IMGpapers

Newspapers of the International Marxist Group and its forerunners, 1968–1988

Spanish workers prepare for general strike

Red Weekly No. 70, 3 October 1974 · p. 11 of the scan · 319 words

The scan: rw-no70-oct-3-1974.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive, opens at this page)

Uncorrected machine reading. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from a scan of a newspaper page, and the page was cut into articles by machine, at the headlines found by their type size. Nothing has been corrected: expect misread words, text from a neighbouring article, and titles that are the machine reading of the headline, some of them only fragments. Quote from the scan, not from this page.
How this article was cut and titled: headline found by type size in the OCR geometry (split_tabloid.py); 1-4 of 6; machine-segmented newspaper page; uncorrected Vision OCR.

page 11 of the scan

dent of Portugal. Mobilisations by Portuguese workers have toppled him from his chair on high.

Just across the border in Spain, General Franco is beginning to wet his pants at the prospect of massive workers" strug. gles there. The illegal Workers' Commissions have put out a call for a 24-hour general pen eral strike some time over the next few weeks.

The Spanish Communist Party. which dominates the Workers" Commissions, are using the planned stoppaee as pressure on a section of the ruling class. CP is after a repcat performance of the Portuguese events which brought Spinola to power earlier this year, No street demonstrations have been cailed, no rallies planned. The idea is that the Spanish working class will show responsible: opposition to the dictatorship; and persuade all progressives" to ally against the dictatorship.

But it's unlikely that the stoppage will be limited to token More and more, Span ish workem are taking militant.

Geegral Franco. industrial action both to improve their living standards and to tiglit against victimisations.

Most important, when strug gles have broken out, they have very quickly spread. ers struck at the Elsa glass facTory, hity other factories came out in solidarity. In some cases solidarity strikes have raised their own demanda. At Harry Walker's, for instance, workers first came out in support of strikes at rwo other factories, and then by decision of a mass neeling stayed our for a wage increase and a shorter working week.

In such a situation, the 24 hour general strike won't just he a day off. No matter what the intentions of the leaders are. there will be demonstrations and mass meetings all across the сриліту.

Here in Britain, we must be at the ready. Preparations must begin tical soudarity with our Spanish brothers and sisters. play our part in bringing Franco's regine to its tinal end.

When worksow for militant and pracWe too must

← From Tony Southall in ZambiaRED BOOKS →

Something wrong on this page?