Socialist Worker

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Tories' Hunger Shames: cuts leave millions without food

The Tories are making more than four million people go hungry—including 500,000 children. 

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International Comment Features Reviews What We Think Other

News

Reports round-up

Cash workers strike at Post Offices | Union takes break in biscuit dispute | Police stations staff could down tools | EDF workers’ action over sacked driver | Stop Ukip growing in Portsmouth | TV action set for the new year | Housing protests in Hackney and Haringey

Pension attack pushed back at Jaguar Land Rover

Workers at Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) have overwhelmingly rejected a company offer and made it withdraw changes that worsened its pension scheme.

Unison conference recalled in revolt over local government pay

The rank and file of Unison has forced the union’s leadership to hold a special recall conference for the local government sector.

'Scotland not for shale' protesters tell Ineos boss Jim Ratcliffe

Over 300 people gathered at the gates of Ineos Grangemouth refinery in the cold and rain for the No Fracking Falkirk protest.

Workers defend sacked lecturer in north London

Lecturers and support staff in the UCU union struck last Monday at the College of North West London against casualisation and in support of dismissed lecturer Michael Starrs. 

Wildcat strike threat wins at Tower Hamlets school

Staff at Langdon Park secondary school in Tower Hamlets were celebrating an important victory this week after making a stand against IT corporation Capita.

Ayrshire EIS union rep reinstated

Ayrshire college EIS-Fela union branch secretary Ian Cochrane was reinstated on the day a college-wide strike ballot in his defence was due to end.

Join the protests against rail cuts

Important rail safety jobs are being axed as the Tories ram through franchise agreements and reprivatisation before the general election. 

Union rejects scapegoating of migrants at Next in Yorkshire

The GMB union held a protest outside Next’s warehouse in South Elmsall, west Yorkshire on Friday of last week. The protest coincided with a national tour calling on Next to pay workers the Living Wage. 

Cleaners walk out at London Waterloo train station

Cleaners in the RMT union working for Interserve at London’s Waterloo station struck again on Friday of last week.

London bus workers gear up for battle over pay

Some 20,000 London bus drivers are balloting for strikes to demand equal pay and collective bargaining across the capital’s 18 bus companies.

Firefighters strike against bosses' attacks on union

Firefighters walked out for 24 hours on Tuesday of this week over the Tories’ pension theft and attacks on their FBU union.

Twelve years for not making bombs, two years for making them

the mother of a man jailed for over 12 years for travelling to Syria to fight the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad says she was “betrayed” by police.

G4S guard denies fatally restraining Jimmy Mubenga

Stuart Tribelnig, the senior of three G4S guards, told a court that he did not force Jimmy Mubenga’s head down during the struggle after which he died. 

Send holiday greetings and solidarity to prisoners

As the holiday season approaches, Socialist Worker asks readers to write to prisoners. When you write please enclose a stamped addressed envelope so they can reply if they wish to.

'More could have lived' at Hillsborough

Ambulance staff said lives could have been saved if they had done things differently during the Hillsborough football disaster.

Police attack on Warwick students fuels protests

Police attacked anti-fees student protesters occupying a room at Warwick University on Wednesday last week.

Cops drop charges for Freedom Riders

South Yorkshire Freedom Riders celebrate another victory but vow to restart action against cuts if councils don’t backtrack, says Sadie Robinson

Lambeth College workers escalate strikes to win

Workers at Lambeth College began a two-day strike on Tuesday of this week—and students struck in their support.

News round-up

Tories give peanuts to pensioners; government fails to address air pollution; and BP lose appeal against oil disaster settlement

Cops charged over Bijan Ebrahimi’s death

Three police officers and a community support officer from Avon and Somerset police are charged with misconduct in public office over Bijan Ebrahimi’s killing in July 2013.

Tories plan to lock us into years of austerity

Tory chancellor George Osborne announced in last week’s Autumn Statement that the coming years will require “very substantial savings in spending"

NHS Christmas crisis is a symptom of a deeper problem

Hospitals are likely to turn patients away in the coming weeks, as the NHS faces a Christmas crisis. 

Campaigners fight back as councils push through cuts

Councils across Britain continue to implement Tory austerity. 

More trouble for the child abuse inquiry

The inquiry into child abuse investigations set up by home secretary Theresa May hit yet more problems last week. 

Hundreds protest at Westfield in solidarity with US anti-racist demonstrations

Around 400 people held a die-in yesterday evening, Wednesday, at west London’s plush Westfield shopping centre.

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International

International round-up

Mexican students' body found; millions of workers set strike in Italy; and coordinated strikes grip Belgian capital

Greece’s government could be gone in weeks

The Greek government brought forward a presidential election on Monday of this week.

Fresh anger in US as cop cleared of Eric Garner killing

Cities and university campuses across the US have erupted in fury after yet another white cop has avoided charges for killing a black man.

Low paid workers strike back in US

Homecare, airport, gas station and convenience store workers joined fast food workers in a strike for better pay and union rights on Thursday of last week

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Comment

Why are our rulers obsessed with the deficit?

Workers have no interest in bringing down Britain’s national debt, argues Tomáš Tengely-Evans

British Bahrain base legitimises tyrants

The British government has never been shy about cosying up to tyrants and their regimes, says Judith Orr

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Features

‘We're not to blame’ - migrant workers speak out against racist lies

In the freezing, dark winter mornings groups of migrants huddle together on Honeypot Lane in Stanmore, north west London.

Who are the lords of the land?

As Toffs and Tories panic about land reform, Raymie Kiernan says their vast estates are stolen goods that we must take back

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Reviews

Reviews round-up

Tate Modern looks at 150 years of war; Mary Lloyd Jones at 80; Still the Enemy Within; and the Foo Fighters' new album

Electricity - surreal film makes disabled people more than victims

Electricity is a visually brilliant film, but its greatest strength is that it remains down to earth in telling an unheard story, argues Emma Davis

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What We Think

Britain and the US have always used torture

The problem wasn’t carrying out torture. It was that releasing a report into torture might increase the chance of terrorism.

We must fight back - because Labour isn't

Peers moaned that they couldn’t possibly cope with a cut in the quality of champagne available in the Lords, while millions queue for food banks.

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Other Categories

Dave Fisher 1957-2014

Comrades in Sheffield were sad to hear of the tragic passing earlier this year of Dave Fisher.

Letters

Education and abuse, building a left alternative to Labour, speaking out and artificial inteligence

The Things They Say

‘Don’t worry, I’ll get so-and-so to pull me out of the jacuzzi before the whores turn up’

Beware: Tony Blair expects to be around for a long long time

Multimillionaire Tony Blair has called for MPs to be paid more

Gaza feels deadly fallout of Israel’s bombs as floods hit

Gaza residents reveal reality of ‘reconstruction’ and floods

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