They campaigned in their pastry shop against the dismissal of a pregnant
woman, unpaid overtime and sexual harassment. Now our trade union
comrades are to be sent to prison for this. Attacks on trade union
freedom are international and must be answered internationally! We stand
together, we for them, they for us! ---- Why should you be interested in
this? ---- Without trade union struggles, things would look bleak today:
no 8-hour day, no Sunday off, no protection against dismissal, no
occupational safety, no protection during pregnancy, etc. etc... All of
these rights are expressions of struggles, mostly by trade unions. And
these rights and the trade unions themselves have been and are being
attacked again and again in an attempt to increase profit rates on our
backs. At the moment, in Germany too, we are experiencing repeated
questioning of trade union rights, even to the point of the most vile
agitation (in which the SPD, CDU and AfD often do not hold back). In the
next few years, Germany will face a serious economic crisis, not to
mention a shift to the right. Our rights fundamentally depend on us
defending them and our unions, including internationally.
Prison sentence after labor dispute?
In the Spanish city of Gijón, our sister union CNT fought for the
improvement of working conditions in the "La Suiza" pastry shop. The
issue was the above-mentioned grievances. After the boss turned down an
offer of talks, there were registered rallies and actions in front of
the company. The police were always present and had nothing to complain
about. The opposing side responded with legal action, including for
alleged coercion in a complaint that was over 11,000 pages (!) long. A
judge at the regional court, known to be very anti-worker and
anti-union, followed the boss's request and in 2021 sentenced 6
colleagues to 3.5 years in prison without parole each and to a fine
totaling EUR125,428, to be paid to the employer. The CNT appealed, but
the Spanish Supreme Court confirmed the previous ruling last June. The
remaining legal remedies are vanishingly small: going to the European
Court of Justice or a legal attempt to have the prison sentence suspended.
If the rulings catch on and become a legal standard, trade union freedom
and work in Spain would suffer a very massive setback. Because other
unions also classify this attack in this way, there was a historically
unique joint press conference of all major Spanish unions on July 13,
2024 to support the CNT in this conflict. Several dozen unions are
currently showing their solidarity and calling for a demonstration in
Gijón on September 28th for the six colleagues from "La Suiza" and for
trade union freedom.
Our international trade union federation, the "International
Confederation of Labour" (ICL), is also calling for an international day
of action on this day.
What is setting a precedent in Spain could soon be on our hands too.
Where the rights of Spanish workers are curtailed, we workers in Germany
are also coming under pressure.
What can you do?
Become a union member, fight with us for your rights and all of our
rights, sign the petition (field 1: first and last name, field 2: email
address, field 3: space for message) demanding the release of the
comrades and stay informed about local struggles on dd.fau.org.
https://fda-ifa.org/freiheit-fuer-die-6-gewerkschafterinnen-von-la-suiza-in-spanien/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
woman, unpaid overtime and sexual harassment. Now our trade union
comrades are to be sent to prison for this. Attacks on trade union
freedom are international and must be answered internationally! We stand
together, we for them, they for us! ---- Why should you be interested in
this? ---- Without trade union struggles, things would look bleak today:
no 8-hour day, no Sunday off, no protection against dismissal, no
occupational safety, no protection during pregnancy, etc. etc... All of
these rights are expressions of struggles, mostly by trade unions. And
these rights and the trade unions themselves have been and are being
attacked again and again in an attempt to increase profit rates on our
backs. At the moment, in Germany too, we are experiencing repeated
questioning of trade union rights, even to the point of the most vile
agitation (in which the SPD, CDU and AfD often do not hold back). In the
next few years, Germany will face a serious economic crisis, not to
mention a shift to the right. Our rights fundamentally depend on us
defending them and our unions, including internationally.
Prison sentence after labor dispute?
In the Spanish city of Gijón, our sister union CNT fought for the
improvement of working conditions in the "La Suiza" pastry shop. The
issue was the above-mentioned grievances. After the boss turned down an
offer of talks, there were registered rallies and actions in front of
the company. The police were always present and had nothing to complain
about. The opposing side responded with legal action, including for
alleged coercion in a complaint that was over 11,000 pages (!) long. A
judge at the regional court, known to be very anti-worker and
anti-union, followed the boss's request and in 2021 sentenced 6
colleagues to 3.5 years in prison without parole each and to a fine
totaling EUR125,428, to be paid to the employer. The CNT appealed, but
the Spanish Supreme Court confirmed the previous ruling last June. The
remaining legal remedies are vanishingly small: going to the European
Court of Justice or a legal attempt to have the prison sentence suspended.
If the rulings catch on and become a legal standard, trade union freedom
and work in Spain would suffer a very massive setback. Because other
unions also classify this attack in this way, there was a historically
unique joint press conference of all major Spanish unions on July 13,
2024 to support the CNT in this conflict. Several dozen unions are
currently showing their solidarity and calling for a demonstration in
Gijón on September 28th for the six colleagues from "La Suiza" and for
trade union freedom.
Our international trade union federation, the "International
Confederation of Labour" (ICL), is also calling for an international day
of action on this day.
What is setting a precedent in Spain could soon be on our hands too.
Where the rights of Spanish workers are curtailed, we workers in Germany
are also coming under pressure.
What can you do?
Become a union member, fight with us for your rights and all of our
rights, sign the petition (field 1: first and last name, field 2: email
address, field 3: space for message) demanding the release of the
comrades and stay informed about local struggles on dd.fau.org.
https://fda-ifa.org/freiheit-fuer-die-6-gewerkschafterinnen-von-la-suiza-in-spanien/
_________________________________________
A - I N F O S N E W S S E R V I C E
By, For, and About Anarchists
Send news reports to A-infos-en mailing list
A-infos-en@ainfos.ca
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