For a common, europewide struggle!

Europe's workers are on the move! Since the summer of 2022, workers have been protesting with strikes in many European countries. Above all against the immense inflation, deterioration of working conditions, against attempts to undermine the right to strike and to pass on the burden of the crisis and war to the masses.
It is especially trade union strikes, in England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Turkey, Spain ... with which millions of workers take to the streets. In Greece alone, more than 2.5 million went on strike after the devastating railroad accident. In France, millions of union members, pensioners, and young people have been taking to the streets for months against the anti-worker pension policies of the Macron government.
In England, it is mainly health care and rail workers who are fighting for higher wages and better working conditions. In Copenhagen/Denmark, the largest demonstration in decades took place under the slogan: "Hands off our holidays" and "say no to war!" In Portugal, there have been three nationwide rail strikes lasting several days since the beginning of the year, and 150,000 teachers went on strike. On March 28, thousands responded to the call of the CGTB union confederation for a "national demonstration of young workers." The protest was directed against youth unemployment, high rents, inflation and is linked to the struggle for peace, disarmament and an "end to military escalations."
In Germany, hundreds of thousands are participating in the union struggles of the public sector and the railroads. What is new is that on March 8, striking Verdi members linked up with the women's movement. Likewise in Brussels/Belgium. A little later there were joint demonstrations in Germany of workers – and environmental movement. A number of smaller independent strikes are also very noteworty. They also expressed the fighting unity of the core workforce and temporary workers.
In Italy, grassroots dockworkers' unions organized a strike in all major ports on February 24 against arms transshipment for Ukraine and against serious violations of occupational safety. At the end of March, workers in hundreds of factories went on strike for 1 hour in solidarity with their French class brothers! The call was made by the grassroots union Si Cobas.
What is new is that the trade union strike movements repeatedly take place simultaneously in the various countries and interpenetrate each other; even if the struggles are predominantly economic in character, their politicization increases and is combined with far-reaching criticisms of and protests against the respective governments; what is also new is their mass character. A tendency toward uncompromisingness, radicalization, class independence and an increasing openness and connection to the environmental and anti-war movements and to the struggle for democratic rights and freedoms, especially the right to strike, emerges.
Initially, transnational initiatives are developing, as workers and laborers from all over the world, from America to Asia, send greetings of solidarity to France! It is also obvious that the courageous struggle for freedom of the Iranian workers, women and youth has spreading power and openness. From Italsy, the grassroots union Si Cobas writes: "We believe that the struggle for the defense of wages, pensions, public and universal health care must be linked to the struggle against the participation of European governments in the war in Ukraine between NATO and Russian imperialism at the expense of Ukrainian and Russian proletarians. Let's promote the unity of European, Ukrainian and Russian workers against their respective governments and their war policies!"  From the reformist trade union apparatus there is a statement of the ETUC (European Trade Union Conference). They attack inflation and wage cuts and propose protest actions for Friday, October 13 in all EU countries. In Italy, grassroot unions are organizing a general strike on October 20.

Especially in the working class the discussion and the wish for a society free of exploitation and oppression arise! The struggle for such a society requires an internationalist consciousness that we are class brothers in different countries. Let us not be divided by nationalism and chauvinism.
With the awakening class consciousness it is also necessary to further propagate - and above all to organize - the transnational, common coordinated struggle. It is necessary to  strengthen   the revolutionary and Marxist-Leninist parties and organisations in all European countries and to significantly increase their anchoring among the working class and the masses, in order to make a society-changing struggle possible and to help socialism regain its reputation and standing among the masses. We have united in the ICOR - worldwide as well as in Europe - to unite our struggles across borders.

For this ICOR Europe proposes, that we seriously work towards a Europe-wide coordinated strike and day of struggle! Entirely in the spirit of the slogan of Karl Marx: Proletarians of all countries unite ! On this way the ICOR supports the protests on October 13, 2023 and the strike on October 20 in Italy to the best of its ability.  From Germany there is the proposal to prepare December 8 as a Europe-wide day of struggle and strike.


We call upon all ICOR organizations, friendly parties and initiatives, democratic forces, the trade union and militant women's and environmental movement, the youth in Europe:
Let's increase our understanding of the imperialist driving forces responsible for our social situation, war and environmental destruction!
Let's create and strengthen the organized, unbreakable proletarian solidarity - strengthen the ICOR and United Front - International anti-imperialist and anti-fascist united front.
Let's show our social strength: the socialist alternative against capitalist barbarism!

European Coordinators
Jeroen Toussaint
Joachim Griesbaum

List of signatories (Status October 15, 2023) Other signatories are still possible
UC Lyon Unité Communiste Lyon (Communist United Lyon), Frankreich
MLGS Marxist-Leninist Group of Switzerland
KOL Communist Organization of Luxemburg
MLPD Marxist-Leninist Party of Germany
UPML Union Prolétarienne Marxiste-Léniniste (Marxist-leninist proletarian Union),
    France
RM Rode Morgen (Red Dawn), Niederlande
PR-ByH Partija Rada - ByH (Party of Labour - Bosnia and Herzegovina)
UMLP União Marxista-Leninista Portuguesa (Portuguese  Marxist-Leninist  
Union)
MLKP Marksist Leninist Komünist Parti Türkiye / Kürdistan (Marxist Leninist Communist Party Turkey / Kurdistan)
БКП Българска Комунистическа Партия (Bulgarian Communist Party)
UoC   Union of Cypriots, Cyprus

Download as PDF