Solidarity 355, 25 February 2015

International news: Istanbul men protest, Turkish healthworkers and Nigerian teachers

On 6 December 2014 Maltepe University Hospital in Istanbul dismissed 98 workers, for being members of the Progressive Union of Health Workers. The workers joined the union to seek to improve their working conditions in the hospital. They demanded higher wages, which have been promised for several years, and shorter working hours. Several of the sacked workers were working in the hospital for more than 10 years and received several awards. There are disabled workers as well as couples among them. Many families have been left without income. Workers’ Liberty will be joining LabourStart to gather...

Ukraine after the debacle

The debacle at Debaltseve in the days following the Minsk 2 accords has given rise to two major developments. The Ukrainian government is seeking a European Union police mission to help it hold the line against the separatists and their Russian backers; and seventeen volunteer battalions have established a joint leadership and headquarters to make them a more effective fighting force. Both developments stem from the same recognition of the military inferiority of the Ukrainian side facing an adversary that is ready and willing to press forward into new territory. The announcement of a new...

Greece: blackmail and resistance

The “win-win” approach was always illusory: the approach aiming for an agreed solution beneficial for all, from the Greek worker to the Greek banker and investor to the Eurozone, ECB and EU, and the illusions that a "national" negotiating team (including even previous memorandum “enemies”) would deliver the desired outcome smoothly. Driven by the logic of seeking this impossible harmonious agreement, the Syriza leaders: • Dropped the aim of writing off the majority of the debt with a European Summit similar to the German in 1953; froze, instead of disbanding, the official privatisation agency...

Challenge to Unison leaders

On 24 March local government workers from the largest union in that sector, Unison, will meet to debate the decision to call off the strike action over pay. Activists were angry that the dispute against the employers' pathetic 1% pay offer was called off in favour of an even more pathetic 2% over 2 years, not just compounded the difference between pay rise and inflation, but also preventing members taking action in the run up to national and local elections. Activists were also angered with the methods used in the pay dispute, tactical errors and a failure to offer a confident lead or properly...

Why I'm not voting Green this May

What kind of a society would you like to live in? The world I want to live in would have things like rail, energy and other basic industries socialised, owned by and run in the interests of society. It would have an education system freed from the interests of business and profit, and funded entirely by progressive taxation. Public services would be run by the people who work in them and the community they serve, not by executives on six or seven figure salaries, drawn from an Oxbridge elite. I’d like constituents to be able to recall their MPs from parliament, and a much fuller democracy than...

Daesh has pushed women back decades

Omar Raii spoke to Gona Saed from the Kurdish and Middle Eastern Women's Organisation. Daesh (Islamic State) has been strategically defeated and driven away in Kobane, and in major areas in Shangal, but they still exist in some surrounding villages and are still a big threat. They occupy many cities in Syria and Iraq, they launch attacks here and there; recently they attacked the city of Kirkuk in north Iraq. They were defeated, but there are reports of them putting together forces to attack again. Not many [independent] reports have come out, but we have seen how Daesh behave in their own...

Hold them to account!

Omar Raii’s article about free speech on University campuses ( Solidarity 354) was written before a recent public exchange of letters over the issue. A number of academics and activists like Peter Tatchell signed a letter condemning what they called the “intimidation” of comedian Kate Smurthwaite (she had a gig at Goldsmiths University cancelled) and the attempt last month, to get the Cambridge Union (CU) to withdraw an speaking invitation to Germaine Greer (Greer has long been anti-trans). A letter signed by activists, answered the condemnation, to set the record straight. Indeed, neither of...

New hope on the Mexican left?

At a precipitous time in the history of Mexico, is the left finally getting its act together and forming a viable alternative? Certainly Mexico is a state in crisis. Economically, it is suffering from the first wave of shocks as the oil price has slumped over the last six months. With oil a vital source of government revenue, both borrowing and debt are up and social welfare programmes under more pressure. The economic malaise is much deeper. For three decades Mexico has been in the vanguard of neoliberal policy in Latin America. Since the debt crisis of the 1980s, the Mexican state has...

The Greek government's "list of reforms" and left-wing criticisms

Below, from Reuters , is the text of the Greek government's 24 February 2015 letter to the eurozone finance ministers. The rumour is that the finance ministers have found it acceptable as a basis for extending credits for another four months, but the formal decision is due to be taken around 28 February. For criticism from the left, see the letter to Syriza members by Costas Lapavitsas and a comment by Stathis Kouvelakis . Following is the text of Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis's letter to Eurogroup President Jeroen Dijsselbloem outlining Greece's proposed reforms, published by...

Universal Credit will mean cuts and chaos

Universal Credit, the benefit which is to replace six payments to working-age claimants (Income Support, income-based Jobseekers' and Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit and Child and Working Tax Credit), has now been introduced nationally for all new claims. The Department for Work and Pensions has been piloting Universal Credit since 2013, albeit on a smaller scale than initially intended as a result of IT problems. The new system has been trialled in just four towns in the North West, Ashton-under-Lyne, Oldham, Warrington and Wigan, and only on non-complex claims from single...

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.