In Slovakia, a day of comprehensive strike action by workers of the Transport Company of the City of Kosice (DPMK) on Tuesday, February 14, brought the city to a standstill. The strike was organized by trade unions and saw the participation of nearly all the workers of the DPMK, who protested underfunding of the company by city authorities and demanded an increase in wages and job security.
Following the strike on Tuesday, transport authorities and city councilors were forced to enter into negotiations with the trade unionists. During the negotiations following the strike, it was agreed that there would be an increase of 15% in the wages paid to transport workers and that the city council would consider the allocation of more funds to the DPMK by March 2023. After the negotiations, the trade unionists withdrew their demands for an additional strike on Wednesday and stated that they would wait for the fulfillment of the agreements reached at the negotiations.
DPMK workers—especially drivers and other support staff on buses, trams, and trolleybuses—have also been calling for fairer contracts and increased job security.
The Communist Party of Slovakia (KSS), Confederation of Trade Unions of the Slovak Republic (KOZ SR), and left-wing groups such as Socialisti.sk and VZDOR, among others, have publicly supported the strike and workers’ demands.
In a statement released on February 14, Socialisti.sk noted that the “DPMK employees have been warning about problems for a long time and today’s strike did not take place from evening to morning. On January 11, the DPMK unions declared a strike alert and the management didn’t even bother to find out what was going on in their business.”
Artur Bekmatov, leader of Socialisti.sk, demanded “an end to the financial malnutrition of a transport company.” “The workers are not just asking to keep their jobs and a raise in the context of inflation. They are fighting for all Kosice citizens,” he added.
The Kosice municipal committee of the KSS also expressed support for the workers of the DPMK.
