Η Ελευθεριακή Συνδικαλιστική Ενωση συμμετέχει στο Κοκκινόμαυρο Συντονισμό( Red and Black Coordination)
By commemorating May 1st in 2020, we, the unions that form the Red and Black Coordination, shall not « lock down » our demands. Beyond the health crisis caused by the Coronavirus, we shall raise our voices to continue denouncing the greed of capital which continues to devour the wealth generated by the working class, and workers’ health and lives, too.
It is common knowledge that on Labour Day, the so-called Chicago Martyrs are honoured, anarchist trade unionists who were executed in the United States. They participated in the days of struggle to achieve the 8-hour working day, which originated in the strike on May 1, 1886 and reached its peak three days later, on May 4, with the Haymarket Revolt. Since then, May 1 has become a day of international struggle and solidarity.
However, this year, this tribute, this day of struggle, must go further than the traditional demands, for we must remember how the COVID-19 crisis has been affecting lives on the peripheries of society among temporary workers, riders, homeless people, refugees and immigrants, prisoners, dependents, the elderly…
Faced with governmental measures taken by the same old crews as usual, mutual support and solidarity -the values that have defined anarcho-syndicalism, must prevail, now more than ever, among workers and neighbours, as in any type of social relationship.
However, the self-management of production centres must also spring to mind. We must be aware of the closure of companies and the destruction of jobs caused by this pandemic. Therefore, the occupation of workplaces and management by workers could provide a solution.
And so, at the Red and Black Coordination, we are united by our traditional demands on this day, those that, though by no means new, must never be forgotten, since, in the face of a pandemic, the problems of the working class, today more than ever, are necessarily international:
- A universal and public healthcare system
- Basic income or the prohibition of dismissals and the maintenance of wages
- Financial aid to dependents, the elderly and vulnerable people
- Decent pensions
- An end to repression and the defence of the right to strike.
- The repeal of labour reforms that make for precarious working conditions
- Real measures to fight against the machoism that prevails in our society
When this confinement ends, we will go on strike and take to the streets again to demand that companies put in place all the necessary measures to preserve workers’ health and prevent workplace accidents. We will also demand that the repressive and liberticidal laws be repealed and that we dispose of the necessary budgets to guarantee quality public services for everybody, including migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.
Long Live May Day and Long Live the Working Class!
