New edition
Workers of the World
Volume 1 – Number 12
December 2023
This edition of Workers of the World is entirely dedicated to The Role of Women in Workers’ Struggles and Social Protests: Historical and Contemporary Explorations. In it, Geert Van Goethem writes on the importance of the women’s movement in Aden’s (Yemen) national liberation struggle in the mid-twentieth century; Marianna Haug reflects on the legal framework of domestic labour from the theory of social reproduction; Giovanny Simon Machado analyses social rights from the Soviet propaganda present in Brazil between 1950 and 1964; Anna Paraskevopoulou discusses the contribution of women tobacco workers to the Greek labour movement during the interwar years; Vassilis T. Georgakis examine women’s collective action during the period 1915-1916 on the issue of the cost of living and food shortages.
Paula Varela’s article inaugurates a new section of translated articles in the journal, originally published in other languages and which we publish in English. In it, the author proposes a reflection on social reproduction struggles under neoliberalism from the point of view of Social Reproduction Theory.
On the eve of the 6th International Association on Strikes and Social Conflicts Conference to be held in Cape Town, South Africa, 5th-7th February, with the generic theme Strike Activity in the 21st Century: Implications of the Recent Global Upsurge, the Workers of the World journal is proud to integrate a network of reflection on the subject of the conflicts grounded on the class struggle, of the strikes as a meaningful expression of the workers’ struggle. We’re certain that the 6th Conference will be a success that will bring together academics and social activists in the essential debates that make ASSC a milestone in the emancipatory thought and practices.
With a renovated graphic layout, a new website and a reinforced editorial team, the Workers of the World already has online the calls for papers for the two editions foreseen in 2024. We invite all our readers to submit text proposals on the subject of Strikes, Social Conflicts, and Class Struggle in Wartime and Strike Activity in the 21st Century: Implications of the Recent Global Upsurge
João Carlos Louçã
in this edition…
Vassilis T. Georgakis
Food Scarcity and Women’s Collective Action during the First World War: The Case of Greece, 1915-1916
The period 1912-1922 was a turning point in the history of the Greek state. The three consecutive wars it participated in (Balkan Wars 1912-1913, First World War 1917-1918, Greek-Turkish War 1919-1922), the National Schism which divided Greek society, the disastrous end of the Asia Minor campaign (known as the Catastrophe) and the exodus of 1.5 million Christians from Anatolia, completely changed the character of Greek society compared to the 19th century. As the country entered the Interwar period, new motifs emerged: statism, the intensification of the conflict between labour and capital, and the entrance of women into the public sphere. In this article we will examine women’s collective action during the period 1915-1916 on the issue of the cost of living and food shortages, and the way in which they contributed to the shaping of the Greek Interwar period.
Anna Paraskevopoulou
Women Tobacco Workers in the Interwar period in Greece
This article discusses the contribution of women tobacco workers to the Greek labour movement during the interwar years, a period characterised by significant socio-economic changes. Challenges such as the influx of refugees from Asia Minor who constituted cheap labour in 1922, the introduction of modernised methods of processing tobacco, and the gradual decline in demand for high-quality tobacco affected industrial relations at the time. Consequently, the period was characterised by a strong response from the tobacco labour unions, with a dynamic presence of women who fought for better work conditions, equal pay, and rights at work. The article concludes that more research on individual biographies is needed to better understand how women’s activism evolved during this period and its role in the development of the women’s movemen
Paula Varela
Women Workers at the Heart of Social Reproduction Struggles: Theoretical Debates and Political Battles
This article proposes a reflection on social reproduction struggles under neoliberalism from the point of view of Social Reproduction Theory. I divide the article into three parts. The first defines Social Reproduction Theory as a critical theory of capitalism that focuses on the contradictions inscribed in the reproduction of the labour power under capitalism. The second part addresses what we mean by social reproduction struggles, distinguishing three types of social reproduction struggles that allow us to highlight the strategic position occupied by women workers, who guarantee life. The third part proposes a reflection on social reproduction struggles as a space of articulation between the powerful women’s movement (and other social movements) and the labour movement, where we could democratically debate our right (as a life-work class) to settle the conditions of our social reproduction.