Dear all,
The call for the 1st of March already circulated through various mailinglists, see the email attached. Following you find a few more informations and an update about the process combined of course with another invitation to join this transnational decentralized mobilisation.
The "platform towards a transnational social strike" developed from discussions within the international blockupy spectrum, in main reference to a first successful mobilisation for a "social strike" in Italy in November 2014. After meetings in Rome in February and in Frankfurt in March (one day after the demonstrations and actions against the ECB-opening) we met again in Poznan in October 2015, where we stabilized the network and we also decided for the 1st of March actionday.
The platform is composed by a network of activists and precarious workers, grassroot unions and antiracist initiatives from various european cities. The planned protests and assemblies for 1.3.16 - "...against borders and precarization" - will try to express the context between exploitation and exclusion, between the crisis- and the borderregime. The precarious conditions of working and living, particularly from refugees and migrants, will become a main topic, various affected groups and persons should be empowered in their demands and resistance.
Until now activities are under preparation at least in cities in Italy, UK, Poland, France, Sweden, Greece and Germany. And also groups in Slovenia and Croatia, who are active for freedom of movement along the Balkanroute, are interested to join.
Confronted with the daily aggravations at the external borders and along the Balkanroute but also through the internal borders and by massive selections and deportations, the 1st of March mobilisation offers a common transnational frame for protest and resistance against the EU-borderregime. In the same time it seems most important for us to go beyond the refugee welcome approach and to try to develope common social demands and struggles carried by various precarious groups in the society. For a human and affordable accomodation, for a social infrastructure and against the social cuttings, against the increasing precarious labour conditions: in most cities its not yet about a real strike but to discuss and organize first common steps towards a social strike. The 1st of march should be used as a space to give public visibility to the various precarious conditions and to denounce the companies and institutions, which are responsible for it. In the same time it should be used (also in assemblies) for the communication between the various realities of precarity, against the divide and rule policy and the fragmentation and the hierachies to split and play social, ethnical or religious groups against each other.
Next steps towards 1st of March:
- with the deadline of 31st of January we are collecting signatures for the common transnational call in order to publish and spread the call again with the list of supporters from various cities all over Europe. If you want to sign the call with your group or network, pls contact info.transnationalstrike@autistici.org
- in the frame of the coming blockupy conference in Berlin from 5th to 7th of February a transnational coordination meeting will take place about 1st of March and further ideas for the platform towards a transnational social strike. See the invitation here:
- in some cities and countries additional (sub)calls for 1.3.16 are under preparation in order to emphasize to the particular local or national situations and conditions and to try to get involved more local groups and organisations, which are not (yet) active in the transnational frame.
- and in general you find the common call in many languages and also more background information about the platform and the whole process of last year at the common website: http://www.transnational-strike.info/
Hopefully more and more groups and realities will join this decentralized mobilisation for 1st of March within next weeks and we will try to summarize and spread updated information again latest in the middle of February.
Best greetings,
hagen (no one is illegal, Hanau)