On December 9-11, 2022, the International Workers' Association held its international Congress in the city of Alcoy, Spain. Delegates arrived from around the globe and we were particularly glad to see a large number of comrades from South America, Asia and the Asia-Pacific Region. Hundreds of people visited the event and accompanying cultural programs organized in the days leading up to and during the Congress. The hall was full of people and one could get publications from all over the world.
The work of the Congress was rather intense and lasted the full three days in the room packed with delegates. A number of comrades who were not able to travel also joined us online.
During the Congress, we were able to discuss the results presented by working groups, such as the group responsible for developing stategies for newer and smaller organizations to increase workplace organizing activities. A text was presented to the Congress which we hope the Sections and Friends will find useful.
Between 9th and 11th December the 28th regular IWA Congress took place in Alcoi, Spain. For delegations, it was undoubtedly exhausting since the agenda was long and demanding. Nevertheless, the Congress was exceptional. This was mainly because of the number of delegations and the program prepared by the Congress Committee of the CNT-AIT in Alcoi. It was really a dignified commemoration of 100 years since the founding of IWA in December 1922.
The “Week” was established in 2019 by the International Workers’ Association (IWA) to highlight the phenomenon of unpaid wages and the possibilities to fight back using anarcho-syndicalist methods. From 10th to 16th October the IWA unions drew attention to this issue in various ways. In the following report we inform about activities in France, Poland, Russia and Ukraine, Serbia, Slovakia and Spain.
Fed up with oppression. This is how one could briefly describe yesterday‘s protest, which commemorated the two people from the queer community who were murdered on 12th October in Bratislava, as well as the systemic context of oppression. Powerful speeches and the overall energy of the protest, full of anger, rage, grief and humour, created an atmosphere that we have never seen before in Slovakia.
Cases where people contact us about unpaid wages end in different ways. Sometimes they become an open dispute (mostly successful), sometimes the issue is resolved before open dispute, and sometimes the issue is not resolved at all or communication from the workers does not continue. The following article covers almost all the mentioned scenarios that we encountered since last year's International Week Against Unpaid Wages in various cities across Slovakia It is worth noting that most them were related to hospitality and almost all cases affected women.
The International Week of Actions against Unpaid Wages started off with an action by ZSP at a Zabka convenience store. The situation concerns one worker who was cheated in two ways: by being denied the correct payment for work on Sundays and holidays and by having illegal deductions made from her salary. The sum amount of the wage theft amounted to 5688 zloties or 1170 euros. We went with a letter to demand that this money be paid.
Is your boss owing you money? Do you want to get involved in actions to improve workers’ conditions, not just for one week of the year and not just about the issue of unpaid wages? Let us know. The International Week Against Unpaid Wages was established in 2019 by the International Workers' Association (IWA) to highlight the phenomenon of unpaid wages and the possibilities to fight back using anarcho-syndicalist methods. From 10th to 16th October, we will draw attention to this issue in various forms.
Is your boss owing you money? Do you want to get involved in actions to improve workers’ conditions, not just for one week of the year and not just about the issue of unpaid wages? Let us know. The International Week Against Unpaid Wages was established in 2019 by the International Workers` Association (IWA) to highlight the phenomenon of unpaid wages and the possibilities to fight back using anarcho-syndicalist methods. From 10th to 16th October, we will draw attention to this issue in various forms.
