Workers Solidarity Movement

On October 22^nd, in the biggest show of student strength in many years, over 15,000 third level students marched through the streets of Dublin. They were united in their opposition to the Budget’s 67% College Registration Fee increase and Minister for Education, Batt O’Keefe’s threat to bring back full college fees by September 2009. Last month, he announced that the return of fees would raise €530 million in revenue at a family income threshold of €120,000. To his embarrassment, he later had to admit that these figures were wrong and that in fact the maximum revenue would be only €130 million.

The Workers Solidarity movement, an organization of anarchists in Ireland, will host a talk on the economic crisis, its causes and the anarchist alternative.

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As capitalism yet again drags us all into a crisis we’ll discuss why this keeps happening, why capitalism has always been and always will be unstable, and the effect that this insecurity has on all of our lives.

Over 10,000 membership details were leaked over the internet including a meagre 39 names, phone numbers and addresses of those members living in the North. In the past, the activities of fascist groups such as the White Nationalist Party and the Ulster Nationalist Alliance have been seriously disrupted by the Fascists Out! Campaign. The highlight being in 2004 during the encounter and confiscation of WNP material in Portrush which left fascists running for their lives (1). Followed, by the closing down of the UNA mail box in South Belfast August 2005.

They came from the four corners of Munster and beyond for yesterday’s INTO organised protest march through Cork city. 

The final numbers taking part were huge and clearly the biggest seen in the city for a long, long time. Schools from Dungarvan, Listowel, Skibbereen, Kenmare, Thurles, Limerick, Tralee were present along with a huge showing from Cork City. Union banners present were from all over and included the TUI and the ASTI.

The Workers Solidarity Movement held a public demonstration in Belfast in opposition to the Ministry of Defence's decision to hold a march celebrating the occupation and continued atrocities in Afganistan. Here we present two individual reports from members who took part in the protest.

Report of the National Secretary for the Fall 2008 Conference held at the Teachers Club in Dublin on the 25th and 26 of October.

Somewhere in the region of 15,000 people took part in the INTO protest at the Dail Wednesday evening. From the crowd it was obvious that as well as teachers many parents, secondary school pupils and college students had turned up to show solidarity.
The Gardai prevented access to Kildare street and the mounted riot police were on standby at the gates of the Dail. An elaborate filter barrier had been installed across the top of Kildare street

On Wednesday 22 October, something over 10,000 students marched in the centre of Dublin to protest the proposed introduction of fees. The student members and supporters of the WSM were in attendance and distributed thousands of leaflets which discussed the origins of the attack and argued that students will need to build a mass movement across the education sector to defend and improve equality of access to education.

Major protest in Cork against the Government and attack on the elderly

Over 3,000 people – the old, the young and the grandchildren – marched through Cork city centre today in anger against the proposed cuts in Medical Cards for over the 70s.

Over a thousand people marched through Dublin Saturday 11th as part of the Dublin Council of Trade unions organised demonstration for a decent health service. Local groups had travelled to Dublin from around the country to take part in the demonstration.