Extortionate Pickets

It can be accepted that they inflate the figures of participation in the strike, that they multiply the number of protesters, that they take to the streets against the Government's measures but trying not to bother their president too much, or even ...

October 1 2010 (15:48 WEST)

It can be accepted that they inflate the figures of participation in the strike, that they multiply the number of protesters, that they take to the streets against the Government's measures but trying not to bother their president too much, or even ...

It can be accepted that they inflate the figures of participation in the strike, that they multiply the number of protesters, that they take to the streets against the Government's measures but trying not to bother their president too much, or even exaggerate their optimism by calling the general strike a "success", but what cannot be tolerated in any way is that we have become accustomed to the aberration that the supposed "informative pickets" represent.

Breaking windows is not informing. Blocking the passage of buses and trucks is not informing. Sending a driver to the hospital because he inhaled toxic gases after someone poured a liquid into his bus is certainly not informing. However, all of this happened this Wednesday in Spain, under the protection of the unions and what, in a euphemistic and unacceptable way, is called "informative pickets".

In Lanzarote, fortunately, it did not reach those extremes. There was no use of violence, but we can certainly talk about acts of extortion. And the threat has many forms of manifesting itself. And of course, 50 picketers entering a small shop or bar, blowing whistles, scaring away customers and intimidating those who work there, is not informing either.

Shouting "close!, close!", or "we're not leaving until it closes!", in a chorus of dozens of people while as many wait outside, because there is no room for another soul in the place, is extortion in every way. And, "curiously", it was not done in any media outlet, nor in the police stations, nor in the Palace of Justice, where the strike did not even exist. It was done, above all, in small businesses. And the worst thing is that this happened in the heart of Arrecife, before the indifference of the security forces.

The National and Local Police were there, but they did absolutely nothing. Even, in the face of complaints from shopkeepers, some officers recommended that they close their doors to avoid problems. Are these the guarantees that our society, our Rule of Law, offers us?

Violence does not have to occur for the security forces to intervene. The police should also watch over the employers and workers who did not believe in the strike or could not afford it, or whatever led them to exercise their legitimate right to work. And that is as important as the right to strike.

Fortunately, we live in a country with freedoms. And a citizen can join a union, demonstrate and carry out a strike if he understands that he has reasons to do so. And it is necessary that this be so, as a tool to avoid business or government abuses. But what cannot be done is to force anyone to join that cause. How can unions talk about percentages of adherence to the strike, if in some places they imposed it by force?

The general balance in Spain is that it was a "calm" and almost "incident-free" day, with the obvious exception of what happened in Barcelona, and that had nothing to do with the strike, but with anti-system groups. But that cannot make us see the role played by the pickets as something natural.

In some cases, at least in Lanzarote, union representatives such as César Reyes, general secretary of UGT, have taken a stand and questioned what happened in certain parts of the island. But others insist on justifying it or downplaying its importance. And as they themselves said in their slogan for this protest: "Like this, no!".

This general strike, which has certainly arrived very late, and it would be a miracle if it really served to stop a labor reform that has already been approved, should make the Government reflect, but also the unions.

Regardless of what each worker may or may not share with Comisiones Obreras, with UGT or with Intersindical Canaria, it cannot be denied that the role of trade union forces is necessary in any country. But what they must do is win over the workers, and not impose their criteria on them. And the problem is that currently, many citizens, including now the civil servants, judging by the very low incidence that the strike had in the public sector, feel too far away from them, and that is what they have to try to correct. Because if what they intend is to recover their space by force of imposition, they are going to fall precisely into what they criticize. Definitely, not like this.

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