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Audio: Workfare discussions at the London Anarchist Bookfair

The following talk was recorded at this year's big anarchist bash and features comments on the controversial government "Workfare" scheme by reps from Boycott Workfare, Solidarity Federation, Edinburgh Coalition Against Poverty and others, explaining how people are treated and looking at some of the techniques which are being used to push companies out of the programme.

Critics of the scheme say that using job centres to provide free labour for unskilled or low-skilled jobs actively discourages companies from paying living wages for such jobs - why would they, when they can get the same thing done for free?

North London SolFed pickets Kilburn Poundland

As part of the Solidarity Federation's ongoing campaign targeting employers who use workfare, members of North London SF today converged on Kilburn High Road.

Unit 24: The spirit of anarcho-syndicalism

This Unit aims to

  • Take anarcho-syndicalist history and project it forward into the first years of the 21st Century.
  • Provide some ideas as to the choices on offer to us in changing society today.
  • Provide a discussion of some of the ideas at the core of anarcho-syndicalism today.
  • Present some notes and comments on 3 examples of types of struggles taking place today.
  • Contribute to new and more effective action; from which we can collectively bring about a better society.

Introduction

Unit 23: Roots of modern anarcho-syndicalism: morality, culture & tactics

This Unit aims to

  • Follow on from Unit 22, tracing the origins, motivations and ideas of anarcho-syndicalism.
  • Summarise the character of anarcho-syndicalism.
  • Illustrate when and how anarcho- syndicalism developed and incorporated cohesive ideas, principles and tactics.

Introduction

Unit 22: Roots of modern anarcho-syndicalism: freedom, oppression & rebellion

This Unit aims to

  • Summarise the main origins and motivations in the development of modern anarcho-syndicalism.
  • Recap on some of the achievements that have been brushed under the carpet of capitalist history.
  • Emphasise the sheer extent of anarchist influence on revolutionary movements.
  • Examine the lessons from these experiences that are still relevant for us to apply today and in the future.

Terms and abbreviations

Primitivist: Someone who believes that civilisation has gone to far and we need to dismantle it and return to a simple way of life without modern technology. 

Unit 21: anarcho-syndicalism 1939-99

This Unit aims to

  • Trace the development of the IWA in the post-war era, following on from the period covered in Unit 13.
  • Examine the re-emergence of the CNT in Spain.
  • Look at the attempts to turn the CNT towards reformism.
  • Analyse the reasons behind the formation of the CGT.

Terms and abbreviations

IWA: International Workers’ Association, the international anarcho- syndicalist movement, founded in 1922 (see Unit 13), note that the acronym is AIT in Spanish.
CNT: Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labour). Anarcho-syndicalist union
FAUD: Freie Arbeiter-Union Deutschlands, German anarcho- syndicalist union federation up to its suppression by the Nazis

Unit 20: Britain, 1950-1990 - Decline of Social Democracy

This Unit aims to

  • Continue on from Unit 19, following the economic and political scene in Britain after the Second World War.
  • Investigate the failure of Keynesian demand management.
  • Examine the post-war shop stewards movement.
  • Look at the decline of the Communist Party and the emergence
  • of the ‘new left’ and rank and file movement.
  • Chart the onslaught of Thatcherism on the working class.

Terms and abbreviations

Keynesian Economics: An economic theory advocating government intervention, or demand side management of the economy, to achieve full employment and stable prices.
Macro-economic: The performance of the overall economy, inflation, unemployment, and industrial production.

Unit 19: Britain, 1930-1950 - The Era of Reform

This Unit aims to

  • Examine the period when reforms and state interventionist policies came to dominate Britain and the rest of the advanced capitalist world.
  • Look at the role of the trade unions during this critical time.
  • Analyse the role of the Communist Party during the inter-war period.

Terms and abbreviations

SWF: Syndicalist Workers’ Federation. Anarcho-syndicalist group formed in 1950.
DAM: Direct Action Movement. Anarcho-syndicalist group formed in 1979.
TUC: Trades Union Congress.
NUWCM: National Unemployed Workers Committee Movement.
CP: Communist Party.
TGWU: Transport and General Workers’ Union.
NUR: National Union of Railwaymen.

Unit 18: Spain - The Collectives

This Unit aims to

  • Give an overview of how the collectives in the Spanish
  • Revolution were organised.
  • Consider the problems faced by the collectives.
  • Describe how the collectives functioned internally.
  • Examine the mechanisms for the production and distribution ofgoods.
  • Indicate how lessons learned from the Spanish collectives are still relevant today.

Terms and abbreviations

CNT: Confederacion Nacional del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labour). Anarcho-syndicalist union.
LEC: Local Economic Council
UGT: Union General de Trabajadores (General Workers’ Union). Reformist trade union controlled by the socialists.

Unit 17: Spain 1936-39: Revolution and Civil War

This Unit aims to

  • Give a short introduction to and provide a chronology and commentary on the political and military events of 1936-39 in Spain.
  • Chart the reasons behind the entry into government by the CNT.
  • Examine the workers’ militias.
  • Discuss the rise in influence of the Communists.

Terms and abbreviations

CNT: Confederacion Nacionaln del Trabajo (National Confederation of Labour). Anarcho-syndicalist union.
PSO: Partido Socialista Obrero (Workers’ Socialist Party)
POUM: Partido Obrero de Unificacion Marxista (United Marxist Workers Party). Dissident revolutionary Communist Party
FAI: Federacion Anarquista Iberica (Iberian Anarchist Federation)

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