- Members of the Aiaraldea Resistance Fund appeared this afternoon at the headquarters of the Tubacex company in the Alavesa town of Llodio. Hundreds of people have come to the call: Tubacex workers, pensioners, students, workers from other companies, traders, workers from residences or members of the feminist movement, among others.
At a press conference they claimed that behind the Tubacex strikers there is the whole region. Firstly, two Tubacex workers have taken the floor, representing the resistance box.
The 176 days of strike have been a review throughout the day, with criticism of the media, the leadership of the multinational and public institutions. They have recalled the occupational deaths in the company and the monitoring that the fund has had of the resistance box, among other issues.
“Our struggle is to prevent the outsourcing and precariousness of our jobs to ensure the survival and future of our company and the valley, as well as the final readmission and with the guarantees of the 128 colleagues dismissed. We believe that this struggle is fair and does not deserve the criminalization that we are suffering from from from some institutions,” they said.
In addition, they stressed that the Resistance Fund is not an instrument for prolonging the conflict, but an instrument for "recovering the rights and jobs recognized by the judgments". Thus, they invite all citizens to make an economic contribution “to the extent of their possibilities”. For this purpose they have set out the following current account: ES31 3008 0214 16 4417535921.
In addition, they pointed out that the company has not discharged redundant workers in the Social Security System and that it therefore still does not comply with the court ruling.
Defense of the region
After the workers, the two neighbours of Aiaraldea, a worker from a residence and an innkeeper from the same locality have taken the floor.
They wanted to send two messages. On the one hand, they have called for a halt once and for all to “threats against Tubacex members, daily police attitudes, media manipulations and judicial proceedings.”
In the same vein, they have claimed that workers "are not criminals" for the organization. “We call on the Basque Government to implement immediately and with full guarantee the ruling of the High Court of Justice of the Basque Country, which obliges all the dismissed to be readmitted and to get involved with the future of this region, beyond fine words and light promises”.
In this regard, they have asked the Department of Security to end the police presence and have made a direct request to the media: “Stop punching the name of this humble and hardworking region with lies and manipulations, which often act with the aim of generating conflict rather than reporting.”
On the other hand, they wanted to transfer the workers of Tubacex and their relatives “the warmest solidarity”: “Their struggle is not only the struggle for Tubacex, but they are fighting for a future and a decent job for all and, in that way, we want to say that you have many neighbors and neighbors who accompany you: from the financial help, but also to take care of your sons and daughters, or to support you. Do not hesitate to ask for help, because this struggle is collective and once again we will face it in this way, collectively.”
In this regard, they have stressed that the coming weeks will be "particularly relevant" and have therefore encouraged the citizens to increase their economic and social support.