On Thursday 14 April, a dozen activists of the CNT-AIT Madrid entered the office of the INEM (National Employment Institute) on Paseo de las Acacias to protest against the various cuts that the working class have been suffering, supposedly due to the crisis.
For a few minutes, the comrades called the workers to struggle against unemployment, through a megaphone. Pamphlets were distributed and they chanted slogans such as: «Against unemployment, the workers struggle!», » Not one step back , we will stop this reform», «Strike, strike, indefinite strike!» and «The strength of workers, solidarity!». There was no lack of expressions of interest and support, as well as attempts by the security guards and some employees of the officeto kick out the anarchosyndicalists. Later on they voluntarily went out to the street to continue the action; there several officers of the National Police checked a comrades ID.
The anarchosyndicalists can not tolerate that workers are paying a crisis they have not caused. Capital and the state, however, are interested in having an army of unemployed to spread fear among the working population and facilitate the acceptance of job insecurity, wage reductions, labor reform, pension reform and other adjustments that seem to be approaching. Job destruction is directly motivated by the staff cuts introduced by different companies, which are more unfair when you consider that there are no similar cuts for the employers, bankers, high civil servants and politicians. It is evident that they are using the crisis as an excuse to increase social inequality and dismantle social and labor rights.
The CNT-AIT will not stay quiet while the ruling class attack the historic achievements of the organized working class, obtained with effort, commitment and sacrifice. It is clear that one should not expect anything from subsidized unionism, ratified by the Moncloa Pacts, which in the past three decades has emerged as the biggest ally of capitalism. The workers should have no hope in these union bureaucrats who sell to the highest bidder. By contrast, anarchosyndicalism offers a free trade union model, without professional unionists and without subsidies, in which all decisions emanate from workers’ assemblies and all labor and social conflicts are resolved through mutual aid and direct action.
This symbolic occupation of the INEM office represents only one of many actions being undertaken by the CNT-AIT in the framework of its campaign of protests against cuts. One of the immediate goals of this struggle is the launch of an indefinite general strike to halt and reverse the loss of rights, to reduce working hours to 30 hours without reducing salaries, as well as reducing the retirement age, because these two measures would do away with unemployment, with the hope that the workers will obtain the control of the means of production for themselves and to recover their own lives.
