Nobody knows when and how the new normality will end. We do not know whether we will be able to get out of the bottom and left of this great crisis, or whether capitalism, after its umpteenth reconversion, will still impose a stronger social model on us.

But there are already some projects underway that will be developed in the new normal. One of them, and not the smallest one, is teleworking. This phenomenon will bring about drastic changes in the organization of the world of work, the class struggle, the lives of workers and community development, as well as in the organization and functioning of society. It will put it all on its head if we don't put a brake on it.

According to the experts, the capitalist system will be able to channel a third of the work it needs for its reproduction in a very short time. But the intention is much broader, little by little, outside manual work, because it is a question of ensuring the greatest number of jobs through teleworking, not to mention high-level skilled and technical jobs.

In the administration, teleworking started a few years ago via family reconciliation. In other words, the administration opened up the possibility for employees with small children or parents with disabilities to telework from their homes. In two words, teleworking was sold to us as something useful to the workers, and we were also sold well, as most of the political and trade union forces joined teleworking. We all forget that capitalism never proposes anything that goes to the detriment of itself, even when the lives of workers are at stake, as we have seen during the coronavirus crisis. Teleworking, in my opinion, is the poisoned sweet thing that the capitalist system offers to the workers.

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of URL 0, the industrial revolution meant the urbanization of millions of workers and the creation of giant companies. We've also known them in Euskal Herria, in the Left Margin. There was a large accumulation of capital in Bizkaia and with it a large concentration of workers. This led to the creation, articulation and struggle of the labor movement in the Basque Country. We do not forget that the first workers’ strikes and achievements are of that time.

With the development of new technologies, the relocation of production and the excessive development of financial capital, these gigantic factories were sent to the third world, increasing the deregulation of the world of work. This dispersion of production weakened the strength, coordination and fighting capacity of the working class. The gap between those who created and worked increased in a world of atomized, globalized and precarious work, of course, to the detriment of the working class.

Now, teleworking is going to intensify this process to the extreme. This kind of work that was launched to facilitate family reconciliation has begun to show its true face during the coronavirus crisis. In Euskal Herria, in these two months, there are thousands of people who have left their job and started working at home, making their house a continuation of the company’s office, without anyone pronouncing against it. And it does not appear that in the coming months the Administration is going to reverse.

And what does capital gain from teleworking? Firstly, to increase the atomization of the labour movement, to strengthen internal relocation. In recent years, there has been a growing number of workers working in the same company who have different contracts and conditions. Subcontracted workers, such as cleaning workers, technical services, communication, etc., work in the same company but are employed by different companies. This situation greatly hinders the unity, struggle and articulation of the workers’ movement.

From now on, teleworking will multiply the division and atomization of workers within each company. Many employees will not even show up for the company, as they will work at home, and if there is no room to work at home, you will have to work in a library, a bar or a basement, for example. New difficulties can be foreseen in organising the struggle of workers and, on the contrary, more possibilities for exploitation. All means of reducing production costs are useful in capitalism, and teleworking is a means of doing so. That's the main value of teleworking for the capitalist system, but it's not limited to that.

Telework will bridge the gap between work and rest, also in the physical space. The work schedule and working hours will be opened to you without restrictions. The family and office will be mixed up, always to the detriment of family life. You will lose the collaborating community when you stay out of the company, and you will lose a great space of relationship and socialization because most of the hours of the day you will spend them at home. That is the result of teleworking.

That's where we're throwing at speed. And the main victims of teleworking will be, above all, the new and new workers of today and tomorrow. Keep the fight against teleworking.

Joseba Alvarez, member of Sortu*