Detroit Inquiry: A Workers' Inquiry Into the Looting of an American City

From the Sri Lankan Independent Workers Inquiry Committee, investigating the water pollution in Weliweriya: In April, the IWIC decided to extend its investigation to water and air pollution by the Hanwella Rubber Products plant in Thunnana, Avissawella. The Dipped Products Company also owns the factory. The venue for the IWIC’s report-back meeting had to be changed several times after the police, at the instigation of the government and the company, intimidated local hall owners. The meeting was initially planned for June 29 at Vila Gaya Hall in Weliweriya but the police in an underhand manner ordered the hall owners to cancel the IWIC’s booking. Other local hall owners were reluctant to rent their facilities for the event. The meeting was rescheduled for July 20 at the Gampaha Town Hall—about eight kilometres from Weliweriya—and the appropriate payments made. The hall is owned by the local council, which is currently controlled by the President Mahinda Rajapakse’s ruling party. Two days before the meeting, the council informed IWIC organisers that the facility was not available. The false reason given was that the hall would be under repair on that day. The IWIC quickly arranged another hall in Gampaha. The company, the government and the police were hostile to the IWIC investigation from the outset. The officer in charge of Weliweriya police asked an IWIC organiser why the SEP was discussing water pollution in the area when all other parties had abandoned the issue. ... See MoreSee Less

2 days ago

Detroit Inquiry: A Workers' Inquiry Into the Looting of an American City

In the face of popular outrage over mass water shutoffs in Detroit, and damaging exposures of the brutality of American society in the international media, Detroit officials on Monday morning announced a 15-day “pause” of water shutoffs that have targeted tens of thousands of city residents unable to pay their bills. The temporary suspension of shutoffs, announced by Detroit Water and Sewerage Department Deputy Director Darryl Latimer, is a public relations move. Water department officials were quick to declare they would continue their aggressive “collection campaign”—which has led to the shutoff 3,000 household per week—after the two-week hiatus. “This is a pause. This is not a moratorium,” DWSD spokesman Bill Johnson told the Detroit News. “We are pausing to give an opportunity to customers who have trouble paying their bills to come in and make arrangements with us. We want to make sure we haven’t missed any truly needy people.” In other words, the “pause” is aimed at perpetrating and legitimizing the fraud that the shutoff of water does not target the “truly needy.” In fact, in order to qualify, residents will have to provide documents proving the need for assistance, officials said, and they would have to enroll in some kind of payment plan. To have service restored, residents typically must pay 30 percent of their outstanding bill (often hundreds or even thousands of dollars) and keep present bills current in order to qualify for a 36-month plan to pay off their balance—or face another shutoff. City officials are well aware that such terms are impossible for the vast majority of residents in city. Nearly 40 percent of the population lives below the poverty line, and constant rate increases have made Detroit water bills among the highest in the nation. ... See MoreSee Less

3 days ago