Solidarity 119, 11 October 2007

Israel, Palestine and workers’ solidarity

When it comes to Israel/Palestine and the Middle East more generally, as with so many international issues, much of the revolutionary left prefers to compete to see who can be the shrillest “anti-imperialist” rather than seriously analysing the politics of the region from a class-struggle perspective and identifying working class forces with which they can make practical solidarity. The current leaders in the “anti-imperialist” stakes are the Socialist Workers’ Party (SWP) who are in fact so anti-imperialist that they have become positive supporters of Hamas and Hezbollah — religious...

NUJ -3,000 Jobs Cut

On Monday November 5 the National Union of Journalists are to hold a day of action — Stand Up for Journalism day — across the UK and Ireland, to highlight cuts in the media. Cuts in the media is accompanied by widespread deskilling. That undermines the ability of journalists to do proper research and serious reporting. The day of action comes as BBC staff face massive job losses — up to 3,000 which is thought to include the loss of six or seven hundred jobs in News. The NUJ BBC branch is opposed to compulsory redundancies, and has said it would instruct members not to take part in selection...

Organising Tube Cleaners

London Underground cleaners in the RMT continue to organise. About three weeks ago, cleaning staff at Morden Underground depot succeeded in fighting their management's imposition of a new 7-day a week roster, which would have allowed them no days off! The RMT cleaner rep came up with an alternative roster, where the same trains would get cleaned, but over five days rather than seven. The cleaners in the depot were solidly organised, and at a branch meeting, the day before the rosters were due to be implemented, cleaners started to organise to walk out. RMT activists from London Underground...

PCS- More action?

PCS is now in the midst of balloting its members concerning future industrial action. Members are being told that if they vote “yes” in the ballot there will be a one day strike later this year – the stated aim being to achieve the greatest impact on the media, public opinion and politicians. The one day action is to be co-ordinated with other unions if possible. Further, the sub sections of the union, called Groups (these cover a department or agency) are to take action “if there is a dispute over an issue which is part of the national campaign such as pay, redundancies or office closures”...

NUT -Pay Freeze Ballot

The NUT National Executive voted yesterday to confirm plans to ballot members to oppose the government’s planned pay limit for public sector workers. These plans will see the union ballot members in schools from 10 December 10 until January 8th with an initial strike day set for January 30. The Secretary of State for Education is due to receive the report from the teachers’ pay review body on the settlement for 2008-11 on 26 October, and usually responds within weeks. The union leadership was keen to delay any ballot until the award for 2008-11 was known to members. I proposed (and Alex Kenny...

CWU need to match bosses daring

The postal workers’ four day walk-out on 5-9 October was, once again, approaching 95% solid. More strikes are planned from 15 October, and there can be no doubt that they will be solid too. But will they be enough to win? The Royal Mail bosses have shown daring and determination — cynically using talks to demobilise the union without any intention of making concessions, then launching a series of attacks. They have unilaterally imposed changed working hours, shut Royal Mail’s final-salary pension scheme, and announced closure of militant Mail Centres such as Oxford and Reading. It is clear...

A Third Camp in Ukraine’s tussle

Parliamentary elections took place in Ukraine on 30 September; western pundits are proclaiming these may “have saved the Orange Revolution”, of 2004. The elections were an effort to resolve the political crisis in Ukraine, triggered by by President Viktor Yushchenko’s decree on 2 April dissolving parliament, after a protracted power struggle between rival blocs. One bloc is the “opposition” associated with the “Orange Revolution”, comprising President Yushchenko’s party Our Ukraine and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc (BYUt). There is no popular movement with democratic aspirations underpinning their...

A five year plan?

Alistair Darling’s pre-Budget statement on 9 October promised real wage cuts for public sector workers through to 2011, as well as choking back health and education spending and decreeing extra job cuts in the civil service, especially the Department of Work and Pensions. The statement decrees “public sector pay settlements consistent with the achievement of the Government’s inflation target of 2 per cent” right through to the financial year 2010-11. Actually, the Retail Price Index currently shows inflation at 4.1%. It has been above 4% pretty much all this year — 4.8% at one point — and is...

3rd November NHS Demo

The 3 November demonstration in defence of the NHS will be the focus for the growing tide of anger at government attacks on the health service. Local campaigns up and down the country which have organised communities the country against cuts and closures are building for 3 November. But, as ever, the union leadershi have been rather slower to act. There is however still time to organise in workplaces to get health workers out to London for the day. The provisional details for the day’s protest are to assemble from 11am on Saturday 3rd at Temple Place on Victoria Embankment (Temple Tube), then...

Labour: Making the Rich Richer

Their triumphalism has been a little chastened. New Labour politicians these days are not quite as bold as Tony Blair was when he told Jeremy Paxman on BBC Newsnight before the 2001 election that he was not bothered about a widening gap between rich and poor. “Paxman: Is it acceptable for gap between rich and poor to widen? “Blair: The key thing is not... the gap between... the person who earns the most in the country and the person that earns the least... The issue isn't... whether the very richest person ends up becoming richer. The issue is whether the poorest person is given the chance...

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