Workers Solidarity Movement

Over the weekend of February 5th the Workers Solidarity Movement sent delegates to Paris to take place in a European conference of the groups involved in Anarkismo.net. Anarkismo.net is a multi-lingual news and analysis site made up of 31 organisations around the world who agree with the Anarkismo.net editorial statement*. WSM members were involved in founding this project almost five years ago, this was the first formal meeting of some of the groups involved.

Approximately 40 people packed in Solidarity Books in Cork to hear Elsie Haas (a Haitian film-maker and journalist, based in Paris) and Jose Antonio Gutierrez (of the Latin American Solidarity Centre in Dublin) talk about the political and economic history of Haiti and how the recent US intervention in the country, following the earthquake, is just a continuation of the UN-led occupation since 2004, following on from 200 years of occupations and imperialism.

Recent events amongst the North’s political elite show that mainstream politics has changed a lot over the past 15 years. Amidst all the tabloid frenzy it’s easy to forget where we came from. Corruption at the highest levels of government and salacious affairs may be preferable to war on our streets, but it isn't democracy and we know it.

As this is being written we are currently in one of the coldest snaps of winter weather the country has seen in a long time. Temperatures reaching -15 and below have been recorded and stocks of grit & salt for ensuring safe travel are at an all time low. The government has ordered that schools remain closed for almost a week. This is replicated right across the UK and continental Europe.

Although the period in the run up to Christmas is generally a quiet one for political activity, WSM members were busy in their unions organising for the national public sector strike of November 24th last, and there are extensive reports of our members’ experiences that day at http://www.wsm.ie/story/6241. We were also involved in the budget day protests outside the Dáil on December 9th. While the initial battle may have been lost, we realise that the resistance to attacks on working conditions, both in the private and public sectors, and to attacks on public services will be a long one.

The new Financial Regulator at the Central Bank, Matthew Elderfield, will be paid more than €400,000 a year - almost €150,000 more than his predecessor. He starts work this month.

Wednesday 9th December saw the greatest budget attack on workers in Ireland in a couple of decades with services and pay being slashed. Many unions and other organisations called protests outside the Dail from the early morning to the late evening. WSM members took part in these protests throughout the day and provided live updates, photos and video from them via our twitter account which you can view or listen to in this article.

The Dublin Council of Trade Unions called a lunchtime protest for Budget day on Wednesday 9th December to "set down a marker that the fight to reverse government policy to solve the crisis on the backs of the lower paid workers and those on social welfare will continue". This was part of a sequence of protests that went on through the whole day.

WSM member Gregor Kerr was on Liveline prior to the 24th November strike. This is an audio recording of what he said and the responses it drew from other callers,

Strike Day
Thursday 3rd December
Protest Rally
Assemble at Department of Education & Science, Marlborough St. at 10:30a.m.
March to Dáil Éireann, leaving Marlborough St. at 11:30a.m.