Subject: M-G: Danish strike day 11 Date: Thu, 7 May 98 14:06:51 +0000 From: <socappeal-AT-easynet.co.uk> May 7, 1998 An important meeting of shop stewards took place this morning as the 500,000 strong private sector workers all out strike in Denmark reaches day 11. It had been planned as a national shop stewards meeting, but it was finally reduced to a Zealand region (where Copenhagen is) shop stewards meeting to discuss the outcome of the strike. Parliament is discussing today a compulsory arbitration law in order to put an end to the strike. This would mean 2 days extra holidays a year, 3 for workers with children, and some concessions to employers. If this law is passed the strike would become illegal from 12 thonight and from tomorrow the unions would be legally prevented from paying strike fund money to the strikers. The national trade union leader went to this meeting hoping to convince the shop stewards that this was the best agreement they were going to get and therefore should be accepted. The Communist Party line (still with some influence in the shop stewards movement) was also to accept it as the lesser evil. But the mood amongst the shop stewards was, as it has been since the beginning of the strike, that the strike is mainly for an extra week holidays, and that anything short of that is not acceptable. Therefore, when a young apprentice stood up in the meeting and said that the national coordinating committee of shop stewards had the responsability to take the effective leadership of the movement, mantain the strike and fight against goverment intervention with a general strike, the whole meeting erupted and started to shout "general strike, general strike". After witnessing this scene the leader of the trade union confederation quietly left the hall and didn't address the meeting as it was planned. The meeting also decided to call for a national march on Copenhagen for Monday, although this action has to be discussed at the national coordinating committe of shopr stewards which is meeting tonight. After the meeting the shop stewards went to a rally in front of Parliament where the arbitration law is being discussed. Now it is not at all clear wether the law will be passed, and if it is passed it could spark an all-out general strike. One of the arguments also used at the meeting was "we cannot go back on our demands now, the workers all over Europe are looking at us, if we win this will have repercussions all over Europe". In the meantime, the media internationally remain mostly silent about this amazing movement. Socialist Appeal socappeal-AT-easynet.co.uk http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/~socappeal/IDOM.html PO Box 2626 London N1 7SQ Britain --- from list marxism-general-AT-lists.village.virginia.edu ---
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