July-August 2023

TheSocialist

PAPER OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY

ISSUE 155

JULY / AUGUST 2023

CAPITALISM IS SCORCHING OUR PLANET we need socialist change now!

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ANALYSIS

The Socialist

Planet of the billionaires - Making the most of a pandemic THE WORLD'S five hundred wealthiest people have added a total of 852 billion to their collective fortunes. This is just part of a broader trend. As noted by Oxfam in their Survival of the Richest report, billionaires have doubled their wealth over the last ten years.

ninety-seven million more people living in extreme poverty. This impact also has a gender basis, with some projections by the UN that up to twenty million more women live in extreme poverty than men.

A lack of gratitude

free.

The government attempts to make one-off payments to offset this, doing little to alleviate this change, with inflation remaining at similar levels as last year.

While this increase in billionaires' wealth has happened, the Tech industry, where most have gained their fortunes, has faced massive staff layoffs, 216,328 worldwide, according to the latest numbers.

This leads to a loss of more than 2,000 jobs in the south due to cuts at Meta, Indeed and Dell. The excuse given by such companies is that this is a cost-cutting exercise, despite big tech companies reporting $242 billion in profits last year.

Increasing misery

More in fewer hands.

Of course, such a change is not affecting people equally. Since 2020, it has been estimated, according to the world bank, 163 million more live in poverty, with

These facts and figures point to a simple fact the rich are getting richer, and the poor are getting poorer. Under capitalism, this is an inevitable result as the 1% use their

Who pays?

Since 2020 and through the pandemic, they have increased their fortunes by €2.7 billion daily. An important factor behind this increase was the massive increase in public expenditure, which kept the world economy afloat—of course, the super-rich and big business will not be taxed to pay for this. In Ireland, our nine billionaires have increased their wealth by 16 billion since 2020.

Work doesn’t pay.

At the same time, working-class real wages continue to drop. According to the International Labour Organization, a combination of

stagnant wages and high inflation rates last year led to a decrease in real wages. With a decrease of 0.9% in real wages, the first time a negative wage has been recorded since the ILO first created the report in 2008.

Real wage cuts Last year, workers in the south effectively lost 4% of their wages, equivalent to working 8.3 days for

By Enda Kelly

stockpile of assets to buy more and more of the world as a whole and profit from it. The world inequality report noted that as of 2022, the poorest half of the population possesses just 2% of the world's wealth, while the wealthiest 10% owns 76%. As the world's assets are slowly placed in fewer hands, the rest of the world will continue to suffer.

The toxic battle of the billionaires under capitalism is alienating and depressing for users.

Meta, Twitter and most other social media companies make most of their revenue through advertising. They have built sophisticated algorithms designed to keep us scrolling for as long as possible, which are designed to make people addicted and prey on our insecurities - this is not a bug, it is the defining feature of their business models.

Meta dominates the social media market with Instagram, Facebook and Whatsapp, reaching 3.6 billion people every month. The invasive ways the company collects, analyses and profits from our data have been defined as 'surveillance capitalism'. Recently, in a harrowing example of this, Meta handed over private messaging data to the police that led to the conviction of a young woman for procuring abortion pills in Nebraska.

Instead of being designed wholly around profiteering and advertising, if social media was nationalised and taken out of the hands of creeps like Musk and Zuckerberg it could be rebuilt from the ground up and run democratically in the interests of working class people

By Chris Stewart

A

PUBLIC FEUD between two of the most unlikable people on the planet, billionaires Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, has emerged recently. The rivalry between the two social media bosses has played out in the most pathetic way online, with Musk calling Zuckerberg a “cuck” on Twitter and the two seemingly agreeing to fight in a “cagematch” in Las Vegas.

Their personal feud comes from their competition in the market. Musk and Zuckerberg own two of the

world's largest social media companies - Twitter and Meta (previously Facebook). Meta recently launched ‘Threads’, a direct Twitter competitor hoping to capitalise on the chaos at Twitter since Musk took over the platform last year for $44 billion (3x its estimated value).

Musk’s disastrous Twitter takeover One of Musk's first acts as CEO was to sack nearly 4,000 workers desperately trying to claw back some money lost on this exceedingly bad business venture. Musk then proceeded to insult the sacked workers on his own

Twitter account. Twitter has been plagued with technical problems and significant content moderation issues since. Hilariously, Musk is now threatening to sue Meta for hiring ex-Twitter employees (that he fired) to build ‘Threads’!

Twitter, which Musk is rebranding as 'X', has apparently lost 50% of its advertising revenue under his ownership. Partly this is because under Musk's control, Twitter has become open-season for reactionaries, as hordes of accounts previously banned for hate speech have been reinstated.

Musk himself has spent the last few

months retweeting transphobic bigotry and racist conspiracy theories.

According to researchers, Twitter has seen a dramatic spike in “hateful, violent and inaccurate posts” due to Musk’s changes.

Social media under capitalism One of the world’s wealthiest men can simply take over a communications platform used by hundreds of millions of people worldwide is an indictment of capitalism. Today, social media is a crucial part of the world’s information infrastructure. But the perverse incentives of profit mean that social media

Nationalise social media The vast majority of internet traffic has been squeezed into a handful of privately owned social media sites in recent years, giving a handful of corporations immense power.

Instead of being designed wholly around profiteering and advertising, if social media was nationalised and taken out of the hands of creeps like Musk and Zuckerberg it could be rebuilt from the ground up and run democratically in the interests of working class people - on the basis of free access to information globally.

Alongside redistribution of the massive wealth of billionaires to the majority of people, such a transformation could help to unleash a new phase of cultural, political and intellectual life for billions of people around the world.

ANALYSIS

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The Socialist

Rising temperature on bonfire debate

T

HIS YEAR, once again, the issue of bonfires was a subject of controversy in the North.

For many working class Protestants, Eleventh Night bonfires are part of their culture with tens of thousands attending them across NI, while many Catholics see them as triumphalist displays of sectarianism. In addition to bonfires on the Eleventh Night there are the less prominent anti-internment bonfires organised in some nationalist areas.

Genuine Fears On some Eleventh Night bonfires the Irish tricolour and effigies of nationalist politicians have been burned, along with sectarian and racist slogans being displayed. Similarly, anti-internment bonfires in Catholic areas have often displayed Union Flags and sectarian slogans. This has rightfully been widely condemned by working-class people on both sides of the community.

There are also genuine health and safety concerns for nearby residents.

Often nearby houses can suffer damage from the heat. Last year a man tragically died after falling off a 50ft bonfire in Larne, and a young person suffered severe burns. There can also be instances of violence and antisocial behaviour, with 11 paramedics being attacked this year.

It is important to note that blatant sectarianism is not on display at all bonfires, and this year more bonfires avoided

burning flags than in previous years.

Also, most bonfire organisers do take health and safety concerns into consideration and they take place at a considerable distance from residential property.

For many Protestants, the Eleventh Night bonfires are an important expression of their culture and identity and are primarily a way for the community to come together. It is no way useful to simply dismiss bonfires as driven by bigotry.

Sectarian politicians antagonise the situation This line of argument has been used in the past to justify the call for bonfire sites to be cleared, necessarily requiring the presence of police. For example a motion to this end was passed by Belfast City Council in 2017, supported by Sinn Féin, SDLP, People Before Profit and Alliance councillors.

Police being used to remove bonfire materials and enforce bans will only serve to antagonise the situation. This was graphically demonstrated by the rioting in Catholic areas in response to attempts to remove bonfire material in 2020. While there are legitimate concerns about bonfires, the Socialist Party is opposed to draconian attempts to ban them and respects the right of communities to hold such events.

Any genuine solution must come from the working class communities affected, not be imposed from outside. For example in the Bogside this year the

For many working class Protestants, Eleventh Night bonfires are part of their culture

anti-internment bonfire was called off following discussions within the community.

A genuine coming together of people within these communities, free of paramilitary interference, can determine democratically how they are organised in a manner which minimises damage to property and the environment, as well as ensure there are no sectarian or racist provocations.

The fact that, nearly twenty years

after the Good Friday Agreement, issues like bonfires, parades, flags and legacy issues are nowhere near resolved is a testament to the fundamental contradiction of the ‘peace process’ – that sectarian politicians have no interest and even less capability in overcoming the divisions in our society.

It is no wonder that the bonfires most steeped in controversy are those in the most deprived areas, where a

generation of young people feel left behind by politicians who have oversaw years of austerity and deprivation.

There is a need for a mass, anti-sectarian party to unite working class people in the fight for a future free from poverty, conflict and division.

Such a movement could lay the basis for genuine solutions to contentious questions by bringing people together in a spirit of solidarity, compromise and mutual respect

Covid Inquiry:

No real consequences for social murder

By Niall Dooris

T

HE INQUIRY into the handling of the Covid 19 pandemic was officially launched in June after being originally commissioned by Boris Johnson in May 2021, it is set to last another 3 years.

The claim is that the government will be held accountable for the handling of the pandemic response ,which resulted in more than 226,000 deaths in the UK and over a million people suffering from long covid, by a panel that it appointed itself. However the result of previous high profile enquiries indicate otherwise.

There were inquiries for the Iraq War, Bloody Sunday, the Grenfell Disaster and more, in none of these cases did it ever lead to the government “learning lessons for the future” or to real consequences of the criminal actions of those involved in these incidents. This is because inquiries are used as an illusion of accountability by governments at a time of crisis as a way to take pressure of themselves with the promise of clarity years in the future when the controversy has died down. In the case of this inquiry the current government and Boris Johnson are even refusing to cooperate with the inquiry that it commissioned and appointed the panel on. The fear of the leading tories is that handing

The Covid memorial wall marking the deaths from Covid-19

over text messages of the members of the cabinet at the time will expose how they handled the pandemic and lay bare their contempt for the public.

This would include messages from the current Prime Minister Rishi Sunak who was chancellor at the time, he was one of the strongest opponents to lockdowns and championed the “eat out to help out” campaign which undoubtedly contributed to excess deaths.

We’re not in this togetherCapitalism is the issue The most the inquiry will reveal will be individual wrongdoing and incompetence of the former cabinet. The list of examples that point to this are too vast to ignore from late lockdowns to cronyism in handing out PPE contracts and the notorious PartyGate scandal in Downing street. However, this would ignore the root of the failure which is the essential need to put

profit over human lives under a capitalist system. Deaths may have been particularly high in the UK but the failure to deal with the crisis in the interest of the vast majority of society was a global trend. The policies taken by the government that lead to excess deaths were not mistakes, they were deliberate attempts to protect the profits of the rich they represent. It was no coincidence that the number of billionaires grew by 20%, each with

a median holding of £2 Billion, while workers faced real terms pay cuts and dramatically rising prices. In fact, NHS workers were offered a ridiculous 1% pay rise after carrying us through the pandemic in a chronically underfunded collapsing health service.

They, like many workers, were forced onto the picket lines to fight simply for a wage that will allow them to survive with many health workers using food banks or claiming benefits to get by. Matt Hancock admitted at the inquiry that the pandemic response was focused on dealing with the consequences “do we have enough body bags? where do we bury the dead?” rather than prevention. That would have involved measures that dramatically affect the profits of the ruling class such as long term public investment in public health, the government has spent the last decade doing the opposite destroying the NHS through its austerity policies. We can see who’s interests society is run under crises like the pandemic expose this even more clearly. The Covid inquiry even if it reveals the truth will not result in a government that is less willing to sacrifice working class people at the altar of profit. For this to happen society needs to be fundamentally transformed along socialist lines so that society is run in a truly democratic way in the interests of all.

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NEWS

The Socialist

RTÉ payments scandal:

The corporate rot in the state broadcaster representatives of the general public, artists, documentary-makers etc.

There needs to be a system of 100% public funding. The regressive TV licence fee should be scrapped and new funding organised based on a steeply progressive tax system. Such a system should include funding raised from new taxes on social media advertising and the profits of the “new media” tech giants.

By Mick Barry

T

he RTE scandal has lifted the lid on the culture at the “national broadcaster” and shone a light on the lifestyles of Ireland’s media and corporate elite. Like many other institutions of Irish capitalist society, it shows that this elite live a lifestyle light-years removed from the daily experiences of working-class people. Linked to this is an extraordinary sense of entitlement – a different set of rules apply to them.

Two sets of rules While Tubridy banked the secret payments and the corporate clients had their snouts in the trough, the ordinary workers at RTE were told they had to tighten their belts because the station was in a financial crisis. They had to suffer job losses, pay cuts, precarity, bogus self-employment, etc. These workers have spoken out at mass meetings and protests laced with anger and rage.

Eloquent voices have emerged from their ranks, many of them union activists. The voice of Emma O’Kelly, the workers’ National Union of Journalists rep, has cut through particularly clearly, consistently making the case that there have been two RTEs – the RTE of top management, the “talent” and their agents on the one hand, and that of the general workforce on the other.

This scandal also shows how RTE is impacted by market pressures that are on the broadcaster. Even though only 43% (€150 million) of its money comes

NUJ members protest for truth and transparency at RTÉ

from corporate funding, advertising and sponsorship, RTE is beholden to corporate interests – much of the lavish spending results from trying to keep these vested interests sweet.

Privatisation A programme of sorts is emerging from within the ranks of the political establishment to prepare the way for the potential privatisation of the broadcaster. Broadly speaking, this seems to encompass the following points:

1. Split RTE in two with a commercial operation and a separate public service broadcasting operation; 2. Start channelling state funding to privately-owned corporations like Vir-

gin Media and Newstalk that include a “public service” element; 3. Replace the licence fee with a new broadcasting charge, casting the net more widely to include every household in the state, not just those with TV sets.

These measures would create a profitable state-owned commercial media outfit potentially ripe for privatisation.

Job losses on a significant scale and the closure of regional offices could also be part of such a mix. They could also result in a smaller state-run public broadcasting outfit, possibly more vulnerable to government pressure.

It is important to note that the scandalous spending, lavish pay and glad-

handing with corporate interests which has taken place at RTE would be worsened by privatisation, not ended, as the management would be incentivised to seek out new corporate funding sources. Meanwhile, the wages and conditions of ordinary, rank-and-file workers would come under further threat.

What kind of public broadcaster do we need?

Socialists argue for a very different approach. Firstly, we stand for a cleanout of the management team associated with this litany of failure. They should be replaced with a fresh broom that puts the ordinary RTE workers at the heart of decision-making, along with

End establishment bias This kind of new broadcasting system would end the role of RTE as a pro-establishment outfit that is totally biased regarding the interests of the Irish capitalist establishment.

It may be state-owned, but this is part of a state that defends big business interests and the super-rich. For example, all sections of the broadcaster played a disgraceful role in their coverage of the water charges protests and generally parrotted the pro-austerity line during the years of crisis.

Democratic control over the company could ensure real scrutiny of its output and that it is not used to attack the struggles of working-class people for social justice and equality but rather is a democratic platform for those struggles. Coverage of politics needs to go beyond the superficial intrigues of “current affairs” and look much deeper at the pro-market interests and outlook that has given rise to the housing crisis, the climate crisis, the healthcare crisis, and all the other ills of the capitalist system that RTE generally shields rather than scrutinises.

Southern Government attempts to drum up support for militarisation and war

By Jonathan Diebold

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HERE WAS much clutching of pearls in the Dáil over the last several months as Socialist Party TD Mick Barry challenged the government on their Consultative Forum on National Security. This four-day event replaced Micheál Martin’s proposed citizens’ assembly on neutrality - in reality, an attempt to soften public opinion towards militarisation.

The Tánaiste described Deputy Barry’s contributions as “shocking intolerance” on one occasion, while Housing Minister Darragh O’Brien described him as being “afraid of debate.” However, it is the government who are terrified of a genuine debate on militarisation. When Martin first floated the idea of a citizens' assembly, an Ipsos poll found two-thirds favouring the Irish state’s (relative) military neutrality. Perhaps this, more than anything, influenced the decision to have an assembly, but replacing the citizens with hand-picked “experts.”

Stacked with warmongers Of the 71 speakers, an overwhelming majority of them were either overtly

pro-NATO, overtly pro-EU militarisation, have worked for various military machines, or have previously advocated for militarisation. While last year’s poll shows a two-to-one ratio of people in society in favour of neutrality, there was a five-to-one ratio of speakers at the forum with a history of arguing for militarisation in some form. Only a scant dozen spoke against this point of view, and only one prominent anti-militarisation campaigner.

To use her full title, the chairperson herself is Louise Richardson, Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, an academic with multiple books arguing from the point of view of US Imperialism, justifying what she calls “our” foreign policy. She has written to support various US-supported coups and attempted coups in countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Chile.

If the role of the chair at this forum was as a neutral arbiter of the discussion, these would already be questionable credentials. But the role of the chair went further - she alone is to write a report of proceedings and present recommendations to Tánaiste Micheál Martin (who doubles as Minister for Foreign Affairs),

who in turn is to present recommendations to cabinet.

Repression against protesters So the government’s security forum: a stacked debate; a biased chair; a promilitarisation agenda; and no input from the public, whose opinion lies firmly against militarisation. Who is it exactly that is afraid of a debate? Perhaps another clue lies in the treatment of protestors. When four young people probably the youngest people in the room at an event whose impact will be most strongly felt by the country’s youth - unfurled a banner during Micheál Martin’s opening of proceedings, they were violently ousted from the room by Gardaí.

The irony must have been lost on him when he said of the incident that to “shut down debate is not the right approach.” Another campaigner was ejected when he attempted to ask the chairwomen if there would be any opportunity for the public to contribute during a point of order.

What are they afraid of?

Even after all the government’s efforts, the forum seems to have been a flop in

The Southern Government is attempting to soften public opinion over militarisation

terms of softening public opinion.

While it was met with fawning praise from the like of the Irish Times, in the public eye, it seems most people saw it for what it was, a fumbling attempt to promote militarisation in the face of widespread opposition. Politicians like President Michael D Higgens raised alarm bells over this in the run-up to the event. Socialist Party TD Mick Barry, along with other TDs from the socialist left, consistently brought people’s attention to it from the Dáil. Crucially, however, this was the protests of campaigners and ordinary people who

demonstrated inside and outside each event.

This points to what is needed - without public pressure; the government would renege on military neutrality in a heartbeat. It flows from their slavish subservience to the powerful Western capitalist powers such as the US. Still, with a mass movement opposing militarisation, we can stop their creep towards closer alignment with EU military forces entirely, end Irish military support for imperialist regimes like France, and kick the US military out of Shannon.

INDUSTRIAL

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The Socialist

UCU Congress censures Jo Grady:

For a fighting, rank-and-file broad left!

By ISA members in UCU Below is an abridged article orginally published on socialistalternative.info

U

CU’S ANNUAL congress took place at the end of May in Glasgow, at a crucial time for the union. The cost of living crisis has been affecting everyone, including education workers. In universities, the Marking and Assessment Boycott on pay and conditions has been underway for almost two months and is having an effect, potentially delaying student graduations at several institutions. In Further Education, there have been localised strikes on pay at many colleges.

Congress was dominated however by criticism of General Secretary Jo Grady.

Multiple Higher Education branches submitted motions critical of Grady, ranging from censure to no confidence.

This was a response to her actions in the Higher Education pay and conditions and USS disputes, where she repeatedly overturned strike strategy in favour of her own plans.

International Socialist Alternative members in UCU believe it was right to bring these motions in an attempt to hold UCU’s only full-time elected officer to account. We have explained that the General Secretary has been an obstacle to our union, through her bypass-

ing of lay democratic structures such as the Higher Education Executive and our elected negotiators, and by unilaterally cancelling strike days. It is not an exaggeration to say that without these interventions, significantly more could have been achieved in the pay and conditions dispute.

Bureaucracy blocking debate The debate over these motions was tense and ill tempered. Before the debate began, delegates were told that even discussing these motions created a legal risk for UCU because they represented an attack on the General Secretary’s employment rights. Outgoing President Janet Farrar made several speeches from the chair in defence of the GS, and during the debate took exception to comments made by one Socialist Alternative member, perceiving them to be overly critical of President-Elect Justine Mercer. Farrar temporarily expelled our comrade from the Congress, preventing them from voting.

This could have been an opportunity to discuss what went wrong and how the union can function more effectively. Instead, it was clear that several national officers were focused only on minimising and dismissing delegates’ criticisms.

This was underlined by the General Secretary herself, who used her right of reply to speak for over 15 minutes and dismissed the criticism as “bullying”.

The motion of censure criticising the General Secretary’s actions passed, with 155 votes in favour and 117 against (21 abstentions). However, the motion of no confidence fell, with 119 votes in favour (plus our expelled delegate!), 146 votes against, and 34 abstentions.

Understandably, some delegates felt they simply could not vote to get rid of a General Secretary in the middle of such a huge dispute. We sympathise with this perspective. However, recent disputes have demonstrated that we are not just struggling against the employers, but also against our own leadership.

Building UCU in FE and HE Aside from these controversies, the Congress was extremely productive. In the Higher Education conference, delegates passed a policy to better support the Marking and Assessment Boycott, which is progressing locally despite limited national support. There was a renewed commitment to campaigning against outsourcing and to unionise outsourced staff.

In the Further Education Conference, important decisions were taken to build on the localised strike action on pay in colleges like Kirklees, Leeds, Bradford and Manchester. UCU will hold a national disaggregated ballot on pay, to be launched in September. This provides an opportunity to generalise the struggle on pay in FE, and for

Historic barworker’s strike at 13th Note Glasgow

This was the first strike of bar staff in Glasgow in nearly 20 years

By Callum Robinson

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ORKERS AT a prominent bar and music venue in Glasgow, The 13th Note, took strike action in July in what was the first strike of bar workers in the city in 20 years. The workers demands centred around health and safety, pay, contracts and union recognition.

The owner of the 13th Note had ignored the worker’s concerns over health and safety, seeking to preserve their profits even at the expense of their worker’s well-being. These many hazards in the workplace included; unaddressed infestation by rodents, leaks and wet floors and heavy equipment

kept on broken unsteady wheels at risk of collapse. The owner even threatened workers with disciplinary action for leaving work after a large fridge fell on them.

Workers in the 13th Note were also kept on exploitative wages, for example, the head chef is paid £11.25 an hour compared to the industry average of £17. The staff were also made to work as a skeleton crew, with staffing being so minimal that bars were often staffed over 12 hours at a time by individual members of staff.

The vast majority of the staff joined Unite and voted for strike action. In response, almost immediately after the workers went on strike the owner

threatened to close the business altogether throwing 21 workers on the scrap heap in a blatant act of trade union victimisation. This shows what workers in the most casualised industries are up against. The workers have set up a Go Fund Me, seeking to take over the venue to save their jobs and have asked union branches to donate where possible.

“We are the people who have put blood, sweat and tears into this venue, making the owner millions in personal wealth over the course of the last 20+ years” the worker’s wrote in a statement.

“No pint is poured, no dish is served and not a beat is played without the explicit permission of workers."

The Marking and Assesment Boycott is proving to be a very effective tactic

branches to strike together rather than separately. Kirklees (where Socialist Alternative members are playing a leading role in the strike) and Bradford colleges have already illustrated how striking together can lift the confidence of members.

Importantly, the FE conference also passed a late motion following the tragic death of Ruth Perry, a headteacher who committed suicide recently following a critical Ofsted inspection. Conference sent solidarity to her family and friends, and resolved to call for the abolition of Ofsted inspections in FE. UCU Congress was, for the most part, a productive event. In general, the

left were able to pass policy freely.

However, there were again signs of the need for a genuine, organised rankand-file within UCU. For example, the HE Conference had no choice but to vote for UCU Left candidates for the elected lay negotiator positions, since the only alternatives came from the two right-wing groupings in the union.

Some movement was made on the eve of Congress, where around 20 delegates met for the first time in person to discuss the possibility of building towards such a rank and file organisation.

While no formal decisions were made, this is a positive step, and International

Unite Policy Conference:

Fight for militant trade unionism T HIS YEAR'S Unite Policy Conference took place in the broad context of class struggle. The last year has seen a sharpening of industrial disputes across the UK and Ireland.

The overwhelming sense amongst trade union activists is that there is a need for a powerful, collective fightback of working class people.

At the same time there are important threats to our movement that were recognised at the conference. In many industries employers are preparing fresh attacks on workers pay and conditions, with many resorting to union-busting methods. The Tory government has been engaged in an onslaught against the unions, including attacking the right to strike.

Militant trade unionism The conference pointed to a militant response to this in order to defend jobs, pay and conditions. Unite leader Sharon Graham, in her keynote address, said "We didn't change our rule book to work outside the law if necessary to make it neater. We changed it for the days to come. Unite will defend its members by all and every means."

One motion moved by a member of the Socialist Party called for Unite to

commit to a strategy of coordinating strike action across unions and sectors in dispute, calling on the wider labour movement to mobilise a mass campaign of working class people. The motion was passed unanimously.

Keir Starmer spoke at the conference, much to the dismay of many delegates. His speech was expectedly pro-business, referring to greater "partnership" between labour and the bosses. Unite recently reaffirmed its affiliation with Labour despite the right wing leadership making clear its distaste for striking workers. The relationship of trade unions to Labour is a key question confronting Unite going forward.

Transphobia and gender violence Importantly, delegates also made clear the union's support for trans rights. A Socialist Party member moved a motion calling for 'Action Committees on Gender Violence and Transphobia' to be established, to commit the union to building movements of young and working class people on these issues.

Delegates spontaneously took to their feet in response to make clear that Unite stands against attacks on trans people from politicians and the media.

6 SPECIAL FEATURE Capitalism’s total inaction on the climate crisis is leading to devastating effects globally. This summer saw many parts of the world plunge into an extreme heatwave, with preliminary data showing that the first week of July 2023 was the hottest on record. Isidora Durán Stewart writes on this impending catastrophe.

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EIJING AND Arizona experienced the hottest consecutive number of days recorded in one year. EU Firefighting planes were sent to Greece to combat rapidly spreading wildfires. Parts of Spain hit 45°C, with the ground temperature in some areas surpassing 60°C. Rising temperatures and El Niño And while Ireland isn’t experiencing this intense heat, recent data shows it is undergoing a significant change in climate.

The report confirms that the Island is distinctly warmer and wetter than it was 30 years ago, with the average nationwide temperature increasing by 0.7°C across all four seasons.

This exceptional warmth is occurring simultaneously with the onset of El Niño, a natural weather event that warms the equatorial Pacific Ocean by up to 3°C, adding up to 0.2°C to the Earth's average temperature. Since the planet is already 1.2°C above pre-industrial times, this extra heating phenomenon could tip us over the 1.5°C target set in the 2015 Paris Agreement within the next year.

A typical El Niño causes drought in Indonesia, Australia, southern Africa, and India; intense hurricane seasons in the Pacific; colder winters in northern Europe; and widespread heat waves, causing deaths and mass displacement and sharpening poverty and food insecurity for millions of people.

System failure Leading energy companies – whose use of fossil fuels is the leading cause of climate change – are paying no heed to the climate emergency. In fact, amidst recordbreaking heat in February, BP scaled back an earlier goal of lowering its emissions by 35% by 2030, saying it will aim for a 20 to 30% cut instead, all while expanding gas drilling!

Exxon’s CEO recently told an industry conference that he plans to double the

amount of oil produced from its US shale holdings. Meanwhile, Mobil has quietly withdrawn from a widely publicised effort to use algae in creating low-carbon fuel. These corporations' pledges are hollow and subject to change when the market requires it.

Similarly, representatives of the capitalist system will operate in the pursuit of profit regardless of the human misery it engenders. They have their hands bound by the anarchic economic system they represent and will use their accumulated wealth to shield themselves from the worsening effects of climate change, while working-class people disproportionately suffer.

Capitalist governments While shameless climate change denier Donald Trump is no longer in office, Biden is effectively continuing his policies by kowtowing to fossil fuel companies and corporations. In March, he approved of the Willow Oil project, a drilling venture that will add two trillion metric tons of carbon to the atmosphere every year.

COP, the yearly conference for UN Framework Convention on Climate Change parties extinguished any pretense it created about taking climate change seriously, when the amount of gas and oil lobbyists in attendance actually increased this year, by 25%.

In the south, the Green Party, alongside other establishment parties, unwilling to take on big business, have utterly failed to meet the country’s emissions target, now hoping to achieve a 29% reduction ‘at best’, rather than the agreed 51%.

To wide indignation, Eamon Ryan even went as far as to say that he wouldn’t support free public transport because it would incentivise ‘unnecessary’ bus journeys!

Climate change does not occur in isolation but perpetuates and deepens every interconnected crisis borne out of capitalism. For example it will only deepen the

The So growing inter-imperialist rivalries and the new cold war. Perversely, the world’s major powers are looking at the rapidly thawing Arctic ice caps as opportunities to develop new shipping routes to undercut their rivals, along with exploiting its oil and gas reserves–extraction will throw further fuel on this existential crisis. This is resulting in a massive military build up with the US establishing a new deepwater port in the Arctic, while Russia has built up a substantial military presence to protect its North Sea routes. Meanwhile, Chinese imperialism is hoping to create a “polar silk road”, to expand its power and profits.

Potential fightback Yet out of the countless profit-driven emergencies taking place, climate change is one of the most galvanising.

Fridays for Future, the international climate movement led by school students, is still taking place, with young people participating in weekly school strikes to demand immediate climate action. Just Stop Oil has gained significant media attention for their direct action stunts in galleries and snooker halls. Extinction Rebellion has shifted focus from occupations and roadblocks toward mass protests alongside trade unions, feminist organisations and other progressive groups, organising a four-day series of protests in April, where up to 60,000 people were in attendance.

This surge of mass protests as well as a growing feminist wave and labour movement globally is where our hope lies. The logic of the capitalist system means that, if allowed to do so, it will extract profit through every means possible until there is nothing left. But shining a light on it isn’t enough. We need to tackle the source of the profound inequality that has allowed global warming to go unchecked, resulting in the abnormally hot weather we see today.

Nothing but an organised workingclass movement can confront the fossil fuel industry and the despotic politicians and billionaires who protect it.

Only by taking matters into our own hands can we pose a genuine threat to the system. For a prompt transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, for the end of mining, fracking and deforestation, for the liberation of working people and the planet, this capitalist system needs to go – now, more than ever before!

Now, more

Capitalis

In Hot Water: The devastatin

By Oisin Hill

“

THE OCEAN is hotter than ever, what happens next?,” begins a news article published in May of this year by Nature, the world's leading scientific journal. 2023 has seen the surface temperature of the ocean rise to its highest since records began, leading to marine heatwaves across the globe and exceeding the predictions of many climate models. Here in Ireland, the ocean surface temperature was recorded as being 4-6°C above average for June with even higher temperatures on the horizon for later this Summer.

Devastating impact The planet’s oceans have absorbed 90% of the heat resulting from greenhouse gases in recent decades. The significant shift in global ocean temperatures, which is being exacerbated by the El Niño climate event in the equatorial pacific ocean, is bringing disastrous consequences for people and ecosystems.

Ocean warming accelerates sea level rise - water expands at higher temperatures, hotter polar oceans speed up the rate of melting sea ice, adding yet more water into the world's oceans and threatening the homes and lives of millions across the planet.

Extreme weather events are becoming both more frequent and more intense as a result of ocean warming and climate change in general. This year has already seen record heat waves in the southwestern United States and in

Marine biodiversity loss is thus a huge threat

southern Europe. People in Italy are being hit particularly with a road worker in Milan dying of heatstroke on the job and many more outdoor workers unable to work or having underlying health problems exacerbated by the heat.

Heatwaves like this, along with other extreme weather events, are threatening to kill and displace more and more people across the world and will continue to do so as long as we live in a system that prioritises profit over human life and planetary health.

Despite this, the world’s largest fossil

SPECIAL FEATURE

ocialist

7

Extinction – what’s causing the biodiversity crisis?

By Cathal Curran

than ever before:

sm must go

ng impact of rising ocean temperatures

to food security and job security

fuel firms continue to push ahead with 195 “carbon bomb” oil and gas projects that would each result in at least a billion tonnes of CO2 emissions over their lifetimes. Our planet is not dying, it is being killed.

Marine tipping point Scientists have warned that rising ocean temperatures are devastating for the ocean’s biodiversity, causing mass die-offs of many marine species and further destroying habitats already ravaged by decades of profit-driven

overexploitation and pollution. As on land, where wildfires ravage vitally important rainforests, heatwaves in the ocean have the potential to destroy vast swathes of seagrass beds and kelp forests in the seas surrounding Britain and Ireland, ecosystems that draw down vast amounts of carbon and provide habitats for thousands of species.

If a tipping point is reached, these ecosystems could start emitting carbon rather than absorbing it, creating a disastrous feedback loop.

The implications for fisheries are also

dire. Around 16,000 people in the Republic of Ireland and around 5,000 in the North rely on fisheries for employment, many of them in remote or impoverished coastal communities where other options are limited. Globally, it is estimated that three billion people depend on the ocean for food, most of them in countries in the Global South, reliant on small-scale fisheries threatened by both climate change and overfishing. Marine biodiversity loss is thus a huge threat to food security and job security, and as always it is the poorest in society who must bear the brunt of the destruction. In the warming of the ocean, we see how capitalism is severing the intricate connections between living organisms, connections that produce the air we breath and the food we eat, and that keep the earth’s climate stable.

If we want to fight to preserve the living sea and all it provides for us, and alleviate the worst effects of climate change and ecological devastation, we must fight for a different kind of society. It means a democratic socialist society, where production is organised on a sustainable basis, as opposed to the thoroughly destructive pursuit that capitalism is built on.

Democratic planning and the collective public ownership of our planet's resources can meet the needs of all people and for the health of the planet, rather than to line the pockets of fossil fuel magnates and big business generally.

A LOT of coverage of the climate crisis presents it as being solely a problem with levels of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the atmosphere. On that basis then the only solution is to reduce the amount of GHG we emit, by for example using electric cars, by reducing cattle farming or by planting more trees to absorb CO2. These are important measures that need to be taken, however they do not address the biodiversity crisis that we find ourselves in, which is arguably as profound a disaster as rising CO2 levels.

For if the continued extraction from and degradation of nature continues unabated, even if CO2 and methane were replaced with harmless gases, we’d still plunge ever deeper into a biodiversity ecocide, affecting all life on Earth. We would still be facing empty oceans, bare forests and an apocalyptic level extinction event for many wild animals.

The metabolic rift The metabolic rift was coined by Marx to describe the constant use of topsoil for growing crops with no fallow year or rest period between harvests, which traditionally would’ve allowed the soil to regain its nutrients. This weakens the soil, leaving it unable to produce crops with as high a yield as before. This has led to a vast increase in synthetic fertiliser production and use, which is not only ecologically destructive but also a finite resource, made using phosphorus which at current rates of extraction are expected to last around 80 years!

The use of these fertilisers in the soils creates a metabolic rift, a destruction of the cycles of life that have been finely tuned between nature and humanity from sustainable use for millennia. The nutrient cycle replenishes the soils, allowing plant life to grow from which we get our food, and it is being destroyed for profit.

We can apply this to so many of our vital natural systems, The carbon cycle, the water system, our clean air, are all being destroyed, the consequences of which are yet unknown in their totality, however these systems have been calibrated over thousands of years and severing them will absolutely have repercussions in terms of natural disasters, diseases, and food systems.

Mass extinction of animals The effect on animals is worse. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species, more than 41,000 animals worldwide are threatened with extinction. This includes 41% of all am-

phibians, 33% of reef-forming corals, 27% of the world’s mammals, 33% of all marine mammals, and 13% of all known bird species; you can be sure that these are conservative estimates.

Wildlife populations have fallen by an average of 69% between 1970 and 2018. The declines have been most severe in Central and South America and the Caribbean, which has seen a 94% drop in the average wildlife population size. Africa has the second largest fall at 66%, which is followed by Asia and the Pacific with 55% and North America at 20%. Europe and Central Asia experienced an 18% fall.

This shows that colonialism has driven the biodiversity crisis worldwide in large part because of the forceful removal and displacement of Indigenous Peoples from their ancestral lands and from their role as stewards that protected nature. Indigenous Peoples have to this day been excluded from meaningful decision-making around conservation and development because the colonial view of nature protection is the only one considered.

Even the latest IPCC report referenced “colonialism”. It acknowledged that it was both an historic and ongoing driver of the climate crisis. “Present development challenges causing high vulnerability are influenced by historical and ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism, especially for many Indigenous peoples and local communities” System change means socialist change We need a mass rewilding effort in Ireland, and worldwide. Vast swathes of land around this country that is now currently used for cattle grazing, which is a very inefficient use of land, could be given over to nature. Of course, this type of land as it does not produce a profit, rather just provides a home to innumerable lifeforms, would be classed as unproductive and contrary to the logic of capitalism and the constant need for more growth.

Restoring and extending these vital habitats is a necessity as it will not only help the diverse range of flora and fauna that rely upon them, but also help alleviate flood damage, cleanse our drinking water, sequester carbon and purify our air.

Organising this means bringing fundamental system change, the system in question is capitalism. It is a system built on ruthless exploitation of people and the planet and that has a criminal indifference to our future and well being. We can end the rule of this system and collectively organise to build a socialist society that gives future generations a planet to live on.

8

INTERNATIONAL

The Socialist

How can Palestinian liberation be won?

By Donal Devlin

T

ANKS AND bulldozers demolished homes as they entered the city. Ambulances were not allowed to enter or leave, adding to the chaos. This atrocity was a microcosm of the oppression of Palestine, with a population of refugees seeking refuge from Israeli state terror once again.

At the beginning of July, the hashtag #JeninUnderAttack went viral after Jenin, a refugee camp in the Occupied West Bank, came under murderous assault from the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). The camp, which is just 0.4 km squared and home to 14,000 Palestinian refugees, was mercilessly bombed, leaving 12 dead.

Crucial reference point For a growing section of young and working-class people internationally, the occupation of Palestine and the dispossession of its people is a harrowing symbol of the horrors of capitalism and imperialist rule over our planet. The Israeli State, with the fourth-largest army in the world – possessing an array of sophisticated weaponry, including nuclear arms – systematically and unrelentingly

metes out savage repression against Palestinians. All of which is politically and financially backed by US imperialism and the EU to the hilt.

Faced with such a powerful force ranged against it, a crucial question is how such a mighty military force can be defeated. A starting point for waging such a struggle lies with the Palestinian masses themselves. A mass struggle organised through democratic councils in workplaces, communities, universities and schools, with the right to armed self-defence, could deliver real blows to the Israeli ruling class.

When faced with the brutal force of the Israeli Defence Force, such a struggle would naturally have the right to armed self-defence. This means that weaponry and arms in places like Jenin should be placed under democratic control, self defence councils established.

The impact that such mass struggle can have was witnessed in May 2021, when Israel launched one of its perennial massacres of the besieged populace of Gaza. A Palestinian general strike in the West Bank, East Jerusalem and the other side of the Green line exerted real pressure on Israeli capitalism. It was a factor in bringing an end to this round of slaughter. For example, over 65,000 Palestinian workers in Israel’s construc-

A General Strike occured this year in the West Bank against Israeli state violence

tion industry struck at a cost of $40 million to the bosses.

Workers’ strikes have recently occurred in the Occupied West Bank due to IDF and settler-colonial pogroms.

These actions stand in the proud traditions of the First Intifada, a mass Palestinian uprising that exploded in Gaza and the West Bank in December 1987.

A crucial question in any mass Palestinian uprising against Israeli oppression will be; who are its potential allies if it is to defeat an enemy as powerful as the Israeli State? It is certainly not the corrupt, oppressive capitalist regimes in this region, like those of Egypt and

Saudi Arabia, despite their past rhetorical support for the cause of Palestine.

The working class and poor majority in these countries, who live under stiflingly oppressive and impoverished conditions, can be a crucial ally, as a force that can begin to turn the tide on the economic, social and political order of capitalism and imperialism in this region.

Who are the allies of Palestine?

A vital, if understandably less obvious ally, is the working class of Israel itself – a force that can play a decisive role in defeating the Israeli ruling class.

Clearly, it has been impacted by

decades of chauvinist and racist antiPalestinian propaganda that must be challenged. However, it has no vested interest in allowing the oppression of Palestinians and the occupation of their land to continue.

Israeli working-class people suffer the exploitation and oppression that is common to all capitalist nations, and there are huge economic inequalities within Israel. Jews of Ethiopian and Mizrahi (Middle East and North African) origin suffer from racist discrimination and constitute the poorest section of Israeli Jewish society.

LGBTQ and women's rights are being attacked, which has been a critical factor motivating many in recent months to protest against the Netanyahu government’s attempt to undermine the authority of the Supreme Court.

A struggle for Palestinian national liberation can exploit this proverbial chink in the Israeli ruling class’ armour and appeal to Israeli working-class people to oppose the rule of their rotten, oppressive and capitalist leaders.

On this basis, a democratic socialist society based on equality and freedom, in which the national rights of both peoples can be upheld, can become a real possibility.

Canada: Dockworkers Close BC Ports The union’s view is that workers should not pay with their livelihoods for increased flow of cargo.

Workers expressed anger at the profits companies were making off the backs of workers — “gouging,” one said. The rich are getting richer while young workers, especially, “can barely afford a place to live.”

The union has enormous power.

Around 16% of Canada’s traded goods pass through the ports — all handled by longshore workers. The longshore workers are employed by the Association, which represents 49 private companies that use the ports, including shipping lines and terminal operators.

ILWU members have been clear in their determination to win

By Socialist Alternative (our sister organisation in Canada)

A

T 8 AM on Saturday, July 1, BC’s ports went quiet as longshore workers (ILWU) started their strike.

They had voted 99.24% in favour of action, a powerful statement of intent. 7,400 workers are on strike. The previous contract had expired on 30 March, and the employer, BC Maritime Employers Association (BCMEA), had not put forward reasonable proposals. The members felt strongly they had to show they were serious about wanting a contract that reflected their needs and concerns.

Socialist Alternative attended the

picket line in East Vancouver in solidarity with ILWU. Workers said thanks for coming. In conversation their determination is clear, saying about being on strike, “It is what it is — we have to stand up for our rights.”

Most expressed concern about the increasing “contracting-out” of jobs that ILWU members are skilled to do. This bypasses the union, takes jobs from those who are currently on the casual list and so makes it harder and longer for them to become full members with all the security and benefits.

Inflation hits incomes Inflation has hit their wages, as with most other workers. The previous five-

year contract increased the base rate by 3% in 2021 and 3.5% in 2022. This was clearly far below the rate of inflation and the union members rightly are looking to restore their living standards.

They worked all through COVID and, especially in the early months, it was scary going to work as it was difficult if not impossible to keep a safe physical distance. They were part of the “essential” workforce that kept society running in a time of emergency.

The third key area of dispute is over plans by the ports to increase automation, with the aim to “kill jobs” and boost profits. One worker said, “we don’t want to be replaced by robots.”

Federal Government Although longshore workers work for private companies, the vast majority of BC’s ports are owned by the federal government. This includes the 29 terminals in and around Vancouver, as well as ports in Nanaimo, Port Alberni and Prince Rupert.

Unfortunately, the ports are not run for the tens of thousands of workers who support the ports or for the communities living around them. Canadian Port Authorities are run like businesses, supporting employers.

Ports are federally regulated, and the workers are covered by federal legislation. The federal government has a history of interfering in the unions’ activities. In 2021 the Federal Liberals legislated 1,150 striking dock workers in Montréal, members of CUPE, back to work. This legislation is contrary to multiple Supreme Court rulings that back-to-work legislation is a violation

of workers’ rights under the Charter.

However, it takes years for the Supreme Court to make these rulings, long after disputes are over.

It is likely the employers are stonewalling on negotiations, hoping the Liberals will do the same in BC as they did two years ago in Québec.

Back-to-work legislation will pose a major question to the ILWU. Do they accept it as happened in Montréal or do they defy it? In Ontario, when Doug Ford introduced back-towork legislation against school workers, invoking the “notwithstanding” clause to block a court challenge, the unions came together in solidarity with the threat of a general strike and Ford backed down. In 2014, the drivers who move the containers in and out of the Port of Vancouver were on strike. The BC government and the Port issued many threats including back-to-work legislation but the drivers, about 1,200 owner-operators and 300 employed workers, said they would not bend to the threats. The day before the back-to-work legislation would become law, the employers came back to negotiate a much-improved deal.

ILWU has a proud tradition of solidarity with other workers. They helped win BC’s $15 minimum wage, although it was not a direct benefit to their members, but to the wider working class. BC’s unions must support ILWU, if they need it.

Socialist Alternative is in solidarity with ILWU and echoes their slogan, “An injury to one is an injury to all.”

Forward to victory.

INDUSTRIAL

9

The Socialist

Fighting low pay and staffing levels: Firefighters take industrial action stands idly by they will have little choice.

If workers are forced to place pickets again they will be determined to go all the way and finish the job this time."

Cork city firefighters have unanimously rejected a WRC proposal to resolve an 89 day dispute over staffing levels and the reopening of the Ballincollig station.

L

ABOUR COURT recommendations are expected to be heavily rejected by retained firefighters across the state next week with a fresh ballot on industrial action to follow.

Up to 2,000 SIPTU members will vote on a proposal to increase the annual

retainer from €8,870 to €11,769.

The proposal also includes reducing the standby hours for each retained firefighter by increasing numbers in each station.

Falling short Retained firefighters don't believe that

these proposals go far enough to resolve the recruitment/retainment crisis within the service and make the point that they fall well short of their demands being met.

The Government will be nervous about the dispute flaring up again and strike action being put on the agenda as

Water workers strike for guarantees over terms and conditions

autumn and national pay negotiations draw nearer.

Socialist Party TD Mick Barry says: "Two thirds of the nation's firefighters are retained and the service can't operate fully across the country without their labour. Firefighters do not want to have to strike again but if the Government

Iceland workers occupy and strike against bosses' lockout

By Conor Tormey

There is a tremendous amount of support for water workers organised in SIPTU for the action taken by Unite.

By Robert Cosgrave

I

N MIDJULY, over 100 local authority water workers in multiple councils organised in Unite took three days of strike action. The responsibility for this strike lies squarely at the hands of local authority management, who have refused to engage with workers following their rejection of the ‘Framework for the Future Delivery of Water Services’, which deals with the transfer of water workers from the local authorities they currently work for to Irish Water.

These workers want real guarantees about the terms and conditions of this change. Those moving to Irish Water would keep their status as public sector workers and the conditions that go with that. Those remaining in local authorities should be guaranteed appropriate alternative work within the local authorities and not just forced to accept

whatever the employers try to throw them into.

Unite also calls for a date set in Framework for a referendum guaranteeing water remains a public utility in the Constitution. The management has refused to budge on any of these issues, making this struggle inevitable as the workers are correctly not backing down either.

Need for a united struggle The Socialist Party fully supports the struggle of water workers here. Their work is essential to maintaining a clean water supply – one of the necessities of keeping society running – and deserves to be treated as such. These workers, not the management, play the essential role of keeping our most important utilities running despite decades of underinvestment in the necessary water infrastructure. Equally, it is imperative that water remain a publicly owned utility that enjoys proper investment

and is democratically run for public need, not profit.

The debacle of private water companies in Britain, where these companies spend more on shareholder dividends than investing in vital infrastructure, makes this all the more apparent. It is essential that workers in the other unions representing water workers see the importance of the fight those in Unite have taken and join this struggle.

There is a tremendous amount of support for water workers organised in SIPTU for the action taken by Unite.

SIPTU must now follow suit and ballot its members to take action and join the rest of the workforce in future industrial action. The tack of the local authority management would very rapidly change if faced with a united struggle across all 31 councils. A victory for the water workers would provide an important lesson to all workers across Ireland about what can be achieved when they get organised.

Escalating action Meanwhile, Cork city firefighters have unanimously rejected a WRC proposal to resolve an 89 day dispute over staffing levels and the reopening of the Ballincollig station.

The WRC proposal involved a "robbing Peter to pay Paul" approach towards staffing levels in the city and Ballincollig - the scale of the rejection shows this is not going to fly and failure by the Council to negotiate an improved offer will clearly now result in an escalation of industrial action.

Both the retained firefighters issue and the Cork dispute underline the failure of successive right-wing Governments to properly fund vital public services and the need for a Government prepared to put public services for the many above profits and wealth-hoarding for the few.

FROM TUESDAY, 18 July, the workers of the Ballyfermot branch of Iceland will be on strike, with a potential sit-in to follow. This comes in the context of workers in Coolock and Talbot Street being forced to occupy the shops suddenly locked out; workers in Coolock have been forced to occupy twice now due to promises not being kept by the bosses. Iceland workers should be an example to all workers facing the threat of job losses not to go down fighting Same old story This story of workers being locked out and losing their jobs because of tactical insolvency is, unfortunately, all too common in the past number of years for Irish workers. In 2015 Workers at Cleary’s were let go suddenly and had to fight for severance packages. In 2020 workers in Debenhams were made redundant by a generic email and forced to take on an enormous fight due to tactical insolvency despite 25 million in stock value being in the stores at the time of the redundancies.

These are similar situations to the Iceland workers, Iceland has been determined to be insolvent and has yet to pay unpaid wages to the workers occupying the stores; this is despite stock still being held in multiple shops showing that the money is there for the workers, the only thing lacking is workers being a priority No reliance on the WRC The message from the capitalist establishment is one of referring to the workplace relations commission and labour court to decide on this issue; this is not good enough. Iceland workers can't wait until the WRC decides on the case; the Debenhams Bill put forward by Socialist party TD Mick Barry would have afforded Iceland workers better protections under these situations. The Bill would have ensured that workers’ wages and redundancies are the first priority when companies enter receivership. workers in precarious situations should take the example of the Iceland workers; if the bosses don't comply, the space occupied should be run by the workers under public ownership for the interests of the working class

10

The Socialist

Review: Eldorado

Everything the Nazis Hate directed by Benjamin Cantu

REVIEW & THEORY

Socialism 101 series #14 The there role of thesocialist media in Are any countries? capitalist society Have there ever been?

By Michael O’Brien

By Conor Payne

N

ETFLIX’S NEW documentary Eldorado: Everything the Nazis Hate shows us a moment in time when, during Germany’s Weimar Republic (1918-1933), there was an opening up of some freedoms for queer people, which allowed many to live more openly than was the case almost anywhere else on Earth. This increased freedom existed alongside the simultaneous rise of the Nazis, whose accession to power brought it to an abrupt and brutal end – culminating in the genocide of queer people in the Holocaust.

Contradictions of Weimar Germany The film documents the lives of some of those who frequented the Eldorado, one of many queer venues in Berlin at the time. What existed in the Weimar Republic was no liberation but an uneasy toleration. The law against male homosexuality, Paragraph 175, remained on the books, but courts demanded prohibitive levels of evidence to enforce. At the same time, police maintained “pink lists” of known queer people, which would later be used under the Nazi regime.

Trans people were issued medical passes by Magnus Hirschfeld’s Institute for Sexual Science, which allowed them to exist in public without harassment from the police. Crucially, however, this legal toleration was used by LGBTQ+ people to create a flourishing queer life, especially in Berlin. A key part of this was

Hirschfeld’s institute which pioneered sexual and reproductive healthcare and education and affirmed its LGBTQ+ patients. The end of official censorship allowed the development of a queer press, including specific publications for gay men, lesbians and trans people.

All this existed alongside its opposite, the rapidly rising Nazi movement. This contradiction is explored in the figure of Ernst Röhm, a leading Nazi who headed the paramilitary wing of the Nazis, the SA. This mass organisation of millions played an important role in fascism coming to power. Röhm was widely known to be gay and made little attempt to hide the fact. The hyper-masculine culture of this all-male fascist street fighting organisation, which was used to carry out terror against Jews, the workers’ movement and the left, ironically facilitated the toleration of homosexuality among some of its leading figures.

This documentary is a fascinating insight into the lives of queer people who experienced both (at the time) unprecedented freedom followed quickly by unprecedented repression. While we are not experiencing anything equivalent to the coming to power of the Nazis, the film nonetheless is eerily resonant with the current right-wing backlash against LGBTQ+ rights.

Incomplete picture but important warning Eldorado gives too limited a picture to really explain how such rapid changes in the fortunes of queer people could

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Get a copy from any Socialist Party member or order online or subscribe at: socialistparty.ie or socialistpartyni.org

occur. It suggests that a mass of ordinary Germans outside the big cities were uncomfortable with the pace of change.

While no doubt many people retained conservative views on these issues, throughout this period, the increased freedom of the Weimar period didn’t fall from the sky. It’s difficult to imagine it happening without the German revolution, which ended World War I and the German empire, which was dominated by an ultra-conservative and militaristic ruling elite.

This revolution, which isn’t mentioned in the film, was driven precisely by the mass of ordinary, working-class people in Germany. It threatened to bring down the whole capitalist social order.

The Weimar Republic was led not by revolutionaries but by those who had betrayed and crushed this revolution and saved capitalism in Germany, including the leadership of the Social Democratic Party. However, it was still forced to reflect in some ways the pressure of this powerful workers’ movement – including by the end of censorship, increased legal rights for women etc. This changed atmosphere was the context that allowed queer people to push through and create their own spaces where they could exist openly.

For analysis of LGBTQphobia, fascism, or the struggle for queer liberation, we should look elsewhere. Yet Eldorado remains an important window into queer history and a warning of the precarity of the rights we have won today.

THE CONTRASTING attention paid by the media in June to the search and rescue operation for the OceanGate's Titan submersible containing eight ultra wealthy passengers versus the absence of a rescue operation by the Greek authorities. The latter led to the drowning of an estimated 500 migrants has provoked a reaction from people who correctly see it as a negative example of the priorities and agenda setting of the mass broadcast and print outlets.

Implicit in this is the low value placed on the lives of people from the global south compared to western millionaires. The coverage and prominence the mass drowning in the Mediterranean should have got, including delving into the factors contributing to why people put their lives on the line for a better life, would undermine the racist border policies of governments in Europe.

An obvious starting point of a socialist analysis of the mass media is that we are talking about big businesses in their own right. Rupert Murdoch, owner of Fox News and the Sun and the Times of London among other newspapers has a personal wealth estimated to be $17.3 billion.

It follows from this that the interests of the capitalists who own the media are not greatly distinct from the capitalist class as a whole. Indeed Murdoch made a name for himself for smashing the print unions in Britain, and the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) is not recognised by his British newspapers.

The ties of the media to the interests of capitalists as a whole is also manifest by the dependence of newspapers, broadcast and online media on advertising. This even extends into public service broadcasting.

Dependence on such advertising invariably influences editorial decision making. It was remarked upon in the course of the Ryan Tubridy pay scandal that the Late Late Show, which combines light entertainment and serious human interest items is sponsored by Renault. In the last eight years it has been sponsored by that car company, it has never had an item or discussion related to the question of climate change and fossil fuels.

This is not to say that there are not decent journalists and columnists who use their platform for serious news and commentary that challenges the interests and dominant editorial positions of the right wing media. There are a minority in the

mass media and are often forced work within resource constraints. This was highlighted when the grotesquely large pay of the top ‘talent’ in RTE was contrasted to the attacks on the jobs and pay reporters in the station, as well as the conditions in which they have to produce their work.

Editorial bias can likewise be perceived not just in the selection and prioritisation of news stories but also their framing. How many times have we seen the passive voice used in the headlines of articles reporting the deaths of Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli Defence Forces, or likewise used in headlines reporting incidents of gender based violence.

Similarly there is editorial influence on setting the parameters of what is acceptable for debate. There are always lines drawn. No media outlet that purports to be serious would provide a platform to flat earthers. However, for a long time after global warming arising from CO2 emissions was scientifically proven climate change deniers were still afforded a platform in the press and media including RTE. The platforming of these views provided cover to establishment politicians who are opposed to serious measures to combat climate change.

This is similarly the case with the platforming of transphobic views by the likes of the Irish Times and RTE. The Gender Recognition Act passed in 2015 without any real controversy.

However in the intervening time a reactionary and far right element has consciously targeted trans people as a ‘wedge’ issue around which they think they can build support.

The platform they have been given can be directly linked to rise in attacks on trans and all LGTBQ+ people in recent years.

Socialists favour a genuinely free press and media free of the influence of big business interests. While we favour public service broadcasting we have no truck with overt government controlled media as exists in many countries.Instead the running of the media should be done democratically involving media workers, and representatives of the viewership/readership from wider society.

In advance of such a scenario the workers’ movement needs to urgently develop its own media to advance the issues and concerns of working class people in Ireland and internationally including all those who suffer oppression in all its forms under capitalism.

NEWS

11

The Socialist

Tech company Intercom drops support for Pride and “divisive” LGBTQ+ rights

This decision by McCabe and Intercom is a disgrace and an insult to Intercom workers and the LGBTQ+ community.

By Drew Freyne

I

NTERCOM, a billion-dollar Irish tech company, faces employee unrest following its recent decision to end support for Pride celebrations and employee resource groups (ERG). ERGs are put in place to support minority or otherwise marginalised workers in large organisations.

The company claims these policies have been in place since last year, and are aimed at “deprioritising absolutely everything that does not directly con-

tribute to our success”, according to a company spokesperson. But it has sparked anger among its workers, with Pride flags being removed during Pride month.

A divisive and political CEO The chief executive, Eoghan McCabe, has touted business expansion and competition from other firms using AI as the key reason for the “tough” decision to drop its open support for LGBTQ+ rights. This is despite evidence showing that inclusivity practices are good for businesses, which is presumably why the

company in 2019 boasted about donating €10,000 to Belong To and in Dublin, hosted “a breakfast for our LGBTI+ employees, allies, friends and family to set them up for the day before the march begins”, while, “In San Francisco we’re having an outdoor picnic, in Chicago we’re having a rooftop BBQ, and in London we’re doing LGBTI+ screenings.”

McCabe also justified his decision by alleging that Pride has become connected with “divisive” and “political” issues, disregarding the fact LGBTQ rights are inherently political. Pride is, after all, a protest commemorating a riot in New York in 1969. And only bigots and the far right see LGBTQ+ rights as divisive.

But given McCabe’s own penchant for liking and retweeting right-wing culture war veterans such as Tucker Carlson, or taking selfies with conspiracy theorists such as Robert F. Kennedy Jr, it seems reasonable to think that this decision has less to do with this being “a crazy time for tech” and the need for “very high degrees of focus” (rainbow flags are too distracting for some it seems!), and more to do with his own reactionary politics.

Corporate cowing to the backlash This decision by McCabe and Intercom

is a disgrace and an insult to Intercom workers and the LGBTQ+ community.

Moreover, it has to be seen in the context of an international backlash against progressive movements and the rights of trans people in particular. That’s the difference with 2019 – four years after the Marriage Equality referendum and one year after the repeal referendum in Ireland – when not only was it safer for corporations to promote LGBTQ+ rights, but essential for business.

But that support was always more cynical than serious, and we see now how quickly corporations can abandon it as soon as right-wing forces begin to whip up even the faintest opposition to LGBTQ+ rights successfully. Target and Starbucks in the US are other notable examples of this. Workers need to organise to resist every incidence of a pulling back from LGBTQ+-friendly policies and culture in the workplace – as many newly unionised Starbucks workers are doing right now across the US via strike action.

It is an essential lesson for the struggle for LGBTQ+ rights that we cannot rely on corporate allies and certainly not their twisted CEOs in the fight for our rights. They and their capitalist system that cultivates division and oppression are enemies, not allies, in the struggle for genuine liberation.

Hundreds march with Library workers in Cork against far-right intimidation through the streets to Cork City Hall.

On behalf of library staff, their union Forsa demanded that the City Council take decisive action and greater and more appropriate measures to protect health and safety in the workplace. One of the speeches on the day from a Forsa Library workers representative stated, “Workers rights are human rights, trans rights are human rights, women’s rights are human rights, migrants rights are human rights. The far-right wants to drag us back to a more misogynistic, less inclusive Ireland, but we will not go back”.

On behalf of library staff, their union Forsa demanded that the City Council take decisive action

By Marie-Claire Jennequin

O

N FRIDAY, 7 July, in Cork City, Library workers found impressive support from other workers, young people and the LGBTQ+ community, with more than 500 people attending a protest against the harassment they have endured from the far-right. Alongside library workers, other city council workers and Forsa members gathered in solidarity

to march to City Hall to demand action from the council.

Demands for safety A small group of far-right activists have been interrupting library workers and library users, objecting to the presence of specific LGBTQ+ material available in the library. Library workers were subjected to offensive slurs and intimidation and were filmed against their wishes.

Cork City Council has failed to protect the health and safety of its employees. It has become clear to the workers that to have a safe workplace, they cannot depend on their employer and must get organised themselves. This is what led to this protest. To force their employer, Cork City Council, to ensure safe working conditions for the library staff.

Following speeches outside Cork City Library, the march proceeded

Pathetic counter-protest A small negligible counter-protest, attended by no more than 20 people, was powerless to disrupt the collective solidarity of the hundreds of workers marching for the safety and dignity of both workers and the LGBTQ+ community. However, their attempts to disrupt the workers’ protest demonstrate that these far-right groups are not only anti-LGBTQ+ but also anti-worker.

The impressive working-class mobilisation of the day indicates the general recognition that this issue extends far beyond library workers, one workplace, and one locality. It also demonstrates how we can, and need to, continue to organise and mobilise against the threat that the far right poses to us all.

Tories attack Trans school students

RISHI SUNAK Recently came under fire after plans he allegedly masterminded for new school guidance were leaked to the public.

Sunak’s new guidance would exclusively target trans students and would allegedly ban using a trans student’s name, pronouns and preferred uniform without receiving the parents’ written consent. It also permits teachers and other students to refuse to use a trans student's name and pronouns, even if the trans student has the “official” go-ahead. Even more galling though, is that a school head can deny a student the right to socially transition at school if they believe it would have a “negative effect on the rest of the students”. Perhaps the most cruel, openly hateful element of the new guidance, however, is that students who have socially transitioned would be banned from competitive sports, even if they have parental and school approval.

Critics of the guidance have drawn comparisons to the Thatcher era Section 28, a previously overturned law which outlawed any schools or teachers which “promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality" or "promote the teaching…of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship".

These comparisons aren’t actually all that accurate. They are similar in that they are a targeted attack on LGBTQ+ people. These new guidelines would go further in attacking trans people than section 28 ever did.

Section 28 didnt mandate that queer students be outed to potentially dangerous families and it didn’t ban queer students from participating in school activities.

Sunak’s new guidance doesn’t come from a place of caution or common sense; it is draconian, hateful, and dangerous. If this guidance becomes practice, trans students will die. Trans youth are already attempting suicide in alarming numbers, and if the institutions where they spend most of their lives are not only allowed but encouraged to discriminate against them, then that number will rise.

If students are permitted to view their trans peers as less than them, then transphobic violence in schools will increase, and there likely be another Brianna Ghey We need to be ready to fight like hell if this law is passed; most students don’t have hate like this in their hearts, and we need to be prepared to push for a struggle against this hatred, both from an external level through traditional means, and internal by providing students with guidance and materials on how to combat this from inside their schools.

No pride for some of us without liberation for all of us.” - Marsha P Johnson.

TheSocialist

PAPER OF THE SOCIALIST PARTY

ISSUE 155

JULY / AUGUST 2023

TRANS RIGHTS NOT UP FOR DEBATE!

“RESPECT EXISTENCE OR EXPECT RESISTANCE” JOIN THE SOCIALIST PARTY

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