Socialist Voice - June 2003 (No.69) - Battle Looms Over Bin Tax

June 2003 - No.69
Battle Looms Over Bin Tax	BEFORE THEY head for their extended summer holidays, this government are preparing to put the boot in one more time. By mid July, it is likely that new legislation will be passed that will give councils the right to leave behind the refuse of households who have not paid the bin tax.
North: Reject Water Charges	AT THE "consultation" meetings called to ask us what way we wanted to pay water charges and how we would like our water to be privatised, the government got their answer.
Special Feature: France - Millions on the March Against Cuts & Evian Anti-G8 Demo	TWO DAYS of protest in February and April were followed by large May Day demonstrations, involving 300,000. Then on 13 May up to two million workers in 115 towns and cities took part in a day of strikes and demonstrations. Some workers stayed out the following day.... THE POLITICAL and economic background to last month's G8 summit in Evian, France was vastly different to the last time the heads of state of eight of the biggest world powers met in Europe two years ago in Genoa.
Bin Tax Round-up: Stand Firm to Defeat Non-Collection	THE BATTLE against the bin tax is reaching a crucial point. If the councils and the government are not met with a resolute response that scuppers their plans not to collect the bins of non-payers, the campaign can be significantly weakened. Alternatively if we stand firm, we can throw their plans and the tax into disarray. The new legislation that gives the councils the power of non collection is likely to be signed into law by mid July.
Joe Higgins Column: Cullen's Savage Attack	THE MINISTER for the Environment, Martin Cullen, introduced the "Protection of the Environment Bill, 2003", in the Dail on 29 May. This Bill is the "Trojan Horse" through which three provisions are being introduced which constitute a savage attack on local democracy and provide a weapon to impose a new tier of local taxation on ordinary people.
NI Assembly Elections: Slate Needed to Defend Public Services	A RECENT opinion poll demonstrates that a significant minority of voters in Northern Ireland are sick of the sectarian parties and are looking for an alternative. Up to seventeen per cent declared their intention to vote for smaller parties outside the sectarian circus.
Editorial: Weapons of Mass Destruction	IT IS becoming clear that the US and British governments took hearsay, rumours and suspect intelligence reports and passed them off has hard facts to justify the war. "Evidence" presented to the UN by Colin Powell was based on information received from Iraqi defectors associated with Ahmed Chalabi, the criminal the US hope to impose as their new puppet leader of Iraq.
Health Crisis: Bed Closures and Broken Promises	DESPITE 10 years of unprecedented growth in the Irish economy, the health service is lurching from crisis to crisis. In a recent opinion poll 92% of people said that the government had broken their pre election promises on health. Health is now the single biggest issue of concern to working class people.
North: No Support for Water Charges	A NUMBER of stormy "consultation meetings" have taken place across the North on the government's plans to introduce separate water charges. Socialist Party members and trade unionists were among those who intervened in the 200 strong meeting in Belfast. The meeting ended with a unanimous vote to reject the charges. We explain the real agenda of New Labour, and of local parties, in introducing these charges.
North: Carmel Gates Elected NIPSA President	SOCIALIST PARTY member Carmel Gates has been elected President of Northern Ireland's biggest union, NIPSA. The vote took place at the union's annual conference held at the end of May.
North: Airport Workers are "True Trade Unionists"	"WHAT HAS happened to you is a disgrace. You are true trade unionists". These were the words of former T&GWU General Secretary, Jack Jones, now a leading campaigner on behalf of pensioners, when he met the three shop stewards who were sacked by Belfast International airport for striking against poverty pay.
Against War, Against Capitalism - Socialist Youth Festival 2003	THIS YEAR'S Socialist Youth Festival promises to be one of the highlights of the calendar. Young people from throughout Ireland, North & South, will attend the summer camp over the weekend of 18-20 July at Tanagh Outdoor Adventure, Co. Cavan, for a weekend of socialism and craic.
Aceh: Indonesian Army Unleashes Bloody Assault	THE INDONESIAN army has launched a ferocious military assault in Aceh in an attempt to destroy the pro-independence Free Aceh Movement (GAM) and to cow the local population.
Workplace News - North	SOCIAL WORK Pay Dispute: The Action Continues - Swing to the Left at NIPSA Conference - Angry Shorts Workers Reject Pay Deal.
Workplace News - South	CPSU: SUSPENSIONS Threatened - CPSU Conference: Cuts Provoke Anger - ADM Workers: Locked Out & Sacked - ATGWU: Right Wing Regional Secretary Imposed.
No to Privatisation: Save Our Public Services	THE BATTLE against the bin tax poses the fundamental question: should essential services be geared to the needs of people or are they about making profits for big business?
North: Young Workers Demand a Living Wage	THE INDEPENDENT recently published the salaries that Britain's top 100 companies pay their chief executives. This stuff should come with a health warning - it makes sickening reading.