Sex strike and Dombostaking: that’s how the rest of the world protest
For some days, Zaventem airport has been the battlefield of Aviapartner and its employees. 1 out of 5 flights remains on the ground with a departure hall full of victims. Are there no alternatives to such a strike? Of course, it is! In these original ways they crossed the rest of the world.
Sex as a weapon
The power of sex cannot be underestimated. They already knew that in ancient Greece, the well-known comedy Lysistrata by Aristophanes tells the story of a woman who was tired of the long Peloponnesian war and decided to make peace. She convinced all the women of Athens not to have sex with their men until the war was over. The result: the other halves closed a diplomatic plan like the lightning with their arch-rivals from Troy, after which the peace returned.
Although this is only a legend, sex strikes have already proven their strength in real life. In 2003, the Liberian Leymah Gbowee was determined to call a halt to the civil war in her country. She, too, urged all women in the country to call a halt to bedtime with a cease-fire as a result. Gbowee won a Nobel Peace Prize and even helped the country to become the first female president of Africa: Ellen-Johnson-Sirleaf.
Boss-napping
If you stop, do it decently. With that philosophy in mind, many French trade unionists decided to close their boss in his office at the beginning of this century. The concept was simple: nobody left the room before there is an agreement on the table. And that worked: in the lion’s share of business, the strikers and the management reached consensus after a few hours of negotiations.
In 2009, however, President Sarkozy stuck a stick in the wheels of the French strikers. “We are a law state. I cannot allow such things,” he sounded strong then an official ban imposed. Yet the majority of the French people always sympathized with the kidnappers. Their firm approach ensured that the impact on the population and the economy remained limited. The bosses were also well taken care of. At a boss napping in the company 3M in Pithiviers even a portion of mussels and fries was cited for the detained man.
The power of free
No strike as annoying as that of public transport. You miss your appointments with the necessary frustrations at the stop or on the platform as a result. In Okayama, Japan, bus drivers chose a different approach in May this year. Just like on any other day, they picked up the passengers with a smile at their stop. The catch: they did not let the passengers pay for their ticket. So, there was no euro in the drawer at the bus company, but everyone got nicely at his destination.
Dombo’s striking circus
In the dream factory of Walt Disney there is sometimes unrest. In 1941, halfway through the creation of animated film Dombo, the artists abruptly laid down the work. The wages were too low and the trade union had too little say in the company. The campaign would last five weeks in which no elephant was put on paper. When Walt eventually accepted their requirements, the animators did not finish the film.
If you look at Dombo today, you can still find a souvenir of that eventful five weeks. The moment the clowns put down the work and “go to the boss for storage” is a small nod of the makers. The appearance of the clowns would even be based on the leaders of the protest action.
