Strike

The strike (Strajk- Stanisław Lentz painting.

The load de Ramón Casas (1903). The work shows a Guardia Civil charging the crowd during a strike in Barcelona.

The strike or unemployment is a protest in which its members refrain from carrying out the activity they normally carry out to the detriment of those to whom they direct their claims or their complaints. The most important and widespread type is the labor strike or strike, which is the collective suspension of their activity by workers in order to demand improvements in working conditions or demonstrate against cuts in social rights; according to the International Organization of Labor, is one of the fundamental legitimate means available to citizens and specifically workers (through the trade union movement and trade union organizations) for the promotion and defense of their economic and social interests.

Origins of the strike

Workers protest the factory owner in "The Strike", by Robert Koehler, 1886.

The first documented strike occurred in Ancient Egypt, organized by the workers and artisans of Set Maat (present-day Deir el-Medina) during the reign of Ramesses III, around the year 1166 B.C. C.

The strike is associated with the demand for better working conditions, the development of the trade union movement and the expansion of international trade unionism and, in general, the class struggle. Although its origins date back to the French Revolution of 1789, its full development occurred with the Industrial Revolution and the generalization of wage labor at the end of the century 18th and early 19th century century.

The origin of the strike linked to the trade union movement: The first labor movements were located in England. There appeared the luddism led by Ned Ludd and known as the movement of machine breakers (1810-1811). In later years, 1830, the first labor organizations of a union character appear (workers who are dedicated only to one trade). In England they took the name of trade-unions (literally "trade unions") and later, due to the tendency to abbreviate in English, unions ("union" or "union"). union").

Trade union movements of different signs (anarchism, communism, socialism) are also associated with the theoretical development of the existence of a working class forced to develop a class struggle for the recognition of value as a workforce in the creation of wealth. The practice of the strike is considered a tool to claim improvements in working conditions. The right to strike is another of the demands of the trade union movement. In this sense, the Combination Acts (English laws that prohibited unions) were not repealed until 1824.

The beginning of the theoretical development occurs basically by Karl Marx and Engels in the “Communist Manifesto” and the subsequent development in books such as Capital in which it is advocated, to achieve working-class goals, a revolution.

Right to strike

The development of social democracy in the XX century contributed to the fact that labor strikes were no longer severely penalized. It was then that the right to strike was internationally recognized as an essential right of workers constituting freedom of association. It is one of the second generation rights, which is currently recognized in most internal legal systems and in international treaties of universal scope such as the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.

Types of strikes

Strikes, as a form of protest and demand, can be classified as follows:

By scope

• Labour strike: Internationally the strike is recognized as a fundamental right of the workers, constituting the freedom of association. Generally it is to stop working with the objective of obtaining labor or social advantages.
• Consumption strike: It is a form of protest that consists in stopping consuming goods and services to support a labor strike or for other vindictive purposes.
• Hunger strike: It is a form of protest that consists of stopping eating food during the time needed until your claim is taken care of.
• Revolutionary strikeor General Revolutionary Strike It is the strike that, although it can be motivated in demands of an economic or social nature its objective reaches or exceeds those demands and aims to change the political status (change of government or change in the form of government), then considering itself as a social strike, whether political, revolutionary or subversion.
• Belly strike It is a strike that promotes birth limitation and conscious maternity through the use of contraceptive methods between the low or poor classes in order not to be cheap labor or cannon.
• Sexual strike, sex strike or cross-legged strike, is a strike that performs sexual abstinence in order to achieve certain political or social objectives.
• Student strike, strike in which their participants are students, either from university or from other educational phases. The claims are usually linked, but not exclusively, to the educational system. Some protracted student strikes have meant the opening of more important processes such as revolts or revolutions with other sectors of society, such as May 68.

Types of labor strike

The labor strike, depending on its characteristics, can be:

• Jealousy strikewhen the regulations are meticulously applied and the work is done very slowly to reduce performance and delay services.
• Strike of fallen arms, vindictive or protest that is practiced in the usual job while remaining inactive. Variants of this:
  • Dropped pen strike: the one in which the police refuse to put fines. Also used to describe strikes by journalists.
  • Drop-down boob strike: the one in which the cattle breeders refuse to milk the cows or provide milk to the distributors.

Posters calling for general strike, 2012, Spain

In addition, it can be:

By extension

• General strikewhen a labor strike extends to all work activities, it affects all workers and even other social strata (students, retirees, etc.). The general strike is considered generally convened for the entire working population.

For his legality

• Illegal strike. The one who does not meet the legal requirements, sometimes called a wild strike.
  • Political strike. It is motivated by political-ideological or non-professional reasons.
  • Strike of solidarity or support. Called by groups of workers other than the collective that is exercising their right to strike.
  • Novatory strike. Those whose purpose is to alter what is agreed upon in a collective agreement or established by an award.

For its duration

Called for a given period

• Strike for hours or limited time not exceeding the full day.
• Strike one or more days

Call without completion period

• Undefined strike

Terminology in some countries

In some countries such as Mexico, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Ecuador and Peru, it is commonly called unemployment. This term generally refers to the abandonment of work tasks, although any mobilization, protest, demonstration, public demand, abandonment of tasks or action of pickets is also commonly called a strike.

In some countries such as Ecuador, Labor Law and specifically the Ecuadorian labor code in its article 525 indicates that the strike is the suspension of activities organized by workers and the unemployment (lockout), is done by employers.