Early in the morning posters were put up, including at the Spanish Embassy. In the afternoon, leaflets were handed out in several places. Towards the evening, some places were visited, such as the Cervantes Institute or the main press agency. There was a stationary informational action and then a small walk downtown with banners.
The reason the press agency was visited was to protest the biased coverage of yesterday's events and social protests in general in the media. We also made sure to report on the protest yesterday and the strikes in our alternative media, which is well-read and perhaps the only source of information on some struggles.
A few different leaflets and posters were made. We handed out leaflets explaining the reasons for the economic crises in those countries and supporting the workers. Below is an English version of a text calling for strike action, explaining a bit about our perspective.
Call to Strike and To Build Real Alternatives
ZSP maintains that strikes are a powerful weapon of the working class. We call on workers around the world to organize themselves from below and, using this weapon, make attacks on the capitalist and ruling classes. Now is a critical time to fight against the growing erosion of workers' rights and economic position.
This fight, in order to succeed, must be international. Poland, in this respect, plays an important role in the development of the class struggle in Europe as it is one of a few countries both receiving outsourced and delocalized work and sending cheaper labour abroad. Both of these facts, caused by great income disparities across borders and our dire economic situation, make our role important in the global perspective as either we are also fighting to maintain rights and improve conditions, or we are the strike breakers of Europe, condemning ourselves to a worsening situation.
In constrast to the inaction of the main unions and their constant attempts to quell workers' anger, we call on workers to organize outside of their realm, with an aim towards coordinated strike action. It is also important to realize that the main unions maintain expensive bureaucracies and have scores of professionals, often dependent on the very companies where they are „employed”. Many of these unionists, freed from work duties but paid as „representatives”, in fact have little reason to do anything other than maintain the status quo.
In order to build real alternatives, workers must free themselves from dependency: dependency on the funds of the companies, state or union bureaucracies. Only then can we fight without coming into conflict of interests.
In our rejection of dependency on the state, we also reject institutions legimitizing its power or role as manager of public assets. Only the workers and community directly should be involved with managing and distributing our collective wealth. The state, as we know, is the tool of capitalism, exploitation, arbitrary and uncontrolled power and social alienation.
On this day, September 26, 2012, ZSP stands in solidarity with the aspirations of workers striking in places such as Greece and Spain, especially in support of calls and efforts to spread such struggles internationally. However, the strike is only one tool of struggle and is something that must be accompanied by real alternative visions, if our aim is to gain anything other than some concrete economic victories. And, in the current reality, we assess this alternative vision as essential to prevent the struggles from running head on into the barriers placed by the quickly-adapting capitalist class, the false solutions of the left-wing of capital or of nationalist protectionists.
Fellow workers, do not harbour any illusions! Our liberation will be the work of ourselves, without trade union hierarchies, vertical organizations or political opportunists waiting to manage our assets and our society!
For a self-managed society of equals and well-being for all.
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