Socialist Worker

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Battle is on to stop unsafe schools return on 8 March

Boris Johnson’s plan to fully reopen all schools in England on 8 March will put many more lives at risk.

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International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Workers and trade unionists demand no unsafe return to schools

A meeting heard calls to organise in every school to make sure people know their rights and know how to use them effectively

Home Office risked refugees’ lives in Napier barracks by ignoring health advice

The Home Office ignored advice to not house asylum seekers in the ex-army barracks at Napier in Kent, the High Court has heard.

Keir Starmer speech shows he has not broken with the bosses

Labour leader Keir Starmer seemed to offer a change from “business as usual” in a speech on Thursday billed as a significant break from Tory politics.

Climate chaos leaves millions of people in Texas without water or power

Millions of people in Texas, US, face water shortages after a deadly Arctic storm damaged water pipes and treatment plants.

Anti-racists march on police station after Moyied Bashir’s death in South Wales

Around 200 anti-racists took to the streets of Newport, South Wales, on Thursday to demand to know who’s responsible for Moyied Bashir’s death.

Unions must fight for pay as inflation threat looms

Working class people’s living standards could take a further hit with warnings that inflation could rise above 2 percent.

Step up the action to win British Gas strike

Around 7,000 striking British Gas workers have headed back to picket lines after negotiations with the company broke down. 

Court rules Uber drivers are workers not self-employed

The Supreme Court has ruled that drivers for taxi ¬company Uber are now classed as workers.

Prepare for Stand Up To Racism protests on 20 March

Anti-racists across Britain took part in a Stand Up To Racism “day of mobilisation” last week to build for action on United Nations’ anti-racism day.

Private firm puts patients and workers at virus risk

The scandal of private contracts in the NHS has focused this week on health secretary Matt Hancock’s dodgy dealings during the pandemic.

Strong strike by London bus drivers

Over 2,000 London bus drivers struck over pay and conditions

UEL strikers fight for jobs and education

 UCU union members at the University of East London staged a two-day strike this week in a fight to save jobs + Chichester College

Homes For All campaign organises

Housing campaign group Homes For All held a summit last Saturday to discuss the crises around housing and to plan action.

40 days and 40 nights of strikes planned + Scaffolders fight + Local government pay + Royal Berks NHS

Cleaning workers at the La Retraite Roman Catholic Girls’ School in south London are planning 40 days of strikes from 16 March.

‘Bosses don’t care about our health,’ say striking London bus drivers

The London bus drivers’ strike over pay and working conditions continued to enrage the bosses on Wednesday.

Shrewsbury Colleges strike for victimised union rep John Boken

Strikers stressed that the fight to defend John is part of a much bigger battle

Mood to fight Tories runs through UCU union’s congress

Delegates defied their general secretary to back a motion calling on the union to instruct members not to enter unsafe workplaces

Construction workers occupy EDF headquarters against major attack

Firms at the Hinkley C nuclear power plant in Somerset have created new grades to undercut industry terms and conditions

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International

Myanmar strikes grow, but military prepares to lash out

Civil service, bank, railway and power workers have brought some sectors of the country to a halt.

Catalan elections show backing for independence but far right also advances

In the new parliament there is a leftist majority and a—different—pro-independence majority

International round up—Indian farmers block trains

Farmers in India stepped up their battle with the government last week with blockades of railway tracks.

Mass strike in Myanmar can shake the military

A strike and protests in Myanmar this week are defying army attempts to crush action

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Comment

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Features

The Egyptian Revolution—revolts can spread to win change

The 2011 revolt in Egypt inspired struggles across the globe. Sophie Squire explains why internationalism is key to winning socialism

Bill Gates won’t save us from climate disaster

In a new book, Bill Gates claims competition is the solution to climate crises. He shouldn’t be trusted

The Black Panthers and the revenge of the revolution

In a packed hall in downtown Chicago in 1969 Black Panther founder Bobby Seale stood alongside local leader Fred Hampton. He was making a speech to a newly established district of the party.

Pride, Politics and Protest—a new pamphlet on how to end LGBT+ oppression

The central theme of the new pamphlet Pride, Politics and Protest—A Revolutionary Guide to LGBT+ Liberation is that people have the power to end oppression.

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Reviews

Adam Curtis mixes stunning images with dodgy politics

Can’t Get You Out of My Head looks far more interesting than many things on TV, but it puts the blame on ordinary people

Archie Shepp balances hope and despair on Let My People Go

In an era when many artists shun political affiliations, veteran saxophonist Archie Shepp makes a point of wearing his on his sleeve

New slowthai album TYRON is more thoughtful—but less angry

Slowthai’s new album TYRON is one of two halves—the first brash and loud, the second more introspective

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What We Think

The Tories put lives at risk to boost economy

At least 30,000 more people will have died from Covid-19 because of the end of lockdown measures—and that’s if everything goes better than expected.

Tories plan a budget for the bosses

Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s budget announcement next Wednesday will lay out the plan for who pays for the crisis—and he’ll be pushing to make sure it’s ordinary people.

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Other Categories

Gerry Kelly, 1951-2021

Born to a Roscommon tailor Gerry grew up in Balsall Heath, Birmingham. He left school at 16 to work in the building industry.

Mike Waterman 1953-2021

Covid has taken the life of  Mike Waterman who at his Norwich home last Friday.

LETTERS—India’s vaccine rollout driven by power politics, not need

The Serum Institute of India is the world’s largest producer of vaccines, with the ability to produce 1.5 billion doses per year.

After Dilyn’s Watergate - put down all the Tory dogs 

The decay in Downing Street is getting absurd.

Gavin Williamson’s ‘free speech’ is an attack on our rights to organise

The Tories’ crackdown on universities means protecting bigots from opposition. But as Nick Clark shows, real free speech battles have always involved defending the right to protest

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