Fownhope’s Heart of Oak Society traces its roots to the age of friendly societies, when communities provided their own safety net. Its anniversary celebrations reveal a tradition still very much alive, says MARK SEDDON
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Hubs will turn weakness into strength
Claire Galloway
ANGUS REID explains the significance of Cuba’s egalitarian in letter and spirit Family Code and the pertinent lessons it holds for democracies anywhere in the world
Special report by PEOPLE’S WORLD
NICK WRIGHT considers how the isolation of Israel and a new film on the controversial Italian communist leader are creating new reference points for Italy’s left
CARLOS MARTINEZ says Cuba’s achievements in the face of a criminal blockade are startling, but the island’s future if the United States succeeds in crushing it looks bleak
AMNON BROWNFIELD STEIN reports that far-right MPs who mobbed the event organised by Hadash may have helped raise awareness of the brutality of the Israeli right
SOLIDARITY was not in short supply when British McDonalds workers staged their first ever strike last autumn, but few could match the display of commitment shown by the Glasgow-based young trade unionists who rose at dawn to board a coach to the capital, attending the strike rally at Parliament Square before returning to Scotland the same day.
It should be no surprise, therefore, that it’s a Scottish group — Better Than Zero (often branded as >ZERO) — which is at the forefront of the fight for precarious workers’ rights.
Campaign organiser Claire Galloway, herself a member of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, says fast food workers have been a key priority. “Over the past six months, we’ve been working with those in precarious workplaces, particularly fast food branches — McDonalds and KFC.”
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