From 15th-17th November the International Marxist Tendency held the IMT Winter School 2013, hosted by UCLU Marxist Society. Over 130 attendees from across the country and the rest of northern Europe – and even the USA! – descended on UCL for the weekend to discuss why ‘Marx Was Right’ and debate the relevance of Marxism today.
We publish here a report from Socialist Appeal supporters in PCS, who highlight the successful campaign to reinstate victimised trade unionist Kevin Smith. An employment tribunal has officially ruled that Kevin was unfairly dismissed by the Home Office for his trade union activity and has ordered for Kevin to be reinstated.
The recent interview between Russell Brand and Jeremy Paxman became an overnight sensation. Brand’s attack on the profit system, criticism of the current political class, and bold call for revolution have clearly found an echo amongst ordinary people who clearly can no longer tolerate the status quo of crisis and falling living standards that capitalism offers.
We publish here the latest statement by the Blacklist Support Group (BSG), who are calling on all supporters, trades councils and trade union branches to organise an event in your area for the official TUC day of action that has been called for Wednesday 20th November to put pressure on firms guilty of blacklisting.
We publish here a letter from one of our regular readers, who describes the story of a female worker in the NHS and the horrific experiences she has had to endure as a result of privatisation and the pursuit of profit inside the health service. Her story is all too likely to be similar to those of many other workers in those services that have been privatised and outsourced.
People are becoming increasingly revolutionary, according to the latest polls. A growing hatred for big business and profiteering comes on top of the bankers’ bonus scandals, the Libor rigging scandal, the foreign exchange manipulation scandal, and the callous profiteering of the energy companies. This backlash against capitalism has rung alarm bells amongst the apologists of big business. Rob Sewell, editor of Socialist Appeal, reports.
On the morning of 13th November, FBU members staged a four-hour walkout as part of the campaign to defend pensions, protesting against the raising of the retirement age and the increase in pension contributions of up to 14.2% of salary. Darrall Cozens of the Coventry TUC reports on the latest action by firefighters against the Coalition’s austerity programme.
In recent days, President Maduro has rightly explained the seriousness of the economic war against the Bolivarian revolution, pointing out that the culprits are the capitalists and has announced a series of measures to address it. We publish here a statement by Lucha de Clases, Venezuelan section of the IMT, which explains what is needed to fight this economic war – workers’ control and expropriation of the oligarchy.
Despite comments on a tentative recovery with improvements in the housing market and banking profits booming once more, there is no doubt that there has been no recovery for the vast majority. The crisis has particularly impacted on young people: this is the first generation in decades that will be poorer than the previous generation. Rachel Gibbs of the Glasgow Marxists looks at the prospects for youth under capitalism.
The gap between the haves and have nots is continuously increasing on a global scale. There is a transfer of wealth from the poorer countries to the richer on a scale never seen before in history. Within every country also, distribution of wealth is extremely unequal. Not every person in a rich country is rich, and similarly not every person in a poor country is automatically poor. Concentration of wealth in fewer hands is a common phenomenon in both scenarios.
The announcement from BAE Systems Ltd (BAE), made on 6th November, that at least 940 jobs would go as part of the planned loss of 1,775 jobs in the UK, produced a wave of anger, throughout Portsmouth dockyard and the wider city. It is the task of the leaders of the labour movement to mobilise the trade unions in defence of jobs and demand the nationalisation of any industry threatened with closure.
BAE Systems – the giant defence company – recently announced the closure of its Portsmouth shipyard, resulting in the loss of almost one thousand jobs. We publish here reports of a meeting and rally organised by Portsmouth Trades Council to protest against the shipyard closure and job losses. In addition, Socialist Appeal supporters in Portsmouth interviewed a worker and trade unionist from the shipyard, which we also publish here.