Workers Solidarity Movement

Cork continues to organise against the household tax. Fermoy, Hollyhill, Macroom, Douglas and Mallow all had successful meetings this week with groups established in each area. Mallow was the biggest meeting with 250 people crowding into the town's Hibernian Hotel. Tonight the campaign rolls on with meetings in Charleville, Gurranabraher, Carrigaline and Bishopstown.

The meetings this week follow last weeks successful run of 8 meetings across the city and county.  Activity has flowed directly from the meetings with local groups established at the meetings organising leafleting, canvassing, protests and fundraisers. On Saturday Cork city will see a concerted drive in the city centre to sign up people to the campaign and distribute material to counter the governments propaganda drive.

From the very start the campaign has pushed for the establishment of local groups to drive the cause forward.  Before Xmas this proved harder as the tax didn't seem as immediate to people, but in January it was clear from the response that things had changed and both the turnout at meetings and the level of participation in local groups accelerated.  since then the campaign has been pushing an open door. Every meeting results in a local group being established and very often spin off meetings in neighbouring towns. Fermoy saw Mitchelstown people volunteering to organise there, Macroom gave impetus to Clondrohid, Mallow to Buttevant.  The campaign is gaining even further momentum.

Critical now is that the campaign consolidates these gains but maximising participation by those attending the meetings in running the local groups, taking ownership of the campaign and feeding into the structures of the campaign.  A mass democratic campaign of non-registration and non-payment is becoming a reality. When the state and its supporters in the sections of the media, IBEC and other bodies counter attack the broader the base of the campaign, the deeper it's roots, the higher the level of active participation the better palced we will be to meet the challenge.