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Call for International Solidarity (CNT-AIT) - TWO MONTHS ON STRIKE!

Submitted on Tue, 05/23/2006 - 2:18pm

Reposted by request in solidarity with additional editing for clarity by intexile.

To all workers and unionists, this is an emergency calling for economic solidarity for the comrades from the supermarkets Mercadona, who are currently enduring their second month of an indefinite strike.

This strike has got some caracteristics which doesn´t have seen the CNT for many years. Mercadona is a big enterprise, very repressive, powerful and which doesn´t have hesitate to commit violent acts to members of the CNT or our comrades (including having the Civil Guard (officially paramilitary police force) at their command or issuing death threats to us, our comrades, and our families).

These workers are demonstrating a great example of struggle and solidarity . Mercadona not only denies their rights but even doesn´t pay their workers. Refusal to pay earned wages provoked the strike.

Mercadona knows that they can defeat us with economic means. Therefore we cannot allow losing this great struggle and strike for economic reasons. Our comrades in Mercadona VERY URGENTLY need money to support their families. We need 18,000 euros monthly (aprox. $22,000 US) to go on with the strike which will be long and very hard.

The workers of the world can show a great example of solidarity to these workers making economic contributions so that their families can eat, that their children won´t be hungry for the fault of those shameless. And finally that the CNT can continue this strike and in this way maintain the basic expenditures of these workers. In that case they have major necessities than in other recent strikes, because in a city like Barcelona the living costs are really high and the payments for mortgage are suffocating (an average of 70% of the income of a family).

We repeat, we cannot allow them to asphyxiate the families of those on strike, which is a legitimate strike and therefore we urgently call on the workers of the world to show economic solidarity to our comrades.

The Bank: La Caixa

  • Solidarity account: 2100 - 1183 - 35 - 0100505773
  • Europe: IBAN: ES08 2100 1183 3501 0050 5773
  • Rest of the world: BIC (Swift): CAIXESBBXXX 2100 1183 3501 0050 5773

About the strike

The strike started because they fired three comrades, members of the labour union group of the CNT in the Logistic Center of the supermarket chain Mercadona en Sant SadurnĂ­ d’Anoia (Barcelona, Spain). One of them was the oficial delegate of the CNT in the company.

The company was harassing their workers for a lon time before the strike, but when it was notified to them that CNT created a section they started to punish and to threat all of workers and especially the delegates of the union section of the CNT.

The situation is uncceptable to the workers, Mercadona was hiring strike breakers for the Logistic Center before the workers declared (or even suggested) that they might strike, and the repression was hardened.

With this situation the workers initially struck for ten days, but later extended it indefinitely. We are now into the second month of the strike, and we fear the strike will be long and very hard.

These are the objectives of the strike:

  • readmision of the three fired comrades
  • payment of the half an our of making traces (thanks to the collective agreement made by the UGT [reformist labour union] it isn’t regarded like efective working time. In this way the weekly work time is increased)
  • fulfillment of the oficial standards of security and hygiene in the work place
  • end all harassing practices
  • recognition of the union section of the CNT in the company and its delegates guarantee that all fired workers be rehired or pay special renumeration for unfounded dismissal
  • Support the strike in Mercadona! We won’t lose this struggle!

CNT-AIT Barcelona