On the first weekend in November, the financial leaders of the world’s twenty richest countries will be hosting closed door meetings in order to decide how our world should be run. The Group of Twenty (G20) finance ministers have chosen to host these meetings in the town of St. Andrews, Scotland, and in response groups of residents and students have paved the way to make our voices heard.
We the residents and students of this community are coming into the streets to say loud and clear, “The G20 is not welcome in our town,” or as the Scots say, “Nae tae G-20!” We are joining together to say that the neo-liberal development, trade and environmental policies furthered by the G20 will not solve the global financial crisis, not solve the global ecological crisis and do not address the ever-increasing wealth gap. We are resisting the G20 because it is a mechanism of the global ruling elite that seeks to enrich the “1st world” at the expense of increasing poverty for the “underdeveloped” and “developing” world.
The CWU has today announced that the postal strikes planned for Friday 6th November and Monday 9th November have been called off.
CWU and Royal Mail have reached an interim agreement that was unanimously agreed by the union's Postal Executive today.
The interim agreement will provide a period of calm for the CWU and Royal Mail to reach a full and final agreement. The interim agreement guarantees that modernisation will be introduced with agreed job security and improved terms and conditions for postal workers. It also addresses all the issues included in the long running local disputes.
The strike ballot remains in place.
Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said: "There needs to be exceptional efforts to improve trust and relationships between CWU and Royal Mail. As a result both TUC and ACAS will have a continuing role to keep the discussions and agreement on track."
Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign
The trial of 5 Scottish Paleatinian Solidarity Campaign activists has been adjourned until January.
The 5 were charged following a non-violent protest during a performance by the Jesrusalem Quartet in Edinburgh in August 2008.
Unbelievably the 5 were charged with “racism” for their actions.At the trial in Edinburgh this week, the Sherriff heard evidence from the defence that criticism of Israel is not racist, and that the charge is not competent.
The trial was adjourned until January after the BBC refused to hand over their audio recording of the concert (and the activists interventions) without a court order.
This coming weekend, postal workers in Scotland will again take part in strike action as part of their ongoing fight to save jobs and defend pay and conditions.
In Kilmarnock on Friday and Irvine on Saturday, workers will withdraw their labour as part of the CWU’s latest series of localised strikes. Friday will also see the result of the unions national strike ballot.
Dave Ward, CWU deputy general secretary, said:
"Without agreement there can be no successful change in Royal Mail. This is a simple message which Royal Mail management needs to take on board. Postal workers are striking to defend future services as well as for jobs and modern conditions.”
Solidarity Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan addressed a meeting organised by Ayrshire Solidarity in the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock last Thursday to back the 700 workers threatened with the loss of their jobs.
Workers from Diageo’s Johnny Walker Whiskey plant explained that they were being kept in the dark by the management over the plans for their future however their union was little better.
One worker said "the plan of the company is clear they want to maximise production at present so they can build stockpiles of whisky while they close the plant." Another said the management are clearly trying to divide and demoralise the workers, we need to unite against their tactics and we need a clearer lead from the trade union."
Former Labour MEP Hugh Kerr said they could expect little help from the Labour government in Westminster since they were hand in hand with big business and the trade union leadership was little better.
Tommy Sheridan said "we should take Johnny Walkers into public ownership after all we have taken ownership of the Royal Bank of Scotland at a cost of billions of pounds it would cost far less to take over Walkers and save the jobs of Kilmarnock workers instead of city bankers"
The meeting was chaired by former Ayrshire MSP Rosemary Byrne and Solidarity Kilmarnock organiser Gordon Walker also spoke.
Kilmarnock Public Meeting
Defend All Jobs at Johnnie Walker
Stop Diageo's Job Slaughter
Thursday 24th September
7.15pm
Grand Halls
Kilmarnock
Speaker: Tommy Sheridan
A Conspiracy to Hide the Truth about Lockerbie
Solidarity supports the United Nations Conventions in opposing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners. We believe the Scottish Government was entirely justified in releasing a dying man, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, so that he could spend his few remaining days with his family in Libya. Not to have done so and to allow him to die in jail would have been seen across the world as cruel and degrading treatment.
This would be our view even if Megrahi were guilty of the monstrous crime of which he was convicted. However, as every person in the legal profession, in politics and the media knows Megrahi did not carry out the Lockerbie bombing. Megrahi was in fact the subject of a massive frameup by the British and US Governments and a grotesque miscarriage of justice by the Scottish judiciary. Ultimately he was, as a loyal Libyan official, sacrificed as a pawn in a geopolitical game - handed to Scotland to end sanctions and released to develop oil.
Thousands March in Defence of Jobs at Johnnie Walker
They came in their thousands to send a message loud and clear to the bosses at Diageo – No job cuts to pay for corporate greed! The “Striding Forward Together” March and Rally in against the bosses at Diageo’s decision to close the Johnnie Walker plants in Kilmarnock and other operations in Hurlford and Port Dundas galvanised the community who responded in their thousands.
Events Calendar
On the first weekend in November, the financial leaders of the world’s twenty richest countries will be hosting closed door meetings in order to decide how our world should be run. The Group of Twenty (G20) finance ministers have chosen to host these meetings in the town of St. Andrews, Scotland, and in response groups of residents and students have paved the way to make our voices heard.
The CWU has today announced that the postal strikes planned for Friday 6th November and Monday 9th November have been called off. 
The trial of 5 Scottish Paleatinian Solidarity Campaign activists has been adjourned until January.
Solidarity Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan addressed a meeting organised by Ayrshire Solidarity in the Grand Hall in Kilmarnock last Thursday to back the 700 workers threatened with the loss of their jobs.
Tommy Sheridan said "we should take Johnny Walkers into public ownership after all we have taken ownership of the Royal Bank of Scotland at a cost of billions of pounds it would cost far less to take over Walkers and save the jobs of Kilmarnock workers instead of city bankers" 
Defend All Jobs at Johnnie Walker
Solidarity supports the United Nations Conventions in opposing cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners. We believe the Scottish Government was entirely justified in releasing a dying man, Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi, so that he could spend his few remaining days with his family in Libya. Not to have done so and to allow him to die in jail would have been seen across the world as cruel and degrading treatment.
