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Workers of the AUCHAN mall reveal cases of serious workers' rights violation. In reality a shift in the mall lasts from 16 up to 20 hours per day. Workers who don't want to subordinate are threatened with dismissals.

AUCHAN, the French giant, has opened its first mall in Kiev at the end of March 2008. At 15 thousand square metres of the surface over 500 workers were employed. However, the European logo of the company didn't mean European working conditions by no means - claim the employed.

Fagor's not a Workplace but a Workcamp: Mondragon Capitalists Fuck Workers in Poland. Strike is Imminent

Fagor is a large appliance manufacturer owned by the Mondragon "Cooperative" capitalist enterprise. In Poland it cooperatives FagorMastercook in Wroclaw. Currently there are serious labour problems in FagorMastercook. Members of the Wrocław group of Union of Syndicalists (ZSP) went Friday to a protest in front of the factory.

The place has become quite militarized. On Friday the firm had over 200 armed security guards from the notorious firm Impel there to protect the factory. The place was surrounded by metal barricades and each worker going in was throughly searched. Some employees say that there is often heavy security and searches.

Despite the heavy security, or perhaps because of it, about hundreds of workers joined in the demonstration on Friday. About 300 people, workers and supporters, were there after the morning shift, and about 200 before the afternoon shift began. The demo was organized by the August 80 union which has been negotiating with the firm for many months to get people a pay raise.

16 was day of solidarity actions with Bartorz Kantorczyk, postman from Gdansk who was dismissed from his job after he refused to carry big amounts of money with him. He claims that this is very dangerous. This is occupational safety risk for the postmen. This is why Bartek, member of IP, asked for the stun guns and pepper gas for all the postmen.

Post office doesn't like Bartek or people like him, fighting for the workers rights. After Bartek refused to carry money with him, he was fired. His union was in dispute with Post Office, although Post Office didn't start any negotiations. In accordance with law, the workers in the union dispute mustn't be fired. Bartek considers his dismissal as illegal.

The people made the solidarity pickets in Poland and in Lithuania at the ambassy. Pickets took place in Gdansk, Krakow, Poznan, Szczecin, Torun, Lublin and two in Warsaw.

* During mid-June 2008 the Iberian counter-information collective A Las Barricadas www.alasbarricadas.org posed several questions to the MLC www.mlc.acultura.org.ve, an affinity group of Cuban anarchism abroad. The complete text of this interview follows.

We’re interviewing the Cuban Libertarian Movement (Movimiento Libertario Cubano – MLC), an organization made up of anarchists in exile in different parts of the world. In these days of apparent change, of transition, as the European and North-American media would have it, it’s of interest to know first hand about what’s happening inside the island. The demise of Fidel Castro has opened up all sorts of speculation about the future of the communist regime due to the first measures the new chief, Raul Castro, has taken. Here’s the interview:

An Italian court has found 15 officials guilty of mistreating protesters following violent demonstrations at G8 meeting in the city of Genoa in 2001.

A judge handed down prison sentences ranging from five months to five years to the accused - who include police, prison officials and two doctors.

Another 30 defendants were cleared of charges, including assault.

A solidarity picket was held in front of the Post Office 12 July in Zielona Gora. Before the picket there was an information event on the pedestrian street against the changes in Labour Code. The action was organized by Workers Initiative from Zielona Gora and the ZSP from Szczecin and Gorzow took part.

The first week of July saw the beginning of international solidarity actions with Jakub G., a union activist unfairly dismissed from the Warsaw office of Lionbridge Poland.

On June 30, activists from Priama Akcia in Slovakia visited the local office in Zilina. Leaflets were given out and a toy lion was left for the management. In a rather grotesque turn of events, the manager of the Polish and Slovakian offices, Jacek Stryczynski, claimed that the lion was something like a death threat and made a very ridiculous and paranoid representation of the event in one of a string of e-mails to sent to frighten employees.

On July 1, a picket was held in Brussels. Leaflets were given out and people spoke to the workers at the office. In Paris the next morning, members of CNT-AIT got a more harsh reception from security but still managed to hand out leaflets to the employees. In Lisbon, the offices of Lionbridge got some information posters about the case.

Bartosz Kantorczyk, a member of the Workers' Initiative, was dismissed from his job at the Post Office in Gdansk, in breach of the Polish Labour Code. Kantorczyk is an active union organizer who already has had his share of problems at the Post Office which offers employees poor conditions and remuneration.

1 July ZSP from Wroclaw held a solidarity picket as a part of international action against union busting Starbucks. They demanded reinstatement of Cole from US IWW and Monica from CNT in Spain who were fired for trying to organize unions in Starbucks.

Starbucks will open in Poland in the fall. AmRest will control the Starbucks. This company also runs Pizza Hut, KFC, Burger King, Freshpoint and other restaurants in Poland. Members of ZSP promised to investigate the workers' rights situation in these restaurants and will also encourage the workers of Starbucks to organize.

In feline solidarity, Miaou, my cat, fasted today against the delusional US Star Wars proposal for Poland and the Czech Republic! But he only lasted 10 mins, then started eating a cheesecake, so I took over for him.

Why fast today? Well Sunday, June 22nd, was declared by our Czech colleagues as World Hunger Strike Day Against Star Wars - sensibly calling on financial resources to be divested from the US missile defence programme, and militarism in general, and to be directed towards addressing real human needs - food, education, health, sustainable environment, etc.

Please read on to find out more about this initiative, videos against Star Wars, photos and comments from participants in today's fast.

On Friday, June 20, just days before the area known as Dal Molin was to be
turned over to the U.S. military as the site for a second base in Vicenza,
Italy, the administrative court of the Veneto region ruled to suspend all
work. In the case filed by Codacons, a consumer and environmental
advocacy group, the court´s findings included failure to consult the local
population with regard to the decision for the new base, as required by a
Memorandum of Understanding between Italy and the U.S. The court
further ruled the apparent "verbal" approval of the project - no formal act
has ever been presented - by the former Prodi government to be extra
ordinem and "absolutely incompatible in view of the importance of the
matter and the traditional principals of administrative law."

Grand Rapids Starbucks Union and Sevilla, Spain CNT have announced a Global Day of Action against Starbucks July 5th

Day to protest recent firing of CNT member in Spain and continuing anti-union discrimination in Grand Rapids

The Union of Comerical and Hotel workers CNT-AIT in Sevilla, Spain along with the Grand Rapids Starbucks Workers Union (IWW) have announced a Global Day of Action scheduled for July 5th. The two groups are asking social organizations, unions, and individuals from around the world to promote and participate in this day of action.

On April 24th, 2008 a barista named Monica was fired for her union activity from a Starbucks in Sevilla, Spain. She was a member of the Union of Commercial and Hotel Workers of the Confederacion Nacional de Trabajadores (CNT). Now with the support of all CNT affiliates, the International Workers Association, and the Starbucks Workers Union (IWW) they are demanding justice for Monica.

The Sejm voted for an amendment to the act on privatization yesterday. One of the amendments concerned salary caps for managers in state-owned companies, or companies where the State Treasury have a majority share. Previously, managers of state-owned companies could only earn four times as much as the average salary in the company whereas managers of companies where the State Treasury have a majority stake can earn six times as much as the average salary. Now there will be no limit on their salaries.

The pro-business organizations had been lobbying for the change. In their view, the current regulations constituted "discrimination against managers".

In the meanwhile, statistics show than 13% of managers in Poland already earn over 100,000 zloties a month - about 30,000 euro.