Over the last few decades – first under the Tories then under New
Labour – we have seen the official unemployment figures massaged and
fiddled time and time again in order to make them seem more
‘acceptable’ in the official reports and, of course, the newspapers. Is
this unique to the UK? Well no, let’s have a look at the
real rate of unemployment in the US.
Ireland: What with stalled talks over the national wage
agreement and the Pension Levy, an emergency budget worthy of Dracula and a
huge hole in the government’s finances also, there’s no surprise that the
government’s “expendenditure review body” has been christened as An Bord Snip.
On Monday 29th June the workers at Lindsey agreed to return to work
with heads held high. It was a magnificent result and all those involved
deserve a great round of applause.
The coup in Honduras highlights once
again that even mild reforms within the capitalist system cannot be
tolerated by the local oligarchies in Latin America and their
imperialist masters. But Venezuela teaches that if the masses mobilise
reaction can be stopped. Now is the time to mobilise the full force of
the Honduran workers and poor.
As workers and trade unionists continue to be attacked by the Colombian state, we look at the involvement of Britain in assisting in this murderous process.
Some on the left are questioning
whether the movement in Iran is a progressive one. They have been taken
in by propaganda that states that the movement is all an “imperialist
plot” to overthrow the Islamic regime. This ignores the very essence of
what is happening in Iran, which is the beginning of a revolution. What is required to move everything forward now is decisive action by the working class.
We share the revulsion of the hundreds of Belfast workers who
demonstrated on the Lisburn Road against these racist attacks in
Belgravia Avenue and Wellesley Avenue over the last week. We applaud
the efforts of those workers who gathered together and offered their
moral and practical support to the Roma people who were forced from
their homes by the fascist thugs using the name of Combat 18 – the
British fascist terror group.
REPORT: Striking
construction workers at Scottish Power’s Longannet Power Sation in Fife
decided at a mass meeting this morning to restart work to-day.
FRIDAY LATEST:If the reports being posted in the national press websites are to be
believed, it looks like the striking Lindsey workers have won a great
victory.
The economic
crash following the so-called ‘credit crunch’ has caused property prices to
nose dive since their peak in 2007. This has led to property developers and
house builders to “retard” their construction projects. The colossal drop in
land prices has served to further irritate this problem because house builders,
who bought land during the peak, have chosen not to build on them yet until,
when they hope, property prices rise again. Also they do not wish to sell the
land due to the massive reduction in its value.
An attempt by Unite members to present the case of Justice for Cleaners
activists who were sacked by the company Mitie after successfully
campaigning for the living wage was ruled “out of order” at a meeting
of 80 plus trade unionists in London on Thursday 18 June.
Here are some photos from Tuesday’s solidarity action at Lindsey where workers are protesting at the sacking of nearly 650. Pictures show both sacked workers marching and burning their dismisal letters and the show of solidarity from other workers.