Timoshenko and the weakness of the Ukrainian ruling elite The tragedy of the Ukrainian workers is that all the parties, including the Socialist and Communist Parties, have links with business groups, and are the mouthpieces for these business interests. This article, originally written in Russian in February, gives some useful background information to what is happening now in the Ukraine.
British Labour Party Congress 2005 - The battle lines are drawn The 2005 Labour Party Conference marks a significant shift in the situation in Britain. It deserves careful study by Marxists and by every trade union and Labour activist. It was chiefly marked by a sharp conflict between the Party leadership and the trade unions
British Labour Party - Heckling is now a terrorist offence Anyone who doubted the wider implication for civil liberties of Blair’s ‘anti-terror’ legislation need look no further than the Labour Party Conference in Brighton. 82-year-old Walter Wolfgang, who fled Nazi Germany in 1937, was roughly manhandled out of the hall by a pair of heavies
Ireland: The failure of the peace process The recent announcement that the Provisional IRA had decommissioned all its weapons has been drowned out by the blasts of the loyalist paramilitaries using theirs. The Good Friday Agreement is dead. Instead of peace we have a dramatic increase in extreme sectarian violence. More than ever the call for working class unity in the struggle for socialism is the only answer.
Norwegian elections: a victory for the labour movement In the recent Norwegian elections the right-wing Bondevik government suffered a devastating defeat. Now the left parties have a chance to offer an alternative. The problem is that the Norwegian Social Democracy is dominated by a Blairite pro-business leadership. The workers voted for change but will they get it?
Norway: The conservative government is gone - Now we need socialist policies In the recent elections in Norway the Norwegian working class did not vote for this or that party, or this or that electoral alliance. It voted againstunemployment, against cutbacks and against privatisation of public welfare. The amazing thing is that although Norway is a debt-free country we have the same policies of cuts in welfare and attacks on working conditions as everywhere else in the world.
After the elections: Where is Germany going? There is greater instability in Germany than ever before in post-war history. Both big parties, the Social Democrats (SPD) and Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) lost considerably. The virtual deadlock is caused by the fact that after a short and very polarised election campaign both camps failed to get anywhere near a majority of seats.
Hung parliament in Germany and Left Party advance - German elections express increasing Class Polarisation Yesterday’s German elections have produced what amounts to a hung parliament. There is a strong element of class polarisation in German society, which is reflected in these elections results. Of particular interest is the emergence of the Left Party, which did very well in the historic bastions of the PDS but also picked up a reasonable vote in what was the former “affluent” West.
Britain: Suspended with no reason - Re-instate the suspended Amicus three Three Amicus members of staff have been suspended from their jobs in the union. All three are leading members of the broad left that was instrumental in defeating the right wing and getting Derek Simpson elected as General Secretary. No reason has been given for their suspension. It is obviously a politically motivated attack. Please take part in the campaign to get the three reinstated.
Britain: TUC 2005 - Words must be turned into action No one union alone can successfully fight the present anti-union laws. But imagine if the TUC were to lead a major protest against the laws in every workplace and organised on behalf of 7 million union members a direct challenge to those laws - that would have more effect than any number of seminars and workshops and would put unions in a stronger position to win.
Venezuelan Trade Union leader Orlando Chirino at the TUC Congress A leading member of Venezuela's largest union, the National Workers Union, UNT, will be present at the TUC, having been invited by the National Union of Journalists and by Hands Off Venezuela. NATFHE will move a resolution in support of Venezuela and the progressive policies of the government of president Hugo Chávez, committing the TUC to work with solidarity campaigns and to build links with Venezuelan trade unionists.
Britain: Shoot-to Kill and the The British government and the Metropolitan Police are now trying to sweep under the carpet the brutal execution of Jean Charles de Menezes on July 22. We must not allow this to happen. This young, innocent, Brazilian man - an electrician by trade, just 27 years of age - is the latest victim of the so-called “war on terror”, but also of the undermining of civil liberties and the strengthening of the powers of the capitalist state.
Raise solidarity with the Saint Petersburg Dockworkers' strike A long standing dispute at the Saint Petersburg docks is escalating into what could be come an all-out strike. We have received a request for international solidarity. Please act now. Raise this in your union branch and send messages of solidarity.
Back to Connolly – Forward to Workers' Unity The recent declaration by the leadership of the Provisional IRA that the armed struggle is over has been reported in the media as an historic turning point and a fundamental departure in Irish politics. In spite of the rhetoric, however, there has not been one single step in the direction of a united Ireland. At least a section of the Provisional Republican movement will now be feeling demoralised and betrayed. They and many others, especially the young people who have just started to become involved in politics, will want to know - what next?
Britain: Re-instate sacked Gate Gourmet workers The dispute that erupted at the Gate Gourmet company in August is symptomatic of what is really happening in the British labour movement. The strike of the Gate Gourmet workers received strong support from the workers at British Airways who paralysed Heathrow Airport and inflicted heavy losses on the company. The class solidarity expressed in this dispute is an indication of what is to come throughout the whole of the British labour movement.
