Russian politics after Beslan – something brewing down below In the aftermath of the Beslan massacre President Putin has used the pretext of the fight against terrorism to abolish the direct election of national deputies and regional governors. He has also introduced other measures which are an attempt to gain tight control over the state apparatus. But he is doing this as a growing disillusionments spreads among the Russian masses. At the moment this remains below the surface, but it must emerge in one form or another at some point.
Britain: PCS challenge government attack Following the announcement of an unprecedented offensive by the government on its own employees in the civil service the PCS (Public and Commercial Services Union) is mobilising its entire membership to take the government head on.
Britain: Civil servants strike to defend jobs and services The Blair government is putting the lessons it has learned in Iraq to good use in attacking workers at home. They have unleashed a campaign of shock and awe against their own workers in the civil service.
Opel has a future – in the hands of the workers The German comrades of Der Funke issued a leaflet that was given out at the Opel factory in Bochum explaining the need for common ownership of the factories. Read the leaflet in English.
Wildcat strike at the Bochum Opel plant (Germany) - Six days that shook General Motors The wildcat strike at the Opel plant in Bochum, Germany lasted for six days. It reflected the growing militant mood of the German workers. The situation at Opel also highlights the serious difficulties German capitalism is facing. And yet suddenly after six days the workers voted to go back to work. What was behind this decision? Hans-Gerd Öfinger explains how the trade union officialdom did everything in their power to bring the strike to an end.
To the Vauxhall workers (and GM workers elsewhere) This is an appeal for the Opel workers in the Bochum plant in Germany. Download the leaflet as a PDF file.
General Motors cuts jobs across Europe GM Europe makers of Vauxhall (Opel) announced this month that they are planning to cut 12,000 workers across the continent – the equivalent to 20% of the European workforce. They are carrying through these attacks to put them back into profit.
Denmark: Massive student protests against cutbacks In Denmark, after the big student conference of September 22, the scene was set for a big day of action on October 5, the opening day of the Danish parliament. The day of action was indeed an overwhelming success, with around 100,000 students participating.
Lessons of the Asturian Commune, October 1934 70 years ago the mining and industrial region of Asturias in Spain witnessed one of the most fascinating revolutions in the history of the 20th century. During the course of 15 days men and women fought to establish a new society free of exploitation and ruled by the principles of workers’ democracy. This was the beginning of the Asturian Commune.
Netherlands: Reawakening of the Dutch working class On Saturday, October 2, Amsterdam saw what is possibly the biggest trade union demonstration in the history of the Netherlands. The workers were protesting against the government’s austerity package.
Labour Representation Committee rally in Brighton: Growing opposition to Blair in Labour Party The Labour Representation Committee (LRC) held its first rally last night at this year’s Labour Party Conference in Brighton attended by some 250 activists. This successful event marks an important milestone in the challenge to Blairism and the campaign to reclaim the Labour Party. Alan Woods was among the speakers.
Alan Woods' speech at the Labour Representation Committee rally in Brighton Alan Woods was invited officially to speak at the LRC rally. Here we provide the text of the whole speech.
Editorial statement of the Socialist Appeal on Tony Blair's speech at 2004 Labour Party congress The Blair government is facing serious difficulties. It cannot convince the trade unions that its pro-big business policies, its continued privatisation of public assets are in the interests of the working class. Brown tried to make up for this by hinting that in some way he might be “old Labour”. In reality there is no fundamental difference between the two.
Pupils, students and apprentices fight back – The struggle against cut-backs must be intensified! This editorial statement was distributed as a pamphlet in hundreds of copies at the recent student conference in Copenhagen on Wednesday, September 22.
Denmark: Big conference of pupils, students and apprentices Last Wednesday, September 22, became an historic day for the Danish student movement. Nearly 2500 young people from almost all types of educational institutions and from all over the country gathered in the KB hall to start the “STOP-NOW”-initiative, which has been called by most of the traditional student organizations. They gathered because the government, in spite of the obvious bad state of the education system, continues to carry through cutbacks.