Fast news

Turkey: Lift strike ban

Preparations for a strike by the Civil Aviation Union (Hava-İş) after the breakdown in collective bargaining talks at Turkish Airlines (THY), have been attacked by the AKP government through the inclusion of aviation services in a strike ban.

Aviation workers showed their reaction to the ban with a one-day strike. Following this action 350 workers were sacked. The sacked workers and their union are continuing their struggle. We call on aviation workers and all workers in Europe to show solidarity with their brothers and sisters in Turkey.

The AKP government had moved with unprecedented haste to ban aviation workers' strikes by means of an additional clause to the 'Collective Bargaining, Strike and Lock-out Act'. This change took effect on 3 June. Clearly the government has acted wholly in the interests of the airline.

Day-Mer (Turkish and Kurdish Community Centre)

Letters of protest to:

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Prime Minister Republic of Turkey receptayyip.erdogan@basbakanlik.gov.tr

Messages of support to:

Civil Aviation Union, havais@havais.org.tr

Kemal Ulker, Civil Aviation Union, kemalulker@havais.org.tr

Stop the deportation

Leeds University student Roseline Akhalu suffers from acute kidney disease and risks death from not being able to buy expensive medication if the British government is successful in deporting her to her native Nigeria.

Roseline came to Leeds on a student visa in 2004 to do a Masters degree. In 2005 she unexpectedly developed end-stage renal failure and remained on dialysis until receiving a kidney transplant at St James Hospital in 2009.

If deported to Nigeria she would not have access to immunosuppressant drugs which she must take for the rest of her life, as only the well-off can afford them. Roseline's renal specialist Dr James Tattershall says: "Deportation will be a death sentence."

An online campaign and petition have been launched by Roseline's supporters to fight for her right to remain in the United Kingdom.

Sign the petition: http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/stop-the-deportation-of-transplant-patient-roseline-ak.html

Pinochet protest

Riot police using tear gas and water cannon attacked anti-Pinochet protesters in the Chilean capital Santiago last Sunday. It was the biggest protest against the former dictator since 2006 and coincided with the screening of a documentary on general Pinochet's life which airbrushes out the dictator's murderous rule.

Pinochet, with the backing of the US state department, overthrew the elected left-wing presidency of Salvador Allende in September 1973. In the ensuing bloodbath over 3,000 left-wingers were executed and thousands more tortured, imprisoned and exiled.

Former Tory prime minister Margaret Thatcher was an adoring fan of Pinochet's neoliberal politics and in July 2000 Labour's home secretary Jack Straw allowed Pinochet, who was facing extradition to Spain on torture charges, to flee from Britain back to Chile.

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Coronavirus crisis - Finance appeal

The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
Our 'fighting coronavirus workers' charter', outlines a programme to combat the virus and protect workers' living conditions.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.