1977: Egypt's bread intifada
Submitted by Alex... on Dec 29 2009 00:16
A short history of the country-wide uprising against the termination of state subsidies for basic commodities in January 1977. Despite savage repression resulting in hundreds of deaths, spontaneous strikes, demonstrations, and widespread rioting forced the government to back down in just two days.
In 1974, Egypt’s president, Anwar El Sadat, embarked on a series of economic reforms, pursuing an open-door, or ‘Infitah‘, economic policy.
1989-1990: Opposition to the Poll Tax
Submitted by Alex... on May 20 2009 10:19
A short account of the agitation against the introduction of the community charge in Britain. Widespread protests and a highly successful campaign of non-payment eventually forced the government to scrap the poll tax and played a large part in the eventual downfall of Margaret Thatcher.
In 1989 the Conservative government realised their long-held objective of introducing a flat-rate poll tax in Britain. The abolition of the rating system had appeared as part of the party's manifesto for the 1979 general election, and the proposal for the introduction of a poll tax was made explicit in their manifesto for the 1987 election.
1951: Barcelona general strike
Submitted by Alex... on Dec 15 2008 12:14
A brief description of social conditions in post-Civil War Spain followed by an account of the Barcelona general strike of 1951. The events in Barcelona led to strikes across the country and signalled the potential for a return to working class combativity in Spain after over a decade of rule under the Franco regime.
The situation of the Spanish working class at the turn of 1950 was a desperate one. Franco's regime had ruled over the country for the last eleven years, and severe conditions fuelled by austerity measures imposed on workers after the end of the Civil War were becoming rapidly worse.
1970-71: Uprising in Poland
Submitted by Alex... on Oct 31 2008 14:59
A short history of the 1970-71 uprising by workers in Poland which saw strikes and occupations at workplaces across the country. Although suffering savage repression, the uprising forced the government to back down over plans to increase prices of basic consumer goods.
On the morning of December 14 1970, thousands of workers from the Gdansk shipyards downed tools and began marching into the city. Their objective was the local regional office of the Polish United Workers' Party (PZPR), the party that had ruled the People's Republic of Poland since 1952. The protestors were met by police units and fighting between the two sides lasted into the evening.
1987: The Great Workers' Struggle in South Korea
Submitted by Alex... on Aug 18 2008 18:23
A short account of the South Korean strike wave of 1987 known as the Great Workers' Struggle. Affecting most major industries and involving over a million workers, the strikes and militant tactics used won significant gains in pay and conditions for many.
The workplace struggles that took place in 1987 occurred within the wider background of political reform. For thirty years South Korea had been ruled by a military dictatorship, and growing calls for democracy had echoed across the peninsula through the 1970s and early 80s.
1962-1973: Worker and student struggles in Italy
Submitted by Alex... on Mar 12 2008 22:34
A history of the wave of strikes and occupations that gripped Italian factories and universities during the 1960s. Coming to a head with the Hot Autumn of 1969, independent forms of struggle used by workers represented a significant attempt to break from restrictive trade unions.
Rising from a period of centre-left coalition that had been marked by a constant failure to bring promised reforms to Italian society, the struggles of the 1960s acted as a pressure gauge for many sections of the Italian working class, one which was to reach its climax during the mass strikes of 1968-1970.
1998: Danish private sector strike
Submitted by Alex... on Jan 27 2008 22:22
A short history of the massive private sector strike that gripped Denmark for 10 days in 1998. Although ending after negotiations between the government and union leaders left workers demands largely unmet, the strike, involving about 10% of the Danish population was nonetheless a spectacular show of workers' strength.
April of 1998 saw a series of talks between private sector unions and employers in Denmark. Initiated by the unions in response to a general economic upturn in the country, the talks represented for many Danish workers the chance for improvements to their working conditions.
1970: US national postal strike
Submitted by Alex... on Jan 5 2008 17:12
A short account of the illegal nationwide postal strikes that spread across America in 1970. After two weeks, during which time the army was called out to break the strike, workers eventually won increases in pay and the right to negotiate on contracts with bosses.
Beginning on the morning of March 18, the strike had been precipitated by months of stalling by union leaders and government officials. With no rights to collective bargaining, and having not seen wages increase between 1967 and 1969, anger amongst postal workers had been simmering for years.
1911: Liverpool general transport strike
Submitted by Alex... on Dec 10 2007 13:33
A short history of the strike movement that took hold of Liverpool during the summer of 1911. Culminating in a massive general strike of all transport workers, the movement displayed some of the most extraordinary scenes of class solidarity seen in Britain.
The strike movement of Liverpool occurred during the great period of industrial unrest that was to grip Britain between 1910 and the outbreak of the First World War. Beginning with a walk-out of seamen, the strike soon snowballed and went on to reach epic proportions, involving up to 70,000 people.
1934: The Asturias revolt
Submitted by Alex... on Nov 2 2007 17:50
An account of the 1934 uprising by Asturian miners in Spain. Beginning as part of a nationwide general strike, the revolt grew into one of the most widespread rebellions of the pre-revolution era.
The 1933 elections in Spain had seen a massive victory delivered to the right, represented by the Confederación Española de Derechas Autónomas (CEDA), a coalition of largely Catholic conservative groups and Monarchists. Led by José María Gil-Robles, the CEDA soon allied itself with the close runner up of the elections, the Radical Republican Party, led by Alejandro Lerroux.
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