Within 48 hours of Labour being re-elected in a landslide, Victorian
unions (many of whom played a key role in mobilising to get Labour in
power) were being rebuffed by Labour leader Steve Bracks in their demand
for industrial manslaughter legislation to penalise bosses who kill or
injure workers. State public servants...
MANY FIREFIGHTERS and other workers will have looked on bewildered as
the FBU (Fire Brigade Union) executive council called off the eight-day
firefighters’ strike due to begin on 4 December.
On the 26 November Mohamed Achrak, a 27 year old teacher from Moroccan
origin was shot in Borgerhout, one of the poorest areas of Antwerp. It
is almost certain that this is a case of racist murder. A spontaneous
protest action of immigrant youth met with severe police-repression and
ended up in riots with over 200 being...
AN INFLAMATORY Nigerian newspaper article connected to the Miss World
contest sparked off bloody religious sectarianism in the northern city
of Kaduna. The fighting later flared in the capital Abuja leaving 215
people dead, 1,200 injured and 12,000 homeless.
"THE GOVERNMENT has completely lost control of the agenda. This is no
longer just a dispute between the FBU and the government: it has
descended into a fight between the government and the whole union
movement" (Observer 24 November).
On Friday, November 8, 2002, the Supreme Court in a unanimous decision
dismissed the appeal of the Independent National Electoral Commission
(INEC) against the Federal Court of Appeal judgement of 26th July 2002
which had declared as illegal and unconstitutional the guidelines used
by INEC for the registration of...
More than 10,000 demonstrated against the war in the streets of Brussels
last Sunday. This was an important succes given the fact the trade union
organisations didn’t realy mobilise and given the fact that some on the
left had boycotted the demo.
Camera crews, reporters and members of the International Socialists
(CWI) along with other Scottish Socialist Party members waited outside
the Blackness Fire Station in Dundee for the 6 o’clock start to the
first national fire strike in 25 years.
FORTY-THOUSAND PEOPLE from all over Europe flooded into Florence, Italy,
for the European Social Forum, nearly double the number the organisers
had been expecting.
MILLIONS OF big-business dollars were used by both major parties to
campaign for votes. Both represent big business. The Republicans,
however, push more aggressive pro-business policies and heavily outspent
the Democrats, by $527.4 million to $343.7 million.
