Paul Murphy MEP - One day general strike across Europe would send powerful message

[Jolly Red Giant]

Paul Murphy Socialist Party/CWI MEP, speaking in the European Parliament, argues for organised resistance on and around 15 June against the anti-worker austerity packages being implemented all over Europe.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6mS8xjq64s

[LewisQ]

A one day general strike is the CWI's answer to everything, up to and including erectile dysfunction. The last day of trans-continental solidarity Joe pushed didn't even get the rest of the GUE on-board!

A mass solidarity action is long overdue, but you can't wish it into being, top-down, from the floor of the European Parliament. Far better to seek to politicise the existing pan-European protest movements and draw organised labour into them.

Joe and Paul have used the seat well as a platform for raising important issues (especially about EU exploitation of the developing world), but that's what it's good for; confronting the bastards with their own villainy. Issuing abstract appeals for general strikes to benches full of neoliberal filth is a bit of a head-scratcher.

[bricolage]

A mass solidarity action is long overdue, but you can't wish it into being, top-down, from the floor of the European Parliament,
I think this is the key point. You can't just position a date in time and see this is where we strike, it completely ignores the on the ground complexities of the various European states, the differing social conditions and levels of social revolt. Furthermore when struggle is called into being like this chances are it ends up being called off from the top by like this or at the very least directed from the top like this, the capacity for autonomous worker control is very minimal.

[chegitz guevara]

One day general strikes are utterly pointless. A general strike lasts until your demands are met or the strike collapses or is repressed.

[red flag over teeside]

This call is fake internationalism. Imagine the unions calling all workers out on the same day they wont do it in their respective countries they sectionalise strikes thats their job so no chance for the rest of europe.

[Rowan Duffy]

One day general strikes are utterly pointless. A general strike lasts until your demands are met or the strike collapses or is repressed.

The trade unions in Germany in the 189x-190x's had a tradition of May 1st General strikes for one day. This both built morale, and made sure that people were periodically involved in a labour struggle regardless of the current temperature of labour relations - acting as a sort of militancy education.

In general, I think it doesn't amount to a whole lot, but it isn't necessarily utterly pointless.

[Jolly Red Giant]

Having read the above comments I wonder if anyone who has posted on this thread actually watched Paul Murphy's speech in the European Parliament?

Let's put this into perspective - Trade Unions in Greece have called a one day General Strike on June 15th against the austerity programme being imposed by the EU and the IMF and being implemented by Papandreou. The 15-M movement in Spain has called for mass protests at the same time in Spain. Paul Murphy was expressing solidarity with the workers movement in Greece and the youth protests in Spain and elsewhere and pointing out that the organised power of the workers movement is capable of defeating the attacks of the ruling classes. If that power was organised and used on a continent wide basis it would send shockwaves through the ruling establishment right around the world. The key to defeating the attacks currently being imposed is the raising of class consciousness and the development of solidarity (both local, national and international) between working peoples and youth.


The last day of trans-continental solidarity Joe pushed didn't even get the rest of the GUE on-board!
That says more about the character of the GUE than anything else.


A mass solidarity action is long overdue, but you can't wish it into being, top-down, from the floor of the European Parliament.
Pray tell - who is attempting to do this?


Far better to seek to politicise the existing pan-European protest movements and draw organised labour into them.
Pray tell - who is suggesting that this shouldn't be done