Christchurch Earthquake
Socialist Appeal sends its support, sympathy and solidarity to the people of Christchurch after the February 22nd 6.3 aftershock devastated much of Christchurch and the surrounding area.
Sidebar
Defend Public Services: No to Public Sector Cuts & Privatisation
Prime Minister, John Key, state of the nation speech to Parliament was the opening salvo of the general election that he later announced was to be held on 26th November. In the firing line, if the National Party is re-elected to government in November, are deep cuts to public services and the part privatisation of state assets.
Egyptian army manoeuvres in attempt to cut across worker protests
Written by Fred Weston Tuesday, 15th February 2011
The
Egyptian military top brass have taken over the running of the country
and, while they are promising a transition to “democracy” at some stage,
they are more concerned in the short term about what they see as “chaos
and disorder”. That is, not just the rallies that have gripped all of
Egypt’s major cities, but something far more dangerous in their view,
the growing strike wave.
Egypt: Call for a general strike of Petrotrade workers
Egypt: Call for a general strike of Petrotrade workers
Written by Petrotrade workers
Tuesday, 15th February 2011
An
example of the militancy of the Egyptian workers is this statement
issued by the higher coordination committee of the Petrotrade workers,
calling on workers at the company for an open ended strike until their
demands are met.
Tunisia: one month from the overthrow of Ben Ali
Written by Jorge Martín Monday, 14 February 2011
Today
marks one month since the revolutionary overthrow of the hated dictator
Ben Ali in Tunisia on January 14th. The last month has been a constant
struggle between the ruling class which wants to return to bourgeois
normality and workers and youth who carried out the revolution and who
are struggling to stop the old regime from trying to make a comeback.
Mubarak has fallen! - Revolution until Victory!
Written by Alan Woods Friday, 11th February 2011
The
tyrant has fallen! As I write these lines, Hosni Mubarak has resigned.
This is a great victory, not just for the people of Egypt, but for the
workers of the entire world. After 18 days of continuous revolutionary
mobilizations, with 300 dead and thousands injured, Hosni Mubarak's
30-year tyranny is no more.
Egyptian workers take the lead
Written by Alan Woods Wednesday, 9th February 2011
There
are situations in which mass demonstrations are sufficient to bring
about the fall of a regime. But Egypt is not one of them. All the
efforts of the masses to bring about the overthrow of Mubarak through
demonstrations and street protests have so far failed to achieve their
principal objective.
Egyptian revolution reverberates throughout Arab world
Written by Fred Weston, 7th February 2011
The
Egyptian revolution, following on rapidly from the Tunisian uprising,
has sent shockwaves across the whole of the Arab world. All the serious
strategists of capital are discussing the “domino effect” of the events
unfolding in Egypt. None of them, however, had anticipated any of this.
1951 Waterfront Lockout - 60th Anniversary
Sixty years ago, on 14th February 1951, the New Zealand Waterside Workers Union implemented an overtime ban in support of their wage claim against the cartel of British shipping companies who controlled the most of New Zealand's wharves.
An overtime ban was considered the most appropriate form of industrial action because, although in theory the basic working week was forty hours, in practice the men typically worked sixty to eighty hours a week just to earn a living wage. The shipping companies immediately responded by putting all the men on a two-day penalty for collectively refusing overtime. They were arguably entitled to do under the government regulations at the time. On 19th February, the shipping companies went further: they posted notices insisting that each individual worker agree in advance to accept whatever hours of work were offered for a day, in advance of the worker being engaged for the day. As overtime was not usually announced until several hours into the working day, this meant workers would have to accept in advance to work for a day whose hours were not known. This explicitly contravened the same government regulations. The workers refused to comply with this new unilaterally-declared condition and rightly considered themselves to have been locked out. That is why this article is about the waterside lockout, not the waterside strike.
The Egyptian Revolution: The people want the downfall of the system
Written by Alan Woods
Friday, 04 February 2011
The
masses have once again taken to the streets in the biggest
demonstrations yet seen in Egypt. They call it the "Day of Departure".
Already this morning Al Jazeera showed an immense crowd of people
thronging Tahriri Square. The mood was neither tense nor fearful, but
jubilant. The very instant Friday prayers finished the masses erupted in
a deafening roar of “Mubarak out!” The few Mubarak supporters who were
slinking on the streets outside the Square like impotent jackals could
do nothing.
A Statement from the protesters at Cairo's Tahrir square to the Egyptian people
We have just received a statement by the
revolutionary youth on Tahrir Square in Cairo. The marvellous movement
of the workers and youth of Egypt is an inspiration to the whole world.
It gives new hope to the exploited and oppressed, not only in the Middle
East but everywhere.
The Battle of Tahrir Square
Written by Alan Woods
Thursday, 03 February 2011
“The
sky was filled with rocks. The fighting around me was so terrible we
could smell the blood.” With these words Robert Fisk describes the
dramatic events in Tahrir Square, where the forces of the Revolution met
the counter-revolution head-on. All day and all through the night, a
ferocious battle raged in the Square and the surrounding streets.