letter on a strike at atento/spain
text in german
comments from the hotlines-collective
Here is a letter on a strike of call center-workers of Atento, a subsidiary of the privatised spanish "Telecom": Telefonica. Similar reports reached us on stikes at Telecom Italia. They are about the outsourcing of call center-jobs and the following deterioration of conditions.
This report shows (like the one on call centers in India, 20.03) that there might be more redundancies in the near future due to automation and relocation of call centers. The bosses aim to exploit the workers in an even more profitable way and avoid the increasing struggles.
Still, we see it as problematic how the unions (in this case the left-wing CGT) refers to the "protection of employment", in this case even "employment in Spain". On one hand it is clear that redundancies and outsourcing can extremely worsen our living conditions and we need to fight against that. On the other hand this can neither be about a "right to employment", like the CGT puts it, nor the mere protection of these shitty jobs, for instance against the transfer to Marocco. We rather need to express in our struggles that these attacks on our conditions will continue as long as it is all about profits and the accumulation of capital. That will not change by referring to a "right" - that on top of all should be guaranteed by a state that, as in the case of Spain, is responsible for the fact that every day migrant workers coming from Marocco drown in the sea. The state, whether in Spain, Germany of as the EU takes care that the different conditions in Spain and Marocco (or Poland and Germany) persist. So the bosses can keep on putting pressure on us by shifting jobs to "cheap-labour-countries" (or just by threatening to do so).
Therefore we need to fight for better conditions and a better life and express that in a way that shows that we have the same interests as workers in Marocco.
Solidarity and best wishes to the striking workers in Spain!
For globalisation (of the struggles)!
---- it starts here ----
Strike at Atento
(From A-Infos News Service (came 20.04.01)
Call centre workers in Atento (related to the privatised Telefonica) have decided to go on strike, protesting against the effects of globalisation, in this case through the opening of call centres in Morocco. Workers in this neighbouring NorthAfrican country (in which Spanish is widely spoken on ist northern coast) will receive salaries much lower than the already low salaries paid in Spain, as well as worse working conditions.
Organising call centre workers in Spain has been very difficult, due to the extremely precarious rubbish contracts and antisyndical behaviour of bosses and police, as well as the sell-out policies of the reformist unions (UGT and CCOO). Currently two CGT call centre workers are facing a court trial in which they could receive a sentence of imprisonment of over one year under false accusations of attacking the police during a demonstration (when the truth is that the police attacked them for crossing a traffic light in red during this demonstration).
Workers in Spain expect massive redundancies, probably affecting 2000 workers in the long-run (the total number of workers hired in Morocco).
The CGT demands the following:
- Guaranteed employment
- At least two weekends off work each month
- Bonus for weekend work
- Health protection. Ten minute "eye-rest" every two hours, individual
headphones, ...
- 100% sickness benefits from day one
These demands are to protect employment in Spain. Obviously, the CGT will support Morrocan workers and their right to employment.
Current strikes are taking place (Spanish time):
19, 20 and 21 April:
11:00 to 13:00 on 19th and 20th.
17:00 to 19:00 on 19th and 20th.
00:00 to 02:00 on 20th and 21st.
In Spain we are flooding the telephone numbers 1004 and 1485 (fixed phones) and 609 (mobile phones) with calls during these hours. Apparently this is not possible from phones outside of Spain.
Further strikes and actions forthcoming...
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