Brussels, April 11, 2006
Press Release: MRAX on strike!
This Wednesday, April 12, 2006.
For several years, Mrax workers regularly express their unease about the management of staff. So far, the problems had been resolved internally. But since the inauguration of the new board, these difficulties have taken other proportions.
This Wednesday, April 12, 2006, employees of the Movement against Racism, Xenophobia and Antisemitism, except direction, begin a third day strike to protest against the unfair dismissal of their colleague Luc Malghem and denouncing abuses and an accumulation of dysfunctions such as to endanger the very future of the association. We denounce
include:
- a lack of transparency in decision-making (staff learn sometimes pronouncements in the press),
- we are not aware of long-term vision of the projects carried by MRAX and political movement,
- a gradual disappearance of real debate,
- a systematic diversion of several key provisions of the Rules of Procedure voted in October 2006 and several legal provisions (eg staff should be consulted before stance),
- A lack of ethics both internally and in our relationships with external partners.
past three months, we regularly conduct industrial action. We do not want the media attention not to harm the success of the Action Week against Racism. We figured to these actions would be symbolic enough to cause a sense of responsibility of the board: in forty years of existence, MRAX had never experienced any strike!
Today, despite the multiplication of actions, demonstrations in support of a growing number of members and supporters, our engagement has resulted in only one or the other measure of pure facade [1] and repressive reactions by the president and management: loss of credibility, attempted guilt, threats of dismissal group for serious misconduct and disciplinary sanctions disproportionate finally (warning before dismissal) and illegal, addressed to all employees involved in industrial action.
Before this denial of union rights, and the refusal of the board to assume its responsibilities, we were forced to continue and publicize our efforts. The next action will take the form of a new day strike held this Wednesday, April 12. We urge journalists wanting to better understand our position to meet us at the premises of MRAX Wednesday between 10h and 17h.
Our criticism should be located as part of a broader trend. For many months we are facing a bureaucratization of our work to reduce our role to that of a performer, at best, a cabinet member. We also denounce the primacy given to the pervasiveness media at the expense of analysis and reflection, in a communication breakdown with the total work of the association. We can not condone these abuses: MRAX must remain more than ever a militant movement.
We also reiterate our support for the steps and actions initiated by our colleague Luc Malghem. His dismissal was the result of practices that we condemn in our turn now. These practices did not end with his departure, however. We demand his reinstatement, as we supported his complaints of harassment.
We claim further:
-end catch in part,
-friendly application procedures for consultation of the team, the re-
a climate of trust and real space debate.
In thanking you in advance,
MRAX For employees (excluding management),
The union delegation.
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[1] Consider a meeting of the Board and staff members scheduled April 21. The main objective of this initiative seems to be to prevent any possibility for contributing members to express their grievances and to bypass the general assembly, the only body able to provide legitimate decision-making concrete.
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