IWA-AIT

The following is a report by our Portuguese sister organisation about austerity measures and the recent general strike..

On the last 24th November a new general strike took place in Portugal, exactly one year after the previous one. This was the seventh general strike in Portugal in 37 years and the third convoked by the two main labor unions CGTP and UGT.

Joint statement by CNT, CGT and SO in Spain

The Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT) and Solidaridad Obrera (SO) trade unions met on 17th October last with the aim of continuing along the path towards unity of action, mobilization and the General Strike.

Mobilizations that have become necessary in order to fight policies of cuts in social spending, the dismantlement of public services (healthcare, transport, education, etc.) and the loss of labour and social rights that are currently being promoted by European governments and institutions at the behest of the employers and markets, and also against labour reforms, changes to the pension system and the reform of collective bargaining. Because they want the working class and the most vulnerable sectors of society to pay for the crisis and make sure the capitalist system survives.

On the evening of 29th September, a number of SolFed members trekked to the swanky West End of London to stand in solidarity with the Spanish working class.

We arrived, banners in hand, first to the Spanish Consulate and then to the Embassy. Our arrival coincided with a national day of action called by a coalition of radical Spanish unions, including SF's sister organisation, the CNT. With events planned all over Spain, these militant workers and militant workers' organisations are calling for a general strike to overcome the brutal austerity cuts the Spanish state is attempting to force on Spain's working class.

A successful international campaign took place on August 19th, in solidarity with the workers at the Ford Visteon plant in Cadiz (Spain). The workers are facing the threat of imminent closure of the factory, thus leaving more than 450 people unemployed.   Meanwhile, once again, we are reminded how multinationals can do and undo at will and with full impunity, even if it means leaving many families without a livelihood, as well as greatly affecting both the region and the sector because of the direct and indirect jobs that will be lost.

A joint statement released by our Spanish sister section, the CNT, along with several other Spanish unions (leer en español).

The unions Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), Solidaridad Obrera (SO) and Coordinadora Sindical de Clase (CSC) met on June 24 in Madrid to discuss how we can respond to the attack we the workers are under, an attack without precedents, one that bushwhacks our acquired rights, one made a reality by the government and European institutions, the bosses and the markets. How we can coordinate a struggle, and a response, based on class unity and action.

On Monday 20th June, Solfed arrived once again at the steps of the Serbian embassy in Belgrave square. Following the successful campaign to free the Belgrade 6, we are somewhat familiar with Serbian state and it's repressive tendancies. This time the picket was called in solidarity with the International Anti-NATO Campaign. We hope that international solidarity will work as well as it did last time and lead to swift justice. Text of leaflet below:

Monday, 20th June, 10.00 - 12.00

PROTEST IN FRONT OF THE SERBIAN EMBASSY, LONDON

called by Solidarity Federation in solidarity with the International Anti-NATO Campaign.

Text of leaflet:

From 13th to 15th of June the city of Belgrade (Serbia) saw the largest NATO gathering in the world. In response, international libertarian groups organized an Anti-NATO campaign to protest against militarism, imperialism and capitalist exploitation which are all synonymous with NATO. Those gathered in Belgrade in days prior to the rally faced intimidation, harassment and criminalization by the authorities, which forced the Anti-NATO Camp to be cancelled. Simultaneously the campaign faced total media blackout.

On Friday the 3rd of June, four members of the North London Solidarity Federation were lucky enough to sit down with and engage in comradely discussion some twelve members of the Milan Local of the Italian USI – AIT.

As one North London SolFed member is currently residing in Milan, when USI heard that other NLSFers were coming to town, they requested we join them at their local office (well, one one of two local offices) to discuss what sorts of activities IWA members have been getting up to in London. Acting through two very capable interpreters, North London led a discussion on the 'structure, strategy, and practical activities' of London Solfed. In particular, USI were interested in our training program, our relationship to other radical organisations in the UK, and the UK student movement. They also seemed to be quite impressed with the quality of our publicity with both organisations exchanging newspapers, leaflets, and posters.

The turn of the year saw the 85th anniversary of the IWA’s founding in Berlin in December 1922 and January 1923. Here, we look at the struggle to establish an (anarcho-)syndicalist International in the 50 years between the demise of the 1st International and the events in Berlin

Many basic tenets of anarcho-syndicalism developed within the 1st International. After the split between anarchists and Marxists in 1872 the anarchist wing of the International, with a membership of 150,000, still had influence beyond its numbers. Throughout the 1870s, it assisted the development of anarcho-syndicalism.

The following is a report by our Portuguese sister organisation on the one-day general strike that paralyzed Portugal on November 24, as Portuguese workers fight austerity measures being imposed by the Socialist Party government.

This is the first general strike in Portugal for the last 22 years and that alone should shed some light over the social situation in this country. In fact, class struggle in Portugal is quite low and the number of strikes has actually been falling for the past thirty years, despite the continuously worsening situation of the Portuguese working class. Unionisation rates tend to fall as well, as the two large Portuguese party-run Trade Unions serve more to appease and stall conflicts than to fight exploitation, and that hasn't gone unnoticed.