Articles from the Socialist, issue 590

11 August 2009

Stop the BNP

THE British National Party’s (BNP) leaders and organisers have not changed their neo-Nazi ideas. They are committed to stirring up racism and division at every opportunity…

Vestas – occupation ends but the fight continues

Editorial: The courageous workers’ occupation at the Vestas wind turbine plant in Newport on the Isle of Wight has been followed and supported by many in the trade union movement over the last few weeks…

Thomas Cook occupation, Dublin: “A living lesson for workers everywhere”

Eyewitness account A FIVE-DAY occupation by workers at the Thomas Cook shop in Grafton Street, Dublin, over redundancies, was brutally ended by Garda (police) in a dawn raid.

Socialist Party (Ireland) councillor Matt Waine was arrested along with 28 workers in the early hours of Tuesday morning 4 August and locked up at Bridewell Garda station. Here is his eyewitness account.

Postal workers: National ballot to follow strike wave

All-out action: Postal workers, members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU), have been on a series of strikes over the summer against bullying management and their attempts to impose worsening conditions in an obvious preparation for privatisation.

Our reports show that these strikes have been well-supported and angry postal workers have been demanding that the battle be intensified with national, coordinated action…

Protests flood in against Unison witch-hunt

Four Socialist Party members and Unison activists were declared guilty on trumped-up charges by a Unison disciplinary committee…

August 1969: Northern Ireland explodes – ‘the troubles’ begin

THE EVENTS of August 1969 were an historical turning point for Northern Ireland that echo down to this day. The first deaths of ‘the troubles’ occurred in 1969.

Ciaran Mulholland of the Socialist Party in Northern Ireland explains how the situation rapidly escalated to the brink of civil war and what lessons can be learnt from these events.

New term approaching for students: Build the fightback!

Autumn is fast approaching, but this will be an autumn like no other. Young people, who have grown up in the boom and have aspirations of a decent life, are now seeing their futures snatched away as jobs…

Demonstrate Saturday 28 November in London

for real jobs, for free education

From Thursday 20 August, when the A-level results are released, hundreds of thousands of young people will be hoping to get onto the course and into the university they have chosen, writes Matt Dobson, Socialist Students national organiser.

Grim prospects for young people

BNP loses council by-election

No to racism and fascism: THE BNP has lost its seat in Brinsley, their only seat on Broxtowe Borough Council, Nottinghamshire. The 30 July by-election was caused by the non-attendance of the former BNP councillor (and now expelled…

Anti-fascist demo in Birmingham

South Africa: A cold winter, but mass action shakes Zuma

Afghanistan: 40 years of failure?

Torturous explanation

Industrial action works

Unison members in Glasgow council’s social work services who are clerical officers and admin assistants have accepted offers to resolve two disputes, writes Brian Smith, branch secretary, Glasgow Unison.

Liverpool street cleaners and bin workers strike against fat-cats

Surrey council must buy back these homes now!

Engineering construction ballot

Rail strikes

South Yorkshire bus drivers plan more strikes

Bryan Stanley’s canonisation

The psychology of the New Labour apologists deserves some deep analysis, writes Tony Mulhearn. Jane Kennedy, Labour MP for Liverpool Wavertree, alarmed that her parliamentary seat was in jeopardy following Gordon Brown’s European…