The Socialist issue 380
12 February 2005
Defend pensions: All out on 23 March
OVER one million workers could be on strike next month. New Labour have decided to cut their pension rights because they are ‘living…
Time to make a stand on pensions
HUGE anger is building up against New Labour’s attacks on pensions. Socialist Party members in the unions have been arguing for over 18 months -…
NUT leadership wriggle over pension action
THE GOAL of those of us on the Left in the National Union of Teachers (NUT) fighting to save teachers’ pensions was to get a national ballot of teachers to join in with a one-day public sector strike…
Incapacity benefit: New Labour hits the poor and vulnerable
THE GOVERNMENT’S own survey showed last year that only 0.3% of the Incapacity Benefit paid in the UK is fraudulently claimed…
Bolsover protesters win round one of toxic waste battle
"WE’VE WON the first round but need to carry on until this toxic site is cleaned."…
Crisis time in Welsh hospitals
ON MONDAY 7 February, all the acute hospitals in south-east Wales were placed on red alert, due to serious pressure…
Immigration policy: Labour apes the Tories – again
NEW LABOUR and the Tories are at war, each fighting to prove that they are the “toughest” party on migration to the UK…
Longbridge workers still fighting to defend jobs
THERE ARE growing fears that up to half of the workforce at Birmingham’s Longbridge car factory could be made redundant as part of a possible joint venture with the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC)…
Left victory in firefighters’ union
LEFT-WING candidate Matt Wrack has won a bitterly fought contest for the assistant general secretary position in the Fire Brigades Union (FBU)…
UNISON general secretary election: Prentis attacks the opposition
Socialist Party member Roger Bannister is standing in the election for general secretary of UNISON…
Financing the fightback
"IT’S ALRIGHT, I can afford it", said a pensioner putting £10 into our collecting tin in support of our petition to defend pensions…
May Day Greetings
The Socialist prints May Day greetings from socialists, trade unions, youth and student organisations, from around the world…
Iraq – mobilise to withdraw the troops
THEY ARE counting the votes in Iraq but the body count is still rising. As we go to press, early results of the partial Iraqi election are beginning…
Huge crowd cheers Chavez’s radical speech at World Social Forum 2005
THE ANTI-GLOBALISATION World Social Forum (WSF) met last week in Porto Alegre, Brazil…
Socialism can ‘make poverty history’
TENS OF thousands of people, many of them young, filled Trafalgar Square on 3 February…
Northern Ireland decommissioning crisis: The failure of sectarian politics
THE IRA announced on 2 February that it had withdrawn its offer to complete the process of arms decommissioning in Northern Ireland…
Slovakia: Multinational victimises trade unionists
JOZEF KRNCAN has been made redundant twice by Austrian based multinational Neusiedler/Mondi…
Scottish Socialist Party: Clear socialist alternative needed
THE SCOTTISH Socialist Party (SSP) conference meets this weekend in the aftermath of Tommy Sheridan’s resignation as SSP convener…
