Workers Solidarity Movement

The campaign against the bin tax is set to enter a new phase before the summer as the government brings forward new legislation to give the Councils the power to refuse to collect the bins of non-payers. The politicians are obviously rocked by the huge level of opposition to their attempts to impose this double tax - in South Dublin, for example, where the bills for the second year of the tax will arrive through people's letterboxes shortly, up to 70% of households are refusing to be bullied into paying.

According to the Financial Times of February 22nd, the after tax income of the richest 1% of Americans rose 115% between 1977 and 1999 while the incomes of the poorest 20% fell by 9%.

'One law for the rich and one' is one of the oldest sayings known. But, old or not, this saying is as true and relevant as ever. In a long-awaited judgement, the Supreme Court ruled against the public's right of access to the scenic walk at the Old Head outside Kinsale in Co. Cork.

In the run up to St. Patrick's Day we had the sight of our ultimate gombeen, Bertie, presenting a bowl of shamrock to George W Bush and telling him it was fine to continue to re-fuel bombers in Shannon. Now in the war of super spin, Baghdad burns yet nobody dies. Over 205,000 people died in the last Gulf war.

In December protests were held at the EU summit in Copenhagen. Ian Lynch attended the demonstrations and tells Workers Solidarity a little about it.

Cyclone pushbike couriers gained a small but significant victory last November when they achieved a pay rise in the face of considerable management opposition. Though the pay-rise was only in line with inflation, management had flatly rejected this proposal and so provoked an organised response.

Around Christmas once every three years of so we enter into a special mating season in the industrial relations jungle. The mating of three unlikley species, the goverment, the bosses and the trade unions takes place. This spectacle is so spectacularly ugly to witness that it's never covered by TV cameras. Each mating season is given it's individual name and this time in 2002/03 attempts were under way to sire a son to the 'Programme for Prosperity and fairness'.

At the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Montana, production is at its highest rate in 15 years - higher than during the Gulf War. They recently received a $92 million contract to produce 265 million rounds of small-caliber ammunition for the US Army. Why so many bullets? There are approximately 24 million people living in Iraq, thus it seems it is either lunatic overkill, or the excess is for use against other peoples living within Bush's "axis of evil", or it's a cash gift to his arms business pals.

Just in case you had any illusions about the fairness or impartiality of the Irish 'justice' system:- On the same day as 'celebrity chef' Tim Allen was allowed to buy himself off a prison sentence for the possession of child pornography, five Romanian men were jailed after a court found that "it was reasonable to infer that they intended to commit an offence in a shop in Co. Wicklow last November". Allen's sentence of a nine-month prison sentence was reduced to one of 240 hours community service on the payment of EUR40,000 to a child welfare charity - proof, if proof is needed, of the fact that there is one law for the rich and another for the poor.

Despite the fact that the Dublin City Council effectively has it's hands tied (not being able to take anyone to court until the case outstanding from September is heard in the High Court) they could not let the Christmas pass without trying to frighten people into paying their precious double-tax.