Workers Solidarity Movement

Yesterday’s General Strike in the Spanish state was a massive success. Large areas of Spain came to a complete halt and Barcelona saw 70% of businesses shut for the day. In a sharp contrast to the situation in Ireland workers went out to make the strike effective. Picketing was serious and effective and it was clear that workers were not sitting back at any time. Barcelona was the scene of prolonged clashes between protesters and the police during most of yesterday.

Up to 1,500 workers (Irish Times estimate) marched from Anglo-Irish Bank to the Dáil at lunchtime today. For a lunchtime event with very little publicity it was a surprisingly good turnout. The ICTU leaders had only planned for a stunt to get themselves on the TV news, their original idea was that a couple of hundred union officials and activists would provide a backdrop for David Begg or Jack O'Connor delivering a soundbite.

It was one of those moments when you're certain that tens of thousands of other people are going through the same emotions at the same time as you. One of the rarer ones of late when the emotion is sheer joy. I wasn't really paying attention to the crackling radio as I was coming around with my cup of tea this morning, chit-chatting to my housemate. But the words 'cement truck', 'Leinster House', 'Dail Eireann', 'Gates' eventually got our attention. Oh the delight of it! 

The 1% network has announced details of a ‘political walking tour’ through the affluent districts of Dublin 2 and Dublin 4. The tour, which will bring protesters through the ‘heartland of the Golden Circle’, will stop at a number of locations, including the new headquarters of Anglo Irish Bank on Burlington Road, property developer Johnny Ronan’s property on Burlington Road and IBEC headquarters on Baggot Street. The tour will assemble at the Wolfe Tone Monument on Stephens Green at 1pm on Saturday, October 9th, 2010.

A spokesperson for the Rossport Solidarity Camp described how an occupation of a Shell drilling platform was brought to an end when the last campaigner was removed when "a Garda climbed out to him with a commando knife and no harness or support gear to hold himself up. He slashed through the ropes, pulled at the person and elbowed him in the head."  This followed a a successful 12 hour occupation of a Shell's platform earlier this week (see photo).

Thousands of protesters opposed to Pope Benedict XVI and his state visit to Britain marched through London on Saturday, slamming the Church over sex abuse, gay rights and a range of other issues. A coalition of demonstrators united under the "Protest the Pope" banner started marching at the edge of Hyde Park, where the pontiff was to later hold an open-air prayer vigil for an estimated 80,000 Roman Catholic victims.

Just before 7am this morning, Shell to Sea campaigners swam out to one of Shell's drilling platforms in the Srwaddacon Bay Special Area of Conservation (SAC) in Erris. Two people climbed up one of the drills and have occupied it since as part of the ongoing resistance to the imposition of an experimental gas pipeline on the community around Rossport.

Dublin jewellery shop Weirs know the recession isn’t hitting most of the rich.  The Grafton Street business is currently taking orders for a limited edition Patek Phillipe watch that costs more than €250,000.   This summer Weirs sold one watch for €454,000.

The state employment and training service, FAS, is telling the unemployed to work for nothing.  On the 29th July 2010 they had 484 work experience positions on offer.   Not only do these jobs pay no wages, they are allowing bosses to get rid of staff and replace them with free labour.

2010 marks the 100th anniversary of the National Confederation of Labour (CNT), a militant anarchist union in Spain.

When General Franco led his fascist revolt in 1936 workers rose up throughout the country, Where anarchist ideas were popular (as in Catalonia and Aragon) a social revolution occurred, showing that society could indeed function along anarchist lines. In hospitals, factories, mills, bus & train services, water & electricity, the workers of the CNT reorganised and administered production, distribution, and public services without bosses, managers, or the authority of the state.