Nottingham Celebrates Mayday with Moazzam Begg

In recent years Mayday in Nottingham has once again become a major celebration with the march from the Brewhouse Yard already something of a tradition. As successful as these demonstrations have been, they have taken place on the nearest weekend to May 1st, with little happening on the day itself. This year, the Mayday Organising Committee (an off-shoot of the Nottingham Refugee Campaign Group) felt that something should be done to mark the day itself and decided to organise a rally addressed by a local asylum seeker and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Moazzam Begg.

The event had originally been intended to take place in the International Community Centre (ICC) on Mansfield Road, but Moazzam Begg is a well-known name and a major draw, so it was felt necessary to move to the New Mechanics on North Sherwood Street. This was probably a wise decision as something like 70-80 people turned up on the day.

Before Moazzam spoke, the meeting was adressed by Amdani Juma, a local asylum seeker, familiar to anybody whose been involved in refugee issues in Nottingham. A refugee from Burundi where he was a pro-democracy activist, for which he was tortured, Amdani came to the UK in 2003 and was granted humanitarian protection. Since finding himself in Nottingham he has busied himself campaigning on refugee issues, raising awareness about AIDS, involving himself in various fora around the city and even became a member of Home Office run National Refugee Integration Forum. Despite all this, his application for Indefinite Leave to Remain was rejected by the Home Office and his appeal against this decision unsuccessful.

Amdani recounted his earliest celebration of Mayday as a child of eight in Burundi. At his instigation a one minute silence was held to remember workers across the world who had died in the struggle for a better world. His talk was wide ranging, but he stressed that he was proud to be an asylum seeker, because it meant that he was a survivor. He described his life as being like living more than one life, with his current struggle for Indefinite Leave to Remain being his fifth life. He also used the talk as an opportunity to promote the sponsored walk he is planning to undertake later in the month to raise money for an AIDS charity.

Moazzam Begg began his talk by musing on the word "Mayday," which he noted is French for "help me." An apposite phrase given his own experiences. Moazzam was one of nine British Muslims held at Guantanamo Bay by the US government. Released in 2005 without charge he has yet to receive any compensation or an apology. Since his release he has spoken widely and published a book, Enemy Combatant, in which he recounts his experiences of extra-judicial detention.

His neatly honed talk explored issues of freedom in the shadow of the "War on Terror." He noted that in surveys of "Britishness," the signing of the Magna Carta was often pointed to as a key event. The document enshrined protection against unlawful detention, a principle which was exported across the world, but which is now under attack. He pointed out that shortly after his abduction at gunpoint in front of his wife and children, his family had issued a writ of haebus corpus in the Pakistani courts. While unsuccessful, it demonstrates the idea's power.

He seemed interested in the way such high ideals had been corrupted and noted with irony the motto which had been plastered across the facility at Guantanamo: "Duty bound to protect freedom." It is this bizarre interpretation of freedom, he suggested, which allowed the US to dub the invasion of Iraq "Operation Enduring Freedom," as if freedom were something which had to be endured.

For someone detained for almost three years, Moazzam was surprisingly fair about his captors. he asserted that, while bad, Guantanamo was not the worst prison on earth. Simply the most notorious. He was clear that there were worse establishments, specifically those where people were killed or forced to see others killed. These, he explained, were what interrogators would threaten recalcitrant subjects with and a number of people being detained by the US have found them shipped to the likes of Egypt for a more thorough going-over than Americans had a taste for. In fact, his relaxed view extends so far that he hopes to tour, later this year, with a young American who had been one of his jailers.

Moazzam argued that the treatment of Muslims in the "War on Terror" with compared unfavourably with that of the Irish Catholic population in northern Ireland at the the height of "The Troubles." He pointed out that even at the height of internment, people were only being held without trial for up to three days. Now the government is seeking to give the police power to detain people for up to ninety days. He clearly saw this as a far broader issue. Noting that even former Secretary of State Colin Powell had called for the closure of Guantanamo he stressed that this would not address the problem of other, less prominent, detention centres (Bagram, Diego Garcia and others).

After the speakers, the discussion was opened up to the floor for questions and contributions. There was also an announcement about plans to mobilise against the BNP's Red White and Blue festival. The event is being held between 15-17 August in Denby, Derbyshire with campaigners planning to mobilise on Saturday 16 August from 9am.

All in all, this was an impressive, well attended event. The organisers are to be congratulated and there's something to build on for next year, but first there's the actual Mayday demonstration: 12 noon, Saturday May 5 starting at the Brewhouse Yard. Hopefully I'll see you there.

Interview with NUT activist

On April 24, the National Union of Teachers (NUT) will hold the first national teachers strike in more than twenty years. Angry at a below inflation pay award, NUT members across the country have voted for industrial action at a ratio of four to one.

With real terms pay cuts being the in thing in the public sector right now, civil servants in the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) and further education lecturers in the University and College Union (UCU) have also voted to strike on the same day.

In Nottingham there will be a march from The Forest Recreation Ground at 10am, with a rally at the Congregation Hall, Castle Gate at 11am. Speakers will include Martin Sleath (Unison - who aren't striking), Mary Pope (PCS), Helen Bowler (UCU) and Liam Conway (NUT).

To give some insight into why teachers are striking, I interviewed Liam Conway, the Joint Secretary of Notts NUT and began by asking him what his impressive sounding title actually entails.

Q: For those of us unfamiliar with the intricacies of union bureaucracy can you explain exactly what a joint secretary is and what you do?

LC: A joint secretary is just an elected lay official who represents members in various situations, such as with the local authority, in schools etc. Normally it is a single secretary but for the last 3 years it has been a joint secretary in Notts. Other things secretaries or other officers may do is sort out communication with members, newsletters, emails, phone calls, letters etc. Finally the most important part of this role for me is mobilising members to fight for something, in this case pay and to avoid getting dragged into pointless bureacracy or meetings with the local auhority which have no serious objective of interest or value to teachers and other staff in schools. And - not to forget - keep pressure on the union leadership to fight the government, an activity that has produced a result in the first time for years in our case.

Q: Can you briefly explain how we got to where we are today? Why are you striking?

LC: 3 year pay cut up to 2007. Further proposed 3 year pay cut 2008-11. That's it in a nutshell, though there is stuff about a co-ordinated response with other public sector unions confronting Brown's 2% pay freeze. There are now 3 unions on strike on April 24th - NUT, UCU, PCS.

Q: What will be happening in Nottingham/Nottinghamshire? Can we expect to see picket lines outside schools in the county?

LC: There will be some picket lines at some big schools - depending on their strategic importance. Some schools will be closed completely to staff as well as students, so no pickets needed. We haven't finally discussed exactly which schools will have pickets. Of course there is nothing to stop any of the 500 schools in the city and county organising their own pickets and we would encourage this followed by attendance at the rally in Nottingham on April 24.

Q: What is your response the claim made by government spokesmen that this action will only harm children's education?

LC: A bit rich coming from a government that has re-introduced selection, given a whole new meaning to the idea of a gradgrind curriculum, saturated the lives of children with pointless and damaging tests, officially (according to Unicef) made our children some of the most unhappy in the world. Nuff said? Oh and strikes are also very educative - much more than a SAT.

Q: Can you say something about the NUT's pay campaign beyond the national strike?

LC: The Conference decision at Easter was to see what the 24th April was like - strength of the action, membership involvement etc. then consider another ballot. Sadly, against our judgement, the National Executive narrowly rejected a proposal to ballot for discontinuous action which would have allowed us to call action when and where we want. This action results from a ballot for a one day strke only.

Q: If, as seems likely, the government doesn't fold after a one day strike, what is likely to be the union's next step?

LC: I think I've answered that above, but there is no certainty here, even if April 24 is fantastically successful in terms of particpation and mood etc. I will be fighting and campaign for the action to be stepped up and spread across the public sector. We can now see the economy is close to melt down - workers should not carry the can for the crap the bosses have created.

Q: Teachers are a heavily unionised group, but rather than being organised by a single union membership is split across three bodies (NUT, NASUWT, ATL). What has been the response of the other unions to the NUT's decision to strike?

LC: At the moment all the teaching unions other than the NUT are in a social partnership deal with the government and appear prepared to do anything the government asks in return for a place at the negotiating table. Over the past few years they have conceded on a whole number of important issues detrimental to teachers. They are opposed to action on pay currently

Q: This strike, and the pay award which precipitated it, come at a time when the government is increasingly calling on public sector workers to tighten their belts and accept meagre pay awards. How do you see the situation faced by teachers fitting into this broader context and do you think striking could have a positive impact beyond those in the teaching profession?

LC: Striking is the basic self-defence for any worker. In my view teachers are workers, wage slaves etc. What option do they have when their pay is being cut. And there is all the stuff about New Labour's education policies which are extremely detrimental to children - their health as well as their education.

Links: NUT | Nottingham City NUT | Nottinghamshire NUT

One from our labour correspondent...

Conductors on trains to and from Nottingham are being balloted for strike action.

The National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) is balloting around 150 conductors following a dispute over coverage of services on Sundays. The union is urging its members to vote in favour of industrial action. If the union does go on strike, it would affect local services from Nottingham, but not those to London.

The dispute stems from plans by East Midlands Trains to use managers to provide emergency coverage for senior conductors on Sunday services. Senior conductors are responsible for the safety of passengers and the train itself. East Midlands Trains offers a voluntary arrangement for covering Sunday shifts and as they're not prepared to pay any more for people to do this they've struggled to find volunteers and several services have had to be canceled for lack of a senior conductor.

A spokesman for RMT explained, "They proposed to use managers and all sorts to cover the job. That is unsafe in our view. A senior conductor is in charge of a train - not the driver. They are responsible for the safety of the train and customers. There is strict training for them. If there is a problem with Sunday coverage it is because they are not paying enough." The spokesman said that the company had recently introduced ad hoc payments for senior conductors working on Sundays, but claimed that when RMT requested this arrangement be formalised East Midlands Trains instead proposed emergency cover by managers.

RMT are also unhappy about the way the company has attempted to bring the proposal in. The union's General Secretary Bob Crow complained, "The company is acting outside the agreed negotiating machinery and has already poured petrol on the flames by stopping RMT reps being released to undertake normal union duties. We want a negotiated settlement to this dispute, but that will not happen while the company is throwing its weight about."

East Midlands Trains are predictably unhappy about the situation, describing themselves as "very disappointed" about union's decision to ballot its members. Managing director Tim Shoveller said: "We have actually run over 97% of all Sunday services. Under the previous franchise on some Sundays there were as few as 50% of services running because of a shortage of staff. This is a fantastic improvement, achieved through better management and with the flexibility and commitment of our staff. I thank our staff for their continued dedication but we must now find a permanent solution to ensure the reliability of Sunday services. We're confused and disappointed that the RMT do not understand that we must be confident that we can operate our trains every day of the week for passengers. It's not something we can leave to chance."

East Midlands Trains took over the rail franchise, formed from the amalgamation of the former Midland Mainline and the eastern side of Central Trains, in November last year. Legally known as Stagecoach Midland Rail Limited, the company is part of the Stagecoach Group which also owns South West Trains as well as 49% of the Virgin Trains franchise. The group has been criticised for its business practices on a number of occasions. Its co-founder and chairman is Brian Souter a evangelical Christian and outspoken homophobe.

Other coverage: BBC Nottingham | Derby Evening Telegraph | Nottingham Evening Post

Robert Mugabe's anti-imperialist credentials speak for themselves...

I've been wondering what to say about Zimbabwe for a while. Usually if I'm stuck for words I don't bother saying anything. You might think that doesn't happen very often, but there are a huge range of issues I have only touched on here to say nothing about those I never write about. In this case, however, I feel compelled to write. Partly because it is an important issue itself, but also because it's something I think receives little attention from radical groups in the UK. On a more personal note, one of my housemates is from Zimbabwe. He isn't particularly political and is here to study rather than out of fear or persecution, but it does give the story a more human dimension, taking it away from the simply abstract.

Like any issue, one has to be careful to separate truth from propaganda here. There is at least one poster on Indymedia UK at the moment who insists that everything you hear about how nasty Mugabe has been is British propaganda invented to drive the neoliberal agenda in Zimbabwe, using the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) as its vehicle. Of course, there may be an element of truth here. The MDC, which has its roots in the labour movement, has come to advocate privatisation and related economic "reforms," but this is a familiar path trodden by political parties across the world. The very real flaws with the MDC should not distract, however, from the situation faced by ordinary Zimbabweans which is increasingly coming to make neoliberalism look like a picnic.

There are other fronts for resistance in the country, notably the labour movement. The Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions (ZCTU), for instance, called a two-day general strike on April 3-4. Unfortunately, this appears to have been less than succesful. Joseph Sithole argues that this stemmed from the strike's unclear aims and a failure to clearly explain to people what they should do, coupled with government hostility fuelled by the Congress' close relationship with the MDC. Despite the stay away's limited impact, the Zimbabwean state has clearly been riled, how else to explain threats made against two unionists involved in co-ordinating the action?

You get the distinct impression from much of the media coverage (and my housemate's own analysis) of the situation in Zimbabwe that Mugabe's days are numbered. We can only hope. What interests me is who is going to take his place. Will the MDC take power and begin the thoroughgoing implementation of neoliberalism or will we see a coup by a dissident faction within ZANU-PF? More importantly, would either of these do anything to improve the day to day lives of average Zimbabweans? Obviously, as an anarchist, I'd like to see ordinary Zimbabweans organising autonomously, but I'm realistic enough to be aware that this is pretty unlikely in the immediate future, particularly given the increasing hardships they face. It's hard enough to be a revolutionary at the best of times, let alone when survival from one day to the next becomes a struggle.

A cheery conclusion, eh? I said I was stuck for words.

Who you calling yellow?

The General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW, formerly the Iraqi Federation of Trade Unions) is the largest trade union federation in Iraq. Established in the aftermath of the invasion of Iraq by a number of parties, notably the Iraqi Communist Party, it is ostensibly opposed to the occupation, but has on many occasions worked with the occupiers. Most notoriously, in 2004, IFTU representative Abdullah Muhsin intervened in a debate at the Labour Party conference in order to forestall calls for a withdrawal of troops.

Unfortunately for the GFIW, the occupiers seem less than impressed with their complaisance. Although they have been given exclusive rights to unionise public sector workers in the country, they have been unable to overturn the various anti-union legislation imposed by the new regime. At the end of last month, US troops further demonstrated their commitment to democratic principles by raiding GFIW's headquarters. According to the union's official statement:

On 23 February, American and Iraqi forces raided the head office of the General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW) and arrested one of the Union security staff.

This unprovoked attack resulted in the destruction of furniture, the confiscation of a computer and fax machine and the arrest of employee who was released unharmed later same day.

The same force repeated this unprovoked attack on 25 February and caused further damage.

The unfortunate reality for GFIW is that, whatever their position vis-à-vis the occupation, they remain a barrier to US/UK efforts to neoliberalise Iraq by force, privatising its resources and handing over control of key industries to western companies. Almost by definition workers' organisation poses a threat to profit margins and hence cannot be allowed to take place outside very tight constraints. (Recall that totalitarian regimes, including Ba'athist Iraq, often use state-run unions as a further tool of control.)

Whatever your position on the occupation - or for that matter formal unionism - I think the emergence of a nascent civil society in Iraq, whatever its flaws, is a positive development. It offers hope that Iraq may not be doomed to perpetual suffering, as I sometimes fear in my more pessimistic moments.

You can send an appropriately strongly worded letter of protest here.