Absolutely lowest point: Optilink Solutions fires all of the strikers!

We received the following statement from the strikers at Optilink Solutions, which we are publishing verbatim (the links and English translation are ours):

“Since February 13, the entire staff of the digital agency Optilink Solutions has been on strike, following the unfair and sudden dismissal of our colleague – a dismissal whose main reason, as the management explicitly and clearly told her, was the fact that she organised collectively with her colleagues to demand some collective demands, and which took place while, as the company recently let us understand, her probationary period had finished.

Yesterday morning (24/3) we were informed by management that our employment is terminated immediately and without notice/compensation, precisely because of our strike, which they state “was not carried out within the framework of the labour legislation of the Republic of Cyprus and/or was abusive and/or illegal and/or irregular” – all of this without, of course, any court decision having been issued characterising our work stoppage in this way.

Therefore, our work stoppage is being forcefully terminated, and in the most violent way. A work stoppage that had the exclusive and declared purpose of revoking an unjust dismissal, and therefore to overturn the illegal and unconstitutional regime of threat of dismissals in the event of collective organisation imposed by the management with its actions.

We would like to point out at this point that they have brought us, that this is the first time since the beginning of this struggle that we have spoken publicly about it. We have demonstrated profound self-restraint and patience since the beginning of this situation, a situation that has deprived us of the means to live, and for the duration of which the management of Optilink Solutions bears sole responsibility. We responded promptly and in a timely manner to every request, whether it was for communication or the delivery of equipment. We accepted threats, privacy violations, and job postings for our replacement. Unlike them, we respected the privacy of the company and the house above its offices, and we did not carry out daily picketing outside, as is customary in such situations.

As we communicated with the management from the beginning, we were open to collective dialogue to end the work stoppage, but we never received an invitation to do so. Since the start of the work stoppage, we have not been invited even once to a dialogue process to end it, and this despite the fact that the communication we had with the company’s lawyers weeks ago included a commitment on their part to dialogue as soon as possible. All we received were blackmail and threats of disciplinary action, as well as police intervention if we did not hand over the equipment within 24 hours of their notification, complaints to the Authorities against organisations that support us, and police intervention in the only picket line that we carried out outside the company’s offices.

We would like to take this opportunity to publicly denounce the following. First, the Labour Relations Department, to which the dismissal of our colleague was reported directly and by name, did not consider it necessary to contact her in the context of investigating the case, and was content with the testimony of those responsible for the dismissal to conclude, according to what the company’s management told us, that the dismissal did not violate the law. The importance of the colleague’s own testimony is (or should be) obvious, given that the main reason that makes the dismissal illegal, namely the fact that she was dismissed because she organised collectively with her colleagues, was stated to her verbally and, as was planned, without any other witnesses. Secondly, since we communicated our collective demands to the company, it has repeatedly characterised our colleague who works remotely from Iran as a freelance contractor, even though during his hiring process it was stated that he is a salaried employee, which is also confirmed by the terms of employment that were communicated to him in writing. For almost a year, the company has not declared him to the Social Insurance, and since the beginning of our work stoppage it has not communicated with him at all, in order to cover, it seems, casually and haphazardly, the traces of his employment. A relevant complaint was filed with Social Security regarding the matter, but given the aforementioned stance of the Authorities, we have little hope for the outcome of this case.

In closing, we would like to express our deep appreciation to those who supported our just struggle, and made it possible for us to continue it until the end. Those who supported us in various ways, publicly and/or privately, include trade unions in Cyprus and abroad, as well as social organisations, political parties, activist groups, athletic clubs, journalists, personalities from the artistic world and a multitude of individual citizens. We are sincerely thrilled for every acquaintance and every relationship we developed in the context of this struggle, and we hope to see you all in person at the event that will take place on April 4, at Social Space Kaymakkin in Kaimakli.

Finally, we would like to express our solidarity with all the workforce struggling to protect and expand their rights, and especially with the majority of the private sector which, through no fault of the workers themselves, does not have formal union coverage – we stand with them in the fight for a better life and basic human dignity.

The (now former) striking workers at Optilink Solutions”

We, as IWW-CyROC, would also like to express our gratitude to every Wobbly colleague who contributed to this struggle in any way, and especially to the Regional Organising Committees and the Branches whose contributions to the strike fund supported the strikers for almost six weeks.

As for Optilink Solutions, since yesterday it has joined Anytime by Interamerican on the blacklist of companies that have fired our fellow workers while and because they were on strike. Those responsible for these decisions have names and addresses, and the working class has the memory of an elephant – “for they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind”.

An Injury to One is an Injury to All! Solidarity Forever!

IWW Cyprus