Solidarity 056, 13 August 2004

News from the IFTU

At the recent conference of the Transport and Communication Workers' Union, affiliated to the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions (IFTU), delegates unanimously passed a motion instructing the newly elected union leadership to reclaim the union's Baghdad office building closed since 6 December 2003 by an act of illegal aggression by troops of the occupation authority. The American occupation forces, using a force of about ten armoured cars and tens of soldiers, attacked the temporary headquarters of the IFTU (at the headquarters of the Transport and Communication Workers' Union, in Karkh district...

Support Iraq's trade unions

Organising, growing, campaigning By Martin Thomas By Martin Thomas In Baghdad, the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions has marched successfully to reoccupy the offices from which they were evicted by a US army raid in December last year. Iraq's new unions - the IFTU, the Union of the Unemployed and Federation of Workers' Councils and Unions of Iraq, and other unions not affiliated to a federation - are organising, growing, campaigning. On this new Iraqi labour movement rest all hopes for a democratic, secular Iraq free of foreign occupation troops. The various groupings in that labour movement...

Workers are caught in the middle

By Clive Bradley The worst fighting since May has erupted across Iraq, with the collapse of the ceasefire with the so-called Mahdi Army of radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. In Najaf, according to the interim Iraqi government and the US army, hundreds of militia have been killed - though al-Sadr has not been driven out of the city. Fighting has been fierce in many other towns - in the Shi'a slums of Baghdad where the Mahdi army is very strong (although calm was reported to be returning on Sunday, 8 August) - but also, as in the last "uprising" in the Spring, in Sunni areas. The military offensive...

Iraqi workers fight for wages and jobs

David Bacon describes the development of the Iraqi workers' movement Labour activity has, since a year ago, spread from Baghdad to the Kurdish north, with the centre of the storm in the south, in the oil and electrical installations around Basra, and the port of Um Qasr. Workers quickly discovered that the occupation authorities had little respect for labour rights. The US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) enforced a 1987 law banning unions in public enterprises, where most Iraqis are employed. CPA head Paul Bremer added Public Order no. 1, banning pronouncements that "incite civil...

"Anti-Bush, but also pro-working-class"

US Labor Against The War convenor visits UK Gene Bruskin is the co-convenor of US Labor Against the War (USLAW), a trade union-based anti-war campaign which since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein has been building solidarity with the new Iraqi workers' movement. He spoke to Martin Thomas and Sacha Ismail during his tour of the UK at the start of August. USLAW began as an anti-war campaign in January 2003, a response to a surprising but wonderful wave of grassroots labour opposition to the war-drive. All of a sudden I'd find out through some network or other that a central labour council...

Socialism in bad times

Colin Foster reviews The Other American: the life of Michael Harrington by Maurice Isserman This book has some interesting things to teach us about how socialists operate, both in times of adversity and in times of opportunity. Michael Harrington, later to become the USA's most famous reform socialist, joined the US socialist movement in 1952. It was not a good year for the movement. Working-class combativity had declined sharply since the big strike wave of 1946-7. It had been assuaged by economic boom, and pushed down by Cold War political reaction. McCarthyism was rampant. "Third Camp"...

Bad square day

Dan Nichols reviews 'Bad Lads Army', Thursday nights ITV1 'Bad Lads Army' is the follow-up to 'Lads Army', a 2002 programme which put a group of young men through 1950s-style National Service training. This time, the 'lads' all have a criminal past of one sort or another. The left's attitude to conscription has always been ambivalent. On the one hand we abhor the idea of young men and women being forced to go off and fight imperialist wars. On the other hand we feel a non-mercenary army would, perhaps, be less willing to be used for internal repression. Taking a longer view, come the...

Fairy tales turned upside down

Jenny Lindsey reviews 'Shrek 2', written and directed by Andrew Adamson Call me a sucker, but I enjoyed this sequel. It takes the piss out of beautiful and it takes the piss out of cool. So, I'm predisposed to like it. 'Shrek' and 'Shrek 2' take old fairy tales and turn them on their head. The ogre wins against Prince Charming. The Fairy Godmother is a scheming, no-good witch (with the persona as well as the voice of Jennifer Saunders). Sleeping Beauty is not impressed with cool, smooth-talking men, oh, and she's a karate black belt. The Gingerbread Man doesn't run away, but comes back...

The poverty of anti-racism

Annie O'Keefe reviews 'Who you callin' a n.....?' Darcus Howe (Channel 4, Monday 9 August,2004) explored the growing hostilities in Britain between Pakistanis and West Indians and between Somalis and West Indians, between groups of 'black' people, towards all of whom white racists have an identical attitude of hostility. White racism against black people, noted Howe, now brings pariah status to its proponents, but racism against each other is on the increase among Britain's racial minorities. "Black is turning on black". Howe brought examples of what he had in mind to the screen. The naked...

A vote Kerry film

Letter from Martin Thomas, Islington Pete Radcliff (Solidarity 3/55) is right, I think, that Michael Moore's film Fahrenheit 911 is much better cinema than his previous Bowling for Columbine. I can hardly imagine anyone seeing Fahrenheit 911 and coming out with any respect for or confidence in George W Bush and the rest of his gang at the top of the US government. That debunking of the powers that be is the beginning of all political wisdom. But only the beginning. Fahrenheit 911, in the first place, is a "vote Kerry" film. Pete writes that "it is unclear where Moore stands" on the upcoming US...

This website uses cookies, you can find out more and set your preferences here.
By continuing to use this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions.