| Written by ISL – UK |
| Monday, 23 July 2012 20:59 |
 Spanish miners are showing the way to fight against austerity, they refuse to accept the cuts that will destroy communities in the north east of Spain just as Thatcher’s assault in 1984/85 led to the closure of mines and killed off the mining communities in Britain. The miners march into Madrid was rapturously greeted by 150,000 people. On July 19 demonstrations took place in 80 Spanish cities with the miners and the anti-cut demonstrators. We are not in this crisis with the rich or the British government we are in this crisis together with the Spanish miners, workers and youth. This government is driving us to catastrophe as we see in Spain which has 24% unemployment and over 50% for those aged less than 25. We are not yet in such a severe crisis as Spain but we are heading towards the same cliff edge with escalating unemployment, Youth unemployment here is already 20 per cent. The austerity we face has the same source as Spain – greedy, corrupt and criminal bankers and a system that is facing rapid decline. It is a system desperate to make the working class pay the price and increase the wealth of the banks and the rich. This is the European Union today. Attempts to scapegoat any section of our communities must be firmly rejected. Today the government and fascists are targeting the immigrant communities, new and old and increasingly the trade unions. This happens now in order to create as many divisions in the class as they can. We say overcome any divisions imposed from the government or anywhere else and support all workers in struggle. Together we can defeat government and fascist attempts to divide us. That is why we appeal for support to Spanish miners; they have a glorious history in the fight against capitalism: they marched to Madrid in 1936 against Franco, struck against Franco in 1962 and 1963. They supported the British miners. Now it is our turn to support them. From the miners wives in the Cangas del Narcea area of Asturias Miners all over Spain have risen up, and with them all the people from the mining regions, they have been led to poverty after Rajoy’s government decision to stop the subsidy to coal mining.  The government has decided to accelerate the doom of the mines and dramatically cut the subsidy by 63% this year, which will involve the closure of the shafts. This cut is further aggravated by a big reduction in the budget devoted to the “reactivation of the economy”. The government has thus chosen to rapidly cease mining activity to save more than 650 million Euros of the national budget, generating a social catastrophe. Miners demand: the regulation of the mining subsidy and nationalisation of mining industry, under the control of worker and people unions. Setting up an industrialization plan, along with a plan for public and social works that will create employment in the mining regions. Is there money for all of this? YES, plenty, but the government wasted money footing the bill for bankers. We call on unions and community organisations to support the Liverpool TUC resolution recently sent to the miners men and women: “We want to show our support to the Spanish miners just fight. We find it outrageous that the Government repeatedly uses millions to rescue the bankers, as they recently did with Bankia, while they slash subsidies to the coal industry, not giving a single solution to the workers and dooming the miners areas to misery. We demand the Government repeals the suspension of coal aid and begins a plan of industrialization in the mining areas to ensure work and a future for miners and their families. We hold the Spanish government responsible for the police brutality and for any tragedy that might happen, and we demand an end to the attacks by the Civil Guard, freedom of the miners arrested and the dismissal of all court proceedings brought against them. Send messages of support to: apoyoalaluchaminera@gmail.com or sign the petition at: http://tinyit.cc/02fa2 |