Welcome to the July 2013 issue of Fightback, publication of Fightback (Aotearoa/NZ). Fightback is a socialist organisation with branches in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington and Christchurch.
Labour, or work, is at the centre of a historical materialist (or Marxist) view of social relations. Ian Anderson, Fightback coordinating editor, considers the nature of unpaid labour such as ‘housework’ in relation to socialist and feminist politics.
In a continuation of on-going government attacks on both employed and unemployed workers, two bills proposed by National MPs seek to further gut union rights. Fightback member Joel Cosgrove argues the need for fighting unions that take industrial action to defend and extend rights.
Rebuilding working class solidarity and self-activity is a matter of both theory and practice. On April 29th, negotiations broke down between McDonald’s and Unite Union, with McDonald’s offering a paltry 25 cent pay increase for theirstaff. Nationwide, 85% of unionised McDonald’s workers voted to reject this offer and take action for improved pay and conditions. On page 14 Fightback covers strike actions in Wellington during this campaign.
Our struggle is global, against both capitalism and imperialism. Fightback reprints a piece by Andrew Tait, originally published by the International Socialist Organisation, on popular movements in Turkey and Brazil (p15-18); Byron Clark covers Papa New Guinea’s increasing ‘regionalism’ in moving to reject Australian and New Zealand trade dominance (p19) and finally Ian Anderson reviews Five Broken Cameras, a documentary on Palestinian resistance screened as part of Aotearoa/NZ’s first national Conference on Palestine (p20).
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