Workers Solidarity Movement

Christmas Island off the Western Australian is still reeling from last weeks insurrection from ‘asylum seekers’ at the islands detention centre. The breakouts were followed by three overnight riots at the centre in which accommodation tents and small buildings were burnt down as police fired tear gas and "bean-bag" bullets to quell rock-throwing rioters.

The Fast Food bosses are attempting to pay their workers less, with a case which has commenced in the High Court today. [16th March 2011].  The poorly paid have often and continue to work in the food service industry.  Low wages are usually the order of the day for those who work for the fast food merchants.  But apparently in these times of austerity the owners of the junk food franchises(Subway, Abrakebabra, Bagel Factory, Burger King, Eddie Rocket’s, Supermac’s)  see an opportunity to turn the screw even further on their workers and it is for that reason that they are in the High Court.

Around 100 people demonstrated at the “Courts of Justice” in Parkgate St. in Dublin this morning (16/3/11) in support of Gerard McDonnell, who is facing charges in relation to a “floating picket” in Dublin port in 2009 during the drawn out strike at MRL. The case was adjourned until April 1^st as the book of evidence was not ready, despite, as the defence solicitor pointed out, over 18 months having elapsed since the alleged offences.

The richest 300 people in Ireland are now worth 57 billion, almost as much as the entire IMF /ECB bailout. What's more, when the rest of us saw our take home pay fall massively in the last year they got 13% or 6.7 billion euro richer. Which hasn't stopped them demanding pay cuts for the rest of us.

In 2009, a group of workers in Dublin Port fought an 8-month long strike against forced redundancies and pay cuts.  The workers and their local community showed bravery and determination in what was a difficult struggle.  Their employer, Marine Terminals Ltd. (MTL), was eventually forced to come to an agreement with the strikers.

Despite appalling weather conditions, members of the 1% Network gathered outside the Central Bank in Dublin’s Dame Street on Thursday evening (10^th March) to highlight the fact that, despite the change in government the wealthy 1% still “pull the strings”.

The evening’s events began with a symbolic sealing off of the Central Bank with crime scene tape.  This was done to highlight the fact that it is “a symbol of no-regulation capitalism and unbridled greed,” said Brian Leeson, 1% Network spokesperson. 

The heads of government from around Europe are meeting today to agree a further program of attacks on the wages and conditions of workers across Europe in order to pay for the international capitalist crisis. In a process driven by the core economies of France and Germany under the title of a 'Competitiveness Pact' wages are to be 'restrained' and pension ages are to be raised across Europe.

After the neo-liberal economic model/fantasy hit some black ice on the motorway of progress, and went hurtling over the crash barrier, there have been all sorts of attempts to get working people to pay cash to get this baby back on the road.   Therefore various jam jars of money are being raided to re-invigorate the beast. In the UK, the attention of Lord Hutton, the former Labour pension’s secretary has been focused on Public sector pensions. 

Tuesday March 8^th was International Women's Day, and to celebrate it Cork WSM and several other organisations in the city organised a number of events in various locations. Ahead of the day on Saturday and Sunday, the Cork Sexual Violence Centre in Camden Quay and the Women's Studies Department of UCC respectively held celebratory events. On the day itself, events marking it were held around the city.

Yesterday (Wednesday 9th March) the hunger strike of 300 migrants in Greece ended in victory after key concessions were made by the Greek government. The 300 undocumented migrants, who lived and worked in Greece for years, usually at a fraction of the minimum wage, had been on hunger strike for 44 days, after being told that, due to the economic crisis, they were no longer wanted and must either leave voluntarily or be deported.