Workers Solidarity Movement

So this morning, a strike by Stockholm’s bus drivers union Kommunal began in protest against pay cuts and the lack of security in new contracts for workers. Seems like a legitimate grievance? Not according to the right wing Swedish students group, Fria Moderata Studentförbundet (FMSF), who have decided to attempt to break the strike. Or more accurately, to troll ordinary people trying to stand up for themselves and their families livelihoods by driving mini-buses on two of the routes.

Guest Writer: EM

FMSF were founded in 1942 by Åke Leissner, a student in Uppsala University who kept a list of the Jewish students attending classes there. A rather nasty individual, he got himself involved in other fascist organisations at the time – something which rubbed off on many of the rest of the original members, who in their first pamphlet argued for Sweden to join the second world war on the German side for the typical fascist rationales. Funnily enough, when the war began to turn, they also changed their tune and many members went on to become quite successful conservative representatives and civil servants.

In any case, the organization have kept true to this type of trolling since then, as evidenced in the name the current membership of this militantly obnoxious group have chosen for the scab route - “Almathea-linjen”. The Almathea was a ship where a group of Irish and British strikebreakers were staying during a protracted strike on the docks in Malmö. A Swedish communist named Anton Nilson bombed it and it has since been remembered as a major event in class struggle history here.

Thankfully, there are others who don’t necessarily agree with FMSF’s tactics and are planning to block the scab buses with a peaceful sit down at the starting point (1pm at Södersjukhuset today).

The cynicism of FMSF ought to be perfectly clear to anyone – extreme libertarian students provide free public transport, on the route that links two state hospitals which are falling to pieces due to underfunding, and naming the “bus route” after a boat of strikebreakers who were ‘martyred’ for the cause.Högerspökena.

Solidarity to the strikers and strike-breaker-breakers.

Update on Stockholm Kommunal strike breaking attempts:

Last Thursday a group of right wing students, Fria Moderata Studentförbundet (FMSF), tried to intimidate Stockholm’s bus-workers from striking by providing a private bus on line 3 in the city. Named the Almathea line, they were aiming to rekindle the memory of a group of strikebreakers who attempted to break a dockworkers strike in 1908 in Malmö. There is a long history of strikebreaking and intimidation of workers by the right in Sweden, especially by students associations, and it is unfortunate that this has reappeared.

Thankfully though, due to the activism of some young Stockholm residents and the Kommunal union itself they didn’t get very far – both figuratively and literally. Organised over social media, around 20 people arrived to block the blacklegging attempt at the lines starting point and on planned stopping points on the way. Irate busdrivers also drove in cavalcade with the scab bus to frustrate any plans by FMSF. Within 2 hours of the start of the action, the Almathea organisers announced that they were halting their activities on their Facebook page with a press release claiming they had made their point about freedom of action and thought, with all sense of irony evidently lost on them.

A good day for direct action, let’s hope the workers are as successful with their demands for decent working conditions from management.
 

Guest Writer: EM IMAGE: http://www.kommunal.se/