Workers Solidarity Movement

An emergency demonstration of some 150 people took place in Dublin Saturday afternoon in Solidarity with those under police repression in Turkey.  Check the WSM twitter for the latest updates from Istanbul and see our Fackbook album of the Dublin Solidarity demonstration.

In this 45 minute interview Sevinc who recently migrated from Turkey to Ireland provides context on the Gezi park struggle and the police repression from recent regional and left politics. Touches on the Turkish left & anarchist movement, LGBT & Kurdish struggles, the role of the Ultras, army & Police

Turkish anarchist on background to Gezi Park struggle in Istanbul - explanation for the left by Workers Solidarity on Mixcloud

Campaigners against the property tax have said that the tax, which is being boycotted by huge numbers of people, is “totally unnecessary” and that the government should scrap it “unless it is prepared for a major battle with an angry public.” “The government has claimed it hopes to raise €500million from the property tax,” said Gregor Kerr, spokesperson for the Campaign Against Home and Water Taxes (CAHWT). “But this is €500million that ordinary people – who have already suffered 5 years of austerity – simply don’t have.”

NBRU Bus drivers picketing the Bus Eireann depo in Cork city today told us that the picket had been 100% effective amongst their fellow workers, with SIPTU bus drivers and the mechanics all respecting the picket lines, just two people crossed the line both senior management.  SIPTU or currently balloting their members to join the action. The dispute seems destined to escalated as management refuse to negotiate are are pressing ahead with their plans despite strong worker resistance. The strike began today a Sunday, the real effects will be felt tomorrow Monday with widespread disruption of services.

A few thousand took part in the annual mayday parade in Sydney this year with organisers claiming it was the largest in years.  This years event theme was a 'a proud past, a fighting future' which certainly matched the range of trade union banners on display and political groups of all shades including the James Connolly Society involving recent Irish migrants.

Around 2000 people took part in the Mayday march in Belfast on Sat 4th May.  The WSM were on the march and our photographer prepared the photo slideshow below, you will find more photos from Belfast Mayday in our Facebook album

Mayday in Dublin save a collection of historic trade union banners and the Fintan Lalor pipe band lead over 1,000 people from the Garden of Remembrance to Liberty Hall. The march is organised by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) and featured ten banners created for the ITGWU by the artist Jer O’Leary with images of militant syndicalist trade union leaders  Jim Larkin and James Connolly and scenes from the 1913 Lockout.

The WSM has always argued that the X-Case legislation was not enough but even so we were shocked to finally see the details of the bill Fine Gael and Labour are preparing.  We expected it to be a small but almost insignificant step foward.  Instead there is a clear danger that women with unwanted pregnancies will be worse off than before if the final bill resembles what has been presented so far.

Around lunchtime on April 15th we received word that there was an anti-eviction protest underway on Manor street in Dublin outside a house that had been squatted.  A Garda had called at the door that morning and after being refused entrance had said he'd be back later with more Garda. The building had been squatted on and off a couple of times in recent years and was recently re-occupied.

The anti-choice movements have been repeating over and over the message in recent months that 'abortion is never a treatment for suicidality' This is frequently coupled with citing the realtively low current rate of suicide among pregnant women.  But like other myths of the anti-choice movement it has emerged that until abortion became accessible to Irish women, through travelling to the UK, 10% of suicides of women in Ireland were of pregnant women, a figure far in excess of the general population.