Hamburg Network: Declaration of solidarity

This strike concerns everyone

Solidarity with the labour fighters in the social and educational services

The strike in the social and educational services is currently on hold. However, the employees of the municipal institutions, supported by their trade unions, are still engaged in industrial action for a better classification of their professions. They have not yet been able to realise their demands. At the beginning of June, after several weeks of strike action, a conciliation procedure was initiated and the peace obligation is now in effect. Youth centres, day care centres and social counselling centres have therefore reopened their doors for the time being. The media breathed a sigh of relief. Is this sigh of relief justified? Care work, education and upbringing are important social tasks and this should be recognised. Almost everyone agrees with this. Parents and large sections of public opinion also initially showed solidarity with the desire to raise the status of social and educational professions, but the longer the strike lasted, the more critical the voices became. More and more often, it was said that the parents had reached their limits. And the behaviour of the childcare workers was irresponsible, which we cannot agree with! Of course, we recognise that the situation of many parents is difficult. Young parents or single parents in particular are in a difficult situation. And it is often young women who fill the gaps left by the strike. It is also particularly difficult that the local authorities are not coming under financial pressure as a result of the strike, but for us this is no reason to call off the strike, withdraw our solidarity or shrug our shoulders in resignation. Rather, it should now be about showing solidarity and stepping up the pressure on the streets. And this is not just the task of employees and not just the task of parents showing solidarity. As the Care Revolution network, we want to take off some of our blinkers. We oppose the numerous divisions that play one group off against the other, render us incapable of acting or isolate us. And we refuse to see the strike as a moral conflict between educators and parents. We recognise the difficult situation for parents in precarious situations, especially for single mothers or young women who have yet to establish themselves professionally. The question here is what solidarity structures can be created to cushion the effects of the strike in a different way. However, this cannot mean joining the demand to end the strike and depriving employees in the social and education sector of their most important means of industrial action. That would mean making the cynical suggestion that the historically grown devaluation of educational tasks as traditionally female work should not be shaken and that care and educational work should continue to be poorly paid. Instead, we see the question as being how we can bring the pressure that is currently being absorbed by private structures more into the public eye: Town halls and MPs' offices should become children's playgrounds and paralyse operations - the demonstrations should be bursting at the seams, because how childcare and social work is organised and how it is financed is a political and social issue that concerns everyone. We also believe that viewing the conflict as a dispute between employees and local authorities is still too narrow. This is because the shortage of funding for local authorities provides political decision-makers with the ever-popular discussion argument: "There is no alternative!" This narrow view is another reason why the demands of the strike are difficult to realise. It is a general political question of how social wealth is distributed and the importance of social infrastructure. We are fighting for an economy that is not orientated towards the production of added value, but towards the needs of the people. And these issues do not stop at the municipal level. It is about a good life for all, which is why we will continue to support the labour dispute in the social and educational services with solidarity. And we wish them perseverance and every success!Care Revolution network (Hamburg node)