April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

Casualisation presents a threat to the whole working class, not just those
affected by it directly. The slow encroachment of fixed-term contracts,
forced overtime and the reduction of job security are threats to everyone.
If a casualised worker finds a better job, they leave behind a position that
another worker must fill. The most promising route for struggle is the
development of much stronger links between temporary and permanent
staff within each workplace. There are many positive examples of this, for
instance the Workmates group on the London Underground and the
Telegraph workers who brought temps in on all future wage demands and
negotiations. This route would develop solidarity between workers, reduce
the isolation experienced by the casualised, and increase the chances of
both segments of the workforce winning better conditions.
A long term goal should be developing class forces to the point where
there are strong alliances between employed and unemployed workers,
leading to the organisation of workers before they even enter the
productive process. This would also be a method of organising workers
within a community framework, encouraging class solidarity on another
front. This was successfully accomplished in Sweden and Norway during
and just after WW1, where workers in construction, logging and mining
won better conditions through threatening pre-employment strikes.
libcom.org
Originally in Organise! Magazine #64, by the Anarchist Federation, with
minor 2011 updates by libcom.org
Yemen: Poorest of the poor
Nest of social and political problems lie behind the country’s turmoil
Khalid Bhatti, SMP (CWI Pakistan), Lahore
14 February 2011
Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East and a largely tribal society
with more problems than most. It has emerged as a new base for al-Qa’ida
militants driven out of their traditional sanctuaries on the Pakistan-
Afghanistan border. Yemen is also battling a secessionist movement in the
south, an on-off rebellion in the north, and grinding poverty. Its oil
reserves, which make up 70 percent of the government’s revenue, are
dwindling and the nation relies on US aid. Nearly half of all Yemenis live
below the poverty line and unemployment is at least 45 per cent.
President Ali Abdullah Saleh, whom many analysts accuse of overseeing a
corrupt regime that has failed to tackle economic grievances, has reacted
to the unrest by backtracking on his plans to seek another term in 2013
and denying accusations that he will try to hand over power to his son. He
has also promised to slash taxes and cap food prices and raise the salaries
of civil servants and the military. In 2006 Mr Saleh won a seven-year term
in Yemen’s first open presidential election. Observers said the poll was fair
but opposition parties complained of vote rigging.
The government offered simple reforms including an increase in
employees’ income, $20, and decreasing the income tax but corruption,
slow and useless reforms, an increasing rate of unemployment and low
income, have encouraged people in Yemen to follow the people in Tunisia,
Egypt and Algeria, where the high levels of poverty are actually not as bad
as in Yemen. Though many Yemenis share the same grievances and
frustrations driving the upheavals in those countries, Yemen’s situation has