INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-ALGERIA:

PROTEST REPRESSION AGAINST ALGERIAN UNIONS:

Last May 21 the government of Algeria shut down a union centre in the city of Bach Djarrah in response to independent union organizing. The following appeal for solidarity with the unionists affected comes from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start.

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Act NOW!
Algeria: Union headquarters shut down
On 12 May 2010, Algerian authorities effectively shut down La Maison des Syndicats (2 Rue El Oued, Bach Djarrah, Algiers), the headquarters of an important coalition of independent labor unions fighting for workers rights, including the Syndicat National Autonome des Personnels de l'Administration Publique (SNAPAP). Their website has also been shut down.

The closure was justified on the grounds that the space was being used as a meeting place for young men and women, meetings were held that were not authorized by the government, foreign nationals were invited to some of these meetings without government authorization, and a general disruption of public order by the occupants.

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The Letter:

Please go to this link to send the following letter to the Algerian authorities.

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I am concerned that La Maison des Syndicats at 2 Rue El Oued, Bach Djarrah, Algiers has been shut down by your government and demand an immediate and unconditional reopening, as well as an end to all anti-union repression.

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-ALGERIA:

SOLIDARITY WITH YASSIN ZAID:

In the sands of the Sahara workers toil under horrendous conditions to satisfy the insatiable demands of empires and would-be empires. Despite the savage nature of the Algerian state workers in this situation try to improve their conditions as best they can by organizing. Quite often they are victimized for their efforts. The following from the online labour solidarity site Labour Start asks for your solidarity with one such worker.

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Tell Compass Group: To injure one of us is to injure all of us!:

In Hassi Messaoud, Algeria, an oil fortress located in the dunes, 850 kilometers south east of Algiers, Eurest Support Services, a subsidiary of Compass Group, sub-contracts catering and hospitality services to a score of multinationals like Schlumberger, Halliburton, Repsol, BP, Ciepsa, Burlington. Hundreds of miles away in prospecting camps, their employees live in air-conditioned temporary constructions, with telephone and distractions. ESS employees live in tents; under desert temperatures, and suffer difficult hygiene and living conditions. Shifts last 6 weeks without a day off. Monthly salary is on average 18.000 dinars (185 Euros). In December 2006, ESS workers decided to create a union to defend their dignity and to improve their working conditions. But an expatriate manager intervened to prevent them from doing so. The union's legitimacy was disputed; the constitutional meeting was refused on ESS property, local authority inspectors were ignored. In spite of an impressive initial support of 1,400 employees out of 1,800, the pressures, the intimidations, the constant renewal of personnel as well as the distance from the "civilized world" and organizational difficulties, allowed ESS management to get its wish. Compass then decided "to make an example" by suspending Yassin Zaid, elected General Secretary of the union, who refused to disavow his engagement. A former employee of the day, receiving bonuses for merit, his work contract was suspended. It still is. Compass Group and ESS pressed charges against him for "slander on the Internet". In support of the company, certain managers made complaints on unsupported grounds of "death threats by e-mail". For the last 18 months, his life destroyed, Yassin Zaid has lived in fear of further reprisals by Compass Group. The independent Algerian union SNAPAP denounces the anti-union practices of multinationals operating in their country. It has recently created a special section to support trade union initiatives in these companies. SNAPAP is requesting international solidarity to put pressure on Compass Group to abandon all legal proceedings against Yassin Zaid and negotiate his reinstatement in professional and union functions.

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THE LETTER:

Please go to THIS LINK to send the following message to management at Compass Group.

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To Mr. Richard Cousins, CEO Group Compass
Dear Mr. Cousins,
In December 2006, the direction of your subsidiary company, Eurest Support Services, in Algeria, denied its employees the right to constitute a union to defend and negotiate their collective interests. Your company chose to support management in its error and to make an individual, Yassin Zaid, shoulder the blame by suspending his work contract and by pressing various charges of slander, in particular on the Internet.

Your local management could have recognized the union and negotiated peacefully with its representatives for the better of all concerned. Instead of that, your actions have drawn the attention of the independent trade unions of Algeria to your anti-union policies and practices. The Algerian press is featuring articles on the same. From now on, the international trade union movement is alerted. Instead of crushing an incipient trade union, as your representatives thought they could, you have drawn the attention of the whole world to your anti-union practices. Workers, your customers, in all countries and on all continents are aware that your trademark is tarnished.I highly encourage you to abandon all legal proceedings against Mr. Yassin Zaid, elected Secretary of the union at ESS, Algeria, and to negotiate the conditions of his reinstatement in his professional and union functions.Lastly, I urge you to adopt on a planetary scale, not just declarations of intent, but a real policy of recognition of trade unions and of collective bargaining backed up by training for your local managers.
Yours Faithfully,

INTERNATIONAL LABOUR-ALGERIA:

AUTONOMOUS SYNDICALISM IN ALGERIA:

The following article has been all over the "anarcho-net" in the past few days. I have taken the English version below from the Anarkismo website. The original interview was conducted in French and published at the site of the French CNT (CNT-Vignoles).

The following is both disturbing and inspirational. It is disturbing because it shows what barriers workers have to overcome in much of the world to organize and defend their rights. It is also disturbing because so much of the "left" in the industrialized world is dead set against helping their comrades in other, poorer countries because of "third worldism" and identification with power. It is a long and sad story.

It is inspirational because this is yet one more story of the human spirit that overcomes barriers and effects change despite all the efforts of those in power. It is additionally inspirational because of the part that anarchist ideas play in this. The following has been slightly edited for English spelling.

The story.....

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Autonomous syndicalism in Algeria: the example of the CLA:
Achour Idir is an organizer with the autonomous Algerian trade union, the Conseil des Lycées d'Algérie (CLA, Council of Secondary Schools of Algeria). He is 30 years old and lives in Algiers. In a country where there remain the stigmata of a Party-State, maintaining one's autonomy is not an easy thing. This is an interview with a class-struggle militant, who identifies with the red and black ideals of disobedience and resistance. [Français] [Castellano]
Q.Achour, can you tell us about your organization?
A.The CLA is a trade union operating in the education sector and basically groups together secondary-school teachers, though in principle it takes part in the struggles of all sectors. The CLA was founded in 2003 and bases itself on three principle demands:
**100% pay rises for teachers
**the creation of a statute for teachers
**a decent pension after 25 years service.

Today, the CLA represents over 15,000 teachers. The world of Algerian syndicalism in the education sector is bureaucratized and corrupt, so the CLA is indeed a credible reference point as far as our positions and involvement in the class struggle are concerned.
Q.What struggles have the CLA been involved in so far?
A.When the CLA was formed in 2003, it led a strike based on the three points I mentioned earlier. The strike lasted 3 months and met with some success, managing to obtain a pay rise of 5,000 dinars [tr. note: around €50 at today's rates] for all education workers.

Another movement of a similar sort was an initiative of the CLA in 2005 within the "Intersyndicale de l’éducation", a coalition of the more combative unions in the education sector. The movement gathered pace again in 2006, in 2007 and in 2008, but this time spread to the "Intersyndicale de la fonction publique", grouping not only the education unions (such as SATEF) but also those of the civil service (like SNAPAP).

In the summer of 2008, we led a very difficult strike of teachers on temporary contracts, and the strikers did not hesitate to go on hunger strike for 45 days. But without result. They are thinking of renewing the hunger strike during the spring holidays, beginning on 19th March.
Q.Can you tell us something about the trade union scene in Algeria?
For a long time the trade union setup in Algeria revolved around a single Central - the UGTA. The Union Générale des Travailleurs algériens (UGTA - General Union of Algerian Workers) was founded on 24th February 1956 and was the first Algerian trade union. It arose out of the national liberation movement, though it was not dominated by the revolutionary politicians. Its founding members were basically Algerian syndicalists from the CGT (Confédération Générale du Travail) and the CFT (Confédération Française des Travailleurs). It is important to underline that the UGTA evolved on the fringe of the political movement. This autonomy would last only up to the country's independence. Following that, it became part of the State apparatus in Algeria, controlled by those in power. It is the only legal body that the government recognizes.

In contrast to this integrated syndicalism, there is also what is called autonomous syndicalism, of which the CLA is a part. But this other type of syndicalism does not have an easy life, as freedom to operate is very limited in Algeria. All strikes initiated by labour organizations which are not part of the authorities' plans are systematically declared to be illegal. Syndicalists are arrested by the armed forces and imprisoned. We cannot find premises for our unions, nor is our union recognized for the purposes of representation.

The powers are under no illusions about this. The Intersyndicale de la fonction publique represents the combative line of Algerian syndicalism. This leads the Algerian powers to use original stratagems to discredit us. It is not unknown for them to create their own "autonomous" unions, copies of the truly autonomous ones. In fact, there is a CLA clone, a SNAPAP clone. They hope to create confusion in this way.
Q.Is there an anarcho-syndicalist or libertarian tradition in Algeria?
A.There is no trade union that openly describes itself as anarcho-syndicalist. However, there are many anarcho-syndicalist militants who are members of the various unions. Maybe we are not so many, but we do exist.
Q.Can you sum up for us the social situation in Algeria?
A.The social situation is marked by extreme levels of poverty. As a general rule, most families have an income that covers their expenses for only 15-20 days a month. For the last ten days or so they have to scrape by as best they can. Many workers are in serious debt.

The unemployment rate is approaching 17% and is even higher among young people.

In the public sector (a sector which is still dominant in "socialist" Algeria), many employees are on temporary contracts. Corruption is legalized at all levels of the State.
Q.Although most of the Algerian economy is under State control, there does exist a private sector. What is the situation with unions in this area?
A.Syndicalism in the private sector is non-existent. This is due basically to the fact that private sector workers are on short contracts. Indeed, they often work illicitly, without any contract, undeclared. These workers are thus in a very fragile position. They are afraid of losing their jobs if they were to get involved in setting up a union.
Q.Any closing words, Achour?
The CLA gives its solidarity to all union struggles on a national and international level. We support all those causes which aim to create greater social justice. We also strongly believe that only struggle pays. On with the class struggle!

Interview by Jérémie Berthuin of the International Secretariat of the CNT. Translation to English by FdCA International Relations.
Related Link: http://www.cnt-f.org/international/