In Italy the USB and Si Cobas unions are facing a 350-page indictment by the Piagenza Public Prosecutor’s Office in which the unions and trade unionists are accused of “crimes” such as picketing strikes, protests and mobilisations in the logistics sector.
On the basis of this indictment, a police operation has been carried out since this morning with searches of trade unionists’ homes and the arrest of 4 USB trade unionists.
A few days ago, the name of George Orwell came to the spotlight during a discussion in the Greek Parliament. In one of their usual dogfights, Prime Minister Mitsotakis and major opposition-Syriza leader Tsipras referred to Orwell's concept of “totalitarianism” in order to attack each other. Mitsotakis quoted the novelist's aversion towards “left totalitarianism”, while Tsipras replied that his party has always been critical towards the actually existing socialism. Their reference to Orwell is no accidental: Despite their particular differences, bourgeois politicians find themselves on the same camp when it comes to anti-communism.
On behalf of his comrades of the @PCC, which he gave prestige with his exemplarity, and the people of #Cuba, to which he devoted his life tirelessly, our heartfelt embrace to the family and friends of Commander Jose Ramon Balaguer Cabrera, the president wrote on his Twitter account.
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| Solly Mapaila (left) with former General Secretary Blade Nzimande. |
Mapaila has expressed vocal opposition against corruption and was among the leaders who called former South African President Jacob Zuma to resign before the end of his term.
Nzimande, the Party's long-time General Secretary since 1998 was elected Chairperson.
Comrades,
We are holding this important meeting in an especially difficult moment for class struggle. The imperialist war being waged in Ukraine is the key element that determines all the other issues and, from our viewpoint, it is a turning point in the international scene with important outcomes in the domestic spheres of our countries.
The statement reads:
At the beginning of the year, there was a sharp increase in the cost of living, which reached about 7%. In this situation, the 2022 wage increase did not have a significant effect, and there are still workers who have not yet received the wage change. This implied a higher cost for the workers, who were also affected by the loss of benefits and working conditions during the pandemic.
This has forced workers to cut back on consumption of some goods and services, or to work even longer hours to maintain their real incomes. Halfway through the year, inflation is considered by specialists to be uncontrollable, as it is currently around 7.5 per cent, but is expected to reach 10 per cent by the end of the year. In concrete terms, the basic food basket has shot up to 27% and this is taking its toll on the pockets of working families.
The full statement is as follows:
The general assessment of the nature of the war launched under the guise of a special military operation (SMO) by the Union of Communists of Ukraine (UCU) generally coincides with the Statement of the Communist and Workers' Parties of February 24, 2022, supported by the UCU.
The event marked the culmination of the festivities of the 31st Anti-imperialist Camp of the Communist Youth of Greece (KNE) which takes place in the seaside village of Nies, Central Greece.
To Cliff Smith
Roofers Local 36 Business Manager
To Union of Roofers, Waterproofers and Allied Workers
"The court has satisfied the claims of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine: the activities of the Communist Party of Ukraine have been banned; the property, funds and other assets of the party, its regional, city, district organizations, primary centers and other structural entities have been transferred to the ownership of the state," a statement published in Ukrinform reads.
The theme of the meeting, which will take place at the KKE Party headquarters in Perissos, is "We strengthen the workers-people's struggle against the imperialist war and capital's attack, for socialism". According to Rizospastis, all the four parties will be represented by their heads. More specifically, the participant comrades are:
Under the pretext of false and groundless accusations, the two brothers, members of the Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine were arrested on March 7th, 2022 and tortured in a Kiev detention center.
Since then, numerous Communist Parties and Youth organizations from all over the world, including the World Federation of Democratic Youth (WFDY) have demanded their immediate release. The EU Parliament Group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) has already submitted two written questions (first and second) to the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs concerning the case of Kononovich brothers.
"The least we owe Ukraine is full support, and to do this we need a stronger Nato [...] Today, one cannot be a leftist if one does not unequivocally stand behind Ukraine” (The Guardian, June 21, 2022).
Who is the author of the above words? Is it NATO Secretary Jens Stoltenberg? Or German Chancellor Olaf Scholz? Maybe Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez? None of them. The phrase belongs to a celebrity of contemporary left-wing intelligentsia. The much publicized “Hegelian Marxist” philosopher Slavoj Žižek.