Archive for August 2013
1 August 2013
2 August 2013
2 August 2013
Stop real-terms pay cuts demand local government Unison reps
On 24th July, Unison's northwest local government service group executive met for the first time since Unison's national acceptance of a 1% pay increase
5 August 2013
Bedroom Tax: Neighbours form ring of steel
Mirror article reports how local community tries to stop eviction of foster care mum in Kirkby, Merseyside.
5 August 2013
Thousands march at Leeds Pride
15,000 people march in Leeds to celebrate Pride and oppose cuts
5 August 2013
Defend Stafford Hospital against administrator's plans
Hundreds of Stafford shoppers queued to sign the Socialist Party's petition on 3 August in opposition to the administrator's decision to butcher parts of the town's hospital
5 August 2013
Reflections and sycophancy - Kinnock versus the socialist Liverpool council
Present day Labour councillors are bedevilled by calls to emulate the 1980s Liverpool 47 surcharged councillors who refused to carry out Thatcher’s cuts
5 August 2013
'Sports Direct hear us say, zero-hours - no way!'
Fifty protesters gathered outside the Oxford Street branch of Sports Direct in central London on Saturday 3 August to demand an end to zero-hour contracts.
7 August 2013
Solidarity with Dublin bus strike
Socialist Party (Ireland) TD Joe Higgins and MEP Paul Murphy support the strike action being taken by SIPTU, NBRU and TSSA Dublin Bus workers. See report on socialistparty.net
8 August 2013
Zero-hour workers speak - protests continue
"Zero-hour contracts leave you at the mercy of your employer. No guaranteed hours, no sick pay, no holidays." Join the protests!
9 August 2013
RMT bike workers announce 48-hour strike
Transport union RMT yesterday confirmed a 48-hour strike by Serco Barclays bike workers after a 100% vote for action
9 August 2013
Churchill Cleaners' landmark victory
Churchill Cleaners working on the Tyne and Wear Metro system have secured a major victory at an Employment Tribunal after the RMT union took up their case
10 August 2013
Capitalism - a system in crisis
The Case for Socialism
We say there is an alternative to endless misery. Today, more than ever before in human history, enormous wealth, science and technique exists which could, if properly harnessed, easily provide all of
10 August 2013
No to austerity - for a party for the majority, not a tiny elite
No to Austerity
The great recession was not caused by a bloated public sector but by the worst crisis of capitalism in 70 years
10 August 2013
Can the unions 'reclaim' Labour for the working class?
Reclaim the unions
There are others who think that the road to solving the crisis of working class representation is to reclaim the Labour Party
10 August 2013
For councillors who fight cuts
Labour councils across the country are graphically demonstrating the pro-capitalist character of Labour
10 August 2013
For workers' representatives on a worker's wage
Socialist Party members who stand for public positions, such as MPs and councillors, including for TUSC, are committed to taking only the average wage of a skilled worker in the area they represent
10 August 2013
What is the socialist alternative?
The Case for Socialism
If the uncollected taxes of the super-rich and big corporations were collected, the deficit would be virtually wiped out at a stroke
10 August 2013
Nationalisation under democratic workers' control
We support taxing the rich and big corporations, but we also recognise that the 'markets' - that is capitalism - will never meekly accept dramatically increased taxation and regulation
10 August 2013
Socialism - the answer for humanity and our environment
The policies outlined above are only a few of the first steps towards constructing a new type of society
10 August 2013
For a twenty-four hour general strike
However, the working class is potentially the most powerful force in society. Worldwide the working class today is a larger part of the population than it has ever been, far larger than it was 160 years
10 August 2013
A million young people in Britain are unemployed. Millions more are under-employed, stuck in insecure, zero-hour, minimum wage jobs
10 August 2013
Is a democratic socialist transformation of society possible?
The capitalists try to argue that a socialist government could only come to power by force. This is a red herring
10 August 2013
What went wrong in Russia?
The degeneration of the Soviet Union into a brutal dictatorship - albeit one based on a distorted form of planned economy - has been used to argue that socialism is doomed to failure
10 August 2013
Socialism would extend democracy
A genuine socialist government would not be dictatorial. On the contrary, it would extend and deepen democracy enormously
10 August 2013
If you agree with this short pamphlet, then join the fight for socialism - join the Socialist Party. The struggle for socialism needs your talents and abilities
10 August 2013
Socialism Today: The Socialist, the weekly paper of the Socialist Party, is a vital tool for all activists, trade unionists, workers and young people, writes www.thesocialist.co.uk.
10 August 2013
The Case for Socialism
Introduction: When the Sunday Times first published its annual Rich List in 1989, the combined wealth of the 200 richest people in Britain was £38 billion (£80 billion in today's money).
In 2013 it had increased to £318.2 billion. Prolonged economic crisis has meant growing impoverishment for the majority but it has not halted the enrichment of a few at the top of British society...
12 August 2013
Court awards £49,000 to Defend the Four
Employment tribunal dealing with the Unison leadership’s illegal banning of the ‘Socialist Party Four’ from office issues judgement on what compensation Unison has to pay
14 August 2013
Winning a reprieve from the bedroom tax
After a long and stressful process, I have finally received a letter from North Tyneside Council giving me a short "reprieve" from paying the bedroom tax for the remaining year of my student daughter's course, writes Lynne Sample
14 August 2013
Seattle: Socialist challenge to corporate Democrats
Kshama Sawant
On 6 August, Socialist Alternative candidate Kshama Sawant won 35% (42,908 votes) of the vote in the primary election to contest a seat on the city council in Seattle, north west USA, Socialist Alternative reports from the USA.
14 August 2013
At Sports Direct, Boots, Buckingham Palace, Wetherspoons, even for the government, zero-hour contracts are becoming widely used, writes Helen Pattison, London Socialist Party.
14 August 2013
Tunisia: Mobilise to bring down the government
Since the murder of the left-leaning leader Mohamed Brahmi on 25 July a cascade of mass protests, including a general strike on 26 July, has shaken every corner of Tunisia
14 August 2013
Defend the Four: Tribunal compensation award to Unison activists
‘The Unison Four’ (from r to l) Onay Kasab, Glenn Kelly, Brian Debus, Suzanne Muna , photo by A Hill
On 9 August, after six tortuous years, an employment tribunal dealing with the Unison leadership's illegal banning of the 'Socialist Party Four' from office issued its judgement as to what compensation Unison would have to pay, writes Glenn Kelly, Unison (personal capacity).
14 August 2013
Postal workers ballot for action
The Communications Workers Union (CWU) has decisively rejected government plans to privatise Royal Mail
14 August 2013
RMT members working for Serco, which operates the London bicycle hire scheme ('Boris Bikes') started 48-hour strike action on 12 August, writes Rob Williams.
14 August 2013
Swansea council pay attacks angers workers
Swansea's Labour-run council has angered workers represented by the Unison union after it decided to press ahead with imposed pay cuts
14 August 2013
Football and big business: time to reclaim the game
At the start of the new football season, the same old robbers are wrecking the game. Since the outset of the Premier League, over 50 clubs have gone into receivership, writes John Reid.
14 August 2013
Stepping up the fight against austerity: The Socialist Party is asking every member if they can increase their subs (membership dues) to help improve our resources to fight for an end to the cuts, a new workers' party and a socialist solution to the economic crisis, writes Naomi Byron, Socialist Party finance department.
14 August 2013
When a byelection came up in the Penyrheol ward of Caerphilly we knew we had to stand and give local people a working class alternative to Tory austerity policies and the failure of Labour and Plaid Cymru to mount any sort of resistance to Westminster's cuts agenda, writes Jaime Davies, Caerphilly TUSC byelection candidate.
14 August 2013
The Mill: A change from the usual TV
Channel 4's The Mill makes a change from the usual TV. Here we have a glimpse into the lives of working class teenagers forced to work in the cotton mills of the north west, writes Pete Watson, Nottingham.
14 August 2013
Hunt attacks NHS staff and patients
Unison staff at Pinderfields hospital strike, photo Iain Dalton
Patient groups and health workers' organisations are shocked by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt's recent statement that to set minimum staffing levels for hospitals would be 'artificial' and may jeopardise the need to 'protect NHS budgets', writes Jackie Grunsell.
14 August 2013
Protest at the Tory Conference in Manchester
March and Rally - Sunday 29 September
Assemble at Liverpool Road, M3 4FP, 11am
Marching to a rally in Whitworth Park
14 August 2013
Reflections and sycophancy: Kinnock versus the socialist Liverpool council
Liverpool city council's struggle in 1983-87 for more funding from the Thatcher government was an inspriation to workers, photo Dave Sinclair
Present day Labour councillors who are carrying out Tory government cuts are still haunted by calls to emulate the example of the Liverpool 47 councillors who refused to carry out Margaret Thatcher's cuts in the 1980s, writes Tony Mulhearn, Former Liverpool 47 councillor.
14 August 2013
What recovey? Pawnbrokers and loan sharks proliferate , photo by Photomontage The Socialist
The media is lauding an economic recovery. Whether there is one and whether it has substance is discussed in the articles below.
14 August 2013
Successes, failures and stalemates: A week in the life of a trade union rep
Glynn Doherty represents one of the large trade unions working mostly in the public sector. He recently gave the Socialist an insight into a week in his working life
14 August 2013
Come to the Socialist Party Summer Camp
Programme of events and activities, including: World in turmoil - a Saturday evening report from the discussions at the European school of the Committee for a Workers' International by the Socialist Party general secretary Peter Taaffe.
14 August 2013
What We think: For a tiny few at the top Britain is really booming. When the Sunday Times first published its Rich List in 1989, the combined wealth of Britain's 200 richest people was £38 billion (£80 billion today). By 2013 it had increased to £318.2 billion
14 August 2013
Shut down the town! Self-appointed administrators have announced plans to reduce services at Stafford District General Hospital (DGH) and facilities in surrounding towns
14 August 2013
South Africa: Limpopo WASP launch
On Wednesday 3 August the Sefateng Stadium in Atok was filled with revolutionary workers' songs. More than 700 people had come to the stadium to launch the Workers and Socialist Party (WASP) in Limpopo, writes Meschak Komani, DSM, South Africa.
14 August 2013
London Olympics legacy - one year on
Who can forget the tremendous excitement of last year when Usain Bolt, Mo Farah, David Weir and Jessica Ennis scorched around the track, of Michael Phelps and Ellie Simmonds in the pool and Bradley Wiggins winning gold in the cycling time trial? Chris Newby, London Socialist Party, writes.
14 August 2013
Zero tolerance for zero-hours!
Youth Fight for Jobs outside Sports Direct, photo by Ian Pattison
Zero-hour contracts have hit the headlines with a bang. One million workers - more than four times as many as previously thought - are on zero-hour contracts, writes Ian Pattison, Youth Fight for Jobs.
14 August 2013
Met finally apologise for G20 death
The London Met police were recently forced to make a grovelling apology over the killing of Ian Tomlinson, writes Paul Callanan.
16 August 2013
Zero-hour contract protests in Leeds and York this Saturday
Youth Fight for Jobs (YF) activists in Yorkshire will be holding protests against zero-hour contracts this Saturday, 17th August, with protests outside Sports Direct in Leeds and York at 12 noon
16 August 2013
Zero-hours protest at Sports Direct HQ
Youth Fight for Jobs protested in Shirebrook, a North Derbyshire, home to Sports Direct's headquarters and distribution centre
19 August 2013
Egypt: Hundreds dead as military tries to consolidate power in blood
Millions across the world have been shocked by the killing of hundreds of mainly unarmed people in the Egyptian military’s brutal clearance of the two pro-Morsi camps in Cairo.
19 August 2013
On 16 August 1819, 20 workers were killed and 500 injured at St Peter's field in Manchester.
19 August 2013
What is behind new tensions over Gibraltar?
Rajoy and Cameron governments distract attention from domestic crisis with new flaring up of tensions over Gibraltar
19 August 2013
One year after the Marikana massacre
On 16 August 2012, at Marikana, a bloody line was drawn in South Africa's political sand when police shot dead 34 workers and wounded 78
19 August 2013
Zero-hour contract protests at Sports Direct and Primark
Youth Fight for Jobs campaigners target zero-hour employers in Plymouth city centre
19 August 2013
Debating zero-hour contracts on Radio Five
I cannot even plan to go to the pub, so I cannot even start to imagine having responsibility for children while holding a zero-hours contract
19 August 2013
Support the FBU - end scab recruitment
Fire authorities have been trying to recruit a scab labour force to undermine potential strike action by the Fire Brigades Union (FBU)
20 August 2013
Fighting mood at meeting to defend Whipps Cross Hospital
Over 100 people attended the meeting to defend Whipps Cross, photo Neil Cafferky
Standing room only as over 100 people attend packed public meeting, called by Waltham Forest Unison Health branch, to defend Whipps Cross Hospital
22 August 2013
TUSC to stand in Fleetwood byelection
Ray Smith will stand for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalitionin the town council byelection in the Rossall ward of Fleetwood, Lancashire on 26 September
26 August 2013
Coventry postal workers set to strike
Postal workers at Royal Mail's Coventry North Delivery Office will be taking 24-hours of strike action on Tuesday 27 August
27 August 2013
Bank holiday weekend strike by London Overground workers
Transport for London (TfL) is threatening the safety of 70 million London Overground rail passengers a year
28 August 2013
No one crosses Royal Mail picket line - except managers
Workers at Royal Mail's Coventry North delivery office took strike action on Tuesday, over the way management treats them
28 August 2013
Manic Street Preachers take legal action against EDL
Last month news emerged that the Manic Street Preachers are taking legal action against the English Defence League (EDL) for using one of their songs to promote an upcoming demonstration
28 August 2013
Helicopter disaster: Four North Sea oil workers were killed on 23 August when a Super Puma helicopter ditched onto the sea off Shetland
28 August 2013
Unison: Tiny margin against Scottish local government strike
Unison members in Scottish local government have voted by a very narrow margin not to strike over pay
28 August 2013
Coventry postal workers fight bullying management
Postal workers at Royal Mail's Coventry North Delivery Office went on 24-hour strike on 27 August, writes a postal worker.
28 August 2013
Film review: Elysium - an 'allegory for class warfare'
Elysium - an 'allegory for class warfare', Co-production of Media Rights Capital and TriStar Pictures
Elysium is a dystopian sci-fi action film starring Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. It follows the story of Max da Costa, a factory worker living in the ruins of Los Angeles in the year 2154, writes Brettros, CWI Austria.
28 August 2013
Exhibition review: Lowry's one track vision
The exhibition "Lowry and the painting of Modern Life" at Tate Britain (until 20 October) has quite a rich collection of Lowry's work depicting industrialised Britain, writes Amalia Loizidou.
28 August 2013
The excellent interview with Glynn Doherty (Socialist 776) showed a week of activity representing members, whether at employment tribunals, directly with the employer or running a "drop in centre" for members
28 August 2013
Lobbying bill: don't let this Tory dream come true
The economy seems to be falling apart, yet nothing seems to have dented the upper-class arrogance and air of confidence that pervades the Tories, writes Sue Powell.
28 August 2013
The final days of the trial revealed the disgusting new depths to which the US military is sinking in an effort to persecute Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning, writes Manus Lenihan.
28 August 2013
Working poor: The latest figures from the Department for Work and Pensions show that nearly one million (987,607) working people are now claiming housing benefit
28 August 2013
Welsh NHS cuts have forced 13,000 operations to be cancelled in the last three years, a whopping 4,000 of which were at the University of Wales Hospital in the Heath, Cardiff
28 August 2013
Support the DPAC week of action
Between 29 August and 4 September, Disabled People Against Cuts (DPAC) is organising a 'Reclaiming Our Futures' week of direct action to oppose Con-Dem austerity and attacks on benefits, public services and disability rights
28 August 2013
New Publication - 1913 Dublin Lockout: Sixty people attended the Socialist Party (SP) summer camp in Ware, Hertfordshire, on the August bank holiday weekend, organised by Eastern region SP, writes Special offer for readers of the Socialist: £5 including postage and packing.
28 August 2013
Unionise to fight zero-hour contracts!
I started working for the fast food restaurant Kentucky Fried Chicken nine months ago. I had left my job in a supermarket, to find a full-time job
28 August 2013
As a former employee of Sports Soccer which was the predecessor of Sports Direct it came as little surprise to me to learn that this company is one of the worst culprits for using zero-hour contracts, writes an ex-Sports Soccer worker.
28 August 2013
Carlisle - Building the anti-bedroom tax fightback
Carlisle campaigners have really got the message out in the last two months
28 August 2013
Egypt: al-Sisi's military tightens its grip on power
Millions across the world, and especially in the Middle East, have been shocked by the killing of hundreds of mainly unarmed people in the Egyptian military's brutal clearance of the two pro-Morsi camps in Cairo.
28 August 2013
No to imperialist intervention in Syria
A flood of bloody images and reports of the unbearable suffering inflicted on the Syrian masses has been broadcast around the world
28 August 2013
Arrest Cuadrilla bosses - not fracking protesters!
Hundreds of protesters have set up camp in Balcombe, West Sussex, to stop environmentally dangerous fracking
28 August 2013
One Housing Group workers go into battle again
One Housing Group workers, members of Unite, on a second three-day strike against massive pay cuts, photo Naomi Byron
Unite members at OHG will strike for five days starting on 5 September
28 August 2013
Stop cuts - Demand united action
NSSN lobby of the TUC Congress, Brighton, 2012, photo Arti
Lobby the TUC for a 24-hour general strike! I might be a physics teacher but it doesn't take rocket science to work out why the trade union movement needs to start taking united strike action, writes Martin Powell-Davies
28 August 2013
"I have a dream" - 50th anniversary of march
March on Washington for jobs and freedom, photo US Library of Congress
The mass movements for civil rights before and after the 1963 250,000-strong march on Washington for jobs and freedom, won victories against the brutal racist system in the US
29 August 2013
Hovis bakers on 7-day strike against massive pay cuts and casualisation
Wigan Hovis bakers on seven-day strike against massive pay cuts and casualisation, photo Hugh Caffrey
Hundreds of bakers at Hovis in Wigan are strikiing against zero-hour contracts and casualisation
29 August 2013
Members of Coventry Unison handed in petitions containing hundreds of signatures against Coventry City Council's decision to cut neighbourhood wardens, which will result in nearly 40 jobs being lost
29 August 2013
Firefighters have voted to strike against the government's pension scheme proposals that could lead to thousands facing the sack simply for getting older
30 August 2013
Council leader announces 'no bedroom tax evictions this year'
Glasgow demonstration against the bedroom tax and austerity 30 March 2013, photo Jim Halfpenny
North Lanarkshire, a Labour run council, that sent out letters threatening to begin eviction proceedings, has been forced into a big retreat
30 August 2013
Con-Dems in crisis - Now bring them down - For a 24-hour general strike
The Con-Dem government has suffered a huge defeat over Syria and its plan for UK involvement in a US-led attack.
After being humiliated in the House of Commons vote, Cameron has conceded that there will be no British military participation in Syria.
This debacle has consequences way beyond Britain's imperialist military adventures
30 August 2013
Syria: Con-Dems in crisis - Now bring them down - For a 24-hour general strike
The Con-Dem government has suffered a huge defeat over Syria and its plan for UK involvement in a US-led attack. After being humiliated in the House of Commons vote, Cameron conceded that there will be no British military participation in Syria.
31 August 2013
Carers at Future Directions continue their fight
Future Directions care workers on strike, August 2013, photo Hugh Caffrey
Over 150 care workers marched through the town centre on Thursday to mark their 19th day of strike action
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