A-Infos (en) Britain, Anarchist Federation Resistance 120, March 2010 - page 5 - On The Frontline: International Workplace round-up

Mass strikes paralyse Greece ---- A 24 hour public sector general strike, accompanied by a 
wave of private sector strikes, brought Greece to a standstill on the 10th of February, 
with no aeroplanes flying in or out the country. ---- The 24 hour strike of the public 
sector union, ADEDY, saw a complete shutdown in these areas: all civil servants, including 
tax offices, social security, municipal and county workers; all doctors and nurses (except 
emergency personnel); all teachers at all school grades and all university teaching staff 
and personnel; all archaeological sites; all air traffic control (meaning no flights in or 
out of the country). ---- Also, in the public transport sector, rolling stoppages of work 
took place in the national railway system and the suburban railway system of Athens.

The impact of the public sector strike was
increased by simultaneous strikes in the private
sector. PAME, the Communist Party umbrella
union, called a 24 hour strike affecting large
sections of the private sector, while at the
same time several autonomous unions, such
as the Athens print union and the workers of
Wind Telecom, called their own strikes. The
PAME strike affected too many businesses
to list here, including supermarket workers,
elevator maintenance workers and builders.
All hydrofoil transport from the ports of
Peiraeus and Igoumenitsa to the islands was
frozen due to the strike.
The strikes on the 10th were followed by
many others throughout the month, including
ones by customs officials, lorry drivers, taxi
drivers and pharmacists.

Total Refinery in Dunkerque occupied

Striking workers occupied Total's refinery in
Dunkerque after management refused to meet
an ultimatum over negotiations.
At least 150 workers stormed the buildings on
February 16th, forcing their way past security
guards and at one point using ladders to gain
entry to the offices on the higher levels of the
buildings. Workers took the action after union
demands for a mediator in negotiations and
for the removal of security guards from the
site were ignored.
Workers at the site have been on strike since
January 12th. The site has been closed since
September due to "a structural and durable fall
in the consumption of petroleum products".
Fearing that Total would try to close the site
altogether workers launched the strike and
later the occupation.

Belgian rail workers blockade depots

Belgian rail-workers have organised strikes
across the country after the fatal crash on
February 15th which left 18 people, including
the train driver, dead.
Machinists and technical workers have
blockaded depots across the country with
services most affected in Wallonia. Train
drivers and signal workers are also observing
the strike. So far the depots at Braine-le-
Comte, Mons, Liège, Ath, Saint-Ghislain,
La Louvière, Charleroi, Namur, Ottignies,
Tournai and Louvain are reported as having
been entirely blockaded by strikers and the
Belgian Rail Company (SNCB) admits that
85% of its depots were affected by the strike.
The strike has seen very high observance
and has led to the cancellation of the flagship
international services Thalys and Eurostar.
Across Wallonia there have been mass
cancellations of trains as rail workers join
the strikes.
Workers are protesting against attacks on their
working conditions, as well as the company's
refusal to install automatic braking equipment
on all trains.

Worldwide support for Free Workers' Union

In the previous issue of Resistance, we
reported on how the Berlin Free Workers'
Union (FAU), a militant union run on
anarcho-syndicalist principles, was fighting
back against attempts to ban it. This attack
on workers' rights provoked outrage across
the globe, and on the 29th and 30th of
January there were protests in at least
56 cities in 20 countries against a court
verdict that prohibits workers in Berlin
from affiliating themselves with the union
of their choice. Supporters of the union
demonstrated in over 20 cities throughout
Germany, as well as in Japan, Greece,
Spain, Switzerland, Slovakia, Bangladesh,
Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Ukraine, Denmark,
France, Norway, America, Austria, New
Zealand and the UK. The dispute continued
throughout the prestigious Berlinale film
festival, causing serious embarrassment for
the Cinema Babylon, the employer at the
heart of the dispute. Members of the FAU
could now face fines or jail time just for
saying the word "union", but have vowed
to fight on.
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