Often we spend the 1st of May remembering past victories.
A confident labor movement does not stop there. We need to look forward: what could a better future look like?
A future where we work to build the lives we want. Where we work for the benefit of all. Where we perform meaningful work, where our time, our skills and our effort are respected. A world formed by the connections in our lives. Imagine a turnaround from our individualized and fragmented society. Imagine a better world.
What we must do today is to find the struggles necessary to get there.
The arbitrariness and the absurdity of our current system touch everyone.
The absurdity that those who know their craft the best, often have the least say in how the work gets done. Every day in our working lives, we experience our labor being directed top down by people who dont understand it.
The arbitrariness that our tools are being chosen by those who never use them. We are told that we are being paid the exact value of our work by those on top. By people who don’t appreciate it, people who look down on us and our labor. How can we trust them to value our work fairly, when its in their interest to devalue it?
We can’t! These judges of value, these “brilliant” allocators have consistently devalued the work of women. By a lot. It shows that they will never pay what we deserve, they will pay what they can get away with.
The ICT Union invites you to join other workers in a campaign to end this crying shame. Today, we demand fair pay. It won’t be won overnight, but we have an opportunity now. We can strike while the iron is hot.
Right now a change in the labor law is coming up.
The Czech parliament will implement the European directive on pay transparency, which aims to give workers tools to combat these inequities. Czech lawmakers will decide how strong your right to fair pay will be.
You can pressure them to act in the interests of workers, not employers.
A year ago, employers lobbied for the labor code flexinovela, which tried to strip us of our established labour rights. The labour movement forced the government to abandon their worst ideas.
Who do you trust to fight for workers’ rights?
You and your coworkers can make a difference. Fight for victories to be proud of! Be part of the labor movement, join your union <3