Archive for the Category 'Europe'
On 16th December there will be a worldwide day of action with striking colleagues of the UPS in Istanbul and Izmir. Since 5th May the UPS workers in Turkey are in action and on strike. They fight because they have tried to unionize but were aggressively oppressed and 160 colleagues were layed off for this reason. Poor working conditions and low wages are the causes for their decision to unionize. »»»»
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The trade union leaderships let the pension reform pass despite the enormous resistance of the workers and youth
For nearly two months, the French workers, together with a militant movement of secondary school students, led a massive social mobilization against the pension reform of President Nicolas Sarkozy. Eight days of mass strikes and mobilizations which brought millions of demonstrators out onto the streets; renewable strikes (for an indefinite period) in strategic sectors such as the refineries and the ports, as well as (although to a lesser extent because of the law about minimum services) the strike of the train workers; countless blockades of businesses or public places and oil depositories carried out by workers and solidarity activists; and the irruption of the secondary students and a small vanguard at the universities – all this shocked the French autumn. »»»»
Report from the second conference of the NAL on October 30-31
In the summer of 2009, the idea was born for the creation of a united radical left organization in the Czech Republic to break the isolation of the revolutionary forces. After a series of discussions, a conference in November 2009 founded the New Anticapitalist Left (NAL). On the weekend of October 30-31, 2010, after exactly one year of work, a second conference was held. But this NAL conference was attended by only a third as many people as the founding conference one year earlier. This illustrates the bad situation the NAL is in right now. »»»»
The current struggle of the French workers and youth represents an obvious leap compared to the previous cycle of the class struggle that began in 1995. It is announcing a higher level of class struggle, more open, more radicalized and more classical, that is, with greater centrality of the working class and with a protagonist role of students workers and in the factories. It is a new cycle of the class struggle in response to the world crisis underway with repercussions in France and internationally. The economic depression leaves the bourgeoisie with only one possible course of action: attacking the social conquests that still remain from the so-called welfare state and worsening the living conditions of the masses, including groups that in their time benefited from the crumbs of the neo-liberal offensive, such as some people from the middle class. »»»»
Tendencies towards radicalization threatened by the treacherous leaderships of the trade unions
Following three days of protests against the pension reform since the end of the summer (September 7 and 23, and October 2), the government was betting on an ebbing of the demonstrations, especially considering that the Senate hurriedly voted on the main articles of the law, enabling Sarkozy to send a clear message to the public: “everything has been decided, there’s no need to demonstrate, the law has been passed.” Nonetheless, the day of strikes and demonstrations on October 12 in France was historic. »»»»
The AKP’s victory in the constitutional referendum in Turkey is no step towards popular rule
The passage of the constitutional reform in Turkey with nearly 60% of the votes in favor is a clear defeat for the faction of the Turkish capitalists who have intensive links to the Turkish military and state apparatus, and especially for this apparatus itself. It has to accept some limitations of its autonomy. »»»»
In response to social cuts and worsening working conditions, 40,000 trade unionists and opponents of the government went onto the streets of Prague on September 22. Workers in the Czech Republic are rightly worried about attacks on their rights: The government plans to reduce the budget for salaries in the civil service by 10%, which means wage cuts for all workers and also layoffs. The firefighters and the police lost their patience first, but also doctors, teachers, government employees, cultural workers and even military staff joined these protests. »»»»
We denounce the systematic repression by the police against the workers of the Banquet restaurant in Thessaloniki and the militants of the Solidarity Committee. »»»»
Only a socialist Europe can save us from the effects of the economic crisis!
1. The crisis hits Europe
The world economic crisis that began with the collapse of the US investment bank Lehman Brothers in September 2008 is now entering its third year. Although the crisis began in the USA, Europe is now at the center. Several countries of the old continent – both in the Mediterranean and in the East – are on the verge of bankruptcy. »»»»
What is the meaning of the upcoming referendum on constitutional reform in Turkey?
Turkey is mired in crisis. The ruling class of the country is divided: The Kemalist party CHP, which dominates the army and the state bureaucracy, is fighting against the conservative AKP, which controls the government and the majority of parliament. The CHP sees itself as the protector of the principles of the Turkish Republic, founded in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal. The AKP, in contrast, represents a rising bourgeoisie that wants to put the state apparatus in its place. »»»»
In RIO, all decisions are made democratically. We try to discuss until we reach an agreement – but this is of course not always possible. In this case, the position of the organization is determined by a majority vote. In RIO – in contrast to many revolutionary organizations – minorities have the right to publish their arguments, as long as their political work is based on the decided position. On the question of the constitutional reform in Turkey, the majority of RIO decided to call for a critical “yes”, while a small minority argued for a boycott. Since this discussion is going on in the entire radical left of Turkey, we want to briefly present the position of the minority. »»»»