Workers Solidarity Movement

Daniel Guerin's book "Anarchism" has been translated in Russian and Arabic for the first time. Thanks to a collection at our 10th birthday party we are able to send £100 pounds to aid in the publication of this important work in these languages. The Arabic version will be distributed among immigrants in Europe, in the Lebanon and in other Arabic speaking countries. It's available in English from the WSM bookservice for £7.95.

Originally published in Workers Solidarity 44, 1995

Anarchists are for the defeat of British imperialism. We would like to see an end to the killings in the 6 counties but we understand that the ultimate cause of the troubles lies at the feet of Britain and the northern sectarian statelet. But we want more, we stand for the creation of a new society in the interests of the working class and against the bosses, both orange and green.

Dear comrades,

We have received your magazine Workers Solidarity so we've decided to write to you and inform you about the growth of anarchism in new Yugoslavia [ed. Serbia, Kosovo etc.].

NEARLY ONE out of three workers in the world's labour force either has no job or is earning too little to live decently, the International Labour Organisation reports. The United Nations organisation calls the situation "the worst global employment crisis since the Great Depression of the 1930s". The ILO said 120 million people are registered as unemployed around the world and millions more are either tired of looking for work or never bothered to register.

WAGES COUNCILS, which used to set minimum wages in badly paid industries like catering, in Northern Ireland & Britain are no more. As reported in the last edition of Workers Solidarity they were abolished by the Tories on February 7th.

HICKSON PHARMACHEM, the company at the centre of last year's explosion and fire in Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork, pleaded guilty in July to three charges of negligence and improper handling of hazardous chemical substances. The result of this negligence was a major industrial accident in the harbour area of Cork, which very nearly caused a major contamination and deaths.

Considerable progress has already been made in laying the foundations for a campaign against the service charges. Throughout all three Dublin County Council areas, residents' associations and local action groups have been taking surveys and petitions, collecting bills for return to the Councils, and organising public meetings and protests. All the indications are that these efforts are meeting with a good deal of success. In the Fingal area, for example, figures are showing 77% non-payment up to mid-July. Results of surveys carried out in a number of areas in South Dublin show similar levels of non-cooperation.

Letter: Rail strike is averted

Dear Comrades,
One minute to mid-night on Friday 15th April and the rail strike is averted. SIPTU left it to the last minute leaving the company sweating it out. The unions never had problems with negotiations. The strike notice was only served after the company suspended workers for not accepting new training arrangements which they were being forced to take or face being suspended. The company had repeatedly refused to enter negotiations because this productivity deal had been on the table for three years.

THERE ARE so many parachutes in the sky we can no longer see the sun. They are dropping 'personalities' into the June Euro-election. All the major parties in the 26 counties have selected 'names' to run for them. Fianna Fáil got Olive Braiden from the Rape Crisis Centre; Labour got RTE's Orla Guerin; Fine Gael got the Ranchers' leader, Alan Gillis.

PRIME MINISTER Edouard Balladur and his government have been in retreat over the last six months as the people of France take to the streets to demonstrate their anger at new policies. The government has backed down on Air France (see last issue of WS), on extra funds for church schools and with the fishermen. The turn of the students of France came when the government proposed to cut the miniumm wage by 20% for people under 26.