Socialist Party Statement, April 26th 2019 The killing of Lyra McKee on Thursday April 19th sent a wave of shock across Northern Ireland. Lyra was only 29 but had already made a name for herself as a journalist, an author and an activist. Whilst over 3,800 have died in the […]
In the South, nurses and midwives have secured significant concessions on pay from the Fine Gael government, following three days of strike action. They took the action against a miserly pay deal which failed to keep up with rising living costs. For example, housing costs in the South are increasing at 11% per year! This has pushed many to seek work abroad and contributed to increasing workloads on staff.
In late February, the long predicted Blairite split from the Labour Party – or at least its first wave – finally emerged, with the resignation of seven MPs to launch the so-called Independent Group. They were soon joined by one other from the Labour benches and three pro-EU Tories, including Anna Soubry.
International Women’s Day became an annual event at the suggestion of two socialist leaders, Clara Zetkin and Luise Zietz, during the International Socialist Women’s Conference in 1910.
The supposed economic recovery and growing wealth inequality have made workers in all sectors more confident in demanding ‘their share’. International movements on issues of oppression, such as the #MeToo movement, have also given workers confidence to speak out against widespread sexual harassment, such as those leading the historic strike in McDonald’s in the US on the issue.
In the South, the Irish Nurses’ and Midwives’ Organisation (INMO) has planned a 24-hour strike on 30 January with a further 5 dates in early February. This strike has been a long time coming and would be only the second national strike in the hundred year history of the INMO.
Socialists today must understand the lessons of this period, and battle for a bold, fighting, cross-community labour movement which will not make the critical errors of the past.
