week.
During the last few months the Standard plant has shown an outstanding level of militancy.
The mobilisations against the death penalties on 11-12 of September with a massive factorv assembly at the Ramirez de Prado plant, were the first symptoms of the hot autumn' which the factory was to CAUCLICIICC The preparation for the struggle, centring around the negotiations for the new collective agreement, already showed that the workers were determined to wrench substantial gains from the management and were prepared to fight for them.
The first activity of the militants was to carry out an inquiry to consult all the workers as to their demands. This poll was recognised by the state trade union representatives and une vast majority or workers took part in it. The results of the poll and a series of assemblies made it possible to draw up a programme of demands, the most important of which were. 25,000 pesetas a month minimum salary [i.e. £45 a week); 11,621 pesetas increase for everybody (this would put the salary of the lowest paid up to 25,000 pesetas); a 40-hour week; 30 days holiday a year; re-instatement of all mose previously sackea, amnesty for all those in prison for trade union or political activity; freedom of association, speech, to demonstrate and to meet.
This programme of demands was immediately adopted by all the workers, and is at the centre of the struggle which has been going on for the Illegal workers' demonstration in Barcelona In the current wave of industrial struggles that is rocking the Juan Carlos regime in Spain, a leading part has been played by the workers of Standard Electric. Fighting both the machinery set up by the Franco dictatorship and their multi-national bosses (Standard is part of the great ITT empire), the Standard workers were among the first to go into struggle for economic and political demands after the death of the old dictator.
In struggle now for two months, the Standard workers were in the forefront of the big wave of solidarity that unfolded around the strike of the underground workers in Madrid. They. along with the striking Chrysler workers, mounted mass demonstrations that were brutally attacked by the police (thus breaking the regime's attempt to cultivate a phoney image of 'tolerance' for consumption abroad) and stimulated other Madrid workers to launch massive solidarity strikes at the end of last The following is an article written by a militant from one of the Standard factories in Spain. It is reprinted from Combate, paper of the LCR-ETA VI, (a sympathising organisation of the Fourth International in Spain). As it makes clear, Standard will be in the forefront of the coming battles of the Spanish working class, and solidarity with the Standard workers is therefore an important task for the British workers movement to take up.
past month. The response of the management only replied to the first two points of the programme: a wage increase of 19 per cent (meaning a 15,600 peseta [£30 a week] salary for the lowest paid. and a bonus of 19,600 [£160] pesetas on the anniversary of the firm. ms served only to sumulate une workers' determination.
Then, when Juan Carlos announced a wage freeze, the response was overwhelming. The day after the freeze was announced the Standard factory held a mass meeting. This meeting stated that the freeze was an insult to those who have to negotiate collective agreements, and decided to hold a half-hour stoppag on 17 November to demonstrate their determination to struggle for the demands of their programme.
This half hour stoppage was total.
PRISONERS Then came the death of Franco and the days of waiting for the coronation of Juan Carlos. On the day of the coronation hundreds of workers from Standard, who had gathered in an assembly the previous day. mobilised not to greet the new pupet King' but to demand the release of the political prisoners, at the gates of Carabanchel prison.
During the opening days of Juan Carlos's reign negotiations were held with the management. For the first two weeks the workers at Standard continued to hold assemblies, stoppages and "go-slows' to support their just demands. At the end of the first week in December, the struggle extended itself to all the Standard factories (Madrid, TorFourth International in Spain)
filling up and so on - there is no relavega, Toledo).
tion on 9, 10, and 11 December was projected as part of the struggles organised and called for by the workers' commissions and political organisations throughout Spain on those days. On the 13 December an assem:ly decided to strike on the 16th in support of the call for a general strike by the delegates of all the What have been the main weapons of the workers of Standard up to now? In the first place, their programme of demands. This is an excellent example, because it unites all the aspirations of the workers, not only on the level of economic demands, but also on the question of political freedom.
Secondly, the continuing round of mass assemblies where the unity of the workers has been forged and the most important decisions have been taken. This rhythm of assemWhat is the attitude of the al level.
The new Government is a continuation of Franco. The jails are still Gathering inside the Carabanchel prison on the outskirts of Madrid The continuation of this mobilisasubstantial change at the governmentHowever, there is a changed relationship of forces. This past year has seen millions of workers on strike.
Their whole thrust has been against Div must be maintained in order to retain the position of strength which will allow us to win our demands.
What are the next steps forward? We must demand that the union representatives [elected by the workers but formally part of the state-run trade union structure] carry out their work as faithful spokesmen of the assembly; and if the workers believe that some particular comrade should sit on the negotiating committee alongside the official renresentatives then we must dem and his presence there.
Only the assembly should decide; not only on the course of the struggle but also the final decision on acceptance or rejection of any offer from the management. To take the strug gle of the Standard workers forward and to stop any aggression from the the dictatorship. All kinds of forces have entered into the struggle students, petty bourgeoisie, peasants.
And when the dictator died an institution died. So they had to change their tactics. They began to management (victimisation or shut down of the factory), it will he nec necessary to popularise the struggle in other firms in the same area and industry, and into the working class neighbourhoods.
The first task is to attempt to unify our programme of demands with those of other factories, and also prepare solidarity in the neighbourhoods, explaining the development of the struggle and in collab oration with neighbourhood commissions start to create islands of resistance if this should become necessary Standard can be the spearhead of attack for all the engineering workers of Madrid. But if this is to be so it does not depend only on the workers of the firm, but also in a very important way on the solidarity To organise this WICH IL ECCEIVES. on a united basis is the urgent task of all the militants in the struggle.
Red Weekly 15 January 1976 _ Spain 11
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• Liga Comunista to the new A
ASSEMBLY Interview with Carlos, a leading militant of the Liga Comunista (a sympathising organisation of the