Workers Solidarity Movement

A crowd of over 500 people took part in Saturday’s  pre-budget march called by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions. The DCTU’s core message was to demand progressive taxation and public investment as an alternative to further cuts in public spending. 

As always, the Spectacle of Defiance and Hope contributed greatly to the atmosphere of the rally with impressive visual and musical displays. A hearse and coffin led the protest, followed by nine giant posters bearing the much unloved faces of nine government ministers with the blood red inscription “Austerity Kills”. The Spectacle’s second message reverberated in song through the streets: “Arise, arise, arise!”

Shell to Sea campaigner Naoise Ó Mongáin asking Garda to stop videotaping his grand daughter during a protest at Shell's refinery on Saturday.

I have been in Istanbul for 16 hours, but already there is more to tell than I have the time to write. The purpose of the following blog is not to provide an in-depth analysis of the events that have lead up to the present situation in which I find myself, nor to provide a detailed scholarly analysis of the political, social and economic superstructure to which these events relate (one can find such things elsewhere and in time I intend to contribute to this), rather the purpose of this blog is to provide sporadic updates, quotes, interviews, links and images from the front lines of the as of yet unsatisfactorily termed 'Turkish Summer'.

NBRU Bus drivers picketing the Bus Eireann depo in Cork city today told us that the picket had been 100% effective amongst their fellow workers, with SIPTU bus drivers and the mechanics all respecting the picket lines, just two people crossed the line both senior management.  SIPTU or currently balloting their members to join the action. The dispute seems destined to escalated as management refuse to negotiate are are pressing ahead with their plans despite strong worker resistance. The strike began today a Sunday, the real effects will be felt tomorrow Monday with widespread disruption of services.

Around 2000 people took part in the Mayday march in Belfast on Sat 4th May.  The WSM were on the march and our photographer prepared the photo slideshow below, you will find more photos from Belfast Mayday in our Facebook album

Several hundred people took part in a demonstration in Dublin last night demanding the government legislate for abortion access as laid down in the X-Case judgement over 21 years ago. Government after government have refused to introduce this legislation due to politicians own conservatism and their fear of the huge resources of the US funded anti-choice movement.  But the massive mobilisations that followed news of the death of Savita Halappanavar after she was refused an abortion in a Galway hospital in the Autumn have forced the Labour Party & Fine Gael to finally begin the process of introducing legislation.

Depending on whose figures you believe, somewhere between 50,000 and 100,000 people took to the streets yesterday (Sat 9^th February) to register their opposition to the foisting of private bank debt onto the shoulders of ordinary workers, the refusal to tax the wealthy and the accompanying austerity agenda which has led to wage cuts, job losses, cuts in services and a plethora of increased taxation measures all of which have disproportionately affected those on low and middle incomes.

The evening of Monday the 28th February saw members of the Cork CAHWT walk from the Imperial Hotel on the South Mall to the City Council chambers at City Hall. We entered the public galleries of the council to remind the councillors of our continued intention to boycott the unfair and unjust property tax and the coming water taxes.

Saturday saw another desperate attempt by the anti-choice coalition to prevent legislation coming to the Dail to allow abortion where a women's life is under threat. Despite months of preparation, a spend that must have ran close to a million euro, and the parish priest at every mass in the country telling catholics they should attend, less than 15,000 turned up. Compared to the 150,000 women who have had to travel to obtain abortions in the last decades this amounts to almost nothing, a handful of bigots bussed in from all over the country.

On Saturday lunchtime about 3,000 citizens marched through the streets of Cork in support of the continuing boycott of the Household Tax and in protest at the sixth straight austerity budget to be imposed on the Irish working class, which was unveiled this week by the Labour/Fine Gael coalition government.