Statement of CNT on the Pay Cuts for Public Service Employees

Civil servants and workers in general are treated as if they are guilty of the crisis and must pay for it. It is logical that the people, workers and, above all, public employees shall bear the cost of the hypothetical economic crisis because all data show that we are guilty and therefore we should pay. Here are some examples of our active participation in causing the crisis:

* Strauss-Kahn, director of the IMF, encouraging "labor reform that eliminates
rigidness" earns € 420,000 net annually, equivalent to 25 years' wages for a
mail carrier. Advocates raising the retirement age and cutting pensions - although he will get € 210,000 annually after only two years of contributions.

* Trichet, president of the European Central Bank, who is in favor of raising wages less the inflation rate. His salary rose by 2.5% in 2009 while the inflation rate was only 0.9%.

* Fernandez Ordonez, President of the Bank of Spain, a supporter of raising the
retirement age, labor reform and reduction of public expenditure who will not disclose his earnings.And receives a separate pension all with public money!

* The 2 billion euro spent in the Afghan campaign would have paid 62,000 public school teachers

* In 2008, Francisco González, President of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria earned €5,340,000 - the equivalent of 250 years'salary for a midwife in the public health sector

* 17.590 billion euros are the profits of the five largest Spanish banks. This is equal to the annual salary of a million and a half street cleaners or almost one million years of work from a scientist from the Spanish Council for Scientific Research.

* By reducing the wages of all public employees in the country (including contract workers) you will save only 3 billion euros - ie one sixth of the profits of the five largest banks

* Half a million families in Spain are poor. For them to earn them 85% of
the minimum wage, only 2.265 million euros are needed. Instead, the government created the FROB,(Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring) to the rescue the banks, spending 9.6 billion initially.

* María Dolores de Cospedal, earns 230,000 euros as a politican - ie the salaries of about 6 oncologists and cardiologists, but of course she serves a "more useful" function

* GESTHA [1] reports that in 2005 (latest year for which the M. of Finance
published data) was 88.617 million euros of tax fraud and Security
Social. With that money would end the deficit in social spending
autonomous regions and left over money.

[1] (Financiers of the Tax Agency of the Ministry of Economy and
Spanish State Treasury)

* Committing fraud by understating income: according GESTHA, employers declare fewer than 6346 euros, that is, less than employees. We are the only country where businesses declare less than workers: investment companies (companies of the
rich) are taxed only at 1%, while a public employee pays a modest 15%.

* The amount of the estate tax eliminated (1.4 billion) is exactly the
cost of reliance in the autonomous communities

* Spain is one of the OECD countries (along with the USA) which increased spending on police and security. Countries that spend less on police and security have less
inequality. If inequality increases, so does the expenditure required to
maintain the status quo. And there is much of that to protect Spain.

As you see, we are to blame for the crisis and so we have to pay. We are guilty of staying on the dole, of robbing the banks and forcing them to lend money, we are responsible for pressuring our representative union to sign deals which worsen our working conditions. We have to pay because we didn't invest what the savings banks have thrown in junk bonds, we pay because we have decided to work for inept businessmen and politicians, we are to blame for voting and enpowering others, and we pay because we have elected politicians for decades who solve their own problems - not ours and create the debt that public workers have to pay.

Luckily the financial market (which no one knows who is behind), is right
and punishes those responsible - that is the people. But we do know what it is.

And how do unions respond to such aggression?

- Promoting disunity and division of labor, corporatism, ideological servitude and continuing their pacifism and their lukewarm calls

How long will this nonsense continue?

WORKERS WANT TO TAKE THE REINS OVER OUR OWN LIVES.

The CNT is a different union, a century-old tool of the working class which is distinguished by:

- Being incorruptible, making decisions from the base, having no leaders, no
professional unionist exempt from work and no subsidies.

- Implementing self-management, federalism, mutual aid, unique formulas to
lessen regressions, achieving the winning of rights, such as we won the eight-hour day, rest on the Sabbath, paid holidays, health insurance, retirement and unemployment benefits.

- Transforming society deeply, collectivizing the means of production and
services, such as could be demonstrated.

The tactic proposed by the CNT is direct action, which means that the solution to
conflicts that arise must be achieved by the individuals affected without
intermediaries.

* This approach allows us to learn to act on what affects us, taking responsibility and making decisions, not delegating.

* Our natural enemies are the capitalists and their messengers. They are
interested in the disappearance of public services and make it possible to work for the lowest wage payable. Your interest is contrary to theirs. You want to work less, live better, and that clashes with their plans. We are more then they.

Workers organíze yourselves at your workplace!

Union, action, self-management!

Statement prepared by public administration workers from CNT-AIT Madrid.

http://madrid.cnt.es/noticia/los-empleados-publicos-los-trabajadores-gen...