Members of ZSP educational section made an informational action at Warsaw University. Leaflets were given out with information about the Bologna Process and against paid studies. There were also leaflets about the doctoral students protest in Wroclaw and booklets informing students about their rights at work. Since this action was made for weekend students, most of them work and students have many problems with working conditions.
There is such an action every week in Warsaw.
Members of ZSP in Wrocław are involved in the organization of doctoral students at Wroclaw University. The working conditions of the doctoral students are particularly bad. They are required to do teaching and research and receive a stipend which is even less than minimal wage. And in some of the humanities department, they don't even receive that.
The doctoral students are demanding a raise to the level of minimal wage. They do not currently receive the minimum because they are not considered "workers".
On Jan. 27, the students held a protest in front of Wroclaw University. Their demands were given to the University and published on their new internet page.
The students are considering an escalation in action, perhaps a strike, if their demands are not met.
ZSP has doctoral students in other cities and it is possible that this protest will spread.
Pages: http://www.strajk-doktorancki.bzzz.net
http://oszczedny-doktorant.blog.pl
ZSP Educational Section is holding informational actions every Friday afternoon in front of educational institutions. Weekly meetings are being held at the Warsaw infoshop.
Besides information on the Bologna Process and agitation for free and libertarian education, ZSP calls for better working conditions for academic workers and support staff in schools and universities. It also is trying to increase consciousness amongst students, among other things, of their rights at work and problems of commerical education.
More information:
www.edukacja.zsp.net.pl
www.pragupe.blogspot.com
(in Polish)
Contact: warszawa@zsp.net.pl
On January 11 pickets were held in front of the German Embassy in Warsaw and consulates in Wroclaw, Gdansk, Gliwice and Olsztyn in support of the anarchosyndicalist union FAU. Protests were also sent in or delivered in a couple of other cities.
The pickets were to protest the court decision which essentially bans FAU as a legal trade union. Messages of solidarity were read in front of the embassy and leaflets given out. Activists promised to continue protest if the situation does not change.
Many of the activists criticized the role of the state and ver.di which acted in this case as a yellow union. Part of a statement written by ZSP and WRS reads:
If the employers don't want to negotiate directly with the workers, then direct action is the only way left to put pressure on the boss. Workers can formulate their own demands without the consent of the bosses and union bureaucrats - and that is exactly want they will do when their rights are violated. Such bans can lead to a radicalization of workers who will not tolerate further repression.
On Dec. 4-6 in Porto Alegre, Brazil, the 24th Congress of the International Workers' Association took place. ZSP became the newest section of the IWA. This is the first time a section from Poland has been represented in the International.
Work conditions are still bad at site of National Stadium. Today was small information event at construction site. During action appeared two locals who worked in Stadium and weren't paid. So they left the work. At same time, we saw Austrian workers at Stadium. They must have good salaries to come to work on site in Poland. So looks like subcontractors hire the local unemployed people without skills for part of work and don't care about paying them, but firm even spends money to import workers for some other jobs there.
Problem is lack of any organization on part of workers and actions of leaving work instead of organizing. ZSP tries to tell the local people not to let this happen, organize instead of becoming victims. There are more plans to talk to the workers as much as possible and gather more information on the issue.
Mainstream media became interested and TV made interviews with cheated workers but firm tries to convince media that everything is under control. State Labour Inspectorate came to Stadium, but they do not care about working conditions of people on contracts, since they are on civil contracts and aren't even "workers".
Comrades from ZSP Wroclaw and the authors of the Paris Commune Blog have launched a new web portal called Self-Governing Wroclaw. The purpose of the service is to provide a place for news and ideas about grassroots activism and self-management. It is a place to present the point of view of people who are often excluded from the mainstream media.
The service started just a few days ago. It is open but with moderation. Some of the articles include information about the free transportation campaign, about protests of patients against the closure of a hospital, about police abuse, the city raising costs of day care and borrowing money to build a football stadium and other news of local interest.
In Wroclaw took place another information action as part of campaign for free public transportation (niekasuj.pl). The action was organized by Wroclaw group of ZSP along with other people who go into campign.
There were the flyers given out and collected the signatures for making referendum about free transport. Many passengers supported this action and signed petition supporting referendum.
More people joined campaign. There is profile on Nasza Klasa (it's Polish version Facebook). Already more than 200 people are on it after just two weeks.
ZSP says that people are tired of bad ideas of politicians to spend money like 20 millions zloty for fountain when transport doesn't work, houses falling apart, etc.
Thursday session of city council Wroclaw was obect of attack by members of Initiative for public transport. (NieKasuj - don't pay ticket)
Activists want to draw attention to this question. They went onto the room of city council but they were kicked out and told that no politician support this idea. But they received the statement with the arguments for free public transport. Then activists went away from politicians to main square in Wroclaw to give leaflets and information about campaign to people. Many people support.
Campaign was started by Wroclaw ZSP. Also some other people support this campaign. Page of campaign is www.niekasuj,pl.
