CNT campaign
Find here all the information about this campaign and your order.
Hello mate
That’s why this new campaign we are going to work a bit differently from what we have been doing, the change won’t be very big but it will take more days between placing the order and receiving it. Now we will put a deadline to receive the orders, the 30th of November. The payment can be made until the 13th of December, which at the price of the oil will come in handy (for those who have it). Depending on the number of orders we have, we will make the quantity of oil and in a few days it will be sent to you. On the 14th of December we will send the oil fresh, tasty and solidary.
CNT Gijon (Asturies, northern Spain) have a long outstanding labour conflict with the owners of the cake shop La Suiza. The initial demands were for unpaid wages and respect to working conditions. As part of the conflict, a number of pickets were held and leaflets distributed. Fairly straightforward. However, the owners are members of the far-right party Vox and are well connected with local police and the bosses’ association.
Instead of negotiating a settlement, they orchestrated an intimidation campaign against our comrades. Some were arrested, later released without charges, and a number of businessmen filed a lawsuit against the union for “unlawful association for the extortion of company owners”.
If that sounds XIX century to you, that’s because it is. The struggle for workers’ rights of association, to form unions and to lawfully protest and bargain may have been settled all over in the early 1800s, but not in northern Spain, not in Gijon.
Long story short, after a lot of judicial wrangling, 8 union members stand accused of “threats, insults and coercion”. The prosecution is demanding 3 years in prison and a 60.000 € fine, each. After several delays because of the pandemic, the trial is expected next May.
The comrades are standing firm in their defence of workers’ rights and in defiance of this long intimidation campaign. Much is at stake. If union members in general can be accused of “issuing threats” for a lawful campaign to stop workplace abuses, a basic freedom will be taken away from us.
In the meantime, legal expenses have been mounting. Even without considering possible future fines, the comrades are in bad need of financial support. The union at Gijon have been selling olive oil bottles in Spain for quite some time to raise the money they need. Now, they’ve made arrangements to also send the bottles anywhere in Europe. The oil has been donated by a cooperative in Andalusia run by SAT, a union of rural workers.
To make the delivery cost effective, a box with four 5-litres bottles have to be ordered, this is ideal for a group buy.
Of course, any other forms of support are also welcome. Thanks in advance for making a stand for basic workers’ rights!
If you are interested in the solidarity oil, we send it in boxes of 4 carafes of 5 litres each, that would be 233 euros per box (including transport). If you are interested in canned packaging, please indicate this when placing the order and it would cost 242 euros per box.