Following from our earlier postings from Trade unionists, health workers, independence supporters and community activists and from Socialist Democracy (Ireland) (http://republicancommunist.org/blog/2020/03/26/fighting-the-covid-19-pandemic/), we are posting two further statements on the Covid19 pandemic, the first from Dumfries TUC , the second from SNP Socialists. 1. Dumfries TUC Co19 Statement
STEVE HEDLEY APPEAL – Finsbury Park branch, RMT
Steve Hedley, an officer with the RMT in Britain has used frank and direct speech to describe what the Tory Prime Minister is and what he represents! This has resulted in an attack on him, led by The Sun newspaper, and his suspension by the Union’s executive which caved in to the demands of the…
CONCERTED CLASS STRUGGLES IN FRANCE
This article on the ongoing class struggles in France was first posted by Socialist Democracy (Ireland) CONCERTED CLASS STRUGGLES IN FRANCE Following months of Yellow Vest protests last year against fuel tax rises during which President Macron had to partially retreat he then switched his attentions to the public sector, launching his…
THE HEALTH WORKERS’ STRIKE, THE IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS AND STORMONT
This article about the healthworkers’ strike in Northern Ireland was first posted by Socialist Democracy (Ireland) THE HEALTHWORKERS’ STRIKE, THE IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS AND STORMONT Around 25,000 health care workers including nurses, social care staff and support services are taking industrial action to defend a health service which is widely accepted…
ITALIAN DOCK WORKERS SHOW SOLIDARITY WITH MIGRANTS
The election of the national populist and racist Five Stars and Northern League government has led to a surge in state and far right in attacks on migrants in Italy. The following article by Karel Ludenhoff, an Amsterdam-based labour activist, is about the heartening response from Genoa dockworkers to attempts by desperate migrants trying to…
BRIAN HIGGINS – A PERSONAL AND POLITICAL TRIBUTE
Communist, Republican, Trade Union Militant, Scottish Internationalist, Glasgow Bear 9th February 1941 – 2nd June 2019 __________ BRIAN HIGGINS A PERSONAL AND POLITICAL TRIBUTE Brian made a big impression upon whomever he met. Nigel Jeffrey, who encountered him on the picket line during the 1984-5 Miners’ Strike wrote, “Brian Higgins stands out…
IRISH NURSES AND THE FAILURE OF SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP
We are posting two articles from the Socialist Democracy (Ireland) blog addressing the nurses’ struggle for improved pay and a better health service in Ireland. The second goes into the underlying problems faced when unions embrace a partnerships with the state and employers in a time of economic crisis. 1.SQUARING THE CIRCLE Government and…
A STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF BRIAN HIGGINS, BLACKLISTED BUILDING WORKER
A STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF BRIAN HIGGINS, BLACKLISTED BUILDING WORKER Brian Higgins, a militant in the building industry, first in UCATT and later in UNITE, has been taken into hospital. Brian has been the most blacklisted worker in the UK. For many years before he would have retired, he was unable to get…
THE ENIGMATIC GILETS-JAUNES
Mike McNair of the CPGB (Weekly Worker) has written a critical analysis of the Gilets-Jaunes protests in France. He suggests that the politics stemming from this movement could move both Right and Left. THE ENIGMATIC GILETS-JAUNES We have just seen the ninth weekend of gilets jaunes (yellow vests) protests in France. Numbers were slightly up…
REMEMBERING THE WOBBLIES
Eric Thomas Chester, is author of The Wobblies in Their Heyday (a history of the Industrial Workers of the World during its most vibrant period, the World War I era ) and Yours for Industrial Freedom (an anthology that provides insight into the IWW as it really was based on letters introduced by the prosecution during the 1918…