Workers Solidarity Movement

Despite the distraction of the presidential election charade, the past couple of months have been busy ones for WSM members as government spending cuts continue to bite.

Issue of Ireland's anarchist paper Workers Solidarity Issue 123 September October 2011.

Today Irish citizens go to the polls. Some are complaining that the election has been reduced to a glorified X-Factor.  We disagree, X-Factor is clearly better and here is why. People will vote in two referendums which threaten to change a lot and to select between 7 chancers for President who have between them offered much drama and little substance over the last weeks.  

(Image: wikipedia commons)

Workers Solidarity Movement position paper on Queer Liberation as re-written at the October 2011 National Conference. This position paper sits under the Sex, Gender, and Sexuality paper and does not repeat that material here.

Journalist and writer Conor McCabe’s book ‘Sins Of The Father’ attempts, in the author’s own words, “…to shine a light on the reasons why Ireland has the businesses it has, and why banks and speculators yield so much power and influence.”  The book has been acknowledged as a significant contribution to the analysis of the political and economic decisions that have brought the Irish economy to ruin.  James McBarron interviewed McCabe for Irish Anarchist Review  

The last few years have seen a significant growth in the Freeman of the Land movement. Increasingly, its voice is being heard at environmental and other anarchist based protests and events, from the various UK climate camps to Rossport Solidarity Camp. 

Anyone who has been active on the left and broader labour movement will have faced the 'million dollar question from republicans on the 'national question'. The question of opposition or indifference to the partition of the island is often thrown by republicans like a dagger in the direction of the existing left. In responnse many become either wedded to the romantic idea of the flag removing all our sins or face the jibe of being a ‘gas and water socialist’ or at worst a sop to unionism. It’s the type of choice you get at Stormont every four years where you get to choose between Coca Cola and Pepsi. Equally it’s the type of approach of the PSNI press statement that presents every ’dissenter’ from the status-quo as being wedded to physical force republicanism. But of course its much more complicated than this….

1 billion euro in welfare cuts are being hinted at by the government for Decembers budget. One of the areas identified for potential savings is rent allowance. Rent allowance payments total 500 million per year, they are subsidies to help pay the rent of people who qualify due to low incomes, mostly people on the dole or other welfare payments. There are 95,000 recipients.  The money goes to private landlords and is paid on half the housing rental property in the state.

After spending tens of thousands of euro in promotion, Youth Defence’s anti-choice march finally took place in Dublin on July 2nd last. Despite the free coaches and months of preparation only about 3000 took part, making it a tiny fraction of the Pride Parade of the previous Saturday. In the week before the anti-choice march, three or four people met to initiate a pro-choice counter demonstration. This proved somewhat controversial as many pro-choice activists feel that it is better to simply ignore those who would seek to jail women to prevent them controlling their own bodes. But despite having no resources, and advertising only though a Facebook event, somewhere over 300 people turned up on Saturday to provide a counter point to the bigots parade.

When John Grace of Famous Fried Chicken fame is counting his money, he occasionally has to wet his finger with his tongue in order to facilitate the separation of individual notes and ensure an accurate count. Since 7th July last he has to apply spittle more often, he has received a pay-rise of over 7% thanks to a ruling by Judge Feeney of the High Court that the “Joint Labour Committee (JLC)” rates of pay for the catering industry, which are set by the Labour Court, were unconstitutional. (See table inside for more details)