Solidarity Protest
MEET: Spanish Consulate, 63 North Castle St, Edinburgh EH2 3LJ
FRIDAY 6 Feb – FROM 12:00noon
HARASSED! CHARGED! IMPRISONED! FOR BEING ANARCHISTS! by ‘operación Pandora’ in Spain
‘Un movimiento que olvida a sus presos está condenado a la derrota’
‘A movement that forgets its prisoners is doomed to defeat’
We are calling a communications blockade against Manpower employment agency who our Polish sister section is in dispute with. See details here and don’t forget to call and email.
The action has been called as part of a week of action in support of our sister section, the Polish ZSP, who are involved in taking action within two Polish Amazon dispatch centres that Manpower hires workers for. The workers in these centres are paid 1/4 of the wage of workers in Germany carrying out the same job, are denied paid breaks during 10 hour shifts and receive no extra pay for working evenings and weekends. In addition there have been a series of late or incorrect payments from Manpower whilst pay varies between different centres and between directly employed and agency workers.
On Monday January 26th, members of Manchester SF picketed outside Manpower's office in Manchester city centre in solidarity with Amazon workers (many of them hired by Manpower) in Poland. A week of action has been called by the ZSP, Polish section of the International Workers Association, who are organising among these workers. For details of the dispute see below.
January 16th saw 4 SolFed Locals out on the streets in support of the anarchist prisoners arrested in Operation Pandora. Here's round-up's from two of our Locals:
From Brighton SF "..comrades & friends gathered around a 'Free Anarchist Prisoners' banner at a central Brighton landmark, handing out the dedicated flyer and an article written for the occasion. Around 20 attended in a good atmosphere while a busker provided music!"
From Bristol SF "Around 20 people marched to the Bristol International Brigades memorial Plaque in Castle Park for the event."
Protests also took place by Edinburgh SF (see previous article) and Belfast SF - as well as many more around the world.
Solidarity Protest - Free the 7 Anarchists detained for their political beliefs by ‘Operación Pandora’ in Spain
MEET: Spanish Consulate, 63 North Castle St, Edinburgh EH2 3LJ
FRIDAY 23 JAN – FROM 12:00noon-2pm
We will begin handing out flyers and raising awareness about the prisoners before and after - please get involved and join us!
On 16/12/2014 the Mossos, Catalan police stormed 14 homes and community centers, destroying and stealing everything they could find of value. Without making any specific accusations and acting in complete secrecy, 11 anarchists were transferred to the National Court in Madrid. 4 were released two days later - and 7 have ended up in prison, one is a member of the CNT-AIT Union. They are all facing secretive Court proceedings.
Saturday the 13th December 2014 was a busy day for the Bristol local, as they took on workfare in Bristol and poverty pay in Swindon.
Members of Bristol Solidarity Federation turned out of a roving anti-workfare action in Bristol, responding to a callout from our friends Bristol Anarchist Federation. Around 30 people, many dressed as santa and belting out carols with revolutionary and anti-workfare lyrics held a noisy action in central Bristol calling on (and in one case, briefly invading) well known workfare users such as Poundland, Savers, M&S and Primark.
The past year saw the Sections of the IWA organizing more workplace struggles, more solidarity campaigns and more social protests than at any time since the decimation of the anarcho-syndicalist movement in the 1930s and 40s. Here the IWA Secretariat summarises international actions and local activities of the IWA Sections.
Brighton Solfed's campaign in the hospitality sector finishes the year with success in two further cases. In the first, a worker from an Italian restaurant took on his former bosses for their bullying and stealing part of his wages. In the second case, an agency worker had not been paid all of her holiday pay. Find out how the two workers fared with Solfed support.