Workers Solidarity Movement

September 10th saw the launch in Dublin of a new history of the Offical IRA and the Workers Party called ‘The Lost Revolution’ by Brian Hanley and Scott Miller. Over 250 people including many ex and current members of the Workers Party as well as members of just about every other left and republican group crammed into the hall for the launch. This is an audio recording of the introduction to the book given by Diarmaid Ferriter followed by each of the authors speaking about the book.

Lost Revolution - History of the Workers Party - launch in Dublin by Andrew Flood on Mixcloud

On Friday 31st July workers at Thomas Cook occupied the shop on Grafton street. Management got a court injunction against the occupation and on Monday morning a huge force of Gardai sealed off the area, smashed their way into the shop and arrested the 28 workers inside.

We are using the WSM twitter account to provide you with live updates from WSM members involved in this struggle and to let you know of developments and new information as soon as we become aware of them.

SIPTU members at the MTL depot in Dublin Port have been on strike since the beginning of July, resisting forced redundancies and pay cuts. The company shipped in scabs from the North and Britain on day one to steal the dockers’ jobs, and also got a High Court injunction preventing effective picketing. We will be using the WSM twitter account to provide live updates from the struggle.

Over 200 people marched today from Andersonstown to the factory in Finaghy for a rally, which was addressed by Unite Shop Stewards Charlie Maxwell and John McGuire, including representatives from the SDLP and Sinn Fein.

“Don’t wait for politicians and people high up in the unions- just do it yourself”, says Unite shop steward John McGuire.

Protests spread, as workers continue to occupy Visteon/Ford plant in West Belfast.

Around 1000 people attended the 2009 Dublin anarchist bookfair in Liberty hall.  The audio file was recorded at the Seomra Spraoi social after the bookfair. In it 25 people give their impressions of the day.

What people think of the Dublin Anarchist Bookfair by Workers Solidarity on Mixcloud

Dublin Bus is slated to see huge cuts in both staff and services. As many as 290 workers and 100 buses will be cut. This means fewer routes and less frequent service. If the Dublin Bus workers go on strike, it will mean an inconvenience for a few days. However, if they take action and force the company to back down, it will in the long run save us all time and money and will help the environment. It will also serve as a message to the politicians. If they want cuts, they can start by tightening the belts at the top, not the bottom. The politicians are giving bailouts to bankers while they hand out cuts to workers and commuters. It's clear where the money to support public services should come from. It should come from the people who created the crisis!

Showing the film "Persepolis" at The Bodega, Cornmarket St.

Former Airport worker Gordon McNeill has resumed hunger/thirst strike on Thursday to lift a gagging order clause preventing him speaking out against the role of trade union officials during the dispute.
Gordon commented: “Tony Woodley and Jimmy Kelly are offering me a bribe to keep me silent about the role of officials of my union. I will never accept these terms.