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As part of a series of interviews with comrades from the education sector, ZSP Education Workers Union from Warsaw interviews a comrade from the CNT-AIT in Spain about a strike in the Madrid and attitudes towards the mainstream unions.

Hi. We understand that in Madrid, from the 17th of September, there is an indefinite strike in education. Tell us, what percentage of the teachers are taking part in the strike?

There is not much participation since the large unions are trying to avoid the mobilization of the workers to protect the social peace at all costs. In fact, they always boycott the assembly or self-organized meetings of the workers, if they do anything without them.

And are other workers in the schools participating?

The strike includes all public education workers in Madrid from infant education (0-3 years old) up to the university.

What are the principle demands of the workers?

The workers are looking to respond to the neoliberal policies that are privatizing public education. There have been thousands of dismissals in the last few years and the quality of education (which was poor before) is getting even worse. Priveleges are given to private education (above all religious) and this all puts the poorer parts of the working class at a disadvantage. .

The CNT supports this strike. What is your union going to do? Are there any actions planned?

Our union supports this strike critically. Unions like the CGT make these struggles not to benefit the workers in general but to become more well known and get more votes in the next union elections. It is lamentable.

Our union, nevertheless, is trying to raise awareness of the workers so that the strike goes forward with more strength. We are putting up poster, hanging banners on bridges, picketing at schools and institutions to convince other workers and making other solidarity actions. We will continue doing the same these next few days.

We know that the CNT is critical of the positions of the major unions. Can you tell us some example of how the unions in this sector act (or don't act).

The large unions in Spain have abandoned the assembly in favour of union elections to get representatives and money to sustain their bureaucracies. They are professional politicians that impede real mobilizations and look to redirect social and labour struggles towards negotiations that takes over the voice of the workers. That's why they try to make the struggle into a spectacle and eliminate assemblyism, self-management and direct-action in labour conflicts, with all they have and this is a lot, since they have laws, media and great bureaucratic structures. We don't and we do not participate in the established structures. So in our way of organizing ourselves, we are carrying the seeds for the new world that we want to construct.

Thanks and good luck!