News Updates

Vote ‘Yes’ in national strike ballot against Royal Mail bully-boys

by Richie Venton

Royal Mail workers are currently balloting for a national strike, after several months of local and regional stoppages, both officially balloted-for actions and ‘unofficial’ walkouts.

Anger has been boiling at a range of attacks on jobs, terms and conditions, workloads, pension rights, and the services delivered to the public. Attacks conducted by overpaid, arrogant Royal Mail top brass, but egged on by the even more overpaid and arrogant Labour Minister Lord Mandelson.

An element of petty revenge peppers the bully-boy brutality of the cuts being pushed by these people; revenge being sought for the union campaign that defeated plans by Mandelson to privatise Royal Mail earlier this year.

The multiple forms of attack that has raised workers’ anger to boiling point are undoubtedly aimed at breaking the strength of the union,

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SSP supports postal workers strike

by Richie Venton

The Scottish Socialist Party is in full support of the thousands of postal workers who are staging strike action and other protests on Friday 17th July, in anger at arbitrary cuts to staffing levels and service levels to the public.

These cuts are being imposed by Royal Mail bosses in flagrant breach of the 2007 Pay and Modernisation Agreement, signed after strike action that year.

Delivery Ofices and Mail Centres in Edinburgh and East/Central Scotland will walk out, as will Irvine posties the next day. This is part of a growing groundswell of strikes across the UK, with 400 other offices requesting ballots for strike action.

High-and-mighty Royal Mail bosses are imposing cuts to staff and services;

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Edinburgh binmen refuse to lift £70 a week less as council demands cuts

by Colin Fox

The Scottish Socialist Party received a call from David Cameron last week.

But this wasn’t the David Cameron born with a silver spoon in his mouth who went to Eton or votes Tory.

He is a bin man with Edinburgh City Council and has been for 21 years.

David contacted us to ask for help after the Council’s SNP / Liberal administration informed him and 600 of his collegaues their pay was to be ‘modernised’, by chopping £3,000 a year from it.

Bin men like David earn £16,000 including bonuses. Management aims to take £70 per week off them.

Council leaders insist the cuts are necessary if they are to implement the ‘single status’

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Thatcher’s legacy kept alive by Brown

by Ken Ferguson

Amidst all the warm words marking the 30th anniversary of Thatcher’s 1979 election victory one thing is certain—the New Labour government is her greatest admirer and direct descendant.

At the heart of the New Labour project lies its complete rejection of any Socialist politics and endorsement of the Thatcherite view worshiping the free market and the rich.

So after twelve years of majority New Labour government we still have the most repressive anti union laws in Europe, a growing gulf between rich and poor and a government wholly at the service of big business.

That’s why lifeboats loaded with billions have been dashing to the rescue of the bankers who not only steered the financial Titanic into the iceberg but actually created the iceberg itself.

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Suspended for speaking out for workers

by Jim Bollan

Free speech on West Dunbartonshire Council is a thing of the past if you try to protect Council worker’s pay and conditions.

As a Scottish Socialist Party Councillor I instinctively worked with the Trades Unions against the SNP Council’s imposition of cuts in workers wages and conditions.

To be suspended for 9 months from all Council meetings for trying to defend free speech and the rights of workers is outrageous.

The “Independent” Provost who is joined at the hip with the SNP administration to safeguard the gold chain round his neck, denied any opposition Councillors the right to speak up against savage cuts, imposed, by the SNP on low paid workers.

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The Heroes Within

by Dusty Miller

The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it. – Omar Khayyam

I fear we are about to be inundated by a plethora of post-mortems, a promiscuity of platitudes, and a payola of punditry; none of which will be written or presented by those who took part.

The least biased will present us as the Spartans of the working class marching blindly to our Thermopylae, kinder souls as some hubris-driven Greek hero, charging with a brazen roar to his inevitable doom.

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Glasgow SOS – St Valentine’s Day Unity March

by Richie Venton

They poured into George Square from the four corners of Glasgow, a human tide of anger, noise and colour.

You could hear them long before they marched into the Square to assemble for the Glasgow Save Our Schools Unity March. The full-throated voices of young children mingled with the chants and singing of parents, grandparents and people who simply care about their communities. “Save Our Schools” and “We shall not be moved” were the most common songs and chants.

Over 200 marched from St Gilbert’s and Barmulloch to the assembly point. Other feeder marches thronged into the city centre from each of Victoria in Govanhill, Ruchill and Wyndford.

In total well over 1,000 gave voice to pure rage at the Labour council’s plans to butcher 25 primaries and nurseries.

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6 Days in Cornton Vale

by Rosie Kane

It was only six days. Less than a week of my life. But every one of the 144 hours I spent behind bars opened my eyes just a little bit wider.

By the time I emerged on Thursday, my peepers must have looked like dinner plates.

I knew that I would not be in Cornton Vale women’s prison for long. I knew I had family and friends on the outside and I knew I would leave to a warm home and fulfilling job.

I had more to hold on to than practically every other prisoner in there – but it was still the one of the saddest experiences of my life.

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