Grid of posts 2×3

  • On the party question

    This article was first written for internal circulation. We publish it now in light of public discussions among Socialist Worker comrades, partly regarding the party question (Goodbye Lenin? and Towards Ecosocialism.) On February the 4th 2011, in the lead-up to our partys’ first internal conference of the year, a cross-section of leading comrades posted a Read more

  • The Dialectical Relationship between Work and Mental Health (Part 1)

    This article is the first in a series by Polly Peek addressing the issues of work and mental health from a Marxist perspective. For more information on the concept of dialectics see http://www.marxists.org/glossary/terms/d/i.htm. In this article the term ‘mental health community’ refers to those people experiencing mental illness or distress, and ‘consumer’ refers to those using or having previously used psychiatric services.. The role work plays in the mental health of people experiencing mental illness is complex, with research on the topic appearing somewhat contradictory on the surface, the most prominent contradiction being whether work is overall beneficial or detrimental to well-being and recovery. Research suggests that employment, or engagement in meaningful contribution is a Read more

  • 1000 a year die from work

    According to new statistics from the Department of Labour: Every year: Workplace injuries are killing about 100 people More than 700 people die prematurely from work-related illness or disease More than 200,000 people are seriously harmed (this corresponds to 12 injuries for every 100 workers)1 There are more than 17,000 new cases of work-related disease, Read more

  • 2011 General Election Analysis

    From the December-January issue of The Spark.For a longer piece on the Mana Party in the election, see this article. The Key Factor: PR and The National Party Novembers’ election saw a narrow victory for the National Party and its allies. Compared to their 2008 result, National saw their vote drop by about 10%- over Read more

  • Firefighters and Port Workers Continue Struggle

    There are significant labour struggles going on with firefighters and port workers. Firefighters have been taking industrial action since August 5th. “They are still carrying out emergency response work, firefighter safety work and public safety work but not general duties.” Auckland union president Mike McEnaney told Stuff.co.nz. The professional fire service is strongly unionised- with Read more

  • Australia: Baiada Workers Win Strike

    Originally posted by the Socialist Party of Australia. Workers at Baiada Poultry, Australia’s largest chicken supplier, have won their dispute with management after a 13 day strike. The workers stared down bullying, intimidation and police violence without any sign of wavering. It was this determination that forced this rouge employer to retreat and concede to Read more