Workers Rights Under Attack, As Usual.

 

       In this world awash with countries that call themselves "democracies", Labour Start comes up with some information that those at the front line of protecting and/or furthering workers rights are well aware, but perhaps facts with which the public at large are less familiar. A system that puts profit and continuous growth as its priority and only object for its existence, can never put workers rights on its agenda. Unless to find ways to whittle down the cost of that labour. The system and workers rights are incompatible, what ever rights we have as workers has been fought for and wrestled from the system, at a cost to those involved, sometimes the ultimate cost, their lives. Our rights have never been give, we have wrenched them from the system. Nothing will change until we change the system we live under.

      This from Labour Start:

 Today in Geneva the International Trade Union Confederation is releasing to the world the results of its annual Global Rights Index.

The picture it paints is not a pretty one:   

• Trade unionists were murdered in ten countries - Bangladesh, Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Italy, Pakistan, the Philippines, Turkey and Zimbabwe. 
• 85% of countries have violated the right to strike. 
• 80% of countries deny some or all workers collective bargaining.
• The number of countries which exclude workers from the right to establish or join a trade union increased from 92 in 2018 to 107 in 2019.
• Workers had no or restricted access to justice in 72% of countries.
• The number of countries where workers are arrested and detained increased from 59 in 2018 to 64 in 2019.
• Out of 145 countries surveyed, 54 deny or constrain free speech and freedom of assembly.
• Authorities impeded the registration of unions in 59% of countries.
• Workers experienced violence in 52 countries. 

You can now download the full report here.

What can we do about this?

First of all, let's make sure that every single member of our unions knows about this report.  We cannot guarantee that the mainstream media will give it the publicity it needs.  But if every single person who gets this email message shares it with others, the impact will be enormous.

Please -- share this email, share the link to the ITUC Global Rights Index, post it on Facebook and Twitter.  

Together, there are millions of us.  Together, we can reverse these trends and ensure that the rights of all workers are respected, no matter where they live.

Thank you.



Eric Lee

Visit ann arky's home at https://radicalglasgow.me.uk

Call Out For Solidarity.

        In this so called democracy, sanitised, and authority choreographed, marches, demos and protests are tolerated, but even in these sanctioned affairs, the eyes of the minders of the state, are ever eager to mark things with their branding iron of fear, just in case anybody should try to think for themselves and act accordingly. Glasgow Pride March, a rather merry and pleasurable affair, saw 5 arrests.
         This is a call out from various groups, to show support and solidarity with those arrested.

Solidarity with 5 arrested at Glasgow Pride MarchHi, 

     There’s a write-up on this blog, including pictures and video: https://athousandflowers.net/2017/08/19/no-pride-in-police-arrests-in-glasgow-as-protesters-resist-police-led-pride-march/amp/
       The first three arrests were a planned protest by Free Pride and they were bailed on Saturday. The other two arrests were from our bloc: a young person nicked for having an offensive banner (with no chance to surrender or destroy it) and someone who tried to intervene / observe. As far as I know these two are being held for court on Monday.
        I’ll go to the court tomorrow in support; is anyone else coming, and do we know the full names of the arrestees? I expect both to be not called, or bailed or ordained to return for trial. Does anyone know where prisoners are released from Glasgow Sheriff Court custody, if they don’t get out through the main doors?
        Thanks for any help, best wishes,

Solidarity with 5 arrested at Glasgow Pride March
        Latest news is that two people are still in custody, the other three have been released. There is going to be a solidarity demo at the Glasgow Sheriff Court tomorrow Monday 9am onwards
       For updates see ACE facebook and especially Free the Pride Five events page https://www.facebook.com/events/294177851048722/
       Excerpt: On 19th August three trans activist and two antifa were arrested for protesting capitalist pride. Join us in solidarity on their court date.
UPDATE: three have been released but we will still be there for the other two.
https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1445513385484082&id=216550781713688&ref=bookmarks

Visit ann arky's home at www.radicalglasgow.me.uk

 

DO YOU LIVE IN AN ELECTRONIC POLICE STATE?

  

  Is your state a leader in surveillance, is it an Electronic Police State? Don't you think you should find out before it's too late. The following short extract was taken from http://secure.cryptohippie.com/pubs/EPS-2010.pdf  where you can read the full report. I strongly suggest you do!!!

DEFINITIONS

      For those who are new to the Electronic Police State Report, we will re-state our definitions:

An electronic police state is characterized by this:

      State use of electronic technologies to record, organize, search and distribute forensic evidence against its citizens.

     The two crucial facts about the information gathered under an electronic police state are these:

1. It is criminal evidence, ready for use in a trial.

2. It is gathered universally (“preventively”) and only later organized for use in prosecutions.

     In an Electronic Police State, every surveillance camera recording, every email sent, every Internet site surfed, every post made, every check written, every credit card swipe, every cell phone ping… are all criminal evidence, and all are held in searchable databases. The individual can be prosecuted whenever the government wishes.

      Long-term, the Electronic Police State destroys free speech, the right to petition the government for redress of grievances, and other liberties. Worse, it does so in a way that is difficult to identify.

METHODOLOGY

      We moved to a more elaborate ranking system this year. The categories remained the same, but we have now weighted each one according to its importance. (The weighting factors are shown in parenthesis for each category itemized below.) Within each category we used a comparative method of assigning value.

      We have not taken into account how many people, or what percentage of people, are affected by each characteristic. So, even though very few people in North Korea have Internet access, those who do are subjected to very serious surveillance. The low number of users has no effect on the national ranking.

      In addition, it is significant to note that we are not measuring government censorship of Internet traffic or police abuses, as legitimate as these issues may be. Nor are we including government corruption.

      Note also that none of our categories apply to evidence-gathering by traditional, honest police work. (Searches only with warrants issued by an independent judge, after sufficient examination of evidence.)

ann arky's home.

WIKILEAKS = TRUTH = TREASON???

     
      It is a strange world where telling the truth is seen by many as treason. Some would have us believe that we shouldn't know all that goes on behind the closed doors in the corridors of power, well let's not forget, they are put in the corridors of power by the people to serve the people, who also fund their lifestyle. If that doesn't give us the right to know exactly what they say, do and who they do their deals with, then the rules of the game are rigged and should be changed.
       We are governed by consent, if those elected are not up to OUR standards then we should withdraw our consent. Without every detail we can never know the truth, so it is time we honoured our heroes, the whistle blowers, the prober, the investigative journalist, the rebel who pokes his nose in where they don't want him. Without them we are at the mercy of a bunch of deceiving political careerists, who in most cases are in bed with the corporate world to the benefit of themselves and that corporate world. Do we really believe that blind trust in a bunch of millionaires who are cozied up to the corporate/financial world will see them working hard for the benefit of the ordinary people??
      People like Assange are heroes, they know they are putting their liberty and possibly their lives on the line. They know that power corrupts and so should never be left to get on with things in an unscrutinised fashion. He is doing what we all should be doing, calling the political class to task. They are lifting the curtain on the devious world of politics, that you public fund but are not allowed to control or see.
       It is not that this will clean up governments, that's impossible, but putting that on display to the world might set people thinking of alternative ways of running our society, of which there are many.
 

 

 
ann arky's home.