National News
Wage Struggles across the country
by New Worker correspondent
WORKERS at Prysmian Cables & Systems in Eastleigh, Hampshire have voted to accept a two-year pay deal which gives them a two per cent rise for 2018, backdated to January, and 2.5 per cent next year.
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The living wage?
by New Worker correspondent
SECURITY workers at the University of Lancaster have defeated plans to cut their weekly hours from 37 to 35.
When the university became a living wage employer two years ago all other staff at the university saw their hours drop to 35 a week, with no loss of pay.
But when it came to reducing the security team’s hours this year, the university decided to cut their wages too, meaning members who lose £800 a year from their already low salaries of between £16,000 and £19,000.
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Life expectancy between rich and poor widens
by Xuxin
THE LIFE expectancy gap between the most affluent and the most deprived members of society in England has widened to nearly 10 years, researchers have found.
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Assange’s lawyer denies contacts with Trump team
Sputnik
WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange has never met with Paul Manafort, former campaign manager for US President Donald Trump, the whistleblower’s lawyer said, refuting a recent report in the Guardian newspaper
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More BT outsourcing
by New Worker correspondent
BRITISH Telecommunications has announced plans to outsource its Facilities Services division much to the disgust of the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU) who have launched a nationwide campaign to oppose the measure which will affect the terms and conditions of around 1,700 workers, plus 200 managers.
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Brexit: A fishy Business
by our Scottish political affairs correspondent
AS IS their invariable custom the SNP government have recently strongly denounced the actions of the Tory government and demanded the resignation of Scottish Secretary David Mundell. These matters have become so routine nobody pays much attention to them, but the latest manifestation of such verbal jousting over Brexit is worth examining.
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The Irish question
by our Scottish political affairs correspondent
One other aspect of Brexit is also constantly ignored: The Irish question. Logically the SNP could have made hay with the disputes over the Irish border. They could also have lent support to Sinn FÉin who have abandoned their opposition to the EU, despite the devastation it has caused in Ireland, and embraced the concept of a united Ireland within the EU. However while the cause of Irish republicanism has many eager supporters in Scotland, it has many more who are stern opponents — which makes a principled stand impossible.
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Scottish workers march against racism
by New Worker correspondent
SATURDAY saw several hundred people take part in the annual Scottish TUC St Andrew’s Day anti-racist march from Glasgow Green for a rally in Adelaide Baptist Church. The march was led by campaigners from the Justice for Sheku Bayoh Campaign. STUC general secretary Graeme Smith, Scottish Labour leader Richard Leonard and the campaign’s lawyer Aamer Anwar were also to the fore.
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Down with the lying BBC!
by New Worker correspondent
COMRADES were out last Saturday picketing Broadcasting House to condemn the ongoing demonisation of the DPR Korea in BBC reports. The picket, called by the Korean Friendship Association with the support of the NCP, called on the BBC to “stop lying about the DPRK and instead produce fair, accurate and objective material about People’s Korea”.
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A window to the Tudor world
reviewed by Ben Soton
Tombland, C J Sansome, Macmillan 2018, pp.864, £20
READERS in East Anglia may be familiar with Tombland as an area of central Norwich. But it is also the title of the seventh novel featuring the hunchbacked Tudor sleuth Matthew Shardlake. Shardlake, a lawyer, is well connected and sees society from the top. In previous novels he has met Thomas Cromwell, Thomas Cranmer, Catherine Parr and Henry VIII.
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International News
‘Yellow Vests’ protest sweep France
Sputnik
MORE THAN 287,000 people have taken part in protests over a rise in fuel prices. Large-scale demonstrations involving thousands of people began in France on 17th November. The protesters have been blocking streets and fuel depots in Paris and other parts of the country.
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Russian jets pound militia camps after gas attack on Aleppo
Sputnik
RUSSIAN warplanes have hit the camps of terrorists who had shelled Aleppo with deadly chlorine gas on Saturday. Russia’s Defence Ministry said the intelligence services had identified the fire weapons that were used in the Aleppo gas attack in the Idlib de-escalation zone.
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Argentinean workers protest against killer police
by Pavel Jacomino
ARGENTINEAN unions hit the streets of Buenos Aires this week to protest against the suspected state killings of two of their members, Rodolfo Orellana and Marcos Soria, both murdered since 22nd November in Buenos Aires and Cordoba.
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Israeli terror continues in Gaza
Radio Havana Cuba
ISRAELI TROOPS have wounded dozens of Palestinian demonstrators who were holding a protest rally along the northern coast of the besieged Gaza Strip in a bid to break the nearly 12-year long Israeli-imposed blockade on the impoverished sliver.
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More Ukrainian provocations
by Stephen Lendman
UKRAINE is a virtual US colony - the way it’s been since the Obama regime’s February 2014 coup, replacing democratic governance with fascist tyranny in Europe’s heartland.
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Features
Without deselections Corbyn project will fail
by Neil Clark
SUPPORTERS of Jeremy Corbyn are understandably excited about the prospect of an early General Election, with Labour three points ahead in the polls and Prime Minister Theresa May facing all manner of problems.
However, unless there are deselections of ‘Bitterite’, anti-socialist Labour MPs, the whole thing is likely to end in tears, was Labour to win a national poll. It would be far better for any general election to come after deselections take place and not before. In fact, an election this winter would be more likely to destroy the Corbyn project, rather than see it come to fruition.
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Asia Bibi case in Pakistan
a warning for India
by Brinda Karat
THE Asia Bibi case in Pakistan and the recent developments on it, should serve as a warning for us in India.
The relevance for us in India, although it happened in entirely different circumstances, is that it was triggered by blatant defiance and opposition to a landmark Supreme Court judgement by zealots operating in the guise of defending religion and religious sentiment. The leader of the TLP (Tehreek -i-Labback), leading the violent protests, said: “They want our country to become secular.” For these extremist forces across the border, secularism is the worst that could happen to Pakistan.
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Cogs in the comic-book machine
by Blake Skylar
NEARLY EVERY hard-core comic fan — and quite a few casual ones — are familiar with Stan Lee, and mourned his passing on 12th November. Often regarded as the godfather of comics, his 95 years of life came to an end after a battle with pneumonia.
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