Workers Solidarity Movement

Job losses, wage cuts, cuts in essential public services, pension levies..... Our living standards and our social services are under huge attack. Mainstream media commentators and some politicians would have us believe that there is no alternative, that we have all been living beyond our means and that we have to tighten our belts in these recessionary times.

But we do not have to accept their reality. We do not have to accept that people on minimum wage, unwaged workers, those on social welfare, low-paid civil servants or working class people in general should be the ones who pay for the economic crisis. We do not have to accept that our health, education, infrastructure and social welfare services should be slashed in order to bail out the banks and the property developers.

Huge numbers of people recognise that we are being sold a lie. Huge numbers know that the attempts to create divisions between public and private sector workers and between different groups of ordinary people are an attempt to weaken us.

Communities all over the country have organised to resist hospital closures, cuts in hospital services, education cuts and other attacks on social services. Senior citizens fought valiantly, and ultimately victoriously, to retain the right to a medical card for over 70's.

Communities and workforces all over the country are organising resistance to threatened attacks and cutbacks. Groups such as Waterford Crystal workers, Visteon workers in Belfast, Thomas Cook workers, Custom House cleaners in Dublin, Marine Terminals Ltd. Workers (Dublin port) and Mr. Binman workers (Co. Tipperary) and many more have fought back against job losses and attacks on working conditions.

The Social Solidarity Network is coming together to provide a forum for workers and communities to unite to resist the attacks, and to build links across the many struggles which will break out over the coming months. On Saturday 3rd October we are holding a meeting which will provide a chance for people to come together and share their personal experiences, explore the economics of the crisis and plan ways in which we can build resistance.

We have identified 3 main areas for discussion – Workplace Resistance; Unemployed/Unwaged/Community Resistance; Education Cuts resistance. In each of these areas we want to explore how opposition to government cuts can be encouraged and co-ordinated. These are of course only our ideas and we are open to suggestions for alternative or additional workshops.

We hope that you will come along on the day, share your views and help to build a network which can share skills, knowledge and experience and which can help to bring reality to the old maxim that ‘Unity is Strength’.

Social Solidarity Network
Building a Network of Resistance
Saturday 3rd October 2009
Seomra Spraoi, 10 Belvidere Court, Dublin 1 (off Gardiner Street - see http://www.seomraspraoi.org:8080/Plone/copy_of_contact-us for map)

Timetable
12:30p.m. Tea/Coffee/Registration & mingling – including film showing
1:30p.m. Short introduction to the day followed by breaking up into groups of 10 or less for 30 minutes discussion on how people are effected personally (work, dole etc), what if any involvement they have had in resistance, what problems they have faced in that involvement (or what has stopped them being involved) and what they think might be possible for them to do. Followed by feedback.
2:20p.m. Break
2:30p.m. Introductory session on the economics of the crisis - 20 minute presentation followed by breaking up into groups of 10 or less to discuss
3:20p.m. Break
3:30p.m. Building Resistance – short leadoff followed by breaking into 3 groups
a. Workplace resistance
b. Unemployed /Unwaged/ Community resistance
c. Education Cuts resistance
Discussion on how we should organise ourselves / what is the first step
4:30p.m. Final session. - reportbacks from each group, discussion of how best to proceed - future meetings, organising etc. Attempt to come up with some concrete proposals and agree core principles.
5:15p.m. Meeting concludes
6:00p.m. Food will be served
7:00p.m. Film Showing
9:00p.m. onwards Social evening – Chill out, relax, make new friends and discuss the events of the day in the convivial atmosphere of Seomra Spraoi.

This event is jointly organised by Workers Solidarity Movement (www.wsm.ie), Revolutionary Anarcha-Feminist Group (http://ragdublin.blogspot.com/) and members of the Seomra Spraoi collective (http://www.seomraspraoi.org:8080/Plone) . It is open to all and aims to provide a space in which people can come together to support each other in building a network of resistance to government attacks on our living standards. This network will be built in an open, decentralised and fully democratic manner and will operate along non-hierarchical principles.

Please come along, share your experiences and help us to build the network.

For more information please contact us at socialsolidaritynetwork@gmail.com or text/ring Greg on 086 1501151 or Julian on 0857189621

This is a family-friendly event. Contact us at above Email address or phone numbers for details of arrangements for children.