LAB STARTS A CAMPAIGN TO DENOUNCE THE “JUSTICE’S CORPORATAVITATION” AND TO CALL THAT THE TRADE UNION MOVEMENT “IS MORE NECESSARY THAN EVER”

More than 10.000€ in fines and prison years petitions after the successful trade union struggles in “La Sangiovesa” and “Huerta de Peralta”.

The public prosecutor calls 2 and half prison year’s petition and 5 years expulsion from the Spanish State to one Huerta de Peralta worker who was injured two times by the Police.

The trade unions understood as an instrument at the service of the working class struggle is more necessary than ever. The working class and specially the workers with precariousness job conditions need committed, active effective trade unions. Fortunately the trade union struggles are multiplying during the last months; La Sangiovesa and Huerta de Peralta (Basque Companies) are two significant examples.

La Sangiovesa was a catering establishment where the workers’ rights were not respected. The collective agreement was not respected, workers without any contract, trade union freedom violations… As an example, the workers were paid a “pizza” for extra hours working unloading goods. At this point the workers decided to organize in a trade union and the owner motivated UGT candidacy and fired organizing workers. After different mobilizations in the company the reversal was possible, getting the workers re-admission and collective agreement compliance.

Huerta de Peralta represented the exploitation in the field work in Nafarroa (Basque territory). Here again, the workers’ rights were not respected and here again the workers decided to organize in a trade union. The company’s decision was repression and to fire workers. After a strong 28 days strike, the workers got the main objectives of the strike, opening a new era in the company.

Both examples demonstrate that is possible to organize in trade unions and to fight against the precariousness job conditions imposed by the managements. But it looks that the trade unions struggle doesn’t convince everybody: the police and prosecutors have acted against some trade unionists for their participations in La Sangiovesa and Huerta de Peralta struggles.

In the Sangiovesa case, two trade unions have been judged for entering pacifically in the restaurant, concentrate outside the restaurant, put some stickers and call out some slogans with the megaphone in a short time. The company retired the first denounce but the prosecutor decided to keep the prison years petitions and finally the Judge Emilio Labella has imposed 21 months prison petitions with the obligation to go to prison. The second accused person has been absolved. As past week we communicated, LAB will appeal against this decision, because as in the trial was demonstrated it was on legitimate protest without any damage to anybody. It is important to emphasise that LAB showed a video where it could see how the clients could enter and exit without any problem. This video disappeared in the justice palace and therefore was not accepted as evidence.

In the Huerta de Peralta case, different polices have imposed until now (past month arrived more fines) 25 fines with a 4808€ value, and the most serious situation at the Autonomic police’s instance different procedures have been opened with “public disturbance” “Attack against authority” accusations against three trade unionists. Against one of them the public prosecutor asks 2880€ as a fine. In the second procedure, against two trade unionist, the prison year petition is still unspecified. The third procedure against a Huerta de Peralta worker is the most serious petition. The public prosecutor asks for him two years and half prison, a 2500€ fine and a 5 years expulsion of Spanish territory because he is a Moroccan citizen. It is important to remember how in the Huerta de Peralta struggle the police plagued and attacked the workers in strike defending their rights. The accused worker was injured by the police; he needed a sling and few days after he was attacked in the same bandaged arm.

These trials are unacceptable because they attempted against trade union freedom rights when the trade union struggle is more necessary than ever. The trade union are thousands workers defence, and to restrict the trade union activity is to deprive them of an effective tool of defence.

In both cases there was a satisfactory agreement about the labour conflict. It is important to underline how in both cases it is the public prosecutor and the police who accused the trade unionists. In our opinion it exists an important ideological bias in the Spanish judicial system and still the regime lives on structures like the police, and judicature. As in other cases like “Altsasu case” or “La manada case” the disproportion of the judicature is evident. The Spanish judicature acts act disproportionately by liberticidal ideology (Altsasu case), by patriarchal ideology (La Manada case) and in this case by anti-social ideology.

While these trade unions are judged, hundreds of companies renege the labour legislation with total impunity, where are work inspections, different policies, the public prosecutors when workers’ rights are violated systematically? Where is all of this when the worker died in work accidents for renege the security regulation?

Paradoxically, these trade unionists did the work that supposedly corresponds to those who judge them. Why the public prosecutor and inspection didn’t do anything against La Sangiovesa when it had workers working without contract? Why the police didn’t do anything when the workers denounced workers illegal substitution in the Huerta de Peralta strike?

LAB will start one campaign against the Justice’s Corporatibitation and the first action will be one bang at 7:00 P.M. in front of the Justice Palace on Thursday.

We demand this judicial procedures suspension and deep revision of the police and judicial model. We call the working class to participate in the mobilizations for the class oriented trade union movement rights. At the same time we reaffirm our vocation to fight in defence of the people who suffered the precariousness job conditions. Any trial could stop us.