Coming not long after an SF member made a visit to the Berlin section of the FAU (Freie Arbeiterinnen- und Arbeiter-Union – Free Workers' Union) in July, the Thames Valley Solidarity Federation hosted a member of FAU Freiburg for a talk and presentation on the struggle to organise workers at the Cinema Babylon in Oxford. This was a struggle that was to prove an important turning point for the FAU, and one which briefly saw them banned from being able to call themselves a union. Having been a member of FAU Berlin at the time, our German comrade was very closely involved in the struggle and wanted to share with us the difficulties, the victories and the lessons that had been learnt.

Over the past year or so, members of Solent Solfed (Local in formation) have attended anti-fascist actions and mobilisations at Tower Hamlets, Hastings, Bolton, Bournemouth, Brighton (twice), Fareham, Bristol, Chelmsford and Walthamstow. We urge all comrades to sign up to the Anti Fascist Network

On Saturday, the Lib Dems' party conference was in Brighton. Following a protest march, there were simultaneous mass pickets of firms using workfare across Brighton. Rather than simply 'having our say' and being ignored by politicians, the idea was to disrupt a high profile coalition policy - the forced, unpaid work schemes known as workfare.

Workfare means unemployed people being forced to do unpaid work for their benefits. Workfare is a state subsidy to private businesses, providing free labour and undercutting the minimum wage. The government’s own research found that in countries that introduced workfare it could actually lower a jobseeker’s chances of finding a job. Where previously these roles would have been filled by paid staff, employers get to take advantage of a growing pool of jobseekers they won’t have to pay.

Our members in Hastings are launching a new Local. Tuesday, 9 October 2012 at 19:00, venue tbc. There is a Facebook event here.

If you're interesting in joining the Solidarity Federation, or you're just curious what we're about, please come along.

The Solidarity Federation ('SolFed') is a revolutionary union initiative: a working class organisation which seeks the abolition of capitalism and the state. If you’re a worker (employed, unemployed, disabled, retired...) and think that this life doesn’t give you everything you deserve and that your work does not let you develop yourself, if you want a world without capitalism and hierarchy, then there are good reasons to join the Solidarity Federation.

You can also get in touch with SolFed members in Hastings via the site contact form.

The Liberal Democrat conference is being held in Brighton on Saturday 22nd September 2012 – there will be a large demonstration organised by Brighton Stop the Cuts Coalition and Brighton Trades Council.

To coincide with this, Brighton Solidarity Federation, Brighton Benefits Campaign and Brighton Uncut are calling for a day of action in Brighton against workfare – instead of ineffectually “having our say” and being ignored by the junior coalition partner, we should physically shut down a high profile coalition policy.

We are aiming to use a diversity of tactics on the day – from static or roving pickets outside shops, to UK Uncut style occupations, to whatever anyone else fancies getting up to. We will distribute a list of workfare targets and their locations (see attached) – when the march ends we will head into town and try and shut down as many of them as we can for as long as we can.

On Saturday 8th September, South London Solidarity Federation continued its campaign against Workfare, a collection of government "Back to Work" schemes that result in unemployed people being forced to work unpaid, undermining the conditions of all workers.

After our success in forcing Holland and Barrett to withdraw from the scheme, we decided on Poundland as our next target.

We held a picket at Poundland's shop in Brixton, We held our banners across the front of the shop, talked to its workers about our opposition to the Workfare programme, handed out leaflets, and dissuaded customers from shopping there.

The UK Border Agency (UKBA) has been busy of late.  Following the Heathrow passports checks scandal of November last year – in which the agency was accused of ‘relaxing’ passports checks on incoming passengers from the European Economic Area, prompting convulsions of anti-immigrant rage across the political and media spectra – the UKBA has invested its time in presenting an image of a robust, strong and uncompromising deportation specialists. 

Members of Solent local of the Solidarity Federation picketed Domino’s pizza in Bitterne Southampton as part of the International Day of Action in support of Australian delivery drivers of  the General Transport Workers Association. Some interesting conversations were had with staff and public (hello Eddie!)

A communications blockade will follow on Monday 17th.

Report from our comrades in Caen, France

Last week, at SF's national delegate council two new locals were recognised, we are pleased to announce we now have locals in Croydon and Newcastle. Both locals provided encouraging reports and were founded by members of existing locals, South London and West Yorkshire respectively.

We hope to add more locals in the months and years ahead and have members across the country working on starting new locals, notably across the south coast in Portsmouth, Southampton, Bournemouth, and Hastings.

Our Scottish members based in Edinburgh and Glasgow will hopefully be launching locals at some point in the future and back down south we have members in Cambridge looking to start a local.

On 15th September SLSF took part in the international day of action in support of Domino’s delivery drivers in Australia.

The drivers have had their pay cut 19% overnight. As their trade union was complicit in the cut, the drivers have formed a new union, the General Transport Workers Association (GTWA), to fight the pay cut.

The GTWA is affiliated with the Anarcho-Syndicalist Federation (ASF), an Australian 'friend' of the Solidarity Federation's international, the International Workers' Association (IWA).

SLSF went to the Domino’s in New Cross and handed a demand letter to the manager, telling him why we were there and how we would be back.