strikes, the commune

all out at preston remploy

Mark Harrison visited Remploy pickets taking part in a national strike this morning

There used to be over 50 workers at the Remploy factory in Preston, now reduced to only 18, each of them was out on the picket line for the second day of their national strike, 100% turn outs were also reported at Heywood and Wigan. Support came from BAE and Rolls-Royce workers as well as teachers, passing council refuse workers and ex-Remploy workers who had taken advantage of previous redundancy packages.

The government has been Orwellian in claiming they are helping disabled people into work whilst sacking them from their jobs. In Preston the workers were shown 6 job opportunities to apply for, each of these positions turned out to already have been filled. One ex-Remploy worker had found work on the railways and promised 20 hours a week of work, only to be told upon arriving for his induction that he was only going to be offered a zero hours contract. Continue reading “all out at preston remploy” →

liverpool, the commune

‘sexism in activism’ meeting held in liverpool

By Adam Ford

Earlier this month, a group of about a dozen activists met in the Liverpool Social Centre to talk about the problem of sexism in activism. The event was organised by Angry Women Of Liverpool (AWOL), following a recent discussion of the everyday difficulties women face in groups across the left. But over the past few weeks, the issue has been pushed very much to the forefront locally, due to a number of misogynistic incidents in and around the Liverpool activist ‘scene’. This session was therefore called to discuss exactly why sexism is endemic in groups avowedly committed to equality for all.

As the meeting began, we all introduced ourselves and the organisations we were a part of, before naming women who inspire us. We were then asked to think about the gender balance within our organisations, and we discussed some ideas about what factors might play into the large male to female ratio prevalent in almost all (the notable exceptions being AWOL itself and the News From Nowhere women’s cooperative). Continue reading “‘sexism in activism’ meeting held in liverpool” →

iran

more iranian comrades attacked

Based on the reports by the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations in Iran, on June 15, the police raid with machine guns on the meeting of the sixth general assembly of the organization resulted in the arrest of sixty of the labor activists. On June 16, Cyrus Fathi, Alireza Asgari, Jalil Mohammadi, Saeed Marzban, Massoud Salimpour, Maziar Mehrpour, Reihaneh Ansari, Faramarz Fetratnejad, and Mitra Homayouni remained arrested while the rest of the detainees have been freed. Reihaneh Ansari has received 20 days incarceration and 66 thousands dollars bail.

According to the committee, the arrests were done at a house in the city of Karaj without showing any warrants and using machine creating an atmosphere of terror and fear in the neighborhood.

Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ Organizations in Iran released the following statement:

Yesterday, Friday 15th of June at 12 noon 60 members of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ organizations and a number of labor activists were arrested by agents of the city of Karaj.

According to the latest news, Mitra Homayooni, Vafa Ghaderi, Reyhaneh Ansari, Khaled Hosseini, Mahmoud Salehi, Saeed Moghaddam, Cyrus Fathi, Ghaleb Hosseini, Mohammad Abdipour, Jalal Hosseini, Alireza Asgari, Masoud Salimpour, Abbas Andriyany, Sediq Amjadi, Fattah Soleimani, Maziar Mehrpour, Mhommad Molanai, Vahed Seyyedeh, Jalil Sharifian, Sediq Khosravi, Yusuf Ab Kharabad, Faramarz Fetrat Nejad, Jalil Mohammadi, Nezam Sadeghi, Afshin Nadimi, Hussain Pilooti, Rahman EbrahimZadeh, Abbas HashemPoor Are among the detainees. (If new names appear they will be added to the list). Continue reading “more iranian comrades attacked” →

the left

a response to jackie lucas

Stuart King of the Permanent Revolution group and a member of the new Anti-Capitalist Initiative has written a reply to a previous article.

The ACI and wary libertarians

Jackie Lucas’ article on the Anticapitalist Initiative (ACI) in the June issue of the Commune appears to take a positive, if wary, attitude towards the ACI. Perhaps I can tackle some of these suspicions.

Jackie quotes from an article in Permanent Revolution 22 on the launch of the ACI where we talk about why young anticapitalist activists are not joining the Trotskyists or organised far left but rather are attracted to a vague libertarian and even anarchist politics. Jackie quickly declares “This in itself should alert libertarian leftists to what they are letting themselves in for if they decide to join this project which has not renounced its political origins or traditions.” Continue reading “a response to jackie lucas” →

book reviews, olympics, the commune

deeper into essex: how you are allowed to be in your cities

Sharon Borthwick reviews Annan Minton ‘Ground Control: Fear and happiness in the twenty-first century city’

“Town-scapes are changing. The open-plan city belongs in the past — no more ramblas, no more pedestrian precincts, no more left banks and Latin quarters. We’re moving into the age of security grilles and defensible space. As for living, our surveillance cameras can do that for us. People are locking their doors and switching off their nervous systems.”

A protest against Dow Chemical, a sponsor of the Olympics

This is a J G Ballard character in Cocaine Nights talking, yet it couldn’t be a more fitting quote to go accompany Anna Minton’s, ‘Ground Control: Fear and happiness in the twenty-first century city’, first published in 2009 and reissued this year with a new chapter on the legacy of the Olympics. I kept expecting Minton to quote Ballard at some point in the book, but she is more concerned to give voice to actual people than to characters of dystopian novels. We travel with her on her research, getting off the tube at Canary Wharf, meeting young people and youth workers in Manchester, people in Salford, Edinburgh and London, Town Planners, experts in planning law… Lets take her encounters in, Manchester, our ASBO capital apparently, where the young people have been served an especially raw deal, not allowed into pubs before the age of 25 they are wandering the streets to meet, no clubs or anywhere they can afford to hang out. But here’s the rub, if they are seen congregating together on street corners they are told to go home. The police stop and search the boys for no reason. Dispersal orders are even preventing young children from playing out in the street, one mother saying her daughter was ordered home out of the kebab shop by a cop. AM asks a simple question, what if the money was spent on facilities for them instead of enforcement? Continue reading “deeper into essex: how you are allowed to be in your cities” →

the commune

where are we and where do we want to be?

Ian Roberts offers his thoughts on our communist network

I write neither as a theorist nor – compared with many communards – a consistent activist.  I’ve participated in the left intermittently since the mid-1960s.  Since I have never belonged to more than three of the myriad groups it includes, I have no specific criticisms other than to observe that the presence of two members of rival groups in the same telephone box would be more likely to result in a fight over holding the receiver, the number to dial and who should speak than a successful call.

I made contact with others in Bradford after being impressed by Commune and its aim of providing an open forum for a broad spectrum of leftist thought as a foundation for action. When we hosted the aggregate in Leeds, our targets were to get agreement on a platform and constitution. The meeting was well chaired, enjoyable and – with give and take – appeared to secure unity on the issues we had hoped to. Its aftermath, however, was dire. My inbox was inundated with theocratic dissent from – and proposed amendments to – what had been agreed. Continue reading “where are we and where do we want to be?” →

environment, the commune

huge protests force chinese government retreat over pollution

By Adam Ford

Shifang demonstrators squaring off against riot cops earlier in the week

Locals are celebrating in the Chinese city of Shifang today, following the government’s decision to scrap its plans for a copy alloy plant which many feared would poison them. This sensational policy reversal was apparently forced out of the Communist Party dictatorship by rioting, followed by a sit-in in support of those arrested. In making this concession, the regime has shown its vulnerability at a time when the national economy is being hit by the economic crisis in Europe and the US. Continue reading “huge protests force chinese government retreat over pollution” →

events, the commune

roving picket against workfare in london this saturday

As part of the National Week of Action Against Workfare from July 7th to 14th, some members of The Commune are helping to organise direct action against workfare’s main offenders.

Meet this Saturday July 7, mid day near Goodge St station.

Workfare isn’t just unpaid labour for the unemployed and a major attack on benefits. It is an attack on all working people – on their jobs, pay & conditions, and their ability to organise. We need to fight workfare together, whether or not we are in work, and whether or not we are on benefits.

Invite your friends, family, campaigning group, union branch. Also, if you can, bring things to liven it up: banners, placards, musical instruments and noise makers.

The leaflets we’ll be using are found below (print some and bring them along if you can) Continue reading “roving picket against workfare in london this saturday” →

spain, strikes, the commune

spanish miners strike back against austerity

By Adam Ford

Two sets of miners have now been occupying their workplace for a month

Spanish miners are now a month into action against the Popular Party government, and behind them the international banking aristocracy, as they demonstrate against 60% cuts in subsidies, which are expected to result in the loss of 40,000 jobs. Continue reading “spanish miners strike back against austerity” →

greece

the greek elections, ‘workers’ governments’ and the radical left

Conrad Russell replies to Barry Biddulph’s previous article

The premise of the article (‘is syriza a workers’ government in waiting?’) is whether or not SYRIZA – the coalition of the radical left, who won 27% of the vote in the Greek elections on the 17th of May – can form a ‘worker’s government’ at some point in the future. The first question which needs asking is; who is saying it can? The answer, alluded to in the article, is; ‘Worker’s Power is saying it can’. Given that this tiny British ‘post-trotskyist’ organisation has no section in Greece, and therefore no direct involvement in the movement there, this raises another question; who cares? The article falls into the trap of rehearsing old arguments (and animosities) within the British ‘Left’, rather than offering any concrete analysis of the social forces engaged in the struggle in Greece, or the actual arguments being put forward on the Greek Left. Continue reading “the greek elections, ‘workers’ governments’ and the radical left” →

greece

is syriza a workers’ government in waiting?

By Barry Biddulph

The elections in Greece have solved nothing. They have only provided a brief respite from intractable economic problems. The free food queues grow longer, as living standards collapse, the generalised political and economic crisis goes on. Larry Elliot, the economics editor of the Guardian, puts forward the view of many economic observers in Greece that the new Government is unlikely to remain in power.(1) A Guardian editorial agrees that a defeat for SYRIZA might yet prove to be a victory.(2) A view echoed in the Financial Times editorial.(3) The new government coalition will be weak. Democratic Left and PASOK will support Antonia Samaras and the New Democracy government, but not participate fully in the administration. In his victory speech, Samaras pledged to honour financial commitments to the Troika of capitalist economic powers. The New Government will have to implement a further 12 billion cuts by July 2012 . This will prove deeply unpopular with the Greek working class. So SYRIZA is a government in waiting, but can it become a Workers’ Government? Continue reading “is syriza a workers’ government in waiting?” →

demonstration, iww, notices, organising for class struggle

protest: justice for cleaners at john lewis

Come to a lively protest to stand in solidarity with the cleaners at John Lewis
This Saturday, 3pm
John Lewis, 300 Oxford Street, London, W1A 1EX

The cleaners are demonstrating because they are….

1) All on the minimum poverty wage of £6.08 p/hour and are demanding the London Living Wage of £8.30 p/hour.
2) Often not paid for the hours they work.
3) Not provided appropriate equipment or protection.
4) Discriminated against by their managers. For example, some Hindu cleaners are called ‘bloody Indians’, whilst some larger employees are called ‘pig heads’
5) At threat of seeing 50% redundancies. The remaining 50% of the cleaners would be expected to cover the work of those made redundant with the same hours and with no extra pay!
6) Prejudicially excluded from the so-called John Lewis partnership. Continue reading “protest: justice for cleaners at john lewis” →

manchester, the commune

who killed anthony grainger?

By Mark Harrison

Yesterday I attended an important action in support of the friends and families of those killed at the hands of the police, as part of the #justice4grainger campaign. Around 60 people gathered in Manchester’s Piccadilly Gardens and similar events were held around the country. A passionate speech was made by Anthony’s mother (see above) and she was presented with a portrait of her son by a local artist. Other important speeches were then made by Janet Alder (sister of Christopher Alder, killed by the police whilst half naked and after being racially abused) and campaigners who seek to reform Joint Enterprise law. These include Mohammed Riaz, served 20 years in prison for a crime he did not commit. Continue reading “who killed anthony grainger?” →

iran

urgent news about the arrests of labour activists in iran

From Eshterak

Yesterday, Friday 15th of June at 12 noon 60 members of the Coordinating Committee to Help Form Workers’ organizations and a number of labor activists were arrested by agents of the city of Karaj.

According to the latest news, Mitra Homayooni, Vafa Ghaderi, Reyhaneh Ansari, Khaled Hosseini, Mahmoud Salehi, Saeed Moghaddam, Cyrus Fathi, Ghaleb Hosseini, Mohammad Abdipour, Jalal Hosseini, Alireza Asgari, Masoud Salimpour, Abbas Andriyany, Sediq Amjadi, Fattah Soleimani, Maziar Mehrpour, Mhommad Molanai, Vahed Seyyedeh, Jalil Sharifian, Sediq Khosravi, Yusuf Ab Kharabad, Faramarz Fetrat Nejad Are among the detainees. (If new names appear they will be added to the list).
According to the news, the detainees were transferred to Rajai Shahr prison in Karaj and until now no further news is available. Continue reading “urgent news about the arrests of labour activists in iran” →