Workers Solidarity Movement

Students assembled just before 12pm today in Maynooth to join lecturers and other staff at the National University of Ireland NUI Maynooth on the picket lines for a number of hours.. Solidarity pickets were placed on both North and South campuses of NUI Maynooth.

From before 8a.m. this morning, members of the Irish National Teachers Organisation were on the picket line outside the Department of Education and Science in Dublin’s Marlborough Street, alongside Special Needs Assistant colleagues, members of IMPACT, and workers based in the DES building itself, members of SIPTU, CPSU and PSEU.

Strikes took off across Cork city and county this morning as workers took direct action to stop the Government's attack on wages and conditions.

In Kinsale the Further Education College (FEC) and the secondary school were picketed for several hours this morning. I was unpleasantly surprised to find out that the social welfare office is privatised and so was running as normal today.

Friday 6th November saw tens of thousands of workers marching in Dublin as ICTU called protests took place in 9 cities across Ireland against the government attempts to make workers pay for the capitalist crisis.

Over the June Bank Holiday weekend dozens of people traveled from all over Ireland to Erris to join locals in ongoing resistance to Shell's project of imposing an experimental gas pipeline on the local community.

The long running struggle in Erris (Rossport) against Shell's attempt to impose an experimental gas pipeline on the local community has once more errupted in recent days with the arrival of the Solitaire to attempt to bring the pipeline to shore. In his article Erris: Community in Struggle against Shell WSM member Sean Mallory details the latest events following the resumption of construction. Here we provide background articles on the struggle and a focus on the events of last Summer and Autumn which culminated in Shell having to halt construction over winter.

What has happened in Erris over the past two weeks is unprecedented in the harassment by security forces (both private and state) and the fight back by the community is astounding and inspirational. Sean Mallory having spent time in mayo recently outlines the main events over the past two weeks.

A day of Action has been called by Mayo Shell to Sea. The community after putting up fierce resistance to Shell's attempts to restart work are now asking you to join them in a day of protest. The protest assembles Glengad 18-00hrs on Saturday May 9th for more information see (http://www.indymedia.ie/article/92183)

Following on from the occupation of the Waterford Glass plant in February which managed to save some of the jobs and improve redundancy conditions workers in Belfast at Visteon occupied their factor last week. With plant closures happening across the island both these occupations provide an example of workers taking direct action to preserve jobs and/or force employers to improve on redundancy conditions. Here we present reports from WSM members from these occupations and background articles.

That the very threat of a national strike was enough to force government and IBEC to change their position demonstrates the power the working class holds when we threaten to withdraw our labour. For all the media attempts to convince us we are powerless and that class struggle is a thing of the past when faced with the reality of the organised working class standing up both bosses and state were keen to avoid any confrontation that could illustrate and encourage our collective power.