            WORKERS SOLIDARITY
     Paper of the Irish anarchist group,
         Workers Solidarity Movement
   No 43 Autumn 1994 (electronic addition)

Part 5 (A rotten world?)  12K

    Interview with Italian anarchist
    Ireland..The land of a 1000 welcomes?
    Hicksons chemical spill
    37% illegally underpaid

         ********************

     AFTER BERLUSCONI'S ELECTION
WOMENS RIGHTS, SEX AND THE POPE

ITALY SEEMS all bad news these days with 
the new government coalition's that is a 
mix of the neo-fascist party National 
Alliance, the separatist Lega Nord and 
Forza Italia the party of the media tycoon, 
Berlusconi.  What we hear less of in 
Ireland is the opposition to these forces.  
A member of the Florence affiliate of the 
Italian Anarchist Federation tells us of 
some of the problems facing progressives in 
Italy.

"The annual anti-clerical conference 
organised by several anti-authoritarian 
associations and anarchist groups took 
place as usual in Fano, a small town next 
to the Adriatic sea in central Italy.  With 
the elections it appears the clerical-
authoritarian side of Italian society has 
won for the moment over the 
progressive/democratic side.  

"The new government is planning to attack 
all the laws concerning those civil rights 
that have been won in the last 20 years; 
sexual and racial discrimination, divorce, 
abortion and the No.180 Act, which 
prevented people in need of psychiatric 
help from being confined in mental asylums 
or jails.

"There have been no laws against 
homosexuals and immigrants in Italy since 
WWII, however this may soon change.  But, 
it's only since 1974 and 1978 that 
referendums were called by the people to 
have laws for free access to divorce and 
assisted abortion.  (In Italy it is 
possible to get a referendum by collecting 
signatures.)

"The 1978 referendum, concerning abortion 
rights, had been called mainly by the 
feminist movement together with anti-
authoritarian movements, including the 
anarchist and gay movements.  Initially the 
law was accepted as a necessary experiment 
in limiting the damages caused by back 
street-abortions, i.e. permanent personal 
injuries, haemorrhages and deaths caused by 
phoney doctors or doctors concerned only 
with money making.

"Along with the abortion law Italy has seen 
the widespread growth of gynaecological 
advisory boards which, in a state heavily 
influenced by Catholic fundamentalism along 
with all its sex phobic taboos, offer 
chances for solidarity among women, medical 
examinations and advice about 
contraception.

"In preparation for the UN conference on 
Demographic Growth which to going to be 
held in Cairo next September, the Catholic 
hierarchies are intensifying their 
campaigns against the right of women and 
couples to decide and make their own 
choices.  However there are inner conflicts 
and differences within the Catholic world 
itself.  

When visiting Italy, Frances Kissling, 
president of the American association 
"Catholics for Free Choice" took a firm 
stand on the Pope's policy: "Vatican city 
is a state, the only town without women and 
children.  But still on what concerns 
sexuality and reproduction it pretends to 
know more than the women it's supposed to 
represent."

"The Pope's words are particularly 
destructive in his motherland and in Spain.  
In Poland it's still difficult to find 
condoms on chemists shelves, while we are 
still waiting for Lech Walesa to resign as 
promised on the enforcement of the 'pro-
abortion act'.  In Spain abortion is 
restricted to a very limited number of 
cases such as deformity of the foetus or 
serious danger of the mother's life.

"In this international scene population 
control policies are being turned into 
instruments for political control.  The 
Vatican appeal against contraception and 
abortion in the less developed countries 
means keeping millions of starving children 
and families under the ruling thumb of 
western economics.

"As libertarians, we hope that no single 
child will become a new fetish in society 
of either straight couples or alternative 
communities.  We hope individuals will 
always remain a loving deed born from free 
choice.  We think it better to get rid of 
the bigoty of clerical hierarchies and of 
the boasting headlines of hired mass media 
which are turning a deed of love into a 
living oddity to be shown at the circus, to 
be peeped at on TV screens, even sold at 
markets."

           ******************

IRELAND : The land of 1,000 welcomes?

Prior to the World Cup, supporters of the 
Irish football team were supplied with 
brochures which they were meant to pass on 
to people when they got to the States.  
This was a drive by Board Failte (Tourist 
Board) to encourage more tourism from 
America.  

For years Ireland has been portrayed as an 
unspoiled island with a beautiful coast, 
mountains and lakes.  The hospitality of 
the people is renowned but sadly it is not 
reflected in the state's current 
immigration policy.  If you end up in 
Ireland looking for more than a holiday 
you'll quickly find out how the Irish State 
operates.  People who have sought political 
asylum in Ireland have met with little joy.

In 1990 a Chinese Student, Ji Yao Lau 
arrived in Ireland seeking political 
asylum.  He quickly ended up in Mountjoy 
Jail.  This man was fleeing the Chinese 
authorities after the Tienanmen Square 
Massacre in Beijing.  He was ruled 
ineligible for bail as he had committed no 
offence!  He wasn't released for six 
months.  This is not the kind of 
hospitality one reads about in the tourist 
guides.  Eventually he left for another 
country where his case for asylum might get 
a sympathetic hearing.  This case is not an 
isolated one.

The Nationality & Citizenship Act of 1986 
lays down a number of situations in which 
the Minister for Justice can exercise 
discretion and waive normal rules.  This 
discretionary power also covers the 
granting or more likely the refusal of 
citizenship to refugees.  Although the 
present Minister for Justice, Maire 
Goeghean Quinn, denies allegations of 
racism in the policy, the facts would seem 
to speak for themselves.  

On the 1991 figures, of the 9,400 people 
granted Irish Citizenship not one of them 
was from either Africa or Asia.  When a 
person is refused citizenship they are not 
even given a reason or informed on what 
grounds they have been refused.  The whole 
operation is shrouded in the excuse of  
"national security".

However the Government is prepared to set 
out its stall to the world of commerce with 
catchy slogans like "passport for 
sale/investment".  The rules surrounding 
Citizenship of Ireland and it's 
availability appear to change according to 
your bank balance.  The Government recently 
was embarrassed by the revealing of it's 
'Citizenship for Investment Scheme'.  The 
basic outline is that if you are a 
businessperson and are prepared to invest a 
cool #1 million in Ireland then you can 
apply and receive your Irish Passport in 
the post. 

According to a consultancy firm which 
advises the wealthy about applications for 
Irish Citizenship  "An investor of Chinese 
origin or from the Sub-continent is not 
acceptable.  An investor of Middle East 
origins might be acceptable provided he/she 
was already legally resident in a developed 
country."  It is hardly surprising to see 
that the racism remains no matter how big 
the bank balance.  

The rules are written and rewritten by the 
ruling class to suit their needs.  
Investment in a faltering economy suits 
them but not giving refuge to people who 
are fleeing their own governments.  The 
rulers have to get on with the business of 
ruling and people do not appear high on the 
priority list.  It is ironic that in a 
country which has forced millions of its 
people abroad to seek work that we cannot 
grant the right to stay in our land to all 
those who seek it.  Anarchists say refuge 
should be a basic human right.  Therefore 
it should be granted to those who seek it.  

It is now very clear that Ireland is the 
'island of a thousand welcomes' only if you 
have a million pounds.  That's a fairly 
high price per welcome wherever you come 
from.

Dermot Sreenan

         ******************

        COMPANY PLEAD GUILTY
         PROFITS CAME FIRST

HICKSON PHARMACHEM, the company at the 
centre of last year's explosion and fire in 
Ringaskiddy, Co. Cork, pleaded guilty in 
July to three charges of negligence and 
improper handling of hazardous chemical 
substances.  The result of this negligence 
was a major industrial accident in the 
harbour area of Cork, which very nearly 
caused a major contamination and deaths.

As a result of the guilty pleas the company 
was fined a total of #2,250, a sum which 
can only be regarded as peanuts.  The 
prosecution brought by the Health and 
Safety Authority (HSA) effectively brings 
to an end the three enquiries initiated by 
the government and Cork County Council on 
foot of the August 1993 explosion.

A number of recommendations may also be 
made to Hickson but, it was confirmed to 
Workers Solidarity by the HSA, these are 
confidential - "the public need not 
necessarily be informed".  This scandalous 
situations comes after the admission by 
Hickson that it proceeded with changes to 
its manufacturing process in Cork without 
fully testing the degree of danger 
involved.

This is despite the fact that they had 
ample evidence at their disposal that they 
were dealing with chemicals which were heat 
sensitive and probably dangerous.  The 
trial also revealed that Hickson management 
had not completed a key safety audit of its 
manufacturing process, despite having over 
one year to do so.  The reasons given for 
this were "it had... not... happened".

The core issue was Hickson's quest for 
profits over and above those already being 
made (see Workers Solidarity no.41).  It 
was this that motivated the excessive 
changes changes in manufacturing which led 
to an otherwise safe process being turned 
into a time bomb.  

But it must be said that it was never 
likely Hickson would be taken to task for 
this crime, given that a central plank of 
government economic policy hinges on 
"providing a stable and supportive 
environment for business to make money in".  

For workers at the Hickson plant the 
central problem remains.  A number of them 
who spoke to Workers Solidarity confirmed 
that little has changed since the accident.  
"Management", as one put it, "have learned 
nothing".  This will come as no surprise to 
many, but for workers and residents in the 
harbour area it bodes ill.

The limited prosecution of Hickson and the 
paltry fines imposes underline, more than 
anything else, that responsibility for 
health & safety cannot be left in the hands 
of the state.  Effective action will 
require an organisation linking workers in 
the industry with the many residents' 
associations.  Such an organisation can be 
built.  Now, more than ever, is the time.

Kevin Doyle

            ******************

      37% ILLEGALLY UNDERPAID

WAGES COUNCILS, which used to set minimum 
wages in badly paid industries like 
catering, in Northern Ireland & Britain are 
no more.  As reported in the last edition 
of Workers Solidarity they were abolished 
by the Tories on February 7th.  

Latest figures from the Low Pay Network 
show that, just before their abolition, 
over 37% of the workplaces visited by wages 
inspectors were illegally underpaying 
staff.  However there were only 12 
prosecutions (so much for Tory huffing and 
puffing about "the law must be obeyed").  
In another survey one in five vacancies 
offered in job centres were below the 
minimum wages set by the wage councils.

         ******************

           IN OTHER SECTIONS

Part 1  (Intro & Shorts)

    Socialism & freedom
    10 years of the WSM
    Thats Capitalism
    World Unemployment
    Revolutionaries
    letter from Serbia

Part 2  (Ireland & Imperialism)

    It was always time to go..Troops out now!
    When British army chiefs refused to obey orders
    Nationalism...No Thanks
    When the Falls & the Shankill fought together

Part 3  (Drugs)

In this section

    Legalise it
    The heroin menace

Part 4 (Campaigns & Struggle in Ireland)

   TEAM workers told not to expect a decent job
   Lets get together
   Anti-Water charges campaign gets off ground
   Reasons to bin the bill

            ***********************

Workers Solidarity currently comes out four
times a year.  For subscription details write
to WSM, PO Box 1528, Dublin 8, Ireland.  
Also appearing in the near future will be a 
theoretical magazine called Red and Black 
Revolution.

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The Workers Solidarity Movement can be contacted at 
     PO Box 1528, Dublin 8, Ireland

or by anonymous e-mail to an64739@anon.penet.fi

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