Preliminary Programme

Two significant social protests that took place in Poland in recent years – a massive mobilisation of women against a ban on abortion and an occupation of the Sejm building by carers of persons with disabilities – were called strikes. In this article, we analyse the Polish Women's Strike events of 2016, 2017 and 2018 and the strike of parents of persons with disabilities of 2018 from the perspective of a strike as a form of protest. What does it mean that both protests have been called strikes and what are the implications of incorporating the terminology of labour disputes by both protests? Strikes in Poland are a form of collective, institutionalized industrial action of workers in wage employment, organized only by a trade union registered in a certain workplace and its subject can be exclusively of workplace matters
and not on matters that are political and beyond an employer’s influence. The Polish Women's Strike and the protest of parents of persons with disabilities were not strikes de iure, however they rejected division between production (wage labour) and reproduction (non-wage labour), which gave a deeper meaning to the “refusal of work”. The empowerment of this event was
derived from taking over the concept of the strike and providing an inclusive space to connect different actions related to struggles for reproductive rights. We interpret this as a strategy of cooptation and occupation of typical protest actions reserved for wage labour. (Show less)

The idea of a general women’s strike was first initiated by the Icelandic Redstockings, a radical feminist group established in Reykjavík in 1970, and when the UN declared that the year 1975 would be dedicated to women and gender equality, a window of opportunity was opened. In June 1975, the heterogenous women’s movement in Iceland united behind the plan of a one-day work stoppage and an executive committee was formed, including women from a wide range of women's organisations throughout the political spectrum. As a result, presumably, around 90% of Icelandic women participated in or supported the work stoppage, which affected the entire society. Even though the initial agitators for the idea went along with the reframing of the action as a “day off,” they continued to call it a strike and emphasized the class aspects of women’s subordination, as they argued that in fact all women were (economically) exploited. The struggle of signification was widespread, and the leftist newspapers also always referred to the action as a strike, highlighting the seriousness of the actions and the class-aspects of the women’s struggle. In contrast, the organizers and media from the liberal and conservative ends always referred to it as a “day off,” highlighting its joyous, positive, and moderate atmosphere. Lastly, it should be kept in mind that a majority of the 50 organizations that united behind the idea were neither feminist nor leftist but traditional women’s clubs. In this paper I will discuss the discursice expressions of solidarity and conflicts concerning the framing of the actions by organisers and participants. (Show less)

The strike is one of the most important weapons that working people have in their struggle for human rights. It was a common method in the working class movement during the rise of the industrial production in Europe and the US. By organizing a strike female and male workers managed to get higher wages, better working conditions, the right to organize in a union among other things. In this class struggle the striking people had a strong power for a period of time and could compel concessions from the capital.
Female workers and housewives have always been part of the working class movement, either by struggling for the betterment of their own conditions or organizing as support groups. When female cleaners in Sweden went out in a strike at several workplaces in 1974, it was a continuity from last century of class struggle among thousands and thousands of female industrial workers. The demands were much the same: higher wages, better working conditions and be treated as a human being.
In this paper I will discuss two industrial women's strikes that took place in Sweden in the middle of 1970s. One of these strikes, i.e. the ASAB cleaners strike, received tremendous attention; sympathy strikes broke out and manifestations were held in solidarity with the striking women. However, the other one, the seamstresses at Algots Nord's strike did not receive the same attention and solidarity, neither from the women's liberation movements nor the unions. Both the cleaners' strike and the seamstresses' strike occurred when the rising women’s liberation movement got more and more breakthrough and a period of an extensive class struggle, mostly in male dominated factories. I will present a comparison between the public discourse around these two strikes and analyse the solidarity and or lack of solidarity with the striking women. (Show less)