This form of a workers’ inquiry is an initiative of the Assembly against Bio-Power and Confinement which were imposed on us by the all-protective state in the days of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. After filling out the form, you can choose whether you want it to be published – always anonymously – on our facebook page or not.
The confinement/self-confinement due to the coronavirus, the prevention-prohibition of rallies/gatherings and the military measure of the total prohibition of traffic or, even worse, the voluntary suspension of collective activities from below has disastrous results. Isolation or self-isolation intensifies the feeling of weakness and paralysis under conditions of mass panic, at the very time when very serious issues have already arisen, especially concerning labour relations and wages.
In the time of pandemic (which is certainly favoured by the capitalist mode of production, if it is not even caused by it) it is more than ever confirmed that the function of the capitalist state is to protect not only capital but also labour power to the extent that it is necessary for its profitability. The “fatherly” state intervenes to ensure that a large amount of this precious commodity, the labour power commodity, will not be devastated, as the production of all other commodities depends on it. But what needs to be emphasized here is that this is always done in terms that prevent the self-activity of the working class.
We are not going to stand idly by in the face of our rulers’ decrees and the military laws that they impose on us. We will not turn a blind eye to the collapse of the public health system, to austerity policies, to labour depreciation and mass layoffs. No, we won’t wait to settle our accounts just when the corona crisis is over. We need to find ways to communicate and meet right now.
Because we do not believe that the proletarian public sphere should retreat in the face of media terrorism,
because the “new sociality” of the slogan “stay home” alone that the political personnel of capital wants to impose on us prepares the dystopia of the antisocial, individualistic, lonely and helpless person,
because a lot of us are already at health risk in our workplaces,
because a lot of us already stay home unpaid, poorly paid or unemployed,
because labour relations in several sectors have already undergone yet another violent mutation (much more extensive than that of SARS-CoV-2),
because the repression mechanisms find the opportunity to do as they please and suppress certain structures that the (multinational) proletariat uses to satisfy its “illegal” needs,
because no kind of political organizational cooperation can function in conditions of (self)isolation, social-distancing and contemplative monologues on facebook,
and because we do not share the “national solidarity” feelings expressed from Evros to the metropolitan centre in support of the monologue of the bosses,
As part of our activities at the moment, we choose to start this workers’ inquiry in order to record our unique experiences, to let the voices of the proletarians be heard, starting first from ourselves, the members of this assembly, from our personal work and social experiences. At the same time, we urge everyone to get in touch with us in order to deal collectively with the social problems we face. Anyone who wants to meet us in order to discuss collective ways to deal with our problems, from being penniless or lonely to being confined, can send an email to koinonika.antisomata@pm.me
We record issues in any place they arise. You can answer any question that expresses you or take a look at the last field, if you want to write something completely on your own.
Issues at workplace
Issues at home
Issues at healthcare
Work related issues
What’s going on in our jobs? (Lay-offs, forced resignations, etc.)
Your answer:
What conditions do we face those of us who still work today? (Wage cuts, late payments, excessive work hours, undeclared overtime, nasty behaviour of the boss etc.)
Your answer:
In which other way do the bosses take advantage of the loose labour law while there is a state of emergency? Do they force us to take unpaid leave? Do they unilaterally change a full-time contract into a part-time one? Do they blackmail us in order to get their hands on our benefit money?
Your answer:
What’s the deal with the protection measures in our workplace? Do the bosses provide them for us or not? What about the overcrowding? What measures have they taken? Are they satisfactory enough? What would we like? When there is possible case of coronavirus, how do they deal with it? What do we do in order to resist situations that we consider threatening to us and our fellow workers?
Your answer:
Have we been forced into remote work? How is the remote work system different from the previous work system? What problems does it create to us?
Your answer:
Are we completely out of work? If so, how do we get by? How do we manage with rent and bills?
Your answer:
In which workplace do the above issues appear?
Hospitals (nurses, doctors, ambulance personnel)
Super Markets
Pet Shops
Delivery / courier
Tourism
Cafes, restaurants, etc.
Call centers
Cleaning
Factory / craft firms
Office
Retail
Other:
House related issues
How do we experience the state of seclusion at home? A) Some people live alone. What problems does this pose during this time? B) LGBTQ people are forced to live with a family that they find oppressive, foreign and hostile. How do you experience this? C) In general, is confinement with the family, parents-spouse-children (or other people you live with) difficult?
Your answer:
How do you deal with the difficulties of transportation (or any other) during the martial law enforcement? Have you come up with any proletarian tactics and strategies? What kind of them?
Your answer:
How do we deal with the “stay home” ideology? What has changed in our social relations? What are the concerns about the management of the situation by the state? How do we share them? How do we resist state plans?
Your answer:
Is there solidarity relations in the neighbourhoods and around us in general? Are there other people who need our help (with their shopping, medicines)? Do we need the help of those around us?
Your answer:
In times of state-imposed confinement, existing problems like macho behaviour, abuse and violence against women within their own homes are intensified. Have we noticed such cases around us? How do we deal with them?
Your answer:
Other problems? What do we do against evictions those of us who live in university dorms?
Your answer:
Healthcare related issues
What side effects, due to the state’s refusal to spend on public health, have we observed or experienced? (overcrowded hospitals, cancellations of surgeries, pushing people to go to private hospitals, absence of coronavirus tests)
Your answer:
Speak freely, speak openly
Here you can write down your experiences freely. You can even communicate them in the form of a poem or in any other way that expresses you!
Your answer:
Publication:
Do you approve of the publication of this completed form or its selected pieces on the facebook page of the Assembly against Bio-Power and Confinement?
yes
no