Britain, Bristol Anarchist Federation - Anarchy in Pontypool

During the excellent Cardiff Anarchist Bookfair we had a chance to meet up with Terry, a 
long time Anarchist Federation member who lives in Pontypool. He was busy organising a 
protest against cuts to local services planned by the County Council. We agreed to join 
him, before we realised it’d mean a 6am train to Pontypool & New Inn! ---- Not deterred 
(too much) by the early start a couple of us made it along last Tuesday to support Terry 
and others who were picketing the council meeting and distributing leaflets to councilors, 
council workers and passers-by. ---- We headed into the council chambers with an anticuts 
banner and anarchist flags. Later whilst being escorted out of the building we were asked 
how we’d managed to get these (apparently contraband) items inside, never under-estimate 
the power of confidently walking through the front door!

The meeting started with a petition against one of the cuts already made by the Council – 
switching off 66% of the areas street lights in order to save £70 per light. As you can 
imagine the impact this has had on residents, especially the elderly has been huge, and 
the call for the lights to get switched back on met with a deserved round of applause from 
the public gallery, but sadly no promises from the council.

The Labour led council then began the debate on the budget, its £11million of cuts and its 
rise in tax. Their leader spent most of the introduction blaming the Conservative led 
government, although he was later called out on the fact that Labour planned to make 
similar cuts to Welsh Council budgets. The heckling (most of it from the Anarchists!) 
intensified throughout, with the loudest round of applause reserved for Terry’s suggestion 
that perhaps if the mayor was committed to preserving services she should give up her 
chauffeur driven car and get the bus!

We were ‘asked’ to leave and escorted out of the building before the budget came to a 
vote, but we did stop to get a picture of a mural honouring the Chartists on the way out. 
I don’t think any of the council employees were bothered by us giving councilors a hard 
time – especially not whilst they were voting through cuts to pay, employment and services!

Predictably the labour led council passed its budget cuts, and predictably much of the 
organised opposition abstained or voted against to avoid getting their hands dirty – but 
we all know had the council been Tory led (like many are) they would’ve been voting 
through the exact same cuts!

After retreating to a pub for lunch we got to hear more about the activism Terry pursues 
in Pontypool. From the local trades council and run ins with the far right, to getting 
anarchist magazines stocked in the library, handing out 100s of anarchist papers single 
handed and organising a campaign against the privatisation of council housing. Inspiring 
stuff!

We are making a concerted effort to link up with and support anarchists in towns and 
villages across the South West and South Wales. All too often action can focus on larger 
cities, but the struggles in places where anarchists may be isolated or small in number 
are just as essential.

If you’d like support in your area get in touch!

https://bristolaf.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/anarchy-in-pontypool/

(en) Britain, Bristol Anarchist Federation, Victories in the Battle Against Workfare

The last week has seen two more victories in the ongoing battle against the governments 
workfare scheme! http://bristolaf.files.wordpress.com/2013/03/wf-front.pdf---- Homebase & 
Argos (both owned by the ?Home Retail Group?) have ended their involvement. Homebase was 
only exposed for using the scheme in April, and originally boasted it was getting them 
?750 hours (work) with no costs?. Turns out there was a cost after all. Bristol Anarchist 
Federation launched a week of action 
http://bristolaf.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/take-action-against-homebase-lets-stop-workfare-in-its-tracks/ 
targeting their online presence and branches of their stores. Along with members of the 
Solidarity Federation, Boycott Workfare, 
http://bristolaf.wordpress.com/2013/06/05/victories-in-the-battle-against-workfare/www.boycottworkfare.org 
and thousands of angry folks on twitter/facebook we managed to get their attention.


Homebase have now finished the ?evaluation? of their scheme announced after the first few 
actions, and have opted to end all involvement. Around the same time Argos announced 
?after careful consideration we have decided to halt any further recruitment of colleagues 
through the work experience programme ?. Great news for paid staff who reported having 
their hours and overtime cut when the scheme started, and for those who will no longer be 
forced to work for free to help line the pockets of the already wealthy owners of Home Retail.

The second victory of the week came with the government dropping its plans for compulsory 
SIX MONTH workfare placements for everyone finishing the ?work programme? . With the 
current smaller scale schemes already facing so much trouble it must have been obvious 
that this ambitious plan would be unworkable.

The array of workfare schemes and sanctions facing benefit claimants can appear 
unbeatable, but we?re proving that this isn?t the case. We should take count of every one 
of our victories as they show when we fight back we can win, and we?re going to keep 
fighting back ?till workfare is gone for good.

(Please read the following in the voice of one of those nice sounding people who talk over 
the end credits of programs on Channel 4) If you or someone you know is affected by the 
issues raised in todays blog post, email Bristol [at] Afed.org.uk or read Boycott 
Workfare?s Guide To Avoiding Workfare 
http://www.boycottworkfare.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/How-To-Avoid-Workfare-Full.jpg . 
Otherwise keep an eye on the blog for more on getting involved in ending workfare.

(en) Britain, Bristol Anarchist Federation, Global Reports of May Day Actions 2013 (excerpts)

MAY DAY ? May 1st ? has been celebrated as International Worker?s Day since 1890. The date 
was chosen by members of the Second International to commemorate the Haymarket Affair 
which occurred in Chicago, United States in 1886: On May 1st 1886 American unions held a 
nationwide general strike. An estimated 400,000 workers went on strike in Chicago. In the 
days following the strike, seven anarchists were framed and sentenced to death after a 
bomb was thrown at the police during a rally called on May 4th in response to an act of 
police violence following the strike outside the McCormick Harvesting Machine Company on 
May 3rd that left six workers dead. ---- For a full history of the Haymarket Affair, the 
Haymarket Martyrs and the origins of May Day please watch this talk by Bristol Radical 
History Group from 2012 at Hydra Books.

Across the world yesterday workers took to the streets to celebrate International Worker?s 
Day (1st May)! We have complied below a incomplete list of actions from around the globe. 
With this list we hope to showcase the sheer size and diversity of the modern worker?s 
movements:

EUROPE

Small groups of anarchists joined trade unionists and communists in London, England for a 
march and rally which descended on Trafalgar Square;
Clashes broke out in Istanbul, Turkey after police tried to prevent thousands of 
demonstrators from following their traditional march route;
Thousands of people joined May Day marches in Madrid, Spain one of many being held in over 
80 cities across the country;
Demonstrations in Moscow and St. Petersburg, Russia were attended by thousands of people. 
In St. Petersburg a large ?rainbow column? protested the criminalization of the promotion 
of homosexuality in the city by waving rainbow flags and displaying various pro-LGBTQ slogans;
A 24 hour general strike in Athens, Greece brought the city to a standstill. Trains and 
ferries stood dormant as thousands of workers marched across the capital against austerity;
The traditional May Day demonstration in Berlin, Germany brought out 10,000 people as the 
city government drafted in 7,000 auxiliary police in an attempt to control the march;
Elsewhere in Germany 2,500 people marched in Nuremberg; 700 in Stuttgart; 200 in Bonn for 
a specifically anarchist rally; 450 in Rostock and a further 2,000 in Hamburg;
In Copenhagen, Denmark a action called by AFA (Anti-Fascist Action) and Libertarian 
Socialists gathered around 800 to 1,000 participants and the Mayor of Copenhagen was booed 
off stage as he tried to address the May Day rally;
Similar scenes in Aarhus, Denmark led to the Prime Minister being shot with a water pistol 
and being booed off stage;
30 people were arrested on a May Day demonstration in Tbilisi, Georgia after police 
attempted to disperse the previously peaceful march;
May Day rallies also took place in various cities across Europe including: Paris, 
Marseille and Strasbourg, France; Sofia, Bulgaria; Seville, Andalusia; Barcelona, 
Catalonia; Bucharest, Romania; Zagreb, Croatia; Malmo, Sweden; Kiev, Ukraine; Turin, 
Italy; Lisbon, Portugal; Vienna, Austria and Vladivostok, Russia.

NORTH AMERICA

Protestors ?ran riot? in Seattle, US after 150-200 people stayed after dark for a 
?non-permitted? demonstration which left eight police officers injured. The protest 
followed an earlier march in support of immigrant rights organised by labour activists, 
students and civil rights advocates;
Thousands of people also rallied in New York City, US. The march headed down Broadway late 
in the afternoon for a rally at City Hall and was scheduled to finish at the original home 
of Occupy Wall Street Zucotti Park;
In Chicago, US ? birthplace of International Worker?s Day ? thousands again marched in 
demand for immigrant and worker?s rights. Anarchists occupied the statue to commemorate 
the Haymarket Affair draping it in the black flags of anarchy;
Protestors in Washington D.C., US veered off of the planned march route and stormed a GAP 
clothing store in protest against their business practices (i.e. employing sweat shop 
labour). They later marched on the White House where they were confronted by White Pride 
demonstrators. A brief scuffle followed, which had to be broken up by uniformed Secret 
Service members;
447 people were arrested in Montreal, Canada at a march organised by Anti-Capitalist 
Convergence (CLAC). Police declared the protest illegal shortly after it began despite a 
festive and peaceful atmosphere;
Protests were also held across North America including: Los Angeles, San Fransico, Denver, 
Oakland and Portland in US and Ottawa, Canada.

SOUTH AMERICA

Pro- and Anti-Government protestors held rival May Day rallies in Caracas, Venezuela. 
Tensions are still high after the election results were disputed by opposition candidate 
Henrique Capriles leading to scenes of violence across the country;
In Havana, Cuba protestors flooded Revolution Square carrying photos of late Venezuelan 
President Hugo Chavez with the words ?Our Best Friend?;
More than 150,000 filled the streets of Santiago, Chile on International Worker?s Day. 
Clashes with the police led to over 120 people being arrested and 40 police officers being 
injured;
May Day marches in Bogota, Colombia ended in clashes after police attacked protestors who 
fought back and attacked several banks;
President Evo Morales speaking at the annual May Day march in La Paz, Bolivia said he is 
expelling USAID from the country for allegedly seeking to undermine his government;
Protestors burned effigies of President Enrique Pena Nieto at a May Day event in Mexico 
City and fought police in Oaxaca, Mexico.


AFRICA

Workers braved the rain in Lagos, Nigeria to take part in May Day rallies;
Hundreds of workers and trade unions in Tunis, Tunisia protested the interim government, 
which they claim, has hijacked the revolution that ousted former long-term President Ben 
Ali for their own goals;
Demonstrations were also held in Marrakesh, Morocco under the slogan: ?Free All Political 
Prisoners in Morocco?;
Egyptian anarchists and other radicals held a demonstration in Tahrir Square, Cairo, Egypt.

MIDDLE EAST

Anarchists joined a block organised by ACF Unity in Tel Aviv, Israel as part of wider 
celebrations to mark International Worker?s Day in the city;
Demonstrations were also held in Gaza, Occupied Palestine to demand better working 
conditions and access to work.

ASIA

Tens of thousands of garment workers in Dhaka, Bangladesh protested again against poor 
working conditions which has recently led to the death of over 400 people after a garment 
factory collapsed and caught fire. They demanded the execution of textile bosses who are 
responsible for the disaster;
May Day demonstrations were held across India including rallies in: Tumkur, Ramagundam, 
Bangalore and throughout Nizamabad district, Karimnagar district, and Adilabad district.
10,000 people marched in Hong Kong, China with striking dock workers leading the charge 
for better working conidtions;
Trade unions held demonstrations in Tokyo, Japan demanding more jobs for young people;
Thousands of workers took to the streets and waved flags in Seoul, South Korea to ask for 
an extensive revision of the labour law;
More than 10,000 people marched in Taipei, Taiwan against government plans to cut pensions;
Over 5,000 workers in Phnom Pehn, Cambodia rallied for better working conditions and 
higher wages. Cambodia is the world?s third-largest producer of garments most of which are 
exported to Europe and the US;
Thousands of people joined May Day demonstrations in Jakarta, Indonesia demanding higher 
pay and other demands. Some protested a proposal for the government to slash fuel 
subsidies that have kept the country?s pump prices among the cheapest in the region;
Protesters in Manila, Philippines burned effigies of Barack Obama and Philippine President 
Benigno Aquino III outside the U.S. Embassy as 8,000 people rallied against contractual 
work, low wages and union busting.
Anarchists took part in (and in some cases organised) demonstrations across the globe 
yesterday. It is inspiring to see such a wide display of diversity from the international 
anarchist movement with comrades from every corner of the planet coming out onto the 
streets to celebrate May Day and fight for worker?s rights!

The majority of demonstrations in the United Kingdom will be taking place this Saturday 
4th May including a rally and march against austerity organised by Bristol Trades Council 
for 11AM at College Green. There has been a call-out by Bristol 1st of May Group for a 
Radical Block on the march. Come join Bristol Anarchist Federation and other 
anarchists/radicals under the red & black flags!