This is a letter submitted to the US section of the International Marxist Tendency , the Workers International League. In this letter, Roberto Carlos depicts his experience working in a
movie theater and the problems young workers have to put up with on a
regular basis.
Since 1979 UK child
poverty has doubled. In 2006, 3.8 million children were living in poverty in
homes on less than 60% of average income. Although this is a fall of about
600,000 since 1998, this still leaves 500,000 children above the Government’s
own target. This is not the whole picture either – poverty in the whole
population is increasing.
After the government has pursued a series of attacks on the poorest
section of the working class in recent years, they have apparently
decideded to try and give something back to the poor by launching a new
Child Poverty Unit. This is a way of the government showing its
willingness to end child poverty which was, believe it or not, a stated
Labour policy in 2007. In Scotland for instance one in four children
still grows up in poverty. This nakedly displays the utter bankruptcy
of New Labour’s market orientated policy.
On
Monday the eighth of October the Edinburgh University Hands Off Venezuela
society showed Hands Off Venezuela’s new film No Volveran. The film was well generally well received by those that attended. After the film show
there was a brief discussion on issues such as the new constitution and workers
control.
On the 26th September Norwich comrades helped promote the University of East Anglia Socialist Society at the Freshers Fair. The day was a big success, a lot of hard work and preparation was put into the days efforts. For another year socialist ideas at UEA looks set to gain a wide audience among students and young people.
The Socialist Youth Network (SYN) launched its COFUP! campaign (Coalition Fighting Unfair Pay) in the House of Commons last night. The campaign seeks to make it a Labour party policy that pay discrimination based on age is abolished, and that the minimum wage is adjusted to 2/3 of median male earnings.
In
the House of Commons last night around 40 people met for the ‘Launch of
International Support for Mexico’s Public Trial of Crimes Against Humanity’.
The meeting was organized by The Global Woman’s Strike and hosted by John
McDonnell and Jeremy Corbyn.
On Thursday 18th July comrades of the British section of the International Marxist Tendency, Socialist Appeal, showed their solidarity with the Peoples Youth Block (BJP) by protesting outside the embassy of El Savador against the repressive measures employed by the government. A letter of protest was received, signed by leading trade unionists from the NUJ, PCS, CWU, ASLEF, UNISON and the TGWU.
The ruling class is clearly
finding the state of it’s forces in Iraq in a dire situation. The army relies on young working class
people signing up; unsurprisingly they have not been coming forth in large
numbers after seeing so many others killed. In light of this desperation, efforts at military
recruitment have hit new heights.
EIS Delegates at the Scottish teachers annual conference in Perth successfully passed a motion calling for the banning of army recruitment units in Scottish schools. This matter must now be placed firmly on the political agenda at the Scottish Parliament, the Executive having responsibility for education.
Here we publish an article sent to us by a sixth form student and Labour Party member. It details the hypocrisy of the New Labour agenda, obvious to all ordinary working people, yet ignored by the mainstream media. Expressed is an instinctive distaste for the shallowness of bourgeois democracy, and a desire to fight for socialist policies far removed from the Blairite government a generation of young people have grown up under.
Over 100 students and trade unionists welcomed John McDonnell to the University of East Anglia on the 9th February. The large turnout from what is an extremely ‘depoliticised' campus, clearly demonstrated that the youth are not apathetic.