STRIKE
- The September issue of Frente Obrero(1), the FLP [Frente de Libera-~ cién Popular] journal for Spanish workers in emigration, contains a detailed and illuminating account of the heroic thr ee=month~old strike of tne Asturian miners and the class solidarity displayed toward them by other sectors of the Spanish working class,
The strike started in Asturias on July 19. It spread slowly into the mining region of Leén and by the beginning of September as many as 30,000 were out, ©
The causes of the strike were partly economic, partly social. The Spanish coal mines are undergoing a deep crisis due to their inability to meet competition from the more highly rationalized and efficient methods of coal mines in the U.S., Great Britain and the Ruhr. In order to cut costs, the bosses decided to slash wages by various means -elimination of overtime pay and premiums, layoffs, etc. ~ -The- miners, on the other hand, already had a number of grievances. ' Prominent among * them were the demand for the same number of paid-holi+ days as white-collar workers and the reinstatement of miners deported — from Asturias because of. the strikes last year..
The strike action was all the more heroic in view of the lack of a powerful union or any real nation-wide organization that could rally substantial support. The employers, in contrast, are solidly organized and have the full support of the Franco dictatorship, its secret police _and the Guardia Civil.
In face of this unfavorable relationship of forces, the miners placed special emphasis on political demands such as "tpade-union freedom" and "no victimizations." The hope was. to facilitate support from other sectors of the working class and to organize another test of strength such as occurred in the spring of 1962.
But as a result of the 1962 repressions, conditions have deteriorated. The nation-wide underground organizations, especially the FLP and the Communist party, have been temporarily weakened, ' They are not in © position to co-ordinate or synchronize solidarity demonstrations or strikes on a nation-wide scale,
The absence of a strong organization and especially of facilities for quick communication and dissemination of news _among the strikers has helped the employers in such traditional strike-breaking maneuvers as offering selected groups economic concessions if they will return to work, Such maneuvers succeeded, for example, at the Caudal and Aller mines at the beginning of August.
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When the miners organized sit-down strikes in various places like the Nalon and Oscura mines, the Franco government called upon the employers to reply with full-scale.lockouts. Some 10,000-miners were thrown out of work in this area but the end result was to give the strike fresh impetus.
On August 19 the lockout was in effect at twelve mines, By August 24 it had been extended to eighteen, affecting 15,000 miners. By the following day, the strikes had spread to Ledén and "29, 000 Niners were — . out of the “pits.
The miners downed tools at three new mines in Asturias between September 4 and September 7. On September 6, an official government . communiqué put the number of strikers in Asturias at 14,886, a figure, however, considerably below the reality.
In the meantime, repressive measures were stepped up. Twenty-five strikers were arrested and taken to the sinister Carabanchel prison of Madrid.
On September 9 the lockout was lifted and the government announced that “numerous miners" were returning to work. Around September 15, - however, the government admitted that 12,500 were still on strike in Asturias and.4,000 in Leén. (The fact was that some 20,000 were still on strike. )
The miners, however, can scarcely hold out much longer. Most of their material demands have been granted, while the repression is becom= . ing more savage, Strikers considered to be leaders are tortured and even their wives are arrested, [See World Outlook October 4.] No financial help has reached the miners and the fascist authorities have placed heavy pressure on employers in other industries not to hire striking miners. [The shortage of skilled workers in Spain tempts employers to hire at least certain categories of miners. | -
The latest news is that the strike movement has spread to the Rio Tinto copper mines in Huelva.
(1) For a subscription to Frente Obrero, send $2 or 14s/6d or 100 Bel- _gian francs to Gonzales Deschamps, 259a, chaussée Brunehault, Carniéres, Belgium.
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