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On December 19, Roche Poland (the pharmaceuticals company) dismissed an activist of the ZSP without any reason. The orders came directly from corporate headquarters and he was asked to leave immediately. The company refused to give any reason in writing or any other documents.

The dismissal came on the first day after a large article with the comrade appeared in the main newspaper. Although no real reason was given, it is largely felt that this decision was related to his work in the union.

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The ZSP protested the slaughter in Kazakhstan in front of the embassy in Warsaw. We strongly condemn the state violence against the people, starting with authorities trying to clean the strike of protesting workers, and advocate social revolution to get rid of the bosses and tyrants.

Just slightly a week after the anniversary of the imposition of martial law in Poland, we made the comparison of how these two states dealt with social unrest by cold blooded murder and repression.

We condemn the imposition of martial law in Kazakhstan and support all those resisting it!

Finally we hope that people will make the struggle against the authoritarian, nepotistic and corrupt government of Kazakhstan also into a struggle against the state and capital in general. Because capitalism is as great a tyranny as any other.

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ZSP continues to inform the public about the case of Karol M., who is still in a coma after an accident at work and warn them about the work agency "Jerzy Madziarowicz- MIX". The boss of the agency, which hires people for construction work, claimed that Karol was not even working for him after the accident happened. Karol, who was working without an proper safety equipment, was left in a coma, without insurance. The agency claims that it has absolutely no responsibility.

Unfortunately we cannot seem to locate Madziarowicz. On Saturday morning we went to his house with a picket but we still have not found him. There we encountered a young woman (daughter?) who called the police on us because we taped a leaflet to the house. We had an interesting discussion with the police how it is that they came so quickly to intervene because we taped a leaflet while they did practically nothing when Karol's distressed family went to them about the accident, lack of proper building safety, failure to report the accident, etc. etc. We were warned not to "harass" anybody.

While leafleting nearby we encountered other construction workers without the proper safety equipment and we had some conversations. Typically these are poor people from towns where there is no work, looking for any job they can get. And we found out that some also had problems with payment. We pointed out that what happened with Karol can happen with anyone, so better get organized.

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ZSP took part in the Day of Action in support of the strikers of EULEN-ABB. . We held an informational picket at the Polish headquarters of ABB. There we delivered a letter and gave out leaflets in the headquarters, out front and on the street. We spoke through the megaphone and people came out of the building or opened their windows to hear. The children from the nearby school also did the same. We spoke not only about the strike in Spain, but the problems of subcontracted workers in general. (And we recommend the security guards from Impel who tried to interfere would better read our articles about working conditions in that firm and the many comments of their co-workers who responded.)

The CNT EULEN-ABB workers called for action on the 15th of December. On this date, about 450 people demonstrated in Cordoba in support of the strikers.

The CNT is also collecting money for the strike fund. For bank details, write to us (is-at-zsp.net.pl) or to the CNT (exteriores-at-cnt.es).

We will try to update information about the strike in the "IWA News" section of this page.

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Last week the Okrzejówki Brigades were formed, in response to the growing number of arson attacks in the Praga district of Warsaw. These have included attacks on people who decided to fight against their evictions or have been part of the Tenants' Defense Committee. We refuse to let the speculators and landlords terrorize people and we decided to take matters into our own hands!

Besides the ZSP, some members of the Committee and other people from the neighbourhood are patrolling every night. The slogan of the brigades, which will do more than just patrol, is "Self-defense and mutual aid".

There have been at least 55 fires in the immediate vicinity of our office over the past year. The area is to be gentrified and the city would like to get rid of as many tenants as possible. More information about the fires, protests and the brigades, along with photos, can be found on the ZSP Warsaw blog in English. www.zspwawa.blogspot.com.

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On Dec. 14, ZSP held an informational action at a shopping mall in Warsaw to draw attention to the working conditions in FF Mercantil factory in Brazil and to the case of Icaro Polleto from the COB-AIT, who was due in court on the same day.

Icaro was working at FF Mercantil, a sweatshop which produces mainly for the LOTTO and FINTA brands sport clothing. He was involved in trying to organize there. Workers were demanding a five-hour work week, 8-hour day, air conditioning and ventilation, extra pay for working in hazardous conditions and the right to organize.

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ZSP calls on all friends, comrades and neighbours to participate in actions against the arsons made by developers and gentrifiers in Warsaw's Praga district. (For more information, see the ZSP Warsaw blog, here (about recent fires) and here (with some background information). We will be at the demo of the Tenants' Defense Committee on Saturday and there will be some organizing / actions before that.

Some members of ZSP declared the formation of a neighbourhood self-defense organization and patrols to deal with the problem immediately.

On Nov. 29, 11 people were arrested during a protest against a shale gas conference.

We condemn the harsh arrests of activists peacefully protesting against the conference on shale gas. Once again we see how the police needlessly intervene to stop social protests, not refraining themselves when physically handling the protesters. And once again we see how the police conspire to blame the protesters who were subjected to repression and violence.

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Karol M. has been in a coma since November 3. That's when he had an accident at his construction job in Warsaw. To the horror of his family, it turned out that Karol was never given any contract by the work agency "Jerzy Madziarowicz MIX". The boss did not report the accident at work and went he was called by the police, he claimed that Karol did not work for him.

Karol has no insurance. He may never be able to work again. And Madziarowicz is trying to avoid responsibility. ZSP has started an action against the agency. The first step was to try to collect evidence that the agency is functioning and hiring people, with or without contracts. Now there is the task, which is not easy in Poland, of getting compensation for Karol.

Madziarowicz can expect a visit from us and should understand that we have been speaking to other people who have worked for him.

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On Dec. 2, there was a picket at the Greek embassy in Warsaw against capitalist exploitation, austerity measures, repression and other attacks on working people in Greece. The protesters also the demanded release of prisoners. The ZSP distributed the following text:

We stand in solidarity with the people of Greece, fighting against the ploys of the ruling classes which are forcing more and more austerity measures on them. In Poland we hear the nonsense of neoliberal logic repeated again and again about how it is necessary to make cuts, as if the Greek working classes were living some life of waste and luxury. In reality, all the waste always comes from the top and it is the people who are made to pay for this. A few people get rich, while most working people get screwed.