Gregor Kerr

The United Left Alliance and the Campaign Against Household & Water Taxes – inside, alongside or trying to control?

Date:

On Wednesday last, 19th September, the United Left Alliance held a press conference at which it announced “plans to launch a public campaign of resistance to property tax and austerity”.  For those of us who have been working alongside ULA members for over 12 months now to build the broad-based Campaign Against Household & Water Taxes (CAHWT), this announcement came as something of a surprise. CAHWT already is a ‘public campaign of resistance to property tax’ so why do the ULA (who are part of CAHWT) feel the need to ‘launch’ something that already exists?

Dublin Luas drivers vote overwhelmingly for industrial action

Date:

Luas tram drivers in Dublin have voted by a massive 93% margin for industrial action.  The drivers, members of SIPTU, balloted this week following their rejection of 2 Labour Court recommendations in a dispute about rest days and shift lengths.  (see previous story http://www.wsm.ie/c/dublin-luas-drivers-ballot-industrial-action-sept2012).

Lively protest against household tax in Dun Laoghaire

Date:

About 25 members of the Dun Laoghaire area Campaign Against Household and Water Taxes (CAHWT), joined by some friends from the Bray campaign, held a lively protest in the rain outside Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown County Council's monthly meeting on Monday night (10th September). 

Marian Price: a victim of inhumane treatment. Demand Her Release – protest march 15th September

Date:

Marian Price has been detained without trial in inhumane conditions since May 2011.  Despite the fact that the charges against her – encouraging support for a paramilitary organisation – have been dismissed and her release ordered by the courts, she continues to be held on the direction of the North’s secretary of state, Owen Patterson. 58-year-old Price spent a year in solitary confinement in Maghaberry (an all-male prison) and Hydebank prisons.  During this time she was locked in her cell for 21 hours a day while kept under constant camera surveillance.  The United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture has said that spending anything more than 15 days in solitary confinement amounts to torture.

Dublin Luas drivers in ballot for industrial action

Date:

Luas Drivers in Dublin are expected to be balloted for Industrial Action this week following an overwhelming rejection of a Labour Court Recommendation. Drivers are seeking parity with other Safety Critical staff who recently received 23 extra rest days and maximum 8 hour shifts. Drivers currently work 9 hour shifts in what is considered an extremely stressful working environment. 

Irish Anarchist Review 5 - Summer 2012

Date:

Welcome to Irish Anarchist Review issue 5, produced by the Workers Solidarity Movement. In this magazine we look to explore theories, thoughts and ideas about political struggle.  We set out to analyse where we are aiming for as a revolutionary movement and explore how we might get there.  The purpose of ‘Irish Anarchist Review’ is to act as forum for a sharing of ideas about revolutionary struggle.  Building a successful revolution demands genuine discussion, debate and sharing of ideas.  We hope that the articles in here will help to stimulate discussion and provoke debate and perhaps even motivate some of our readers to respond with articles of your own.

 

[Print Quality PDF of IAR 5 ]

The Referendum: It doesn’t matter whether you vote… what matters is whether you're willing to resist their austerity

Date:

The government parties are billing it as the ‘Stability Treaty’, the left opposition – most notably the United Left Alliance – are calling it the ‘Austerity Treaty’. For the next few weeks we can expect the airwaves to be clogged with the pros and cons in the lead-up to the 31stMay referendum on the “Treaty on Stability, Coordination and Governance in the Economic and Monetary Union” to give it its official title.

But despite all that we will hear between now and the end of the month, does anyone seriously think that how we vote will make one whit of difference?

Ivory tower academics fail to see mass popular organisation against Household Tax

Date:

Dan Hayden and Colin Scott (‘Why People Avoided Paying Household Charge’ 16th April) should get out of their academic ivory tower and talk to some real people if they want to answer the question as to why almost a million households have decided to put themselves in conflict with the government by refusing to register for and pay the household tax.  Instead of presenting any real analysis of what is by any stretch of the imagination a massive rejection of government policy they start off by insulting those who decided not to register and go on to present a hotch-potch of half-baked theories which seem designed to do anything other than admit the truth – people made a conscious political decision not to pay.

They don’t get it – Shatter, Phil Hogan, Enda Kenny and the rest - We are not dupes We are a people in revolt

Date:

Below is the text of comments by Gregor Kerr introducing the 'Open mic' session at the Campaign Against Household And Water Taxes protest outside the Fine Gael Ard Fheis on Saturday 31st March.  Approx 25 people spoke - representing campaigns in Dublin West, Dun Laoghaire, Carlow, Ballyfermot, Wicklow, North Inner City Dublin, Finglas/Ballymun, Lucan, South East Inner City Dublin, Wexford, Newbridge, Connemara, Kilkenny, Edenderry, Cork and the East Wall area of Dublin.  

The rally was also addressed by Maura Harrington of Shell to Sea, Mick O'Reilly of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions, Jean Monaghan - one of the GAME Shop workers currently in occupation of their workplaces fighting for proper redundancy payments and Jimmy Kelly of Unite Union.  

Dangerous, false & misleading ‘legal advice’ on household tax exposed as fake

Date:

An email which has been circulating widely and has appeared on facebook and on many other social media sites, claiming to be from McCann Fitzgerald solicitors has been exposed as being fake.  The email claims that people won’t get a bill for the household tax because “the charge is a statute”.  It goes on to claim that because the tax is a statute it “only carries the force of law upon you if you consent to it” and that “If you do not consent [it] cannot affect you in any way whatsoever.”  

Syndicate content