Angriffskrieg gegen die Ukraine und Gewerkschaften

Am 29. September 2023 fand ein Kolloquium der SGB-Kommission für Internationales statt. Eingeladen waren u.a. der Ukrainische Gewerkschaftsbund FPU (Oleksander Shubin) sowie die Ukrainische Botschaft in der Schweiz (Andrii Briuchenko).

Oleksander Shubin (hier im Bild während einer Live Schalte bei SGB Kongress von 2022) erzählte wie auch unter den Bedingungen des Krieges, respektive dem Kriegsrecht, gewerkschaftliche Arbeit in der Ukraine möglich ist und unterstützt werden kann.

Im Folgenden dokumentieren wir einen aktuellen Aufruf der ukrainischen Gewerkschaften, den wir prinzipiell unterstützen. Kritisch ist jedoch, dass hier pauschal z.B. russische GewerkschaftsvertreterInnen von internationalen Netzwerken ausgeschlossen werden sollen, ganz gleich, ob Sie nun den brutalen, völkerrechtswidrigen Angriffskrieg Putins kritisieren oder einfach nur weil sie RussInnen sind.

Below we document a current appeal by Ukrainian trade unions, which we support in principle. However, it is critical that Russian trade union representatives, for example, are to be excluded from international networks across the board. Regardless of whether they criticise Putin's brutal war of aggression, which violates international law, or simply because they are Russian. Such a generalisation is ultimately the spirit of unspeakable nationalist thinking.

Appeal

From the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine to the Trade Unions, Parliaments, and Governments of Democratic Countries, International Partners, and International Organizations:

The new year of 2024 in Ukraine began with horrific massive Russian missile attacks on the sleeping, peaceful cities of Ukraine. In total, only during the holidays from December 29, 2023, to January 2, 2024, Russian forces killed 90 civilians during the missile attacks. In only 5 days, Russia launched 500 missiles and UAVs at residential areas, businesses, hospitals, educational institutions, and cultural heritage sites in Ukraine. Every day, residents of our peaceful cities die at the hands of Russia, with hundreds of people injured and acquiring disabilities. We are forced to live and work in a state of permanent stress and anxiety. Today, Ukrainians are paying a high price for freedom and  for peace in Europe.

The Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine, as the voice of Ukrainian workers – miners, metallurgists, energy workers, teachers, doctors, entrepreneurs, and others – draws attention to the need to take decisive measures to protect Ukraine and to deter the intentions of the aggressor country Russia from rewriting international law and redrawing the map of modern Europe.

We appeal to the governments of countries and the international community to speed up the provision of military aid to our country, including the provision of additional air defense systems, long-range missiles, drones, etc. International partners, by providing weapons, save thousands of lives during missile attacks by Russian troops.

We also call on international partners:

To continue providing economic and humanitarian aid to Ukraine.

• to strengthen sanctions against the terrorist regime of Russia, as this can significantly limit the financial resources and export of technology necessary for the continuation of the bloody war.
• to ensure the possibility of using frozen Russian assets to direct them to help Ukraine.
• to isolate and remove from work in international organizations Russian political, public, and trade union figures, as representatives of a country that carries out terrorist activities against sovereign, independent Ukraine and its citizens.

We call on representatives of the international and European trade union community to call  the governments of your countries to continue providing humanitarian aid and military aid to Ukraine.

We would like to thank everyone who supports and provides assistance to Ukraine in this difficult time for the Ukrainian people.

We believe that joint efforts will help stop Russian aggression, which is not only destroying Ukraine, but also undermining economic, energy, ecological, and food stability both in Europe and around the world.

Mykhailo Volynets, Chairperson of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine.