Solidarity 164, 10 December 2009

Afghanistan: Obama's "surge" will turn into a bloody escalation

Barack Obama’s decision to send a further 30,000 US troops to Afghanistan, coupled with a (conditional) commitment to begin withdrawing troops in 18 months’ time (a political concession to Democrats and an increasingly war-weary American public) has been described as a “gamble”. That puts it charitably. The US’s strategy for Afghanistan — a massive overall increase of NATO forces, including an extra 500 British troops — has some of the elements of the 2007 military “surge” in Iraq. That was about damping down conflict long enough allow the building up of the local army and police and the...

London Underground: vote yes for action on pay!

Our members on London Underground are balloting on whether or not to to take action to improve a pay deal from management — an offer of 1.5% this year and 0.5% next. The ballot result is due on 21 December. At the same time, ASLEF (which organises drivers on the Underground) is holding a referendum on the same deal in which the Society’s leaders are recommending a Yes vote! RMT members should vote for more action on our pay fight, "yes" to strikes and "yes" to action short of strikes. The offer lags way behind the rate at which our living expenses are going up. It also lags way behind what our...

Trade union news in brief

Following two 24 hour strikes, cleaners who work on Eurostar trains and for Carlisle Cleaners have won • a 6% pay increase effective next year and another increase totalling nearly 10% over 13 months. • an agreement that the London Living Wage would be a benchmark for future pay agreements. • an agreement on bullying and harassment of staff, a mitigation of the redundancy programme, and to discuss pensions and sick pay in the next round. On 23 November Leeds Streetscene (refuse) workers voted to accept the council's latest offer and go back to work after a 12 week-long strike. The vast...

Civil service union election: vote Mark Serwotka but...

The election for the General Secretary (GS) of the civil service union PCS has begun. AWL members in the PCS are recommending a vote for Mark Serwotka, the present incumbent. Our recommendation for such a vote is not because we are not uncritical of him; on the contrary. In 2009 he was paid a gross salary of £85,421; resulting in pension contributions of £24,669; he also received Additional Housing Cost Allowance of £1,347; an additional Housing Cost Supplement of £449 and a beneficial loan interest of £748. According to the last set of union accounts he donated £4,000 to the fighting fund...

Royal Mail: management concessions but no progress on big questions

Royal Mail management in London have started to make small concessions to postal workers, agreeing in some units to “re-sign” jobs — that is, to allow workers to choose which tasks to sign up to. Previously management had been unilaterally allocating duties. This is a real concession, and marks a change from London management taking advantage of the Interim Agreement, and the stopping of the strike, to continue ferocious assaults on workers uninhibited. It appears that management reacting to pressure of tougher talk from the CWU, and a rebuke to Royal Mail management by ACAS. However, Royal...

Copenhagen conference: capitalist governments won't save the planet

The Copenhagen conference on 7-18 December will be a disappointment on a gargantuan scale. Whatever agreement is reached next week, it will not turn the tide in time to significantly reduce emissions. Research into the physical science has reinforced the urgency of action on climate change. A group of leading scientists, heavily involved in climate research through the official IPCC process, has published The Copenhagen Diagnosis, an updated synthesis of the latest findings. The scientists argued there is acceleration of melting of ice-sheets, glaciers and ice-caps in the Arctic, Greenland and...

Plotting and scheming against benefit cuts

On 14 November, just as the government was introducing “Work for your Benefit” pilot schemes, members of twenty-three different groups from around the UK met in Manchester to share information and plan resistance to government welfare reform. The meeting set up some working groups to plan action and agreed to meet again in April 2010. Full report on demands of the campaign will soon be on www.workersliberty.org and in the next issue of Solidarity

Leeds school occupiers say: 'This is our building'

Local community campaigners in the Hyde Park district in Leeds recently occupied the site of a school building in an attempt to save it for their use. The school, Royal Park Primary, was closed five years ago against the will of a popular local campaign. There were two previous attempts by the local authority to close the school which were defeated by parents, school workers and local activists. During the campaign, in one of the most deprived areas in the city, the campaigners were able to demonstrate the building was extensively used by the local community including for English language...

Post-16 education: cuts pave the way for big business

In the university and higher education sector 800 jobs have already been lost. 600 jobs have already gone in further education colleges. Across the two sectors, a further 5,000 jobs are under immediate threat, the great majority in higher education. But these cuts represent only a “first wave” of likely cuts. As the recession bites, we can expect more. The cuts are being made by local university and college managements, rather than by central government dictat. The way they are being made indicates some general long-term priorities the capitalist class has for the education sector — making it...

Sussex University: Reverse the boycott Israel policy - fight for positive solidarity!

The University of Sussex Students Union is due to hold a second referendum on whether to implement a boycott of Israeli goods in SU outlets. The boycott policy was passed by an earlier referendum at the end of October by a margin of 562 to 450. However, a group of students has now gathered the 150 signatures required to reopen and rerun the vote. Supporters of the boycott have said that they see themselves as part of an international BDS — boycott, divestment and sanctions — movement, intended to apply sufficient economic, moral and political pressure on Israel to force it to observe...

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.