Croatia: students and MASA against Broadway cinema

Report from Croatian anarcho-syndicalist group MASA about a protest against the exploitation of students and workers in the Broadway cinema.

Submitted by Iskra on July 25, 2009

On the evening of Friday, the 24th of July, students – ex-workers of Broadway cinema in Split – organized a protest, because the management of the Broadway cinema didn’t pay them their full salaries for April, May and the June. Ten people have gathered in the front of the cinema’s entrance with the banner “Bojkot kina” (eng. The boycott of the cinema). They also had leaflets that advocated the people to boycott the cinema, because of humiliating and exploiting workers. After 20 minutes, the security has shown up, and the students moved away so that they don’t have trouble with security. This was only the first protest of warning to management of the cinema.

Mateo, the member of MASA’s local group from Split, said: “The management hasn’t reacted the way we wanted, so the actions will repeat soon”.

The Network of Anarcho-Syndicalists (MASA) has connected itself with Split’s students after their first statement for the media. MASA also made an interview with 3 workers from Zagreb, who have also been treated same way (just a few years ago!).

MASA sent an email to the management of the Broadway cinema on Wednesday, 22nd of July demanding them to pay full salaries to students/workers (in Zagreb, the workers are included) within the next 3 days. Their reply to our e-mail was:

Dear,

We suggest You before yours “unsparing propaganda campaign” to check the statements of your clients. You haven’t asked us nothing, of course, and you are just threatening us, but the Students’ service has all the data about our “debts” to students, so check that out.

(Explanation: Students’ service is an institution where students must take out their contracts if they want to work. Students’ service also stands as the mediator between the bosses and the students/workers and students get their paychecks from them.)

We are sure that the purpose of your existence is not only to “revolt” and make noise, but it’s to protect the rights of socially threatened population, but, also, you can be punished for spreading the untruths and making damage to the reputation of business subjects.

Issa

Audiovizualna zabava d.o.o.

(Siniša Vidović)

Since the only answer of the management should have been, but isn’t paying full salaries to the workers/students, this kind of answer is just an attempt of retraction, and hiding the real problem. Also, this is an attempt of shifting responsibility from one institution to another institution. As far as we know – Students’ service has made a law suit against Broadway cinema, because they claim that Broadway cinema is their “biggest defaulter”.

We would like to remind people that this is not the first case of such treatment of the workers and students in Broadway cinema. In August of 2008th MASA fought against the same cinema because they didn't pay our member and his fellow workers. We won this battle and all of them got their deserved salaries.

We from the MASA are very happy that our comrades from FAU have helped us in this action with their e-mail to the management. FAU also has similar problems in Germany, since they are running the campaign against the Babylon cinema. Good luck comrades in your fight!

International Secretary of MASA
sec.international[at]masa-hr.org
http://masa-hr.org

Comments

akai

14 years 8 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by akai on July 25, 2009

Send the information about who to send faxes and emails to; surely more people will send them.

If you can have some people at the cinema with leaflets on a daily basis, the campaign will be more of a pain for the management.

Good luck!

Iskra

14 years 8 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Iskra on July 25, 2009

Thank you for "good luck" thing :)

We are aware that this action should be on a daily basis, I hope that comrades from Split will do that.

Also, we are translating article wrote by our member about this situation. It will be uploaded here soon.

akai

14 years 8 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by akai on July 26, 2009

Send contact info for the management so we can write a nasty letter.

Iskra

14 years 8 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by Iskra on July 26, 2009

Just write on international secretary email, and I'll give you information there.
I don't want to use libcom for such actions.

MT

14 years 8 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by MT on July 27, 2009

Are you in some way also trying to fight the student agency? I would say they share their responsibility as well, and I think you suggest that too in your text.
Anyway, good luck and much strength!

AES

14 years 8 months ago

In reply to by libcom.org

Submitted by AES on July 28, 2009

http://masa-hr.org/content/odrzan-prosvjed-protiv-kina-broadway

Dear Mr./Mrs.,
we were very sorry to hear that you have not paid your workers and that you exploit students in such a humiliating way. We, the Freie ArbeiterInnen-Union (FAU) Betriebsgruppe Babylon Berlin, denounce your behavior and demand that you pay your workers. We strongly support our comrades from MASA, and we will keep an eye on you and your cinema. Also, we will inform our members, friends, families and fellow citizens about your behavior in Croatia.
Yours, FAU Working Site Group Babylon Mitte Berlin

Good luck in your fight