Workers Solidarity Movement

In the wake of this week's violent eviction of a squat in London, the state propaganda offensive is in full swing to intimidate and criminalise any opposition to the their savage anti working class agenda. Their divide and conquer strategy has been given an added boost by the organisers of this Saturday's march in Belfast city centre.

Today's Irish Times IPSOS poll results show the marginalisation of the catholic hierarchy and the anti choice movement. Both bodies have thrown everything they can into opposing the proposed legislation for the X case and rolling back the growing public support for wide access to abortion. The poll also demonstrates just how far behind the people are the political class when it comes to the issue.

The questions and the percentages are below

1:Do you approve of the legislation? Yes - 75%, No - 14%.

The ‘Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2013’, published by the government on Thursday last (23^rd May) is a clear attempt to bully public sector workers into voting for the re-hashed terms of the Croke Park II deal emphatically rejected by them just a couple of weeks ago.

The media charm offensive has began as our local corrupt political class roll out the the red carpet to the notorious gang of eight, dealers of austerity, state terror and imperialism.  The beautiful tranquil lakes of Fermanagh will be turned into a ring of steel’ with security fencing extending for miles protected by an army of professional thugs and watchtowers to keep the rest of us plebs at bay.

Members of the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) have voted by a massive 91% in favour of industrial action up to and including strike action if the government moves to cut their pay via legislation.  This huge vote is a clear statement by the union’s members that No means No, that their rejection of the so-called ‘Croke Park extension’ deal must be respected by both government and the union’s leadership and that they are ready and willing to take action to prevent the imposition of paycuts.

Dublin City Council have new by laws to permit officials to interrogate members of the public as to how they are disposing of their rubbish.  When the councils started charging for waste disposal years back numerous people refused to pay, the councils then withdrew their collections and ultimately the service was privatised. At the time of the introduction of a fee for rubbish collection some environmentalists argued it was a good thing that would lead to greater recycling and lower waste production. The councils began charging for recycling also of course. Whilst the campaign against the bin tax ultimately ended in failure, many people for economic reasons simply opted out of the waste disposal system, there was an increase in illegal dumping, using of street litter bins and burning of domestic rubbish.

A Dublin anarchist bookfair meeting at which two speakers - Milton Sánchez Cubas (President of the Celendin Interinstitutional Platform (PIC), a network of 40 grassroots organisations from Celendin Department of Cajamarca, Peru) and Aida Julieta Quinones Torres (a member of the Environmental Committee for the Defense of Life which monitors the socio-environmental impact of the La Colosa mine, in the department of Tolima, Colombia) –looked at the impact on their communities of exploitation by mega-extractive multinational corporation and explained how they organize to face this threat

Members of the 3 teacher unions – INTO, TUI and ASTI – have begun a ballot for industrial action which, if agreed, “will be triggered in the event of government proceeding unilaterally to impose salary cuts or to worsen working conditions.”     INTO members will vote at meetings to be held across the country this coming week while ASTI and TUI members are voting by postal ballot with a closing date of 20^th May.

Anarchism in Barcelona in the lead-up to the 1936 Spanish revolution.  This is the audio and video of the  talk given at the 2013 Dublin anarchist bookfair by Chris Ealham (author of 'Anarchism and the City: Revolution and Counter-revolution in Barcelona, 1898--1937')

300,000 public service workers may shortly be forced to strike, something that may very well transform the potential for radical politics in Ireland.  The purpose of this Open Letter is to provide information for activists who are not working in Public Services in order to explain the importance of the No vote to Croke Park. It is important in terms of the general struggle against austerity and we want to suggest some ways you can help make sure this fight is won, in particular by coming to a discussion of just that on Wednesday 8th May at 7.30 in the Teachers Club. (RSVP on Facebook)