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Over 160 invited guests attended the launch of a new DVD and pamphlet on the GAMA strike in Wynn's Hotel, Dublin last night. Meetings also took place in Cork and Limerick to mark the launch.
The Socialist Party and Frameworks Films Present a new documentary on an historic Struggle:
The GAMA Strike -A victory for all workers
This 73-minute documentary is available from the Socialist Party for 10 euros from http://www.socialistparty.net
The pamphlet on the struggle is titled: We are Workers not Slaves -the story of the GAMA struggle
And here is a press release that the Socialist Party have released in conjunction with the premiere:
Socialist Party Press Release 27/07/2006
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New documentary: "The GAMA Strike - a victory for all workers" to assist the struggle to re-claim the trade unions.
It shows migrant workers can be organised, that "a race to the bottom" and the potential for division amongst workers, can be resisted
Endorsement by trade union leaders of "Towards 2016" shows the real lessons of the GAMA strike not learnt.
"Irish Ferries and countless other examples, most recently the allegations about TCD, the company used by Bus Eireann, confirm the truth that first emerged in the GAMA strike, that migrant workers are being systematically abused in Ireland.
This new documentary "The GAMA Strike -a victory for all workers" shows how globalisation has strengthened the economic link between governments, states and big business internationally and demonstrates how the system is geared to facilitating big business rather than safeguarding workers' rights.
The Socialist Party is in favour of legislation that re-enforces workers' rights but this documentary clearly shows that on its own legislation cannot defend workers. Above all, trade union organisation and action are the only way to fight for the rights of migrant workers.
This documentary poses a real alternative to the bosses' policy of "a race to the bottom" (of using the underpayment of migrant workers to undermine the wages and conditions of all workers). By organisation and militant action, the GAMA workers were brought up to and re-enforced the trade union rates and conditions.
The documentary deals with the key challenge facing the trade unions. Are they going to resist the attacks on pay and conditions and the dangers of divisions amongst workers, both organised and unorganised and Irish and migrant? That would require the unions to launch a major recruitment campaign to turn a majority of workers into union members. Unfortunately the endorsement by the main trade union leaders of the "Towards 2016" social partnership deal illustrates that they have learned none of the real lessons from the GAMA struggle.
This documentary shows how the Turkish workers and the Socialist Party were able to turn around trade union inactivity and organise a successful struggle. It is vital that all those who believe that workers' rights must be defended get organised to re-claim and re-build the trade unions as campaigning, fighting organisations.
The Socialist Party believes that the production and widespread distribution of this new documentary "The GAMA Strike -a victory for all workers" can play an important role in re-arming workers and the trade unions for future battles."
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