Serbian Union official cuts off finger in protest

[Bandito]

President of Textile workers union from Novi Pazar, Serbia, Zoran Bulatović that is on a hunger strike with his fellow workers, chopped off his finger and ate it.
Bulatović said that each day another worker will do the same, until they get their salaries from 1993 till this day.
Three days ago, revolted workers have locked themselves in their quarters and began huger strike. They have sent a message to serbian Prime minister Mirko Cvetkovic demanding that it is urgent that the conversion of company "Raska"'s debts are resolved and that state must pay the workers.
Workers say that their situation is direct consequence of state's neglection and favor for big business.


What to say?
........:scared:

[#FF0000]

What the christ

[Black_Flag]

Fuck. Now thats commitment.

[Stranger Than Paradise]

Now the way he says everyday a worker will chop off their finger it seems like they are being forced to do it.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I can see maybe the little toe - but a finger? How can you continue to work without fingers? I guess they are only fighting for back pay. But still, I'd like to see the worker's comp paperwork on that one.

I think strikes where you shut down the workplace or occupy the work place are much more effective than finger eatin' strikes.

Factory and farm workers get their fingers eaten by machinery all the time - the bosses don't care about worker's friggin' fingers!

[Glenn Beck]

They're waiting on money from 1993? No wonder they are so goddamn desperate.

Good luck to them

[Jimmie Higgins]

"Finger lickin' bad."

[rednordman]

yowzazs! These serbian workers put us all to shame!

[Rjevan]

Heavens, dedication nice and well but maybe this is a little exaggerated! :scared:

[LOLseph Stalin]

Well this is quite insane. It's incredible what Capitalist oppression can lead to. If these workers eventually cut off all their fingers they won't even be able to work. Oh well, maybe the cApitalists will finally get the message because they begin losing workers due to loss fingers. I do still have to say this is insane though. :scared:

[rednordman]

The Union Leader is a hardliner...but for heavens sake, Dont go that far. He must really hate his employers... Now this, I can relate to.

[LOLseph Stalin]

He must really hate his employers... Now this, I can relate to.

Who here can't? ;)

[Sasha]

when it came to hungerstrikes and protestsucide and stuff my grandma (who was a camp survivor) always said "dont do the guards work for them".

i agree with her, why not chop the finger of the boss instead?

[PRC-UTE]

any links to this? :scared:

[Lamanov]

It shouldn't be understood as dedication, but as despair. This is tragic.

They should chop off heads of those who are responsible.

[Andropov]

With a level of commitment that drastic they will certainly battle the employers to the finish line.
If anything this action is making a statement that these workers mean business.

[Bandito]

Links are only in serbian, but there is the picture and a video of the leader:
http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2009&mm=04&dd=24&nav_id=357201

[Oneironaut]

This is tragic. I can't imagine how fucking desperate that man is.

[NecroCommie]

Why is this topic named: "drastic move"? The topic should be named: "A dude in Serbia chopped his fucking finger as protest!!!!!!!"

[punisa]

:scared::scared::scared::scared:

[LOLseph Stalin]

:scared::scared::scared::scared:

I would say that pretty much sums it up. As i've said earlier it's simply insane. This guy is desperate.

[Nulono]

President of Textile workers union from Novi Pazar, Serbia, Zoran Bulatović that is on a hunger strike with his fellow workers, chopped off his finger and ate it.
Doesn't eating your finger contradict the basic premise of a hunger strike?

[JohnnyC]

Here is the link on english.

http://www.b92.net/eng/news/politics-article.php?yyyy=2009&mm=04&dd=25&nav_id=58734

[RedSabine]

I say badass. That'll get the boss's attention.

[Dóchas]

what happens if one of the workers doesnt want to cut off his/her own finger and eat it... are they then a scab?

[Q]

Fuck. Now thats commitment.

No, complete desperation.

[butterfly]

This isn't something to revered.

[Rjevan]

Er, how are things now about paying them? It must have been three fingers up to today and I think that it should have attracted enough attention to force the government to do something. Or are they just waiting?

[redarmyfaction38]

Er, how are things now about paying them? It must have been three fingers up to today and I think that it should have attracted enough attention to force the government to do something. Or are they just waiting?
unfortunately, this post on this website, is the first i've heard of it.
given the lack of publicity, the media blackout, these workers will sacrifice in vain.
it's a bit like the visteon actions, if you don't subscribe or visit leftist web sites or buy their papers then you are completely unaware of what resistance is actually going on.

[Hoxhaist]

this terrible tragedy shows the true price of capitalism. the desperation that this workers have been driven to ought to shame every capitalist around the world!

[TheCultofAbeLincoln]

when it came to hungerstrikes and protestsucide and stuff my grandma (who was a camp survivor) always said "dont do the guards work for them".

i agree with her, why not chop the finger of the boss instead?

Exactly what I was thinking.

I get the feeling said strike would be so much more effective if you cut off the bosses finger and threatend to chop another one everyday the strike goes on.

Anyway, good luck to the strikers!

[Revy]

This isn't dedication. This is self-mutilation.
going on a hunger strike is one thing. Chopping off your finger and eating it is horrific.

[Bandito]

Nobody was paying attention to the hunger strike, that's what the problem was.

[Coggeh]

This could well be a sign of how weak the workers movement really is . That workers need to go to these lengths to even get attention and even then the headlines will be 'crazy man eats his finger' and not 'employer exploits workers etc'

[Bandito]

Actually, the media here don't describe him as "crazy".
He is considered a desperate man, and all the photos in the newspapers is ones of his tired face and desparate look.
He plans to bring his workers and their families to Belgrade as a protest. No doubt leftist organizations here will be there as a support.

[cyu]

Nobody was paying attention to the hunger strike, that's what the problem was.


There are better ways to get attention, even if the media is owned by capitalists: they could show up at their local TV station, walk in, and stand in front of the newscasters while they are trying to film the news. While the reporters are trying to talk, all they have to do is take the microphones out of their hands, and then use the microphones to say what they want to say.

[Dr Mindbender]

They're protesting the wrong way. They should chop off and eat the bosses fingers instead.

[PRC-UTE]

I hope this is a bluff. Disgraceful that he's been driven to this.

[Bitter Ashes]

http://itn.co.uk/news/281456120369e3f979d8eea8525e193c.html

Serbian's DIY amputation protest

Updated 17.03 Mon Apr 27 2009

A Serbian union official has cut off his little finger and eaten it, in protest at unpaid wages.
Zoran Bulatovic used a hacksaw to remove the digit and said "it hurt like hell".
He said some workers at the Raska Holding textile factory in Novi Pazar had been waiting years to be paid, and had nothing to eat, so he ate his finger to make an example.
His colleagues threatened to follow suit, one at a time, but any further DIY amputations have been put on hold until talks are held with the Government on Tuesday.
Raska was once a major textile firm, but its workforce has dwindled from 4,000 in the 1980s to around 100.
Some of its staff have not been paid for years, only receiving benefits such as medical care.
© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.
Now that is one desperate worker :crying:
Amazing show of solidarity though if the other workers were serious about carrying it out too. Call me an evil scab, but I dont think I'd have the guts to take part in this kind of protest.

[Killfacer]

This will just make the whole thing a freak show. It won't be "look, there's a dedicated man fighting for his wages" it will be "look there's that bloke who ate his finger, freak!".

[Chambered Word]

President of Textile workers union from Novi Pazar, Serbia, Zoran Bulatović that is on a hunger strike with his fellow workers, chopped off his finger and ate it.
Bulatović said that each day another worker will do the same, until they get their salaries from 1993 till this day.
Three days ago, revolted workers have locked themselves in their quarters and began huger strike. They have sent a message to serbian Prime minister Mirko Cvetkovic demanding that it is urgent that the conversion of company "Raska"'s debts are resolved and that state must pay the workers.
Workers say that their situation is direct consequence of state's neglection and favor for big business.


What to say?
........:scared:

I guess that means say goodbye to your gun finger?

Not a smart move IMO.

[Bandito]

The union official from Serbia, Zoran Bulatovic, who chopped his finger as a protest in April, turned down an offer he recieved from a certain German company. The offer was life-long salary for him, which would solve all of his existentional problems.

"I won't reveale the name of the company, but it is well-known. I didn't take the offer because all of my coleagues are in the same situation as me and we share the same problems. I refuse a happy ending for me, I want all of my coleagues's problems gone.
I'm just one of 1.532 workers in my factory and it's vital that we all stand together until we get what is ours!", said Bulatovic yesterday.

[Gravedigger01]

:scared: Holy Shit.Well fair play that should get the attention and possibly the support of the media

[Das war einmal]

Well there are two ways to look at this act, it reminds me of the self incineration of the vietnam monks at the time of the vietnam war and prague students in 1968. They are all acts of desperation but the attention is there.

[Il Medico]

I can see maybe the little toe - but a finger? How can you continue to work without fingers? I guess they are only fighting for back pay. But still, I'd like to see the worker's comp paperwork on that one.

I think strikes where you shut down the workplace or occupy the work place are much more effective than finger eatin' strikes.

Factory and farm workers get their fingers eaten by machinery all the time - the bosses don't care about worker's friggin' fingers!
Actually you'd want to cut off the middle toes rather than the little or big toe, because they (big and little toes) are used for balance. And I would assume that they cut off the pinky. Which you don't really need.

But yeah, I would think that a strike like what you described would work better. Perhaps they are relying on public outrage against the gov if they don't do something?

[Il Medico]

this terrible tragedy shows the true price of capitalism. the desperation that this workers have been driven to ought to shame every capitalist around the world!
Capitalism ought shame everyone.

[RotStern]

Holy shit! waiting for 16 years! No wonder! To cut off your own finger think about how horrifying it would be. This man is truly commited. :crying:

[RedStarOverChina]

It isn't their own fingers they should be chopping at.

[24thOfJuly]

It isn't their own fingers they should be chopping at.

I don't see how it would be productive to cut off your own finger either... :(

[Ned Flanders]

I don't see how it would be productive to cut off your own finger either... :(

well, desparate situations call for desparate measures. It´s clear to me that this union official and his fellow workers must have tried many things before he resorted to this self mutulation.

[Bandito]

Terrible, tragic self-butchering continues...
Radivoje Atanaskovic cut another finger today. This is not the same man which this thread is dedicated, but another, who has been in dispute with a company "Dunav Insurance" for over 17 years. He cut off one finger during a court session in June.
Today he protested in Belgrade with a can of gasoline and a knife. After that he cut off his another finger.
Serbian workers, along with workers from all around the world are in a desperate situation with practically no unions, no real strong left organisations that could do something to improve their status, so they reach for these terrible measures.

http://www.b92.net/info/vesti/index.php?yyyy=2009&mm=09&dd=14&nav_id=381351

I can't write anymore...:crying:

[Bandito]

http://www.crnahronika.rs/images/resized/images/stories/24sata/press/radivoje%20atanaskovic%20pokazuje%20ranu_246_204.j pg

Radivoje Atanaskovic



Link to graphic photo of Zoran Bulatovic

http://www.sandzaknews.com/slike/vijest-2254.jpg

[ezza_lv]

:scared: now that's something insane! it seems that they're really angry about their government! eat own finger! that seems has gone too far! and not been payed from 1993!!! and we hear about this only now!

[Gravedigger01]

Assasinate Boris Tadic.That'll get the headline and won't hurt half as much

[RedPanic]

Christ, I can't see this ending well. Even if they get what they want, how do they plan on working in future without any fingers?

[Farther Lee]

This sight is looking more and more like a dialog between smart duplicitous (lying) CIA/ MI5/6 agents etc, and the unavoidably naive but revolutionary youth who are correctly looking for leadership.
Advice: Just read the original authors- then apply the best of it to your own situation. Always be suspicious of anything other than your own best leadership.