Workers Solidarity Movement

As the grey misty rain fell throughout the day – you truly knew it was winter. The fact that over 300 bus workers were gathered in this dog of an afternoon outside Dublin Bus HQ would indicate that we all have entered the season of discontent.

Friday 9th November saw hundreds of people travel from around Ireland to show solidarity with dozens of local Corrib protesters in the latest 'day of action' against the attempt by Shell to impose a dangerous experimental gas pipeline on the community. WSM members from Dublin and Cork took part in the protests, here we present their account of what happened along with a selection of photographs from indymedia.ie.

On last Thursday night the Cork branch of the Workers’ Solidarity Movement hosted a talk from Leiser Peles, an anarchist from Israel who is active with the Anarchists against the Wall. The talk was held at the Metropole Hotel and was attended by about forty people.

Leiser Peles, a prominent Israeli opponent of the massive wall that Israel is building on Palestinian land in the Occupied West Bank will speak in Cork on Thursday night. Mr. Peles is a member of Anarchists Against The Wall, an Israeli - Palestinian organisation established in 2003 to build solidarity with the Palestinians in their struggles.

The Workers Solidarity Movement is urging anarchists and other supporters of Shell To Sea to get to Rossport for the day-of-action on November 9th. WSM members will join people from around the country in showing, one year since Gardai batoned protesters, that we will not be intimidated.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation reports that Mansour Osanloo, President of the Tehran Bus Workers’ Union continues to be incarcerated in the notorious Evin prison in Tehran and is being denied essential medical treatment to save his eyesight, despite the Iranian regime refusing to allow the General Secretary of an Indonesian transport workers’ union to visit him this week under the pretext that he was receiving medical treatment.

On September 29th in Toronto a new Ontario anarchist-communist organization, Common Cause, held our founding conference. Preparation for this founding conference had taken place over several months culminating in a speaking tour of six Ontario cities under the title 'Building a Popular Anarchism'.

Green Party Minister John Gormley has given the green light for the Irish Coursing Club to capture hares for the coming enclosed hare coursing season. For those of you unfamiliar with coursing it basically consists of releasing two greyhounds to compete in pursuing a hare. Traditionally this was done in open fields with large numbers of men usually forming a human circle to enclose the chase and eventually break the circle to free the hare after a winning dog was chosen. As time went on and the sport became more professionalised enclosed coursing was developed where an enclose space was used to course captured hares.

The Limerick General Strike of 1918 called the Limerick Soviet (workers' council) into being. This was the first incident to draw general attention to the new spirit developing amongst Irish workers. The Limerick General Strike was however a strike against the imposition of British military permits and though it was regarded with distrust in some Nationalist quarters, it was supported by numbers of Limerick employers and shopkeepers. That the Limerick Soviet was used by workers to bring down prices and force up wages was a fact overshadowed by the military permit question.

From June to mid-August, postal workers in the North and in Britain were taking industrial action. Management are on the offensive, and the action was to protect existing conditions.

In a display of cross-border common purpose An Post bosses are also having a go, with conditions under attack as a prelude to selling off parts of the service to private companies. So, An Post workers have a special interest in how the Communications Workers Union dispute progresses