File spoon-archives/marxism-international.archive/marxism-international_1998/marxism-international.9804, message 402


Date: Mon, 27 Apr 1998 08:24:16 +0100
From: Hugh Rodwell <m-14970-AT-mailbox.swipnet.se>
Subject: M-I: Denmark -- general strike


More on the Danish general strike (with a word or two about the left in
Denmark).

Cheers,

Hugh




>Two newsbulletins:
>---
>
>Danish workers will strike!
>
>The danish Trade Union National Organisation (LO) stated on Friday 24th
>April that they have refused to accept the offers from the employers
>league and called a national strike.
>   This strike begins on Monday 27th April and will affect 500,000
>workers in the private sector alone, mainly in heavy industry and
>communication. In a country with a population of 5,000,000, people, this
>means that Denmark will be shut down completely, with the strike
>affecting communication, it will be impossible to even fly to Denmarks
>national airport, Kastrup. This has already been recognised by the
>employers league. The employers have answered by proclaiming a national
>lockout.
>   The strike, which is the biggest since the 1985 easter strike, was
>from the beginning meant to be called over a month ago, during the
>elections, but the trade union leaders managed to delay until now.
>Denmark has had a Social democratic gov't a couple of years now and the
>gov't is now weaker than ever, media guessed that it even wouldn't be
>strong enough to defend it's place this election. It runs the gov't
>together with an agrarian party called "Radikale Venstre".
>   The Usec has a couple of parliamen seats, but is more focused on
>environmental issues than class struggle. The largest far left party in
>Denmark is The Danmarks Kommunistiska Parti/Marxister-Leninister, which
>publishes a daily paper. Among the trotskyist left, the Internationale
>Socialister ("cliffites") is the largest group, followed by the Usec and
>then the lambertists. There are also a number of small groups; a section
>of Ted Grants tendency, one of the ITO and one of the LCMRCI
>
>
>Cheklist for danish national strike:
>
>FOOD INDUSTRY: Workers will strike. Vegetables, milk and the famous
>danish beacon will be very rare the following days. The two largest
>dairies, MD and Kloevermaelk, seems to be contracting scabs to drive
>milk tank trucks for them. But the petrol tank truck drivers are
>striking too, so the scabs will not have a "job" for very long.
>
>BREWERIES: Total strike too. No more danish lager.
>
>TRUCKERS: Total strike, which means no land transports.
>
>FERRIES: Total strike. Swedish personell acting as scabs by refusing to
>to go out in sympathy strikes, which means that ferries will keep on
>going between Denmark and Sweden (which is the biggest market for danish
>ferry lines).
>
>AIR TRANSPORT: Some company personell are out on strike. Important
>ground control personell are out on strike, which means that only very,
>very samll aircrafts can fly.
>
>PETROL: The tank truck drivers are striking, which means that gas
>stations will shut down, although the personell is not striking, since
>they've only got oil and petrol in stock to cover Monday and Tuesday.
>
>HEAVY INDUSTRY: Total strike. ALL blue collar professions are out on
>strike.
>
>RESTAURANTS & HOTELS: Problems with unorganized labour in big scale.
>They few ones organized will strike, however. But with no food, no
>drink, no transport and no washeries, theese will have to shut down too.
>
>CLEANERS: Total strike.
>
>WASHERIES: Total strike.
>
>NEWSPAPERS, GRAPHICS, PRINTERS: Total strike, only "Jyllandsposten" will
>keep on being published. TV workers are not striking though.
>
>CHARTER TRAVELS: Strike among some companies
>
>TIVOLIS: The famous danish national tivoli "Tivoli" is shut down. The
>second most famous, "Bakken" is contracting scabs and has had a policy
>of union busting.
>
>BUSSES: The militant danish bus drivers are out on strike. The strike,
>which is a privat sector strike, has had sympathy strikes being declared
>from one public sector branch alone, the bus drivers. Trains are,
>however, not striking, but the personell on train restaurants as well as
>the train cleaners are on strike.
>
>TAXIS: Some Taxi drivers are out on strike.
>
>CONSTRUCTION: Total strike in all construction professions.
>---
>
>I'll be back!
>
>
>______________________________________________________
>Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com
>
>



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