rebelworker
3rd September 2006, 03:31
SPAIN: MERCADONA TRIES TO "BUYOUT STRIKERS. WORKERS REMAINS UNITED.
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY URGENTLY NEEDED.
Dear comrades,
as you already are aware, workers and members of the Spanish
anarcho-syndicalist union CNT-AIT are on strike in the logistic centre in Barcelona
of the
supermarkets "Mercadona" for more than 150 days.
It is one of the longest strikes in Catalonia in the recent decades.
Currently the CNT is involved in struggles with Mercadona all over Spain. However, the
most important and difficult struggle is our strike at the logistic centre in
Barcelona.
The workers and our comrades in Mercadona need your solidarity.
Mercadona is big and powerful. They have 20 police officers of the "Guardia
Civil" - a state paramilitary security force - guarding the logistic center.
Mercadona is able to make the local government forbid worker demonstrations and
actions. The company is also able to suppress or to manipulate notices in the
public press etc.
However, with our struggle and never-ending actions (visit
www.cnt.es/mercacosa or http://barcelona.cnt.es) we nearly achieved in negotiations
with
responsible company representatives an acceptable solution to end the strike.
Nevertheless, Mercadona wanted to dismiss all the strikers by offering a 300.000
Euros buyout. The striker's general assembly rejected this offer and proclaimed:
"They can't buy us off"
With this turn of events, we have resumed our efforts in putting more
pressure on the company. Our actions will not be limited to Spain. We are also trying
to make public this struggle and inform and engage workers all over the
world. We have set up a propaganda commission who are translating notices in
several languages like Esperanto, English, French and German.
Even though Mercadona only exists in Spain, we think that this struggle
should be known worldwide as an example of how it is possible to organize to defend
our interests and dignity as workers.
The CNT - Mercadona Union Section asks comrades and their organizations to
help us win this strike. You can do so as follows:
- Send solidarity mails to the workers: [email protected] and
[email protected]
- Send protest letters to the company:
Mercadona, S.A.
CIF:A-46-103834
C/ Valencia, nº 5
Tavernes Blanques
VALENCIA - C.P.46016, SPAIN
- Send letters to the Spanish embassy asking about the conflict
- Make some kind of peaceful protest action at Spanish embassies and
consulates (or at the "Instiuto Cervante"
- By donating money to the strikers and their families (they're running
short):
BIC (Swift): CAIXESBBXXX 2100 1183 3501 0050 5773
- Publicizing our struggle in the press and amongst worker and community
organizations in your
your country.
For further information in English, go to our website:
http://barcelona.cnt.es/?p=233 )
We are in an important stage of this struggle. We have to put more pressure
on Mercadona in order to win. The strike is going on for more than 150 days.
The CNT-Mercadona strikers need as much moral and economic support as we can get
from workers around the world.
We will win this struggle!
Anarcho-syndicalist greetings,
MS
(militant of the Local Federation of Badalona and member of the news crew of
the support commission of the strike in Mercadona)
Mercadona makes "buyout" offer to the Permanent Secretariat of CNT for the
dismissal of all strikers on the 140th day on strike
Workers reject buyout offer. Workers respond with a protest action on
Wednesday, August 9th.
Members of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Confederation of Labor
(CNT) reached a tentative agreement with the Director of Human Resources and
the Director of Labor Relations of Mercadona on Saturday, 5th of August in
Madrid. The tentative agreement was going to be ratified by the workers on Tuesday,
August 8th in Seville. The agreement would have ended the strike.
Nevertheless, Mercadona took a "spectacular" turn on the same day trying to "buyout"
the
workers for 300.000 Euros.
On August 8th the General Secretary and the Secretary for Union Action of the
National Committee of CNT, Rafael Corrales and Antonio Baena, had a new
meeting with the General Director of Human Resources and the Director of Labor
Relations of Mercadona, José Antonio Jiménez and Antonio Muñoz, in the Hotel "AC
Santa Justa" in Seville in order to finalize the agreement. The outline of the
agreement was achieved the previous Saturday at the Hotel "NH National" in
Madrid. The agreement was supposed to be - apart from the other tentative
agreements - an acceptable solution for the workers of the logistic centre of
Mercadona in Sant Sadurni D'Anoia (Barcelona) who have been on strike since the 23rd
of March.
Nevertheless, according to the CNT, both directors of Mercadona disregarded
the previously agreed upon terms and offered instead the sum of 50 millions
pesetas as a buyout. This buyout would have led to the dismissal of all strikers.
This break in the negotiations is unacceptable to the CNT. The CNT rejects
the "buying off" of the strikers which negates the dignity of the workers.
Regarding the senseless actions of both directors, the CNT holds Mercadona
directly and solely responsible for the annoyances caused by protests suffered
by our neighbors in Barcelona and the province of Catalonia.
During the last negotiation session, all open points were agreed to and
Mercadona knows about the irregularities of their actions. The strikers have
denounced such Mercadona actions. The recent actions by Mercadona came as a surprise
to the CNT. The company wants to buy with millions of pesetas our fundamental
right strike and our human dignity, which we reject.
The CNT bears in mind that the workers went on strike because of the
dismissals of three workers (which the labor courts have since declared illegal); the
recognition of the union section of CNT and agreement on minor improvements
such as paid lunch breaks and clean and sanitary working conditions
After rejecting the "buyout", the workers returned the next day and organized
protests in Barcelona with a demonstration, which began at 6 o'clock on
"Plaza de España" and terminated in the corner of the streets "Sants" and "Badal".
National Confederation of Labour / CNT-AIT
Permanent Secretariat of the National Comitee
www.cnt.es
For information in Spanish (and some English) visit the Barcelona CNT
website:
http://barcelona.cnt.es/
******************************
Workers Solidarity Alliance
339 Lafayette Street-Room 202
New York, NY 10012
tel. (212) 979-8353
www.workersolidarity.org
INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY URGENTLY NEEDED.
Dear comrades,
as you already are aware, workers and members of the Spanish
anarcho-syndicalist union CNT-AIT are on strike in the logistic centre in Barcelona
of the
supermarkets "Mercadona" for more than 150 days.
It is one of the longest strikes in Catalonia in the recent decades.
Currently the CNT is involved in struggles with Mercadona all over Spain. However, the
most important and difficult struggle is our strike at the logistic centre in
Barcelona.
The workers and our comrades in Mercadona need your solidarity.
Mercadona is big and powerful. They have 20 police officers of the "Guardia
Civil" - a state paramilitary security force - guarding the logistic center.
Mercadona is able to make the local government forbid worker demonstrations and
actions. The company is also able to suppress or to manipulate notices in the
public press etc.
However, with our struggle and never-ending actions (visit
www.cnt.es/mercacosa or http://barcelona.cnt.es) we nearly achieved in negotiations
with
responsible company representatives an acceptable solution to end the strike.
Nevertheless, Mercadona wanted to dismiss all the strikers by offering a 300.000
Euros buyout. The striker's general assembly rejected this offer and proclaimed:
"They can't buy us off"
With this turn of events, we have resumed our efforts in putting more
pressure on the company. Our actions will not be limited to Spain. We are also trying
to make public this struggle and inform and engage workers all over the
world. We have set up a propaganda commission who are translating notices in
several languages like Esperanto, English, French and German.
Even though Mercadona only exists in Spain, we think that this struggle
should be known worldwide as an example of how it is possible to organize to defend
our interests and dignity as workers.
The CNT - Mercadona Union Section asks comrades and their organizations to
help us win this strike. You can do so as follows:
- Send solidarity mails to the workers: [email protected] and
[email protected]
- Send protest letters to the company:
Mercadona, S.A.
CIF:A-46-103834
C/ Valencia, nº 5
Tavernes Blanques
VALENCIA - C.P.46016, SPAIN
- Send letters to the Spanish embassy asking about the conflict
- Make some kind of peaceful protest action at Spanish embassies and
consulates (or at the "Instiuto Cervante"
- By donating money to the strikers and their families (they're running
short):
BIC (Swift): CAIXESBBXXX 2100 1183 3501 0050 5773
- Publicizing our struggle in the press and amongst worker and community
organizations in your
your country.
For further information in English, go to our website:
http://barcelona.cnt.es/?p=233 )
We are in an important stage of this struggle. We have to put more pressure
on Mercadona in order to win. The strike is going on for more than 150 days.
The CNT-Mercadona strikers need as much moral and economic support as we can get
from workers around the world.
We will win this struggle!
Anarcho-syndicalist greetings,
MS
(militant of the Local Federation of Badalona and member of the news crew of
the support commission of the strike in Mercadona)
Mercadona makes "buyout" offer to the Permanent Secretariat of CNT for the
dismissal of all strikers on the 140th day on strike
Workers reject buyout offer. Workers respond with a protest action on
Wednesday, August 9th.
Members of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Confederation of Labor
(CNT) reached a tentative agreement with the Director of Human Resources and
the Director of Labor Relations of Mercadona on Saturday, 5th of August in
Madrid. The tentative agreement was going to be ratified by the workers on Tuesday,
August 8th in Seville. The agreement would have ended the strike.
Nevertheless, Mercadona took a "spectacular" turn on the same day trying to "buyout"
the
workers for 300.000 Euros.
On August 8th the General Secretary and the Secretary for Union Action of the
National Committee of CNT, Rafael Corrales and Antonio Baena, had a new
meeting with the General Director of Human Resources and the Director of Labor
Relations of Mercadona, José Antonio Jiménez and Antonio Muñoz, in the Hotel "AC
Santa Justa" in Seville in order to finalize the agreement. The outline of the
agreement was achieved the previous Saturday at the Hotel "NH National" in
Madrid. The agreement was supposed to be - apart from the other tentative
agreements - an acceptable solution for the workers of the logistic centre of
Mercadona in Sant Sadurni D'Anoia (Barcelona) who have been on strike since the 23rd
of March.
Nevertheless, according to the CNT, both directors of Mercadona disregarded
the previously agreed upon terms and offered instead the sum of 50 millions
pesetas as a buyout. This buyout would have led to the dismissal of all strikers.
This break in the negotiations is unacceptable to the CNT. The CNT rejects
the "buying off" of the strikers which negates the dignity of the workers.
Regarding the senseless actions of both directors, the CNT holds Mercadona
directly and solely responsible for the annoyances caused by protests suffered
by our neighbors in Barcelona and the province of Catalonia.
During the last negotiation session, all open points were agreed to and
Mercadona knows about the irregularities of their actions. The strikers have
denounced such Mercadona actions. The recent actions by Mercadona came as a surprise
to the CNT. The company wants to buy with millions of pesetas our fundamental
right strike and our human dignity, which we reject.
The CNT bears in mind that the workers went on strike because of the
dismissals of three workers (which the labor courts have since declared illegal); the
recognition of the union section of CNT and agreement on minor improvements
such as paid lunch breaks and clean and sanitary working conditions
After rejecting the "buyout", the workers returned the next day and organized
protests in Barcelona with a demonstration, which began at 6 o'clock on
"Plaza de España" and terminated in the corner of the streets "Sants" and "Badal".
National Confederation of Labour / CNT-AIT
Permanent Secretariat of the National Comitee
www.cnt.es
For information in Spanish (and some English) visit the Barcelona CNT
website:
http://barcelona.cnt.es/
******************************
Workers Solidarity Alliance
339 Lafayette Street-Room 202
New York, NY 10012
tel. (212) 979-8353
www.workersolidarity.org