, Page 57).

It has been the WCC’s inability to come to terms with "power", which has determined its response to economic issues. It has therefore moved in two directions: first it became seduced by economists, hence the setting up of an Advisory Group on Economic Matters (AGEM), and secondly, it developed an implicit faith in "networks".

In terms of this latter development, one of the more extravagant claims by the World Council of Churches CCPD unit, stated that "Peoples networks.... are also more efficient than institutions seem to be. For example, the network of Amnesty International Groups all around the world has proved to be much more effective in the field of the defence and promotion of human rights in the world than many international institutions (governmental or non governmental)." (The Political Economy of the Holy Spirit, CCPD, 1990, p 36-7).

In terms of the WCC, the contribution of the AGEM was at best diversionary, and at worst illusionary. It diverted the Council from strategic analysis and development of the relationship between the WCC and organised labour through the international trade union movement. The "faith" placed in the "economist" in determining the shape of economic debate, was an illusion not repeated in other institutions concerned with responding to the globalisation of the economy and the market.  Certainly it is a "faith" not practised in the trade union movement nor, I suspect, in the organisation of employers.

So it produced recommendations such as, churches "should support new attempts to form transnational links by trade union organisations at all appropriate levels" and used the example of linking, "workers at shop steward levels". (AGEM Labour, Employment and Unemployed: An Ecumenical Appraisal 1985). This was not only naive in substance, but in fact had all of the potential for undermining and weakening whichever international trade union secretariat was involved and undoing what in fact the Advisory Group intended.

The 1991 Canberra Assembly of the WCC, despite all of the discussion on "economic systems, capitalism, and the monitory and financial systems", "the free market economy" and "empowerment", made no mention of organised labour, the trade union movement or the International Labour Organisation.

By 1992, the break between the WCC and ecumenical thinking on economic issues, and the trade union movement was complete. At that time the most recent and comprehensive statement on faith and the economy contained no references, no mention, no recommendations relating to Christian faith and trade unions, (Christian Faith and the World Economy Today: A Study Document, WCC, 1992).