From Brighton, we want to show our solidarity with the comrades who have been arrested. We reproduce a text explaining the events that took place in Spain on March 30th.

(What follows is the translation of an article from the media, reproduced from a government press release. We are already aware of at least one other arrest; the case is still very much open. Protests have been called for in various cities tonight. The arrests are connected to the recent Operation Pandora).

12 People Arrested by the Policia Nacional for belonging to the Grupos Anarquistas Coordinados (GAC)

Madrid, Barcelona, Palencia, Granada, 30/03/2015

The arrested have been accused of membership in a criminal organization with terrorist objectives, and of committing felonies relating to sabotage and the placing of explosive and incendiary artifacts.

In recent weeks, we have continued our public campaign against Caffe Bar Italia for unpaid holiday and unpaid contracted hours for a total of £1.264 to Yolanda, a former worker.

In February, Brighton SolFed decided to temporarily suspend the actions because what seemed an attempt by the management to solve the conflict and pay what the worker is owed. However, the company offered only a fraction of the amount owed, fully taking advantage of Yolanda's precarious situation.

Instead of paying what he owes the worker, the boss of Cafe Bar Italia, is hiding behind stupid formalisms to continue to hold on to money that does not belong to him. Caffe Bar Italia refuses to meet with Brighton SolFed and urges the worker to go to ACAS. This is of course a way to prolong the conflict, to delay even more the debt payment and, what is most interesting for the company, to channel the dispute into a bureaucratic route thereby removing it from public view.

Durante las últimas semanas, se ha retomado la campaña pública contra Caffe Bar Italia por el impago de vacaciones y horas del contrato por un total de 1264 libras (unos 1700 euros).

Hace unas semanas, Brighton SolFed decidió paralizar las acciones de denuncia debido a lo que pareció un intento del establecimiento de solucionar el conflicto y pagar lo que adeuda a la trabajadora. Sin embargo, la parte empresarial solo ofrecía una mínima parte de la cantidad que adeuda, aprovechándose de la situación que sufre Yolanda.

A group of SolFed supporters are launching a new local in Norwich.

Inspired by the actions taken by other SolFed locals across the country, we believe that we can encourage the same, much needed, spirit of collective direct action against oppressive and exploitative forces in Norwich.

We have been meeting fortnightly in Norwich city centre since the middle of 2014 and have already been active under the SolFed banner, most notably through protests against Workfare. We are keen to increase our organisation and action in the coming year and beyond, particularly in the form of localised, specific direct action.

We encourage anyone local to Norwich who wishes to become involved, or wants to discuss anything relating to anti-capitalist ideas, especially how they relate to us on a local level, to get in touch via norwichsf@riseup.net or via our facebook page.

Friday 13th of March saw an estimated 50,000 public service workers on strike across Northern Ireland in opposition to the Stormont House Agreement. Between 6 - 8,000 striking workers and their supporters marched in Belfast, up to 2,000 marched in Derry and hundreds more took part in rallies in other towns across the north.

Friday's strike action showed the depth of opposition to attacks on working class people that are already being implemented, and those proposed, by the Stormont executive. If we are to defeat the cuts the action needs to be built upon and broadened to include workers in areas that have already been privatised and the private sector in general. Belfast Solidarity Federation support calls to declare May 1st the next strike date.

Attached is the copy of the Leveller that we produced for the strike. 

To commemorate International Working Women's Day for today 8th March 2015, Edinburgh Solidarity Federation members supported the event of local feminist group These Hysterical Women [1] which was a public gathering and exhibition held at Bristo Square to remind everyone that gender equality has not been reached.

The exhibition of "why I am a feminist..." comments were written by those attended and hosting the event. Following the exhibit was a performance by Rhythms of Resistance Samba band and then a brief speech (extract):

Last month, our Brighton Hospitality Workers campaign won a dispute against a local fast food business which we discovered has a pecular top-down and fraudulent way of operating - keeping workers under constant surveillance while systematically stealing their wages. Here we analyse the course of the dispute and talk to the two workers who decided they'd take on their former boss.

As predicted, the static demo held by Pegida in Newcastle's Bigg Market was something of an embarrassment for the neo-nazis. Denied a march through town, and lacking anything like a fraction of the numbers that the hype and publicity accorded to them, the unveiling of the far-rights latest toy turned out to be broken. Dredging up all the old fascists from the past several decades for something that was supposed to be new and dynamic, was both tragic and comic, with reports of less than 300 them turning up. Outnumbered many times over - several estimates of anti-fascists are close to 2000 - just shows that for all of Pegida's effort, Newcastle was never going to be the city of the Fourth Reich. Newcastle Local were out an hour before the march handing leaflets to members of the public; at one point we were challenged by fascists dressed in 1930's tweeds; needless to say, not a straight face could be kept at the spectacle of ranting fascists dressed like extras in Downton Abbey!

Solidarity Protest
MEET: Spanish Consulate, 63 North Castle St, Edinburgh EH2 3LJ
FRIDAY 6 March 2015 – FROM 12:00noon

13 people facing trial just for being anarchists.

On 16/12/14 the Catalan police broke into 14 houses and social centres, destroying and stealing everything of value. 11 comrades were charged by a high court and 7 spent more than a month in prison.

On 29/01/15, the 7 imprisoned comrades were released but the state accuses all 11 (plus the 2 anarchists locked up for more than a year) of being members of a terrorist group, thus reaffirming its intention to treat everyone who questions it as a terrorist.

The Solidarity Federation is organising a workplace training day in Manchester on Saturday 7th March. The course will provide a basic introduction to workplace organising. Primarily focusing on how to organise resistance in the workplace in difficult conditions and when, under the anti-trade union laws, taking the mildest form of action can leave workers open to the sack.

The day’s course will include:

The Role of the Workplace Organiser

How to set about organising in Workplace

Taking Effective Action in Difficult Conditions

Building a Workplace Organisation

If you have problems at your workplace and want to fight back or if you want to get involved in workplace organising, the course should provide a good foundation for getting you started.

The course is open to everyone including those with no experience of workplace organising and those not currently in paid work. The places on the course are limited.