PENSIONS, WAR AND RIGHTS: IT IS TIME FOR A GENERAL STRIKE AND TIME FOR A UNION RIOT

Employers and government are carrying out, these days, a harsh attack against we, those who work and we, those who have no employment, against our lives and our rights.

Certainly, the rise in the retirement age from 2008 (65/60 years contributing and 40 paying dues) means the spearhead of this attack that will hit to more than ten million workers (favourishing at present a new strong increase of –youth or not- unemployment). A true “jail” (40 years of continuous exploitation) where the worker is finally deprived from his/her possibilities to live a few years in freedom, banishing him/her to the role of modern absolute slave of the system of capitalist profit and domination. Nevertheless we also have to remember that the actions of the current center-right power do nothing but to follow the path outlined by a center-left that began to cut pensions and raise retirement age already with the devastating Law 335/95 and with the active collaboration of CGIL, CISL and UIL.

Beware thus, of yesterday accomplices today turn into instrumental pretended opponents. Jackals always result in what they are.

Another extremely serious matter is the tentative to cut again workers rights and particularly the strike weapon (today strongly limited already) preventing the unions considered “not representatives” (for the sake of which representativity? the mafia-like, institutional and client oriented one that today guarantees “figures” to the confederal and autonomous unions, perhaps?) from declaring all categories in the national general strikes. If it is obvious that with this move they want to strike particularly at the rank and file unions and their mobilisations, be it against the war or against the government and employers politics, it is also obvious that a right of freedom (for a time constitutionally guaranteed), heritage of every and all workers, is going to be eliminated.

The arrogance and aggressivity of power today has reached such a level for which there is no rule that can obstruct their power in order to defend the weak. Suffice it to consider the recent Law “Delega” (Biagi) about work, with its thousand forms of large precariousness and exploitation (with no right to union guardianship) and the disparition of national agreements.

Well, the thing as a whole is moving in a context (economic, cultural, repressive) of “infinite war” wanted by the USA towards the control of the world and its richness, and in which Italy (first with L’Ulivo and today with the right) participates actively.

The war, barely began, is all but finisned and grows worser than ever (both in Irak and Afganistan) and new war scenes are rapidly approaching (Iran, etc).

What annoys the most is the current silence in which this happens, with the assent and unconcern of many so-called pacifists components linked to the big charriots of the Social Forum, the parties and the CGIL. For these, evidently, the opposition to war is worthy only when it gets to amount to media show and to obtain new -big or small- power spaces.

For us workers, and for those among us who have no employment, the rejection to war, on the contrary, besides being a fundamentally supportive and anti-militarist instance, is also a primary demand in our daily struggle, since the militarist and belicist syndrom is also the cause of our precary life conditions, and we reject it since it brings us all sort of economic and social attacks and pushes us by means of the constant militarisation of territories and the gradual deprivation of freedom.

The USI-IWA, Unione Sindacale Italiana (Section of the Workers International) considers it essential to start an new cycle in the struggle, with very strong conflictivity in order to impede the manoeuvres in progress against pensions and rights, it all well packed with the opposition to war and to all militarism.

We must, however, keep in mind that we are facing a power that, in order to secure its domination and carry out its attacks, does not respect any rule already. Thus, our response will have to be stronger and sharper than ever, through the practice of a large conflictivity (in companies and all throughout the territory) and the constant use of the forms of direct action that self-organisation will develop.

The general strike on pensions, war and rights, which call procedure the USI-IWA has carried out already, together with other rank and file unions, will therefore be just a battle in a long struggle that, avoiding traps and tricking institutional shortcuts, on the contrary will have to turn into a generalised movement of union and social riot until we reach our goals.

We have got nothing to lose We have a world to build up

USI-IWA National Secretariat
Careri Gianfranco
usi-ait@ecn.org