Archive for February 2002

1 February 2002

1,000 at Strike Rally

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) went on strike on 28 and 29 January, to demand a safe working environment

1 February 2002

Solidarity And A Bold Leadership Needed

THE THREAT to sack striking train workers at South West Trains (SWT) by Brian Souter is the most serious development for trade unions in the last decade

1 February 2002

Middle East conflict: Sharon Out To Crush Palestinians

AFTER INTERCEPTING a ship carrying arms in the direction of the Palestinian Authority (PA), Israeli government forces have stepped up their brutal repression in the PA areas, writes Judy Beishon.

1 February 2002

Free The Funds

AS TRADE union branches meet to discuss conference resolutions, the question of the relationship of the trade unions with New Labour will be discussed by many union members

1 February 2002

'We're Fighting Back'

THOUSANDS OF workers have been on strike over the last few days to defend working conditions and to fight for a living wage

1 February 2002

Enron scandal: End Bosses' Rule

HOW DOES big business get influence with top politicians? After your firm's share prices soar by 1,700% in 16 years, your fortunes fade - how can you lie about your profits to keep those share prices

1 February 2002

WEF Meeting: War, Exploitation, Famine

THE WORLD Economic Forum (WEF) - the annual get-together of politicians and big business representatives - takes place this week in New York rather than its usual venue, Davos in Switzerland

8 February 2002

Gloves Off Over Privatisation

NEW LABOUR'S privatisation juggernaut is ploughing forward, attempting to destroy everything in its path

8 February 2002

Rail Unions Plan More Strikes

A SENIOR rail union RMT rep spoke to The Socialist about their pay battle with Arriva Trains Northern. They were on strike on 5 and 6 February

8 February 2002

Militant Tendency Shows The Way

IN HIS speech to New Labour's local government conference, Tony Blair attacked as "wreckers" anyone who opposes his privatisation plans and compared them to the Militant Tendency (forerunner of the Socialist Party)

8 February 2002

Murdered For Being A Woman

FADIME IS dead. She was murdered for being a woman and fighting for an independent life. This tragic event has touched everybody and is another reminder of why the struggle against women's oppression

8 February 2002

Stop Blair And His Wreckers

BOTH TONY Blair and transport secretary Stephen Byers have had the nerve to attack trade unionists and socialists who oppose privatisation as 'wreckers'. What hypocrisy!

8 February 2002

Hands Off The Post Office

Letter Delivery Gifted To Privatisers: THE ANNOUNCEMENT of the end of Royal Mail's monopoly by the regulator Postcomm was greeted with anger and disbelief by postal workers, writes a London postal worker.

8 February 2002

World Economic Forum: "Money For Jobs - Not War"

THE WORLD Economic Forum (WEF) participants claimed that they came to New York to show "solidarity with the people of New York", writes Alan Jones, Socialist Alternative (CWI), New York city.

8 February 2002

World Social Forum: Another World Is Possible - Socialism

AS THE world's rich and powerful gathered in New York to discuss their plans for the capitalist new order (see above), 100,000 anti-capitalists, trade unionists, socialists and environmentalists met at the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre, Brazil

8 February 2002

New World Disorder

GEORGE W. BUSH'S warmongering state of the union address appeared to mark a new stage in the 'war against terrorism' writes Per Olsson of the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI)

8 February 2002

Explosion Exposes Nigeria's Rotten Regime

THE NIGERIAN city of Lagos was devastated by the explosion of an ammunition dump at the Ikeja military barracks on 27 January

15 February 2002

No fees! For a living grant!

ON 20 February, students will show their anger about tuition fees in a massive demonstration in London, writes Christian Bunke, Manchester.

15 February 2002

Welsh Assembly Short-Changes Students

STUDENTS IN Wales will greet the recent announcement by the Labour-Liberal administration in the Welsh Assembly that they are restoring grants as a partial victory for their campaigning for "Grants not Fees"

15 February 2002

Resisting Exploitation

LAST SATURDAY Coventry ISR hit the streets for its first public activity, with a stall campaigning against low pay and for a mass socialist/anti-capitalist movement

15 February 2002

Blunkett's White Paper Reinforces Racism

THE GOVERNMENT'S new white paper on nationality, immigration and asylum is yet another attack on refugees' rights and a step backwards in the fight to cut across racism and division in Britain

15 February 2002

Capitalism Has No 'Conscience'

TONY BLAIR dismally failed to resolve any of the many problems facing the peoples of central Asia on his recent tour

15 February 2002

Talking of gold...

THE QUEEN'S private wealth is valued at £1.15 billion, excluding the main royal palaces and property "held in trust for the nation" (which we never get to see) such as the world's largest private art collection

15 February 2002

Sleazy Labour Rewards Greedy Bosses

ROGUE TRADER John Rusnak hit the headlines when he gambled away £530 million at a US outpost of Allied Irish Bank

15 February 2002

Free Education Now! International Socialist Resistance Day of action 15 March

THE INTERNATIONAL Socialist Resistance (ISR) conference held in Brussels on 15 December, decided to launch an international campaign for free education, writes Bart Vandersteene, International Resistance, Belgium.

15 February 2002

Strike For The Full Claim

A MEMBER of Bristol Communication Workers' Union (CWU) spoke to The Socialist about the ballot result for a postal strike

15 February 2002

Colombia: Workers Win Victory In Teeth Of Reaction

A DECADE of civil war in Colombia has left 300,000 people dead and two million internally displaced, writes Simon Carter.

15 February 2002

Queen's golden jubilee: Last Stand Of A Feudal Relic?

MEMBERS OF "the establishment", it seems, are very worried by public apathy towards street parties celebrating the Queen's Golden Jubilee this year, writes Steve Score.

22 February 2002

Trade Unions' Leftward Move Worries Blair

BOB CROW'S election as general secretary of the rail workers' union RMT is good news for railworkers and all trade union activists

22 February 2002

Left Victory In Northern Ireland Union

THE LEFT has won an historic victory in elections for the executive of Northern Ireland's largest trade union NIPSA

22 February 2002

Linking Up The Workers' Struggles

CWI MEMBER Dimitri Silveira from Brazil spoke at the meeting of the Inter-Barrial Assemblea Popular of Buenos Aires, Argentina, on 17 February

22 February 2002

Blair - the Bosses' Puppet

Mittal scandal exposes sleazy Labour: NEW LABOUR came to power in 1997 promising to clean up politics. This empty promise was never going to be realised - New Labour had made another, more serious, promise to the City of London and the unelected

22 February 2002

Strike for the full claim: Support Postal Workers

THE POSTAL workers' union CWU is negotiating with Royal Mail management for a 5% pay rise. The negotiations are against the background of a 64% majority in favour of strike action.

22 February 2002

Time To Break Unions' Links With Labour

IN THE Guardian (19 February) anti-capitalist commentator George Monbiot declared that: "The Confederation of British Industry, which does not give the [Labour] party a penny, swings far more weight with Tony Blair than all the hard-earned millions scraped together by the people whom Labour is supposed to represent."

22 February 2002

Socialist Party Congress 2002

Britain: Growing anger at capitalism: THE CONGRESS of the Socialist Party on 16-18 February brought together 250 delegates and visitors, with a wealth of experience in trade union work, in building the party, in campaigns amongst young people and international campaigns

22 February 2002

Revolt From Below At Berlusconi's Attacks: Thousands march in Rome

THE WORKERS and young people of Italy are locked in a mighty battle with the right-wing Berlusconi government, writes a CWI member, Rome.