A historic day for the feminist strike of the 8th of March

Mar 09, 2018

Tens of thousands of women have supported the strikes called by the Trade Unions and have taken part in the mass demonstrations that have been carried out in the Basque Country, within the mobilizations called by the feminist movement for today, the 8th of March, International Women’s Day. All of ELA’s offices were closed, coinciding with these strikes, during the morning from 11 am to 3 pm and in the afternoon, from 6 pm to 10 pm.

Leire Txakartegi, ELA’s gender policy manager, has given a positive valuation to the development of the day, and has underscored the support to the strikes and the important participation of women in the different mobilisations launched by the feminist movement for today.

Txakartegi underlined the fact that ELA has enthusiastically supported this feminist strike which is not a normal strike: “We want to go beyond improvements in working conditions and to question the capitalist, hetero-patriarchal system itself that is leading us to a situation of structural inequality in the different areas of our lives”.

She pointed out that the strike has influenced all the work carried out by women, including care work, since “this system does not work without the work and contribution we, as women, contribute in the productive and reproductive area, in the work centres and at home”.

Txakartegi denounced the job insecurity and the wage gap suffered by women, particularly in female-dominated sectors.

She reminded people that last year, women in the Bizkaia old peoples’ homes “were the stars of the day. This year they have handed over the relay baton to women in general.

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