Solidarity 327, 11 June 2014

Their class war and ours

Ideas for Freedom is the annual weekend of socialist discussion and debate hosted by Workers' Liberty. The theme of this year's Ideas for Freedom is “Their class war and ours”. We will be looking not just at how the working class can defend and reorganise itself in the face of a determined capitalist assault, but how the left can put the very concepts of class, class struggle and a socialist alternative to capitalism back on the political agenda. That will be the theme of the opening plenary at 12 noon on Saturday 5 July. What other ideas will be discussed at the event? Renewing the labour...

South Africa: The “bleeding that means death”

In January this year around 70,000 members of the South African Association of Mineworkers and Construction Union (AMCU) downed tools at mines run by the world's top three platinum producers — Anglo American Platinum, Impala Platinum and Lonmin — to demand that their basic wages be more than doubled to 12,500 rand a month. A recent attempt to return to work ended in four deaths as conflict broke out at Lomin offices in Marikana, the latest in a string of violent incidents surrounding the dispute. To say (as some commentators have) that their strike has reached a critical point is misleading to...

Challenging the ANC's neo-liberalism

Mzwamdile Tshofela is a chair of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) branch at the Mercedes Benz plant in East London, Eastern Cape province. He is also a member of the global Works Council [employee-employer consultation body] for Mercedes Benz’s parent company Daimler. He spoke to Solidarity on 23-25 May during the Labour Start conference in Berlin. S: We have heard about NUMSA calling on the Confederation of South African Unions (COSATU) to break with the ANC governing party, can you tell us a little bit about that? MT: This is a hot debate within South African...

How the rich live

For once the Guardian (on 7 June) contained a useful article which asked: what can a week sat in an inner London courtroom tell us about the condition of British society? A parade of poor people, many accused of micro-scale shoplifting or petty theft, passed through the court. Mamadu earns £200 a month as a cleaner. He was caught on camera taking a small amount of money from his employer’s office because he did not have the fare home. He is embarrassed and humiliated. Bshart admits stealing £6 worth of condoms. He is addicted to alcohol and heroin. Now he will have £5 a week deducted from his...

Labour needs a new leader, and not one of the usual suspects

After Labour’s abysmal showing in the Newark by-election, which closely followed on its poor showing in the European elections, it is becoming increasingly clear that the party faces defeat yet again in the 2015 general election. That would mean another five years of Tory rule, something which would be a disaster for working people in this country. There’s considerable discontent and unease in Labour’s ranks, and disappointment at Ed Miliband’s role as party leader, making the question of who should lead Labour into the election a crucial one. Yet there are very few good suggestions. Tony...

Solidarity with Lambeth College strikers!

Picket lines in Brixton and Clapham remained strong this week, as teaching staff at Lambeth College continue their strike. Wednesday 11 June and Thursday 12 June will see Unison members strike alongside their brothers and sisters in the University and College Union (UCU). College workers are striking against a contract brought in by the college from April for new staff only, which will mean they work longer hours, will work during the traditional college holidays, and will have less sick pay. UCU members began an indefinite strike on 3 June. Students have received text messages telling them to...

Unison to discuss pay fight

The Local Government sector conference of public sector Unison takes place on 15-16 June in Brighton, with the union’s National Delegate Conference immediately following from Tuesday 17 June to Friday 20 June. Workers’ Liberty members and supporters will be in attendance as delegates and observers, distributing our bulletins and fighting for greater democracy and more focused industrial militancy across the union. The conference gives delegates an opportunity to discuss strategy for the ongoing pay fights in Local Government and Health. In Local Government, Workers’ Liberty members will argue...

11-day strike at Tilbury docks

A small group of workers at Tilbury docks, Essex, launched an 11-day strike on Thursday 5 June, against management plans to introduce zero-hours contracts. The workers, who are employed by Swedish-owned SCA Logistics, also struck for 48 hours in May but say bosses haven’t budged. Unite officer Jane Jeffery said: “If management is allowed to have its way, we will be turning the clock back 50 years to the bad old days when you had to rely on the tap on the shoulder to see if you had work for the day in the docks.”

Lutte Ouvriere fete 2014

The annual fete organised by the French revolutionary socialist group Lutte Ouvriere in grounds in a village near Paris drew large crowds again this year on 7-9 June. LO has organised this fete at the Whit holiday weekend, first at Meriel and then at Presles, and it draws between 20,000 and 30,000 people each year. LO offers other revolutionary socialist groups the facility to run stalls and forums at the fete. Workers' Liberty ran a stall and a forum this year, as we (or our forerunners) have done almost every year since the early 70s. The fete included many food and drink stalls, children's...

The politics of the “Russian Spring”

Apologetics, if not outright support, for the forces of political reaction and oppression have become a hallmark of sections of the socialist left in the two and a half decades following the collapse of the Soviet Union. The “rationale” for such an abandonment of basic socialist principles is rooted in a bogus “anti-imperialism”, according to which any force in conflict with “imperialism” (defined solely as: the USA and/or the European Union) is automatically presumed worthy of some degree or other of support. Now the “anti-imperialist” left is well advanced in repeating the same ‘mistake’ in...

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