The debacle of the "nationalisation" of the failed Northern Rock bank earlier this year looks likely to cost more than £1 billion of public money according to consultants at Goldman Sachs, which advised the government on the Northern Rock rescue plan.
Socialist Worker recently reported on the demonstrations in South Korea against US beef imports. The huge protests have continued, showing great militancy and enthusiasm.
More and more people are being forced to turn to pawn brokers in an attempt to pay their household bills.
This week marks a turning point in the London bus workers' pay campaign. About 2,500 bus workers at First Centrewest and First Capital are set to launch the first strike action of the campaign on Friday of this week. They are planning more strikes on 12 and 13 September.
The entrance to St Pancras International station in central London was a riot of colourful union flags, chanting and dancing from 6am on Bank Holiday Monday.
The threat of coordinated action on the London Underground between Tube Lines workers and cleaners saw management make a new offer in both disputes.
There was anger and deep disappointment among London Underground workers last week when the RMT union called off a strike by 1,000 maintenance workers at the Tube Lines consortium after a new offer from management.
Ladbrokes workers walk out Some 200 workers at Ladbrokes telebetting call centre in Aintree on Merseyside struck last Saturday. The Usdaw union members rejected a 3 percent pay offer.
Last week saw the latest challenge to Gordon Brown's curbs on wages as over 150,000 council workers in Scotland struck against a below-inflation three-year deal.
Workers at Argos have accepted a revised pay offer after taking a number of days of strike action.
Union members at the London Development Agency (LDA) are to be balloted in coming weeks over management's latest pay offer of 2.5 percent.
Some 700 members of the PCS civil service workers' union at the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) struck for 48 hours over the bank holiday weekend as part of their long running fight for decent pay.
