A FLINTA* (women, lesbian, intersex, nonbinary, transgender, agender and others) section has recently been formed at FAU Bonn. We meet once a month. If you want to have a look around, discuss anarcha-feminism or get an impression of the FAU through us, feel free to write us: flinta-fau-bonn@fau.org
We call for a protest in solidarity with the strikers at the University Hospital Bonn on November 16 at 5:30 PM! For a better staffing ratio in nursing, for better pay for nurses, for a health care system that focuses on the health of patients instead of profits and against further privatization!
The General Syndicate of the Free Workers’ Union (FAU) Bonn expresses its solidarity with you and your labor struggle. We wish you every success in your strike.
The conditions in the care sector have been critical for a long time. The fact that there have been no improvements even after the stresses and strains of the last few years is unacceptable. It is good that you are taking the step of fighting for appropriate wages. We especially admire that you also stand up for the colleagues who are blackmailable by the bosses because of their residence status.
We hope that your strike will be an inspiration for all nursing workers in the region and that this will be the beginning of a broad-based struggle for a decent health care system.
An out-of-court settlement has been reached in the dispute over back wages for over a hundred Romanian seasonal workers of the insolvent Ritter asparagus estate. This is what the grassroot union Free Workers’ Union (FAU) Bonn was able to find out on request The agreement was reached between the legal representation of the seasonal workers, the lawyers Harald Klinke and Stefan Hübner, and the insolvency administration of Klaus & Sabine Ritter GbR, the law firm Schulte-Beckhausen & Bühs. Both parties have agreed not to disclose the content of the agreement. However, since negotiations on owed wages were ranging at around 100,000 Euros in July 2020 already, it can be assumed that the final settlement was not lower than the amount in dispute at that time.
Recently, the availability of FFP2 masks has been a political issue. These masks filter aerosols and thus offer significantly better protection against coronavirus infections than paper or fabric masks. Both for the wearer and for the people around them. Unfortunately, in the distribution of these potentially life-saving masks, capitalism is once again showing its ugly side. First it was said that recipients of unemployment benefits (ALG 2) and basic income support will not get a subsidy for the purchase of these masks. Now it is instead of money, they will receive a voucher for FFP2 masks. However, these coupons have not yet been sent out. More so, the purchase with ration coupon is a humiliating experience, since unemployed persons are still massively stigmatized.
International Solidarity Wins Victory in Bangladesh Workers’ Struggle
After nine months of protests and direct actions, such as the blockade of the Ministry of Labor and the siege of the company’s headquarters, accompanied by an international campaign, the textile workers of the Dragon Sweater Group have finally won back their salaries. A more detailed article can be found here.