Workers Solidarity Issue 101

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Ireland's anarchist paper Workers Solidarity, Issue 101 January - February 2008

AnarchistBlackCat- moderated anarchist discussion forums

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Ever wished for an anarchist discussion board dominated by an exchange of argued out political views rather than insults? So did we, so we decided to do something about it.

Fundraiser for Just Books

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Saturday 23th Febuary, Kelly Cellars (Belfast City Centre)

Welfare cuts spell a war on women

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Under the guise of fighting poverty, the Government is set to attack the welfare of lone parents.The Irish Government is planning to replace the ‘One Parent Family Allowance‘, a welfare payment for single parents of children under the age of eighteen with the ‘Parental Allowance‘. The primary difference between two is that while the OPFA ends when the parent's youngest child is eighteen, the PA ends when the youngest child turns eight. At this stage the parent will be transferred to an ordinary unemployment benefit, and will thus be forced into the job market. At present the policy is on trial in Kilkenny and Dublin, but the Government hopes to apply it throughout the state in the next Budget.

Organising to beat the boss: Interview with a Belfast retail worker

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This is an interview with a member of the TGWU who is attempting to organise a union in a leading Irish Sports Shop in Belfast. It describes the problems facing workers in the retail sector who are exploited by their employers and start organising themselves in their own work-place to improve their conditions. These problems are even more acute when there is no history of unionisation in the workplace and a limited awareness of people's rights as workers.

Due to potential libel action and its consequences for the union we are unable to print the company’s name. 'An Ireland of equals' what rubbish!

Irish Ferries: Exploiting workers and insulting Wilde

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When Irish Ferries launched their new €50million vessel in Dublin Port on Tuesday 29th January, 400 guests from the tourism, freight and shipping sectors attended the naming ceremony. How many of them, I wonder, took a moment as they quaffed their champagne and nibbled on their canapés to ponder on the news revealed by International Transport Workers Federation inspector, Ken Fleming, that the workers who would be manning the ferry will be paid as little as €4 per hour?

Gathering of Irish Feminists

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RAG, the Dublin-based anarcha-feminist collective, are organising a gathering in Ireland on the 2nd–5th May 2008. This will be a chance for feminists to come together to discuss, learn and share in a radical but supportive environment. As plans for the weekend are being drawn-up, we want to ask you to scratch these dates into your diary now. It is intended that this wonderful event will take place in a rural setting away from Dublin - location to be confirmed. Costs will be kept to a minimum. Feminists and children are all very welcome.

Feminism, Class and Anarchism

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It is quite common these days to hear criticisms of “mainstream” or “middle-class” feminism from anarchists or others on the revolutionary, and even the not-so-revolutionary, left. In particular, anarchists are often quick to criticise any feminist analysis that lacks a class analysis. This article argues that feminism in its own right is worth fighting for and that when it comes to ending sexism an insistence on always emphasising class can end up merely distracting from the fact that as anarchists we need to be unambiguous when it comes to supporting feminism. Rather than distancing ourselves from other feminists or seeking always to qualify our support, our emphasis should shift to developing and promoting our own brand of anarchist feminism.

 

Week of action for Iranian oppositionsts

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We have received this appeal from the Worker-communist Party of Iran.

Week of Action in support of jailed students and political prisoners in Iran (2–9 Feb 2008)

Book review: 'How non violence protects the state'

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“Pacifism simply does not resonate in people’s lives everyday realities, unless those people live in some extravagant bubble of tranquillity from which all forms of civilization’s pandemic reactive violence have been pushed out by the systemic and less violence of police and military forces.”

“Ultimately, nonviolence is created and encouraged by the State, and antithetical to anarchist revolution”