Solidarity National Press Officer and NUJ Executive member Hugh Kerr, called for support for the boycott of this weeks edition of the Sunday Mail.

NUJ members at the Daily Record and Sunday Mail are taking strike action from midnight tonight, to stop management forcing through around 20 compulsory redundancies. Hugh said:

"We are calling on all Solidarity members to support this strike and to help by boycotting the Sunday mail on April 5th"

The STUC earlier called for all trade unioists to boycott the weekly paper, Assistant Secretary Stephen Boyd said:

"On Saturday 4 April, journalists working at Trinity Mirror newspapers (Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail) will take strike action over management’s decision to cut 70 jobs. The edition of the Sunday Mail which appears on Sunday 5 April will be produced by non-union labour using copy from agencies. It would be of tremendous benefit to the NUJ and striking workers if the sales collapsed as a result."

Messages of support should be emailed to This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it or texted to the picket line on 07836 542699.  Donations should be made payable to the Alan Hutcheson Fund and sent to NUJ Scotland, Third Floor, 114, Union Street, Glasgow, G1 3QQ.

As socialists and activists from across the world came together in London to highlight the crimes of the G20 nations, Solidarity Co-Convenor, Tommy Sheridan, has slammed the UK press and the Police for focussing on the wrong people.

"Over the last few days we have see a relentless atempt by the media to equate democratic protest against the criminials of the G20 with terrorism and a security threat.  Meanwhile no mainstream press seem to be concerned by the fact that a man was found guilty of trying to blow up the Central Mosque in Glasgow and had threatened to behead Scottish muslims.
 
"If the press want to tell a story of terror and murder, if the police want to arrest people who are responsible for death and brutality, they should turn around and face the G20 leaders, not the protesters who are trying to stop their crimes.
 
"To the police in this country, it is OK, it seems, to collude in kidnapping, torture, and bombings, as long as you are part of the Government.  To the press, it's OK to bomb mosques and threaten muslims while they recoil in horror at muslims protesting legally against war."

Solidarity, Scotland's Socialist Movement have taken further steps towards united left electoral projects by joining the No2Eu/Yes to Democracy platform for the EU elections and engaging in the fast growing movement towards 'left forums' around the country.  Solidarity's Management Committee are also discussing further projects for the Westminster elections with leading trade unionists in Scotland.

At a meeting of the party's National Steering Committee (NSC) last week, Solidarity agreed to offer candidates and full support to the RMT led euro campaign, joining the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) and others.

Co-Convenor Tommy Sheridan called on the SSP, and others, to get involved.  He said:

“Despite our bitter relations with The SSP leadership  I believe we should appeal to them and all other left and progressive groups and unions to join this Platform and campaign in a united fashion to maximise the left and progressive vote in Scotland at the Euro election on June 4th."

For the full Solidarity satement click 'read more' below. 

Solidarity members will join our comrades behind the banner of No2EU/Yes to Democracy at the "Put People First' march in London this Saturday (March 28th).

Solidarity Co-Convenor, Rosemary Byrne said:

"Although our members will be more involved in other action against G20 in this coming week, we are supporting the No2EU presence at this march which is primarily organised by trade unionists."

For details of Saturdays march and rally see www.putpeoplefirst.org.uk

For information on action against the G20 over the next few weeks see www.g-20meltdown.org   www.climatecamp.org.uk/g20   www.cnduk.org  www.youthfightforjobs.com

The occupation of the Prisme packaging factory in Dundee has entered its 3rd week and is still going strong.

12 workers, some of whom had worked at Prisme for 15 years were sacked without notice on Wednesday 4th March. They were told that although they were entitled to redundancy payments, accrued holiday pay and wages due in lieu they would not be getting a penny because the company had no assets.

The workers took the courageous decision to occupy the factory and have been there ever since.

A wet and windy Monday night in Glasgow did not put off a large number of people from attending Solidarity’s public meeting organised to expose the damage wreaked on working class communities by the crisis in capitalism.

Those at the sharp end of this crisis and its effects were well represented with workers in occupation at the Prisme Factory in Dundee joining community campaigners fighting to save their schools and striking Community Service workers who had been out for over 10 weeks in a dispute about pay and conditions. 

Kenny Ross from the FBU reported on his visit to the West Bank and Israel as part of an STUC fact finding mission whilst Brian Smith, recently elected secretary of Scotland’s biggest UNISON branch gave a report on council workers attempts to fight attacks from their employers. Both Kenny and Brian attended the meeting in a personal capacity. Solidarity Co-convenor Tommy Sheridan summed up at the end of the meeting chaired by council worker and Solidarity member Tricia McLeish.

The Viva Palestina convoy finally entered Gaza on Monday 09 March after travelling 10,000km over 8 countries.  Starting in Scotland, 300 activists and 100 vehicles, including ambulances and a fire engine, took 23 days to make the historic trip and break the siege on Gaza.

For full reports, visit www.vivapalestina.org

The occupation at Prisme packaging factory in Dundee has continued into its 6th day. 12 workers were sacked without notice last Wednesday. They were given their P45’s along with letters stating that although the management accepted they were owed thousands of pounds in redundancy payments, holiday pay and other monies due, “Unfortunately, we do not have any money to make these payments to you." The letters “kindly” advised the staff to go down the route of contacting Citizens Advice and to take the “alternative route” of an tribunal to get the money due to them.  No doubt the company hoped the workers would go home quietly. They were wrong.   

In Copenhagen in 1910 an International Conference of Working Women, hosted by the Socialist (second) International gathered to hear Clara Zetkin (Leader of the 'Women's Office' for the Social Democratic Party in Germany) table the idea of an International Women's Day.

She proposed that every year in every country there should be a celebration on the same day - a Women's Day - to press for their demands. The conference of over 100 women from 17 countries, representing unions, socialist parties, working women's clubs, and including the first three women elected to the Finnish parliament, greeted Zetkin's suggestion with unanimous approval and thus International Women's Day was the result. 

To read an article by Solidarity’s Sinead Daly on IWD click here

The Prisme Workers Banner

The 12 Prisme packaging workers occupying their workplace in Dundee have voted to continue their protest for a second night.  

The 12 who were sacked without notice and who have been told the company will pay them no redundancy, wages due or accrued holiday pay began their occupation on Thursday at 5pm.

Maureen has worked at Prisme for 13 years and told us: “We have decided to continue our fight to put this company to shame. We have to fight for our rights. The support we have had has been tremendous, totally amazing.. I spoke to Tommy Sheridan last night and that was brilliant. It’s made us determined to fight even harder to get what we are owed. We have been loyal workers and now we are being treated disgracefully.”