Archive for the ‘Trade Unions – International’ Category
Trade Unionists for Solidarity with Ukraine -Russian Troops Out of Ukraine Now – Irish Congress of Trade Unions Conference Official Fringe Meeting – Maginnes 3, Lyrath Hotel Kilkenny – Tuesday July 4 2023, 17:30
Trade Unionists for Solidarity with Ukraine –
Russian Troops Out of Ukraine Now
ICTU BDC Official Fringe Meeting
Maginnes 3, Lyrath Hotel, Kilkenny
Tuesday July 4 2023 17.30
Zoom Link : https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82438977972?pwd=NlR1dVVra0VoNkRXTFFjYnY4SHZKdz09
Speakers :
Gregor Kerr – Irish National Teachers Organisation delegate to ICTU BDC, member of the ICTU Global Solidarity Committee (Personal Capacity)
Nataliya Levytska , Deputy Chair, KVPU (Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine)
Sergey Movchan, member of Solidarity Collectives Ukraine
Denys Pilash, political scientist and historian representing Sotsialnyi Rukh (Social Movement Ukraine)
Chairperson : Nóirín Greene, Former ICTU Executive Member
We stand in solidarity with the people of Ukraine and their defence against the illegal and brutal invasion of February 2022. We want an immediate stop to the bombardment of civilians and the destruction of civilian infrastructure by the Russian Federation and to war crimes and human rights abuses in the occupied territories.
We are for the speediest possible end to the war, based on
- The immediate withdrawal of all Russian forces
- Self-determination for Ukraine and restoration of occupied territory
- Ukraine’s right to appeal for, and be provided with, the military equipment needed to defeat the invasion.
- Approval of any ‘peace deal’ by the people of Ukraine
We extend our solidarity to Ukrainian trade unionists and socialists who continue to promote
and defend workers’ rights. We oppose the introduction of new labour laws in Ukraine which
have undermined trade union and worker rights.
We support a socially progressive reconstruction of Ukraine, with trade unions and civil society
playing a central role. We therefore support the cancellation of Ukraine’s foreign debt and
seizure of Russian assets to help fund state and society-led reconstruction with fully state-
funded welfare state and a low carbon sustainable economy.
Read the rest of this entry »Britain: The Lecturers’ Union and the Betrayal of the Intellectuals – The anti-imperialism of amoral idiots
Many certainties about global politics were transformed on February 24 2022 when the Russian Federation began a genocidal imperialist invasion of Ukraine, a country in the heart of Europe with a population of 44 million people. The imperialist invaders have forced at least seven million people out of their homeland. This was a seismic shock to many parts of the existing international anti-war movement, which failed to see this catastrophe on the horizon. In itself, that is not a problem. The future cannot be foretold with perfect accuracy, we only have 20-20 vision about the past.
But, what to do?
Readers of this blog will be aware of activities sponsored by Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU) and the heroic work of Ukrainian activist and academic Yuliya Yurchenko.
This is her take on the behaviour of the British “Stop the War Coalition”, which has parallels in Ireland and other parts of the globe :
Yuliya Yurchenko, a Ukrainian senior lecturer in Political Economy at the University of Greenwich, described the attitude of the ‘anti-war’ left, “who somehow manage to simultaneously recognise Russia’s right to ‘defend its interests’ while denying the right of Ukrainians to defend their very lives or assert their national self-determination”, summing this up memorably as “the anti-imperialism of amoral idiots”.
These issues have erupted inside a British trade union, the University and College Union (UCU) which has a reported membership of about 120,000 people https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/University_and_College_Union . The report below makes for often ghastly reading. All the same, effective left-wing solidarity with Ukraine is essential – we urge readers to engage.
Article Source : https://www.europe-solidaire.org/spip.php?article66925
Many academics in both Ukraine and the UK are horrified by the Putin-enabling posturing of far-left factions within the UCU
Read the rest of this entry »Will Unite the Union stand with Ukraine?
This post comes from our comrades in the British Ukraine Solidarity Campaign. The author is Sacha Ismail. Source : https://ukrainesolidaritycampaign.org/2023/06/25/will-unite-the-union-stand-with-ukraine/
Will Unite the Union stand with Ukraine?
By Sacha Ismail
If delegates to Unite the Union’s upcoming biennial policy conference (11-14 July, Brighton) want to support
• withdrawal of Russian troops from Ukraine
• Ukraine’s right to self-determination
• strong links with Ukrainian trade unions and socialists
• clear demands for strong rights for all refugees
they must support the text submitted by my branch, London and Eastern 524.
Delegates to the first Unite policy conference since Russia invaded Ukraine should vote to push for the UK’s largest private sector union, involved in many of the most successful industrial disputes of the last year, to stand in clear solidarity with Ukraine and its labour movement.
Only one motion on Ukraine has been submitted to the conference (from the Chemicals, Pharmaceuticals, Process and Textiles ‘Regional Industrial Sector Committee’/RISC for North East, Yorkshire and Humberside). It seems to me, at best, highly politically ambiguous. The substantial amendment submitted by London and Eastern 524 (Central London Voluntary Sector branch) seeks to ensure a strong pro-Ukraine stance. (You can read the text of both below; document with all motions and amendments here.)
Dramatic Coup – Putin Régime in Trouble, June 24 2023 – Cedar Lounge Revolution Site a great news source; Short Sharp Ukraine Message “abandon false neutrality’ to ‘put an end to evil’ of Putin’s regime”; Family of Belarus Dictator Lukashenko’s Fled to Turkey (Unconfirmed Report)
A consistent left-wing pro Ukraine solidarity ray of light in Ireland comes from the Cedar Lounge Revolution, who are well-known to the authors who write for this blog: Here is their take on the attempt by the Wagner Group of Prigozhin to overthrow the Putin regime : if you have useful credible information to add, feel free to chip in : https://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/2023/06/24/whats-that-they-say-about-rostov-on-don/
Here is a fascinating live report issued by the credible Irish war reporter Orla Guerin :
Orla Guerin tweeted a link to this article by Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies from King’s College London.
“This coup is being led by the boss of the Wagner mercenaries, Yevgeny Prigozhin. At first the smart money was on his failure because the full weight of the Russian state is against him. Before he made his moves, he was declared a traitor, his offices were raided, and his bases shelled. But the Russian state is inept and decrepit. If the aim was to catch Prigozhin unawares and shut him up it failed, because he appears to have had some notice of what was being prepared for him and so took his own initiatives. If you are going to move against your opponents you need to be decisive. Prigozhin got away (like Zelensky in February 2022).”
https://samf.substack.com/p/prigozhins-mutiny
“Actually were Putin a US agent of influence he could hardly have done a better job” WorldbyStorm, the Cedar Lounge Revolution Blog.
John Meehan June 24 2023
Watchword :
Ukraine calls on international community to ‘abandon false neutrality’ to ‘put an end to evil’ of Putin’s regime
Ukraine’s foreign minister has called on the international community to “abandon false neutrality” and give his country the weapons it needs to “put an end to the evil” of Putin’s regime.
Posting on Twitter, Dmytro Kuleba said it was time to “give Ukraine all the needed weapons; forget about friendship or business with Russia”.
Those who said Russia was too strong to lose: look now. Time to abandon false neutrality and fear of escalation; give Ukraine all the needed weapons; forget about friendship or business with Russia. Time to put an end to the evil everyone despised but was too afraid to tear down.— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) June 24, 2023
Has Belarus Dictator Lukashenko, Putin’s Puppet, Fled to Russia?
Unconfirmed Report :
The plane, while over Russia, turned off the transponders, and turned them back on only over Kalmykia.
The plane of the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko landed in the Turkish city of Bodrum on the night of June 24 .
“The business jet of the family of the self-proclaimed President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko flew out of the country and is now in the sky over Turkey,” reports Radarbox .
The Bombardier Challenger 850 airliner with tail number EW-301pj took off from Minsk at 00:01 and landed in Bodrum, Turkey at 05:15. We add that the plane, while over Russia, turned off the transponders, and turned them back on only over Kalmykia.
Recall that hundreds of Belarusian citizens who left the country after the mass protests of 2020 are allegedly undergoing combat training in Poland in order to overthrow the Lukashenka regime.
Update : The private plane of the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, landed in Turkiye on the morning of June 24. It is worth noting that the day before, the Minsk dictator spoke on the phone with the Kremlin murderer Vladimir Putin.
The two dictators discussed the confrontation between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Wagner PMC.
This follows from statements by Russian media and the Telegram channel Belarusian Gayun.
The Lukashenko family plane landed in Turkiye at 5 a.m. on June 24. The government business jet EW-301PJ, which took off from Minsk at 00:01, landed in Bodrum, Turkiye, at 5:15 a.m.
The network notes that the plane flies there quite often. In addition to the dictator himself, the business jet is used by his family members.
However, the fact that on the eve of the flight to Turkiye, Lukashenko spoke with Putin on the phone is more revealing. Russian propagandists said that the Kremlin dictator informed Lukashenka about the situation in Russia, in particular about the confrontation between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Wagner PMC. https://ukranews.com/en/news/940720-after-talking-to-putin-lukashenko-sends-his-personal-plane-to-turkiye
Mick Lynch – Rail Marine and Transport Union (Britain) – participates in solidarity with Ukraine
Recently Mick Lynch visited Ireland, speaking at a well attended Robert Tressell commemoration in Liberty Hall, headquarters of Lynch’s political hero, the Easter 1916 Rising rebel James Connolly.
Mick Lynch understands that all on the left must stand with Ukraine.
Who on the Irish left comes anywhere close to this internationalist and revolutionary policy?
‘”The general secretary of the RMT rail union, Mick Lynch, refuted the government official’s accusations towards Ukraine: “I was in Ukraine when the Russian tanks invaded, and ASLEF deputy general secretary Simon Weller was also there to talk to the railway workers when the Russian bombs fell on Ukraine. And we are involved in the solidarity campaign with Ukraine.”‘
Read the rest of this entry »Two Contrasting May Day Celebrations in 2023 – Ghent (Belgium) V Dublin (Ireland)
Ghent, Thomas Weyts Reports
This year we also participated in the 1st May parade in Ghent with a beautiful group of Ukrainian people and solidarity Belgians.
With a clear message: Russian troops out of Ukraine, stop the bombing. Solidarity with Ukraine and its people! We will continue to take action as long as necessary.
We also continue to shake the high tree of the trade unions and the progressive movements: come out of your room, show your solidarity with Ukraine, in words but especially in deeds!
We thank the fine people of Peace for Ukraine-Ghent, the European Network for Solidarity with Ukraine, Ghent4Humanity Refugee Support, SAP Anti-capitalists and all the other people who were there, but also all the participants at the parade and by the side who showed their sympathy.
https://www.facebook.com/100049340987344/videos/788647199647966/?idorvanity=1354716241617827
Dublin : John Meehan Reports :
Dublin Council of Trade Unions (DCTU), organisers of the May Day march in Ireland’s capital city, made sure that nothing politically worthwhile was said from the platform about Ukraine. Mick O’Reilly spoke about “War and Peace” – at best the speech was woffle; at worst it was a left-evasionist exercise which avoided making a clear call for the immediate withdrawal of the Russian genocidal troops from Ukraine, or demanding an end to the murderous Russian bombing of civilian targets (including hospitals and schools) in the invaded territories.
Read the rest of this entry »Delegates Give Standing Ovation to Speakers from the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine – Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) Conference 2023
Gregor Kerr reports : “Very powerful address to INTO Congress by 2 reps of TU of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine. 2 standing ovations.”. Well done Kateryna Maliuta-Osaulova and Olga Chabaniuk.
Delegates at #INTOCongress23 were moved by the addresses of Kateryna Maliuta-Osaulova and Olha Chabaniuk of the Trade Union of Education and Science Workers of Ukraine this afternoon, giving them a standing ovation. Delegates heard there is no person in Ukraine who hasn’t felt the effects of war. In education, 3,120 educational institutions have been damaged.
One of the most painful consequences of teaching in the war is seeing the psychological breakdown of children and students, Congress heard.
After the speech, Ukrainian pupils from St Oliver’s NS Killarney, joined INTO President John Driscoll on stage, while guest speakers, Kateryna and Olha displayed the Ukrainian flag. #StandwithUkraine
Link Here : https://www.facebook.com/INTOnews
Ukraine: Voices of Resistance and Solidarity – Dublin Book Launch Report and Video
We wish to thank Independent Left, Conor Kostick, Donnacha Ó Bríain, Halyna Herasym and Nóirín Greene for this report and visual record. Source : https://independentleft.ie/voices-of-resistance/
Ukraine: Voices of Resistance and Solidarity
27/02/2023
Ukraine: Voices of Resistance and Solidarity is a book edited by Fred Leplat and Chris Ford, published by Resistance Books and Ukraine Solidarity campaign. It contains essays by Mick Antoniw, Welsh Labour MP; John-Paul Himka, history professor; Taras Bilous, activist for Sotsialnyi Rukh / Social Movement; Yuliya Yurchenko activist for Ukraine Solidarity Campaign and Sotsialnyi Rukh / Social Movement; Oksana Dutchak, co-editor of Spilne/ Commons; Viktoriia Pihul, Ukrainian feminist; Nataliya Levytska, Deputy Chair of the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine; Vitalii Dudin president of Sotsialnyi Rukh / Social Movement; Bogdan Ferens, founder of the Social Democratic Platform; Eric Toussaint, spokesperson of the CADTM International; Ilya Budraitskis, activist in the Russian Socialist Movement; Niko Vorobyov, Russian-British freelance journalist; Gilbert Achcar, Lebanese socialist; Simon Pirani professor of modern languages and cultures; Stephen R. Shalom, editor of New Politics; and Dan La Botz, editor of New Politics.
Read the rest of this entry »The first anniversary of the imperialist military invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation on 24 February 2022 – Statement by Irish Left With Ukraine (ILWU)
The Ukrainian people are foremost on our minds as they suffer under and resist the Russian invasion. Anyone who considers themselves an opponent of imperialism should be in support of their resistance.
We in the ILWU — socialists, anarchists, feminists, trade unionists, anti-imperialists — have watched with dismay, however, as many on the Western left who have campaigned vigorously against US imperialism have failed to recognise the need to do the same with respect to Russian imperialism. If Ukraine has the right to self-determination and to resist the dismemberment and partition of their state then Irish socialists should expend their energy on seeking out practical means of supporting the Ukrainian people’s struggle. This struggle echoes the same fight Ireland undertook over a century ago.
Some left-wing organisations oppose deliveries of weapons to Ukraine. They are fast becoming isolated in the international labour movement. Trade unions, social movements, and organised left-wing parties across the European continent are mobilising in support of the Ukrainian right to self determination.
Indeed some left-wing organisations oppose deliveries of weapons to Ukraine. They are fast becoming isolated in the international labour movement. Trade unions, social movements, and organised left-wing parties across the European continent are mobilising in support of the Ukrainian right to self determination.
Support Irish State Mine Clearance in Ukraine
The ILWU makes this statement to publicly register our support for Irish assistance, by the Irish Defence Forces, with mine clearance in Ukraine. Mine clearance is humanitarian work that will save lives, will clear land to enable farming, and will make towns and villages habitable once again. Defence Forces personnel will use their specialist demining skills to train Ukrainians in this activity.
Read the rest of this entry »
Tomás Ó Flatharta 