"For a Europe-wide people's strike against missiles"
'unofficial' demonstration drew about 60,000 workers. Later on, the official leadership took over and there was a demonstration of more than 100,000 workers in Copenhagen alone.
*But at the same time a movement in the public sector was underway, headed by the local branches of the teachers
The call for a 'European peoples' strike against missiles' by the teachers at the Herlufmagle school has already begun to have an impact on activists in the Danish peace and trade-union movements (see box).
One of the organisers, Vagn Rasmussen, who is also a leader of SAP, Danish section of the Fourth International, told International Viewpoint more about this initiative.
'We have taken this initiative because of the situation that we think the peace movement in Denmark and many other European countries will very soon find itself, if it hasn't already. In spite of the massive demonstrations the missiles are moralisation of big sections of the movement on the one hand, and a turn to violent or even terrorist actions on the other.
*In this situation it is very important to try and unite the peace movement around a new and radical form of mass struggle. This can only be, in our opinion, to work for a people's strike in all European countries on one and the same day.
'We are aware of how big a task this is and how far we are from our goal. But on the other hand this method is in accordance with the best traditions of the workers movement. If our government tries to drive us to war we will answer by stopping society from functioning. This is an old idea in the workers movement. And it is a follow up to the symbolic work stoppages that took place in a number of West European countries last October and November.
'We call for a people's strike and not a general strike for many reasons. all general strike 'in Danish' strike of workers alone. People's strikes, as in fact we in Denmark experienced during the Nazi occupation, means strikes where shopkeepers, independent artisans, etc. join with the workers. These layers are already involved in the peace movement to a certain extent. They too will be killed in a nuclear war and we have seen how people's strikes can be used as a form of mass struggle, for example on the West Bank or in Chile and Argentina.
"The reason for this call is also linked to the economic problems facing most workers. In a strike in Denmark they are not only going to lose a day's pay but they are also forced to pay rather heavy fines. In our action group (which is rather broadly based) it was a bourgeois opponent of the missiles who said to us "Remember what the employers said before the 5-minute strike last November. They said, Why should we pay for this political strike?' We must have an answer to this question. And the only answer is:
join us!" A nuclear missile doesn't make any distinction between a worker and an employer. So we have not only sent our resolution to workers organisation but to employers organisations as well. will probably not join any strike, but this will help the workers to argue against the resistance from the employers.
'In the Danish parliament there is a majority of workers parties. What would be more natural than to ask them to pass a special law so that all public sector workers would be paid while striking?
We should also not underestimate the fact that the demand for a people's strike has been raised by teachers. In October 1982 the whole of Denmark was shaken by gigantic strikes and demonstrations against the new bourgeois government. They were the biggest demonstrations since the Second World War, involving up to half a million people in a country of only five million people. This huge movement started in the B & W shipyard in union, the DLF, including my own local branch. This forced the leadership of the DLF to put pressure on the General Federation of Public Employees (FTF) in which the 70,000 teachers comprise nearly half the membership. FTF also organised a demonstration of 100,000 in Copenhagen as well as several demonstrations in provincial towns and
If we can win the teachers union to our ideas we can also win the FTF. And the FTF can put pressure on its counterpart in the private sector, the General Federation of Labour (LO). The perspective of winning the teachers unions is better today than ever before. Some of the same people who two years ago were in opposition and led spontaneous strikes are now in the leadership of the union. But of course it is a question of raising the perspective of a strike in the FTF and the LO at the same time.
'Apart from the bourgeois forces who want the missiles, we have heard only one argument against our ideas, "Is it pos-
Is it realistic? Everybody understands that demonstrations and resolutions are not enough to stop the missiles. But are we really capable of mobilising the very big forces necessary?" our only answer is: It's worth trying. Let's start moving!
'And it is possible. Within a few weeks our initiative is winning greater and greater support. First from our own local union branch which is now very actively helping us to mobilise other union branches, and also from individual members of the national leadership of the teachers union as well as other trade unions in our region. In the peace movement the idea of a people's strike is also spreading quickly. At a conference of all the peace committees from eastern Denmark on January 28 the proposal for a people's strike provoked the most applause from the audience. On February 25 and 26 our proposal was presented to the peace committees of the rest of the country, but in a much better prepared, organised and more convincing way and was unanimously adopted.
'In the trade-union movement as a whole we have already got support from many individual leaders, including social-democratic leaders of local workers organisations, as you will see in the next issue of our paper, Klassekampen. Special efforts are being made to organise intellectuals, as well as doctors, priests, small farmers, etc.
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