Friday, October 01, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SPAIN:
THE CGT SUMS UP THE GENERAL STRIKE:
The pieces are falling down from the sky, and both sides in the dispute about government austerity (the government and the popular organizations) are taking stock of what happened two days ago. Much ink is being spilled about how "neither side won". The claims of the larger union federations (the CCOO and the UGT) about either 70% adherence or 10 million strikers are unrealistic in addition to being contradictory to each other (10 million strikers would equal about 42% of Spain's workforce). The government, on the other hand, has been so humbled by the actually large and unexpected turnout that they haven't even been willing to counter such exaggerations with their own lies as most governments in such situations do. they mumble about "minimal disruption", obviously shell shocked by what actually happened.
Whatever the actual figures, something that will probably never be properly estimated, there is little doubt that the numbers participating were large, much larger than the government had been prepared to see and much larger than similar strikes in France. The UGT and CCOO are no doubt pleased as in gives them 'bargaining power' in trying to extract minimal concessions from the ruling Socialist Party and thereby giving them the appearance of "usefulness".
Unlike in most countries, however, we anarchists and anarchosyndicalists actually have "a dog in the fight" in Spain in the form of the various anarchosyndicalist unions (CGT, Solidaridad Obrera, CNT-AIT, CNT-JC) who have a no means tiny following. Here is the statement of the Spanish CGT summing up the strike. To my deep pleasure my own comrades don't engage in the triumphalist making up of statistics that the UGT and CCOO do. This is despite the fact that places where anarchosyndicalism is well represented in Spain had some of the best turnouts, just as was true in the public sector general strike earlier this summer. This may be very much a chicken and egg puzzle. Are the anarchosyndicalist unions 'responsible' for the greater militancy in such places or do the more militant workers naturally gravitate to anarchosyndicalism ? Your guess is as good as mine. The English translation of this was done by the Italian FdCA and posted recently on the Anarkismo site.
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CGT statement on the General Strike of 29 September
The outcome of the strike
These are our initial impressions of the outcome of today's General Strike. In certain key sectors, there was mass participation in the strike in almost the entire country. By way of example: food markets in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Valladolid, Seville and Zaragoza; the (Seat) Ford, Renault, Opel and Volkswagen car factories; petro-chemical and steel factories and plants, minerals sector, gas distribution, public services such as waste disposal and post offices, large-scale construction, port workers in Barcelona, Valencia, Algeciras and so on.
CGT statement on the General Strike of 29 September
The outcome of the strike
These are our initial impressions of the outcome of today's General Strike. In certain key sectors, there was mass participation in the strike in almost the entire country. By way of example: food markets in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia, Valladolid, Seville and Zaragoza; the (Seat) Ford, Renault, Opel and Volkswagen car factories; petro-chemical and steel factories and plants, minerals sector, gas distribution, public services such as waste disposal and post offices, large-scale construction, port workers in Barcelona, Valencia, Algeciras and so on.
It is important to note that the demand for electricity dropped by over 20% compared to normal days.
Another sector with a very high percentage of participation was that of audio-visual communications, with the complete closure of Canale Sur and Telemadrid, and remaining public media running with minimum levels of service.
Public transport is running with the standard 25% of minimum services, while large areas of the private transport sector (airlines, road transport and marine transport of both cargo and passengers) are participating in the strike.
The CGT wishes to underline that this success has been achieved in spite of the long media campaign by authorities and industrialists against the trade union organizations and the criminalization of labour and social activities.
Similarly, the CGT wishes to express its gratitude to over one hundred labour and social organizations from all over the world who supported the General Strike.
We should also mention the numerous information pickets that were set up at the principal labour centres, something that demonstrates the enormous sense of resentment felt by the workers as a result of the unbearable situation we are being to live through because of the attack under way by politicians and industrialists.
The CGT also wishes to denounce in the strongest possible terms the brutality of the police attacks against workers who were simply exercising their freely-held right to strike and the right to provide information at factory gates.
As a consequence of the indiscriminate police charges, there have been several arrests and dozens of injured workers, some of whom (CGT members) are currently being held without charge.
The CGT also denounces the harassing and arrest of a group of cyclists in the Atoch zone of Madrid, which is a grave offence to their rights and freedom.
Finally, the CGT condemns the injury of a union comrade who was struck by a van belonging to the Boyaca company at the gates of the Bermont factory in Coslada (Madrid). Her injuries, though not severe, required hospital treatment.
Permanent Secretary of the CGT Confederal Committee
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Translation by FdCA - International Relations Office
Related Link: http://www.cgt.es
Another sector with a very high percentage of participation was that of audio-visual communications, with the complete closure of Canale Sur and Telemadrid, and remaining public media running with minimum levels of service.
Public transport is running with the standard 25% of minimum services, while large areas of the private transport sector (airlines, road transport and marine transport of both cargo and passengers) are participating in the strike.
The CGT wishes to underline that this success has been achieved in spite of the long media campaign by authorities and industrialists against the trade union organizations and the criminalization of labour and social activities.
Similarly, the CGT wishes to express its gratitude to over one hundred labour and social organizations from all over the world who supported the General Strike.
We should also mention the numerous information pickets that were set up at the principal labour centres, something that demonstrates the enormous sense of resentment felt by the workers as a result of the unbearable situation we are being to live through because of the attack under way by politicians and industrialists.
The CGT also wishes to denounce in the strongest possible terms the brutality of the police attacks against workers who were simply exercising their freely-held right to strike and the right to provide information at factory gates.
As a consequence of the indiscriminate police charges, there have been several arrests and dozens of injured workers, some of whom (CGT members) are currently being held without charge.
The CGT also denounces the harassing and arrest of a group of cyclists in the Atoch zone of Madrid, which is a grave offence to their rights and freedom.
Finally, the CGT condemns the injury of a union comrade who was struck by a van belonging to the Boyaca company at the gates of the Bermont factory in Coslada (Madrid). Her injuries, though not severe, required hospital treatment.
Permanent Secretary of the CGT Confederal Committee
Wednesday, 29 September 2010
Translation by FdCA - International Relations Office
Related Link: http://www.cgt.es
Labels: CGT, current events, international labour, labour., Spain, Spanish general strike, strikes.general strikes
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SPAIN:
SPANISH GENERAL STRIKE LARGER THAN EXPECTED:
The first general strike in Spain since 2002 was much larger than previously expected. Union sources claimed up to 10 million strikers or over 70% of the workforce, making this strike far more 'general' than previous ones held in France. While such estimates have to be taken with a grain of salt, particularly as one of the claimants is the CCOO led by "ex" communists with a very touchy relation with such a thing as truth, there is little doubt that Spanish workers turned out in numbers far exceeding anything that anyone expected. The government was reduced to mumbling about "partial and minimal disruption" instead of doing the usual thing and offering its own (far lower) numbers. This turnout occurred despite persistent scepticism about the efficacy of the strike in forcing the government to retreat and also widespread cynicism about the connections of the two larger union federations, the UGT and the CCOO, with the politicians who have concocted the austerity measures.
It is possible that a large number of Spaniards went out on strike despite rather than because of the call of the UGT and CCOO. There were clashes with the police in both Barcelona and Madrid. 38 people were arrested in Madrid and 43 in Barcelona. 58 people were injured in clashes in Barcelona, and by some miracle of balance 30 of those were police officers. One thing that struck me in viewing television coverage of the events in Madrid was that those who clashed with the police and tried to 'enforce' the strike on non-strikers seemed to be all CCOO members. NO CCOO bureaucrat were ever endorse such a thing in public, and it is highly doubtful they would even encourage such a thing in private, even by the old "wink, wink, nudge, nudge". It is entirely possible that the membership of the CCOO has at least partially escaped the control of the union bureaucrats.
SGSSGSSGSSGS
Spain's unions claim 70% support for strike
JANE WALKER in Madrid
SPANISH TRADE unions claimed 70 per cent of workers had supported the general strike yesterday and while the action had some impact, it failed to bring the country to a total standstill.
With a 20 per cent unemployment rate, many of those who had jobs were reluctant to jeopardise them by supporting the strike. Others had been warned they would have their pay docked if they failed to report for work.
One of the worst affected sectors with cancellations and delays was transport. Minimum services, previously agreed with the unions, kept major cities moving. Half of Madrid’s metro and local commuter trains ran during peak hours, but violent picketing forced many buses off the roads and long-distance train services were severely restricted.
Airlines cancelled many flights to and from Spain, although fewer than had been feared. But dozens of disappointed Manchester United fans were unable to travel to see their team face Valencia in the Champions League match on last night.
Madrileños were left in no doubt about the strike when they left home in the morning and were greeted by piles garbage and overflowing rubbish bins on the streets. The Spanish capital is fortunate in that it enjoys rubbish collection seven nights a week. But on the stroke of midnight the garbage collectors downed brooms and left their trucks in their depots to join the protesters.
Wholesale food markets around the country were closed, leaving many local shops without fresh supplies. Moreover, much of the country’s industrial sector, including motor manufacturing, shipbuilding and factories were at a standstill.
The day passed peacefully although there were clashes with police in some parts of the country. Red-shirted and flagwaving pickets persuaded many smaller shops, bars and restaurants around the country to remain closed but a heavy police presence enabled department stores and other shops to open their doors. “We voted for a left-wing government, but we are facing a government of the right,” said one angry protester.
Most hospitals and medical centres worked as normal although staff said they said patient numbers were down. The majority of schools opened although in some there were more teachers than pupils because school bus services had been cancelled.
The strike was called to protest against the government’s austerity measures, approved by the parliament, which cut the wages of public sector workers by 5 per cent, froze state pensions and introduced new labour laws which will make it easier and cheaper to fire workers and raise retirement age from 65 to 67.
On Friday prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will present his budget to the parliament when he is expected to announce even more draconian cuts and tax increases. But Spain’s economic crisis is so grave that he has little room for manoeuvre. He is trying to reduce the 11 per cent budget deficit to 6 per cent in 2011.
“It is well known that I didn’t want this strike, but I respect the right to strike and also the right to work,” he said yesterday, adding that he was ready to meet the unions whenever they wanted but could not go back on the austerity measures.
Spain's unions claim 70% support for strike
JANE WALKER in Madrid
SPANISH TRADE unions claimed 70 per cent of workers had supported the general strike yesterday and while the action had some impact, it failed to bring the country to a total standstill.
With a 20 per cent unemployment rate, many of those who had jobs were reluctant to jeopardise them by supporting the strike. Others had been warned they would have their pay docked if they failed to report for work.
One of the worst affected sectors with cancellations and delays was transport. Minimum services, previously agreed with the unions, kept major cities moving. Half of Madrid’s metro and local commuter trains ran during peak hours, but violent picketing forced many buses off the roads and long-distance train services were severely restricted.
Airlines cancelled many flights to and from Spain, although fewer than had been feared. But dozens of disappointed Manchester United fans were unable to travel to see their team face Valencia in the Champions League match on last night.
Madrileños were left in no doubt about the strike when they left home in the morning and were greeted by piles garbage and overflowing rubbish bins on the streets. The Spanish capital is fortunate in that it enjoys rubbish collection seven nights a week. But on the stroke of midnight the garbage collectors downed brooms and left their trucks in their depots to join the protesters.
Wholesale food markets around the country were closed, leaving many local shops without fresh supplies. Moreover, much of the country’s industrial sector, including motor manufacturing, shipbuilding and factories were at a standstill.
The day passed peacefully although there were clashes with police in some parts of the country. Red-shirted and flagwaving pickets persuaded many smaller shops, bars and restaurants around the country to remain closed but a heavy police presence enabled department stores and other shops to open their doors. “We voted for a left-wing government, but we are facing a government of the right,” said one angry protester.
Most hospitals and medical centres worked as normal although staff said they said patient numbers were down. The majority of schools opened although in some there were more teachers than pupils because school bus services had been cancelled.
The strike was called to protest against the government’s austerity measures, approved by the parliament, which cut the wages of public sector workers by 5 per cent, froze state pensions and introduced new labour laws which will make it easier and cheaper to fire workers and raise retirement age from 65 to 67.
On Friday prime minister José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero will present his budget to the parliament when he is expected to announce even more draconian cuts and tax increases. But Spain’s economic crisis is so grave that he has little room for manoeuvre. He is trying to reduce the 11 per cent budget deficit to 6 per cent in 2011.
“It is well known that I didn’t want this strike, but I respect the right to strike and also the right to work,” he said yesterday, adding that he was ready to meet the unions whenever they wanted but could not go back on the austerity measures.
SGSSGSSGSSGS
There were, of course, demonstrations across Europe on September 29, the most notable being that held in Brussels and supported by the mainstream European unions. Estimates for the crowd there range at about 100,000. There were also clashes with the police who attacked demonstrators in Brussels, but these were minor.
The Spanish CGT considers the general strike very successful, and I hope to present their assessment tomorrow. The difference between what is happening in Spain and elsewhere is that only in Spain does the libertarian left "have a serious dog in the fight". The libertarian cohort in Barcelona numbered about 10,000 people. Even in Vallodolid it was 5,000. In Madrid Solidaridad Obrera, the CGT and various libertarian social organizations brought out about 15,000 people. In the Basque countries even the isolationist CNT-AIT joined the CGT and the local Basque union the ESK in marches separate from those of the UGT and CCOO. The number at demonstrations actually underestimates the CGT's effect as many of their members were involved in dispersed picket duties. Whether the Spanish libertarians can translate the militancy of the Spanish workers and their distrust of the major union federations into something still bigger and more sustained is still an open question, but the beginning looks good.
Labels: CGT, current events, general strike, international labour, labour., Spain, Spanish general strike, strike.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SPAIN:
STRONG BEGINNING FOR SPANISH GENERAL STRIKE IN BARCELONA:
The general strike in Spain began with the stroke of midnight in that part of the world, and preliminary reports from the anarchosyndicalist CGT seem to indicate a high turnout in those sectors where they have influence. The CGT strike info source site that Molly spoke about earlier has unfortunately crashed due to too high a volume of traffic. Updated information is, however, available from the CGT website and from that of their paper Rojo Y Negro from which the following report is taken.
Preliminary public opinion polls indicated a high degree of support for the goals of the strike but a generally dismal number of people who said they would take part in it ( anywhere from 9% to 20% ). This was coupled with a disbelief that the strike would change the government's plans and a high degree of dissatisfaction with the larger CCOO and UGT union federations who were seen as being half hearted in their efforts and under political (government) influence. Should the present strike repeat the pattern of that in early summer one can once more expect a large turnout amongst sectors influenced by the anarchosyndicalism of the CGT and Solidaridad Obrera and a poor turnout in most other places. The CGT has already begun the criticism of the majority unions, but whether this will result in a generalized radicalization of Spain's workers has yet to be seen.
Here's the story from the night shift in Barcelona. The Spanish original (and much more reportage) can be found at Roja Y Negro. The original article has numerous photos of the CGT pickets of the bus service on the night shift. The photo above is from this collection.
GSGSGSGSGS
Barcelona: successful general strike on the night shifts
CGT Barcelona 09/29/2010 00:28:11
Barcelona: successful general strike on the night shifts
CGT Barcelona 09/29/2010 00:28:11
Today at 22 hours the strike began on the night shift in companies with a strong presence CGT in Barcelona: Post Office , Renfe (Train ), Metro, etc., have largely supported the strike .
The following percentages were:
Post CTA : 100 %
Renfe : 100 % of the trains had to leave after 00 hours .
Metro Maintenance : 85 %
The CGT highly values this monitoring and as well as the support we have transmitted to the workers by our call to the general strike and the criticism of the CCOO and UGT for waiting so long to call the General Strike.
The CGT criticizes the minimum services enacted in several companies such as Natural Gas , Atento ( directory services ) ,and in the subway in Barcelona where two or three workers were forced to work where there should only be one worker and in this way a long list where the CGT believes that this infringes the right to strike and we have reported so many to the Labour Inspectorate , the Government and the court .
CALLS FROM THE CGT IN BARCELONA FOR THE GENERAL STRIKE WEDNESDAY 29- S
CONCENTRATION AT 12 HOURS IN SQUARE CATALUNYA / PORTAL DE L' ANGEL
RALLY TO 17 HOURS IN Jardinets with Diagonal ( route: Jardinets de Gracia / Diagonal / Via Laietana / Avda . Catedral)
CGT Barcelona
The following percentages were:
Post CTA : 100 %
Renfe : 100 % of the trains had to leave after 00 hours .
Metro Maintenance : 85 %
The CGT highly values this monitoring and as well as the support we have transmitted to the workers by our call to the general strike and the criticism of the CCOO and UGT for waiting so long to call the General Strike.
The CGT criticizes the minimum services enacted in several companies such as Natural Gas , Atento ( directory services ) ,and in the subway in Barcelona where two or three workers were forced to work where there should only be one worker and in this way a long list where the CGT believes that this infringes the right to strike and we have reported so many to the Labour Inspectorate , the Government and the court .
CALLS FROM THE CGT IN BARCELONA FOR THE GENERAL STRIKE WEDNESDAY 29- S
CONCENTRATION AT 12 HOURS IN SQUARE CATALUNYA / PORTAL DE L' ANGEL
RALLY TO 17 HOURS IN Jardinets with Diagonal ( route: Jardinets de Gracia / Diagonal / Via Laietana / Avda . Catedral)
CGT Barcelona
Labels: Barcelona, CGT, international labour, labour., Solidaridad Obrera, Spain, Spanish general strike, strikes.general strikes
Sunday, September 26, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SPAIN:
INTERNATIONAL SUPPORT FOR SPANISH GENERAL STRIKE:
On Thursday, September 29, there will be a general strike in Spain protesting the Spanish government's austerity measures, mislabelled "reforms". All of Spain's labour federations are supporting this action, some more than others. As Molly has mentioned before on this blog there is some suspicion that the major union groups (CCOO- controlled by more or less "ex" communists and the Socialist Party UGT) deliberately set the date far enough into the future to allow for backroom political maneuvers after a less than stellar turnout for the previous public sector general strike earlier in the year.
The months have come and gone, and the government seems even less willing to compromise than it did earlier in the year. While the CCOO and the UGT have been rather tepid in their promotion of this strike Spain's third largest union federation the anarchosyndicalist CGT has thrown a tremendous amount of work into promoting the general strike. The smaller anarchosyndicalist unions such as Solidaridad Obrera, the CNT Joaquin Costa (aka the CNT-Catalunya) and the CNT-AIT have also been prominent in their support. The first two unions have entered into an informal alliance with the CGT so as to present an unified libertarian front. The CNT-AIT has decided to go it on their own.
Whether it is politically wise to put such emphasis on what, given the still solid control of the CCOO and UGT over the majority of Spains unionists, may be a potentially embarrassing show of weakness rather than strength is an open question. The anarchosyndicalist unions have all emphasized that this one day general strike can be only a beginning. The ability to go forward, however, depends upon just how popular or unpopular the work stoppage turns out to be, and just how much the ordinary workers feel that the policies of the CCOO and UGT, limited and cowardly as they are, are the only realistic course. in my mind the prospects aren't bright. In a preliminary libertarian demonstration in Barcelona on September 18 held by the alliance of the CGT, Solidaridad Obrera and the CNT Catalunya the turnout was only about 1,000 people. The CNT-AIT which didn't participate would probably have been only able to add another 100 or so people to the crowd.
Put this in context of the Barcelona demonstration for increased Catalan autonomy last July where the turnout was about 1.1 million. What is probably happening is that many average Spaniards have adopted an attitude of resigned fatalism to the severe economic crisis that Spain faces. The libertarian unions have a hard row to hoe if they hope to push this general strike beyond a token gesture of (weak) opposition.
The Spanish general strike is supposed to be part of an Europe wide 'Day of Action' on the 29th. This event has been called by the European Trade Union Confederation, and its main event will be a demonstration in Brussels, the seat of most of the activities of the European Parliament. Despite some rather cocky chest thumping at the Facebook site of the event (ahem- "towards the 1st European General Strike or even the World General Strike") the "action" proposed by the ETUC consists of little more than a series of demonstrations which national unions may or may not support with whatever attention they may or may not think it deserves. The only country in which there may have been another general strike ie Greece will be a no show this time around. One doesn't have to invoke treachery to explain this. After 6 (or is it 7 ?) one day general strikes this year with no results in terms of modifying government plans the main union federations in Greece are pretty well down to the last dime of their political capital.
Outside of the mainstream unions, however, there is a growing libertarian labour movement. While Spain may be most prominent in this regard this movement is not restricted to the land of Don Quixote. In response to the CGT's efforts towards the Spanish strike numerous groups have sent messages of solidarity with the Spanish workers. The following statement with signatories attached was recently published in an English translation at the Anarkismo site. Since then many others have added their names to the statement. You can see an updated list of the signatories (now over 80) here at the Huelga General event site by the Spanish CGT. This Spanish language site also has a wealth of information and will allow you to follow the strike as it happens.
@L@L@L@L@L
International support for the General Strike in Spain on 29 September
Of all the European Union countries, the Spanish State is facing one of the most difficult economic situations of all, with 20% of the potential workforce unemployed. The measures proposed by the government to fill the State's coffers and stimulate the economy place all the burden on the popular classes in the form of lower wages, consumer taxes, pensions cuts, cuts in unemployment benefits, more privatization and the introduction of more obstacles to workers organizing (such as making it easier for employers to lay off workers and more restrictions on collective agreements).
International support for the General Strike in Spain on 29 September
Of all the European Union countries, the Spanish State is facing one of the most difficult economic situations of all, with 20% of the potential workforce unemployed. The measures proposed by the government to fill the State's coffers and stimulate the economy place all the burden on the popular classes in the form of lower wages, consumer taxes, pensions cuts, cuts in unemployment benefits, more privatization and the introduction of more obstacles to workers organizing (such as making it easier for employers to lay off workers and more restrictions on collective agreements).
Ever since the crisis broke, the more militant sectors of the trade union movement [including the CGT, CNT, SO, etc.] have been demanding that a general strike be called to oppose these unpopular measures, but because they were confined only to certain sectors and geographic areas, they were unable to achieve it alone, until a general strike for 29th September was eventually - and reluctantly - called by the big unions, the Comisiones Obreras (CCOO) and the Unión General de Trabajadores (UGT).
It is very important for the General Strike to be a success and for the 29th September to see as many people as possible opposing the policies of the Zapatero government, outside the workplace and on the streets. If the strike should fail, it be not only a failure on the part of those that most of the public considers to be the unions that called the strike - the CCOO and UGT. It will be a failure on the part of the entire working class. On the other hand, the more successful the strike, the greater the success of the workers, as it will provide a clear demonstration of the strength that lies in our unity and will therefore be a step forward in our consciousness and in our levels of organization.
There follows the text of an international statement produced by the CGT and signed by various organizations of a libertarian nature.
----------------------
International statement of support
We, the signatories to this statement, wish to demonstrate our support for the general strike called by the CGT on 29th September 2010 in the Spanish State.
The widespread crisis is affecting the working class badly, in particular the most precarious sectors of the class. And though the Spanish State is particularly badly affected, this situation is shared by many different countries.
We agree with the reasons why our comrades in the CGT have called this strike, that is to say in order to defend the labour, social, economic and environmental freedoms and rights of all workers and all sectors of the working class in the face of the attacks from the multinationals and financial institutions.
We believe that Zapatero's attempt to force this new labour reform package on the workers, together with his plans for reducing the deficit and reforming the pension system, are completely unacceptable. These measures are extremely unjust, since they shift the burden of the crisis onto the backs of the masses and not the real culprits of the crisis. It is unacceptable that the very institutions that generated the crisis are those who are forcing their proposals to get out of it on everyone else, as it involves a reduction in the rights of the working class and an increase in profits for the capitalist system in general.
We also support the theme chosen by the CGT for this General Strike: "For the distribution of work and wealth". Distributing work means that everyone works less so that everyone can work, by reducing the working day (without a loss of wages) and the retirement age, preventing massive unfair layoffs, as well as overtime, piecework, etc. We understand the distribution of wealth not as a dividend or as shares amongst the population, but using that money on welfare and wage benefits for all the unemployed and a redistribution of resources on the basis of solidarity.
The crisis is affecting everyone, so our militant organizations will continue to work so that the mobilizations will continue everywhere.
Signatories to date:
1.USI - Unione Sindacale Italiana (Italy)
2.IP - Inicjatywa Pracownicza (Poland)
3.CNT-f - Confédération nationale du travail (France)
4.IWW - Industrial Workers of the World (UK)
5.ESE - Sindicato Libertario Griego (Greece)
6.SAC - Sveriges Arbetares Centralorganisation (Sweden)
7."La Voz de los Zapotecos Xiches en Prisión", part of the Otra Campaña (Mexico)
8.Colectivo 20 de Junio (Zaachila Oaxaca) (Mexico)
9.María Antonieta Robles Barja, Trabajadora Social, Baja California (Mexico)
10.Julio Cesar Rincón, (Mexico)
11.Coordinadora Valle de Chalco (Mexico)
12.LA KARAKOLA, Espacio social y kultural (Mexico)
13.La Otra ciudad de Chihuahua, (Mexico)
14.Nicte-Há Dzib Soto, Niñas y Niños en La Otra Campaña-DF (Mexico)
15.Edilberto Bautista Dìaz, Gen. Sec. of the Sindicato Democrático de Trabajadores de la Procuraduría Social del Distrito Federal (Mexico)
16.La Red vs la Represión en Chiapas (Mexico)
17.Frente Popular Darío Santillán (Argentina)
18.SNAPAP Sindicato Nacional Autónomo del Personal de la Administración Pública (Algeria)
19.Asel Luzarraga (Chile)
20.Frente Popular Francisco Villa Independiente-UNOPII (Mexico)
21.Colectivo Radio Zapatista (Mexico)
22.Federazione dei Comunisti Anarchici (Italy)
23.Hombre y Sociedad (Chile)
24.Colectivo Socialista Libertario (Uruguay)
25.Periódico Rojo y Negro (Uruguay)
26.Organisation Socialiste Libertaire (Switzerland)
27.Federación Anarquista Uruguaya (Uruguay)
28.Unión Socialista Libertaria (Peru)
29.Grupo Antorcha Libertaria (Colombia)
30.Union Communiste Libertaire (Canada)
31.Red Libertaria de Buenos Aires (Argentina)
32.Organización Revolucionaria Anarquista - Voz Negra (Chile)
33.Estrategia Libertaria (Chile)
34.Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group (Australia)
35.Alternative Libertaire (France)
36.Federação Anarquista do Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
37.Federação Anarquista de São Paulo (Brazil)
38.Miami Solidarity & Autonomy (USA)
39.Organización Anarquista por la Revolución Social (Bolivia)
40.Frente Autentico del Trabajo (Mexico)
41.Moez Jemai, journalist-syndicalist (Tunisia)
42.Fédération SUD service public, Vaud canton (Switzerland)
43.CUB, Confederazione Unitaria di Base (Italy)
44.Votán Zapata (Mexico)
45.UNICOBAS (Italy)
46.Instituto Nacional Sindical (Colombia)
47.Columna Libertaria Joaquin Penina (Argentina)
48.Libertære Socialister (Denmark)
49.Centro Internacional de Estudios Sociales (Uruguay)
50.Red Libertaria Popular Mateo Kramer (Colombia)
51.Centro de Estudios Sociales Manuel González Prada, Huancayo (Perú)
52.Tendencia Estudiantil Libertaria (Perú)
53.Movimiento Manuel González Prada (Perú)
54.Sociedad de Resistencia - Santiago (Chile)
55.Workers Solidarity Movement (Ireland)
For more information on the strike, see:
Related Link: http://huelgageneral.info/
Labels: anarcho-syndicalism, CGT, CNT Catalunya, CNT-AIT, European Day of Action, general strike, international labour, labour., Solidaridad Obrera, Spain, Spanish general strike, tactics
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
PERSONAL:
HERE AT MOLLY'S BLOG:
The seasons change, and the leaves begin to fall. Molly is due to go on vacation soon so the number of posts at this blog will drop during that time. I hope I've provided at least a little information and amusement in the last little while. the squirrels are busy gathering their nuts, and Molly is busy decorating the yard for Halloween. It's a long process preparing for my favourite holiday, and each year the cars drive by, stop and take pictures.
In terms of this blog I'd like to call the readers' attention to three different sections that have been added in the last little while. All of them are under the anarcho-syndicalist rubric, the form of anarchism that I feel closest to and which I consider the most practical. The first is the listing for the KRAS, the Confederation of Revolutionary Anarcho-Syndicalists in Russia. While it must be admitted that KRAS is still only a propaganda group rather than a functioning union it is still significant that they have at least expanded their online presence in the last little while. it is part and parcel of the general expansion of practical anarchism that I have taken such delight in in the last few years.
Speaking of such there is also a new listing for the youth section of the German FAU. The (take a deep breath) Anarhistisch-Syndikalistischer Jugen (Anarcho-Syndicalist Youth) in Germany has been expanding rapidly, and I have added a separate category for them following the FAU listings. While not up to the level of the youth federation of the Swedish SAC (also listed under our Links) the young German comrades seem to be expanding rapidly. I have to admit that it is beyond me why the Swedes and the Germans seem to be so successful while in Spain both the CNT with their FJIL (historical nostalgia ?) and the much larger CGT seem to have their youth sections "stillborn". There is also another Iberian youth federation that, as far as I can tell, is not an extension of one of the Spanish anarchosyndicalist unions, but it is also very small. They have been listed under the Spanish section of our links. As I said, beyond me, and I can definitely see the utility of a youth federation as it addresses concerns different from those of older people. As for here in North America this is obviously a project for the far distant future as "youth" would probably encompass close to 95% of anarchists here.
Perhaps most pleasantly there is now a listing for the Workers' Initiative/(another deep breath) Inicjatywa Pracownicza of Poland. These people are the "non-AIT' anarcho-syndicalist union federation in Poland, and despite my early misconceptions they are (as expected) far more successful in organizing than the AIT affiliated ZSP. Their base of strength is in Poznan, but as the listings point out they have branches in many Polish provinces. These are the people who have a "dual card" arrangement with the British IWW. The latest news that I have heard from their quarter is that their decision to actually run as candidates in the workplace councils has brought the same success (in a smaller way) as it brought to the Spanish CGT and the French CNT (Vignoles). The anarcho-syndicalist project faces some fundamental choices in the modern world...whether to actually collectively bargain, whether to participate in union elections (in both the North American and European sense) and so on. My own opinions are very much in favour of making the necessary compromises because the alternative is shrinking away to an irrelevant sect that will be of no use even if times were to change. I recognize the dangers, but I also recognize the dangers of the sectarian alternative.
Enough of this pontification. May the busy squirrels of Fall not shit on your head.
Molly.
Labels: anarchist youth, anarcho-syndicalism, blogging, CGT, CNT, FAU, KRAS., personal, SAC., Workers' Initiative
Thursday, July 01, 2010
INTERNATIONAL LABOUR SPAIN:
METRO STRIKE PARALYZES MADRID:
The workers on the Madrid Metro have called a temporary truce with management for the weekend. This follows on the heels of a strike that had practically 100% participation unlike the largely symbolic "general strike" in early June. The workers are due to meet again on Monday to vote on whether the strike will be resumed. Being as anywhere from half a million to two million commuters depend upon the 7,500 Metro workers for public transit this strike is an actual real challenge to the Spanish government's austerity plans. The strike is basically about a 5% pay cut that was imposed on the workers without consultation as part of this austerity program, but it is even more about the way in which this cut was implimented in that the right wing local government took the Spanish federal government announce of cuts as a signal to attack their own workers. At a general meeting the workers voted to ignore a regulation that would require them to maintain 50% of normal service so the strike became total. Management has threatened retaliation because of this action, and there is talk of trying to have the army run the trains, a fundamentally unsafe idea if there ever was one. Here's a brief story from the PressTV site about the strike.
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Transport strike continues in Madrid
Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:18:13 GMT
Spanish subway workers have continued their walkout for the third consecutive day, forcing the closure of metro stations and prompting traffic jams.
The strike began on Monday with public transportation workers demanding the government to scrap a planned 5 percent pay cut as part of its fiscal austerity measures.
Meanwhile, strike committee spokesman Vicente Rodriguez said on Wednesday that it was still unclear when the strike would end.
"We haven't changed anything. We still have the same sole aim. No Metro worker is to lose so much as a euro," he added.
The ongoing strike is estimated to have affected more than two million travelers a day at a time when the country is approaching its peak holiday season.
In defiance of a government ruling that workers should run 50 percent of the scheduled trains, on Wednesday on-strike personnel refused to return to work.
Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon criticized trade unions for the inconvenience, saying that "they do not have the right to do what they are doing to all the people of Madrid. I think we are in an emergency situation now in Madrid."
Spain is struggling with a budget deficit of 11.2 percent of its gross domestic product. The government has announced it needs to save EUR 15 billion (USD 18 billion) to weather the crisis.
The trade unions are disappointed with the Madrid government plan, saying that public sector workers are the ones who are paying the heavy price of budget cuts.
Transport strike continues in Madrid
Wed, 30 Jun 2010 16:18:13 GMT
Spanish subway workers have continued their walkout for the third consecutive day, forcing the closure of metro stations and prompting traffic jams.
The strike began on Monday with public transportation workers demanding the government to scrap a planned 5 percent pay cut as part of its fiscal austerity measures.
Meanwhile, strike committee spokesman Vicente Rodriguez said on Wednesday that it was still unclear when the strike would end.
"We haven't changed anything. We still have the same sole aim. No Metro worker is to lose so much as a euro," he added.
The ongoing strike is estimated to have affected more than two million travelers a day at a time when the country is approaching its peak holiday season.
In defiance of a government ruling that workers should run 50 percent of the scheduled trains, on Wednesday on-strike personnel refused to return to work.
Madrid mayor Alberto Ruiz Gallardon criticized trade unions for the inconvenience, saying that "they do not have the right to do what they are doing to all the people of Madrid. I think we are in an emergency situation now in Madrid."
Spain is struggling with a budget deficit of 11.2 percent of its gross domestic product. The government has announced it needs to save EUR 15 billion (USD 18 billion) to weather the crisis.
The trade unions are disappointed with the Madrid government plan, saying that public sector workers are the ones who are paying the heavy price of budget cuts.
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As has been mentioned before Solidaridad Obrera, the smallest of Spain's three anarchosyndicalist union federations is particularly strong in the Madrid Metro. Here from their website is their statement made before the beginning of the strike. The original in Spanish is at said site.
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METRO MADRID WORKERS ARE DEFENDING A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT
The Madrid Metro workers are going to declare a strike, and moreover they will do so in defense of one of those fundamental established legal rights supported by the whole of the universal declarations of human rights, over which so many of our supposed political representatives cackle as long as nobody exercises them : the right to freedom of association.
For what is at stake in the subway strike is nothing more and nothing less than a constitutional right explicitly recognized in Article 37 of the Constitution: the right to collective bargaining and the binding force of agreements. An ancillary and basic right of any minimally democratic system of industrial relations. The right of workers to negotiate freely with the the bosses about working conditions . And to reach agreements that are binding for both parties. Because what this strike is not about airing a greater or lesser reduction of the wages of a particular group, but the immunity of one of the signatories of a collective agreement for its total failure . The workers and the company reached an agreement last year. Now the company does not comply with it and throws against the workers the whole media herd media accusing them of being "privileged." This is a strange world in which to enjoy a constitutional right is a "privilege." We should ask why there are so few "privileged" in this supposedly "lawful" state.
But we said that the Madrid subway workers are defending a fundamental right, not just their own direct collective bargaining . And that is that our Constitutional Court has consistently ruled to uphold that the right to collective bargaining is part of the substance of another constitutional right one protected in all international declarations of human rights: the right to freedom of association, of Article 28 of the Constitution. And this itself is fundamental. There is, therefore, no right to union freedom if the right to collective bargaining is not respected. For what use would it be if a union that could not negotiate binding agreements with the employer? Without agreements there are no unions, no one to protect and defend the work force in the hostile environment of wild and unbridled capitalism; therefore, any pretense that we live (as our monarchical Magna Carta says) in a "social state with the democratic rule of law "is just talk.
Thus, the Madrid subway workers are defending a fundamental right. In a massive breach of it, besides. In a breach for thousands of workers. But not only that. They are also defending the very essence of any democracy worthy of the name (and for you, reader, it's often often debated whether we deserve it): that the right of the weak are not trampled by the strong, nothing more. To enable workers to defend themselves against exploitation and misery. And the rules that protect them are respected.
For those who have declared war on the welfare state and the European working classes (those bankers and financiers who were rescued with public money last year) also have declared against all the fundamental rights and notions of law and democracy .
It is in defense of all of us , therefore, that workers in Madrid Metro are now going to strike in defense of a fundamental right, and they will tell you this whatever they say from the media in the pay of the employers .
José Luis Carretero
METRO MADRID WORKERS ARE DEFENDING A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT
The Madrid Metro workers are going to declare a strike, and moreover they will do so in defense of one of those fundamental established legal rights supported by the whole of the universal declarations of human rights, over which so many of our supposed political representatives cackle as long as nobody exercises them : the right to freedom of association.
For what is at stake in the subway strike is nothing more and nothing less than a constitutional right explicitly recognized in Article 37 of the Constitution: the right to collective bargaining and the binding force of agreements. An ancillary and basic right of any minimally democratic system of industrial relations. The right of workers to negotiate freely with the the bosses about working conditions . And to reach agreements that are binding for both parties. Because what this strike is not about airing a greater or lesser reduction of the wages of a particular group, but the immunity of one of the signatories of a collective agreement for its total failure . The workers and the company reached an agreement last year. Now the company does not comply with it and throws against the workers the whole media herd media accusing them of being "privileged." This is a strange world in which to enjoy a constitutional right is a "privilege." We should ask why there are so few "privileged" in this supposedly "lawful" state.
But we said that the Madrid subway workers are defending a fundamental right, not just their own direct collective bargaining . And that is that our Constitutional Court has consistently ruled to uphold that the right to collective bargaining is part of the substance of another constitutional right one protected in all international declarations of human rights: the right to freedom of association, of Article 28 of the Constitution. And this itself is fundamental. There is, therefore, no right to union freedom if the right to collective bargaining is not respected. For what use would it be if a union that could not negotiate binding agreements with the employer? Without agreements there are no unions, no one to protect and defend the work force in the hostile environment of wild and unbridled capitalism; therefore, any pretense that we live (as our monarchical Magna Carta says) in a "social state with the democratic rule of law "is just talk.
Thus, the Madrid subway workers are defending a fundamental right. In a massive breach of it, besides. In a breach for thousands of workers. But not only that. They are also defending the very essence of any democracy worthy of the name (and for you, reader, it's often often debated whether we deserve it): that the right of the weak are not trampled by the strong, nothing more. To enable workers to defend themselves against exploitation and misery. And the rules that protect them are respected.
For those who have declared war on the welfare state and the European working classes (those bankers and financiers who were rescued with public money last year) also have declared against all the fundamental rights and notions of law and democracy .
It is in defense of all of us , therefore, that workers in Madrid Metro are now going to strike in defense of a fundamental right, and they will tell you this whatever they say from the media in the pay of the employers .
José Luis Carretero
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As has been mentioned all three of the libertarian union federations in Spain recognize the importance of this strike, as a direct political challenge to the government's austerity plans. Thus, unlike the half hearted "general strike" in June their support is unanimous and enthusiastic. Here's a statement from the CNT Madrid in solidarity with the strike. I personally think that it is not properly politically worded, but more on that later. It should be noted that of the three federations only Solidaridad Obrera has any number of members directly involved in the dispute.
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CNT- workers support the Madrid Metro strike (Local Federation of Unions of Madrid - 01.07.2010 )
Faced with strikes in the Madrid metro , workers affiliated to the Federación Local de Sindicatos de Madrid express our total solidarity with the demands and note that we do not care about the little problems that we can generate to the users of public transport. Especially since we understand that this strike is essential to prepare the way of resistance against anti-labor measures from the Government.
Therefore, we not only offer our support for Metro workers but we encourage the entire working class of Madrid not only to understand and respect it , but to actively support it .
Local Federation of Unions of CNT -Madrid
http://madrid.cnt.es/
CNT- workers support the Madrid Metro strike (Local Federation of Unions of Madrid - 01.07.2010 )
Faced with strikes in the Madrid metro , workers affiliated to the Federación Local de Sindicatos de Madrid express our total solidarity with the demands and note that we do not care about the little problems that we can generate to the users of public transport. Especially since we understand that this strike is essential to prepare the way of resistance against anti-labor measures from the Government.
Therefore, we not only offer our support for Metro workers but we encourage the entire working class of Madrid not only to understand and respect it , but to actively support it .
Local Federation of Unions of CNT -Madrid
http://madrid.cnt.es/
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As I said all three of the Spanish anarchosyndicalist union federations are enthusiastic in their support of the Metro strike. The following article is from the Rojo Y Negro newspaper site of the Spanish CGT, the largest of the federations. It's a call to join a "users' group" support blog for users of the Madrid Metro. The following has also been reprinted in its Spanish original at the Anarkismo site. As has been said this shows the unanimity of the Spanish anarchosyndicalists on the issues raised by this strike. The only "disturbing" thing that I find in the following is that it is presented "as if" it could be interpreted as the sole initiative of the CGT. I say this as a "general supporter" of the way that the CGT has decided to act in Spain today. If I were hazard a guess I would say that Solidaridad Obrera is the main mover behind this initiative. All the same it is more "productive" than showing one's "militancy" by saying that one doesn't care about the inconvenience to commuters (see the CNT statement above). Any strike in the public sector necessarily has to reach out to the public if it is to succeed. Here's the article.
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Join the " Usuari@s solidarity with the Metro strike blog "
In Solidarity with the Madrid Metro Strike has opened a blog to express the support of groups and individuals with the striking subway workers .
Needless to say, this is the first major strike against the crisis , and the factor of radicalism and its significance is that it is the first concrete struggle and confrontation against the rhetoric of crisis. We say deal with all your goddamn crisis; we are not guilty and not going to pay your crisis .
We have therefore opened a blog in solidarity with the strike from which to influence opinion, and provide support materials : http://usuariossolidarios.wordpress.com/ .
It is important that you leave comments of individual and collective support , as the trump card that the politicians are playing is the lack of sympathy for the workers in the Metro and leaving them isolated with the excuse that no one supports them .
If this strike is won it will be a giant step towards having a more eventful autumn , if it is lost it will be another missed opportunity and the cutback politicians will have an easier road -cutting salaries , pensions, the domestic deficit ( health, education , precarious employment ...)
--------------------
We welcome you with a smile
Metro Users in solidarity with the strike of Metro we understand that :
1. The strike At Metro represents all the workers who have been affected by measures taken under the guise of the crisis (lower wages, loss of our rights , raising of the retirement age, precariousness)
2. We feel great solidarity against these measures, which now affect Metro workers and are imposed on us under the pretext of scarcity, when in these recent years there have never failed to be missed billions of euros to rescue the banks , financial institutions and big business.
3. Because Metro workers are embodying the slogan " we will not pay the crisis " with which we identify .
4. That the Metro has been the cornerstone of land prices in the territory of Madrid ( Metro has never existed to sell tickets , but to reclassify land where placing a stop makes a new neighbourhood) and that this has made multimillionaires of developers and construction companies .
5. That as these great benefits were never distributed and accumulated in large bank accounts, excessive assets and tax havens we can now ask that we have the minimal support to save a system that shared wealth across the world.
6. To lower wages in times in which the great fortunes not only do not decay but grow under the guise of the crisis is an insult to intelligence.
7. That subway workers have every right to a general strike that many workers and casual workers look on with envy is an ability to fight that we wish all could bring before the boss and tell him no, that's enough , I will not have lower wages !
8. We encourage everyone precarious workers, domestic workers , workers from all parts of the world that inhabit Madrid and those who have less to worry about how to join and fight with us so that they will not take away what is ours , to cry: We will not pay your crisis!
9. We call for support this strike because it is a strike that defends the rights of workers in the Metro and defends the dignity of all of us.
10. We hope the strength, courage and solidarity shown by subway workers is contagious , if so ... we welcome you with a smile.
Join the " Usuari@s solidarity with the Metro strike blog "
In Solidarity with the Madrid Metro Strike has opened a blog to express the support of groups and individuals with the striking subway workers .
Needless to say, this is the first major strike against the crisis , and the factor of radicalism and its significance is that it is the first concrete struggle and confrontation against the rhetoric of crisis. We say deal with all your goddamn crisis; we are not guilty and not going to pay your crisis .
We have therefore opened a blog in solidarity with the strike from which to influence opinion, and provide support materials : http://usuariossolidarios.wordpress.com/ .
It is important that you leave comments of individual and collective support , as the trump card that the politicians are playing is the lack of sympathy for the workers in the Metro and leaving them isolated with the excuse that no one supports them .
If this strike is won it will be a giant step towards having a more eventful autumn , if it is lost it will be another missed opportunity and the cutback politicians will have an easier road -cutting salaries , pensions, the domestic deficit ( health, education , precarious employment ...)
--------------------
We welcome you with a smile
Metro Users in solidarity with the strike of Metro we understand that :
1. The strike At Metro represents all the workers who have been affected by measures taken under the guise of the crisis (lower wages, loss of our rights , raising of the retirement age, precariousness)
2. We feel great solidarity against these measures, which now affect Metro workers and are imposed on us under the pretext of scarcity, when in these recent years there have never failed to be missed billions of euros to rescue the banks , financial institutions and big business.
3. Because Metro workers are embodying the slogan " we will not pay the crisis " with which we identify .
4. That the Metro has been the cornerstone of land prices in the territory of Madrid ( Metro has never existed to sell tickets , but to reclassify land where placing a stop makes a new neighbourhood) and that this has made multimillionaires of developers and construction companies .
5. That as these great benefits were never distributed and accumulated in large bank accounts, excessive assets and tax havens we can now ask that we have the minimal support to save a system that shared wealth across the world.
6. To lower wages in times in which the great fortunes not only do not decay but grow under the guise of the crisis is an insult to intelligence.
7. That subway workers have every right to a general strike that many workers and casual workers look on with envy is an ability to fight that we wish all could bring before the boss and tell him no, that's enough , I will not have lower wages !
8. We encourage everyone precarious workers, domestic workers , workers from all parts of the world that inhabit Madrid and those who have less to worry about how to join and fight with us so that they will not take away what is ours , to cry: We will not pay your crisis!
9. We call for support this strike because it is a strike that defends the rights of workers in the Metro and defends the dignity of all of us.
10. We hope the strength, courage and solidarity shown by subway workers is contagious , if so ... we welcome you with a smile.
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Let's conclude with opinion (note I'm trying to avoid the leftist buzzword "analysis") from a source that can hardly be accused of sympathy for the anarchist unions in Spain. The Trotskyist 'Axis of Logic' blog actually manages to avoid any mention of the anarchosyndicalist unions in Spain, a considerable feat as they are the only realistic opposition to the socialist and ex(more or less) communist unions that have the adherence of the majority of the Spanish working class. No doubt the 500 trots in Spain constitute a "realistic" way to impose a Leninist dictatorship on the Spaniards. Whatever my opinion of the general ideas of this sort of site that features google translations from the collected "wisdom" of Fidel Castro (an infallible way to distinguish right wing from left wing Trots is to see how much they worship Stalinist dictatorships who murder their own comrades as long as total government ownership of the economy and the inevitable police state are put in place) this site says it all as to the perfidy of both the socialists and the communists (though they would be of another opinion if the communists took power and killed hundreds of thousands of people). So with this reservation as to the goals of the following here is the opinion (leftist "analysis" cough cough) of the Axis of Logic.
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Spain: Striking Metro workers face military intervention and union betrayal
By Paul Mitchell
1 July 2010
The vice-chair of the Popular Party-run Madrid regional government, Ignacio González, has warned that he is “not going to discard the option” of the military taking control of Madrid’s Metro system, which has been brought to a standstill by striking workers and brought chaos to the streets of the capital.
Metro workers walked out on June 28 on a three-day strike, incensed by the Madrid regional government passing an “Urgent Measures Law” that cuts the salary of employees of public companies like Madrid Metro by 5 percent. They voted almost unanimously at a mass meeting to ignore legal minimum service rules, which force workers to maintain 50 percent of normal service, greatly reducing the effectiveness of industrial action.
González called the strike an “an attack on the rights of citizens” and thanked the Socialist Party (PSOE) government’s interior minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, who would have to authorise the use of the army, for “his willingness to cooperate.” The last time the military was used in such circumstances was in 1976 in the dying days of the Franco Fascist dictatorship.
Madrid’s chief transport officer, José Ignacio Echevarria warned that “Metro will not negotiate as long as basic services are not respected, will not negotiate with whoever breaks the law.”
Members of the PSOE government, led by Prime Minister José Rodriguez Zapatero, declared their opposition to the strike. Labour Minister Celestino Corbacho insisted that “the right to strike must be put in relation with the mobility rights of other citizens.”
Economy Minister Elena Salgado demanded adherence to minimum service rules.
The action of the 7,500 Metro workers is a sign of the rising opposition to austerity policies and places them in opposition to the unions—the General Union of Workers (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT), which is traditionally affiliated to the PSOE, and the Workers Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO), which is politically close to Izquierda Unida (United Left), an umbrella group including the Communist Party that is sympathetic to the PSOE.
Leaders of both unions have made it clear they are deeply hostile to any political struggle against the PSOE government. UGT leader Candido Méndez declared, “Social peace is everyone’s asset and responsibility.... We are not going to break it and we don’t want to do so in the future,” whilst CC.OO General Secretary Ignacio Toxo said the aim of the unions “is not to change the government,” but to make it change direction. Similarly, Vicente Rodríguez, the Conductors Union secretary leading the Metro strike committee, said, “The Metro workers never have wanted to mix politics with the trade-union movement.”
To prevent a political struggle against the PSOE, the unions are hell-bent on reining in the Metro workers and preventing them from linking up with other workers such as those participating in Tuesday’s general strike in the Basque region of northern Spain, which shut down steel, car and other manufacturing industries.
The government is doing all it can to boost the authority of the unions. Deputy Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega ordered the chair of the Madrid regional government, Esperanza Aguirre, to “exercise her responsibilities” and begin talks with the unions in an attempt to “channel the conflict”. She made an appeal to the trade unions to make sure that minimal services are provided and warned that the government is making contingency plans to guarantee them during the September 29 general strike.
Fernández de la Vega praised the unions for their “constructive attitude during the economic crisis”. They have been involved in secret talks with the government and employers and paved the way for the government to bring in a series of austerity measures including pay cuts aimed at reducing the budget deficit from 11.4 percent to 3 percent of GDP in the next three years.
The unions are emphasising that the Metro strike is not even against the central government’s decision to cut 5 percent of the salaries of civil servants, but against the Madrid government’s unilateral decision to extend it to employees of public companies in the region—i.e., without the agreement of the unions. What they want is for the Madrid government to “sit down with the strike committee to negotiate.”
UGT general secretary on the Metro, Teodoro Piñuelas, insists that the solution lies in “respecting” the collective contract that was only negotiated a year ago. “Now the ball is in the employers’ court. We have demonstrated that we can do what we say,” Piñuelas added.
Union officials persuaded Metro workers at a mass meeting yesterday to resume minimal services today and Friday and call off the strike for the weekend “to give the people of Madrid a rest.” A union official said, “We will respect tomorrow and Friday the minimal services for the citizens, not for the politicians or the management which is not qualified to negotiate. And if we have to blow up [Madrid] again, we will do it.”
One unnamed official declared that if there is no solution by Monday, “we are going to the death and if we have to go to the kill we will go to the kill.” Another stated that “We can again produce a total strike, let them know that you can’t play with the workers” and promised that “this gesture [the end of the all-out strike] will end the moment that a single worker is presented with a disciplinary notice.”
Metro’s directors have warned that striking workers will face disciplinary action or be fired.
The bureaucracy’s demagogy is purely for show, while the media, government and trade unions increase pressure on the Metro workers before a vote on indefinite strike action takes place at the next mass meeting on Monday, July 5, at 10 a.m.
At mass meetings, workers have been regaled with bombastic speeches from trade union bureaucrats demanding “unity” at the same time as they are organising a sellout along the lines of that imposed on Madrid garbage workers a couple of weeks ago. After workers protested a May 26 announcement that Madrid authorities would slash their conditions—including cutting 200 jobs, an unspecified wage cut and modifying work patterns—the UGT and CC.OO called for an indefinite strike starting on June 21. The unions then negotiated a last-minute sellout to avert the strike, which included a wage freeze and postponing the job losses for two years.
Spain: Striking Metro workers face military intervention and union betrayal
By Paul Mitchell
1 July 2010
The vice-chair of the Popular Party-run Madrid regional government, Ignacio González, has warned that he is “not going to discard the option” of the military taking control of Madrid’s Metro system, which has been brought to a standstill by striking workers and brought chaos to the streets of the capital.
Metro workers walked out on June 28 on a three-day strike, incensed by the Madrid regional government passing an “Urgent Measures Law” that cuts the salary of employees of public companies like Madrid Metro by 5 percent. They voted almost unanimously at a mass meeting to ignore legal minimum service rules, which force workers to maintain 50 percent of normal service, greatly reducing the effectiveness of industrial action.
González called the strike an “an attack on the rights of citizens” and thanked the Socialist Party (PSOE) government’s interior minister, Alfredo Pérez Rubalcaba, who would have to authorise the use of the army, for “his willingness to cooperate.” The last time the military was used in such circumstances was in 1976 in the dying days of the Franco Fascist dictatorship.
Madrid’s chief transport officer, José Ignacio Echevarria warned that “Metro will not negotiate as long as basic services are not respected, will not negotiate with whoever breaks the law.”
Members of the PSOE government, led by Prime Minister José Rodriguez Zapatero, declared their opposition to the strike. Labour Minister Celestino Corbacho insisted that “the right to strike must be put in relation with the mobility rights of other citizens.”
Economy Minister Elena Salgado demanded adherence to minimum service rules.
The action of the 7,500 Metro workers is a sign of the rising opposition to austerity policies and places them in opposition to the unions—the General Union of Workers (Unión General de Trabajadores, UGT), which is traditionally affiliated to the PSOE, and the Workers Commissions (Comisiones Obreras, CC.OO), which is politically close to Izquierda Unida (United Left), an umbrella group including the Communist Party that is sympathetic to the PSOE.
Leaders of both unions have made it clear they are deeply hostile to any political struggle against the PSOE government. UGT leader Candido Méndez declared, “Social peace is everyone’s asset and responsibility.... We are not going to break it and we don’t want to do so in the future,” whilst CC.OO General Secretary Ignacio Toxo said the aim of the unions “is not to change the government,” but to make it change direction. Similarly, Vicente Rodríguez, the Conductors Union secretary leading the Metro strike committee, said, “The Metro workers never have wanted to mix politics with the trade-union movement.”
To prevent a political struggle against the PSOE, the unions are hell-bent on reining in the Metro workers and preventing them from linking up with other workers such as those participating in Tuesday’s general strike in the Basque region of northern Spain, which shut down steel, car and other manufacturing industries.
The government is doing all it can to boost the authority of the unions. Deputy Prime Minister María Teresa Fernández de la Vega ordered the chair of the Madrid regional government, Esperanza Aguirre, to “exercise her responsibilities” and begin talks with the unions in an attempt to “channel the conflict”. She made an appeal to the trade unions to make sure that minimal services are provided and warned that the government is making contingency plans to guarantee them during the September 29 general strike.
Fernández de la Vega praised the unions for their “constructive attitude during the economic crisis”. They have been involved in secret talks with the government and employers and paved the way for the government to bring in a series of austerity measures including pay cuts aimed at reducing the budget deficit from 11.4 percent to 3 percent of GDP in the next three years.
The unions are emphasising that the Metro strike is not even against the central government’s decision to cut 5 percent of the salaries of civil servants, but against the Madrid government’s unilateral decision to extend it to employees of public companies in the region—i.e., without the agreement of the unions. What they want is for the Madrid government to “sit down with the strike committee to negotiate.”
UGT general secretary on the Metro, Teodoro Piñuelas, insists that the solution lies in “respecting” the collective contract that was only negotiated a year ago. “Now the ball is in the employers’ court. We have demonstrated that we can do what we say,” Piñuelas added.
Union officials persuaded Metro workers at a mass meeting yesterday to resume minimal services today and Friday and call off the strike for the weekend “to give the people of Madrid a rest.” A union official said, “We will respect tomorrow and Friday the minimal services for the citizens, not for the politicians or the management which is not qualified to negotiate. And if we have to blow up [Madrid] again, we will do it.”
One unnamed official declared that if there is no solution by Monday, “we are going to the death and if we have to go to the kill we will go to the kill.” Another stated that “We can again produce a total strike, let them know that you can’t play with the workers” and promised that “this gesture [the end of the all-out strike] will end the moment that a single worker is presented with a disciplinary notice.”
Metro’s directors have warned that striking workers will face disciplinary action or be fired.
The bureaucracy’s demagogy is purely for show, while the media, government and trade unions increase pressure on the Metro workers before a vote on indefinite strike action takes place at the next mass meeting on Monday, July 5, at 10 a.m.
At mass meetings, workers have been regaled with bombastic speeches from trade union bureaucrats demanding “unity” at the same time as they are organising a sellout along the lines of that imposed on Madrid garbage workers a couple of weeks ago. After workers protested a May 26 announcement that Madrid authorities would slash their conditions—including cutting 200 jobs, an unspecified wage cut and modifying work patterns—the UGT and CC.OO called for an indefinite strike starting on June 21. The unions then negotiated a last-minute sellout to avert the strike, which included a wage freeze and postponing the job losses for two years.
MMMMMMMMMM
MOLLY'S FINAL WORD:
This strike is important because it is the first direct challenge to the austerity programs in Europe (which we will be seeing in the rest of the world and are already seeing in Canada) that actually has economic power behind it. If the strike succeeds then the governments of Europe (or at least of Spain) will be forced to compromise with ordinary people. If it fails then it will be a major setback for ordinary people in Europe in terms of who exactly is to pay for the present crisis. Is such a compromise possible ? Your guess is as good as mine. Greece, Spain, France, Italy...all of the strikes have been symbolic. This is the first real confrontation.
To follow the course of this strike Molly recommends the following Spanish links (unfortunately all in Spanish) :
1) A Las Barricades http://www.alasbarricades,org
2)La Haine http://www.lahaine.org
3)Kaos En La Red http://www.kaosenlared.net
Labels: CGT, CNT, current events, financial crisis, international labour, international politics, labour, Madrid, madrid Metro strike, Solidaridad Obrera, Spain, strike.
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
INTERNATIONAL POLITICS EUROPE:
STRIKES LEAD TO FURTHER CONFRONTATIONS IN EUROPE:
General strikes in Greece and the Basque countries in Spain were generally successful the other day, and at least in Greece led to further confrontations with the police during the strikers' demonstrations. Meanwhile in Madrid an unlimited strike on the metro has led to confrontations with the police there as well. The Madrid strike is supported by all three of the Spanish anarchosyndicalist organizations, the CGT, the CNT and Solidaridad Obrera. According to Solidaridad Obrera who are particularly strong in the Madrid Metro the strike has had practically 100% compliance, a considerable step up with the poorly attended "general strike" in the public sector called by the "official" trade unions, the UGT and the CCOO, earlier this month. The one day general strike in the Basque countries where local unions outweigh the larger national ones was also more successful.
The following is a story from The Independent in Ireland about the strike in Greece. Note that "numbers" are a continued bone of contention. the unions claim far larger numbers at their demonstrations than are reported here.
ESESESESES
Greece, Spain rocked by riots in a day of protests
By William Fernie in Athens
Wednesday June 30 2010
Dozens of masked youths clashed with police yesterday at a union protest in Athens during a general strike against the cash-strapped Greek government's planned pension and labour reforms.
Similar strikes in Spain also led to arrests and clashes with police.
Greek riot police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse troublemakers who threw chunks of marble smashed off a metro station entrance and set rubbish bins on fire.
The violence came as 10,000 people took part in a demonstration organised by the country's two main unions and fringe left-wing groups. A separate march by 5,000 members of the Communist Party-backed PAME union ended peacefully.
Public services shut down across Greece as workers walked off the job as the strike disrupted public transport, left hospitals operating on emergency staff and pulled all news broadcasts off the air.
They are protesting against draft legislation that would increase retirement ages and make it cheaper for companies to fire workers. The measures are aimed at fixing the country's debt crisis, which has shaken the entire eurozone. Similar protests in May also turned violent, with three workers dying in a bank torched by rioters.
Greece is caught in a major debt and deficit crisis. It avoided bankruptcy last month only after receiving the first installment of a €110bn emergency loan package from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund.
In Spain, similar strikes against austerity measures caused transport havoc in Madrid and led to clashes between police. Subway trains stopped running because of the stoppage to protest against public sector wage cuts ordered by the government. Spain is struggling to emerge from nearly two years of recession following the collapse of its construction sector which had earlier fuelled a decade of economic boom.
Besides its swollen deficit problems, it also has an unemployment rate of 20pc, the highest in the EU.
- William Fernie in Athens
Irish Independent
ESESESESES
Predictably the most militant clashes with the police (or attacks by the police from another viewpoint) happened in Greece. Here's a report of clashes from the Occupied London Blog. Note the difference in crowd size estimates between this report and the one above. Note also that yet another general strike is planned for next week in Greece.
ESESESESES
General strike day in Athens:
Demonstrators attack police with their bare hands;
Fascists rooted off the demo;
Super-market looted;
Riot police beat demonstrators in the metro;
money transfer vans chasen out of Exarcheia
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
A brief summary of a very eventful day…
■At least 13 detentions in the Athens demonstration alone, six of which have turned into arrests (that is, these people face charges). There are already e-mails circulating, denouncing the unprovoked arrest of Dimitris Aggelis Dimakis, a student of European History at the University of Athens. Any updates on Dimitris’ case, or any other of today’s arrestees, will be published here.
■The general strike demonstration largely lacked in numbers (anything between 30,000 and 50,000 might be a good estimate, that together with the demo of the Stalinist PAME, which is always separate). The reasons could be anything from the numbness so many feel from the cataclysmic changes happening all around us, to the May 5th aftermath, or simply that we’re entering deep summer. In any case, what we lacked in numbers we had in the passion of some people who were out on the streets. When a couple of riot police units tried to cross through part of the demonstration at Syntagma (just opposite parliament) they were evidently surprised to see the amount of abuse they got from “ordinary” demonstrators who attacked them with empty water bottles and their bare hands, to send them out of the demonstration. More photos from this incident here.
■Earlier on, at exactly the same spot (Syntagma square, opposite the Grande Bretagne hotel) around 25-30 fascists had gathered with Greek flags, banners, army clothing and so on. They were attacked by a few comrades who were immediately joined in by other demonstrators. The fascists were attacked with their own flag poles. They were chased all the way to the other end of Syntagma square, where they found refuge behind a riot police unit. This is the second attempt by small fascist groups to join in a general strike demonstration (the first being May 20th) but they must be learning a lesson by now.Some more photos from today’s demonstration in Athens are here.
■Before the demonstration, about 25 comrades stormed in the supermarket Sklavenitis in the neighbourhood of Pagrati and removed essential goods which they then re-distributed at a nearby open air market, along with a text explaining their action. A similar action took place in Thessaloniki, too.
■After the demonstration, two money transfer vans driving through Exarcheia were chased and smashed up at Stournari Street (close to the Polytechnic school).
■Finally, after the demonstration in Athens, riot police units stormed the metro and chased people who were leaving the people. They were attacking, beating and pushing people at the platforms with imminent danger for the demonstrators’ lives. More photos from the Omonoia station incident here.
■Meanwhile, overground, riot police were also beating demonstrations – again at Omonoia:
■Earlier, at Syntagma square again, the thugs of the “Delta” motorcycle police force were only too eager to confirm the old Greek saying, “stupidity is unbeatable”. Two of their motorcycles collided with one another. The result?
This sums up the main incidents from Athens today. The mainstream trade union, GSEE, has already announced there will be another strike next week – the date is yet to be confirmed and will appear here as soon as it is known.
ESESESESES
Meanwhile in the Basque countries (Euskadi) of Spain another one day general strike happened on June 29. Once more estimates of the participation rate vary dramatically depending on the source, the Basque government claiming only about 10% while union sources claiming upwards of 70%. The strike was supported by the local Basque unions and the anarchosyndicalists across the province while the CCOO and the UGT only supported it in part of Euskadi. Here's a report from the CGT in Nafarroa published in Rojo Y Negro, the newspaper of the CGT. The original Spanish can be seen at the reference above.
ESESESESES
29 of June One Day Strike in Pamplona . Assessment and Chronical
From the CGT -Nafarroa: We started our activity at 5 am by car handing out leaflets in the streets and parks calling the rally and demonstration we had convened . (Full stop here...you'll know that anarchists are serious when they're willing to start at 5 am-Mollymew )
At 5:20 pm, a picket at the gates of VW, with police identification check of a companero and an inspection of the banner.
Later, at 6:20 pm, we have concentrated on the train station , distributing propaganda and information to users and workers. At 7:30 pm there was a demonstration in the Plaza de las Merindades and the beginning of a colorful bicycle picket by the different neighborhoods of the city which received police harassment was intended to stop our presence in the street... harassment by the motorcycles and vans of the various police , a fine from the municipal police , identification checks of everyone by the national police ... All this added to the previous fine in the campaign of preparation for the strike day .
At 11 am, in the Plaza del Vinculo , a large rally began with the participation of various companeros of the union , all in both Euskera and Castilian , as well as Ceacero Jacinto , Secretary General of the CGT. The various interventions revolved around:
•Stop the cuts and defend the rights achieved with struggle by the workers in past decades.
•Change the socioeconomic model : in the face of growth, competitiveness and exclusion, division: sharing limited growth and self-management .
•Maintenance of the mobilization: the strike as a starting point to recover space and autonomy, not as an end .
After the rally , which was set to music thanks to the participation of the Libertarian Fanfarra , we started to march on the Plaza del Castillo, where we joined the protest from other unions.
The assessment of the day we have is positive because of the degree of 'electricity' we perceived that we reached as an organization, in a general climate of social and labor apathy . We understand that protests like those today have a high potential of spreading to more social sectors and more territories and to expand quantitatively and qualitatively the mobilization to stop the advance of neoliberalism that we suffer.
So from today we start to think of and prepare the next step in the escalating mobilization that we want.
CGT Nafarroa
ESESESESES
Perhaps the most significant event in the European strike wave is the Metro strike in Madrid even though it is not a general strike. It is, however, a strike in an absolutely critical industrial sector and, most importantly, it is not a symbolic one day strike. It's unlimited as they like to say in Spain. It is also the strike where the anarchosyndicalists seem to have their greatest influence. Unfortunately I'm running out of time so I'll have to take this up later, hopefully tomorrow. This strike will probably still be happening then unless one side or the other backs down.
Labels: Basque countries, CGT, general strike, Greece, international labour, international politics, Occupied London Blog, Spain, strike.
