The CNT-AIT is an anarcho-syndicalist union, known to many people around the world. Unfortunately, for several years now, it has come under attack by another organization,
the Spanish affiliate of CIT, which also claims the name CNT.
These attacks, which are vindictive in nature, threaten not only the CNT-AIT, but also the historical traditions of anarcho-syndicalism in Spain. They are carried out through the statist apparatus and threaten to see members of the CNT-AIT put in jail. Their aim is to receive money and property from the CNT-AIT in order to destroy that organization.
The IWA considers an attack on any of our comrades to be an attack on all of us, so we stand united in calling for an end to these outrageous legal actions.
Our second major event planned in relation to the IWA-AIT centenary took place on 1st April in Collosseum Club in Košice. Thanks to the feedback we got after the first event in Bratislava we were able to improve the IWA history presentation, and the discussion with delegations from SolFed (UK), WAS (Austria), General Secretary of the IWA from Poland and PA was more brisky and content-wise also more compact.
It was not easy to organise an event with international participation and completely new stuff that had to be prepared (presentation on the history of the IWA, PA history exhibition), but our impressions are mainly positive. To a large extent, this is because other people have been involved in the preparations thanks to discussions and planning that took place at our open meetings.
The past year has been quite varied and challenging at the same time. In addition to a number of workplace issues, we have been preparing quite intensively for the 28th Congress of the International Workers` Association (IWA/AIT) in Spain. We supported a number of activities in Slovakia and abroad, took part in fundraising events and took care of the preparation of the International Week Against Unpaid Wages. And there was more. Find out more in this annual report.
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.
