Despite pressure from both unions, including the IWW, and the Cypriot government, unionizing employees of Anytime, a subsidiary of the Dutch insurance giant Achmea, were fired this month.
Eight Fellow Workers were fired while on strike against Anytime, a subsidiary of Achmea Holding N.V. The strike came on the heels of the firing of a fellow Wobbly and failed negotiations between the company and workers, who were represented by the Pancyprian Federation of Labor and the Cyprus IWW.
Anytime workers began unionizing in January of 2022 after the company had illegally altered workers’ contracts. Union busting followed, with the company demoting, firing, threatening, and abusing employees.
After nearly a year of refusing to bargain with workers, Anytime agreed, under pressure from the Cypriot Ministry of Labor and unions, to meet for negotiations in February. The company refused to negotiate in good faith, however, and fired the Wobbly (and union steward) without warning in early March. Sympathetic co-workers immediately went on a solidarity strike for a month until they too were fired by Anytime.
Calls for the rehiring of the fired workers by both unions and the Cypriot Ministry of Labor have so far been ignored by the company. Representatives from Interamerican, the parent company of Anytime, and Achmea have urged the Cyprus-based company to disregard calls to rehire the workers and refuse to reenter negotiations.
A union worker who was fired called the situation “literally unprecedented.” Both the Cyprus government and trade unions have sued Anytime for breaching Cypriot labor laws.
The Dutch IWW calls on Achmea to acknowledge the union, reenter negotiations, and rehire our Fellow Workers. International solidarity is the most important tool we have and, in this era of international supercorporations, the only way to stick it in the boss’s eye! Solidarity Forever!