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.
450 workers at the Visteon Cadiz Electronica factory are facing the scrapheap. The local section of the CNT union is fighting against the closure of the plant. Other reformist unions inside the plant are engaged in a pantomime struggle, focusing not on saving jobs but simply negotiating over redundancy plans with the bosses. The closure of the plant comes as no surprise: already in 2009, there was a temporary forced adjustment plan which affected almost the entire workforce for six months, and skilled workers were moved to other facilities of the multinational, preparing the ground to continue producing the same car components elsewhere. This follows a pattern which is now well known.
IWA statement regarding the struggle of our Spanish sister section against the closure of a factory owned by Ford-Visteon. (please find aposter attached to this post)
With reference to initiatives taken by the CNT union section at Cadiz Electrónica S.A. Ford-Visteon and the CNT of Jerez, there will be a new International Day of Struggle against Ford-Visteon on October 14.
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.
Translation of a Spanish statement building for a general strike. See below for the original text.
Various union organisations and social movements release a schedule of joint mobilisations leading towards a general strike
Throughout summer, various union organisations across the federalist sphere – such as the CGT, CNT, COBAS, CSC and Solidaridad Obrera – have held various meetings in order to put into motion a mobilised response, based on the unity of action and class, towards the end of a General Strike against the cuts and loss of rights put in place by both the government and European institutions and upon the orders of the bosses and the markets.
On Thursday the 18th of August, about 10 members from the London Locals of the Solidarity Federation met outside a Ford dealership in south London to demonstrate in solidarity with Spanish auto workers who are fighting the closure of their factory.
Below is a statement by our Spanish sister section on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the beginning of the Spanish Revolution (Spanish original)
This 19th of July is the 75 anniversary of the 1936 Spanish Revolution. 75 years since that Summer when the workers took to the streets, not just to defend themselves from the coup d’etat started by the fascists, but also to fight for their future, where they saw a different society based on equality, solidarity and mutual support. Despite the time elapsed between then and now we can point out two similarities and one fundamental difference.
Las organizaciones sindicales Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), Confederación Nacional del Trabajo (CNT), Solidaridad Obrera (SO) y Coordinadora Sindical de Clase (CSC) nos reunimos el pasado 24 de junio en Madrid para valorar las respuestas que, ante el ataque sin precedentes que trabajadores y trabajadoras estamos sufriendo por la política de recortes y pérdida de derechos impulsada por el gobierno y las instituciones europeas, a instancias de la patronal y los mercados, debemos oponer en un proceso de lucha coordinada desde la unidad de acción y de clase.
Las distintas organizaciones sindicales participantes compartimos el rechazo frontal a unas políticas que, con las sucesivas reformas laborales, los recortes en el sistema de pensiones, la reforma de la negociación colectiva y los recortes sociales y en los servicios públicos, pretenden, una vez más, que sean los trabajadores y trabajadoras, y los sectores más débiles de la sociedad, quienes paguen la crisis capitalista.
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.
This is a fascinating documentary film about the Spanish revolution featuring personal testimonies from numerous anarcho-syndicalist militants who took part. Today, 75 years after it began, the lessons of the revolution - its successes and failures - remain as relevant as ever.
For more info on the 75th anniversary commemoration of the revolution, visit here (in Spanish).
