In the area where I work there are two oil refineries and two LNG terminals plus an oil storage facility. Recently due to the economic crisis workers at all of these sites have been made redundant, which is pretty much uniform across the UK and even world. With the prospect of work coming in the form of new building projects such as the planned gas fired power stations and nuclear power stations there is hope for workers who are out of work. However due to the recession the fat cats want to cut costs. As a result they will use the company who will charge the least. Its unfortunate that overseas companies can do the job for less than the British companies. This is where the problem began, workers recently made redundant were horrified when local jobs when to an Italian company who would use Italian and Portuguese labour.
A lot of my colleagues  regularly work overseas in places such as Kazakhstan, Dubai and other countries. When this work is offered people jump at the chance. Don’t blame the workers its not their fault at all. Its the system capitalism. To quote one of my colleagues “ foreign workers are in the same boat as us, if were offered work we would take it” the recent wave of redundancies had nothing to do with overseas workers “taking our jobs”. Its the whole greedy system that is to blame. In an the engineering industry especially with oil and gas industry, the job takes you world wide. Contractors can work all over the world. As im sure the media is pushing this on the front pages they are doing nothing to defend the foreign workers who also face threats of redundancy and unemployment. Who can blame the workers who just want to work and support their family? What Happened to international Worker solidarity?"
and another article from the AF blog:
Scottish Unite official Bobby Buirds' comments that the current strike are "not against foreign workers, it's against foreign companies discriminating against British labour" confirms that the strike is against bosses, not fellow (foreign) workers. The foreign workers are just doing what any of us would do if we were desperate for work, but the media have turned this into some "foreigners go home" trip again. Foreign workers regularly suffer appalling living and working conditions, along with low wages and little in the way of representation. Given that the contract was awarded to the lowest-bidding tender, it is likely that these are the same conditions being faced by the Italian workers on Humberside.
If this had been any other strike against bosses, say for pay or safety issues, there would have been no national media coverage, save for the union bulletins and the socialist papers. However, this strike, despite the assurances of the unions, allows the media to latch on to an imaginary wave of xenophobia and whip up the country into a frenzy. Sky News and newspapers such the Daily Mail, the Sun, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and the Times have all jumped at this opportunity, despite being the first media outlets to criticise any strike action amongst workers. By polarising the debate into 'native' versus 'foreign' workers, these capitalist newspapers are shifting the argument from a workers versus bosses position to workers versus workers. This tactic of dividing the working class is not new, and is exactly the kind of behaviour we should be expecting from the ruling class in the midst of a financial crisis where the potential for unified working class organisation is at it's most potent.
This strike has been racialised beyond belief. Don't fall into the trap of attacking foreign workers, unite against the bosses you have nothing in common with.
More information:
http://libcom.org/news/unofficial-refinery-walkouts-over-foreign-workers-spread-30012009
http://libcom.org/news/energy-wildcats-continue-spread-across-uk-02022009
www.afed.org.uk/blog
 
 

We would love to add you to our friend list - once we know who you are. Could you take a minute just to let us know why you have asked to be listed as a friend of the AF and what you know about us?

I have just looked through the pages of applicants, and it's going to take a long while to check through all of the profiles, delaying our friendship and eating away at my time. It would just make it a bit easier for us if you could let us know abit about yourself and for us to make sure you aren't a fascist, or somebody just adding us to advertise on our page etc.

*Please do not add if you are a fascist/racist, or a non-political band (artist etc.) wishing to advertise on our page or are just adding to get more 'friends.'*

Get in touch,
Solidarity,

AF

www.afed.org.uk/blog

The unrest in Greece following the killing of 16 year old Alexandros Grigoropoulos has held the attention of the world and electrified the anarchist movement internationally. In the UK, solidarity actions and demonstrations have taken place in London, Leeds, Brighton, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow and Edinburgh. The Greek embassy in London was blockaded, and there were tussles with police during a demonstration in Dalston. Internationally, solidarity actions and demos took place in Mexico, the US, Portugal, Spain, Denmark, France, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Russia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Italy, Ireland, Croatia, Finland and Canada. The ruling class is vocal about the threat of the conditions in Greece spreading throughout Europe, and unsurprisingly anarchists are being presented as “dark forces” stirring discontent behind the scenes. But the widespread sympathy for the anarchists amongst youth in Greece has thrust the ideas into the spotlight, and represents the possibility of advancing ideas about creating real freedom and community as viable, current and living ideas.

The unrest in Greece isn’t a product of the anarchist movement, though their efforts have been instrumental in spreading and mobilising demonstrations, and in raising the level of militancy. The first protests begun immediately after the killing of Alexandros, with 10,000 people on the streets firebombing police stations and battling riot police only two hours after the murder. The central buildings of the national technical university was occupied that night, along with the faculty of economics a kilometre away. An attack on the exclusive Ermou street that night drew in city centre crowds, and the designer boutiques were quickly demolished. Thanks to the internet and mobile phones, the unrest spread instantly to other cities and towns, snowballing as school students attacked police stations and occupied their schools. Teachers and other education workers struck on Tuesday the 9th, and marched in central Athens. Riots, occupations, demonstations and attacks on police stations have continued with sustained intensity until now.

The greatest risk to the developing movement in Greece is recuperation. As has been the case innumerable times, and the events of May ’68 are perhaps foremost in the minds of anti-capitalists, general outbursts of class rage and discontent which contain the potential to develop into insurrectionary situations can be diverted into new elections, union campaigning, and a change of colour scheme in the chambers of government. The despair and disaffection which the winding-down of the movement creates, as the world of possibilities which seemed available shrinks down in the return to normality, can result in the forces of reaction becoming more entrenched – France in
1968 is again a pertinent example.

Comrades in Greece are certainly aware of the designs of the left parties to close down the situation, so as better to take charge of it. In a ‘Short presentation of the recent events in Athens through the eyes of some proletarian participants’, the anarcho/council-communists of the group Ta Paida Tis Galarias (the Children of the Gallery) write,

“The so-called Communist Party (KKE), scared by the prospect of a generalized riot, showed once more its counter-revolutionary, reactionary nature. They declared the rioters and looters as secret agents of ‘foreign dark forces’ and called for the ‘people’s movement’ - an imaginary subject of which they are supposedly the rightful representatives - to stay away from the fight. History repeats itself: this party for the last 35 years has been chanting the same monotonous and dangerous mantra about ‘provocateurs’; in 1973 they had done the same against the students and workers who had occupied the National Technical University; a riot that had led to the overthrow of the dictatorship. Once again, they are trying to save the state and restore public order.”


This was undoubtedly also at the forefront of the minds of union leaders during the general strike on Wednesday the 10th, who pontificated against the violence of the rioters and lauded the ‘quiet demonstrators’ who respect the due process of bourgeois politics. Still, the riots continued. The strike was called a month before, as part of a leftist response to the neo-liberal ‘reforms’ on the part of the government (which were begun by the 'Socialist' party), and was meant to be a propagandistic action rather than a weapon. The current circumstances were unforeseen. Though the General Labour Confederation of Greece and the Civil Servants Confederation attempted to contain their members in static and uneventful rallies, the efforts of school students and anarchists to involve them in the street confrontations succeeded, and a joint march proceeded in Thessaloniki to the Ministry of Macedonia and Thrace, which ended in clashes and the blockade of a city centre street.

The strike against the budget and the cuts represented an expression of the discontent which flows through Greek society. The government’s reforms represent a general attack on the working class, and on its share of the social wealth. In a move that will surprise no-one, the crisis is being being used as the rationale for workers tightening their belts. The situation for the working class in Greece is bad enough, but for the young it is even worse. Unemployment is high, and this has been used to attack conditions through widespread casualisation of work and the expansion of a ‘black market’ of undeclared labour. It isn’t unusual for the media there to talk of the 700 euro generation, referring to their monthly income, but for many it is much worse. In a situation which has parallels here, a generalisation of further education has accompanied widespread deskilling, casualisation and unemployment, resulting in a highly educated but low-paid sector of the workforce, with degrees but no work. It is this section of the working class, the young and futureless, who have been at the forefront of events.

This situation is not just about the violence of the police centred here on the outrageous killing of a teenager. It is a manifestation of the class struggle. The efforts of the anarchists, already in a high state of mobilisation as a result of the recent struggles on the part of prisoners and immigrants fell on fertile ground – a generation whose proletarianisation is absolute no matter how many degrees they have, and whose working conditions offer them no stability or security.

So how to move forward? The occupations continue, and have intensified, with a TV station seized and broadcasting anarchist propaganda, and a town hall used to host popular assemblies. But in order to take the struggle forward its class nature must be foregrounded. We can burn innumerable banks and police stations, but the social relation which they represent – capitalism – cannot die by fire. It must be snuffed out by workers removing its lifeblood, the private ownership of the economy, and this can only come about as a result of the struggle of the working class as a whole. This movement is already winning victories in its radicalisation of an entire generation. The schoolkids have required no instruction from the anarchists, and are carrying out occupations, demonstrations and attacks on police stations completely under their own steam. The unrest has extended to cities with no previous radical presence. But how can the movement be generalised beyond generational lines, into a wider struggle of the proletariat? The French youth in their struggles against their conditions in the form of the CPE laws sought to turn the fight into one of class against class, and bring the wider working class into the struggle. They didn’t succeed as they sought to, but they had the correct idea. By the same token, the Greek rioters must take forward their struggle, and seek to build links with the wider working class at every opportunity. A riot of enraged youth against the state has very real limits, and there is the very real possibility that the police are allowing this movement to (literally) burn itself out. On the other hand, a generalised struggle has no limits, and poses the possibility of posing a real challenge to capital. Comrades in Greece are aware of this. The town hall of Agios Dimitrios in the Athenian suburbs has been occupied by anarchists and popular assemblies called, and anarchists are focusing on taking the fight out into the working class districts around the city. This kind of activity has to be pursued. Neither the burning of luxury cars or the politicking of union leaders can take the situation further and deeper. But a broadening of the class struggle can represent a real threat to capital.

See the excellent coverage at libcom.org:
http://libcom.org/tags/greece-unrest

Anarchist Federation - www.afed.org.uk - www.afed.org.uk/blog

The growing financial and economic crisis is on everyone's mind. The response so far from the left and from anarchists has been spotty at best. We don't know how this thing will play out yet and what new forms capitalism will throw up. The document here is the first step in the Anarchist Federation's response to the crisis. Its official: the IMF says that there hasn't been a crisis like this since the 30s. Even the Chancellor says that there has been nothing to equal it for the last 60 years. No-one agrees for sure the root of the problem or how to fix it. We know that some bad credit in US mortgage markets started the ball rolling, revealing how bad, or non-existent many banks' assets are. In a world where finance companies hire astrophysicists to
try (and fail) to work out the economy, it should come as no surprise that our rulers have to admit they have no real diagnosis, and no cure.

It is in the nature of capitalism to stagger from crisis to crisis. This may not be a 'political reality', but it is the reality of the world we live in. The origins of this crisis lie in the last one: the bursting dotcom bubble of the turn of the century. The US economy was kept going by debt. The finance industry sold mortgages and similar debt as assets. This 'property' was sold on to others. Every bank was buying and selling these mortgages to each other. It created yet another finance bubble which had to burst. There was nothing keeping it up, except more and more debt. But this is not just about recent history. We know that capitalism
is bound to fall into crisis, with each 'solution' laying the foundation for a more devastating outbreak in the future.

For the past 30 years we have been told a load of fairy tales to excuse attacks on pay and working conditions, services and industries. We are told them when education and the NHS as we know it must be dismantled. We are told them when industries must be 'deregulated'. We are told them when pay and working conditions must be lowered. We are told that this is because the 'efficiency of the market' works best in the long run. But when this threatens the capitalists themselves, we see the biggest wave of
bank nationalisations and state subsidies ever.

What is being clearly demonstrated is that the state is simply the biggest boss of all. It's main job is to protect the welfare of the rich. There are two groups of people in this world: those who own and control the economy and those who sell their time to make it work. The state exists to look after the owners. The inter-
ests of the rest of us lie in taking society out of their hands and into ours. Our interests lie in a world where what we do and make is for human needs, not their profit margins.

www.afed.org.uk    -    www.afed.org.uk/blog

Roma people in Italy are under attack. The Italian government has passed a series of laws restricting the movement and freedoms of Roma people. All Roma people are being targeted as potential criminals and harsh laws condemning illegal immigrants to many years imprisonment are being used against Roma communities. Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian President under investigation for corruption, has put troops on the streets and used the newspapers and TV stations that he owns to stoke hatred and fear.

Already, Roma people have been attacked and burned out of their homes as a result of this campaign of hate from the very top of the Italian government.

Join the AF, No Borders and Roma groups to oppose this vicious campaign.

Demonstrate at the Italian Consulate, Manchester
111 Piccadilly, Manchester, M1 2HY
Friday September 19th at 11.30am

Map: http://www.multimap.com/maps/?qs=M1+2HY&countryCode=GB

Contact: manchester@af-north.org

Download and copy leaflet: http://www.afed.org.uk/pdfs/roma_solidarity_demo_leaflet_2008.pdf

See also:

Invitation to solidarity demo and autonomous Freedom of Movement bloc on the 20th Sept: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/08/407058.html

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/italian-tolerance-goes-up-in-smoke-as-gypsy-camp-is-burnt-to-ground-829318.html

Firebomb attack on Roma/Gyspy camp in Italy, May 2008

SHEFFIELD ANARCHIST FEDERATION
Homepage: http://www.afed.org.uk/sheffield

Presenting...

Our Oil, and other tales - a censored DVD documentary about the environmental and social impact of Venezuela's oil industry, by the Gattacicova Collective

THE VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT had liked previous Gattacicova Collective productions (for example, Another way is possible ...in Venezuela) so much that they offered financial support for their next project. But the documentary they then made examined the issues of oil production in the country: from the impact on the environment and indigenous populations to the way the industry is run.

The bureaucrats of the Ministry of Culture realised they didn´t like such a close look at their involvement with multinational and northamerican corporations, so they tried to suppress the movie.

Only with the help of local activists a few copies escaped censorship.

Now you can watch the documentary that Hugo Chavez tried to keep secret...

All proceeds going to support Venezuelan anarchists.

A BIT OF BACKGROUND INFO CAN BE FOUND HERE ...

Manifesto of solidarity with Venezuelan anarchists and social movements

The Anarchist Federation adds its voice to those condemning the murder of Anarchist comrade Ilya Borodaenko, a member of Autonomous Action (Russia) at the hands of fascists on Saturday 21st 2007. A nazi gang, armed with iron bars, bats & air guns, attacked ecological protestors as they slept at the Angarsk anti-nuclear camp in Siberia. They beat seven comrades into hospital, where one is still seriously ill and where Ilya died.

The Russian state has attempted to hide the political nature of this outrage. Most offensively, it has implied that anarchism has nothing to do with environmentalism or anti-nuclear protest. With Autonomous Action and other Anarchist organisations we wish to state strongly that social and environmental crisis are intrinsically linked and that the causes of one can no longer be addressed in isolation from the other. The state has also portrayed the attack as nothing more than a skirmish between rival youth groupings. This was in fact a mobilisation of fascists from throughout the Irkutsk region in which the authorities are implicated.

Fascism stands for dictatorship, inequality, intolerance, and collaborates in the destruction of the natural world by capitalism. Anarchists celebrate freedom, equality and diversity, and fight to protect the planet we will all one day share.

We also honour the memory of Timur Kacharava & Alexander Ryuchin, & the African students Samba Lamsar & Kanhem Leon, who have died in the recent wave of neo-nazi violence in Russia. Anarchists in Britain and Ireland will remember the fallen with vigils, antifascist activity and environmental activism of our own this Summer. We send solidarity to the comrades continuing the camp at Angarsk.

Info on Indymedia UK: http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2007/07/376699.html

Link to Autonomous Action website:  http://avtonom.org/index.php