Sozialistische Offensive (CWI Austria)
On 9 October, thousands of students, teachers, and others across Austria participated in school strikes and demonstrations against a headscarf ban. Many teachers joined the protests, highlighting alongside students the real problems in the education system: too few teachers, too few resources, and the early segregation of children along social and often ethnic lines. They pointed to a government that pours billions into military spending, spouts platitudes about ‘democratic education’, yet patronises girls. True women’s liberation isn’t achieved by forbidding girls from wearing headscarves, but rather through an education system that provides all children and young people with an education that enables them to lead independent lives. However, this directly contradicts capitalist education policies, which prioritise producing the optimal workforce of the future over the interests and future of young people.
What thousands of young people in Austria have demonstrated, we also see in Germany, France, and many, many other countries: young people are not apolitical! They are ready to stand up against injustice and fight for their future. This frightens those in power. In France, they responded with brutal repression. In Austria, too, there have been attempts at intimidation and repression at some schools. Here, it is important not to leave affected students alone, but to fight together against any sanctions imposed by school authorities.
The school strike was called for by an alliance of various left-wing organisations, and action committees were formed at many schools. Sozialistische Offensive participated in the protests in three cities. Everywhere there was great interest in our flyers and our proposal: namely, to use the momentum of this protest as a starting point for further mobilisations like 20 November.
To try to prevent people ‘at the bottom’ uniting against injustice, they are divided. The headscarf ban and other racist measures serve precisely this purpose: to divide us so that we don’t fight the major problems of inflation, anxieties about the future, and environmental destruction together. That’s why it was so important that girls with and without headscarves demonstrated together during the school strike. An important start! After the school strike on 9 October, the youth strike on 20 November is just around the corner.
Protests and a general strike in Italy
As protests also erupt in Italy, the Italian trade union federation CGIL has announced a general strike for 20 November. The strike is intended to increase pressure on the government to allocate more funds in the budget for workers, retirees, and public services. On 17 October, 100,000 people took part in a CGIL-organised rally in Rome, including industrial workers, retirees, students, farmers, and truck drivers. The rally combined demands for higher wages and job security with calls to protect the healthcare system, education, the environment, and the constitution.
Madrid educators’ strike
Thousands of educators took to the streets of Madrid on 19 October as they began an indefinite strike calling for smaller class sizes, reduced teaching hours, and increased resources for public education. A general strike has also been called on 11 November ahead of a general election on 29 November.
