Open letter to the left22 August 2008
Workers Power publishes this as an open letter to the left. With a back drop
of rising class struggle caused by the rampant inflation, with a
recession looming, the possible electoral collapse of Labour at the
next election and the increasingly frequent calls for a new workers
party, The Convention of the Left in Manchester offers a real
opportunity for open and honest discussion on the way forward. Click here to read. Convention of the Left website
Unite the resistance
Workers Power's ten proposals for united front action to combat the effects of inflation and the economic downturn.
As the Russian forces reportedly pull out of Georgian resolution, we
publish a resolution by the International Secretariat of the League on
the situation after the Georgia conflict more… As striking workers signal they will not pay for the bosses crisis, the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) has launched the People Before Profit charter as “ten steps to tackle the crisis” that can be a “rallying point for the resistance”. But the big strategic question – how these reforms can be won – is left unanswered, leaving only a reformist wish list, argues Luke Cooper. more… Report of the Unison strike and rally in Leeds by Al Byrne more… Jeremy Dewar reports from London on the magnificent strike by local council workers in Unite and Unison. more… In the past week, three sets of rail workers on the London Underground – cleaners, bill posters and maintenance workers – have driven a high speed train through Labour’s anti-worker pay restraint policy. Jeremy Dewar reports on how this was achieved and draws lessons for the future more… A report from Workers Power members on the counter demo against the BNP's Red, White and Blue festival in Derby. more… Text of the leaflet distributed by Workers Power supporters during the Unison council workers strike July 23-24th more… Workers Power's ten proposal for united front action to combat the effects of inflation and the economic downturn more… Buried amid the news of Gordon Brown’s meltdown, the Labour government has launched the most callous, right wing attack on the welfare system since unemployment benefit was first introduced. Jeremy Dewar examines the details and asks what this means for Labour’s slender claim to be a party of the working class. more… After terrorising his way to another term as president, Robert Mugabe faces increasing pressure to step down. Keith Spencer charts the history of his regime and argues that it must be overthrown , not by foreign intervention but through the struggle of the workers and peasants of Zimbabwe. more… The Daily Mirror’s cost of living index shows inflation for most people is soaring by 11.6 percent a year and not the official 3.3 percent of the government’s consumer prices index. Food is up 15 percent, fuel up 22 percent and utility bills up 3 percent ( after two years of double digit rises). A weekly basket of 25 items taken from retailers magazine The Grocer now costs £2,067 a year - £263 more than last June. more… Jeremy Dewar, Vice-Chair of the Campaign for a New Workers Party, reports on significant new call by union leaders for a break from Labour at this year’s CNWP conference more… Andy Young of the NSSN steering committee says more and more workers are wising up to the need for an independent organisation for rank and file trade union members more… A World In CrisisLeague for the Fifth International's global perspectivesNEW PAMPHLET OUT NOW!
2008 has confounded all those that heralded globalisation as a new era of capitalist growth, in which the class struggle would be tempered.
The credit crunch of 2007 has led to the banking crisis of 2008. The US has entered recession and Britain is about to follow, while China and India have serious problems with inflation and overaccumulation of capital.
The US war on terror is in a quagmire in Iraq and Afghanistan, while crises and revolutionary situations are erupting in Asia and Latin America. Download pdf of pamphlet here |