New Actions of the CNT-AIT in the Complutense University in Madrid

On May 8, a court hearing took placein the case of a comrade from the CNT-AIT union in the Complutense University of Madrid against her dismissal in November 2011. This union had previously organized a series of actions to support her and others who were dismissed, among them our old union delegate.

Given the refusal of the Rector and management to meet with this union to negotiate, it was decided to stop waiting and Monday, May 7, first thing in the morning, a dozen comrades appeared at the office of the Rector, José Carrillo, to meet with him. He was not there at that moment as the meeting of the Governing Council was about to begin, so we went to the entrance of the Graduate Hall and, in the presence of various security agents, chanted slogans against the dismissals, cuts, the unions taking part in elections and subsidized and in favor of giving contracts to the teaching fellows. After a few minutes, the Rector came. He did not deign to speak with the workers and students in struggle and went escorted to the Graduate Hall. Union representatives who are part of the Governing Council also passed by, eager to pay homage to their friend Carrillo.

The Chief of the Security and Control Unit tried to repress the protest of the union, pushing and immobilizing various comrades. They threatened to break the video camera of the comrade filming the scene. Given the firm response to their agression, the security agents were not able to kick us out and they called the police, as this Rectorate usually does. On more than one occasion, it has been used to identify and denounce militants of the CNT-AIT, which brings us back to a time in the not so distant past when the repressive forces of the State reigned unchecked at the University. In this instance, it was decided to end the action and leave the building. All this happened while the University staff was being told about the new labor calendar where they will have to work 7 days more per year.

The next day, about ten workers and students rallied from 10:15 til 11:30 in front of the entrance to the Labour Court of Madrid. They had a banner which read ”Against the cuts and precarity in the University. Organize and fight. CNT-AIT”

While both the dismissal of the comrade as the filing of the lawsuit occurred before the adoption of the new labor reform, which suppresses wages during the proceedings in case of unfair dismissal, it should be noted that in the course of the trial, the University lawyer, who argued against the worker being paid wages during the proceedings, which only serves to highlight the hypocrisy of the official left, which at the same time it invites us to strike against the labor reform of the PP, benefits from it in those administrations in which it governs, as is the case of the UCM.

The same Rector that considers himself progessive and came to power with the help of the CCOO has demonsrate again that he does not defend the interests of the workers and does not hesitate to use violence against those who fight against his labour policy. For our part, we hope that we have made it clear to Carrillo that he will always have to face us as long as he is exploiting and dismissing workers. This is a class war.

Below is the leaflet given out during the action on May 7:

CNT-AIT IS FIGHTING FOR THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE DISMISSED COMRADES

Last November, the Rectorate and the management of the Complutense University of Madrid fired a comrade from the CNT-AIT union. Her comrades are not willing to consent to the UCM trampling rights and in the framework of the conflict the CNT-AIT has for the contracting of teaching fellow and an end to cuts, we launced a series of actions aimed at the Rectorate and management for her reinstatement.

The worker in question worked in the Students Building as a teaching fellow which this union has shown is a ploy to disguise employment and save personnel costs. The Labour Court number 15 in Madrid, in its verdict number 381/2011 of June 29 2011, declared the dismissal of another comrade in February 2011 who was exploited in the same circumstances unfair. It recognized this fact by stating that the fellowship used by UCM is a form of disguised employment “which cannot have judicial protection”.

CNT-AIT demands the immediate reinstatement of the comrade and the recognition of all the rights which the UCM has denied her during all her months of work, especially Social Security payments and salary differentials.

One cannot ignore that this dismissal took place in the context of mass dismissals of fellows. que este despido tiene lugar en un contexto de despidos masivos de personal becario. After being forced to compensate several dismissed fellows, the University is afraid that hundreds of exploited workers like these fellows will demand the respect of their labour rights and they decided to shield themselves legally, adopting measures that translate into the dismissal of hundreds of workers, increasing the workload of other staff without extra pay and the disappearance of money that many students need to meet the costs of their studies. Instead of assuming their responsibilities towards the workers and students of UCM, the Rector and the management are burying their heads in the sand, waiting for the fellowships authorized up til now to run out.

On Tuesday, May 8, there will be a court case against the dismissal of our comrade. Some months have passed since we started this struggle and filed the suit and we are still waiting for those responsible to meet with us to negotiate her reinstatement. What is the reason to deny her reinstatement when the Rector himself acknowledge during his election campaign that “these fellowships are basically concealing work places”. UCM knows very well that even though we are right, the law protects the interests of the bosses. Therefore they prefer to let a court resolve this matter. They are conscious of the fact that even though the worker is trying to get her dismissal declared invalid, they can get rid of her through a miserable compensation.

The law is made to legitimize the robbery that the capitalist submits workers to. That is why it is necessary that we workers organize ourselves and fight, without intermediaries, be they political leaders, professional unionists or magistrates. This form of struggle is known as direct action and that is what we are trying to put in practice to demand the reinstatement of our comrade and the rest of the comrades that have been affected by the labour policies of UCM, like our old union delegate, who has been out of a job since last year.

Only a consciously revolutionary movement, without leaders, like that which is proposed by anarchosyndicalism, can put an end to the cuts in rights that have been falling on the working class and can start the construction of a free society.

REINSTATEMENT OF THE DISMISSED COMRADES!

EMPLOYMENT FOR THE FELLOWS!

AGAINST CAPITAL, THE STATE AND UNION BUREAUCRACY:

SELF-ORGANIZATION, MUTUAL AID AND DIRECT ACTION!