Mineworkers' march draws attention to their plight

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Workers at the Encasur mining company in Spain marched for 20 days between Andalucia and Madrid, finishing on 9 March 1999, to put pressure on the company and the government to fulfil agreements on production, redeployment, early retirement and reindustrialisation of the area. Their efforts proved successful.

Encasur is a coal-mining company belonging to the Endesa group (one of the most profitable groups in Spain) located in Peñarroya (Andalucia). Like all mining companies in Spain, it is undergoing a restructuring process that is accentuating the economic decline (ES9802245F) of an area that is economically dependent on the mine.

Workers at Encasur claim that the 1997 agreement between the government and the trade unions on the "plan for the future of coal mining" (ES9707119N) and specific provisions relating to Peñarroya have not been fulfilled by either the management of the company or by the government. The company has allegedly not met its commitments on production, redeployment, early retirement and reindustrialisation of the area. It is also said to be refusing to negotiate with the workers' representatives, who have been calling for talks for over a year. The Ministry of Industry has allegedly not fulfilled the agreements on investment in infrastructure for Peñarroya.

The workers at Encasur have responded to this situation in several ways. After numerous attempts at negotiation, they decided to take direct action. They tried to put pressure on the company by means of strikes and lock-ins at the pit, but to no avail. They sought to involve all the inhabitants of the area in the fight, urging them to join demonstrations, and received massive support because everyone's livelihood was under threat. This type of pressure also failed to produce results. The workers then protested against the position of the government by calling a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Industry and Energy in Madrid, but again without results.

Faced by what they perceived as intransigent attitudes on the part of the company and the Ministry, the workers at Encasur, who have a long history of struggle behind them, decided on a form of direct action that had been almost forgotten in Spain: the march. On 18 February 1999, over 100 workers began a march through towns in Andalucia and Castilla-La Mancha with the ultimate goal of reaching the Ministry in Madrid. Over 20 days the workers walked 400 kilometres, managing to involve trade unions, social groups and political parties and the support of the inhabitants of the towns through which they marched. On 9 March, 30 kilometres from Madrid, they called off the march because their representatives had reached an agreement of principle with both the management of the company (26 February) and the Ministry (9 March), involving a commitment to fulfil the previous agreements. The march had finally forced the company and the government to react.