In Turkey the leadership of the 350,000-member DISK (Confederation of Revolutionary Trade Unions of Turkey) called for its members to march at 1 p.m. Wednesday to Taksim Square, The Confederation of Public Workers’ Unions (KESK) began its own two-day strike at noon on Monday, with teachers walking out of schools and universities and public workers leaving their offices and work sites. The union’s 250,000 members dressed in black and wore black ribbons in protest against the repression. Over a quarter of a million workers have joined people on the streets and shown how it is done!

Sadly in Birmingham apart from a tiny smattering of individual trade unionists in attendance, there was a total absence of solidarity support from Labour members and their 'socialist' allies on Birmingham Trades Council at this demo

Shame on the pathetic jelly arsed leaders of the UK Trade Movement who can't even organise against austerity and in essence collaborate with the ruling class to return the perfidious scumbag labourites to power
Piss poor lollypop parades whilst chanting of "Con-Dem, Con-Dem, the Bedroom Tax" whilst trying to flog their new "Metro" design paper (and in content) on a Saturday morning, just don't cut it!
The 'socialists' are petrified of upsetting their labourite mates and jeopardizing their pipe dream entryism trade union plans, so pretend they don't see its the ruling Labour council group, that implements austerity here in Birmingham. If and when such a fact is acknowledged the 'socialists' resort to the line, that hopefully, the Council can be persuaded not to evict tenants who fall into arrears

It’s perfectly possible that Labour will win the next election, as people use their vote to express their rejection of austerity. What is absolutely certain, however, is that, having won the election, Labour will impose the same austerity, conduct the same predatory wars, commit the same war crimes, and persecute the working-class movement in just the same ways as the LibDems and Tories are doing.

The lesson is not ‘There’s no point in rebelling’. Rather, it is ‘Do not entrust the leadership of your rebellion to the safe keeping of Labourite social democracy’.

Copyright Stalingrad O'Neill - permission is required for third party usage

Public Meeting: Understanding Gezi Park, the AKP, and the Turkish protest movement

Main speaker: Turkish journalist and NUJ activist Oz Shengulun

Friday 7 June 2013
6.45pm – 8.15pm
274 Moseley Road, Highgate, Birmingham, B12 0BS
This meeting is kindly hosted by community advocacy service United We Stand [Served by the Number 50 bus from town every 5 minutes: stop outside Birmingham Car Auctions opposite Old Fire Station]