Behind the screens: an interview with two Curzon cinema workers
Ritzy workers in south London recently went on strike for the Living Wage, but they are by no means unique. Rs21 member, Estelle Cooch, caught up with two workers from Curzon cinemas and asked them to explain why everything is kicking off in the cinema industry. How did you get from an informal network of organising to […]
Edinburgh: vibrant protest against Farage
Pete Cannell reports: Farage’s public meeting in Edinburgh last night was intended as more than just another publicity stunt. Until this year’s elections UKIP’s impact in Scotland has been minimal. Just a year ago Farage had to run from Edinburgh, unable to find a taxi that would take him to the station. Recent polls, […]
“Our demand is quite simple. We want our freedom.” Protests in UK migration prisons spread
A wave of protests in migration prisons across the UK began on Friday 2nd May.
When will it end? More deaths of refugees in the Aegean
On 5th May 2014, two boats carrying migrants sunk off the coast of the Greek Island of Samos. At least 22 people drowned and another seven missing. They are just the latest victims of Fortress Europe. Sofiane Ait Chalalet and Chris Jones watched the tragedy unfold on Monday morning. On Samos Island we watched another […]
May Day around the world
With photographs and short reports on demonstrations for International Workers’ Day from Moscow to La Paz. Ben (Moscow): There were about 150 people on this march. There were multiple marches: the Ukraine crisis has fragmented the left. Orthodox “Christian” provocateurs attacked the Moscow march. They were objecting to the LGBT contingent. They started by throwing […]
Ritzy strikers not giving in, not going away.
Ritzy workers were out on strike again yesterday evening, forcing the cinema to close, and the fun to come outside. Søren reports. Management are refusing to come back to negotiations on the Living Wage, so the strikes at the Ritzy continue. This was the third strike day in three weeks. The rumour is that Cineworld, who own […]
Militancy at Lambeth College strike despite injunction
Estelle Cooch reports from today’s strike at Lambeth College The resistance by lecturers at Lambeth College to the vicious attacks on their pay and conditions is quickly becoming a beacon to trade unionists and activists everywhere. The all-out strike that was meant to begin today has the potential to foster the support and solidarity that […]
Lambeth College all out strike to win!
Mark Winter discusses the importance of the Lambeth College UCU strike against changes to their contracts and what can be learnt from the experiences of the Tower Hamlets College strike.
“UKIP are quackers”: Farage greeted by protest in Portsmouth
UKIP and Farage can’t expect an easy ride on their speaking tour over the next few weeks.
Tube strike round-up – Reports from today’s action
London is effectively shut down today as RMT workers go on strike. Søren takes a look at how the pickets are going with a round-up of reports. The RMT, which represents tube workers across the London network, began another 48-hour strike last night after London Underground refused to budge in their decision to shut down […]
Brighton antifascist mobilisation: reports round-up
(picture from @BenJames22, reporter at The Argus) Lois JC reports: There was a much smaller presence of fascists than in earlier years: around 150. Antifascists outnumbered them at least 2-1. We lined the streets while the fasc did their walk down the road. But we were heavily surrounded by police and it shouldn’t be trumpeted as a massive […]
Shoe strikes escalate as protests surge
Tens of thousands of Chinese workers employed by a Taiwanese firm Yue Yuen Industrial Holdings have been on strike for almost two weeks in a dispute that has now become news around the world. The workers make shoes for Nike, Adidas and Timberland and the company claims to be the world’s largest footwear maker. Charlie […]
The Left and Maidan: Interview with Ukrainian socialist Denis Pilas
Around 150 people gathered in Kiev recently to attend a conference organised by Ukrainian organisations including the Left Opposition, with support from the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. The conference, entitled ‘The Left and Maidan’, discussed perspectives for the left in Ukraine. There were visitors from Russia, France, Germany, Poland and Belarus, including left members of the […]
rs21 Political Weekend: Anti-politics: responses to austerity from Russell Brand to Occupy
Where does the ‘anti-politics’ mood come from? And how can revolutionaries relate to it?
Ernesto Laclau (1935–2014)
The renowned socialist political theorist Ernesto Laclau died of a heart attack in Seville earlier this week. He was 78. Adrià Porta Caballé looks back at his life and pays tribute. Ernesto Laclau was born in Argentina in 1935, studying history and graduating from the National University of Buenos Aires in 1964. He was active […]
Ukraine, Russia and the miners of the Donbass
Miners in the Donbass region have played a crucial role in Ukrainian politics since 1989, and are key today, argues Nick Evans The situation in eastern Ukraine is becoming more and more dangerous. It is over a week since pro-Russian forces seized government buildings in the region. Attempts by the Ukrainian government to retake control […]
Grandparent climate action – for our grandchildren
Nancy Lindisfarne reports: Recently in Oslo, I met with Mette Newth, and Finn Bjørnar Lund to learn about the Norwegian Grandparents’ Climate Campaign. They are both activists with ‘fire souls’, as Norwegians say. They couldn’t have been more helpful and encouraging about setting up such a network in the UK. There are already similar campaigns […]
Panic on the streets of Birmingham?
Andrew N, Birmingham NUT executive member (personal capacity), argues that the left needs to stand against Islamophobes and reject media scapegoating Photo: Paul Clarke If you were to believe the headlines in certain Tory papers recently, you would think that schools in Birmingham were being seized by Muslim radicals on a daily basis.”Gove declares war […]
Paris: united demo against austerity
Clément Mouhot reports from Paris: “Hollande ça suffit !” (Hollande this is enough) was one of the many slogans seen on banners at the demonstration against austerity in Paris last Saturday. Around 40,000 people marched from “République” to “Nation” against austerity and cuts policies put forward by the Socialist Party (PS) government. The protest was […]
Jubilation as crown case collapses and Antifascist 5 walk free from court
Prosecution grovels as key witness fails to show. Judge refuses to adjourn to September; crown folds. Humiliation for state tactics aimed at repressing protest.
UCU marking boycott: Management have called our bluff – we have a choice
Management at universities across the country, including Bath Spa, UWE, Oxford Brooks, Bradford University, UEA and Westminster University, have told staff that they intend to dock 100% of their pay if they participate in the marking boycott, due to start on 28 April. Jonathan Neale, university lecturer and UCU committee member at Bath Spa University […]
Sparks strike back against umbrella agencies: NG Bailey vulnerable to action
â— Deadlock at Manchester City ground Balfour Beatty job â— Scottish electricians to meet to set out next steps â— Action could generalise across country and industries by Christian C and Anindya Bhattacharyya Over 40 electricians “cabined up” (ie refused to work) on Thursday morning at a Manchester City training ground. They are demanding “jobs […]
Enthusiastic strike for the London Living Wage
Rob Owen reports from Brixton: Workers at The Ritzy cinema in Brixton are on strike today for the London Living Wage. Pickets began at 9am and will continue into the evening. Workers in BECTU, the media and entertainment trade union, gathered with DIY placards and leaflets using film quotes and art house cinema imagery. Ritzy […]
Ritzy strike for the London Living Wage
Workers at The Ritzy cinema in Brixton will be striking tomorrow for the London Living Wage. The strike will be from 9am on Friday to 3am Saturday morning. The picket will be at its largest after 6pm and we are asking campaigners to come and show their support. The workers in Brixton are striking […]
Left lifted by surprise win for Free Education motion at NUS conference
Amy Gilligan from Cambridge University rs21 reports from NUS conference LEFT ACTIVISTS were happy after a surprise win after a tense NUS conference vote this morning. A motion supporting free education passed, committing the union to campaigning against all methods of charging students for education. The vote went to the count, but was passed comfortably – […]
Brazilian workers paralyse refinery construction
Ali S reports from Brazil on the continuing strike by COMPERJ workers in Itaborai, Rio de Janeiro: “Radio Peão” – a set of codified rumours between workers – has been central to the continued paralysis in the construction of Brazil’s second biggest oil refinery. Almost the entire work force of 30,000 workers have walked out. […]
Sparks strike at Three Bridges and protect jobs on the cards
report by a Unite rep Electricians in Three Bridges, Sussex, walked out this morning to defend their terms and conditions. Within hours they had forced their employers to back off and hire them on industry standard conditions. The action involved 30 agency workers hired by NG Bailey on a Volker Fitzpatrick construction site for Network Rail. Their Unite union demanded direct […]
rs21 Political Weekend: How do we organise to change the world?
At the rs21 political weekend, one session followed the format of the BBC’s Question Time. Panellists addressed the role of the revolutionary organisation and international politics.
26 March NUT strike round-up
NUT strikes have a tradition of large political demonstrations on strike days and today was no exception.
“We need to continue to fight for not just our pay and pensions, but for a different vision of education which allows all children to thrive”
“We are striking not because we do not care about our students, but because we do.”