In Britain, members of the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) at Network Rail – the body which runs most of Britain's railway network – have voted to accept an improved pay deal, secured thanks to months of determined strike action. But the threat of attacks on jobs and conditions still looms. Workers must remain vigilant and fight for nationalisation.

Following backroom negotiations with Tory ministers, union leaders in Britain are recommending acceptance of a paltry pay offer for health workers. Grassroots members should mobilise to reject this deal – and demand fighting leadership and militant action.

The SNP has a new leader, following the sudden resignation of Nicola Sturgeon. Her departure has revealed all the cracks within the party, which is increasingly falling apart. Workers and youth must fight for a Scottish Workers’ Republic.

Since the beginning of the year, there have been more strikes in Germany than for a long time. First the postal workers, then the public sector workers, and now the rail workers have taken action. The reasons for this are obvious: economic crisis, massively increased prices and the real wage losses of the last few years. On 27 March, a major strike is taking place, organised by ver.di (Germany’s second largest union) and the railway and transport union (EVG). This will involve bus and train drivers, as well as motorway and airport workers. Note:...

On March 17-19, the editorial board of Marxy.com (Arabic website of the International Marxist Tendency), alongside supporters of the IMT in the Middle East and North Africa region, organised an online Marxist Spring University. It was extremely successful, both in regards to its high theoretical level, as well as the number of sign ups, with 254 people registering!

A major corruption scandal, involving the head of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and members of the European Parliament, came to light at the end of 2022. All allegedly received bribes from the Qatari and Moroccan regimes, in exchange for cleaning up the country’s image in advance of the 2022 World Cup. An investigation by the Brussels daily Le Soir uncovered the scandal, leading to the arrest and later sacking of ITUC General Secretary Luca Visentini. He previously stepped aside in December, having spent only a few days in the role.

The situation has gone from bad to worse for the world’s financial markets. After three bank collapses in the US and one in Switzerland, the markets are looking for the next weak link.

Yesterday’s mass demonstration in France brought the struggle against Macron to new heights. For the past two months, the movement (triggered by a new attack on pensions) has been intensifying. Government officials were hoping that everything would be back to normal by the weekend, counting on the movement to fade away after Thursday’s demonstration. They were wrong. Yesterday, 3.5 million workers and youth flooded the streets of most cities in France, as the strikes and protests took on a decidedly more militant mood.

The takeover of Credit Suisse (CS) by UBS exposes the massive instability of the global financial market. It is an expression of the rottenness of the world capitalist system. As always, while the bankers gamble away, the working class has to pay.

Wellred Books is pleased to announce a new edition of Leon Trotsky’s Writings on Britain. Out of print since the 1970s, this republication will be a much-needed weapon in the arsenal of revolutionaries around the world. This new edition brings together all of Trotsky’s works related to Britain from 1906 to 1940, originally released in three volumes, into one single book. It also features a new introduction by Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal and author of the books Chartist Revolution and In the Cause of Labour: A History of British Trade Unionism. Click here to order your copy!

On 15 March, the Netherlands held provincial elections, which once again led to a shift in Dutch politics. These elections were a litmus test for Mark Rutte’s government and the ruling parties, which have taken a beating.

The French government’s use of Article 49.3 of the constitution to force through Macron’s pension reforms without a parliamentary vote on 16 March marked a turning point in the development of the struggle. The bypassing of the National Assembly is rightly seen by large layers of the population as an insult and a provocation too far.

This week’s episode welcomes Jules Legendre, a leading comrade of Révolution, the French section of the International Marxist Tendency, to discuss the developing situation in France concerning Macron’s hated pension reforms.

The hypocrisy and double standards could not be more glaring as the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant against Putin on the 20th anniversary of the beginning of the United States’ imperialist invasion of Iraq.

From 17-19 March, hundreds of comrades from Socialist Appeal (British section of the International Marxist Tendency) met for this year’s national conference. The mood was one of optimism, enthusiasm, and dedication, with a laser focus on the task ahead: to build the forces of Marxism in Britain and beyond.