Solidarity 268, 12 December 2012

Climate talks fail, alternative needed

The irony should not be lost. The irony of holding the latest round of climate talks in the desert in Qatar, which has the highest per capita emissions of any state as well as an appalling record on workers’ rights. The UN 18th annual climate change conference in Qatar was an abject failure, which no amount of spinning can disguise. The World Meteorological Organisation reported a new high of 390 parts of CO2 per million in 2011 — the planet needs 350ppm to meet the 2°C increase target most scientists believe is necessary to avoid the worst consequences of climate change. Even a new World Bank...

Workers key to real development in Congo

Jonny Keyworth reports on workers’ struggles in war-ravaged Congo. “History will one day have its say, but it will not be the history that Brussels, Paris, Washington, or the United Nations will teach... they will teach in the countries emancipated from colonialism and its puppets... a history of glory and dignity”. These are the words of the first Congolese Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, who led a nationalist movement against Belgian colonial rule. At the ceremony for the handing over of power Lumumba declared (whilst the Belgian King and his entourage sat nervously in the front row): “We...

Fight Sheffield early years cuts

On 4 December, Sheffield City Council announced a “redesign” to Sheffield’s Early Years services (including both public and voluntary sector nurseries and children’s centres). This will mean cuts in front line provision serving 9000 people in Sheffield, reducing the 36 sites to 17 "areas", the removal of statutory funding to 16 voluntary sector services, the effective removal of funding for one and two year olds across Sheffield, and at least 150 redundancies. These changes are based on a review of Early Years in Sheffield published around nine months ago, which has had no subsequent...

Barnet against Capita

On Thursday 6 December around 50 Barnet residents took over a committee room in Hendon Town Hall for an hour, and ran an impromptu residents’ forum. Tory Cabinet members were forced to adjourn to another room to do their work. We were protesting at their decision to grant a contract to outsourcing giant Capita to run a large chunk of services for 10-15 years, under the Council’s “One Barnet” privatisation programme. The contract, worth £320-750 million, will entail around 500 staff, currently delivering services such as revenues and benefits, transfering to Capita employment. Around 200 jobs...

NCAFC conference takes real steps forward for campaign

The student activist coalition National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts held its national conference at Birmingham Guild of Students on 8-9 December – its fifth since it was founded in February 2010. About 120 student activists took part – by no means small considering the time of year and the sectarian in-fighting which took place at January’s conference in Liverpool. A big majority of those present were independent left students, in addition to groups from Workers’ Liberty, the Socialist Party, the SWP and Socialist Action. That the latter two groups had again come with a sectarian agenda was...

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