Blogs

The French police were yesterday busy evicting over 100 travellers and dismantling their homes on a site in Paris.

Many of the residents disappeared from site the previous night, to avoid the police. Over 200 of the travellers have been put ‘voluntarily’ on flights to Bucharest. A Roma rights campaigner said that they ‘voluntary’ returns are just “expulsions in disguise”.

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

Individuals or groups who dare to dissent are locked up. It is estimated that there are around 6,000 political prisoners currently languishing in Turkish jails.

Long been active in an Trotskyist group (IS, sister organizationof the Britisch SWP); left 2008, turned to anarchism (turned back; I had been sympathizer with anarchism before) in the final months of 2009). Active now in several groups/ networks in the Netherlands: among others Occupy Tilburg; Vrije Bond (anarchist organization).

In Zimbabwe - the Chinese diamond mining firm Anjim Investments has sacked 1500 workers who participated in a strike over pay, and better working conditions. The workers were demanding a rise from $235 a month, to $650 a month.

The sacked workers have been told that they can re-apply for their jobs if they wish.

This month there has been news from Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, Japan, Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. Once more I've included quite a few links in Indonesian and Chinese - if you can't read those languages, I recommend getting a browser plug-in such as Google Translate to get an idea of what they're about.

In May, thirty five workers at Togo Footwear in Turkey joined a trade union - and encouraged their colleagues to do the same.

As soon as the bosses got wind of the potential unionisation of the workers – they dismissed all thirty five people – with immediate effect.

Workers at Grand Rapid make up to $17.40 an hour – depending on length of service. The bosses are insisting that they take a $6 an hour pay cut.

Other changes to terms and conditions include – reducing holiday entitlement to just two weeks a year – reducing overtime pay by 75% - and the cancellation of retiree health insurance.

An unnamed worker said that,

There were the numbers of people -- so many that when we were on long hilly streets, all you could see were people all the way back and people all the way forward for blocks and blocks; so many that when we reached a late-night, outdoor fashion show festival and thus a busy area, and hence the riot cops appeared to disperse us, it seemed as if every which way you looked, up and down different inte

On July 31 at dawn, Israeli soldiers abducted the coordinator of the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), Dr Moayad Ahmad Bisharat, from his home. The UAWC is, “a Palestinian grassroots organization that organizes Palestinian farmers to defend their land and develop their products.” Following the abduction of Dr.

Fearing that a longstanding dispute over pay would lead to a strike, Mando brought in hundreds of privately hired security guards who prevented members of the KMWU (Korean Metal Workers Union) from entering the plant.

Since the lock-out, Mando have contacted all members of the KMWU – advising them that they can return to work, but only if they sign a pledge ‘not to go on strike’.

The spending review imposes the downsizing of the public administration budget. This is to include wage freezes until December 31, 2014, a reduction in future hiring (including the total freeze of managerial hiring until 2015), and a -10% reduction of the staff (-20% among the managers). Early retirements and mandatory mobility are some the proposed strategies to “manage” excessive personnel.

The company that owns the mine is Chinese – as are all the supervisors. There is growing animosity towards the owners due to allegations of abuse, underpaying, health and safety, bullying, and anti-trade union activities.

At the AJM auto-parts plant in South Korea – the workers have been in an on-going dispute with management over pay and conditions.

The workers are all members of the Korean Metal Workers Union (KMWU).

Today Ilva, the biggest steel industry in Europe, has stopped for a 24 hour strike. Its plant in Taranto, the most important steelworks in the whole continent, was stopped by a judicial measure by reason of the immense damages it has caused to the environment and the health of residents. Eight of its most important managers – including the head of the group, Emilio Riva – are under house arrest.

On August 2nd, as every year since 1980, citizens, political organizations, and various institutional representatives marched through the streets of Bologna to remember the massacre that struck the city during the terrible years of terrorism. 32 years ago a bomb was placed in the waiting room of Bologna’s central train station, killing 85 people and injuring more than 200.

Whilst I do not share the political beliefs of Marian Price - I believe that it is important to highlight her current circumstances – and reflect on the implications that those circumstances may have in the future for all individuals involved in radical politics, whatever particular political standpoint those individuals may have.

Historical Background

This should come as no surprise, of course. Last year, the TUC and "independent" legal observers Liberty were given desks in the Met's central observation room. Stewards were given training to prevent sit-down protests, and for all intents both organisations were just extra layers of the police operation.

Following the recent violence at a Suzuki plant in India - between the workers, the bosses, and their hired thugs - the workers union have released a statement outlining their version of events. At least one person died during the violence, and many others hospitalised.