It’s time to act, it’s time for social strike!

Re-put on the path the challenge of social Strike: this is the discussion that took place on July 5 at the Ifest in Rome; this has continued in the social center Acrobax in Rome, last Thursday 10 September. A reach and participated assembly, devoted almost entirely to define the political agenda, local and European. An important moment of convergence to re-launch the practical experimentation on the programmatic ground already outlined last year: wages, income and welfare, taxation, government of mobility. Even more, after the completion of the Jobs Act (the Italian labour reform), with the approval of the last decrees, the introduction of the school reform, the migrants emergency. And meanwhile the Renzi’s government is preparing, with the next Stability plan, to impose new and heavy cuts on welfare, especially on the health system.

We return briefly on the proposals shared during the discussion:

* 17 October: World Day against poverty, European mobilization against austerity, national day of mobilization for income and universal welfare. As already stated on 5 July, and after the checks made during the summer months, the 17 October seems to us a great opportunity to expand and strengthen the battle for a guaranteed income. The basic income as always been a claim of radical movements, but today is brought in the public debate even by rooted catholic associations and Libera, by FIOM and the Social Coalition, and by different law proposals of various political forces. Claim – we are never tired to repeat – decisive to break the blackmail of mass youth unemployment, precariousness and under-employment. Clearly, we can not separate this claim from the one for a European minimum wage and a minimum guaranteed resident permission for migrants, especially in this moment in which the migration phenomenon is imposing a redefinition of all immigration policies. Without doubt, we believe now more than ever necessary a mobilization able to go beyond the perimeters of each one, looking at the Spanish mareas in defence of the welfare system. Even more because right now Renzi, having accused the proposal of a guaranteed income as unconstitutional and of excessive welfarism, is planning charitable measures for families living in absolute poverty (an income for Social Inclusion). So the 17 October becomes fundamental, that0s why in our opinion we need a national demonstration in Rome. Equally essential is a communication and conflicting campaign of the strikers, towards and beyond 17 October, able to cross vigorously the local dimension, crucial for the organization of social coalitions.

* Before 17 October, between 2 and 4 October, many of us will be in Poznan, to the Transnational Social Strike Meeting. A jump of scale necessary, not at all obvious, that starts in Poznan. In the first instance, we will deepen the programmatic aspects, mapping and sharing practices and organizational devices. But it will also be essential to assume some first forms of communication between local strikes, organized during the European autumn, and try to experiment new forms of strike on the transnational level.

* After Poznan and after 17 October, the Strike Meeting will return local, with a two-day meeting on common tools. The real challenge launched last year with the Laboratories of Social Strike has to be re-launched and deepened. The force of single struggle events need to be associated with organizational and discursive devices, able to connect the figures of self-employment and migrant employees, stable and precarious, students and unemployed, locally and continuously. This Strike Meeting will be held on 24 and 25 October in a city to identify and to communicate as soon as possible.

* On October 17, is a step, important if inserted in a process that will reclaim and renew the experiment of the social strike. We are all aware, however, that this second experiment has to exceed the subjective perimeters of 14 November of the last year. Already, the struggles on the school reform require an extension of the social and syndicalist relations. But as well the field of the Social Coalition, the contract renewal of metalworkers and the civil service. We therefore hope – and we will work in this direction – for a broad agreement on a general and social strike that can seriously block the country, with innovative and including practices. A strike that can bring back at the centre the precarious workers, the workers, the migrants, able to fight back the stability law, that precisely in the second half of November will be approved, imposing a recessive spending review in support of the Renzi’s regressive tax reform.

The social strike is on the road again with this first draft of agenda, and with the desire that it could be subverted by original and unexpected struggles. It is time to hazard, it’s time to overthrow resignation and war between the poor in constituent struggles, to break the neoliberal cage.

Rome 09/10/2015 Coalition of social Strike