Speaker 1: On this dam working class history.
Speaker 2: The thirteenth of January and on the thirteenth of January
Speaker 2: nineteen forty eight miners in Cyprus employed by the US
Speaker 2: owned Cypress Mining Company CMC walked out on strike against
Speaker 2: inhuman and extremely dangerous conditions. The workers demanded pay increases,
Speaker 2: overtime pay on Sundays, recognition of a Labour Dispute's committee,
Speaker 2: repairs to workers homes, and the rehiring of fired workers.
Speaker 2: Around four thy three hundred miners, asbestos workers and construction
Speaker 2: workers both Greek and Turkish, walked out together with the
Speaker 2: support of most of the local working class, but the
Speaker 2: British colonial government, the Church, and the SEK Union Federation
Speaker 2: were united against the strike. The government sent police against
Speaker 2: the strikers, while the Church denounced quote communist anarchy end quote,
Speaker 2: and the SEK attempted to recruit scab replacement workers, claiming
Speaker 2: quote better twelve hours of blue than eight hours of
Speaker 2: red end quote, meaning it's better to work twelve hours
Speaker 2: a day in a right wing place than eight hours
Speaker 2: a day in a left wing one. On the third
Speaker 2: of March, police opened fire and striking miners injuring many
Speaker 2: in protest at the shootings. A national strike took place
Speaker 2: on the sixth of March, and workers took to the
Speaker 2: streets with placards written in Greek and Turkish saying things
Speaker 2: like bread not bullets and double your contribution to the strikers,
Speaker 2: encouraging more donations of money and supplies to the workers. Eventually,
Speaker 2: the workers were victorious, and they ended up winning more
Speaker 2: collective agreements being established or strengthened, pay increases, reduced hours paid,
Speaker 2: overtime paid holidays, safety improvements, better healthcare, and a new
Speaker 2: system for adjusting pay in line with the cost of living.
Speaker 1: The sources maps and all of our anniversaries each day.
Speaker 1: Check out the on this Day section of our stories
Speaker 1: at at stories Stopworkingclasshistory dot com, and if you value
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Speaker 1: class history. Links in the show notes the music by Decado.
Speaker 1: See you tomorrow.