Cleansing workers in Edinbugh are locked in a bitter dispute over modernisation proposals to remove
bonuses, a move that would cost them thousands of pounds a year in
lost earnings. Socialist Appeal recieved this article and a letter from a cleansing worker.
At 7.45pm on the 20th July around 25 workers at the Vestas wind-turbine
blades plant in Newport, Isle of Wight moved to occupy offices in
protest at the planned closure of the site and the loss of 625 jobs –
525 on the Island and 100 in Southampton. Since the occupation began
Vestas workers, trade unionists, climate campaigners and the general
public have been outside the site to show their solidarity with the
occupying workers and demonstrate against the closure.
The
bosses are trying to use the current economic crisis in Ireland to
reduce wages and living standards. That is not a secret, but they claim
that it is in the interest of the workers. The story goes like this;
Irish companies must become more competitive than companies in other
countries. In that way there will be more exports and more jobs will be
created. If workers don’t accept cutbacks jobs will be lost. To
challenge those ideas the labour movement need to return to Marx
Workers are
digging their heels in and continuing to occupy the Vestas site based in the
normally sedate Isle of Wight.
Vestas
Blades UK is set to close its Newport site with the immediate loss of 600
jobs. Despite all the talk about renewable turbine energy from the government,
it seems incredible that the only wind turbine blade manufacturer in the
UK is set to shut up shop
and transfer its business to the US in the interests of profit.
Marx has been declared dead so many
times, and yet he keeps coming back again and again, the reason being
that his ideas, his theories, are the only ones that can explain the
present crisis of capitalism. Here a Nigerian Marxist gives his views
on the relevance of Marx’s ideas today.
Postal
workers and their unions are under attack. About six weeks ago, Royal
Mail management took executive action – meaning cuts – 40 duties
from the Mount Pleasant office and 100 from the West End delivery
centre, without any union negotiation. This was in breach of the 2007
phase four pay and modernization agreement and is just one of the
many grievances behind the recent strike action taken by Royal Mail
postal workers.
Today is the third anniversary of the death of Ted Grant who died on July 20th 2006 aged 93. To mark this we are making available an article on Marxism from 1994.In September Wellred will be publishing the first volume of Ted Grant’s writings.
On Wednesday 13th July, the Burley Sports Club in Leeds played host to only the second
public meeting hosted by Socialist Appeal supporters in West
Yorkshire. People came from as far away as Scunthorpe to hear Mick
Brooks, editor of Socialist Appeal, speak on the unfolding and
ever-deepening crisis afflicting capitalism on a world scale.
A meeting of concerned educators and carers worried by the vague
proposals to reorganise the management of Doncaster’s Pupil Referral
Unit (PRU) was held on July 9th . The proposal to transfer all
Education Outside Schools (EOS) to a School Based Company (SBC) is being dressed up in an attempt to portray a simple cost cutting exercise, with a market driven ethos as a model to provide a better management system for learners who struggle to cope with mainstream education.
Ian
Kerr, the despicable quisling behind the construction blacklist
appeared in court today (Thursday 16th July) and was fined a measly £5,000 – small change for someone
who supplied construction companies with the blacklist data of over
3,000 construction workers to any company that wanted and charged
£3,200 a time.
After a week long strike that saw some 240 sites being picket by
TEEU members the union has instructed the 10,500 strikers to return to
work, following the decision of the Labour Court to recommend a 4.9%
deal – to be paid in two installments; 2.5% in September and 2.4% in
January. But, it would be a mistake to suggest that the disput is over and done with