Workers Solidarity Movement

The new Croke Park deal is a vicious attack on the pay and conditions of all Public Sector workers and their families by the Government. Shamefully our Trade Union leaders have allowed it to tear up an existing agreement that was due to run until June 2014 and have agreed to another one, which is significantly worse.

The Croke Park Extension (CPX) represents an all-out assault on the pay, pensions and conditions of employment of teachers. It is the latest attack on workers whose pay has been cut by 14% - 30% since 2008. CPX reverses many gains made by teachers, that took decades to achieve.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013 is the official first day of production under workers control in the factory of Viomichaniki Metalleutiki (Vio.Me) in Thessaloniki, Greece. This means production organized without bosses and hierarchy, and instead planned with directly democratic assemblies of the workers. The workers assemblies have declared an end to unequal division of resources, and will have equal and fair remuneration, decided collectively. The factory produces building materials, and they have declared that they plan to move towards a production of these goods that is not harmful for the environment, and in a way that is not toxic or damaging.

Occupy, Resist, Produce!

“We see this as the only future for worker’s struggles.”
Makis Anagnostou, Vio.Me workers’ union spokesman

Last week, Anti-Fascist Action (AFA) recieved news that Neo-Nazi, Niko Puhakka was to compete in a MMA bout in Dublin. After AFA got the word went out on social media (which was then spread by the WSM, Rabble, LookLeft and others), and email campaign ensued and fight promoters Celtic Gladiator pulled Puhakka from the line-up. The following interview was conducted with AFA's Morry Donnelly, just before that news broke.

Europe's wall of shame has been completed in Greece's northeast ground border with Turkey. The wall is four-metre-high and is blocking a 10.365 meters-long strip of land from army guarding post of Kastanies down south to river Evros. The name of the company constructed the wall on behalf of the Greek state is DAGRES A.T.E ( ΔΑΓΡΕΣ Α.Τ.Ε).

A successful and productive meeting of pro-choice campaigners took place in Dublin city centre Saturday, 8th December 2012. Over 200 people came together in the Gresham Hotel to start building a new campaign for abortion rights in Ireland.

Anti-choice groups have been engaged in a protracted campaign of spreading FUD (Fear - Uncertainty - Doubt ) ever since the tragic fact of the death of Savita Halappanavar after she was refused an abortion in Galway hospital emerged.  Because they know that it is too soon for them to be seen to attack her husband Praveen for his courageous public stance they have focused on attacking those supporting the families demand for a change in the law.  

One tactic has been to suggest that pro-choice groups found out about the death in an underhand manner.  A smear that last weekend's Sunday Independent disgracefully republished - despite being informed of its false.  This morning Galway Pro-Choice issued the press release that follows which demonstrates not only that it was Savita's friends and family who initatied contact and that GPC then went though a full range of possibilites with them including not releasing the story of what had happened at all.

We are publishing the following interview with David Harvie of the new English group "Plan C" carried out by Shift Magazine earlier this year. This interview has since been republished on Plan C's new website (www.weareplanc.org) launched this week. But we thought that although the interview is specifically addressed at political actors in England and the UK, the arguments over Austerity (Plan A) and a possible "New New Deal" or neo-Keynesian "Plan B" are also relevant to Ireland, where today organisations like Claiming Our Future are campaigning to build support for an Irish Plan B. We think the following is a useful contribution to that debate. Reprinted with permission from David Harvie.

A Civil Rights march from Coalisland to Dungannon was organised on Sunday 26 August 2012 to commemorate a similar demonstration 44 years earlier and to highlight existing abuses. The march finished in Anne Street, Dungannon with speeches from Councillor Barry Monteith, Rev Fr. Raymond Murray and IWU trade union representative Gareth Mackle. 

On Monday we provided the first report & video of the secret Shell convoy that had left Dublin port with a massive police escourt late Sunday night. This turned out to be the start of a week of frantic activity as the Convoy was tracked across the country and then subject to repeated blockades as it neared Erris.  Whether because of this pressure or not on near its final destination the convoy missed a key turn with the main truck and its load of 160 tons jacknifing on a tight turn and starting to slide into the roadside bog.  With a massive mobilisation of Garda and private security Shell finally dragged out the truck Friday. The report that follows gives an account of the final day, you will find moment by moment reports of the rest of the resistance during the week on the WSM Facebook page and WSM Twitter.