Haiti – disaster compounded by capitalism
Here we post Joe Higgins' article from Wednesday January 27th's edition of the Daily Mail, on the crisis in Haiti. We apologise for the delay in posting the article online.
Meeting & Discussion – building a new anti-water charges campaign
MEETING: "No Re-Introduction of Water Charges! Boycott the Charge – Boycott Meter Installation!", due to take place on Saturday, February 13th from 12pm to 3pm in the Teachers’ Club, Parnell Square West, Dublin 1.
Determined fight from unions needed to stop government onslaught
The Budget will, if the Government gets its way, mark the first of four where working people, the unemployed and those who depend on public services will be crucified over an economic crash they did not cause. The palpable anger this is causing in society generally can be seen in the threat by the Garda Representative Association to ballot for industrial action.
Union leaders discuss sell out despite historic strike
250,000 public service workers took part in the one day strike on 24 November in opposition to the threatened cut of €1.3 billion from the public service pay bill in next month’s budget on top of similar sized cuts in Social Welfare payments and in public service provision itself.
The recent report by the ESRI on negative equity in the Irish housing market exposes the black hole that Irish householders were lead into by the speculators and the banks. The ESRI estimates that up to one third of mortgage holders, nearly 200,000 householders, could be trapped with mortgages vastly exceeding the value of their homes by the end of 2010. And even this is based on a conservative estimate of the drop in house price levels. READ MORE
GUE/NGL MEPs Joe Higgins and Helmut Scholz welcomed yesterday’s passing of a resolution on the GSP+ (General System of Preferences plus) trade scheme in the European Parliament. READ MORE
Following on from the recent news of X rays going unchecked by radiologists and written GP referrals being unattended to for up to two years a survey carried out by the Dublin South West branch of the Socialist Party a week before these scandals came to light reveal that the poor level of GP cover in Tallaght is causing an intolerable strain on its A&E which in turn has contributed to fines being imposed on the hospitals budget in successive years. READ MORE
Joe Higgins MEP explains his abstention on today’s vote on the Financial Transactions Tax resolution and calls instead for the hedge funds to be taken into public ownership and their resources invested into society for the benefit of all. He criticises the Commission for conspiring with the speculators in their attacks on the Euro and on Greece by calling for Greek workers to take the pain to pay off the debts owed to same speculators. READ MORE
On 7 March, in Taraz, southern Kazakhstan, three activists from Socialist Resistance (CWI), Dmitri Tikhonv, Vladimir Lomaev and comrade Mikhail were arrested by police. They were held outside a culture centre where a rock festival was taking place. READ MORE
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Joe Higgins MEP condemns the use of preferential trade agreements to dominate developing countries
At a plenary session, Joe Higgins MEP questions Karl de Gucht, EU Trade Commissioner, on the impact that preferential trade agreements have on the economies of the developing countries around the world as well as the awarding of preferential agreements to countries involved in serious human rights abuses and attacks on minorities and working people. (09-03-10) READ MORE
It is absolutely despicable that once again, taxi drivers have been forced to take action to highlight the plight that workers in the industry face. I support the actions of the taxi drivers in occupying the Regulator’s office and those taxi drivers who have withdrawn their service in solidarity. READ MORE
