Archive for November 2004

6 November 2004

Musharraf's Hypocrisy Won't End Violence Against Women

THE NATIONAL Assembly in Pakistan has passed a Bill on 'honour killings'. It declares that anyone committing such a crime will be guilty of "intentional murder". The government says that this Bill is an historic step forward in eliminating...

6 November 2004

Ministers Paper Over Growing EU Crises

ON 29 October leaders from the 25 member states of the European Union (EU), meeting in Rome, signed a new European Constitution...

6 November 2004

Volkswagen: Workers Stage Warning Strikes

HOT ON the heels of General Motors-Opel and Daimler-Chrysler, bosses at car manufacturer Volkswagen (VW) in Germany are demanding that their workforce accept a 30% cost-cutting programme to restore the company's profits...

6 November 2004

Fourth general strike in ten months in Nigeria

FACED WITH the Nigerian government's refusal to reverse September's 25% jump in fuel prices Nigeria's trades unions and radical opposition have called another general strike on 16 November - the seventh since June 2000...

6 November 2004

End This Bloody Occupation

THE US has had a policy of not even bothering to count the number of Iraqis killed during their war in Iraq. So an independent team of researchers risked their lives to survey 1,000 Iraqi households. They discovered that the death toll throughout...

6 November 2004

Big events will shake Bush win

There is deep disappointment in Britain and worldwide at the victory of Bush in the US elections. This, however, does not justify drawing pessimistic conclusions for the future or insulting the US people, as did the Daily Mirror: "How...

6 November 2004

Is there an alternative to global warming?

NEW RESEARCH has shown that the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, as a result of burning fossil fuels such as coal and oil, has risen dramatically in the past two years...

6 November 2004

Unite Against Homophobia

DAVID MORLEY, a gay man, was kicked and beaten to death in the early hours of Sunday morning. A mixed gang of six young people attacked three sets of people during 30 violent minutes. In at least two of the three incidents, the victims were gay...

6 November 2004

Hoe Street ward by-election

THE SOCIALIST Party in Walthamstow, east London, is standing in a council by-election in Hoe Street ward on 18 November. Socialist Party candidate Louise Thompson spoke to the socialist...

6 November 2004

They Can't Bury Our Voices

AS AN active PCS representative within the Land Registry I'm personally disgusted with the way this Labour government has treated my colleagues across the civil service...

6 November 2004

Understaffed, Stressed And Under Threat

I WORK on an understaffed, stressed, Income Support processing section in Cardiff. Under the cuts plans there will be no benefit processors in the capital city of Wales...

6 November 2004

"Why I Am On Strike"

The "Pensions Crisis" - The crisis for me is that I will have to work till 65 or 70 instead of 60, possibly without those extra years' contributions being added to my benefit...

6 November 2004

For A One-Day Public-Sector Strike

ON 5 November, 300,000 civil servants, members of the Public and Commercial Services union (PCS), are striking in defence of their jobs and working conditions...

6 November 2004

PCS Striking To Save Jobs And Services

ALMOST 300,000 civil service workers in the PCS union are taking strike action on 5 November against the government's attacks on their jobs, pensions and sick pay...

6 November 2004

Arafat And The Palestinian Struggle

WHEN PALESTINIAN leader Yasser Arafat fell dangerously ill, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon was worried enough about being blamed for his death to release him from the Israeli blockade in Ramallah to be flown to France for treatment...

13 November 2004

A balance sheet on Nader's campaign

SOCIALIST ALTERNATIVE members participated in the Nader/Camejo 2004 election campaign, giving critical support to Nader's anti-war, anti-corporate, pro-health care, pro-worker agenda...

13 November 2004

We won't work till we drop

UNISON: Nominate Roger Bannister: "TWO MILLION council workers have been lumbered with a pathetic pay deal for three years, now the government is making further attacks on our pension scheme."...

13 November 2004

Film director's Murder sparks racist backlash

A SPATE of anti-Muslim and racist attacks across the Netherlands has shocked Dutch workers and youth. The attacks follow the killing, on 2 November, of the controversial film director and journalist, Theo van Gogh, allegedly by...

13 November 2004

Slovakia solidarity appeal:

THE MANAGEMENT of the Austrian based multinational Neusiedler in Ruzomberok, a town in central Slovakia, has handed out redundancy notices to workers involved in organising a new trade union...

13 November 2004

Massive vote for social change in Uruguay

OVERSHADOWED BY the US elections, voters in Uruguay ousted the country's traditional capitalist parties and voted in Tabare Vazquez of Frente Amplio (Broad Front) as President...

13 November 2004

Support Jag workers' fight for jobs

TRADE UNIONS fighting the ending of Jaguar production in Coventry have organised a mass demonstration. It will start from Coventry's Millennium Square, by the city's motor museum at 10.30am on Saturday 27 November...

13 November 2004

Organising against low pay

THE NATIONAL Union of Journalists (NUJ) organised a very successful conference on 6 November on how the union could organise a national fightback against low pay...

13 November 2004

Why the North East said 'no'

THE NORTH East of England gave a crushing 'No' vote to New Labour's plans for a Regional Assembly. The referendum's turnout was over 47%, with a massive 78% voting against. The government has since been forced to shelve plans for...

13 November 2004

Fight for your future

ISR/Socialist Students conference: With only days to go, the ISR and Socialist Student conference looks set to be the biggest yet! Our opening 'Fight for your future' rally will have speakers talking about campaigning in their workplaces, schools and colleges...

13 November 2004

Defend Pension Rights

THE FUTURE of our pensions is one of the most worrying questions for workers in Britain. People are living longer and both government and private employers want to shift the cost on to working-class people's backs...

13 November 2004

Civil Servants Strike

Birmingham: WE RECEIVED so many reports from PCS picket lines that we were unable to carry them all in the socialist. Below is a round-up of the inspiring story of the 5 November strike to defend jobs and services...

13 November 2004

Civil servants show Blair they mean business

OVER 200,000 civil servants went on strike on 5 November, against the government's threat to 104,000 jobs and attacks on pensions, pay and sick leave...

13 November 2004

Great display of solidarity

Civil servants: OVER 200,000 civil servants, members of the PCS union, were on strike on 5 November, against cuts in jobs, services and attacks on working conditions...

13 November 2004

How Could Bush Win?

Democrats’ Failure Shows Need for New Party: Tens of millions are deeply dismayed at the victory of George W. Bush and the Republicans, and are asking, "How could Bush have won?"...

13 November 2004

Big events will shake Bush win

There is deep disappointment in Britain and worldwide at the victory of Bush in the US elections. This, however, does not justify drawing pessimistic conclusions for the future or insulting the US people, as did the Daily Mirror: "How...

13 November 2004

Withdraw The Troops

AS SOON as the US elections were out of the way, the bloody assault on Fallujah began...

20 November 2004

Agenda for Change ballot masks discontent

THE NATIONAL leadership of public-sector union, UNISON can gain no satisfaction from the Agenda for Change (AfC) national ballot result. Although there was a three to one margin in favour, only 26% of Unison Health members voted to accept the...

20 November 2004

Join the Jaguar demo

27 November Demonstration: Support Jaguar workers and join the March and Rally through Coventry city centre from 10am on Saturday 27 November 2004...

20 November 2004

Protecting jobs in outsourcing deal

MEMBERS OF the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) at the giant National Savings complexes in Glasgow, Blackpool and Durham have reluctantly voted to accept the proposed transfer of 250 jobs to India...

20 November 2004

UNISON elections - nominate Roger Bannister

THE GOVERNMENT'S latest proposals on council workers' and other public sector staff's pension schemes will mean higher contributions but lower pensions, based only on basic salary and taking no account of overtime or weekend payments...

20 November 2004

Imperialism in new occupation

DURING THE US preparations for the invasion of Iraq many in the anti-war movement, including some influential voices on the liberal left, were taken in by the opposition of the French government and its diplomatic efforts to avoid a war...

20 November 2004

Palestinians mourn Arafat but struggle for liberation will continue

Obituary: Yasser Arafat: MANY PALESTINIANS will view the death of Yasser Arafat with a mixture of sadness and a wish that the Palestinian Authority he led, had done much more to end the poverty and oppression that blights their lives...

20 November 2004

NUS extraordinary conference

Defend democracy in the NUS: Opening the National Union of Students (NUS) extraordinary conference on 9 November, the chair called it "a festival of democracy". It was tongue in cheek but the irony echoed throughout the day...

20 November 2004

Childcare plans ignore real needs

SUCH IS the blurring of Tory and Labour policies that they're now trying to outdo each other over who can provide the best childcare for working parents...

20 November 2004

Pensions: "Unity in action" call

HUNDREDS OF people, packed into a TUC-organised rally in defence of pensions on 16 November, heard Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union openly call for a one-day public sector general strike in the spring...

20 November 2004

Come to ISR conference

How can we change things? This is the question many thousands of young people are asking themselves. After the invasion of Iraq, the re-election of Bush and the horrific assault on Fallujah, is it possible for us to make a difference?...

20 November 2004

Colin Powell - a dodgy dove

BUSH'S FIRST Secretary of State, Colin Powell, has resigned. Powell had significant differences with the neo-conservative hard-liners who dominate Bush's cabinet. He thought more long-term about the future of capitalism but when it came to the...

20 November 2004

Ireland: Socialist Party MP attacks Irish Government

Joe Higgins is a Socialist Party Deputy in the Irish Parliament. He made a statement in Parliament taking up the Irish government's statements that it "shared values" with the US government, after the EU summit of 4...

20 November 2004

The bloody cost of war

AFTER A six-day bloody assault, George Bush declared 'victory' in Fallujah. It is an empty victory that will come back to haunt both him and Blair. (Cartoon by Alan Hardman)

27 November 2004

Reggae and gay rights

REGGAE IS close to my heart. I run a small sound system with my housemate in Manchester and make weekly trips down to Moss Side to buy 7" 45s of our favourite artists. The style we prefer is 'conscious' reggae, which sounds a lot like older...

27 November 2004

Olympics: Who foots the bill?

YOU CAN'T move anywhere in London without seeing an advert backing the Olympic bid. With representatives from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) due to visit London next February and the final decision to be taken the following July, there...

27 November 2004

Domestic Violence: Law changes but gaps remain

THE GOVERNMENT'S Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act came into force last week. When the Bill was first announced last year, David Blunkett promised that it would be "the biggest overhaul of the law (on domestic violence issues) since...

27 November 2004

Tommy Sheridan resigns as SSP convenor

SCOTTISH SOCIALIST Party (SSP) members were stunned to learn of the resignation of Tommy Sheridan as national convenor of the party on Wednesday 10 November...

27 November 2004

Queen's speech: New Labour's terror card

THE ANNUAL fancy-dress opening of Parliament, the Queen's Speech, showed that New Labour wants to divert voters' gaze away from issues such as education and the NHS...

27 November 2004

ISR / Socialist Students conference: Fighting to change the world

THE THIRD conference of International Socialist Resistance (ISR) and Socialist Students took place on 20 November against a background of the escalating conflict in Iraq, a growing anger against the occupation and further attacks on the public sector at home...

27 November 2004

Liverpool council workers ballot for action

LIVERPOOL SOCIAL workers, members of UNISON, have been on strike for three months now. Their employer has taken a hard line with the social workers and is now making threats to the general branch membership...

27 November 2004

DWP: We need more staff not less

ALAN JOHNSON, secretary of state for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) was met by a lobby of PCS civil service union members, local trade union representatives and pensioners when he visited the new showcase Acton JobCentre Plus in west London on 22 November...

27 November 2004

Support the Jaguar workers' fight

THE DEMONSTRATION organised by the trade unions in Coventry on 27 November should be the start of a massive campaign of opposition to Ford's plans. They want to close down Jaguar's Browns Lane plant and reduce Coventry to a city of low-skilled...

27 November 2004

Ukraine presidential elections provoke protests

AS THE socialist goes to our printers, a mass opposition movement is developing in the Ukraine following last Sunday's Presidential election. Former prime minister Viktor Yushchenko, who claims to have been cheated of victory, has called his...

27 November 2004

Western hypocrisy on Afghanistan

"NINETY PERCENT of all heroin sold in Britain originates from Afghanistan. Stopping that trade is directly in our interests."...

27 November 2004

Bush's nuclear weapons hypocrisy

US PRESIDENT George Bush used last week's APEC summit in Chile to demand that 'rogue state' North Korea abandon its nuclear weapons programme. Hypocritically, he failed to call on other bellicose states such as Israel, India and Pakistan to dismantle...

27 November 2004

The ever mounting cost of war

A DATE for elections in Iraq has now been set for 30 January 2005. This is a desperate attempt to show that progress is being made. But a whole range of problems could make these elections worthless or impossible to...