John Edmundson The Spark November 2010
Europe has seen a massive upsurge in worker resistance to planned implementation of continent-wide austerity measures. The size and militancy of the demonstrations and strikes should serve as an inspiration to workers in this part of the world, where class consciousness is at an all time low and union leadership has been sorely lacking and misdirected. In New Zealand, the CTU’s national day of action against the proposed extension to the 90 Day Act and other attacks on workers’ rights was morphed into a Labour Party election rally and Christchurch, where job losses due to earthquake related business closures, and earthquake recovery projects will mean workers there will be more exposed than most to the provisions of the 90 Day Act, the CTU decided in its wisdom that “for obvious reasons,” there would not even be a rally.
Compare this with the situation developing across Europe and the contrast could hardly be starker. The Spark has already given some coverage to the massive demonstrations that struck Greece, but huge worker rallies have taken place across many European cities and industrial action has hit several countries, most notable Spain and France. While it would be wrong to read too much into the potential of these actions, they do represent a significant positive development given the relative quiescence of the working class movement. Continue reading “Thousands across Europe resist austerity attacks”
Greece Interview: "To have a general strike in Greece it is not such a big deal"
The Spark July 2010
In the last issue of The Spark we reported on recent events from the class struggle in Greece. Some of the fiercest popular resistance to the current crisis of capitalism has erupted in Greece over the last couple of years. The latest chapter in this unfolding drama has been the revelation that Greece is unable to pay back the huge foreign debt that it has accumulated during its years of economic growth since joining the eurozone in 2001. According to a report by Costas Lapavitsas and other economists (http://tiny.cc/a7e05), the debt crisis is an inevitable consequence of the structure of the eurozone, which is extremely hierarchical.
A “core” comprising the richest countries (Belgium, France, Germany and Netherlands) dominates the “periphery” (Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain). Germany has acquired the dominant position in the capitalist “race to the bottom” by squeezing its workers hard in the aftermath of reunification. German politicians and newspapers have been busy whipping up resentment against “profligate” Greeks, since a large chunk of the cost of the bailout package will fall on the German working class. However, it is only the militancy of the Greek workers that have prevented their living standards being pushed down even further than their already low level. It is time for German and other workers to start “learning Greek”!
Mike Kay, industrial officer for the Workers Party, who travelled in Greece in June, spoke to Stavros and Paulin from the OKDE (Organisation of Communist Internationalists of Greece) in Athens.
Continue reading “Greece Interview: "To have a general strike in Greece it is not such a big deal"”
"To have a general strike in Greece it is not such a big deal"
Mike Kay spoke to Stavros and Paulin from OKDE (Organisation of Communist Internationalists of Greece) in Athens.
MK: Greece has been the focus of much of the debate about the problems of the European economy. Why does it occupy this special positon?
OKDE: For several reasons, Greece is the weak link in the chain of the European Union (EU). Firstly, due to the weakness of Greek capital due to the reduction in the productive bases of industry and agriculture. Secondly, because of the weaknesses in the EU as a whole – renegotiation or non-payment of “toxic” debt may lead to the collapse of German and French banks. This maybe enough to set off a “domino effect” leading to the collapse of several countries’ economies. Thirdly, there is the Greek movement against austerity, of which the latest pact from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and EU is trying to break the backbone. Lastly, there is a very deep political crisis; the disintegration of the Pasok (Socialist party) government may have already begun. Continue reading “"To have a general strike in Greece it is not such a big deal"”
In solidarity with the Greek people's resistance against austerity
Joint statement from Asia-Pacific
May 13, 2010
[If your organisation would like to sign on, please email international@socialist-alliance.org.]
We, left and progressive organisations from the Asia-Pacific region, express our solidarity with the resistance of the Greek people against the harsh austerity being imposed upon them by the governments of the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The proposed “rescue package” for the Greek economy by the IMF-EU has triggered a huge struggle that will have worldwide ramifications for working people. Continue reading “In solidarity with the Greek people's resistance against austerity”
“We won’t pay for their crisis!”
Mike Kay
In Europe, the capitalist crisis has hit the working class much harder than it has so far in New Zealand. But in many countries, the victims are fighting back. A single slogan has found universal appeal – “We won’t pay for their crisis!” Here follows a brief survey of some of the highlights of the past few months:
Britain has seen its biggest upsurge in class struggle since the start of the Great Miners Strike, 25 years ago. Waves of unofficial strikes over union-agreement coverage on construction projects spread through power station and refinery sites across the country in early February. The strikes were in defiance of the anti-union laws, and not under the control of union leaders. At the early stages of the dispute there was a worrying element of nationalism, with the slogan “British jobs for British workers” appearing on some picket lines, and picked up gleefully by the bourgeois media.
However, as the movement gained coherence, more class-based demands came to the fore, such as: for all workers on site to be under the national union agreement for the engineering construction industry. The debate is still raging on the British left as to how much of a role anti-migrant worker sentiment played in spreading the dispute, but revolutionaries clearly have a vital task of confronting an undercurrent of nationalism, whilst relating positively to a spontaneous outpouring of working class rage. Continue reading ““We won’t pay for their crisis!””