Awakening a giant: the mighty working class is on the march Workers from all major union federations turned up in the thousands for the 7 October #CosatuNationalStrike. SAFTU, NACTU and FEDUSA called on their members to support this action, marking an end to the long paralysis in the labour movement and a historic moment of working […]
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Danny Byrne is a member of International Socialist Alternative. “Remember Brexit?”, was the title of the New York Times’ main editorial on 11 September. It summed up a sensation that was palpable during the Spring and Summer months of 2020, in Britain and elsewhere. It reflected both a certain bemusement, and an acknowledgement of the […]
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Conor Payne is a member of the Socialist Party (ISA in Ireland). Reject false choice between ‘economy’ and public health The last days saw the development of an open split between the Fianna Fáil / Fine Gael / Green Party coalition government and the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) which has offered public health […]
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Among the many failings of our economic and political realities revealed by COVID-19, the most visible one is the fact that the pandemic is accentuating all the pre-existing inequalities. In fact, it has a much more devastating impact on oppressed sections of society who are already in fragile financial positions and living off precarious jobs. […]
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Capitalism turned the coronavirus into a huge disaster. COVID-19 was not an inevitable and unavoidable pandemic; capitalism made it more likely that a virus would cross to humans and did not prepare for that. Once the virus was known to be infecting humans the response was inadequate. Almost everything capitalism did and is doing made […]
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ISA spoke to Petr Pechkurov, Belaruskali Strike Committee. One of the most effective strikes in Belarus took place at Belaruskali, where miners produce one fifth of the world’s supply of potash. Following this, five members of the strike committee were arrested and have since been in jail. The Strike committee has sent an Appeal for […]
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Several private clinics in Toronto are now offering COVID-19 testing, as the second wave sweeps over a poorly prepared province. The cost per test varies from $50 to $400. The rationale being played by the corporate heads of companies offering testing is that they are providing a critical service in a time of need, citing […]
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While COVID-19 has slammed on the entire country’s brakes, this sudden stop has been as severe for Canada’s youth as nearly any other group. Young people across the country are working and living in some of the most precarious situations. Many have been halted in the middle of transitional periods, forced to forgo some newly […]
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To no one’s surprise the BC New Democrats (NDP) have called a provincial election, which they are highly likely to win. The opposition parties are having little or no impact and, not surprisingly, are criticizing the decision. COVID-19 COVID has dominated people’s thoughts for most of 2020. Up to recently, the NDP was considered to […]
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Including Growing Second Wave and New Closures Even now, nine months since reports of COVID-9 emerged Canada still does not have enough PPE or test kits and tracing is weak. For months, Canadians have been held in the grip of an unprecedented pandemic that has left few people untouched. Canada failed to protect workers and […]
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