Pracujesz na umowie śmieciowej? Możemy pomóc!
Several days ago, we criticized a misleading article published by the Spanish organization of the International Confederation of Labor (ICL-CIT). As we have pointed out many times, this is a different international organization, not related to the International Workers' Association which we are a part of and which was founded with a different purpose than the IWA.
The IWA, founded in 1922, was formed as a vehicle for workers to organize horizontally – not led by vanguards or communist parties of any stripe. This was partly a response to the attempts of the Bolsheviks to gather international organizations under its leadership.
Unfortunately, some people think they should repeat the mistakes of the past and attempt to integrate with Marxist-Leninist parties. Below we link to an article written by a comrade from Bangladesh. Probably many members of ZSP might disagree with some ways of expressing certain points – for example including the words „the Theoretical Bankruptcy of Anarchists” in the title – words which can be used against anarchists in general, not just the individuals who themselves are too mixed up to understand the point. However, in general it is good to hear the words of comrades from Asia and most of them have been warning that the CIT is in bed with unions run by authoritarian communists, sometimes directly linked with various parties.
It is a mistake however to treat CIT as anything related to anarchism or anarcho-syndicalism. Although there might be some totally confused people there who exhibit the aforementioned theoretical bankruptcy, the genesis of CIT is exactly to reverse the decision to found the IWA on the anti-party, anti-Bolshevik principle and revert to the bankrupt strategies of common fronts without any position of the role of the state. Or, as we see in Poland, even common organization with the right and the bosses.
In the article published by the comrade from Bangladesh, we see a solidarity statement from a member of the Presidium of the Communist Party of Bangladesh. A flaw of the article is not to explain this more as we assume that many readers just don't know much about politics in Bangladesh (or elsewhere).
The Communist Party of Bangladesh which operates several organizational fronts – for example, a student „wing” or a trade union „wing” which is the Workers' Trade Union Center. The Bangladesh Garment Workers Trade Union Centre is the organization in that sector aligned to the Communist Party of Bangladesh. The leadership of the union are all affiliated to the Communist Party.
The person who signed the letter which appear is a member of the Presidium. The Presidium is the leadership ABOVE the Central Committee – in other words, those elected by the Central Committee to oversee the party, such as the General Secretary.
It should be totally obvious for anybody who hasn't fallen victim to the brainfog of the architects of ICL/CIT that this sort of labor organization has nothing to do with the traditions of anarcho-syndicalism, which was born in an attempt to encourage workers to stay away from exactly these types of structures and situations.
Good for our comrade from Bangladesh to point it out. Our comrades from Myanmar and Indonesia have also pointed out similar ties with ICL/CIT and the Marxist-Leninists of their countries. This work, as we know, started even before the foundation of this international organization and was spearheaded by the FAU in Germany, which supported integration with both Marxist-Leninist organizations and those practicing cross-front politics.
We condemn these strategies as both a strategic dead-end and leading and misleading people as to the actual aims of anarcho-syndicalism.
The link to the article written by our comrade from Bangladesh is found below.
https://redandblackanarchists.com.au/bolshevik-confusion-and-the-theoret...
Once again we are astounded by the dishonesty of the Spanish section of the International Confederation of Labor (ICL or CIT in Spanish). The organization has published a very misleading article on its website: https://www.cnt.es/noticias/el-sindicalismo-revolucionario-en-accion-la-.... As members of the International Workers' Association (IWA-AIT), we strongly object to the constant lies and revisionist history spread by this organization. In this latest article, the Spanish organization claims: „ La CIT nace de una refundación de la histórica Asociación Internacional de los Trabajadores (AIT), tras la expulsión de varios de sus sindicatos miembros en 2016. “ Translation:The CIT has born through a refoundation of the historic International Workers' Association, (IWA), through the expulsion of some of its member unions in 2016.”
The IWA has responded to these types of claims many times in the past but we will repeat what is obvious: the IWA was never „refounded” because it exists as a functioning International organization that is expanding with new Sections, Friends and Initiatives.
A small group of vanguards from Spain floated the idea of „refounding” the IWA more than a decade ago and, although it received some traction internally, the organization itself did not approve the founding of a new, separate international, which is what the CIT became.(*The approval was given only after they did it.) It is that type of decision making from executive committees which caused so much internal division inside the organization that a large part of the long-time anarcho-syndicalists decided to actually refound the CNT-AIT, adherent to the principles of the International Workers' Association.
The „expulsion” of member unions from the IWA in 2016 was the choice of those unions themselves to try to organize another international and ignore the international agreements and obligations of the IWA. The Congress concluded that those organizations in fact withdrew and confirmed their non-adherence.
A very curious tactic which we often see this Spanish organization use is to mislead its own readers and membership as to what is happening. Note the map included in this article. Among the countries noted in red, some are not in fact members of ICL/CIT and others are somehow included in the IWW UK/Ireland (for example, the basically non-functioning Australian IWW or the so-called organizing committees, that are basically initiatives and usually not functioning organizations). Yet the explanation on the map clearly states „Secciones de la CIT” (Sections of ICL). In our experience, this type of misinformation is very typical of this Spanish organization, as well as at least the Polish organization of ICL. We are opposed to using such manipulative tactics to mislead the working class.
The CIT cannot be associated with the legacy of the International Workers' Association for several reasons.
1. The International Workers' Association has clearly disassociated itself from this international organization through its International Congress, noting that it is born of a departure from the principles of the IWA. These include the ideas that decisions are made in common at International Congresses by all of the member organizations, not by a few people behind closed doors.
2. The IWA was founded in 1922 as the culmination of decades of plans to form an anarcho-syndicalist international. It's final impetus was the rejection of membership in the Comintern and one of the primary points of its statutes was the rejection of the state and the role of political parties in the revolutionary movement of workers from below.
All of the IWA Sections have autonomy to decide how to react to or interact with people such as socialists or Marxist Leninists, but it is clear that if there are organizations actually led by Marxist Leninists, as have been several contacts of ICL – this is not in line with the IWA's purpose. Nor is it in line with the purpose of the IWA to be formal proponents of the Federal Democracy Charter (Myanmar), the goal of which is to implement representative bourgeois democracy instead of the revolutionary finalities of anarcho-syndicalism.
The goal of the IWA is a revolutionary, free society – not the rule of parties, NGOs or progressive democrats.
Furthermore, if members of ICL organizations advocate AGAINST anarcho-syndicalism in our region, which happens in the public meetings of its Polish affiliate, obviously this is working against the established aims of the IWA.
3. The IWA is clearly an organization which not only is opposed to fascism, but has a long history of fighting against this phenomenom.
As an organization which is opposed to fascism, ZSP also opposes any cross-front strategies. Although we understand that conservative people are also part of the working class and have interests in workers' struggles, and although we see it as a goal to work towards moving these people away from fascism and towards the internationalist class struggle, we do not agree with the idea of promoting right wing organizations or individuals within our union. This is a strategy which was however accepted by the ICL founding organizations.
Although we can appreciate the class struggle of workers who are not in line ideologically with us, we understand that certain organizations such as the Workers' Initiative find it normal that their union in Jeremias can call people to participate in November 11 parade together with the far right – an event which any serious anti-fascist marches against. We consider that the Spanish organization of CIT (ICL) and its other affiliates need to hide the truth from their own members, which is a disservice to the goals of revolutionary syndicalism and anarcho-syndicalism, which needs to be a force against nationalism, bigotry and fascism.
The Basic Ideas of Revolutionary Syndicalism, Anarcho-syndicalism and the IWA
As we can see, the practices of the Spanish organization of ICL (CIT) clearly violate the ideas upon which the IWA operates. IWA was founded as a vehicle for the working class to operate outside the influence of political parties, to overcome Capitalism and the State. Our statutes read:
„A movement for emancipation ... cannot accept the line of action urged by those currents of the workers’ movement that aspire to a harmony between capital and labour, desiring an international peace with Capitalism and incorporation into the State. Neither can it accept those currents that propagate the existence of the state or the dictatorship of the proletariat, which is contrary to our goal of a society based upon the greatest possible liberty and well-being for all.”
These are the founding principles of the IWA and it will not be „refounded” by any self-appointed ideologues who wish to practice vertical unionism, who wish to incorporate those who take part in bodies designed to establish bourgeois democracy or those which propagate the existence of vanguard cadres to lead the working class.
On June 20, we participated in a radical Equality Parade in Warsaw. It was organized as an alternative to the mainstream “Equality (Pride) Parade”. The following text attempts to explain why we hope the radical parade will be a continuing tradition, separate from the mainstream party parade.
We Want Real Equality: a Perspective on Warsaw's “Equality Parade”
It was 25 years ago when the first “Equality Parade” marched in Warsaw. The Equality Parade is the local name of what is essential called Pride elsewhere. Some of our members took part in this first and subsequent parades. At the beginning it was a couple of hundred people, constantly attacked by fascists and homophobes. At some point some of us formed a militant block to fend off the fascists.
A lot has changed since then. The event is much bigger – and also sponsored by some objectionable corporations and politicians. The organizers of this event, a closed and hierarchical group, are convinced that this mainstreaming is what it takes to achieve “equality” (at least for their narrow interests). For years we either stayed away, participated as a critical block or did something else. In 2023, we were a critical block with sex workers and anarchists. In 2024, we co-organized an independent parade in the Praga neighborhood of Warsaw. In 2025, others were not up for organizing independently and we went as a critical block. During the parade, people from various groups stopped the Maersk truck from going in the parade, splashing it with “blood” and blocking it to protest its business in Israel. This year, more radical leaning people again decided to organize a separate parade, which we endorse.
We Want Real Equality
For years we have used the slogan “There is no Equality in Capitalism” to point out the fact that, although we fight against descrimination of LGBTQiA+ people, capitalism is the major creator of inequality across the globe.
As an anarcho-syndicalist organization, our goal is not just fighting against exploitation in the workplace; it is to aim to create a society of equals, non-hierarchical in nature. And it is not only capitalism that maintains inequality; it is the statist system which affords people power over others.
ZSP has long-term campaigns both against wage theft and against exploitation using public funds. Workers from the companies Ochrona Mega Marcin Kowalski and other connected companies like Proteo are fighting to get paid what they are owed.
The K. family has up to 70 companies registered. This situation in Poland is often used to circumvent various aspects of the labor law. In this situation, some workers from Ochrona Mega received trash contracts through Proteo in order to pretend that they were not working overtime in the same company. Cheating companies like these also use a myriad of companies to avoid laws that say that after employing someone twice on a temporary contract, they have to be employed on a regular contract. They simply employ the person on endless temporary contracts by changing the companies.
This fiction is generally ignored by the authorities which supposedly are there to protect workers, but really just protect thieving bosses.
and how we got kicked off the „solidarity demo”
The people in Iran once again have risen up and now are facing brutal repression by the regime. The immediate impetus for the latest protests was not so much the desire to overtun the rule of the ayatollah, but the crashing of the rial at the end of last year, worsening the real economic situation of millions of working people. Inflation rose to more than 52 percent in December (with food inflation even higher) and key industries which are among the largest employers shrunk, threatening the jobs of many young people. These issues drove people into the streets; anger at the leadership and the Islamic Republic also rose and manifested itself during the protests.
The regime has responded to all this with bloody murder. In this situation, we see a need to support the right to protest and the right to oppose the ayatollah and the Islamic Republic. When we learned that some Iranians in Poland decided to organize a protest, ZSP and the anarchist group „Czerń i Czerwień” (Black and Red) decided to go to decry the outrage and also to hand out some leaflets.
Each year, the International Workers Association holds a Week against Unpaid Wages. Before the week begin, ZSP would like to share a story concerning a famous wage thief - the current President of the United States, Donald Trump.
The time was the early 1980s. Trump had decided to build a luxury tower in New York, the famous Trump Tower. In order to build the tower cheaply, Trump looked for cheap workers. Just at that time, some Polish workers had come to New York, fleeing the situation in Poland, looking to earn some money. (By the way, let's remember how many Polish people were political and economic refugees.) Trump hired around 200 Polish workers (with no right to work in the US) to work on the construction of the Tower and the demolition of the Bonwit Teller building, which had previously stood on the site.
The workers were paid $4 an hour – far below the rate of unionized construction workers and had no benefits, poor safety conditions and had to work 12-hour shifts. Worst of all, the building was full of asbestos, which they were not told. They were not given any safety equipment.
Two lawsuits were filed. One by a group of workers who were not paid pension and medical benefits by Trump (another common form of wage theft) and another by the Polish workers. Both cases were ruled in favor of the workers in court, with the Polish workers receiving 1.375 million dollars.
For the second time in two weeks, we were on the streets with a counter-demonstration against an anti-immigrant protest and for the second time in the last two weeks, the counter mobilization attracted as many people as the fascists. The anti-immigrant demonstration was called by the National Movement (Ruch Narodowy), Mlodzież Wszechpolska and organizers of the Independence March (Nov. 11 demonstrations). Despite the efforts of these organizations and the constant anti-immigrant propaganda promoted by the government, the fascists were only able to mobilize no more than 250 people.
While the racists spewed hate and did fascist salutes, a similar size crowd gathered across the street to protest. The protest was organized by United against Racism and it was also strongly anti-capitalist. A speaker from ZSP pointed out that while the fascists always claim that they are “protecting Polish people”, that they really are just useful idiots of capitalists and others who are inflicting misery on working class people. Many other people also spoke to the fact that political elites are using fearmongering tactics to create a false enemy and that Polish people in fact are a huge immigrant group themselves in many European countries.
In Madrid, resistance to the eviction of the CNT-AIT continues. We from the IWA express our solidarity with the comrades against the vindictive and repressive nature of the eviction.
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6EQQhKjXZc
The Local Federation of the CNT-AIT Madrid is the latest victim of the vindictive actions of former comrades who formed another international organization (ICL or CIT in Spanish) as part of their moves to create a more professionalized and hierarchical union structure. The CIT union, which maintains the name CNT (if not its traditions), have filed dozens of lawsuits against unions of the CNT-AIT and have been trying to kick them out of their premises or to sell them for cash.
The premises on Tirso de Molina in Madrid was bought by the membership of CNT-AIT Madrid many decades ago. It is the membership who maintains it. Some years ago, CIT was formed. The union of the CIT has a different premises and does not have enough membership to maintain the spaces. Rather than agree that CNT-AIT will remain in Tirso and CIT will remain in the other premises, or even to agree to split the Tirso premises (which has 2 floors), the CIT went to court to evict the people who actually use the premises for their union activity.
The state was probably very happy to see this as it has long wanted to repress the CNT-AIT. It granted the eviction (on shaky basis, not allowing CNT-AIT Madrid to present evidence in its own defense). They were given one month to vacate the building. They decided to resist instead.
The only way CIT will take over is by violence. Either they will form an attack group or hire „desokupas” (usually fascists that help landlords get rid of squatters) or use the riot police.
We are disgusted by these events. Places belong to the people who use them, pay for them and maintain them – not to some people waving a piece of paper and claiming ownership.
Enough of poseurs using the state to evict people because they aspire to some sort of monopoly.
Long live the CNT-AIT and long live anarchism!
On May 10, members of the ZSP in Warsaw took part in a demonstration in against racism and fascism and in defense of migrants. This was a counter-demonstration against a racist anti-immigrant march in the capital.
Across the world, as the working class faces more and more pressure and austerity caused by capitalism and it's associated pathologies, we see immigrants being scapegoated and, in some cases, brutalized by repressive government policies. In Poland there is a far-right movement which is fundamentally racists and the government and all sorts of politicians are promoting racist and anti-immigrant policies. Donald Tusk, the Prime Minister that much of the Eurocracy supports, actually campaigned with highly xenophobic propaganda and one of his first priority was to try to suspend asylum rights, get out of EU obligations to accept refugees and advocate for a racist migration strategy that focuses on creating categories of undesirables, based on notions such as „compatability” with local culture and religions, etc.
In recent years, Poland was the country with the most immigration in the EU and the influx of migrants brought many advantages. However, politicians have decided to weaponize the issue to draw in a far-right electorate in this election year. Another example can be seen with the leading candidate for President, Rafal Trzaskowski (currently President of Warsaw) who just a couple of years ago was bragging about how much Warsaw has done to help Ukrainian refugees (always exaggerating about the city's actual contributions). In recent months he has gone on anti-Ukrainian tirades, promising to abolish payments for child support to Ukrainians. To explain, all taxpayers in Poland who have children receive a monthly support payment. This includes all foreigners. Why did the candidate single out Ukrainians with a proposal that is clearly discriminatory? It's clear that he is competing with fascists like Mentzen (another candidate) for the votes of xenophobes, especially those who have targetted Ukrainians (and who also are influenced by Russian propaganda through their local proxies).
In this political atmosphere, we find it especially important to speak out, especially as fewer and fewer people seem willing to do it. (Do you think any other union in Poland appeared today? Zero.)
We remind people that immigrants are just like everybody else and how many Polish people have immigrated – how many people have worked abroad to have better job opportunities or just because they wanted to go to another place? How many Polish people also live abroad because of issues such as intolerance in a country that up until last month had „LGBT-free zones”? How many people had to immigrate in the times when political repression was a common reality or when anti-semitic purges were carried out? How many people had to flee when war and then occupation happened here?
While the bigots who organized the racist march pretend to be faithful Catholics (even postponing the march when the Pope died), they cannot recognize the common humanity they share with other because they are blinded by racisms. We have to note that one of the celebrity guests of the racist march was none other than that piece of human excrement, Janusz Walus, the racist who killed Chris Hani and had a hit list that included Joe Slovo and Nelson Mandela. Walus was unfortunately sent back to Poland where he is now the idol of would-be murderous racists. His daughter on the other hand spoke at the anti-racist demo.
Racism and fascism will be a theme we raise again next week when we protest at the American Embassy. While the government there has employed horrendous racist abuses, Trump wants to visit Poland next month to give a bone to his faithful dogs in the Polish government. We will be on the streets to show our resistance to spreading fascism, authoritarianism and militarism.
Warsaw University outsources its cleaning work and at the campus on Zwirki and Wigury St., a company called EVER is used. Before the last public tender, EVER employed 18 people there; until last week there were only 11 and these people, all with disabilities, had to do the same work as 18. However, this was not the only problem: a new supervisor came who started to harrass the workers, using insulting and discrimatory language and constantly harrassing them.
The cleaners decided that they would like to organize and do something about this situation. The bosses of EVER wrote some contradictory things to the Warsaw union – on the one hand claiming the workers were „lying”, on the other hand claiming they are looking for a resolution to the conflict. The day after we received this letter, repression started against the workers in the form of splitting them up and sending them to work in different places, despite the fact that many had worked in the University for years. We consider this a typical union-busting move.
Many of the workers went on medical leave due to the stress of this bullying and repression. The demands were to stop the harrassment, bring back the workers to the original workplace, fire the mobbing supervisor and hire more people.
It should be noted that hiring more people is no real cost to EVER because in Poland, workplaces supported by PFRON – which provides subsidies for hiring people with disabilities – cover up to 75-90% of the workers' salary. In other words, taxpayers are paying these salaries – not the companies supposedly hiring them.
On December 13, employees of EVER who worked at Warsaw University's ZW Campus held a protest. The security of the university forced the workers off the campus. In addition, EVER sent some shady „psychologists” to the campus. These „doctors” corned a group of workers who were on the way to the protest with signs they had made. Apparently the job of the „psychologists” was to scare and manipulate the workers. It was unclear what they did but they put pressure on a group of workers to meet with the psychologists. They also came out to the workers at the protest and ordered them (not asked) to come meet with them. So clearly, the „psychologists” were part of the harrassment process and they tried to signal that the workers needed „psychological counselling” because they were protesting. This was extremely insulting so everybody, so we decided to make our way back on campus, despite the heavy security which had earlier thrown the workers out.
