A WORKER from the famous occupied Zanon factory in Argentina is speaking at a meeting in Brighton on Monday February 13. Jose Julian Penunuri is currently touring the UK and will be at The Brighthelm Centre in North Road from 7.30pm to 9.15pm.
In December 2001, in the midst of economic collapse, Argentia exploded as unemployed activists, impoverished savers and workers occupied the streets, attacked the banks and took over their workplaces. The Zanon tile factory in Neuquen is one of many 'recovered' factories in Argentina - factories taken over and run by the workers.
Worker at Zanon Factory
Faced with pay cuts and redundancies - and then no pay at all - the Zanon workers occupied and began to run the factory. The factory remains a beacon to all those who struggle in Argentina and around the world - to show another way of working and of living our lives. With no bosses, the workers themselves make all important decisions by general assembly, everyone receives the same salary and committees take responsibility for sales, administration and other running concerns.
Despite several attemped evictions, the workers - supported by their local community and allies - have held out and even managed to dramatically increase production, sales and jobs. Alongside all this they publish Nuestra Lucha (Our Struggle), a newspaper of the occupeid factories and workers in struggle, and play a keey role in uniting and providing a political direction to the occupied workplaces, worker, indigenous and unemployed movements.
The visit is being hosted by the Argentina Solidarity Campaign and No Sweat
Background feature