Scottish Socialist Voice
Issue 294
1st February 2007
—front page—
SILENCE IS NO LONGER AN OPTION
Mass US protest against
As the
Blair clearly wanted the whole sorry mess done and dusted by now, so he
could step down in a blaze of glory. Or go on and on and on in a blaze
of glory, perhaps.
But the idiot to whom he is shackled, George W Bush, is determined to
pour a further 21,500 US troops into the furnace, and would no doubt like
to see the UK make a contribution.
Bad news for Tony. Catastrophic news for the troops and the people
of
On 27 January, tens of thousands converged on
Veterans and military families, including bereaved families holding up
pictures of their lost sons and daughters, stood up alongside peace groups
and ordinary citizens, and actress and veteran peace campaigner Jane Fonda,
speaking at her first anti-war rally in 34 years.
Speaking from a stage on which stood a flag-draped coffin, Fonda said:
“Silence is no longer an option. I’m so sad we have to do this - that
we did not learn the lessons of the Vietnam War.”
Support for the
The
Over here, anti-war feeling grows daily, and is likely to deliver a crushing
blow to Scottish Labour, who weakly acquiesced in their paymasters’ murderous
jaunt, at the Holyrood elections in May.
Not only has our parliament colluded in a war that has killed at least
600,000 civilians, it has done so while agreeing to host a new generation
of weapons of mass destruction, namely the Trident nuclear submarines
moored in the Clyde.
For £76billion, we can remain a major potential target for terrorist attacks
and endure the transport of deadly nuclear missiles along our roads.
Silence is no longer an option. Let’s make our opposition felt at the
anti-war, anti-Trident demo on 24 February in
Bin the bomb
Sat 24 Feb
assemble 11.30am, George Sq, Glasgow
—page two—
PCS: 280,000 in strike action
Over 280,000 civil servants were taking
strike action this week in defence of their jobs and the vital
services they supply, against a brutal campaign of cuts being
waged by the government.
Over 200 agencies and departments united across
Labour has already slashed 36,000 civil service jobs, and
Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced a target of 20 per cent
budget cuts and 104,000 job cuts - an arbitrary figure he
plucked from the sky to shore up his ‘iron’ image in time
for his leadership bid.
The civil servants taking strike action are not the bowler-hatted
mandarins of high office - low pay is rife in the civil service,
with one quarter of members of the PCS earning less than £15,340.
They are hard working staff who face chaos in their workplaces, and the services we all
use, if the government continues its campaign of cost cutting.
The cuts include office closures, the shunting of locally
accessible services into huge call centres, and the hiving-off
of contracts into the private sector, where cowboys will cut
corners for a fast buck. The government has already spent
a whopping £7.2billion on private consultants.
The strike action is a fight to save public services. Twinned
with a two-week long overtime ban, there is more action to
follow. This is the beginning of a long battle that needs
to be won, before New Labour fulfils its aim of wiping out
the public sector for the sake of profit.
Sir Gus bullies low paid workers
by Richie Venton,
SSP workplace organiser
The head of the civil service, Sir Gus O’Donnell,
has stooped to every trick in the book to scupper the strike.
During the PCS ballot he wrote to all staff advising them
to vote NO.
They wisely ignored this (unfriendly) advice from someone
instrumental in a savage, concerted attack on civil servants’
jobs, pay and the service they provide.
Then, 48 hours before the one-day strike, he wrote to every
civil servant again, expressing “how disappointed” he is at
the ballot and the plan to strike, trying to whip up scabbing.
But as several PCS members told the Voice, this has only served
to stiffen the resolve of PCS members, and helped to clarify
that there are two forces in collision here, which is why
the union needs such decisive action.
Sir Gus is bombarding and trying to bully low paid workers.
He himself is on £238,000 a year. That is £20,000 a month,
which is more than the annual wage of over half of all civil
service workers. It means he earns more in three weeks than
a quarter of PCS members earn in a year - £15,000.
His attempts to undermine the strike with claims that the
ballot result does not really give the union a mandate fly
in the face of reality. With a 38 per cent turnout, the ballot
compares favourably with general elections and by-elections
- and certainly with the absolute minority of the vote (35
per cent of votes cast, under 22 per cent of the electorate)
which elected this axe-wielding New Labour government.
Council in threat to evict janitor
Glasgow City Council is about to make a
recently retired school janitor homeless, despite over 25
years of loyal service and little prospect of being re-housed
in the little time allotted to him to move out of council-owned
premises.
John Howley is the former janitor of
Yet, barely three weeks into his retirement, he
received an Eviction Notice from George Walker and Co, on
behalf of the Glasgow City Council, informing him that he
has until 13 April to remove himself or have the School House
repossessed from under him.
Though John is entitled to tied points, which should guarantee him a decent offer of social
housing from either the GHA or other housing association,
“the problem is that the best and decent social housing has
a very low turnover and therefore his merited offer of a house
may not be forthcoming for at least a number of months.”
Dignity
Keith has demanded that Ronnie O’Connor, executive
director or Education, Training and Young People at Glasgow
City Council, intervene directly and prevent this eviction.
“I would like to state clearly that, if John Howley faces
eviction on 13 April, I will do everything in my power to
obstruct Sheriff Officers from gaining access...” said Keith,
in a letter to Mr O’Connor.
John is a pensioner and deserves to be treated with dignity.
Keith is confident he will be re-housed, but that it may take
some time.
“I am therefore asking for the withdrawal of this Eviction
Notice to put John’s mind at ease,” Keith’s letter continued.
“He has never had a Sheriff Officer’s letter in his life and
was visibly shaken and emotionally distressed when he came
to see me at my surgery.”
Zahra Byansi returns
to
As we went to press, we heard that Zahra
Byansi and her two children had been released from Yarl’s
Wood detention centre and were on their way home to
We covered Zahra’s story in the last two issues of the Voice,
as friends demonstrated outside Brand Street immigration centre
in Glasgow - where Zahra and her sons, aged five and 12, were
taken into detention - and then travelled all the way to Yarl’s
Wood in the south of England to try to see her. A fresh legal
claim stopped the family’s deportation to
The Kingsway Amnesty Group, of which Zahra is an active member,
said they wanted to thank everyone who’d helped and that they
would continue to fight until the family won indefinite leave
to remain.
Unity conference
Unity - the asylum seekers’ union - held
their annual conference last weekend. A good turnout of around
60 people from all over
The confidence of asylum seekers in
The centre has produced an excellent guide to dawn raids,
making people aware of their legal rights, as well as other
guides for people struggling to find a way around the maze
which is
Many of the participants brought their young children, leading
to a colourful and active crèche, full of children who know
no other life except
Thankfully, Unity is making this possibility a little less
likely.
—page three—
PCS: 280,000 in strike action
Over 280,000 civil servants were
taking strike action this week in defence of their
jobs and the vital services they supply, against a
brutal campaign of cuts being waged by the government.
Over 200 agencies and departments united across
Labour has already slashed 36,000 civil service jobs,
and Chancellor Gordon Brown has announced a target
of 20 per cent budget cuts and 104,000 job cuts -
an arbitrary figure he plucked from the sky to shore
up his ‘iron’ image in time for his leadership bid.
The civil servants taking strike action are not the
bowler-hatted mandarins of high office - low pay is
rife in the civil service, with one quarter of members
of the PCS earning less than £15,340.
They are hard working staff who face chaos in their workplaces, and the services we all
use, if the government continues its campaign of cost
cutting.
The cuts include office closures, the shunting of
locally accessible services into huge call centres,
and the hiving-off of contracts into the private sector,
where cowboys will cut corners for a fast buck. The
government has already spent a whopping £7.2billion
on private consultants.
The strike action is a fight to save public services.
Twinned with a two-week long overtime ban, there is
more action to follow. This is the beginning of a
long battle that needs to be won, before New Labour
fulfils its aim of wiping out the public sector for
the sake of profit.
Sir Gus bullies low paid workers
by Richie Venton,
SSP workplace organiser
The head of the civil service, Sir
Gus O’Donnell, has stooped to every trick in the book
to scupper the strike. During the PCS ballot he wrote
to all staff advising them to vote NO.
They wisely ignored this (unfriendly) advice from
someone instrumental in a savage, concerted attack
on civil servants’ jobs, pay and the service they
provide.
Then, 48 hours before the one-day strike, he wrote
to every civil servant again, expressing “how disappointed”
he is at the ballot and the plan to strike, trying
to whip up scabbing. But as several PCS members told
the Voice, this has only served to stiffen the resolve
of PCS members, and helped to clarify that there are
two forces in collision here, which is why the union
needs such decisive action.
Sir Gus is bombarding and trying to bully low paid
workers. He himself is on £238,000 a year. That is
£20,000 a month, which is more than the annual wage
of over half of all civil service workers. It means
he earns more in three weeks than a quarter of PCS
members earn in a year - £15,000.
His attempts to undermine the strike with claims that
the ballot result does not really give the union a
mandate fly in the face of reality. With a 38 per
cent turnout, the ballot compares favourably with
general elections and by-elections - and certainly
with the absolute minority of the vote (35 per cent
of votes cast, under 22 per cent of the electorate)
which elected this axe-wielding New Labour government.
Council in threat to evict janitor
Glasgow City Council is about to
make a recently retired school janitor homeless, despite
over 25 years of loyal service and little prospect
of being re-housed in the little time allotted to
him to move out of council-owned premises.
John Howley is the former janitor of
Yet, barely three weeks into his retirement, he
received an Eviction Notice from George Walker and
Co, on behalf of the Glasgow City Council, informing
him that he has until 13 April to remove himself or
have the School House repossessed from under him.
Though John is entitled to tied points, which should guarantee him a decent offer of social
housing from either the GHA or other housing association,
“the problem is that the best and decent social housing
has a very low turnover and therefore his merited
offer of a house may not be forthcoming for at least
a number of months.”
Dignity
Keith has demanded that Ronnie O’Connor,
executive director or Education, Training and Young
People at Glasgow City Council, intervene directly
and prevent this eviction.
“I would like to state clearly that, if John Howley
faces eviction on 13 April, I will do everything in
my power to obstruct Sheriff Officers from gaining
access...” said Keith, in a letter to Mr O’Connor.
John is a pensioner and deserves to be treated with
dignity.
Keith is confident he will be re-housed, but that
it may take some time.
“I am therefore asking for the withdrawal of this
Eviction Notice to put John’s mind at ease,” Keith’s
letter continued.
“He has never had a Sheriff Officer’s letter in his
life and was visibly shaken and emotionally distressed
when he came to see me at my surgery.”
Zahra Byansi
returns to
As we went to press, we heard that
Zahra Byansi and her two children had been released
from Yarl’s Wood detention centre and were on their
way home to
We covered Zahra’s story in the last two issues of
the Voice, as friends demonstrated outside Brand Street
immigration centre in Glasgow - where Zahra and her
sons, aged five and 12, were taken into detention
- and then travelled all the way to Yarl’s Wood in
the south of England to try to see her. A fresh legal
claim stopped the family’s deportation to
The Kingsway Amnesty Group, of which Zahra is an active
member, said they wanted to thank everyone who’d helped
and that they would continue to fight until the family
won indefinite leave to remain.
Unity conference
Unity - the asylum seekers’ union
- held their annual conference last weekend. A good
turnout of around 60 people from all over
The confidence of asylum seekers in
The centre has produced an excellent guide to dawn
raids, making people aware of their legal rights,
as well as other guides for people struggling to find
a way around the maze which is
Many of the participants brought their young children,
leading to a colourful and active crèche, full of
children who know no other life except
Thankfully, Unity is making this possibility a little
less likely.
—page four—
Bush fuels controversy
“(Biofuels) will help us to confront
the serious challenge of global climate change.”
- George W Bush,
“Bioethanol and biodiesel from energy crops compete for land that
grows food and return less energy than the fossil fuels squandered
in producing them; they are also damaging to the environment and disastrous
for the economy.”
Dr Mae-Wan Hoe, world-renowned geneticist and biophysicist, director
of the Institute of Science in Society and advisor to the Third World
Network.
Well, who would you listen to? Some were encouraged by George W Bush’s
State of the Union address last week, in that at least he acknowledged
the existence of climate change and pledged millions of dollars in
research funding for alternative fuels and the raising of energy efficiency
in vehicle engines.
He even set some targets. A fivefold increase in ethanol production,
to 3.5billion gallons annually by 2017, equalling 15 per cent of current
petrol use. And a 4 per cent increase in fuel efficiency year on year,
starting in 2010.
The last one doesn’t count, of course; Bush won’t be president in
2010.
Furthermore, his adoption of the ‘science will save us’ line is naive
at best as even the most advanced science spells it out - the technology
required to allow us to live as we currently do, yet without emitting
carbon, is impossible, or too far off to save us in time.
Biofuels are a good illustration of this.
They sound good. Surely making fuel from fields of waving corn is
far better than sucking it up out of Saudi oil wells? But in practice,
they stink.
The biggest problem is land.
There isn’t enough land available on earth to grow the fuel we need
to replace even a fraction of our fossil fuel usage, and in any case,
that land is needed for food.
Here’s an idea of the scale we’re talking about:
If all the cropland in the US was devoted to growing switchgrass -
a good choice, in that it’s prolific, requires a minimum of nitrogen
fertiliser and is considered the least environmentally damaging biofuel
crop - it still couldn’t begin to match current fossil fuel usage.
Plus, it needs a few years to mature.All of which makes Bush’s speech
a little suspect.
Could the $84million he poured into research and development of biodiesel
and ethanol production simply be a sop to the green movement?
Or worse, a sneaky way of subsidising the oil industry? After all,
his vow that fuel producers - like oil companies - include a certain
percentage of ethanol and biodiesel in their fuels suggests that that
research money may be heading for the coffers of multinationals, not
small farmers growing lovely sunflowers.
The EU, possibly less cynically, has already introduced a directive
requiring that 5.75 per cent of all fuel be from renewable sources
by 2010, which they plan to up to 20 per cent by 2020.
Why can’t we use old chip fat to do this? We do, but even if we turned
all the used chip fat in this admittedly chipaholic nation into fuel,
it would amount to only 1/380th of our current needs.
The 5.75 per cent is already out of reach, in that there is not enough
land available in
Thus,
World Trade Organisation rules make it impossible to prevent unethically
produced products like this from going on the market, and trading
laws, such as GATS, prevent public bodies from refusing to buy the
cheapest option.
Palm oil production strips rainforests, and decimates indigenous communities.
A Friends of the Earth report from 2005 found that 87 per cent of
the deforestation that occurred in
It continues, across Sumatra,
Clearing generally means burning, releasing all the carbon stored
in those trees over decades into the atmosphere at once.
A paper published in Nature magazine estimated that the rainforest
fires that created the famous smogs across
Not just that, but it robs the world of its most precious carbon sinks,
those vital forests that soak up CO2 and release the oxygen we need
to breathe.
It doesn’t get any better when you think about food.
If
Food security is already an issue in many countries, not least because
global warming, manifesting as droughts and high temperatures, is
already causing lower crop yields, and world food prices to rise.
If some crops are then diverted to biofuels, as has happened with
corn crops in the
Then there’s the question of the fossil fuels used to grow all this
corn, process it, and ship it all over the country. In the final wash-up,
very few carbon savings are made.
There are other options.
We could make ethanol from wood chips. But this means clearing land
to grow trees, though admittedly this is less devastating than clearing
it to grow palm oil, and you can use land that wouldn’t support crops,
but you can see the problem already. Plus, wood is not energy dense,
so is expensive to transport, and where will the energy to do this
come from? More trees?
There are smaller resources, but few are satisfactory.
We could use agricultural waste, but would then have to make more
nitrogen fertiliser to compensate for the diverting of the natural
stuff to make fuel.
We simply cannot convert our current energy usage into a sustainable
form.
It’s a dangerous delusion, and wastes precious time.
But then, it’s supposed to.
Bush’s speech, like Tony Blair’s recent declaration that we can keep
on flying because someone’s bound to invent a fuel-efficient plane
soon, was designed to reassure the world’s jeep drivers and jet-setters,
who might be a little uneasy about the Larsen B ice shelf crashing
into the sea off Greenland, that it’s OK to carry on as normal, and
keep pumping money into the fragile, free market economy, because,
er, someone will think of something soon.
But everyone’s tried, and there is only one solution.
We must stop burning so much fossil fuel, and that means fewer cars,
fewer planes, and an end to the global market that sees beans from
It’s not rocket science, just plain old science.
—page five—
letters page
Quiz your MSP on
school meals
Frances Curran’s proposal to introduce free school
meals for all primary school children in
This is an issue that transcends the eyeball-to-eyeball
confrontations that characterise many of the debates between
the political parties.
The implication for the health and well-being
of children (and indeed of future generations of adults)
are enormous.
It is as important as any of the major issues facing us
today: the threat posed by global warming; the fear of
terrorist reprisals for the wars in
I would sincerely urge all those who are genuinely concerned
with the growing problem of childhood obesity, with the
stigma that prevents one third of
Find out where your MSP and your prospective parliamentary
candidates for Holyrood stand on this issue.
Make it clear that, on this occasion, it may influence
how you vote on 3 May.
I have said that the free school meals issue is far more
important than run-of-the-mill politics, and I, personally,
have no intention of voting for a candidate - even of
my own political party - who is not prepared to support
this Bill.
But it is only by putting pressure on those who represent
you - or aspire to represent you - that you can exercise
your democratic right and achieve something for
Jim
SNP Spokesperson on Education,
Aberdeenshire Council,
Cruden
Keep checking SSP
website
The SSP website is being updated regularly with
news and information including campaigning resources.
SSP workplace organiser Richie Venton ensures that we
always have any material that is being produced in relation
to trade unions and industrial disputes on the website
so that comrades in their areas can download them for
printing.
Comrades will also find picture galleries from demos,
and details on policies such as the free public transport
campaign. At the bottom of the front
page click on the map of the world. It tells you
where people are looking at our website from - a fascinating
insight into the SSP’s international interest.
The internet is a vital part of getting our message across.
In the coming May election it will be a vital campaigning
tool.
Please check out the website regularly for SSP news and
info: www.scottishsocialistparty.org
Eddie Truman,
Musselburgh
Stop the war and
support Iraqi trade unions!
A recent Voice (issue 292) ran an extremely good,
descriptive article by Isam Rasheed about the catastrophe
which is now
What we do not hear much about though is the trade union
movement in Iraq, which has raised its head above the
parapet to claim its right for decent working conditions,
for the government to provide security for workers and
the Iraqi people, for basic services such as electricity,
for Decree 8750 - which restricts Iraqi unions - to be
repealed, for the repeal of Saddam Hussein’s law which
prevented unions from organising in the public sector
(unions already defy this law) and for an end to the trafficking
of foreign workers to Iraq by supporters of the US military.
And, perhaps above all other demands, they are campaigning
for
This trade union movement, which was banned under Saddam
Hussein, is making gains with the help of unions across
the world, including the FBU, UNISON and the RMT.
Workers, desperate for work, are often the targets of
sectarian bombs. A statement by the General Federation
of Workers in Iraq (GFWI) quoted on 17 January on the
IFTU website, condemns insurgents
who target workers saying:
“All of us know the occupation has destroyed everything
in Iraqi society, unleashed the sectarian and nationalist
gangs to slaughter and jeopardise people’s safety.
“These groups have failed miserably to instigate people
(primarily workers) to fight each other; therefore they
change tactics to target the workers in their workplaces
and living neighbourhoods; kidnapping women, raping them
and throwing them dead in abandoned areas, as a sectarian
revenge to add more fuel to the fire. They seek to break
the unity of the workers by calling for sectarian federalism
and defining it by their ethnic background or religious
belief.”
At the same time, dozens of trade union leaders, scholars
and journalists have been assassinated since the war began
in 2003. The high level of unemployment exacerbates this
situation.
Although the picture can seem bleak, Abdullah Muhsin,
the International Representative of the GFWI, states that
there is not yet full civil war and there is still hope.
He argues that although the violence is extreme, it is
in just a few (though important) places, it has not engulfed the whole of
The main political parties in government are still trying
to steer
He also states that Iraqis defied extremist threats and
voted for the first time ever for a government and again
to ratify their constitution.
Democratic and patriotic forces are holding their nerve
for a new, modern
He gleans hope from the free press, multi-party system
and the newly emerging trade union movement. This is not
based on ideology or religion, but on wanting a better
society for Iraqis. He says the international community
can still help enormously.
It is our historical duty to help the Iraqi people survive
and forge a peaceful society, based not on ethnic division
but on unity and equality where unions can thrive and
grow.
You can make a difference to this. Iraq Union Solidarity
To stop the war, support the Iraqi trade unions!
Pauline Bradley, Convenor,
Gie’s peace
Morag Balfour
‘Baby Jesus hates bombs’
My decision not to participate
in Faslane 365 has triggered a spate of worried questions
from mates recently. Have I decided to hang up my criminal
hat for good? Well, not really, I’m just not doing blockades
until November at least. Those who know me well will understand
that I still have plenty of scope for mischief making
when time and health allow.
A few days ago I visited my dear friend Barbara in
In the last year she has had a mastectomy and two hip
replacements. It was the second hip op that brought her
back to Gartnavel last week.
For those who aren’t in the know, Barbara is my regular
partner in anti-nuclear crime. We knew she’d be out of
action for a few months so we managed to squeeze in some
direct action just before Christmas. Barbara was adamant
and I know when not to argue with her.
We sat in Barbara’s living room armed with thermals, prescription medication and some cans of spray-paint.
We were wracking our brains trying to work out what to
write, and we wanted it to sound a wee bit festive.
My current favourite slogan is “Jesus hates bombs” but
we knew that wouldn’t do on 20 December. As a joke I suggested
“Baby Jesus hates bombs” and we cracked up laughing. I
am delighted to announce that the phrase “Baby Jesus hates
bombs” was duly painted on the roadway outside Coulport
nuclear arms depot later that evening. Job done we could
relax until Barbara was fit again.
The matching hips that Barbara now sports are made of
ceramic and titanium and go by the brand name “Trident”.
This is the only form of Trident replacement that meets
with my approval. Her friendly wee surgeon even showed
us the x-rays. He is well aware of what we get up to.
I don’t think she is typical of his client group.
Barbara has promised to send him a postcard from
I smiled when I heard about the SNP’s proposed Trident
Toll. The plan is to charge
Let’s not forget now that these monstrous weapons can
actually bring us to end of time itself, at least those
of us more sophisticated than bacteria. I’ve yet to see
Gordon Brown close up so I’m unclear which particular
species he has most affinity with, but I’m guessing leech,
parasite or MRSA based on recent behaviour.
Anyway, this demo will be held shortly before our MPs
attempt to sell us down the river so it’s imperative that
as many of you who can, actually turn up and show your
lovely faces. Even if we don’t win the day we can at least
say we did what we could.
Bring your families and friends; tell your neighbours
and your workmates. I promise I’m not channelling
—centre pages—
Building
a better
During the 1990s, when recession
was sweeping
On top of this is a new trend, that of prioritising
private developments over public build, to
the extent that where we desperately need
rentable family homes, we get ‘luxury’ one-bedroom
apartments starting at £130,000, where our
society would benefit from ‘mixed’ housing,
where the ABCs live next door to the DEs,
we have housing ghettoes, rich and poor, and
where we long for local services and independent
retailers, we get supermarket behemoths and
everyone else run out of town.
Now the waiting lists exceed the number of
council houses available, while the housing
stock transfer project has brought house-building
to a virtual standstill.
Cities are dying from the inside while, as
Donnie Fraser reports, at the heart of the
rural idyll is a nasty worm of poverty wages,
isolation, vanishing services and homelessness.
Even those who have a home are not winning,
given the rotten state of the British construction
industry, whose bosses cut corners with impunity
thanks to the government’s overweening ambition
to be business-friendly.
This, as Charlotte Cameron discovers, means
our housing stock is hopelessly energy inefficient.
Literally, we pay a fortune for heating that
goes right out the window. And the poorest
amongst us, the ones forced back onto the
safety net of social housing, get it worst.
Bad housing is bad news for the planet, and
for people, and we deserve better.
Poverty in paradise
Rural housing is in crisis
- it’s a phrase so well-worn these last few
years that it has become little more than
a cliché spouted from the lips of bourgeois
politicians whenever elections loom.
Yet crisis is too soft a word for many rural
communities, where the real issues are too
often hidden behind a mask of idyllic scenery
and isolation.
Admittedly rural
The Scottish Index Of Multiple Deprivation
report last year showed that the numbers of
rural communities slipping into most deprived
status is on the inc