Public

Recently, Richard Siggs, a Police Sergeant from Brighton, has been communicating with several charity agencies. In the text, he explains his concern about the “intolerable level” the numbers of “very visible members of the Street Community” have reached in the streets of Brighton, and he asks the agencies to reinforce these three ideas while dealing with their clients:

"Brighton & Hove do not accept rough sleeping to be a valid life choice, it is dangerous and based on chaotic life style"
"There is nowhere in Brighton & Hove to street drink, would you like us to refer you to support for your addiction?"
"Any property left laying around on the streets will be removed by the local authority and may be destroyed"

Last Monday the 30th of April there was a new repressive strike against the anarchist movement in Spain. Thirty eight people were arrested in a police operation under the name ”Operación Piñata”. Fifteen  of them are facing charges of terrorism and five are in preventive imprisonment. Private homes, social centers and squatted spaces were registered in Madrid, Barcelona, Palencia and Granada.

Raids were carried out in a very open way, trying to create social alarm. The media is publishing names of people and groups and presenting as facts fake accusations. They talk about “anarchist terrorism” and organisations with leaders, hierarchical infrastructures and varied recruitment methods.

Newcastle SolFed are holding their annual May Day Bash on Saturday 2nd May at The Telegraph pub, Orchard Street, Newcastle - doors open 7-30pm. This year we will be raising awareness and hopefully a few quid in support of anarchists arrested in Operation Pandora, a Spanish State anti-terrorist initiative that has been used as a represive measure against those opposed to the State and Capital, with dozens of anarchists arrested. Spain has a long and strong tradition of anarchist organising and this abuse of civil liberties supported throughout mainstream Spanish media is a potent reminder of the origins of May Day in 1886, where anarchists in Chicago were framed in the famous Haymarket massacre. The media fuelled the witch hunt against those anarchists, demanding the death sentence which saw 4 of the accused hung, only to be pardoned 7 years later.

For the past few weeks we've been holding weekly pickets of a cafe in Hove in support of a former worker who was not paid properly. We have talked to hundreds of people and here we are addressing some of the most commonly asked questions about the case.

Yolanda worked at Caffe Bar Italia from May until September 2014 on a 20hours/week contract at £6.50/hour. However the cafe management didn't pay her for the contracted 20 weekly hours as she was sent home whenever this suited the cafe - in violation of her legal contract. On top of that she wasn't paid her holiday entitlement. Yolanda then approached us for support.

In late November we went to Caffe Italia to hand over a letter explaining the situation, and to have a chat to find an amicable solution.  We acceeded to several of the cafe's requests to be given more time until a meeting was agreed in the presence of their solicitor for December. The cafe cancelled this with 2 hours notice, refusing to communicate further. At the same time the cafe put pressure on Yolanda through mutual friends. This left us with no option but to start our public campaign on 13. December, which we have maintained since. Soon after, Yolanda left the UK - if it's hard to live on a part-time minimum-wage  job, it becomes impossible when you don't get paid for nearly half your contracted hours.