Solidarity 193, 16 February 2011

Cops against cuts?

A small Twitter storm recently erupted over potential demonstrations by the police against job cuts, and whether the left anti-cuts movement should join in. There seems to be some confusion going on, and some outright naivety. People can refer to police strikes of 1918-19, and state that revolutionaries need to win over cops (probably true). But this is not a revolutionary situation, or even close. It’s not a case of police beginning to join in with a serious class struggle, who need to be won over to our cause to stop them from shooting us. It’s not even a serious attempt at self-organisation...

Learning disability and the right to a sex life

I’m a social worker currently working in a learning disability service. On reading about the recent case of Alan, a man with an IQ of 48 banned from having sex, I reflected on how people with learning disabilities in our society are either over-protected and infantilised or ignored and left to fend for themselves. State restrictions on people with learning disabilities (defined as having an IQ under 70) and other vulnerable adults are sometimes necessary but problematic — forced sterilisation of women, etc. With an IQ of 48 Alan would be defined as having a moderate Learning Disability (LD)...

This is what the Big Society looks like

David Cameron’s “Big Society” big idea is in trouble. Its critics say it is too vague, little more than a cover for cuts. And there is too little money in the pot to finance the “voluntary sector” and “community involvement” projects the government want. Cameron was moved to answer his critics in a “big speech” on Monday 14 February. “Big Society” is not cover for cuts, insisted Cameron, because I’ve been “passionate” about this idea for years. But it seemed like little more than repackaged conservative politics. Conservatives (and Thatcherite Blairites) have long said they want to break up...

Not so left platform in NUS

Following the tremendous events of November-December 2010 and the revolutionary uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, you might have thought that the self-proclaimed representatives of Britain’s student left would have be bold when it came to their electoral platform for NUS conference. In fact, the text is so soft that almost anyone in NUS (barring perhaps student Tories) could agree with it. It avoids explicit formulations around free education or taxing the rich, preferring the less radical slogan “no cuts, no fees”. It does not mention workers, class struggle, anti-capitalism, socialism or...

University battles

Students in all sectors continue to fight against education cuts. Updates from the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts: http://anticuts.com Hull The occupation is ongoing. The main focus at Hull is the Student Union election campaign. We’re running on a platform of building a union to fight cuts, linked up with the workers’ movement. The occupation is having a big impact on campus. Management have agreed to joint negotiations with the occupation and the UCU, around the occupation demands and the UCU’s pensions dispute. The SU Council passed a motion supporting the occupation, but some...

What sort of expert is this?

However capitalist-minded and ruthless the International Monetary Fund is, at least it knows what it’s doing? According to the IMF’s own independent evaluation office, which published a report on 9 February, not so. “As late as the summer of 2008 [just a few weeks before the great financial crash of September 2008], the IMF’s management was confident that ‘the US has avoided a hard landing’ and ‘the worst news’ [was] ‘behind us’... “The IMF’s [perception] was hindered by a high degree of groupthink, intellectual capture [i.e. deference to the bankers whose dealings it was supposed to be...

Migrant workers on hunger strike in Greece

On 25 January around 300 migrant workers in Athens and Thessalonica began a hunger-strike to demand “legalisation”. The majority of them travelled to Athens and occupied a section of the law department at Athens University, but that occupation has now ended. Most of the migrants come from north Africa and have lived and worked in Greece for years. However, after losing jobs, these workers have now also lost residence and work permits. The number of undocumented people in Greece has grown since the economic fall-out and now stands at half a million. This is an extract from their statement: “We...

A mixed message for Berlusconi

Sunday 13 February saw anti-Berlusconi protests across Italy. The latest scandal to hit the premier centres on allegations that he paid for sex with a 17-year-old, a criminal offence, and more broadly on his now-notorious “bunga-bunga” sex parties. Focused on the rights of women, Sunday’s demonstrations sought to link the case to broader anger about sexism in Italian society. But their politics were vague. The demo in Florence (where I live), which attracted around two thousand people, featured a range of slogans on mostly home-made placards. “If not now, when?” was probably most popular, and...

Egyptian workers' organisation: "we still need international solidarity"

Tamer Fathy is the International Coordinator of the CTUWS : "There are many workers on strike - at a Swiss garment company in Suez, at Orascom telecommunications, at the central hospital in Helwan, in public transport, in the Cairo metro company, and in many other industries. I'm not sure how this will develop. The strikes are strong because workers have been raising their demands for a long time, since before the revolution. The main demands are higher wages, for temporary workers to get permanent contracts, and for prosecution of the corrupt leaders of the 'official' unions. "Beyond that, we...

The London Underground jobs dispute in perspective

Now that London Underground's job cuts are a reality, is there any prospect for pushing management back on the tube? And how could the dispute have been fought differently? This article is longer than the version that appears in the printed paper. Despite widespread opposition from workers and passengers, London Underground (LU) went ahead with cutting hundreds of station staff posts on 6 February. The new rosters are in now; the cuts have become a reality. LU announced its job cuts last March. RMT's London Transport Regional Council had seen these cuts coming and already had a campaigning...

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