Bakery workers face prison for peaceful protests deemed “coercion” and “threats”

~ Cristina Sykes ~

A CNT crowdfunding campaign with the six bakery workers from Gijón, Spain, who face prison sentences for their protests against workplace abuses at the La Suiza pastry shop, has reached over 95 thousand Euro. Supported by Sofitu, the campaign has become a rallying point for militant workers who point to the criminalisation of workplace organising.

The Six were sentenced in 2021 to three and a half years in prison each, alongside a fine of €125,428, after demonstrations addressing unpaid overtime, denied holidays, and alleged sexual harassment by the bakery’s owner. The union held public rallies, distributed leaflets, and displayed banners on the street outside the business with no police intervention.

Despite an appeal, Spain’s Supreme Court confirmed last June that it is within the law to equate the peaceful pickets and informational leafleting with “coercion” and “threats.”

The crowdfunding drive has already seen over 1,500 contributions from individuals and organisations, to aid legal costs. The CNT has vowed to appeal to European courts and continue campaigning to reverse the convictions, after the government refused to reconsider the law. “We will not allow ourselves to be defeated and we will continue to stand by our comrades no matter who it may be”, said CNT General Secretary Erika Conrado.

According to a CNT legal analysis, the attempt to equate public and economic pressure with criminal “coercion” amounts to criminalising union actions the moment they become effective. “Trade union freedom cannot be limited to mere symbolic but ultimately inconsequential acts…the instruments that the constitution and the law provide to the union to defend workers necessarily entail causing harm to the employer”, said the document.