Anarchic update news all over the world - 23.11.2018

Today's Topics:

  
 1.  France, Alternative Libertaire AL #288 - Should we do
      without wind energy ? (fr, it, pt)[machine translation]
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
2.  COLETIVO ANARQUISTA LUTA DE CLASSE CALC: No Batente #8
      September - JUDICIAL POWER, PRISON AND MASS 
      IMPRISONMENT (pt)
      [machine translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
3.  Britain, afed: BREXIT AND WORKERS - WHAT'S THE SCORE?
      (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
4.  Britain, brighton solfed: Standing with workers, scaring the
      bosses! (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
5.  Australia, The Anvil Vol 7 No 3 Nov-Dec 2018 Newsletter of
      the Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)
   
6.  Greece, liberta salonica - Anarchist Federation: For
      mobilizations and repression on November 17th. [machine
      translation] (a-infos-en@ainfos.ca)


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Message: 1





Since the 1970s, the libertarian communist current defends an energy policy favoring 
energy savings, solar energy and other renewable energies, including wind energy. Yet 
Alternative Libertarian has published articles denouncing some wind turbine projects. Why 
? Let's put this question in its overall economic and ecological context. ---- Can 
capitalism do better with less  ? In the 1970s, people like the anarchist Murray Bookchin 
(1921-2006) and the environmentalist Barry Commoner (1917-2012) showed that he was 
incapable by nature. Capitalism is based on a fundamental principle: capital must go to 
the most lucrative activities. Protecting the planet would, on the contrary, require 
prioritizing biological rhythms over profit rates.

However, as the journalist Grégoire Souchay shows, the wind "   remains marked, like other 
industries, by a predatory capitalist universe and a logic of economic appropriation of a 
common space to serve private interests   "  [1].

Projects that are not at the service of the people
Recall that the levies on natural resources continue to grow: + 65% between 1980 and 2007. 
This is not mainly due to the development of poor countries. Western states have relocated 
some of the pollution and the consumption of resources. Thus, in 2002, the area that the 
world's population needs - to produce the resources it consumes and to assimilate the 
waste it rejects - was 138% of the total bioproductive area. Since the beginning of 2010, 
it exceeds 150%.

"   Despite the proliferation of wind turbines and photovoltaic panels in the last fifteen 
years," Le Monde diplomatique 2016 noted, "capitalism is therefore not greener than in the 
past.[...]Renewable energies only add to, rather than replace, polluting modes of 
production   "  [2]. The wind projects brought by capitalism do nothing to reduce the 
so-called ecological footprint of humanity.

Sometimes intended exclusively for export, these projects do not result in the destruction 
of agricultural land and cause significant local opposition [3]. The methods used to 
impose them flout any form of local democracy and resort to significant police violence.

The current development of wind energy is only interested in a "   wind farm   " to 
maximize profits. The wind market is transforming, because of "   many technical 
innovations to increase the size of the blades, the height of the masts and the power of 
the turbines   "  [4]. Production can be four times larger than previous generations of 
wind turbines.

Questionable technical choices
Many industrial groups choose to equip their wind turbine turbines with magnets doped with 
rare metals. These are also the latter which are also used in batteries, catalytic 
converters, energy-saving light bulbs, components of electronic devices, solar cells ... 
The technical choices made by capitalism today make all the "   green technologies   "of 
these same metals.

Extraction and refining are extremely polluting. Their recycling currently represents a 
cost higher than their value ... Which leads to not recycling. The social and 
environmental dumping practiced by China has allowed the West to relocate its pollution. " 
   Concealing the dubious origin of metals in China has given green and digital 
technologies a certificate of good repute. It is certainly the most fantastic greenwashing 
operation in history,   " writes Guillaume Pitron  [5].

The collective All energies Occitanie, which aggregates a large number of local anti-wind 
associations has developed a transition scenario without wind turbines named Reposta. But 
"   it is not a scenario 100% renewable energy, because Reposta integrates in its mix a 
share of nuclear and fossil energies   "  [6].

The association NegaWatt  [7]does not have the same position. Paul Neau, who participated 
in the wind component of the negaWatt scenario, recalls: "   Wind energy is the most 
profitable and cheapest technology to produce renewable electricity.  " Even Praderie 
review for Benedict, manager of the cooperative Soleil du Midi managing solar park citizen 
of Luc-sur-Aude. This technology is "   the best technical, mathematical and economic 
solution,   " he says: "   The wind is not the man to shoot.  "

But we are still in favor of wind energy.
Guillaume Pitron takes stock of the immense rare earth potential of French mines that have 
been dormant since the 1980s, and also points out the inconsistency of environmental NGOs, 
who denounce the consequences, particularly of mining, of the transition they are 
promoting. He makes himself the advocate of a "   mine responsible for us   " that will 
always be better than "   irresponsible mine elsewhere   ". We must not be mistaken for 
debate. The nuisances and potential pollution related to renewable energies - which must 
be combated - must not lead to the adaptation of even more destructive technologies. Our 
fight is part of a struggle against the international division of labor and the private 
ownership of the means of production. Because there is the crucible of economic and 
technological choices that allow to continue the destructive logic of capitalism.

It is reasonable to fight some wind projects. But in order to engage in a real energy 
transition, it is necessary to support wind projects that are locally developed and at the 
service of the population. Technological choices can evolve, other methods of extraction 
and refining of metals are possible. And yes, in an ecological society we will need energy 
and that brought by the wind will be irreplaceable.

Jacques Dubart (AL Nantes)

[1] Grégoire Souchay, "   The new geography of French wind   ", Mediacites.fr, May 29, 2018.

[2] Aurélien Bernier "   How globalization has killed ecology   ", Le Monde diplomatique , 
September 2016.

[3] "  Take off your big blades from there,   " Alternative Libertaire , March 2018.

[4] Grégoire Souchay, op. cit.

[5] Cited in "   Rare metals, the dirty face of" green "technologies,"   Reporterre, 
February 10, 2018.

[6] Grégoire Souchay, Reporterre, July 4, 2018.

[7] The aim of the NegaWatt

http://www.alternativelibertaire.org/?Faut-il-se-passer-de-l-energie-eolienne

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Message: 2





The state, a great instrument of domination of the ruling class, is and will always be the 
enemy of the oppressed. Currently, one of its powers, the Judiciary, has had great 
prominence in Brazil and been seen by many as "savior." Briefly examining the harsh 
consequences of the selective and cruel application of such (in) Justice within the scope 
of Criminal Law, strongly involving the role of the police, we intend to highlight 
fundamental points that demonstrate the need to break radically with the current logic of 
domination . ---- The Judiciary in Highlight ---- Whether it's the evening paper, whatsapp 
chains or conversations in the neighborhood, the Judiciary is on the rise. Judges and 
ministers came to be known nationally, occupying the news and openly interfering in 
decisions "that would not be theirs." This protagonism, due to operations such as Lava 
Jato, makes clear that the interests of this sector of the ruling class are not neutral 
and go in the direction of defending the privileges of the powerful (as they are), acting 
with open selectivity, defending the political groups of their choice and representing 
imperialist interests. For the poor and black people, in the countryside and in the 
peripheries, this is nothing new: the "State of Exception" is the rule for the majority of 
the population.

Mass Imprisonment

Brazil has the third largest prison population in the world, with more than 726 thousand 
prisoners. Of the total number of prisoners and prisoners, around 40% have not yet been 
tried and sentenced - that is, almost 300,000 people are imprisoned without trial, which 
shows the disregard for this population. There are many cases of people being exonerated 
after months, and even years, imprisoned. Overcrowded Brazilian prisons are dungeons where 
diseases like scabies and tuberculosis are common. In Brazilian prisons, 64% of people are 
black and almost 100% did not have access to higher education, according to Infopen. This 
is due to the fact that the police, newspapers and (in) Justice selects and despises these 
people, based on innumerable prejudices. The state, great instrument of domination of the 
ruling class is, and will always be, enemy of the oppressed. Currently, one of its powers, 
the Judiciary, has had great prominence in Brazil and been seen by many as "savior." 
Briefly examining the harsh consequences of the selective and cruel action of such (in) 
Justice within the scope of Criminal Law, strongly involving the role of police, we want 
to highlight fundamental points that demonstrate the need to break radically with the 
current logic of domination. Judicial Power, Prison and Mass Imprisonment we want to 
highlight fundamental points that demonstrate the need to break radically with the current 
logic of domination. Judicial Power, Prison and Mass Imprisonment we want to highlight 
fundamental points that demonstrate the need to break radically with the current logic of 
domination. Judicial Power, Prison and Mass Imprisonment

Emblematic Cases

Some cases become emblematic, such as Rafael Braga, who was arrested for carrying a Pinho 
Sol disinfectant during demonstrations in June 2013. More recently, there was the case of 
the young Babiy Querino, a black female dancer who was arrested on charges of theft, even 
if in another city, to work, on the day of the occurrence. Recent cases that have opened 
up the racist nature of criminal prosecution.

Paraná

In Paraná, a third of the prisoners (about 15 thousand people) are waiting for a trial. 
The situation of the prisoners does not guarantee basic health conditions, being an attack 
of the State directed to the poor and black people. The incarceration of the police 
station of Piraquara, municipality of Greater Curitiba, was recently considered one of the 
most inhumane spaces ever visited by members of the Prison Ministry. In a video, one of 
the prisoners points out that: "Inhuman act, there is running water, no patio, food, 
visit, we have nothing. Inhuman, overcrowded. Mattress wet, damp, people with bronchitis, 
pneumonia. It is a cry for society that has forgotten that we are thrown, without anyone 
for us. We expect transfers to the penitentiary system, the Colony (semi-open regime), 
ankle brace. We did it wrong, you know that, have to pay, but the law says that the best 
way, with light, water, bed, patio. We are in the corral, dungeon, in a heap of flesh, in 
the darkness (...) ".

Prison is not the solution!

It is important that everyone who strives for a more just, free and equal society to stand 
side by side in the struggle against mass incarceration, black genocide and criminal 
selectivity. Prison is a way of inflicting suffering, intentionally, with the aim of 
degrading another human being. The prison sentence reduces that or that in slave, subject 
to the domination of another. The arrest of the twenty-first century is the slave ship of 
the eighteenth century. The entire heritage of enslavement that Latin America carries 
makes certain subjects (black and poor) the priority targets. A fair and egalitarian 
society is built in the struggle for education, health, working conditions, housing and 
dignified life for the oppressed. Certainly, in any society, there will be conflicts and, 
eventually, it will be necessary to define sanctions for those who violate collective 
agreements. However, institutionalizing a sanction that degrades and enslaves will not 
serve to recover or educate those who committed an infraction. It is the duty of social 
movements and popular organizations to construct other sanctioning models and this is a 
slow process, of decades, but it must develop from now on. As long as there is a prison - 
the more inhumane this model, the struggle for dignified living conditions for the 
imprisoned, against the stigmatization of those who have gone through this system, against 
the absurd prisons of the black and poor people are some fundamental guidelines for social 
movements, incarcerated families, political organizations and anyone who wants a fairer 
world. institutionalizing a sanction that degrades and enslaves will not serve to recover 
or educate those who committed an infraction. It is the duty of social movements and 
popular organizations to construct other sanctioning models and this is a slow process, of 
decades, but it must develop from now on. As long as there is a prison - the more inhumane 
this model, the struggle for dignified living conditions for the imprisoned, against the 
stigmatization of those who have gone through this system, against the absurd prisons of 
the black and poor people are some fundamental guidelines for social movements, 
incarcerated families, political organizations and anyone who wants a fairer world. 
institutionalizing a sanction that degrades and enslaves will not serve to recover or 
educate those who committed an infraction. It is the duty of social movements and popular 
organizations to construct other sanctioning models and this is a slow process, of 
decades, but it must develop from now on. As long as there is a prison - the more inhumane 
this model, the struggle for dignified living conditions for the imprisoned, against the 
stigmatization of those who have gone through this system, against the absurd prisons of 
the black and poor people are some fundamental guidelines for social movements, 
incarcerated families, political organizations and anyone who wants a fairer world. It is 
the duty of social movements and popular organizations to construct other sanctioning 
models and this is a slow process, of decades, but it must develop from now on. As long as 
there is a prison - the more inhumane this model, the struggle for dignified living 
conditions for the imprisoned, against the stigmatization of those who have gone through 
this system, against the absurd prisons of the black and poor people are some fundamental 
guidelines for social movements, incarcerated families, political organizations and anyone 
who wants a fairer world. It is the duty of social movements and popular organizations to 
construct other sanctioning models and this is a slow process, of decades, but it must 
develop from now on. As long as there is a prison - the more inhumane this model, the 
struggle for dignified living conditions for the imprisoned, against the stigmatization of 
those who have gone through this system, against the absurd prisons of the black and poor 
people are some fundamental guidelines for social movements, incarcerated families, 
political organizations and anyone who wants a fairer world.

Text taken from the newspaper  NO STOP #8 
https://anarquismopr.org/2018/10/02/no-batente-8-da-resistencia-a-esperanca/

https://anarquismopr.org/2018/11/19/poder-judiciario-prisao-e-encarceramento-em-massa/?fbclid=IwAR2mWSPfPsx2qFk1_cVIGp5_v5iJ0pmxRRYZPE97LQZDsjz4xWlit7-2EFU

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Message: 3






We've previously written a few things about the 2016 referendum which led to the process 
of Britain's exit from the European Union. As the time gets closer we look at what the 
currently uncertain situation means for workers. Before we get on to workers, we make some 
more general points about Brexit. In Organise 97 (Winter 2016) we said: ---- "Much media 
space is devoted to speculation about what Brexit will mean. There is even some doubt 
about whether despite May's strong assertions that she will make Brexit work, that it will 
go ahead. She certainly is taking her time about it. After all, key sections of the 
British ruling class did not want Britain to leave the EU. They want the cheap labour and 
the financial sector is concerned that it will lose its central role in international 
financial markets. Also, the Scottish response to the outcome, which could lead to 
independence, would be a major blow to UK Ltd. One thing is certain: the working class 
will continue to suffer from low wages and high housing costs, poor working conditions and 
job insecurity and cuts in public services and the welfare state."

"We don't think the outcome will offer opportunities for a ‘socialist Britain' as some 
leftist supporters of exit from the EU have argued. There may be less trade with the EU 
but instead it will be others, such as China and India, which will step in. We have 
already seen May's cosying up to the Chinese[state]and the London Mayor Khan appointing an 
Indian millionaire to be his advisor on ‘opening-up' London. Within days of the 
referendum, a Japanese company bought up a British one. So we are really just changing one 
set of bosses for another. What does matter is the reasons why most people voted to leave: 
immigration. The EU was about free movement of labour for capital, but at least there was 
free movement. Leaving the EU can only mean that there will be pressure to curtail 
immigration. The rise in attacks on migrants from Eastern Europe is a sign of the 
mentality of some far-right and racist elements in the working class. This xenophobia is a 
major obstacle to building an effective working class revolutionary movement."

If we add the centrality of the Irish border question to the ongoing headache for 
politicians and a major concern for people living both sides of the border, the situation 
has not exactly moved on from our initial analysis, in spite of the blow by blow negotiations.

Impact of Brexit on workers

Being fought on the basis of sovereignty with a large dose of English nationalism, Leave 
was always going to legitimise discrimination against foreign workers and act to erode 
those workers' rights in Britain more than Remain would. This is because European 
legislation offers some protections to migrant workers from within the EU and also 
includes some protection of human rights of non-EU people, as well as the ‘freedom of 
movement' afforded by the treaty and in the Schengen area.

Of course, the European Union is a capitalist institution working in favour of the bosses 
to keep workers exploited efficiently. Capitalism likes free movement of people so that 
the workforce can go to where the work is at its own expense. Because of obsession with 
sovereignty and national identity, migration has dominated the discourse of Brexit. 
However, those in charge of capitalist economies like Britain's, which has moved towards 
quaternary/knowledge-based industry, are still going to want to manage the workforce 
required to support it. So at the same time as putting massive pressures on workers with 
fewer skills or less education ‘at home' bosses will also continue to look globally for 
workers who can fulfil the needs of the modern economy. Ideally it wants people who will 
not need too much healthcare, can look after their family with what they are earning, pay 
taxes, whether they are British or not. Brexit in no way means moving back to a less 
knowledge-based economy.

As well as in industry, a real crisis will continue to exist in services, especially 
health and social care because the neoliberal state and business alike do not really want 
to pay to support people at home who are ill, have a disability or are older with greater 
health needs, that means they are less productive. The state (especially under the 
Conservatives) is not prepared to pay more to local authorities and may be more than 
prepared to see them cut services further leaving people to fend for themselves, using 
this as a justification to bring in privatised alternatives, possibly bringing people in 
from abroad with more precarious positions - tied to the employer for fear of losing 
residency status or with controlled periods of employments - something Brexit will help 
make easier. Non-EU workers are already bound to their employer unless they can find 
another job quickly and easily. This was a major part of the beef at Fawley oil refinery 
(the 2009 struggle that led to Gordon Brown's oft misquoted ‘British Jobs for British 
workers') as Italian workers were essentially indentured even though they were EU, kept 
on-site in portacabins earning vastly less.

Even if Britain remains in EU there would still be the continued threat of multinational 
(e.g. American-owned) companies being invited to run the NHS and other services. With a 
suitable Brexit agreement, and even with ‘no deal', it may simply mean that EU companies 
will also be able to do this as well, with favourable tax conditions if they play the game 
and don't insist on workers rights alongside being allowed to operate in UK. Some of the 
industries that would no doubt be interested would be in construction, energy, IT, 
research, education, as well as the health and care providers. This is a gamble though as 
they will need to make the wages attractive enough so that it is worthwhile for someone to 
work in UK while having no right to stay outside of the job, relative to opportunities for 
work in the person's home country or another EU country where they would have the right to 
settle. A lot of the above speculation will depend on whether Britain stays in the Customs 
Union as this will influence how goods move around and this in turn will influence where 
businesses need workers to reside to make profit.

Alternatively, multinationals based in Britain and British-owned companies alike will not 
hesitate to move abroad if they need to. Even small British-owned companies already 
operate abroad. When US companies like Motorola abandoned their production lines in Mexico 
for Asia, British companies quickly moved in to pick up the factory space and the skilled 
local workforce - such was the flexibility that globalisation allowed. British companies 
could decide to move some or all of their operations to Europe if profitable and allowed 
to do so, with the support of the British state.

Migrant workers

Overall European migrants make up 5% of the population in England and an estimated 3.5 
million to 3.8 million EU citizens in the UK will be required to apply for settled status 
post-Brexit. For EU workers in Britain now, there is massive uncertainty about residency 
status as it's not clear how and if they will be allowed to stay after Brexit. Again the 
situation for non-EU migrants in instructive. Non-EU workers can generally get a work visa 
to work in UK for up to 6 months. However people from non-EU countries are already making 
difficult choices if they are allowed to stay and work longer, some working overtime to 
hit the required wage threshold to be able to work in UK themselves or bring family (which 
is a higher threshold). Also, it is probably not common knowledge to many British people 
that the minimum annual earning threshold for non-EU workers was raised pretty well 
overnight in 2016 from £25k to £35k leading to many US and Australian workers having to 
leave (as reported in the media at the time), which was subsequently lowered back to £30k 
in 2017. Is very likely that the government will fiddle with the rules a lot like this 
after Brexit making relocating to UK very risky for lower paid workers.

The body that has made the most detailed recommendations about European Economic Area 
workers coming to UK post-Brexit, the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), published a 
report in September 2018 - recommendations from which are not substantially affected by 
May's most recent Brexit ‘deal'. The headline from the MAC was ‘No preferential access' 
for EEA citizens after Brexit (something lovingly rephrased today by May as stopping EU 
migrants "jumping the queue" versus workers from Australia or India). It also lumped 
workers of different occupations or skill level into the same scheme except possibly a 
separate seasonal agricultural workers scheme. Any low-skill gap would apparently be 
filled by family migration linked to other workers (e.g. spouses) and an expanded Youth 
Mobility Scheme (allowing younger people to come to UK for 2 years ‘working holiday' from 
named countries) which seems unlikely to be fulfilled in practice since it is known that 
many YMS migrants take higher skilled posts albeit on a temporary basis. So the main 
change after Brexit is for ‘Tier 2' sponsored workers to include European and non-European 
workers with the removal of a cap on the annual number of visas which is currently 20,700 
people at the £30k level mentioned above (rising to £60k above the threshold), plus some 
other amendments. These are precisely the practically indentured workers mentioned above 
and this puts most  skilled migrant workers in the same boat, once freedom of movement in 
the EEA is lost.

Another recent development is a pilot project running in November 2018 that the government 
has launched focussed on universities, health and social care, which they are using to 
work out the scale of the task, how to administer the scheme, and to fast-track some key 
workers the state does not want to lose. These are already workplaces with considerable 
casualised and/or mobile workers. 16% of university researchers are from other EU states 
and 23% of academic staff in biology, mathematics and physics are EU nationals. 
Furthermore, EU immigrants make up about 5% of English NHS staff overall, 10% of 
registered doctors and 4% of registered nurses. However, a major criticism has been that 
the pilot scheme has focussed only on the worker and not their family members, leading to 
criticism from both Wales and Scotland health secretaries, plus trade unions have 
criticised the £65 fee and are demanding that employers pay this on behalf of the 
individual (at time of writing, the London School of Tropical Medicine has already agreed 
to do this).

‘British workers'

Workers who are British citizens will face ongoing economic pressures due to austerity as 
now, worse if the economy takes a dive. And there are a good number of gender-related 
workplace issues that are created by Brexit. Although incorporated into the 2010 
Equalities Act, equal pay for women arises from the 1957 Treaty of Rome. Rights of 
part-time workers (pensions, parental leave entitlements) and protections for pregnant 
women at work also come from the EU. Imposition of employment tribunal fees was fought 
using EU law by Unison in 2013 on the grounds of it being discriminatory because the 
majority of low paid workers are women. After Brexit, it is quite possible the UK 
government could try and amend the law in the interest of the economy. Furthermore, the 
government has already indicated that women might need to choose home over work in order 
to look after elderly relatives post-Brexit if there is a social care staffing shortage! 
This kind of statement, from the Department of Health in August 2018, only shows how 
controlling the state is prepared to be if necessary.

While we don't yet know what will happen, it's clear that Brexit has serious consequences 
for workers. The situation for lower paid workers who might consider coming to UK after a 
break with the EU looks particularly grim with a constant eye having to be kept on wage 
levels and time worked. Even higher paid workers are likely to have jobs that are tied to 
their employer, and risk losing residency if their employment ends, so taking industrial 
action will be riskier. At home, women are likely to be adversely affected and equality 
legislation could well be put to the test.

Opportunities

On the brighter side there may be opportunities to fight for better pay, if workers stick 
together. In our workplaces and political organisations we need to keep alert and see how 
we can support each other. Workplace meetings are a good start, especially so that migrant 
workers are not isolated. While we cannot do much about the process of Brexit as this is 
in the hands of the politicians, we can get ready for its consequences. This should 
include being ready defend co-workers and comrades who may face leaving the UK if they 
fail a yet to be determined residency test, mounting anti-deportation campaigns it comes 
to that (anarchists who have prior experience with No Borders and migrant solidarity have 
a lot to give here). We also need to keep an eye on what is happening in other countries. 
Whilst workers have experienced relative freedom of movement in the EEA, and with more 
countries being part of the EU, it should have been easier to point out common class 
interests, although the British Left has failed to make much of this recently, being 
focussed on domestic politics and the far right. On a practical level, having the EU has 
arguably made direct resistance easier - coordinated action against borders and in support 
of migrants (within and from without the EU) and against international economic summits of 
the political class. Anarchists have been at the forefront of this transnationalism and 
our own international blossomed in this period to include the Balkans, for example, so we 
have something to build upon.

See also: http://afed.org.uk/counting-us-in-counting-us-out/

http://afed.org.uk/brexit-and-workers-whats-the-score/

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Message: 4





A worker organising with Brighton SolFed has recently won a dispute with their North Laine 
employer, Natulia on Sydney Street. ---- Natulia, whose contribution to the community is 
to - thankfully - be Brighton's only "savoury waffle and bubble tea cafe"(!), opened its 
doors in Janaury, but is already gaining a reputation as a home for poor working 
conditions, bullying management, and a staff that turns over faster than its salmon 
waffles. ---- The worker organising with Brighton SolFed started their employment with a 
four hour unpaid trial shift, an exploitation that very much set the stage for what was to 
come. Once hired, the worker was never presented with a statement of particulars (let 
alone a contract) in a flagrant breach of employment law.

The management of the cafe turned out to be aggressive and demanding. The worker has 
described being "shrieked at" by their boss, and of management making derogatory comments 
to the workers about other workers.

Originally, it was agreed that the worker was to be paid at a rate at £9 an hour. So, it 
was a less than pleasant surprise when they opened their payslip on the second month, only 
to discover that their rate of pay had been docked to just £8.50, with no explanation or 
warning! On top of this, no holiday pay was paid throughout the worker's entire time there.

The last straw came when the worker's payslip for the third month came in, but no money 
came into their account. It was then the worker left, and got in contact with Brighton 
SolFed. We calculated that the worker was owed over £1,000.

After sending a demand letter threatening a direct action campaign against the company, 
Natulia paid up on the day of the deadline with an offer. While not being the full amount 
demanded, the worker decided they were happy with and accepted the payment.

Throughout all of this though, Natulia at no point got in contact with SolFed- presumably 
they were too embarrassed to admit to any wrongdoing. However, it is vitally important 
that Natulia learn that this kind of shameless exploitation is not acceptable in Brighton 
(or anywhere else for that matter), and they and other bosses learn they will be held 
publicly accountable for their actions.

The fight to clean up Brighton's rotten hospitality sector carries on!

Recent articles
This article was published on 19 November 2018 by the SolFed group in Brighton. Other 
recent articles:

http://www.brightonsolfed.org.uk/brighton/standing-with-workers-scaring-the-bosses

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Message: 5






The Melbourne Anarchist Communist Group has published the Nov-Dec 2018 issue of The Anvil. 
  Please see the following link:

https://melbacg.wordpress.com/the-anvil/

In Solidarity,

Ablokeimet

for MACG.


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Message: 6






The Anarchist Federation and this year honored the anniversary of the Polytechnic of 1973 
and all the other Polytechnics that, after the fall of the junta, became the staging of 
insurrection and were indelibly written in the history of social struggles in Greece. ---- 
In Athens, Thessaloniki, Heraklion and Lamia, either through the formation of our own 
block or in cooperation with other forces of the anarchist / libertarian movement, we went 
to the way to declare our respect for the struggles of the past and our presence in the 
struggles to come and break the mold of social peace of our day. ---- In Athens we formed 
our own block and we faced for the second consecutive year with the unnecessary repressive 
police attack. Our block, which participated along the other anarchist blocks, had, after 
a collective decision, pure propaganda characteristics. We chose to descend on these terms 
in a structured way and with a strong defense that was undertaken and organized by the 
groups and individuals of the Athens region. For that reason, despite the unremitting 
challenges of the MAT squads overseeing the anarchist presence along the way, we did not 
respond to any of their continuous and vulgar challenges.

We knew, however, that these challenges were not the usual police alert but a possible 
prelude to the anarchist bloc being hit during the retirement. This was also the case last 
year when we had a brutal and unprovoked attack.

This year, the Athens Region had modified the retirement plan. After the end of the course 
and after our announcement to the people who participated that we intend to leave the 
Metro, the platoons started to tear off and strike the companions of security (when they 
broke their lines to move to the metro) and then anyone who came up with a draft.

The retirement was successful, most of the world and the shelters survived in the metro, 
albeit at a loss. A member of the Rubicon was beaten wild and arrested and another was 
found in the hospital badly beaten.

The Anniversary of the Polytechnic is a knot of struggle and reveals the intentions of 
both those who struggle and the state. We see the new social-democracy, SYRIZA continuing 
its predetermined course of action. After the masks fell and with them the hopes of a 
piece of the social basis for a series of economic and political issues, it is time for 
the masks for the state repression on SYRIZA to fall. The underground silent and 
"targeted" repressive tactic that tried to maintain communicative peaks of "leftist" and 
"rights", a tactic applied by Syriza so far, gives its place to the uncomplicated 
barbarity. We saw it in the attack on the A / A block in L. Alexandra, we saw it in the 
aura, we saw it in the orgy of chemical beatings and arrests on the night of November 17th.

For our part, we will continue the long course we have drawn. A course of participation, 
organization and resistance. We want to thank the people who surrounded our block in 
Athens and our presence on the road to the other cities. We will continue to do what we 
can to ensure the safety of those who trust our calls. We are pleased that our guardians 
have done their job. Even if they were unable to resist the unintentional assault by the 
MATs, the "interest" of state violence was drawn upon them, giving time to the people who 
participated in saving themselves.

Solidarity with the members of the Rubikon who were beaten and taken over.

Solidarity with all those arrested, to all those who experienced the violence of power on 
the evening of November 17, 2018.

We will be here in the first line until the "Polytechnic" of the future completes the work 
initiated by the Polytechnics of the past: the great social, political, economic and 
cultural change we need so much.

Anarchist Federation

anarchist-federation@riseup.net

https://anarchist-federation.gr

FB: https://www.facebook.com/anarxikiomospondia2015/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/anarchistfedGr

Youtube: Anarchist Federation

Photos from the block of the Anarchist Federation in Athens:

https://libertasalonica.wordpress.com/2018/11/19

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