Workers' Liberty

The new issue of Solidarity is now online.

To read it, click here.

The Government has announced its intention that the pension retirement age for public sector workers should be 65.

On top of that they want to replace “final salary” schemes by “career average” schemes.

By Thomas Carolan

As the 7th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) approaches, the work of seven years of constitution-making and Dublin and London structure-building to create a new interdenominationalist power-sharing government in Belfast, is rolling down the hill.

Theodor Adorno and Max Horkheimer were unorthodox Marxist academics and German Jews.

In the early 1930s, like others of their sort who could, they fled Nazi Germany for the USA. And they reported that, in ordinary day-to-day life, they encountered more anti-semitism in the USA than they ever had in Germany.

By Joan Trevor

The government announced on Wednesday 2 February its five-year plan for benefits and pensions, including cuts in Incapacity Benefit (IB). This is a disgraceful attack on IB claimants, many of whom live in poverty. Instead of setting itself the humane goal of providing the sick and disabled with comfort and ease, the government is setting out to make the sick and disabled poorer still.

During the recent Holocaust memorial week, the following question was posed many times in the media: has humanity learned the lessons of the Nazi genocide? The question is hard to answer in sound-bites. In fact, there was very little discussion about what the lessons might be.

London Underground signal workers have voted roughly 70% in favour of a new deal over the working week, pay and job cuts. The 30% “no” vote was significant for the RMT, where going against a recommended deal is not usual.

By Daniel Randall

In March 2004, the National Union of Students conference rejected Labour Students’ bid for the NUS presidency for the first time in more than 20 years. The beneficiary was Kat Fletcher, a former support of Solidarity and Workers’ Liberty, and still a self-proclaimed revolutionary socialist.

By Janine Booth, Finsbury Park branch RMT chairperson (personal capacity)

The High Court has banned industrial action by train guards on Midland Mainline, in a case which shows the blatant class bias of Britain’s anti-union laws.

By Mike Rowley

House arrest, a form of incarceration formerly identified with Burmese dictators, has come to Britain under cover of the “war on terror”.

As with the statement put out by the Palestinian Trotskyists in 1948 (Solidarity 3/65), the main interest for present-day politics of the article reproduced below — an editorial by Hal Draper from the American weekly Labor Action (24 and 31 May 1948) — lies in the sharp contrast with what passes for Trotskyism today.

Thomas Carolan continues his series on the history of Irish republicanism

The little boy, Tommy, perhaps eight years old, watched the schoolmaster, Sean Gormley, prepare to flog his brother, Mickey. Mickey was a year or two older than Tommy, but smaller.

The work of God?

New Labour’s encouragement of religious schools is nothing new, but it was still something of a shock to discover that Ruth Kelly, the newly-anointed Education Secretary, is receiving “spiritual guidance”, as she puts it, from Opus Dei. She can’t be a proper member, because she is a woman.

Workers at the PT Sarasa Nugraha factory in Indonesia are entering their second year of a dispute over union busting.

Workers belonging to the Enterprise Level Trade Union (SPTP) attempted to negotiate higher wages at the beginning of 2004. The company’s management became increasingly uncooperative, closing the factory in February 2004.

By Paul Hampton

I visited Poland in January to learn about the reality Polish workers face and to meet socialist revolutionaries there.

By Harry Glass

The Tories’ racist scare mongering on immigration last month ignores the vital role of migrant workers in the UK. Below we present the facts about migrant workers, the harsh reality of their working conditions, and the efforts of the labour movement to organise these workers.

Peace talks have resumed between the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority. This follows a Palestinian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, although that has not yet developed into a general ceasefire. Recent actions by the Israeli government aimed at carving out territory for Israel at the expense of the Palestinian territories will undermine the talks. But Sharon’s land-grabbing policies have been met by opposition from Israelis, as well as Palestinians. Reports compiled by Rosalind Robson.

By Martin Thomas

The world has the technology to slow global warming. Because of entrenched capitalist interests, that technology is used only minimally.

By August Grabski*

On 27 January the presidents of Israel, Poland and Russia as well as the representatives of over 40 governments honoured the victims of the Nazi death camp in Auschwitz. Auschwitz is built near the town of Oswiecim in Poland. Here, during World War 2, the Nazis killed one million Jews, 19,000 Gypsies and 70,000 Poles and Russians.

By Colin Foster

Not only most of the activist left, but also much of the liberal “soft” left, denounced Iraq’s elections on 30 January as a farce.

A cartoon in the Independent (31 January) showed an Iraqi facing a ballot paper with none but stooge candidates on it — “Independent Stooge Alliance”, “Alliance of Independent Stooges”, “Stooge List”, “Union of Stooges”, etc. Many leftists support the “resistance” militias who made death threats against anyone voting.

Just before and on 27 January, the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz, part of the Polish radical left participated in small demos in a few cities (e.g., Warsaw, Krakow, Gdansk, Poznan).

By Yassmine Mather

The re-election of George Bush was followed by a barrage of threats against Iran’s Islamic Republic. In December 2004 Donald Rumsfeld told reporters he often dreamt that he would wake up one morning to “regime change” in Iran. In the same week the Wall Street Journal urged the White House to support the “new referendum” movement (a coalition in Iran ranging from Royalists to former members of the current regime calling for a referendum on the Iranian constitution).

Vicki Morris reviews Vera Drake, directed by Mike Leigh



Vera Drake is rather a slow film but interesting enough to awaken or revive interest in the history and the future of abortion rights — it sent me scurrying to the history books.

Having now completed reading the third in Sean Matgamna’s series on Iraq (Solidarity 3-63, 64 and 65), I want to return to a point he makes several times in the first of the series.

In attempting to distinguish the views of the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty from those of Labour Friends of Iraq (LFIQ), Sean makes use on several occasions of the word “Menshevik”.

The Socialist Alliance meets for probably its last conference on 8 February, from 2pm at the University of London Union, Malet Street.

Unfortunately, this event has been cancelled

Ethical fashion shows at the London College of Fashion

Two shows: 2.30 pm and 6.30 pm, Friday 25 February

at LCF, 20 John Prince’s Street, Oxford Circus

To highlight the abuse of garment workers

Sacha Ismail reviews Team America: World Police

This is the latest concoction from “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone. It is, believe it or not, even cruder than the famous TV series. You’ve been warned. If toilet humour and extreme profanity aren’t your thing, don’t see it. It is also less funny and less effective as political satire, so I left feeling rather disappointed.

By Mick Duncan

The fourth one-day strike by low paid teaching assistants in Brighton and Hove, due to happen on 6 January, was called off at the last minute as unions and the Council struck a very shaky deal.

By Peter Tatchell*

Has the left lost the plot? On a number of issues sections of the left have abandoned the principles of universal human rights and social justice.

Over a number of years I have done solidarity work with Zimbabweans struggling for democracy, socialism and human rights. They have not had much support from the mainstream left.