Two leading activists from Women of Zimbabwe Arise! (WOZA) arrived in Glasgow yesterday on invitation from Solidarity, Scotland’s Socialist Movement. They address two meetings in Glasgow last night before taking part in discussions at the Scottish Parliament today.  

 Jenni Williams and Magondonga Mahlangu are leaders of WOZA who have led a mass campaign of non-violwent protest and civil disobedience in Zimbabwe. Despite intimidation and police violence they have maintained their movement giving Zimbabwean women a voice. Jenni Williams was awarded an International Woman of Peace Award this year.

Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan today called for the May election to be a "referendum on trident".  Speaking on his Talk107 radio show "Sunday Morning with Citizen Tommy" the Glasgow MSP told listeners to use their votes against trident by voting for parties who are anti-trident.  He said:

"Vote for the parties that will oppose the waste of £76B on this weapon of mass destruction.  The people of Scotland can make this election a referendum on Trident, we have a chance to send a clear message that we dont want them here."

The Co-Convenor of Scotland's fastest gropwing political party went on to attack the unholy alliance of New Labour and old Tories who will join up in Westminster on the trident vote on Wednesday:

"This Wednesday we will see Labour and Tories collude to deliver trident, some Labour MPs will say they oppose it but their spines disappear when they enter that chamber.  If they vote for trident on Wednesday then let's give them our reply on May 3rd by voting them out of office."

Notes: "Sunday Morning with Citizen Tommy" is broadcast at 10.00am every Sunday on Talk107 (www.talk107.co.uk)

Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan has criticised the scandal of over £4 million being granted to Simclar over the last few years, yet only 250 people are still employed at the company's base in Dunfermline.  The Glasgow MSP said:

"This is a major scandal.  The taxpayer have been subsidising Mr Sam Russell, Scotland's eighth richest man to the tune of £4 million.  In fact, we have probably been paying for him to make the substantial fortune he has built up.  He has rewarded his workers by sacking them summarily with minimum redundancy pay.  I demand he repay all the money he has had and it should be given to compensate those sacked workers.  We should also be toughening up the rules for assistance to employers.  It's time we stopped handing out public money to dodgy employers who enrich themselves at our expense, I shall be tabling questions and motions  to ministers to end this gravy train”

In an answer to a parliamentary question from the Solidarity Co-Convenor, Executive Minister Alan Wilson revealed that Simclar Ayrshire received £1.5m from the Executive and over £100,000 from Scottish Enterprise locally.  His plant in Dunfermline has received RSA grants totalling £2.5m and further £650,000 from Scottish Enterprise.  None of the money has ever been clawed back or recovered. 

Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan today tabled a motion in the Scottish Parliament giving his backing to the signal workers who are beginning their industrial action later today.

The Co-Convenor of Scotland's fastest growing political party said:

"It is regrettable that the workers have been forced to take this action, but it is entirley due to the intransigence of the Scottish management of Network Rail.  Everywhere else in Britain Network Rail has implemented the 35 hour week, but in Scotland the management are playing at being tough and we, the passengers will suffer.  I am calling on Network Rail to implement the agreement and avoid the disruption to passengers"

RMT Signallers’ Dignity in Face of Management Intransigence S2M-05699 Tommy Sheridan (Glasgow) (Solidarity): That the Parliament notes the decision of RMT union signal workers to go ahead with their 48-hour strike; acknowledges that this action has been forced on the signallers due to the intransigence of Network Rail management in Scotland and its failure to honour the spirit and intention of the signallers’ 35-hour week agreement, its abuse of rostering agreements and the carrying out of rule-book testing in signal boxes, despite a commitment not to; congratulates the RMT workers for the dignified way in which they have conducted themselves throughout this dispute, and calls on Network Rail management to resolve this dispute by honouring the spirit and intention of the signallers’ work agreements.

Solidarity, Scotland’s Socialist Movement confirmed a radical manifesto of policies for the Scottish Parliament elections in May at our policy conference in Glasgow on Saturday.  Twenty proposed bills for the next parliamentary term were approved to stand alongside the party’s opposition to war, privatisation, poverty and racism.

The conference started with a minutes silence for two comrades who died in an industrial accident in Ayrshire last week.  Solidarity Co-Convenor, Rosemary Byrne MSP asked the assembled members to take time to reflect on the deaths of Brian French and Colin Ferguson whose funerals took place today and all workers across the world who have lost their lives in industrial accidents.

Solidarity Policy Conference     Saturday 03 March     The Carnegie Lecture Theatre      Caledonian University, Cowcaddens Road, Glasgow     registration starts 09.30am 

Hundreds of socialists, trade unionists and anti-war activists from across Scotland will gather tomorrow in Glasgow for the second Solidarity Conference.  This conference will focus on the policies to be included in the manifesto for the Scottish elections in May.  All members are entitled to vote at Solidarity conferences.

The conference will be opened by Rosemary Byrne MSP with a minutes silence for the comrades who lost their lives at Pennyvenie Open Cast on Monday and workers who have lost their lives in industrial accidents across the world.  This will be followed by President of the PCS, Janice Godrich and a sacked Simclar worker in a section dedicated to Solidarity's trade union activities.

Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan will address the conference in a section called "campaigning Solidarity" opening a discussion on the wider campaigns Solidarity are part of, before the members concentrate on Manifesto Policies for the rest of the day.

Sharon MacMillan and Jacquelin Jack joined Solidarity MSP Tommy Sheridan at Holyrood to present the case for an airgun ban to Scotland's political representatives. 

The impact of their visit forced a change to First Ministers Question Time as the SNP joined in by using their first question from Nicola Sturgeon to call for all parties to back a ban.  Jack McConnell even thanked Tommy Sheridan for the campaign so far and the information the Solidarity Co-Convenor provided in a meeting with the First Minister.

Both women then welcomed the press and MSPs in a committee room at Parliament, where they presented a petition of 11,000 signatures in favour of a ban.  The press conference was covered on all news channels.  Sharon McMillan demanded action on the eve of the second anniversary of the death her son, Andrew Morton, who was killed by an air gun.  She told TV reporters:

"It's not moving fast enough and I blame Jack McConnell for that....he could have done something, he could have got them banned by now."

In another boost to the campaign yesterday, Aberdeen Council passed a motion from Seaton councillor Norman Collie, asking the policy committee to look at a city wide by-law banning air guns.  Tommy Sheridan said:

"The campaign is gaining momentum, and it is about time, as air gun crimes in Scotland are now at a seven year high.  That means that it is a problem that is getting worse.  It is time we did something to rid Scotland of this menace."

Solidarity MSPs and local members passed on their condolences to the families of two men killed at Pennyvenie Open Cast Coal Mine on Monday.  Brian French and Colin Ferguson died following an accident where their Land Rover was crushed by a truck.