Workers Solidarity Movement

The week before last Erris fisherman Pat O'Donnell was jailed for seven months for his part in the communities ongoing resistance to Shell's attempt to impose an experimental gas pipeline on them. Across the country local Shell to Sea groups have been holding solidarity protests and other events for Pat. In Dublin this has included two protests and a public meeting in UCD. Meanwhile Shell have been forced to admit a temporary defeat in the face of local opposition and call off the construction they have planned for Glengad this year.

Over 50 Shell to Sea campaigners gathered at the Shell head quarters in Leeson street Dublin Tuesday evening to protest at the jailing of 52 year old Erris fisherman Pat O'Donnell for resisting Shell's experimental gas pipeline. Pat received a seven month sentence which has the added benefit for Shell of taking his boat off of Broadhaven Bay for the period they need to carry out major underwater construction work and repairs. Pat has twice previously been arrested and held without charge when Shell has needed to carry out work in the bay.

Public meetings to be held in Cork and Dublin this week will pose the question of how the legacy of U.S. imperialism has impacted on the catastrophe visited on Haiti in the recent earthquake.

January - February 2010 Edition of the Workers Solidarity freesheet.

PDF of Workers Solidarity 113 Web Edition 2.3 Mb

Trade Unionists betrayed by leadership

Women and children attacked
Climate change – the business connection
Noam Chomsky visits Ireland
Thinking About Anarchism: Anarchism and Human Nature
A People’s Historian - Howard Zinn
That's Capitalism

Although the period in the run up to Christmas is generally a quiet one for political activity, WSM members were busy in their unions organising for the national public sector strike of November 24th last, and there are extensive reports of our members’ experiences that day at http://www.wsm.ie/story/6241. We were also involved in the budget day protests outside the Dáil on December 9th. While the initial battle may have been lost, we realise that the resistance to attacks on working conditions, both in the private and public sectors, and to attacks on public services will be a long one.

The Raybestos Manhattan Corporation moved to Ireland in the mid-70s. A campaign opposing their operations began almost immediatly. It was a long and protracted struggle that eventually ended in victory. This article examines the campaign against the mulitnational and the lessons that can be learned from it today.

Anarchist Organisation Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) has described the leaders of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Public Services Committee as “traitors who have connived with government to attack the wages and conditions of trade union members”, and has called on workers in all unions to unite and organise to “reclaim ownership of the trade unions and get rid of the traitors”.

The cancellation of the December 3rd strike is a blow to the developing movement against the cuts on the scale of the cancellation of the March 30th strike at the start of the year. The so called compromise ICTU have been negotiating for is a further blow, it seems designed to drive a wedge between workers and fails to answer the main problem public sector workers have, the inability to take further cuts. But the strike that did happen on 24th November has brought 250,000 workers into their first experience of the power we collectively hold and points towards an alternative

On the 24th of November something extraordinary happened. Some 250,000 workers acted together in a day-long strike against the public sector wage cuts planned by the government. The vast majority of these workers had never gone on strike before, yet across almost all workplaces the strike involved 90% or more of those working.

WSM member Gregor Kerr was on Liveline prior to the 24th November strike. This is an audio recording of what he said and the responses it drew from other callers,