# Mayday



## Dic Penderyn (May 5, 2008)

It was Mayday the other day. Apart from electioneering to try desperately to get themselves into local councils, pro-working class organisations in Wales did bugger all to mark the event.

In the past local anarchos have always used 1st May as an excuse to bugger off somewhere more active for some big demo. But wouldn't it be a good idea to mark Mayday in Cardiff next year?

Have a look at this blog


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## llantwit (May 6, 2008)

Nice blog.
Interesting that many of comments posted so far have centred around the call to support immigrants.
Do people think that a pro-immigrant stance will hinder a coalition looking to celbrate a politicised Mayday in Wales?


One guy said:


> I think immigration is bad for both domestic workers and immigrant workers. Immigration is an anti-working class bourgeois strategy to swell the labour pool and drive down wages.


Another was put off by there not being enough class analysis:


> No precarity - yeah, that’s what it’s all about!
> Seriously - there’s nothing wrong with putting migrants at the centre of Mayday but it’s for all workers. Migrants include Roman Abramovich and other multi-millionaires - are we defending them?
> A bit more class analysis and relevance to Wales rather than cutting and pasting some godawful translation might help.


Before DJ Lynx came in with a good post saying:


> not sure how the comments thread got hijacked into a conversation on immigration. sure rich people promote and encourage immigration to drive down wages, but that doesn’t meant that we should allow things like immigration status to divide our movement. solidarity is our best weapon and that means all working-class people everywhere - without regard to borders, race, nationality, ethnicity, or legal status. so cheers to keeping solidarity front and center. showing solidarity with immigrants and migrants is not the same as encouraging mass migration that uproots communities and forces people to flee far from friends and families in search of work, but these are our brothers and sisters and we owe it to them and to ourselves to stand up for them and for ourselves.
> basically, i think you’re both right. as noborderswales said “Migration is the natural result of the legacy of western colonialism”, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t figure into bourgeoisie strategies. and solidarity is our best weapon to derail those strategies.
> just my 2 cents.


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## niclas (May 6, 2008)

llantwit said:


> Nice blog.
> Interesting that many of comments posted so far have centred around the call to support immigrants.
> Do people think that a pro-immigrant stance will hinder a coalition looking to celbrate a politicised Mayday in Wales?



My main problem with it was that it was so prescriptive - workers have nothing in common with their nation. Once again, it takes that "one size fits all" approach to national identity that has made elements of the left so irrelevant in Wales.

Some of the demands were odd and vague - "unconditional basic income" could be support for a minimum wage of £5 an hour. The European living wage wasn't quantified. Free access to skills - what does that mean? Define "cheap housing" .
 "Self organizing and unionizing rights freed from state repression" - why not repeal all anti-trade union laws?
 Precarization of youth is just gobbledygook.

Now all these might make sense if they were properly translated but I couldn't take that to my local trades council with any conviction.

And although there was talk of the working class, there was no class definition of migrants - who include non-doms, football stars and others with whom we have no common class interest.

If someone can re-define this statement more clearly, it'd be supportable. Until then, it's just Babelfish-meets-Trotsky.


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## llantwit (May 6, 2008)

niclas said:


> If someone can re-define this statement more clearly, it'd be supportable. Until then, it's just Babelfish-meets-Trotsky.



Lets get working on it then.
I agree with all of those points, btw.
How about the more general call for a Welsh Mayday? Or a South Welsh Mayday, if the Call out's for Cardiff?


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## lewislewis (May 6, 2008)

Alot of people would support a Wales May Day. From all different causes associated with the left.


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## niclas (May 7, 2008)

llantwit said:


> Lets get working on it then.
> I agree with all of those points, btw.
> How about the more general call for a Welsh Mayday? Or a South Welsh Mayday, if the Call out's for Cardiff?



A Welsh Mayday would include me - a S Wales/Cardiff one doesn't, so I'd prefer the first option 
 Any help I can give in organising support for it in the north, let me know. Would be good to make it a real festival - y'now fun as well as politics.


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## peterkro (May 7, 2008)

In Mayday news from further afield Chinese workers have had their usual 7 days celebrations cut to 3 days. Seemed to be having fun though.


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## Udo Erasmus (May 7, 2008)

Maybe a Welsh may day focused on three locations in North, South and West Wales.


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## Dic Penderyn (May 7, 2008)

The point of the blog was to get the idea of a Mayday in Wales off the ground using of the example of euromayday 008. The theme of opposing the difficult living conditions of working class people regardless of where they are from is a good one imho. 

I'm sorry if I made the class distinction of migrants unclear, certainly there is no way _"non-doms, football stars and others with whom we have no common class interest."_ should be part of what May Day is about. However I do believe wholeheartedly that fellow working class people persecuted by the British border regime are very much in need of our solidarity and support. Make no mistake the majority of people being fucked over by the border and immigration agency are working class!!

All my and my peer group's employment experiences has been precarious work. Perhaps the use of a snippet of translated text was unfortunate.

Anyway, as llantwit said, lets get working on it. I think defining a Welsh May Day statement needs to be the work of a collective of people. I like the idea of a focus in three locations (Aberystwyth, Cardiff & Wrexham?), with a united theme. 

Oh and _"fun as well as politics"_ - fuck yes.


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## Udo Erasmus (May 7, 2008)

we can take inspiration from the thousands of dockers in the States who on May Day of this year took strike action to call for US troops to be pulled out of Iraq and Afghanistan.


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## Dic Penderyn (May 12, 2008)

The longshoreman's strike was inspiring stuff, as was the _"multi-ethnic, decentralized, multi-topic and multi-tactic national day of mobilization to support immigrant workers rights"_ - though not the most catchy name!


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## Dic Penderyn (May 14, 2008)

Udo Erasmus said:


> Maybe a Welsh may day focused on three locations in North, South and West Wales.



Gethin 'Iestyn' Gruffydd thinks it should be in Swansea, anyone on here who lives in Swansea up for it?


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## Udo Erasmus (May 15, 2008)

He's wrong, Cardiff is much better than Swansea.


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## Dic Penderyn (May 15, 2008)

And Newport is much better than Cardiff...

...though i think Cardiff would be a better location for a MayDay event...


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## Udo Erasmus (May 19, 2008)

*Iraqi Trade Unions: End the Occupation; Tear up the Oil Law *

_On May 1st, a day of international solidarity with workers and communities in struggle, Trade unions leaders throughout Iraq representing thousands of workers affirmed their demand for an immediate withdrawal of all occupation forces, mercenaries and foreign so-called 'advisors' from their country.

They also called for an end to the meddling of International Financial Institutions such as the IMF and world bank and for full trade union freedom and recognition, free from state control.

One of four demands directly refers to foreign oil companies: 

'We demand that the US government and others immediately cease lobbying for the oil law, which would fracture the country and hand control over our oil to multinational companies like Exxon, BP and Shell. We demand that all oil companies be prevented fromentering into any long-term agreement concerning oil while Iraq remains occupied. We demand that the Iraqi government tear up the current draft of the oil law, and begin to develop a legitimate oil policy based on full and genuine consultation with the Iraqi people. Only after all occupation forces are gone should a long term plan for the development of our oil resources be adopted.'_

*May Day 2008 Statement from the Iraqi Labour Movement *

To the Workers and All Peace Loving People of the World

On this day of international labour solidarity we call on our fellow trade unionists and all those worldwide who have stood against war and occupation to increase support for our struggle for freedom from occupation - both the military and economic.

We call upon the governments, corporations and institutions behind the ongoing occupation of Iraq to respond to our demands for real democracy, true sovereignty and self-determination free of all foreign interference.

Five years of invasion, war and occupation have brought nothing but death, destruction, misery and suffering to our people.

In the name of our “liberation,” the invaders have destroyed our nation’s infrastructure, bombed our neighbourhoods, broken into our homes, traumatized our children, assaulted and arrested many of our family members and neighbours, permitted the looting of our national treasures, and turned nearly twenty percent of our people into refugees.

The invaders helped to foment and then exploit sectarian divisions and terror attacks where there had been none.

Our union offices have been raided. Union property has been seized and destroyed. Our bank accounts have been frozen. Our leaders have been beaten, arrested, abducted and assassinated. Our rights as workers have been routinely violated. The Ba’athist legislation of 1987, which banned trade unions in the public sector and public enterprises (80% of all workers), is still in effect, enforced by Paul Bremer’s post-invasion Occupation Authority and then by all subsequent Iraqi administrations.

This is an attack on our rights and basic precepts of a democratic society, and is a grim reminder of the shadow of dictatorship still stalking our country.

Despite the horrific conditions in our country, we continue to organise and protest against the occupation, against workplaces abuses, and for better treatment and safer conditions.

Despite the sectarian plots around us, we believe in unity and solidarity and a common aim of public service, equality, and freedom to organise without external intrusions and coercion.

Our legitimacy comes from our members. Our principles of organisation are based on transparent and internationally recognised International Labour Organisation standards.

We call upon our allies and all the world’s peace-loving peoples to help us to end the nightmare of occupation and restore our sovereignty and national independence so that we can chart our own course to the future.

1) We demand an immediate withdrawal of all foreign
troops from our country, and utterly reject the agreement being
negotiated with the USA for long-term bases and a military presence. The
continued occupation fuels the violence in Iraq rather than alleviating
it. Iraq must be returned to full sovereignty.

2) We demand the passage of a labour law promised by our
Constitution, which adheres to ILO principles and on which Iraqi trade
unionists have been fully consulted, to protect the rights of workers to
organize, bargain and strike, independent of state control and
interference.

3) We demand an end to meddling in our sovereign economic
affairs by the International Monetary Fund, USA and UK. We demand
withdrawal of all economic conditionalities attached to the IMF's
agreements with Iraq, removal of US and UK economic "advisers"
from the corridors of Iraqi government, and a recognition by those bodies
that no major economic decisions concerning our services and resources
can be made while foreign troops occupy the country.

4) We demand that the US government and others immediately cease lobbying for the oil law, which would fracture the country and hand control over our oil to multinational companies like Exxon, BP and Shell. We demand that all oil companies be prevented from entering into any long-term agreement concerning oil while Iraq remains occupied. We demand that the Iraqi government tear up the current draft
of the oil law, and begin to develop a legitimate oil policy based on
full and genuine consultation with the Iraqi people. Only after all
occupation forces are gone should a long term plan for the development of
our oil resources be adopted.

We seek your support and solidarity to help us end the military and economic occupation of our country.

We ask for your solidarity for our right to organise and strike in defence of our interests as workers and of our public services and resources. Our public services are the legacy of generations before us and the inheritance of all future generations and must not be privatised.

We thank you for standing by us. We too stand with you in your own struggles for real democracy which we know you also struggle for, and against privatisation, exploitation and daily disempowerment in your workplaces and lives.

We commend those of you who have organised strikes and demonstrations to end the occupation in solidarity with us and we hope these actions will continue.

We look forward to the day when we have a world based on co-operation and solidarity. We look forward to a world free from war, sectarianism, competition and exploitation.

Endorsed by:
Hassan Juma’a Awad, President, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)
Faleh Abood Umara, General Secretary, Iraqi Federation of Oil Unions (IFOU)
Falah Alwan, President, Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (FWCUI)
Subhi Albadri, President, General Federation of Workers Councils and Unions in Iraq (GFWCUI)
Nathim Rathi, President, Iraqi Port Workers Trade Union
Samir Almuawi, President, Engineering Professionals Trade Union
Ghzi Mushatat, President, Mechanic and Print Shop Trade Union
Waleed Alamiri, President, Electricity Trade Union
Ilham Talabani, President, Banking Services Trade Union
Abdullah Ubaid, President, Railway Trade Union
Ammar Ali, President, Transportation Trade Union
Abdalzahra Abdilhassan, President, Service Employees Trade Union
Sundus Sabeeh, President, Barber Shop Workers Trade Union
Kareem Lefta Sindan, President, Lumber and Construction Trade Union, General Federation of Iraqi Workers (GFIW)
Sabah Almusawi, President, Wasit Independent Trade Union
Shakir Hameed, President, Lumber And Construction Trade Union (GFWCUI)
Awad Ahmed, President, Teachers Federation of Salahideen
Alaa Ghazi Mushatat, President, Agricultural And Food Substance Industries
Adnan Rathi Shakir, President, Water Resources Trade Union
Nahrawan Yas, President, Woman Affairs Bureau
Sabah Alyasiri, President (GFWCUI) Babil
Ali Tahi, President (GFWCUI) Najaf
Ali Abbas, President (GFWCUI) Basra
Muhi Abdalhussien, President (GFWCUI), Wasit
Ali Hashim Abdilhussien, President (GFWCUI) Kerbala
Ali Hussien, President (GFWCUI) Anbar
Mustafa Ameen, Arab Workers Bureau, President (GFWCUI)
Thameer Mzeail, Health Services, Union Committee
Khadija Saeed Abdullah, Teachers Federation, Member
Asmahan, Khudair, Woman Affairs, Textile Trade Unions
Adil Aljabiri, Oil Workers Trade Union Executive Bureau Member
Muhi Abdalhussien, Nadia Flaih, Service Employees Trade Unions
Rawneq Mohammed, Member, Media and Print Shop Trade Union
Abdlakareem Abdalsada, Vice President (GFWCUI)
Saeed Nima, Vice President (GFWCUI)
Sabri Abdalkareem, Member, (GFWCUI) Babil
Amjad Aljawhary, Representative of GFWCUI in North America


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## Udo Erasmus (May 19, 2008)

Dic Penderyn said:


> And Newport is much better than Cardiff...
> 
> ...though i think Cardiff would be a better location for a MayDay event...



Agreed. But Newport would be a better place than Cardiff for a comemoration of the Newport Rising. No?


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## Dic Penderyn (May 19, 2008)

Yes it would. But that's on November 4th. there is already a historical commemoration, it's of the kids dressed up in period costume variety though. should be some photos of last year on http://www.chartistnewport.org/


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