Yesterday, Oct. 15th, RWE’s opencast mines and power plants went on strike. It is unclear whether the semi-wild strike was planned in this way (as the union formally declares, so as not to be prosecuted for directing an unannounced assembly), or if the blockade of factory entrances and access roads was spontaneous.

Unfortunately, the pickets had no stamina, so at 11:00 am they left the field to the Marximal Confusion action group, although their vigil was announced to last until 2:00 pm.

The Marxist Confusion Action Group appeared with a banner saying “expropriate RWE big shots – 300,000 € compensation for each miner” (picture to follow) and flyers with the Open letter to the employees of RWE and to the union IGBCE, published shortly before the eviction, to remember the employees of the open pit mine on-site to the great miner’s strikes of 1997 and to offer them support in (even wild) strikes, if they should overcome the excessive loyalty to their employer and start striking for good severance pay and a social plan. The social plan must be fought for right now, if RWE employees do not want to stand suddenly on the street – be it in two, five or 20 years. Because the managers, oh yes, they will receive severance payments and without the pressure from the street they’ll take a shit about their workers.

Since there are no jobs on a dead planet, the coal exit has to come now. Whether it is going to be a socially compatible one depends on the strike force of the miners.

Both yesterday at the opencast mine and today in Niederzier, there were workers who got snotty with us. But also very constructive talks – and an official invitation to come to the conversation tomorrow from 7:00 am at the Buir station. We promised to be there and bring coffee and a lock-on workshop.