Samen vechten en winnen!

Mogelijke manieren van samenwerken tussen verschillende groepen die geraakt worden door de bezuinigingen

In de nasleep van de recente economische crisis en als een antwoord op maatregelen van de regering hebben er verschillende sociale acties plaatsgevonden in Nederland. Nederlanders hebben de mythe dat ze niet deelnemen aan collectieve actie om hun bestaande omstandigheden aan de kaak te stellen ontkracht. De bewegingen van schoonmakers, gesubsidieerde werknemers, studenten, leraren en werknemers in de transportsector zijn hiervoor het bewijs. Ook hebben we in de afgelopen maanden samenwerking en solidariteit tussen deze bewegingen kunnen waarnemen – de bezetting van de universiteit van Utrecht en de VU in Amsterdam door schoonmakers en studenten. Alleen de samenwerking tussen bewegingen in sectoren van een sterke arbeidersbeweging creëren die tot een blijvende verandering in de samenleving leidt. Tenslotte is ook de organisatorische structuur van de strijd een belangrijk onderwerp.

Om die redden hebben we voor 21 Maart schoonmakers, leraren, studenten, mensen met ID banen en de hele samenleving van Groningen uitgenodigd om te komen discussiëren over meer en diepgaandere politieke samenwerking. Wij denken dat twee belangrijke onderwerpen moeten worden aangesneden om een succesvolle strijd mogelijk te maken. Ten eerste is een beter begrip nodig van de omstandigheden waarmee de respectieve groepen zich geconfronteerd weten. Ten tweede is het nodig om de overeenkomsten en verschillen tussen deze condities te onderzoeken zodat gemeenschappelijke doelen en idealen gevormd kunnen worden, die de basis zijn voor succesvolle actie. Door de veranderingen die het gevolg zijn van de bezuinigingen in iedere sector te bediscussiëren en de gemeenschappelijke onderwerpen te identificeren kunnen we gemeenschappelijke strijden tegen de nieuwe bezuinigingen. 

 

Platformdiscussie over sociale strijd in Nederland

Woensdag 21 Maart 19:30 uur

Locatie: Faculteit Gedrags- en Maatschappijwetenschappen,

Snijderzaal, M. 0061 Muntinggebouw

Grote Kruisstraat 2

 

Real Democracy Groningen

http://realdemocracygroningen.nl/

United We Fight and We Win!

Possible ways of cooperation between different groups hit by recent budget cuts

In the aftermath of the recent economic crisis and as a response to government measures, the Netherlands have witnessed a number of social actions taken by different groups. Dutch people have disproved the myth that they do not undertake collective action to challenge the existing conditions. The movements of cleaners, workers in subsidised jobs, students, teachers, and transportation workers explain this situation. Furthermore, in the past month we witnessed cooperation and solidarity between the groups – the occupation of Amsterdam and Utrecht University by cleaners and students. Only the collaboration among sectoral movements can create a powerful labour movement leading to a true and lasting change in the society. Lastly, the organizational structure of the struggles is an important issue.

Therefore, on Wednesday 21^st March we invite cleaners, teachers, students, other interested parties and the whole society of Groningen to come and discuss possible ways for deeper and more political co-operation. We believe that two major issues need to be tackled for a successful struggle. Firstly, a deeper understanding of the situation that each group is confronted with is needed. Secondly, realizing the similarities and differences between the conditions each group is facing will enable the formation of mutual goals and ideals, which form the base of a successful action. So, discussing the changes resulting from the newly imposed measures in each sector and identifying the common issues, we can unify and organize the common struggles and oppose to the new austerity policies.

 

 

Discussion event regarding the struggles in the Netherlands,

Wednesday, 21^st  March, 19.30

Location: Faculteit Gedrags- en Maatschappijwetenschappen,

Snijderzaal, M. 0061 Muntinggebouw

Grote Kruisstraat 2

 

Real Democracy Groningen

http://realdemocracygroningen.nl/

A few words about Real Democracy Groningen

 

We are people from different nationalities that participate in the grass-roots political group of Real Democracy Groningen based on the principles of direct democracy. We first gathered together in the spring of 2011 at the squares of Groningen participating in the huge wave of protests against the policies that hurt the rights and the lives of the people. We follow the spirit of hope and resistance as it emerged in Tunisia and in Egypt, that crossed the Mediterranean to Puerta del Sol and the Syntagma square and spread all around the world with the Occupy movement. 

We came together in order to be on the same side with the workers and the young people and we decided to take action and struggle as a reaction to the huge waves of austerity and budget cuts imposed by governments leading to the deterioration of our lives. All these measures are the consequence of the way that the states decided to confront the systemic crisis of 2008which resulted in decreased profit rates for the owners, and huge increase of debts and deficits, mainly in the EU. The policies that were implemented were a mixture of support for the banks and the multinational companies, in order to be safe, and of cutting much of the funds intended for the welfare of society. As a result, the unemployment skyrocketed, poverty increased and the living standards deteriorated in the periphery of EU while in the core this situation is in front of us. In the Netherlands, a number of measures have been while other have been accelerated: education cuts, deterioration of cleaners’ working conditions, dismissals in the mail and the transportation systems, cuts in the health care system, increase in the retirement age to 67 with the agreement of the labour unions. The gap in society in terms of income, which is rising dramatically, should be closed.

This is by no means a new development. However, today it is obvious to nearly everybody that former justifications fall apart. We finally now question what has been presented to us as inevitability and intrinsic to human nature, namely that we all are self-interested profit-maximizers, that unlimited economic growth is the only road to welfare and that a free market system is the best to regulate all aspects of human life.  The history of the past decades has shown us that these “truths” were rather assumptions that served the interest of a small minority than the people in general.

This is a situation that we must change!

Crisis has spread in a pan-European level and until now the elites have increased their profits by socializing the burdens of the crisis.  The role of the EU, which is part of the problem in this battle, cannot be hidden: the objective of the EU and the IMF is to save the banks and not the people. We fight against the policies and directives of the European Union, European Central Bank and IMF.

A common tendency among the working class is to throw up their hands in despair in the belief that humanity is corrupt by nature and that all efforts at moral progress are pointless. The best antidote to this attitude is to demonstrate the power of social movements. The people must take the future in their hands and to react within their grass-roots labour and student unions. We support and encourage the workers, who go on strike overcoming the fear of dismissal and fight for their rights. We stand by those who are now weak, isolated and disempowered. The message is solidarity, the means to express it is commitment.

We furthermore have to act in a way of pan-European, international coordination in order to face this harder and deeper attack from the governments, EU and the banks. People in each sector (like students, cleaners, workers in transportation systems and workers in the postal service) have to interact and to be connected in order to create a powerful movement that will demand an equal and just society.

In the last months apart from our weekly assemblies in which we have discussed issues of concern to the participants we have also joined the working struggles of the subsidized workers and the cleaners in Groningen and we organized demonstrations against current crisis consequences and solidarity demonstrations to struggles in Greece and Spain. Additionally we have organized several discussion and information events for the general public.

 

We struggle for:

-         Ensuring that the workers get their entitled gains of their own production

-         Job security, stable employment for everyone

-         Free education, health care and housing for everyone

-         Power in politics and economy shall be handed to the people by democratic means

-         Abolishing social, racial and gender segregation

 

 

 

 

Real Democracy Groningen

 

 

http://realdemocracygroningen.nl/

In the past year, discussions about the economic instability and the necessity of implementing austerity measures have been dominating public and political discourse. Yet, it seems that the majority of the Dutch society did not experience considerable deterioration of life and working conditions. However, this is not true and the main problem lies in the fact that different parts of the society have been disproportionally hit by the crisis.

During the past months many people have faced dismissals or income reduction in the city of Groningen. Occupations mostly affected were subsidized workers of the municipality, cleaners and gardeners working in schools, university and public buildings. Consequently, Groningen community has witnessed several labor struggles lately. Nonetheless public awareness of this still seems to be low.

The reason for cleaners resentment lays in the fact that the budget for cleaning the schools was cut down by 30%, without any reasonable explanation. The working hours of the cleaners have been drastically reduced after the municipality contracted the cleaning firm Effectief. The consequences of these cuts are multiple and go beyond the cleaners themselves, affecting the schools and most importantly, children. Employees are now expected to carry out the same amount of work in less time, effectively reducing their income. As a result schools become dirtier, endangering the health of children.

So, hundreds cleaners are on strike for 30 days now. They ask for self-evident things as to be paid while they are sick and to have a normal work-pressure. They also ask a small pay rise. After 4 months of discussions, several rounds of negotiations, hundreds of small actions, 7 big demos in several Dutch cities the bosses leave out for a final confrontation by making an unacceptable proposal. They think that cleaners do not worth a paid sick-leave. They do not offer any security for temporary workers. To make things worse the employers associate any small pay rise with the level of employers’ contribution. ‘If they treat us in this way, then we will be more furious’.

The whole society in the Netherlands should support their struggle for better working conditions and for a better life.

 

Solidarity to the cleaners. They will win!

 

 On Sunday, 12^th February, the Greek Parliament approved the new austerity package that forces the people in to the misery in order to save the European banks and to increase again the profit rate. Under the pressure of the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB), the IMF and the Greek Government the Parliament decided to reduce the minimum monthly salary to 480 euro (435 for young people), the unemployment benefit to 370 euro, cut down pensions, and 150.000 dismissals until 2015. The priority of the state will no longer be to ensure a decent living to the citizens of the country but to serve the debt towards the domestic and international creditors. The agreement was monstrous.

These measures come in return for the agreement of the 50% ‘hair-cut of Greek ‘sovereign debt on the basis of the EU agreement on October 26^th. According to this agreement, the Greek sovereign debt will not be reduced further than the levels of 2009, as Greece will receive a new huge debt of 130 billion Euro. The new ‘rescue’-plan for Greece is actually a rescue plan for all the European banks. This money will end up directly to them and will be never returned to the people.

The huge sovereign debts and budget deficits emerged as a result of the neoliberal policies that are based on two pillars on states borrowing from international markets in order to finance projects that are profitable for large enterprises, to refinance older state debt and to enhance the arm equipment. Moreover, the tax evasion of Greek rich people in the last 10 years is estimated in around 100 billion euro.

During the period the Greek population is witnessing the harshest austerity measures since the introduction of the Euro. Greece became the ‘black sheep’-EU-member state and had to be punished hard. In 2010, the first austerity package was imposed by the Greek government under the supervision of the Troika (the IMF, the EU and the ECB).  In such a way sovereign debt is becoming a mechanism of reproduction of harder and harder austerity measures against the society. As a result:

• in the end of 2011, unemployment reached 21% and 50% among the youths. That means more than 1.000.000 unemployed people in Greece.
• Moreover, 30% of the population (almost 3.000.000 people) lives under the poverty line.
• The number of homeless increased rapidly and became part of everyday reality in the big cities.
• The number of suicides has increased 40% in the last year.
• Parents do not have enough money to raise their children and they hand over them in child institutions.

In the last period, hundreds of thousands of workers, unemployed and youth gathered at the Syntagma Square and other squares around the country to demonstrate their opposition to the new bail-out that was imposed by the Troika and Greek government, a coalition of the two biggest political parties PASOK-ND together with the extreme-right wing party LAOS. Loukas Papademos, ex-director of Bank of Greece and ex-vise president of the ECB was named Prime Minister to serve the interests of bankers. As it seems, he manages quite well…

No matter the efforts of the Greek government the EU, the Greek workers keep on resisting. On 12^th February more than 500.000 people demonstrated in front of the national parliament. The response of Greek state was massive police repression and state violence. However, demonstrators insisted and protested outside the parliament instead of the thousands of tear gas bombs.

• Because every day we see Greek families to be driven to poverty and to be forced to immigrate.
• Because we see more than 1.000.000 unemployed persons in Greece.
• Because we see more than 3.000.000 people living in the poverty line in Greece.
• Because the homeless people in Greece have been an everyday phenomenon.
• Because people in Greece select to commit suicides in front of this life that they prepare and apply for them.
• Because workers all over the world have started to rise up.

We stand on the same side with the workers and students of Greece. We demand the Troika (EU-ECB-IMF) to leave the country. We demand the Greek government to step down immediately!

We want austerity to stop all over Europe and the rights of the people to prevail against the profits of the elites.

As members of Real Democracy Groningen Group we express our solidarity to the workers and students in Greece who struggle against the hurt of their lives. We respond in an internationalist way since the austerity is global. But we are everywhere. Solidarity to the workers in all over the world!

Real Democracy Groningen

 

Yesterday, the Greek Parliament approved the new austerity packaged that forces the people in to the misery in order to save the European banks. Under the pressure of the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the IMF, and at the joy of the bankers all over Europe the Parliament decided to reduce the minimum monthly salary to 480 euros (435 for young people), the unemployment benefit to 369 euros, cut down pensions, privatize health care and education. The priority of the state will no longer be to ensure a decent living to the citizens of the country but to serve the debt towards the domestic and international creditors. The new ‘rescue’-plan for Greece is actually a rescue plan for the European banks. The northern European tax payers will be forced to provide another 130 billion euros to serve the Greek sovereign debt. This money will end up directly to the European banks and will be never returned to the people. As the previous rescue-plans, the new plan is only meant to fail and take along into the path of destruction, the Greek people but also the European pension funds and the state finances of the rest of the Eurozone-countries. 

 

The Greek people took the streets yesterday in hundreds of thousands to fight the decisive battle against their enslavement to the bankers. The puppet-government of the banker Papademos does not enjoy the support of the people. The brutal and unprovoked attack of the security forces against the massive demonstrations proves this.

 

We stand on the same side with the people of Greece. We demand the bail-outs and the ‘rescue’-plans to cease immediately and the Troika (EU-ECB-IMF) to leave the country. We demand the Greek government to step down immediately and all the responsible for the crisis to be prosecuted. 

 

We want austerity to stop all over Europe and the rights of the people to prevail against the profits of the bankers.

 

 

 

Real Democracy Groningen

 

Yesterday, the Greek Parliament approved the new austerity packaged that forces the people in to the misery in order to save the European banks. Under the pressure of the EU, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the IMF, and at the joy of the bankers all over Europe the Parliament decided to reduce the minimum monthly salary to 480 euros (435 for young people), the unemployment benefit to 369 euros, cut down pensions, privatize health care and education. The priority of the state will no longer be to ensure a decent living to the citizens of the country but to serve the debt towards the domestic and international creditors. The new ‘rescue’-plan for Greece is actually a rescue plan for the European banks. The northern European tax payers will be forced to provide another 130 billion euros to serve the Greek sovereign debt. This money will end up directly to the European banks and will be never returned to the people. As the previous rescue-plans, the new plan is only meant to fail and take along into the path of destruction, the Greek people but also the European pension funds and the state finances of the rest of the Eurozone-countries. 

 

The Greek people took the streets yesterday in hundreds of thousands to fight the decisive battle against their enslavement to the bankers. The puppet-government of the banker Papademos does not enjoy the support of the people. The brutal and unprovoked attack of the security forces against the massive demonstrations proves this.

 

We stand on the same side with the people of Greece. We demand the bail-outs and the ‘rescue’-plans to cease immediately and the Troika (EU-ECB-IMF) to leave the country. We demand the Greek government to step down immediately and all the responsible for the crisis to be prosecuted. 

 

We want austerity to stop all over Europe and the rights of the people to prevail against the profits of the bankers.

 

 

 

Real Democracy Groningen

Occupy Groningen

In the past year, discussions about the economic instability and the necessity of implementing austerity measures have been dominating public and political discourse. Yet, it seems that the majority of the Dutch society did not experience considerable deterioration of life and working conditions. However, this is not true and the main problem lies in the fact that different parts of the society have been disproportionally hit by the crisis.

During the past months many people have faced dismissals or income reduction in the city of Groningen. Occupations mostly affected were subsidized workers of the municipality, cleaners and gardeners working in schools, university and public buildings. Consequently, Groningen community has witnessed several labor struggles lately. Nonetheless public awareness of this still seems to be low. Thus, it becomes crucial to discuss the reasons leading people to raise their collective voice, as well as the way that the struggles are organized and presented to the larger community.

The reason for their resentment lays in the fact that the budget for cleaning the schools in Groningen was cut down by 30%, without any reasonable explanation. The working hours of the cleaners have been drastically reduced after the municipality contracted the cleaning firm Effectief. This was done via the foundation for education O2G2 against which there have already been complaints regarding their working policy and service quality by school presidents.

The consequences of these cuts are multiple and go beyond the cleaners themselves, affecting the schools and most importantly, children. Employees are now expected to carry out the same amount of work in less time, effectively reducing their income. As a result schools become dirtier, endangering the health of children.

On the 25^th and 26^th of November the cleaners organized a protest at the Leonardspringerlaan, to raise awareness and collect signatures against dismissals, income reduction and degrading working conditions. The cleaners are asking for a different contracting firm that would ensure better working conditions for them and decent health standards for the schools. Real Democracy Groningen group supported the struggle of the cleaners by joining the protest and helping with collecting signatures.

The organization representing the interests of the cleaners is FNV, which is led by people with special training in representation and event organizing, who are not however working as cleaners. Proponents of FNV state that they are able to successfully plan and carry out such tasks while being in contact with the workers. A crucial question is whether cleaners participate in the organization and decisions of their own struggle.

As a response, the Real Democracy Groningen group is organizing an event/open discussion on the topic. The focus of the event is twofold. Firstly, the urgent situation of worsening working conditions and their concrete consequences on society needs to be addressed. Secondly, a larger scheme of labor and representation is brought forward, as manifested with experts speaking for the workers, instead of the workers themselves.

Where

Faculteit Gedrags -en Maatschappijwetenschappen, Grote Kruisstraat 2/1

 Muntinggebouw (kamer M.0061 – Snijderzaal)

When

Monday, December 19^th, 17:00hrs

Who

FNV representative/employee Bart Plaatje, cleaners working in the DUO building, the Hogezand flat, Real Democracy Groningen group, YOU!

 

REAL DEMOCRACY GRONINGEN

The 400 workers of the “GREEK STEELWORKS” (Helliniki Halivourgia) industry, are on strike, like a fist, for more than three weeks. And they continue! They do not move back, they have chosen the path of honor and dignity, to defend the bread and the future of their children. They do not return to work, in fire and iron, for 500€. They demand, their 34 colleagues, who were laid off, to return to work. Their struggle concerns the whole working class. The employer of “GREEK STEELWORKS” is the battering ram of the industrialists.
The “GREEK STEELWORKS” is the first industry that attempts to impose 5hour working day with wage cuts, flexible employment relationships, unpaid overtime and to remove security rights by blackmailing us with losing their jobs.

The layoffs were made to terrorize them, because on their General Assembly they unanimously rejected the employers demand to work part-time, 5 hours a day, with a 40% wage cut. At the same time their hard work, increased the production last year from 196,000 to 266,000 tonnes, hard work with daily labor accidents and a dead worker. The employer’s profits are immense, and he continues to blackmail that if they do not accept his demands to work as slaves, he will lay off 180 more workers. The steelworkers gave him the right answer. They overcame fear, blackmails, the threat of hunger.

They went on strike!

They are standing up. They are already victorious. No one can bend us!

The industrialists, in the factories around, were waiting for them to have got tired, to have returned to work with their heads bowed, to have signed working for 5hours a day. The employer admitted that he did not expect such a struggle! They have proven that workers have endless power. For 16 days, 24hours a day, they guard their strike. They felt their power and they have been taught a lot more. They can distinguish friends from enemies.

They rely on the power of solidarity. Dozens trade unions supports from day one. PAME stands on their side. Support steelworkers struggle in every way. For the steelworker there in no way back!
If they lose, the door opens for 5hour working day and labor jungle to the other factories, which is what the industrialists await. The steelworkers’ victory will be a victory of the whole working class. That is why they want us on their side. Thus far! Terror, blackmails and the attack against workers will not pass!

Support the strikers steelworkers in all ways possible: resolutions, announcements, press releases by trade unions, neighborhoods, youth and women organizations, everywhere, outside the Factory’s gate, financial aid and gathering food for the strikers’ families.

They denounce to all workers, the leadership of the Federations of Workers in Metal Sector, and of the Regional Trade Union of Elefsina, which during those 16 days, not only they did not call a single meeting, in order to organize a solidarity campaign, but they “advise” them to bow their heads, they slander them, they try to divide the strikers. We call workers to bypass them and to organize in every workplace.

Victory will be hard, but it will be their-ours!

Your financial support of the strikers is also crucial. The local union does not have own funds and the survival of the strike depends solely on our support. Please transfer to the following account:

 

Name:    LIAKOS DIMITRIOS

IBAN:     GR 40 0110 2000 0000 2006 2330 152

SWIFT:  ETHNGRAA

 

Open Assembly of Groningen, the Netherlands, 25.11.2011

Stop de bezuinigingen. Stop de afbraak!

Terwijl de mensen die bijgedragen hebben aan het ontstaan van de crisis, de banken en grote bedrijven, weer enorme winsten maken, begint de Nederlandse bevolking de gevolgen van het pakket asociale bezuinigingen te merken. Dit kabinet maakt een duidelijke keuze door de kosten van de crisis en het reddingsplan nu neer te leggen bij de gewone Nederlanders, zonder de rijken in de samenleving echt mee te laten betalen. Dit is belachelijk, zeker wanneer men bijvoorbeeld bedenkt dat het aantal miljonairs in Nederland in 2010 met 10% steeg tot een verbijsterende 134.000!

De gevolgen van deze bezuinigingen beginnen ook in Groningen merkbaar te worden. Zo’n duizend gesubsidieerde banen dreigen te verdwijnen omdat de gemeente Groningen meer taken en minder geld uit Den Haag krijgt. Als deze banen verdwijnen zal de Groningse gemeenschap er op vele vlakken nare gevolgen van ondervinden. Buurtcentra, speeltuinen en sportcentra dreigen hun beheerders kwijt te raken. Scholen en culturele instellingen zullen hun conciërges verliezen. Stadwachten zullen wegbezuinigd worden waardoor de veiligheid op straat onder druk komt. De dagopvang voor daklozen en de begeleiding voor verslaafden verdampt.

Dit patroon van verslechtering en afbraak herhaalt zich in de hele Westerse wereld. Hierdoor is de strijd tegen dit beleid wereldwijd. In bijvoorbeeld Griekenland en Spanje is de strijd tegen dit soort bezuinigingen al maanden aan de gang. In de V.S., Italië en andere landen komt het verzet ook op sterkte. De strijd van de Nederlandse werknemers is gelijk aan die van de normale Griek, Spanjaard en Amerikaan. Ondanks verhalen in de Nederlandse media, zijn ook de bezuinigingen daar geen gevolg van acties van de normale bevolking. Ook daar betalen gewone mensen de rekening van een crisis die zij niet veroorzaakt hebben.

Alleen door ons gezamenlijk te organiseren kunnen we de afbraak van de welvaart in Europa tegen houden. Onze strijd moet gekoppeld worden aan alle andere mensen en groepen die strijden tegen deze asociale bezuinigingen. Een rechtvaardigere samenleving is mogelijk wanneer mensen het zelfvertrouwen vinden zich hier gezamenlijk sterk voor te maken.

Voor een sociaal en leefbaar Nederland.

Wij gaan hun crisis niet betalen!

Real Democracy Groningen           http://realdemocracygroningen.nl/