Campaign for Workers' Rights in OTTO Begins with Actions in Holland, Poland and Slovakia

Some workers cheated by the OTTO temp agency are fighting back!

They don't get the conditions promised to them in their contracts and job interviews and the company makes money off a system of fines used at the workers' "hotels". The end result - people work and don't get paid, or they wind up paying too much money for substandard housing which does not meet the standards of the collective labour agreement OTTO is supposed to be following.

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Revolution for Egypt

Speech for Demo at Egyptian Embassy in Warsaw:

The human urge for freedom and dignity burns intensely in Egypt. We support this urge for change, for greater freedom and a chance to shape ones own life. Only we ask the question: what next?

Will the Egyptian people exchange one authoritarian, unaccountable leader for another with a shorter term in office? Or just transfer power from a narrow group of rulers to a wider one? Or will the people take, for themselves, more direct control over their lives, creating community and workplace decision-making practices?

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Problems with the Otto Temp Agency

Over the last few years, there have been tons of complaints about the practices of the Otto Workforce temp agency, in particular from Poles being sent to work abroad in Holland. It has found itself on at least one internet blacklist as an agency which cheats workers. Some people who work there or worked there in the past, have contacted AGA and ZSP about various problems, asking what they can do. At the very least, they ask us to warn people and inform them of their rights and what can be done if they are cheated.

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Call Center Action

On February 1 ZSP-IWA started an information active about  illegal temporary work contractds at the Call Center of Bank Millennium in Warsaw. According to the labour law, the work done by the employees at the Call Center should entitle them to permanent contracts but the bank keeps signing temporary ones.

One worker who demanded a permanent contract was fired but went to court to establish his employment relation. This is how we know of the situation. The worker asked for solidarity. ZSP thought that it would be good to phone the 24-hour Call Center using its free line and to talk to the workers. We have started a campaign. Those who call the line can encouarge the people to organize, explain the differences between forms of contracts, what the worker loses without a fixed contract or explain how they can  get a permanent one.  Everything depends on how long they can speak. The participants can also give them contact info to ZSP or give the address of the website  pracownik.net where there is practical information on the isubjects of contracts, the legal process and the direct organization of the workers.

 

The action is also directed at others who will receive leaflets or can read about the action on the Internet and learn something about their workers' rights.

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"Polishness", Regional Identity and Patriotism – always on the side of Capital

Statement on the so-called "March of Polishness" in Katowice January 22 and the counterdemonstration planned on that day

The far-right imbeciles of NOP are again organizing a demonstration. This time they claim they are doing so "at the request of the citizens of Silesia". The inspiration for the nationalists are the demonstrations of the Silesian autonomists, trying to build a Silesian identity. This is not to the liking of the Polish nationalists, who aim to demonstrate their "Polishness".

The Silesian autonomists, in turn, try to build support for their project using arguments about benefits citizens will get from regional autonomy. However, for the working class, there is no difference between regional, Polish or international authorities, bosses and exploiters. Capitalism has only one goal: to enrich the owners at the expense of others. The national colours or country of origin of the capitalism doesn't have the slightest meaning. Neither regionalism, nor nationalism nor patriotism will ever be the basis of a movement aiming to overthrow the rule of capital. On the contrary, they can only strengthen it.

We are opposed to the constant manipulation of the nationalists who try to convince us that under their "national" leadership, exploitation won't be exploitation and repression won't be repression. We are against all attempts to channel energy aimed against power and capital into identity projects based on regionalisms or nationalisms. Our struggle is international, just like our interests: to take the means of production from the bosses and owners, to take back control over the workplaces and community and to overthrow all governments, regional, national or international, once and for all.

We don't agree with the attempts by some antifascists, anarchists and other activists who are trying to "reclaim" the idea of patriotism, suggesting that nationalists are not "real patriots", and that the idea of patriotism itself can be defended. Patriotism does not deserve to be rehabilitated. It is only a tool in the hands of cynic political operators who use the principle of "divide and conquer" trying to pit workers against each other.

Building political identity based on national and the state instead of on the grassroots class struggle is the force that drives nationalism, wars carried out in the interest of capital and the false consciousness of workers. Let's break with these superstitions and instead let's declare that workers have no countries, and the arena for our struggle is the entire world.

No war between nations, no peace between classes!

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Citizens Confront Local Government, Conflict Heats Up

Today a group of more than 60 people went to the local council of the Praga district in Warsaw to confront politicians and try to force politicians to resume the session of the local council, which is being run by a group appointed by the President after the chairwoman of the last session (in November) called a break and never resumed it. A council session was opened but soon turned into pandamonium.

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Statement of ZSP Against the Farce of Local Government: Politicians Hide, We Tell them Not to Come Back

In an unprecendented breach of democratic procedures, the ruling party and the left refuse to show up to the City Council. Tenant activists and members of ZSP took over the hall and ZSP announced that we would be happy if the politicians never showed up to work again. Both groups promised to raise hell and start procedures to recall politicians. ZSP also will try to hold organize a popular movement against the politicians.

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Confrontation against Frontex and head of European Council

On Jan. 17, on the 97th World Day of Migrants and Refugees, a conference on migration policy was held at the Kazimierowski Palace featuring keynote speakers Ilkka Laitinen, Executive Director of Frontex and former British Home Secretary Charles Clarke and attended by various Eurocrats and migrant hunters.  Although we found out about this only at the last minute, some people from ZSP and RAS (Radical Solidarity Action) were able to get into the closed conference and made an extended confrontation.  

Frontex chief Laitinen was particularly confronted about recent actions at the Greek Turkish border, iucluding incidents of shooting at migrants and press reports that a few people left their work there because they refused to shoot migrants. Laitinen denied everything, calling it a pack of lies and refused to answer questions about deaths of migrants. The debate got hot, with one woman from RAS and one from ZSP shouting Laitinen down. The member of ZSP pointed out the way in which Frontex was militarized and the controversy around this. There was no intervention by security and both Clarke and Laitinen refusing to address the questions and calling critics of Frontex anarchists. (In this case they were right.)


Prior to this, there was a couple of confrontations with Preident of the European Council Herman van Rompuy. The first was accidental when an individual from ZSP found herself in the morning on the Brussels-Warsaw flight with van Rompuy and other Eurocrats and decided to bother him about the bailout package in Greece, plans for Spain and Portugal and other assorted matters. Upon arrival in Warsaw, we learned that van Rompuy and Latinen were to speak in the same venue but there was not enough time to go to and intervene in van Rompuy's speech. However, just after it, and in the break prior to the conference on migration policy (held in another hall), van Rompuy found himself cornered by a few Eurosceptics, a couple of socialists and anarchists. Bodyguards and state security agents intervened and whisked him away. He did not make it to the conference on migration.






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Activists Confront Local Authorties

On Jan. 14, members of the Tenants Defense Committee and ZSP confronted local authorities in the Praga neighbourhood. The local government is now led by people put in place by the ruling neo-liberal party, in part of a procedural manipulation to take control over the two neighbourhoods in Warsaw where they were not elected. Such maneouvres (too complicated to explain here) have been going on for three years. To give a small hint, the head of the local council made a break in a session years ago and did not reopen the session. Later it was claimed that the session was never ended and subsequent ones were thus never legally opened. All decisions taken for a couple of years were then considered invalid and revoted in one session last year. Currently, a similar maneouvre took place, and thus the elected authorities could not be confirmed and the President installed her people, who subsequently tried to delay things for months.

Although we do not support any of the factions in the local council, we understand that the maneouvres of the President of the City is strictly connected to the desire to control this neighbourhood in particular, in order to speed up the gentrification process. It is significant that the authorities did not want to appoint a housing commission, which is the body responsible for assignining municipal housing. Without a commission appointed, there would be no way for anybody to get public housing in the neighbourhood. Therefore, we reminded then of our demands that the neighbourhoods be under popular control and said that if there is no housing commission, that we form it ourselves and tell people which flats are free and encourage people to go live there. The authorities then decided that it is better for them to appoint a commission.

Protestors showed up with a wheelbarrow to take away the politicians and interrupted the session with the protest, reminding them of the problems of the neighbourhood and our postulates. We also opposed the continued manipulations and interference of the President in local matters and the attempts to override and overturn the results of the elections. Read more!

Picket at OBI

On Jan. 12, members of ZSP picketed OBI in Warsaw. In  the morning, leaflets were handed out at OBI headquarters. In the evening, a picket was held in front of one of the stores. The date was not coincidental; that morning a court case started against the firm in Krakow where a woman fired for union activism took the firm to court to fight for her reinstatement.

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First Electronic Saleswomen Appear in Warsaw OBI; Workers Speak about Discrimination of Women in Chain

Yesterday ZSP members who went to one OBI store in Warsaw found it closed for stock-taking. Today, in the store we found that OBI has started introducing electonic salespeople in Warsaw.

To remind readers, workers in OBI in Krakow were being psychologically pressured and threatened with eventual replacement by "electronic salespeople". Some of them want to take action against their introduction. We were surprised to learn that they are already now a reality. 

ZSP will campaign against the replacement of real people by these computerized dolls. On Wednesday we are picketing against the repression of unionists in OBI and for the improvement of working conditions. We will now also be sure to take some action about the "electrosalespeople" and draw people's awareness to their significance.

In the meanwhile, it is coming to light that in OBI, pay discrimination against women is basically the norm. We will be trying to document this. The mainstream unions which operate in a few stores in the chain announced that they will start fighting for raises for the employees and the eliminate this discrimination.

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Solidarity with Student Protests in UK

Today there was a picket at the British Embassy in Warsaw in solidarity with the protests against tuition hikes and educational cuts. A couple of dozen people from various left organizations turned out, mostly students and teachers. ZSP members distributed booklets about the Bologna process and came with calls for free education on libertarian principles. It raised criticism of the educational system and capitalism in general, thus bringing a more radical point of view to the people at the demo. Protestors pointed out that it is high time to organize more resistance in Poland, which is probably one of the few countries in Europe which does not have a strong student movement and has not seen any large protests about the commericalization of education. All agreed that students, teachers, parents and just concerned citizens should be fighting against this process, which concerns the future of society and sharpens class divisions. Read more!

Solidarity with Bus Drivers!

Solidarity to the Struggling Workers of PKS Suwalki

On the Role of State Institutions in Collaborating Against Workers' Action

For months there have been problems between the workers of PKS Suwalki and the management. PKS Suwalki is a bus company employing over 400 people, which also operates in Elk, Augustow, Olecko, Goldap and Sejny. It was commericalized in 2006 but was still owned by the State Treasury. Then it was unclear whether or not it would be privatized; in the end it was taken over by the Voivodship and remains a public entity.

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Tenants Meet About Reprivatization

On Dec. 10, over 100 people met to talk about the reprivatization of their buildings.  There was a presentation about what to expect and what could be done, with emphasis on taking direct action and immediate organizing for mutual self-defense.

The meeting was focused on one neighbourhood and we plan to make similar meetings all throughout January, each time focusing on a different neighbourhood.

Notices were delivered to houses which were on a list maintained by the city. Despite the fact that the city claims this is "confidential information" which may not be copied or disseminated, we will not be deterred and we plan to reach as many people as possible. Read more!

Warsaw Rent Strike: Community Organizing and Activization in the Context of Social Atomization

In Warsaw a rent strike has been going on since Oct.1. Despite the fact that the issues may effect up to a quarter of a million people in Poland's capital city, we cannot say that a significant percent of public housing tenants have joined. This is mainly due to a lack of tradition and the extreme social atomization of the population - something typical in many post-Soviet bloc era countries. There is also the issue of a minuscule grassroots social movement and the disdain of the left for anything radical and outside the realms of reformist and party politics. [1]

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