The Stateless Nations’ World Federation of Trade Unions Committee, that includes trade unions from the Basque Country, Catalunya, Galiza and Canary Islands and represents WFTU in our own nations, shares its statement facing this year May 1st working class international day celebration.
We are suffering a crisis and social uncertainty time, by one sanitarian crisis that has developed in one social crisis with uncertain consequences. These are days to stop our lifes and activities. We have to care between us to face the pandemic as a society and specially as working class. But also, as class oriented trade unions with the objective to transform this world, we need to prepare to face the future neo-liberal offensive that will cut our elemental rights.
Is necessary remember the history, if we want to understand how we have arrived to the current situation, and if we wan understand the current reality. The Spanish State had a terrible economic crisis, with an undercover economic rescue, that basically rescued banks and oligarchy classes, cutting people’s social and labour rights and also civic liberties. At the same time, the 78th Regime (Franco dictatorship time regime heir) have not any capacity and democratic choice to face the national conflict with Stateless nations (especially in Catalunya), for its incompetence to negotiate a democratic agreement with the nations that want to decide its future in freedom. The Spanish State, demonstrated that its DNA is not compatible with democracy and freedom.
The only option that Spanish State had to exist as the regime was cutting rights and using violence against the rebel movements. Is in this structural crisis that the Spanish State has arrived to this Covid-19 Pandemic sanitarian crisis.
The class oriented trade union movement has repeated for many times the necessity to stoppage the economy, to put the people’s life and cures in the middle. We have called that the big management rescued during the last crisis period had to assume this social crisis consequences.
But, unfortunately, all measured adopted by PSOE-Podemos government has been the undiscovered application of the Spanish Constitutions’ 155th article (suspension the territory’s autonomy), adoption of social-economical measure charge in the popular classes backs this crisis consequences, grow of police authoritarism facing the people with more vulnerability and use the army to boast of One, big and free Spain. All adopted measures have the objective that under the fear and shock, with the sanitarian crisis excuse, the working class and popular classes accept the repetition of Moncloa agreements (the national agreement signed on 1977th), that will suppose the Spanish State’s structural crisis overcoming, for the benefit of Spanish unity and oligarchy classes, and at the expenses of nations and working class.
For that, now when are making out the post-confinement phase, and foreseeing that facing the neo-liberal and reactionary offensive, we will take the streets, on this May First the class oriented trade union movement must start defining its strategy and fortress. The European Union as nations and working class domination structure, has adopted different founds to supposedly alleviate the crisis consequences. But we cannot be ingenious and one more time we have to look the past and learn. We cannot forget the cases of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and the undiscovered rescue of the Spanish State. These countries were rescued by the Troika, but have paid by these countries have been too high and totally unacceptable price for the capitalist system outrages. We know that rescues never be free, and brothers from Argentina for example, could talk during long time about this.
To finish, take care and prepare to fight for a nation’s survival, and for one economic and social system in equality for all people, and that will put in the middle of its politics the right for a decent life.
27th April 2020th