Communist
25th February 2010, 06:22
.
France: Support for Undocumented Workers Growing (http://www.humaniteinenglish.com/spip.php?article1464)
by Marie Barbier
l'Humanite
Since Feb. 2, the 250 strikers in the rue du Regard
have been living under threat of being evicted from the
premises they are occupying, but they are benefiting
from an impressive solidarity movement.
"Enough is enough." Mahamadou Doucansy awaits the
police steadfastly at number 8, rue du Regard in the
6th arrondissement of Paris. He will not let himself be
trifled with. Since Dec. 7, this worker, together with
250 other undocumented strikers, has been occupying the
premises of the Job Training Insurance Fund for
Artisans and Construction Workers (Faf-Sab). On Feb. 2,
the Paris court of first instance gave them 24 hours to
clear out before giving the police their marching
orders. Two weeks on, the strikers are still there,
more determined than ever.
"Their right to strike is being violated."
"We shall go all the way," Mahamadou states
determinedly. Indeed, these men have nothing left to
lose. On October 12, 2009, they came out from the
shadows, shouting for all to hear their status as
workers without rights in 21st-century France.
Mahamadou is 32 years old. He first set foot on French
soil on October 13, 2001. "Almost nine years have gone
by," he sighs, "and still no documents." He has worked
in construction since his arrival. As a specialist in
waterproofing, his daily work is on sheet metal roofs
with bubbling tar, for which he is paid laborer's wages
- the minimum wage.
"Since I've been on strike, my boss has called me twice
for me to come back to work. I told him: No, I don't
want to continue to work without documents. I asked him
for a signed promise to hire me so that I can be
legalized, but he refused."
Evictions are something that the rue du Regard strikers
know all too well. Since they began their struggle on
October 12, they have been evicted five times! They
occupied the National Federation of Public Works in the
rue de Berri for a month, before being evicted, the AXA
skyscraper at la Defense for four hours. Each time, the
police violently evicted the strikers from the place
they were occupying, and not always with a court
order...
"Whether they are covered by a court order or not, the
authorities' position is always the same: eviction,"
said CGT trade union activist Raymond Chauveau
bitterly, who came to the rue de Regard to give his
support. "These workers' constitutional right to go on
strike is being denied." In the course of the four-
month strike, the trade union has registered evictions
from 50 occupied sites.
Making labor movement history.
In this particularly tense context, support is welcome.
Here in the rue du Regard, everyone remembers Josiane
Balasko, Antoine de Caunes and Lilian Thuram sharing a
twelfth-night cake with the strikers, amid a swarm of
photographers and cameramen, a month ago.
Since then, the list of their backers has grown.
Yesterday [Feb. 17] it exceeded the impressive number
of 260 signatures by personalities, politicians,
scientists and trade unionists, ready to mobilize
themselves in case of eviction by the police.
Beneath the shelter that protects them from the rain
but not the cold, teapots of bissap (a drink made from
hibiscus flowers) helps the strikers to keep warm.
"Everyone here is a worker who has no rights," notes
Mahamadou. "They have been working in France for years,
paying into social security, paying taxes, and not one
has documents."
These workers who, according to Raymond Chauveau, "are
writing a new chapter in labor history," pose a
fundamental question to French society: "Will France
accept having entire sectors of its economy keep
running thanks to workers who have no rights?" At
number 8, rue du Regard, they are still waiting for an
answer.
Four months of battle
- 12 October 2009 : The beginning of Act II of the
strike movement and of occupations by undocumented
workers. They demand a procedure for regularization
with improved and simplified criteria.
- 24 November 2009 : The minister of immigration issues
an order that "reinforces arbitrary prefectorial
authority" according to the eleven organizations at the
origin of the movement.
- 7 December 2009 : 250 workers occupy the offices of
the Insurance Funds for Training of Wage-earners in
Manual and Construction Trades, rue du Regard, Paris.
- 2 February 2010 : The Court, le tribunal de grande
instance de Paris, gives the strikers 24 hours to leave
the premises.
Translated Tuesday 23 February 2010, by Gene Zbikowski
and reviewed by Henry Crapo
_____________________________________________
France: Support for Undocumented Workers Growing (http://www.humaniteinenglish.com/spip.php?article1464)
by Marie Barbier
l'Humanite
Since Feb. 2, the 250 strikers in the rue du Regard
have been living under threat of being evicted from the
premises they are occupying, but they are benefiting
from an impressive solidarity movement.
"Enough is enough." Mahamadou Doucansy awaits the
police steadfastly at number 8, rue du Regard in the
6th arrondissement of Paris. He will not let himself be
trifled with. Since Dec. 7, this worker, together with
250 other undocumented strikers, has been occupying the
premises of the Job Training Insurance Fund for
Artisans and Construction Workers (Faf-Sab). On Feb. 2,
the Paris court of first instance gave them 24 hours to
clear out before giving the police their marching
orders. Two weeks on, the strikers are still there,
more determined than ever.
"Their right to strike is being violated."
"We shall go all the way," Mahamadou states
determinedly. Indeed, these men have nothing left to
lose. On October 12, 2009, they came out from the
shadows, shouting for all to hear their status as
workers without rights in 21st-century France.
Mahamadou is 32 years old. He first set foot on French
soil on October 13, 2001. "Almost nine years have gone
by," he sighs, "and still no documents." He has worked
in construction since his arrival. As a specialist in
waterproofing, his daily work is on sheet metal roofs
with bubbling tar, for which he is paid laborer's wages
- the minimum wage.
"Since I've been on strike, my boss has called me twice
for me to come back to work. I told him: No, I don't
want to continue to work without documents. I asked him
for a signed promise to hire me so that I can be
legalized, but he refused."
Evictions are something that the rue du Regard strikers
know all too well. Since they began their struggle on
October 12, they have been evicted five times! They
occupied the National Federation of Public Works in the
rue de Berri for a month, before being evicted, the AXA
skyscraper at la Defense for four hours. Each time, the
police violently evicted the strikers from the place
they were occupying, and not always with a court
order...
"Whether they are covered by a court order or not, the
authorities' position is always the same: eviction,"
said CGT trade union activist Raymond Chauveau
bitterly, who came to the rue de Regard to give his
support. "These workers' constitutional right to go on
strike is being denied." In the course of the four-
month strike, the trade union has registered evictions
from 50 occupied sites.
Making labor movement history.
In this particularly tense context, support is welcome.
Here in the rue du Regard, everyone remembers Josiane
Balasko, Antoine de Caunes and Lilian Thuram sharing a
twelfth-night cake with the strikers, amid a swarm of
photographers and cameramen, a month ago.
Since then, the list of their backers has grown.
Yesterday [Feb. 17] it exceeded the impressive number
of 260 signatures by personalities, politicians,
scientists and trade unionists, ready to mobilize
themselves in case of eviction by the police.
Beneath the shelter that protects them from the rain
but not the cold, teapots of bissap (a drink made from
hibiscus flowers) helps the strikers to keep warm.
"Everyone here is a worker who has no rights," notes
Mahamadou. "They have been working in France for years,
paying into social security, paying taxes, and not one
has documents."
These workers who, according to Raymond Chauveau, "are
writing a new chapter in labor history," pose a
fundamental question to French society: "Will France
accept having entire sectors of its economy keep
running thanks to workers who have no rights?" At
number 8, rue du Regard, they are still waiting for an
answer.
Four months of battle
- 12 October 2009 : The beginning of Act II of the
strike movement and of occupations by undocumented
workers. They demand a procedure for regularization
with improved and simplified criteria.
- 24 November 2009 : The minister of immigration issues
an order that "reinforces arbitrary prefectorial
authority" according to the eleven organizations at the
origin of the movement.
- 7 December 2009 : 250 workers occupy the offices of
the Insurance Funds for Training of Wage-earners in
Manual and Construction Trades, rue du Regard, Paris.
- 2 February 2010 : The Court, le tribunal de grande
instance de Paris, gives the strikers 24 hours to leave
the premises.
Translated Tuesday 23 February 2010, by Gene Zbikowski
and reviewed by Henry Crapo
_____________________________________________