A battle that mass strike action can win
From the Socialist, paper of the Socialist Party (CWI in England & Wales)
Royal Mail bosses in Britain have declared war on the postal workers and their union, the Communication Workers Union (CWU). They are intent on providing a worsening mail service to the public and on giving post workers intolerable workloads and terms.
How 18 million people brought down Thatcher
The majority of trade union leaders are completely unprepared to meet the onslaught on jobs and public services, the worst for 40 years. But that does not mean that the inevitable resistance is destined for defeat. On the 20th anniversary of the introduction of the poll tax to England and Wales, PETER TAAFFE looks back on the ‘unofficial’ mass movement which humbled the seemingly invincible Margaret Thatcher.
The lyrics to Eric Bogle’s haunting folk song, No Man’s Land (The Green Fields of France, or Willie McBride), set against the background of an imaginary young soldier killed in the first world war, are as relevant today on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the start of the second world war which falls on 1 September. War did happen ‘again and again’ with its countless victims and will continue to do so as long as capitalism remains. Indeed, the total number of victims of the second world war dwarfed even the carnage of the first. Estimates of the total number of casualties for the war suggest some 60 million died, 20 million soldiers and 40 million civilians.
Separate church from all public services
Over a ten year period, Derry priest John McCullagh, abused a young girl who was a member of a family he had befriended. With a horrifying regularity, more and more of these stories are being uncovered across the island North and South and internationally.
