Socialist Worker

Issue: 2277

Dated: 12 Nov 2011

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We're coming to get you, Cameron

It’s on—30 November promises to be the biggest day of strikes for almost a century.

International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Why do union leaders not fight consistently?

Ever since the first trade unions were set up, workers have argued over what to do about their leaders.

Occupy London's march on parliament

Over 2,000 people marched from Occupy London’s St Paul’s Cathedral camp to Parliament Square last Saturday. It was part of a day of action to spread the occupation’s message to the public. The City of London and the cathedral now say they will not move protesters until after Christmas.

Occupy Oakland strikes back

The city of Oakland in northern California, home of the fifth largest port in the US, saw incredible scenes on Wednesday evening last week. More than 15,000 people descended on the port to shut it down as part of the first strike to be called by the Occupy movement.

Occupy protests keep on growing

There are now at least 15 occupations underway across Britain—in Bath, Birmingham, Bournemouth, Bradford, Brighton, Bristol, Cardiff, Edinburgh, Glasgow, the Isle of Wight, London Stock Exchange, London Finsbury Square, Newcastle, Norwich, Nottingham, Plymouth and Sheffield.

Unite the Resistance: Let’s come together to make sure strikes win

Over 800 delegates have now signed up for the Unite the Resistance national convention due to be held in London on 19 November. It aims to build support for the 30 November public sector strikes.

Walkout shuts down Langdon school

A magnificent strike by NUT union members closed Langdon School in Newham, east London, for two days last week.

Strike threat reinstates Barnsley college rep

The threat of a five-day strike at Barnsley College forced a sudden change of heart from college management last week.

Student occupations round-up

Birmingham Student activists occupied Birmingham university’s Corporate Conference Centre on Wednesday of last week.

Supporters gather at Abdul Omer Mohsin's employment tribunal

Some two dozen supporters and workmates of sacked Unite union convenor Abdul Omer Mohsin gathered outside his employment tribunal, which started in Watford on Monday.

Edinburgh activists keep pressure on council

Over 70 anti-privatisation campaigners met in Edinburgh on Tuesday of last week.

Six days of strikes against academy conversion

Teachers at Prince Henry’s Grammar School in Otley, west Yorkshire, were set to strike on Thursday of this week.

BBC ballot for strikes

A ballot of thousands of workers at the BBC began on Monday this week.

Atheron Leisure centre fightback

Newham Council, the host borough for the Olympic games, plan to celebrate the event by closing the closest leisure centre to the £9.3 billion Olympic park.

Fire station threatened

Up to 100 residents, firefighters, Labour Party and anti-cuts activists gathered in Halesowen town centre in Dudley last Saturday to fight the proposed closure of the town’s fire station.

Yunus judge lays into ‘reprehensible’ Trust

Sacked health worker and union activist Yunus Bakhsh has won another sensational victory in his long-running battle for justice.

Youth workers strike in Oxford

Youth workers in Oxfordshire struck on Tuesday of last week.

All fired up for London action

Firefighters in London have begun their ballot for action short of a strike.

Centrepoint: second ballot votes for action

Unite union members at the homelessness charity Centrepoint in London have voted again to strike against wage cuts and redundancies.

March for jobs arrives in London

After five weeks and 330 miles, 20 young marchers arrived in London with a 12,000-name petition calling for action to create jobs.

Janet Alder speaks out - they have treated us like dirt

Hull City council has admitted that it released the wrong body to the family of Christopher Alder. Christopher, a 37 year old former soldier, died in police custody in 1998.

Protesters tell earthquake firm to ‘frack off’

Around 50 people demonstrated against shale gas drilling, also known as fracking, outside an industry summit in Kensington, west London, on Wednesday of last week (see picture).

Police guilty of 'unwitting racism' over Christopher Alder's death

Christopher Alder choked to death on the floor of a police station in Hull on 1 April 1998.

More than 100,000 sign petition to stop extradition of Babar Ahmad

Babar Ahmad’s campaign has achieved its aim of getting over 100,000 people to sign an e-petition against his extradition. More than 120,000 have now signed the petition calling for a parliamentary debate on Babar’s case.

National protest over housing emergency

A national protest at parliament will challenge government attacks on tenants and demand action to build homes.

Five students jailed in latest round of demonstration sentencing

Five protesters were imprisoned for violent disorder on Friday last week.

Campaign to kick out Nazi Nick Griffin

campaigners in the north west of England will launch a campaign on Sunday to unseat Nazi British National Party leader Nick Griffin.

Scottish teachers in EIS set to join 30 November mass walkout

Teachers and lecturers in Scotland's EIS education union delivered a resounding yes vote in their ballot for action on pensions.

Picking apart the government’s pension porkies

The Tories are hell-bent on forcing public sector workers to work longer and pay higher pension contributions to receive lower pensions on retirement.

Thousands of students join education protest in London

Thousands of students are demonstrating in central London today, Wednesday, to protest against government attacks on education.

Headteachers deliver overwhelming vote for strikes

Headteachers in the NAHT union have voted overwhelmingly for strikes over pensions. It’s the first vote for strikes in the union’s 114-year history.

Militant mood on 2,000-strong London electricians' protest

Electricians marched to sites across central London today, Wednesday, in their protest against bosses’ plans to tear up their terms and conditions.

Anger on the streets of London as 10,000 students demonstrate

The demonstration has now swollen to around 10,000 strong. It is noisy and militant, with delegations of students from across Britain, including Manchester, Glasgow, Sheffield, Oxford and Brighton.

International

Eurozone: Bankrupt elites plot a new assault on workers

The eurozone crisis is all about bankruptcy. But this isn’t just economic. There is intellectual, moral, and political bankruptcy as well.

The eurozone in turmoil - bonds, banks and bailouts

Politicians and the media use jargon to talk about the crisis that is engulfing the eurozone. This can make it hard to understand what’s really happening.

France: Protests grow against Sarkozy’s austerity plans

The French ruling class is desperate to hold on to its triple-A credit rating—and is attacking workers to do it.

Shock revelations in Zimbabwe socialists' trial

In a shock development, lawyers defending the Zimbabwe "treason trialists" claim the main prosecution witness is a fraud.

Resistance pushes out Greek leader

The Greek government won a vote of confidence last Friday—only to resign on Monday.

Greek nurse says, 'We want to take our lives back'

"As a nurse I see the problems. Patients’ families often don’t have the basics, from proper nourishment and clothing to books at school.

West beats the drums for war

The rulers of the US, Britain, France and Israel last week teamed up to step up their rhetoric over a military assault on Iran.

As Italy's crisis grows - resistance to austerity is key

The economic and political crisis in Italy is deepening amid growing fears that the country will default on its debt.

Comment

Features

Celebrating The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists

Michael Dooley

The Tories’ plan to wreck our education, US-style

Sherry Haferkamp has student debt of $200,000—and a degree that is worth nothing.

The worst bits of the Tories’ education white paper

The Tories and their Lib Dem lackeys want to sell off our education.

The real impact of incapacity benefits 'reforms'

The Tories will force nearly a million people off incapacity benefits and leave 600,000 with no benefits at all, according to new research. Nearly 2.6 million claimants currently receive the benefit.

The new phase in the Egyptian Revolution

The mass movement unleashed during the uprising against Mubarak has buffeted Egypt’s ruling generals for nine months. And a new phase in the revolutionary process—a shift in the character of the movement from below, has taken place since the end of August.

Reviews

Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975: A militant fight against racism brought to life

Brian Richardson says the film Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 offers a unique look at the Black Panther Party

Life’s Too Short: New Ricky Gervais comedy seriously lacks laughs

Ricky Gervais says his new "mockumentary" sitcom, Life’s Too Short, is a "naturalist observational comedy, dealing with everyday problems, human foibles and social faux pas… but with a dwarf."

Top Boy by Ronan Bennett

Set in the fictional Summerhouse estate in east London, Top Boy shows the lives of young people who see gang membership as their only means of making a living.

The Ides of March

George Clooney turns his hand to political corruption inside the Democratic Party in this new critically acclaimed thriller.

A Walk-On Part

This play is based on the diaries of Chris Mullin, the former Labour MP and author of the classic 1980s novel A Very British Coup.

What We Think

Let’s make the coalition quake on 30 November

Results are rolling in. This week saw magnificent votes from the Unison, EIS and Nipsa unions to join the strikes on 30 November. They show the mood out there. Workers are up for a fight.