Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005
RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony
Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony
Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony
RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony
Waiting for SIPO Anthony
Public Inquiry >>
Promoting Human Rights in IrelandHuman Rights in Ireland >>
The Cost of Facebook?s Now-Repudiated Censorship Thu Jan 09, 2025 20:00 | Josh Stylman and Jeffrey Tucker
Mark Zuckerberg's repudiation of Covid-era censorship is welcome. But it's not enough, say Josh Stylman and Jeffrey Tucker. Without a public reckoning they will just do it all again when a cause seems urgent enough.
The post The Cost of Facebook’s Now-Repudiated Censorship appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Labour?s War Against the Past Thu Jan 09, 2025 17:46 | Dr Nicholas Tate
Labour is engaged in an all-out assault on the past. From schools to immigration, inheritance tax to the House of Lords, this radical Left-wing Government is waging war on British culture, says Dr Nicholas Tate.
The post Labour’s War Against the Past appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Britain ?Came Within Whisker of Blackouts? Yesterday Thu Jan 09, 2025 15:16 | Will Jones
Britain came "within a whisker of blackouts" on Wednesday after plunging temperatures and?low wind power generation?left electricity grid operators struggling to keep the lights on.
The post Britain “Came Within Whisker of Blackouts” Yesterday appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Where is Rachel Reeves? Thu Jan 09, 2025 13:00 | Will Jones
Bond yields are soaring to their highest levels in 30 years and sterling is sliding, but the Chancellor is nowhere to be seen. Where is Rachel Reeves and why won't she address the markets her failed Budget has spooked?
The post Where is Rachel Reeves? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Thousands of Civil Servants to Strike ?Indefinitely? Over Demand to Return to Office Three Days a We... Thu Jan 09, 2025 11:16 | Will Jones
Thousands of civil servants are to strike "indefinitely" following an order to return to the office for three days a week, a move described by a trade union as "Victorian".
The post Thousands of Civil Servants to Strike “Indefinitely” Over Demand to Return to Office Three Days a Week appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.
Lockdown Skeptics >>
Voltaire, international edition
After Iraq, Libya, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria, the Pentagon attacks Yemen, by Thier... Tue Jan 07, 2025 06:58 | en
Voltaire, International Newsletter N?113 Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:42 | en
Pentagon could create a second Kurdish state Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:31 | en
Resolution condemning the glorification of Nazism Tue Dec 17, 2024 11:08 | en
How Washington and Ankara Changed the Regime in Damascus , by Thierry Meyssan Tue Dec 17, 2024 06:58 | en
Voltaire Network >>
international |
worker & community struggles and protests |
other press
Tuesday May 12, 2009 17:31
by Tratto
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (2 of 2)
Jump To Comment: 1 2Well worth reading this article, the SWPs opposition to the Lyndsey strike was terrible exposed them as people who know very little about the real lives of the working class. In Ireland their leading members repeated the same lies about Lyndsey.
The following is a cut and paste article from the Socialist Party England & Wales site. I know this is in breach of editorial policy, however, I ask that it be to remain up given the debate which was arisen on this issue. Without any point-scoring or digs, the article in my opinion raises a serous issue relating to approach around the issue of the race to the bottom and challenges which can emerge for activists and socialists as to the best way to defend workers' jobs, etc.
"The construction workers' demonstration outside the Olympics site on Wednesday 6 May showed the effectiveness of different ideas and approaches within the workers' movement.
"Following the Lindsey dispute earlier on this year, the Socialist Party was criticised by some others on the left who claimed that we ignored the slogan 'British Jobs for British Workers' (BJ4BW), which was a small feature of the strike on the first few days.
"On the entire Olympic site demonstration, I only saw one worker with the BJ4BW slogan on a sheet of A4 paper. When I spotted him, he was being harangued and shouted at by a member of another left group. Realising that she wasn't getting anywhere, the left activist was trying to grab the sheet of paper out of the worker's hand. Understandably, the response this provoked is unprintable, but the left activist cleared off fairly sharpish!
"I went up to have a chat with the worker. He told me he wasn't racist and that it was Gordon Brown who'd said "British jobs for British workers". The lack of jobs and attacks on union terms and conditions made him want to "ram those words back down his throat".
"I told him I could understand where he was coming from, but it wasn't clear from the BJ4BW slogan what the struggle was about - a rate for the job, trade union rights for all workers wherever they're from and an end to the 'race to the bottom'.
"We had a chat about the media coverage of the Lindsey dispute and how the media had tried to make out that the strikers were racist. We came to the conclusion that the bosses' papers are never going to be on our side anyway, but what's the point of giving them ammunition to use against us? At that, he crumpled the BJ4BW sign into a ball, hoyed it away and took a Socialist Party placard with the slogan 'trade union rights for all workers' on it instead.
"As far as I can tell, what those on the left, who claim the Socialist Party turned a blind eye to the BJ4BW slogan at Lindsey, mean is that we didn't turn up on the first day of the strike and shout at the construction workers, calling them racist idiots. This example from the Olympic protest showed quite clearly that such an approach doesn't work, but discussion and providing an alternative and an effective strategy to defend pay and conditions does."