The history of workers’ struggle is the history of the portion of humanity that identifies itself as being alienated from its meaning of economic production and which is subjugated by the wage labor system. It is the history of the emancipation of humankind from capitalism altogether.
Brought together by a shared interest in making visible workers’ history and labor’s current struggles, AWC in cooperation with labournet.tv, a collective and an online archive of films from labor movements worldwide, has selected a variety of films addressing current and historical working conditions, migration fluxes, and forms of self-organization.
The selected films, presented on AWC and labournet.tv channels, highlight axes of oppression that cross, situated struggles, and illustrate the interconnectedness between unprotected workers' rights, restrictions on trade union organization, and the extent of exploitation - especially of migrant and women workers.
The fourth and final chapter from the AWC’s selection on Labournet.tv highlights the ongoing struggles faced by women workers in various industries worldwide. Women continue to endure harsh working conditions, wage discrimination, and modern slavery, particularly in sectors where they are overrepresented and underpaid, such as the clothing and cleaning industries. These challenges are often exacerbated by gender-based discrimination, lack of access to secure employment, and limited legal protections. The selected films shed light on workers fighting for their rights and striving for better working and living conditions. From strikes in Paris, where immigrant women protested against unjust subcontracting practices, to global narratives of factory workers seeking independence, and the stories of refugee women in Germany battling bureaucratic obstacles compounded by racism and xenophobia, these films emphasize the critical need for corporate accountability, advocacy for gender and labor justice, and stronger protections for all workers.
The first film, Big Sweep Up in Subcontracting (2010), documents labor strikes against Accor Hotels that took place in 2002 in Paris, France. Most of the strikers interviewed are women from West African countries (Senegal, Mauritania, Martinique) who migrated to France following their partners or other family members in search of work opportunities and were hired for cleaning jobs as subcontracted labor. They strike against inhumane working conditions and inadequate pay, chanting: “Arcade Betrüger, Accor Komplize! / Arcade fraudster, Accor accomplice!”
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Fig.1
The second film, Ouvrières? (2012), is a short documentary about women workers in the clothing industry across three continents. The film highlights the exhausting working conditions, long hours, and limited prospects associated with factory labor. Despite these hardships, the majority of the women interviewed emphasize the importance of employment for achieving financial independence, self-sufficiency, and emancipation. “For me, life is impossible without a job,” one worker remarks.
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Fig.2
In the final film selected, Women in Exile and Friends (2020), labournet.tv interviews Elisabeth Ngari from the organization Women in Exile and Friends, founded in 2002 in Berlin, to explore the living conditions of women in German refugee camps. Ngari discusses the lack of job opportunities and integration policies, the precariousness of healthcare, and how bureaucracy hinders access to legal status. “People are blaming refugees, saying they are lazy, that they don’t want to work, that they come here to get social welfare. But refugees, when they arrive, most of them are not even given the opportunity to take German courses,” she says, highlighting how being denied access to the language limits job prospects and, consequently, better living conditions. Furthermore, the lack of privacy and the overcrowded state of the facilities lead to conflict, as well as sexual harassment and violence directed at women.
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labournet.tv is an online archive for films from the labor movement - old and new - from all parts of the world.
This collaboration is facilitated by Noa Jaari, Mia Ribeiro Alonso, Line Lange, and Annalisa Giacinti.
- Image Credits
Cover:WOMEN IN EXILE AND FRIENDS; Berlin, Germany, 2020
Fig. 1: BIG SWEEP UP IN SUBCONTRACTING; Paris, France, 2010
Fig. 2: OUVRIÈRES?; Around the world, 2012
Fig. 3: WOMEN IN EXILE AND FRIENDS; Berlin, Germany, 2020
