Solidarity Scotland

Scotland’s Socialist Movement continued our tour across the country this week with successful rallies in Inverness and Hamilton. On Monday over 70 people attended the Spectrum Centre in Inverness to hear Solidarity’s Anne McLeod, Frank Ward from Highlands Against Stock Transfer, Penny Howard speaking on climate change and Tommy Sheridan MSP.

The following night in Hamilton, Tommy was joined on the platform by Rosemary Byrne MSP, Ian Fitzpatrick (PCS) Jim Walls (TGWU) and Angela McCormick (Stop the War). Angela spoke on the importance of solidarity with our Muslim communities and how the anti-war movement is the front line of all our struggles. Twenty new members of Solidarity were recruited at the rallies. Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, Lothians Solidarity held a packed meeting on the situation on Darfur with guest speaker Graham Campbell. Students from Napier and Edinburgh universities attended as well as a group from the central mosque included a man from Sudan who made a valuable contribution to the discussion. Following the excellent discussion on Darfur comrades discussed the burning of the mosque in Falkirk and it was agreed to circulate the Unite Against Fascism petition.

Byrne Calls for Solidarity with Passport Office Workers

Members of the Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) working for the Identity and Passport Service (IPS) will be staging a one day strike on Friday 13 October in a dispute over pay it was announced today.

Over 74% voted in favour of strike action. The strike to be followed by a discontinuous work to rule comes as IPS management fail to deliver on the union's pay claim despite giving an undertaking when it was submitted in June to deal the claim for 2006- 2007 as quickly as possible. The settlement date for this year's pay was August and with no pay offer in the foreseeable future, staff fear a repeat of last year when management dragged out the pay settlement for over a year.

PCS Branch Secretary Bryan McKenna said:

“Staff fear a repeat of last year's pay when it took management over a year to make a formal pay offer. Those taking strike action on Friday will be demonstrating that are not prepared for the agency to carry on dragging its feet. It is now time for IPS to show some urgency in settling pay, otherwise the industrial action scheduled for Friday will cause severe disruption to passport applications.”

Rosemary Byrne MSP called on all workers to show solidarity with the PCS workers:

“I call on all Solidarity members and trades unionists across Scotland to support the PCS in this action. The uncertainty caused by management indecision can cause a lot of stress to hard working men and women and their families, we must stand beside these workers on the picket line and show them that they are not alone.”

Monday's attack on an Islamic Centre in Falkirk: Statement

Solidarity condemns utterly last Monday's attack on an Islamic Centre in Falkirk. This joins other attacks which have taken place against Muslims the length and breadth of the country, all of which are directly linked to Jack Straw's recent irresponsible and provocative statement with regard to the wearing of the veil by some Muslim women, which he claims is a barrier to community relations.

Donnie Gluckstein, antiwar campaigner, comments: "The only barrier to community relations in Britain today is a government intent on fomenting division and polarisation in a clear attempt to detract from its role in the carnage and mayhem that continues in Iraq and Afghanistan. The wearing of the veil is the human right of those who choose to wear it, and in no way can it be viewed as a barrier to multi-faith or multicultural relations. "

Solidarity is committed to defending Muslims, immigrants, asylum seekers, and all those in our communities who find themselves under attack by this New Labour government. The occupation of Iraq is illegal under international law, and along with millions around the world it is our intention to hold all those responsible to account.

STATEMENT ENDS.

John Wight, Solidarity Lothians Press Office, 07738528145

Jim Monaghan, National Press Co-ordinator, 07944217938

500 take part in anti-dawn raid rally in Glasgow

Statement from Positive Action in Housing www.paih.org

At a rally in Glasgow, around 500 protesters turned up to voice their concerns over the forced removal of asylum seekers.

The protest against the controversial dawn raids came after it emerged that first minister Jack McConnell has spoken to home secretary John Reid voicing his own concerns about their effectiveness.

Robina Qureshi from Positive Action in Housing organisation said:

"What about the neighbour that has to wake up at five o'clock in the morning and hear that their neighbour's door is being booted in by metal battering rams and children being dragged out screaming? What about the Scottish school teacher that's in a Drumchapel school who doesn't know whether the kids didn't turn up at school that morning because either they were off with flu or because they disappeared because the Home Office dawn raid van's came out and dragged their children screaming and kicking? It upsets everyone, there's nothing reserved about the pain that's being felt because of these dawn raids and that's why the pressure is growing to stop the dawn raids, and to boot that tactic out of Scotland. It's unacceptable."

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Solidarity Bills in the Scottish Parliament

Solidarity MSPs Rosemary Byrne and Tommy Sheridan last week lodged two vital new bills with the Scottish Parliament. The Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation (Scotland) Bill and Provision of Rail Passenger Services (Scotland) Bill set out the path for campaigning in Holyrood for Solidarity between now and next May.

Rosemary Byrne's bill calls for a personal care package for all addicts within one week of asking for help. The South of Scotland MSP said:

"My bill is about treating heroin as a health and social problem, not a criminal one. If passed we would take the victims of this addiction out of the courts and jails and into the health centres."

Tommy Sheridan’s bill would take ownership of our railways back into public hands and accountability, running the network for the benefit of the public and not for private profit.

Solidarity on the March

The rise of Solidarity, Scotland’s Socialist Movement continued at pace this week with another set of rallies and meetings across the country.

On Monday, Solidarity MSPs Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne addressed 70 activists and socialists in Paisley Town Hall.

Tuesday saw a packed day with Solidarity students and Tommy Sheridan holding a public meeting in Dundee University that attracted 60 young people. Special branch activity focussing on young Muslims in Dundee was the main issue and 13 new members joined the movement. From there Philip Stott and Tommy Sheridan visited a local fire control centre under threat of closure with Jim Malone of the FBU.