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Showing posts with label N30. Show all posts
Showing posts with label N30. Show all posts
Friday, 30 November 2012
Today is the anniversary of N30…TUC name the date for a 24 hour general strike!
Yes…today, it will be 12 months ago to the day when over 2 million public sector workers went on strike to defend their pensions. It may have been just a year ago but how many have forgotten about that day? The biggest single day of strike action this country has seen for possibly 85 years, since the general strike of 1926. But we believe that when you close your eyes and remember how great a day that was or look at the photos you took or the videos on YouTube, you’ll realise that it really did happen and it IS possible for workers to take action in their millions. Because that’s what happened on N30 2011.
It wasn’t just a strike, it was a mobilisation of working people. The streets were full in London, Glasgow, Belfast and Cardiff but also Taunton, Brighton, Newcastle and almost every town and city throughout the country. We’ve no doubt that it was the sights and sounds of workers and their unions on the march again that has led to the countless disputes this year, including victories like the Sparks, London buses and the Sova recycling workers in Sheffield.
N30 should have been the beginning of a programme of co-ordinated action that could have defeated this government. But some of the union leaders settled and killed the momentum, despite the best efforts of those like PCS, POA, RMT, Unite, ISU, NIPSA and UCU who tried to salvage the dispute this May. But N30 showed that our demand that the TUC co-ordinate a 24-hour general strike against the billions of pounds of cuts we’ve had and the 80% to come isn’t a pipedream but necessary and possible. If a strike of the proportions of N30 was organised with the time for unions to prepare properly and co-ordinate ballots and live disputes, how many other workplaces would see it as the chance to raise their grievances against their employer – to strike together in maximum strength?
N30 2012 will be like most days are this year – a day of strikes and protests. PCS members in the Department of Transport will be on strike and all other PCS branches will holding protests and to build for their national strike ballot in the New Year on pay and to fight attacks on terms and conditions and union facility time. Low-paid cleaners in RMT will be on the 2nd day of a 48 hour strike for a decent wage.
We’ll be supporting these workers but imagine what we could achieve, if we went on strike together? The NSSN has called a lobby of the TUC General Council on Tuesday December 11th – now from 8.30am. It’s outside TUC HQ in Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS. We took up to a 1000 union activists to Brighton to lobby the TUC conference in September to successfully build support for the POA motion calling for the unions to “consider the practicalities of a general strike”. Come to the lobby on December 11th and let the union leaders know how “practical” and absolutely vital it is!
Thursday, 20 September 2012
Marching together on Oct 20 but we must then strike together!
Its little over 5 weeks till the TUC’s mass demonstration on October the 20th. I personally feel a little deflated about it all and a sense of we’ve been here before and we have last year on March the 26th.
Another march can raise confidence but this time it feels like the TUC is marching us into the ground and turning us away from any industrial action. This should be fought against all of the way. We need mass industrial action now and after the demonstration.
The socialist party and the NSSN will be using Oct 20 as a springboard to press for further action this autumn on fighting austerity.
Not a week or even a day now goes by without a new announcement on a new cut or attack on the poorest in society.
But it doesn’t have to be this way.
They can be stopped! On 30 November last year (N30) over two million public sector workers took strike action to defend their pensions. If this had been escalated, a total victory could have been won, probably terminally damaging Cameron's coalition.
Since then, groups of workers in the private sector - the construction electricians, the bus drivers for example - have also shown a huge determination to fight back.
Scandalously, though, union leaders such as Unison's Dave Prentis broke up that N30 strike alliance. They signed up to the outline of an agreement that still means most workers will pay more and work longer to get a lower pension.
N30, however, gave us a glimpse of the trade union movement's power. The NSSN welcomes the demonstration that the TUC is calling against austerity on 20 October. We will do all we can to get a million on the streets of London, Glasgow and Belfast.
But we don't think that this alone will be enough to stop this government of the rich.
We have lobbied the TUC to call on the unions to follow up this march with a 24-hour general strike of the public and the private sector back on September the 9th in Brighton and will be raising loudly and proudly on the October 20th demonstration for the TUC to name the day now for mass scale co-ordinated strike action.
Austerity is a sanitised expression for what is an unremitting class war on our people.
The aim is to achieve, on the basis of the cuts and privatisation programme, the biggest transfer of wealth and power in many generations.
At its core is a 'race to the bottom' that is ripping the heart out of our communities.
It means the driving down of wage levels, massive job cuts, the destruction of the welfare state and the NHS and the public services that provide the basis of a civilised existence for working people.
This unprecedented assault can only proceed because of the poisonous political consensus that exists among the major parties - shamefully including Labour - that says there is no alternative to the market and the barbaric proposition that the acquisition of obscene wealth and profit by a tiny unaccountable elite comes before the needs of millions.
Those millions are crying out for an alternative.
They watch in fear and disgust as one outrage follows another:
We now have an opportunity to send out a message of hope - loud and clear - that we intend to harness the full strength of our movement and class to stop the austerity programme in its tracks.
The 20 October [TUC demonstration] must be more than another protest march - it must be the platform on which we build coordinated action on the widest possible front across both the public and private sector.
Every union here has a legitimate dispute on pay, pensions, jobs, privatisation or a related issue.
So, let's hear no nonsense about the difficulties or legalities of organising coordinated action.
Let's not fixate about the 'scary words', general strike.
Let us rather sit down together and agree a date for joint action and wider campaigning across the trade union movement as soon as practicably possible after 20 October.
A 24-hour strike as a start to an effective programme of coordinated industrial action and wider campaigning would irrevocably shift the balance of forces in our favour.
How many times must it be said - campaigning works and action gets results.
We have recently won thousands of jobs in the civil service by organising action.
The attacks are increasing, not abating. Millions are waiting for a lead to fight back. Let's provide that lead.
With extracts taken from www.socialistparty.org.uk
Articles from issue 733 and 734 of the socialist
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Pensions battle, fight must go on
This week is turning out as expected in many ways. As i blogged earlier in the week how big this week could be it looks like going to form at this moment in time. The unison exec seem to be recommending their members accept the governments rotten deal and will eitehr ballot for this or simply accept i ti imagine. Its not all lost on the unison front but it doesnt look promising either.
But what i wanted to stress is that this is not the end and we must remain as united as we possibly can. The government has tried to split us and split us in part it has but there is still a great determination from a lot of trade unionistrs and workers to continue the fight. Especially from more left leaning unions like the PCS etc.
No doubt the governments plans to try and isolate the PCS have backfired with other unions including Unite, NIPSA, POA, UCU and the possibility of the NUT joining the growing group of rejectionist unions. I quite like that term. These are the unions which i do hope who will branch out to unions fighting pension battles in the private sector with news of Unilever set to strike too to link the battles and carry on the fight.
Of course as i have previously stated the tactics will be important to get right and judging the mood properly is key too.
I wouldnt suggest anything at this time of tactics that will be for each union to decide what they do of course but there does need to be some sort of co-ordination and unity built again with the remaining unions willing to fight.
As was said at the PCS left unity conference last weekend if there are further strikes with the remaining unions not to accept this shoddy rotten deal from the government and further industrial action is called this could make things very difficult for Unison as if there are pickets it will put a lot of pressure on unison and their members not to cross those picket lines by other unions. This will be another key to racking up the pressure on the union high bureaucracy to rejoin the battle. Just like with the strikes on June the 30th last year many unison members will be asking themselves why are we not out on strike causing a knock on affect inside the union movement.
What also could be interesting is if Unison do go all the way and sell out their members what affect that has on the contiousness of the members of that union. Will they loose lots of members to say unite ? it is entirely possible that that could happen if Unison is not careful.
Please lets not un do all that great work for N30. It was right to strike then and it is still right to reject this deal on pensions and keep on fighting. Lets unite with public and private sector workers and fight for fair pensions or all and not back down untill we do!
But what i wanted to stress is that this is not the end and we must remain as united as we possibly can. The government has tried to split us and split us in part it has but there is still a great determination from a lot of trade unionistrs and workers to continue the fight. Especially from more left leaning unions like the PCS etc.
No doubt the governments plans to try and isolate the PCS have backfired with other unions including Unite, NIPSA, POA, UCU and the possibility of the NUT joining the growing group of rejectionist unions. I quite like that term. These are the unions which i do hope who will branch out to unions fighting pension battles in the private sector with news of Unilever set to strike too to link the battles and carry on the fight.
Of course as i have previously stated the tactics will be important to get right and judging the mood properly is key too.
I wouldnt suggest anything at this time of tactics that will be for each union to decide what they do of course but there does need to be some sort of co-ordination and unity built again with the remaining unions willing to fight.
As was said at the PCS left unity conference last weekend if there are further strikes with the remaining unions not to accept this shoddy rotten deal from the government and further industrial action is called this could make things very difficult for Unison as if there are pickets it will put a lot of pressure on unison and their members not to cross those picket lines by other unions. This will be another key to racking up the pressure on the union high bureaucracy to rejoin the battle. Just like with the strikes on June the 30th last year many unison members will be asking themselves why are we not out on strike causing a knock on affect inside the union movement.
What also could be interesting is if Unison do go all the way and sell out their members what affect that has on the contiousness of the members of that union. Will they loose lots of members to say unite ? it is entirely possible that that could happen if Unison is not careful.
Please lets not un do all that great work for N30. It was right to strike then and it is still right to reject this deal on pensions and keep on fighting. Lets unite with public and private sector workers and fight for fair pensions or all and not back down untill we do!
Monday, 9 January 2012
Fair pensions for all, no to any sell outs, reject and carry on the fight
This week is going to be crucial for defending pensions. Tommorrow the unison service group for local government meet to decide if to accept the governments shoddy deal or to reject and fight . Also on thursday the TUC meet again to decide what to do next. The NSSN and others will be lobbying both to urge no sell outs and to name the date for further industrial action.
I attended the PCS union left unity conference this saturday called in emergency to the threat of possible right wing trade union leaders selling their members out in turn for a easy life with the government. I have blogged about this countless times but this week is massive really. If unison and the TUC both decide to reject and carry on the fight we will have overcome a big blip which the government are looking to pounce upon. I think there will be fractions and splits which is just what the government want. At the conference last weekend the general secretary of the PCS Mark Serwotka brilliantly spoke and put the case for carrying on the fight and told us we have reached a pivotal point in the struggle.
This is a fight on pensions we simply must win and there were many speech's to that affect last weekend. Many activists were urging to PCS to go it alone already and name the next date for action regardless of what the TUC does this week. This would be a big mistake as running too far ahead of the movement and stepping out of line is just what this government is looking for. The tories are looking for the PCS to be isolated so they can pick them off just like what happened in 1921 with the police union who ran out in front and got smashed as a result. The key here is unity and that has got to be unity of the biggest broadest coalition of unions in this. Our collective power is greater when we stand together. for ultra left types to suggest PCS name the date now would be a mistake as we still dont know how the TUC and Unison leadership will vote this week. once we know that we can then assess where we are and where to go next.
We may find there are less unions willin to take further action but even getting a million out on strike again will be big. This time last year no one imagined a million out on strike and although coming down from 2 million on N30 is still a sizeable turnout. This will as shown on June 30th had a affect on those unions not taking action who were asking why are we not out on strike too ? this will serve as a further lever on the movement and hopefully force the issue further.
The leaders of the TUC and Unison do not want this battle and have little confidence in their members taking strike action and have looked to defuse the movement and action at any chance they have got. Playing down the significance of N30 is to their eternal shame. It was a fantastic day which we should never forget. But the fundemental idea that anything the government is offering has changed since november 29th is obsurd . Nothing the government has offered has changed. A few minor concessions of delaying the bringing in of the pensions reforms and a slight help to elder workers within 10 years of retiring but nothing that wasnt on the table already. We dont just want the crumbs we want the whole lot. When the deal on pensions was sorted in 2007 this shouldnt even be being looked at if it wasnt for the government wanting to use this as a way of paying down the deficit. The mask is off and they are not even pretending otherwise now. All extra payments into pension contributions will go straight to the treasury to pay off the deficit.
This is not on and public sector workers did not cause this crisis it was the wreckless gambling bankers who got us into this mess. Their over sight that their capitalist casino could run and run was wrong when they failed and lost big time our stepped in and bailed them out at our expense.governments Now they are making us pay for this crisis and shortfall in government money in the harshest possible way. Attacking those at the bottom who will be hurt the most. Lowest paid workers and the young, disabled, women and those who have least chance of resisting. Its a crual tactic but one which if the TUC and Unison leadership get their way will be a realisation for millions.
The same fact that workers will be made to pay more, work longer and get less those 3 main sticking points have not changed if this deal goes through. Public sector workers should reject and fight this rotten government and its shoddy deal.
PCS left unity have proposed to set up a temporay which may become more permenant as the struggle goes on to combine the best forces of left groups within the various different unions to meet regularly and lend support to different unions and their rank-and-file members as and when they need it. Be that printing leaflets, assisting in a ballot or generally lobbying for more action. As with the private sector pension disputes which are increasing too now with Shell UK and Unilever announcing big cuts and ending their pension schemes their fight is our fight, Our fight is their fight and so on. Let this week be a turning point where as a movement we get back on the front foot and if we have to go over the top of Prentice and Barbour at the TUC then so be it. But tactics and what we do next will be affected hugely by this week's decisions.
Lets not give up without a fight. If it was right to strike on N30 it is right to keep fighting now Lets not let the trade union bureaucracy off the hook lets fight within the unions for the leadership we deserve. If they wont fight for us then they should move out of the way for people who do want to fight and will see disputes through to the end.
This is as Rob Williams the chair of the NSSN said is the fight of our lives. If we loose on pensions this will give a huge boost to this government who is looking to see if they can get away with robbing our pensions and if it can just watch them attack other areas and increased privatisation with breathtaking speed. Lets keep fighting now as if we dont fight at all we have no chance of winning if we at least try we have a chance.
Solidarity
I attended the PCS union left unity conference this saturday called in emergency to the threat of possible right wing trade union leaders selling their members out in turn for a easy life with the government. I have blogged about this countless times but this week is massive really. If unison and the TUC both decide to reject and carry on the fight we will have overcome a big blip which the government are looking to pounce upon. I think there will be fractions and splits which is just what the government want. At the conference last weekend the general secretary of the PCS Mark Serwotka brilliantly spoke and put the case for carrying on the fight and told us we have reached a pivotal point in the struggle.
This is a fight on pensions we simply must win and there were many speech's to that affect last weekend. Many activists were urging to PCS to go it alone already and name the next date for action regardless of what the TUC does this week. This would be a big mistake as running too far ahead of the movement and stepping out of line is just what this government is looking for. The tories are looking for the PCS to be isolated so they can pick them off just like what happened in 1921 with the police union who ran out in front and got smashed as a result. The key here is unity and that has got to be unity of the biggest broadest coalition of unions in this. Our collective power is greater when we stand together. for ultra left types to suggest PCS name the date now would be a mistake as we still dont know how the TUC and Unison leadership will vote this week. once we know that we can then assess where we are and where to go next.
We may find there are less unions willin to take further action but even getting a million out on strike again will be big. This time last year no one imagined a million out on strike and although coming down from 2 million on N30 is still a sizeable turnout. This will as shown on June 30th had a affect on those unions not taking action who were asking why are we not out on strike too ? this will serve as a further lever on the movement and hopefully force the issue further.
The leaders of the TUC and Unison do not want this battle and have little confidence in their members taking strike action and have looked to defuse the movement and action at any chance they have got. Playing down the significance of N30 is to their eternal shame. It was a fantastic day which we should never forget. But the fundemental idea that anything the government is offering has changed since november 29th is obsurd . Nothing the government has offered has changed. A few minor concessions of delaying the bringing in of the pensions reforms and a slight help to elder workers within 10 years of retiring but nothing that wasnt on the table already. We dont just want the crumbs we want the whole lot. When the deal on pensions was sorted in 2007 this shouldnt even be being looked at if it wasnt for the government wanting to use this as a way of paying down the deficit. The mask is off and they are not even pretending otherwise now. All extra payments into pension contributions will go straight to the treasury to pay off the deficit.
This is not on and public sector workers did not cause this crisis it was the wreckless gambling bankers who got us into this mess. Their over sight that their capitalist casino could run and run was wrong when they failed and lost big time our stepped in and bailed them out at our expense.governments Now they are making us pay for this crisis and shortfall in government money in the harshest possible way. Attacking those at the bottom who will be hurt the most. Lowest paid workers and the young, disabled, women and those who have least chance of resisting. Its a crual tactic but one which if the TUC and Unison leadership get their way will be a realisation for millions.
The same fact that workers will be made to pay more, work longer and get less those 3 main sticking points have not changed if this deal goes through. Public sector workers should reject and fight this rotten government and its shoddy deal.
PCS left unity have proposed to set up a temporay which may become more permenant as the struggle goes on to combine the best forces of left groups within the various different unions to meet regularly and lend support to different unions and their rank-and-file members as and when they need it. Be that printing leaflets, assisting in a ballot or generally lobbying for more action. As with the private sector pension disputes which are increasing too now with Shell UK and Unilever announcing big cuts and ending their pension schemes their fight is our fight, Our fight is their fight and so on. Let this week be a turning point where as a movement we get back on the front foot and if we have to go over the top of Prentice and Barbour at the TUC then so be it. But tactics and what we do next will be affected hugely by this week's decisions.
Lets not give up without a fight. If it was right to strike on N30 it is right to keep fighting now Lets not let the trade union bureaucracy off the hook lets fight within the unions for the leadership we deserve. If they wont fight for us then they should move out of the way for people who do want to fight and will see disputes through to the end.
This is as Rob Williams the chair of the NSSN said is the fight of our lives. If we loose on pensions this will give a huge boost to this government who is looking to see if they can get away with robbing our pensions and if it can just watch them attack other areas and increased privatisation with breathtaking speed. Lets keep fighting now as if we dont fight at all we have no chance of winning if we at least try we have a chance.
Solidarity
Friday, 23 December 2011
2011, A year in revolt
So as we draw to the end of 2011 a year in which many firsts happened be that the fantastic uprisings in the arab world to the amazing co-ordinated public sector industrial action or the fantastic occupy movement which has touched every continent on the planet this year.
At the start of 2011 we thought to ourselves that capitalism was entering a new period of decline on top of the already depression like downturn since 1974 where the ordinary workers have seen their wages fall and living standards stagnate at best and fall at worst.
But for myself 2011 has been a turning point in my political life. I came into the year not knowing waht to expect but leave the year fully realising how big this situation is and our task is greater than ever. I joined the socialist party of England and Wales part of the CWI- committee for workers international in Febuary properly and have not looked back since.
As some of you may know i was in the Labour party briefly and left as soon as i realised what they were all about, or not about as the case is. I have been criticised for leaving labour and aiming fire at them but in my view i feel vindicated in my decision to leave. As i have previously posted on this blog labour do not oppose all the cuts and think the cuts go "too far and too fast" not to mention the cuts are happening at all that is by the by to them and a issue they have accepted the need for "somecuts". Which i flatly refute and that was the crux of why i left labour. I wanted to change them but saw no democratic structure and any organised socialist body within labour to increase pressure on the leadership. For a completely undemocratic structure you will not get far however optimistic you are. So i chose to leave.
I do not regret my decision at all and have been involved in some excellent campaigns with the socialsit party against cuts, privatisation, job cuts, wage cuts, youth unemployment and so so much more.
The socialist party is a fighting revolutionary organisation with a aim and a set of real solid values in marxism which i have come to embrace as a guidline to my political development.
As the socialist party looks to the thoughts and ideas of Karl Marx and Leon Trotsky but not religiously of course we look to apply these graet revolutionary thinkers to todays struggles they have shown me from reading their material that you have to live the struggle to be able to understand other peoples struggles and how to put forward socialist ideas that can and will appeal to the mass's.
But as for 2011, its been a big year and many will have been drawn into the struggle. Maybe not all that many are joining revolutinary organisations such as the socialist party as yet but this is due to the lack of class contiousness and peoples inability to formulate a alternative or to link the failiures of capitalism to a need for an alternative and then what that alternative is. In time i firmly believe that organisations like ourselves will be a beacon for working class people to come to to find out our ideas and what would we do. We would welcome this and engage in a discussion and a debate on the way forward.
As marxists we always take a class perspective on every situation and in 2011 we have needed this more than ever. In 2012 we will need this tool even more i feel with the class struggle intensifying even more and people becoming more and more poloarised in their views and political opinions.
I have been on some big demonstrations myself this year from the amazing turnout of up to three quarters ofa millin trade unionists on the streets of London on March 26th which i extensively blogged about on this blog here. To the amazing co-ordinated strikes by three quarters of a million public sector workers on June the 30th which i feel was the start of the workers fight back for real but many will identify November the 30th of this where a fantastic turnout of up to 2 million public sector workers walked out in defence of their pensions and for future generations pensions. I was in Hertford on the day and what is normally a quiet conservative backwater of a town was full of trade unionists determined not to let this con-dem government railroad over their pensions and what is in affect differed wages.
Since then we have seen certain union leaders looking to sell out workers but this will i am sure be met with resistance and i am hopeful in the new year of further escalated action in terms of strikes and demonstrations. This is a battle we can and must win for the good of all workers and i believe we can win.
But 2011 will be remembered for other huge uprisings in the arab world where Egypt and Tunisia were the two nations to first fight back after decades of brutal dictatorship. The rest of the world looked on in amazement as dictator after dictator was crumbled to the ground by ordinary peoples pressure and demonstration. Since then the amazing over throwing of dictators has slowed and had the sting taken out of it for various reasons non least the western imperialist intervention in Libya and the brutal crack down on Syrian anti government demonstrators too. But no doubt there has been a shift in opinion and a complete condemnation of the Iraq war that these dictators can be removed without a huge los of civilian life like was the case with the American and British invasion of Iraq and Afgahanistan .
Lets also not forget the wonderful idea of teh occupation movement in which hundreds if not thousands of towns and cities
This in responce of course to the global economic crisis and the thought of the ruling class putting all of the burden on to ordinary working people and the poor to pay for a crisis they did not create.
This has been the case all across the world largely where capitalist leaders have locked their nations in to a deep program of austerity including cuts to public services that the working class's will use the most, tax hikes, further privatisation and a increase in their vicious neo-liberal policies.
I have made the point before on here that people say to me ooh the nasty tories are back and such things as oh they dont know what they are doing they are incompetent . But believe me this may be the case up to a point but this is about far more than that. You only have to look across Europe to tell this as Spain, Italy and Greece with imposed technocratic leaders now all in place to push through austerity.
But is this working or having any effect ? yes it is having an afeffect on the poorest and the most in need but it is certainly not working. Ireland and Greece where deep austerity measures were meant to be the benchmark for others to follow have resulted in huge unemployment and huge suffering on behalf of those who as i say didnt cause this crisis.
Those who caused the crisis , those who run capitalism. Not the governments so much although they did play their part in bailing out the rotten bankers who had gambled away billins if not trillions speculating using our money and failed spectacularly causing the governments of the Uk and othrs to step in and save the banks but this was the crucial point in which private debt from the banks then became what is known now as "sovereign
debt"
and now the governments of all fashions be them social democratic or right wing are being forced to put through these cuts on behalf of the markets who are the true rulers of society as we do ultimatly live in a capitalist society. It is the market who call the shots unfortunatly and governments simply react to them to keep them happy.
But although governments are pushing through cuts like there is no tommorrow the markets are still sulking and would appear little will do to help them recover right now. But governments will not let up on their drive for cuts in living standards of the ordinary working class.
So as we go into 2012 i feel it is more nessesary than ever before for us to create new mass workers parties to get into some position of influeincing things to popularise the ideas that aausterity is not needed and that it is actually making things worse if not better.
We need to be saying we need jobs not cuts. Investment in industry and affordable homes not higher rents and cuts in housing benifits to the poor. At the end of the day it is the working class who create the wealth not the rich they only ruthelessly cream off the wealth from what we produce. So they want to keep us working and competing against each other for jobs and wages to craete further division as waht the ruling class fears most is workers organising and fighting back.
The odd organisation they dont mind but when workers organise in a huge mass way there is very little stopping them carrying out and forcing throuhg what they want. We need to get back to a position of power like that where what the working class says gets done where we have the power to bring the capitalists to their knees and grovelling before we start demanding a better standard of life for the many not just the few.
I see 2012 being a big year as the class struggle intensifys but we must be ready and ready to put our best foot forward. Trade union leaders at the top of our movement will not be allowed to flinch if they do they will be gone. We need real leadership and if it is not forthcoming we will organise ourselves as rank-and-file.
So you thought 2011 was big i really do feel 2012 will be even bigger!
At the start of 2011 we thought to ourselves that capitalism was entering a new period of decline on top of the already depression like downturn since 1974 where the ordinary workers have seen their wages fall and living standards stagnate at best and fall at worst.
But for myself 2011 has been a turning point in my political life. I came into the year not knowing waht to expect but leave the year fully realising how big this situation is and our task is greater than ever. I joined the socialist party of England and Wales part of the CWI- committee for workers international in Febuary properly and have not looked back since.
As some of you may know i was in the Labour party briefly and left as soon as i realised what they were all about, or not about as the case is. I have been criticised for leaving labour and aiming fire at them but in my view i feel vindicated in my decision to leave. As i have previously posted on this blog labour do not oppose all the cuts and think the cuts go "too far and too fast" not to mention the cuts are happening at all that is by the by to them and a issue they have accepted the need for "somecuts". Which i flatly refute and that was the crux of why i left labour. I wanted to change them but saw no democratic structure and any organised socialist body within labour to increase pressure on the leadership. For a completely undemocratic structure you will not get far however optimistic you are. So i chose to leave.
I do not regret my decision at all and have been involved in some excellent campaigns with the socialsit party against cuts, privatisation, job cuts, wage cuts, youth unemployment and so so much more.
The socialist party is a fighting revolutionary organisation with a aim and a set of real solid values in marxism which i have come to embrace as a guidline to my political development.
As the socialist party looks to the thoughts and ideas of Karl Marx and Leon Trotsky but not religiously of course we look to apply these graet revolutionary thinkers to todays struggles they have shown me from reading their material that you have to live the struggle to be able to understand other peoples struggles and how to put forward socialist ideas that can and will appeal to the mass's.
But as for 2011, its been a big year and many will have been drawn into the struggle. Maybe not all that many are joining revolutinary organisations such as the socialist party as yet but this is due to the lack of class contiousness and peoples inability to formulate a alternative or to link the failiures of capitalism to a need for an alternative and then what that alternative is. In time i firmly believe that organisations like ourselves will be a beacon for working class people to come to to find out our ideas and what would we do. We would welcome this and engage in a discussion and a debate on the way forward.
As marxists we always take a class perspective on every situation and in 2011 we have needed this more than ever. In 2012 we will need this tool even more i feel with the class struggle intensifying even more and people becoming more and more poloarised in their views and political opinions.
I have been on some big demonstrations myself this year from the amazing turnout of up to three quarters ofa millin trade unionists on the streets of London on March 26th which i extensively blogged about on this blog here. To the amazing co-ordinated strikes by three quarters of a million public sector workers on June the 30th which i feel was the start of the workers fight back for real but many will identify November the 30th of this where a fantastic turnout of up to 2 million public sector workers walked out in defence of their pensions and for future generations pensions. I was in Hertford on the day and what is normally a quiet conservative backwater of a town was full of trade unionists determined not to let this con-dem government railroad over their pensions and what is in affect differed wages.
Since then we have seen certain union leaders looking to sell out workers but this will i am sure be met with resistance and i am hopeful in the new year of further escalated action in terms of strikes and demonstrations. This is a battle we can and must win for the good of all workers and i believe we can win.
But 2011 will be remembered for other huge uprisings in the arab world where Egypt and Tunisia were the two nations to first fight back after decades of brutal dictatorship. The rest of the world looked on in amazement as dictator after dictator was crumbled to the ground by ordinary peoples pressure and demonstration. Since then the amazing over throwing of dictators has slowed and had the sting taken out of it for various reasons non least the western imperialist intervention in Libya and the brutal crack down on Syrian anti government demonstrators too. But no doubt there has been a shift in opinion and a complete condemnation of the Iraq war that these dictators can be removed without a huge los of civilian life like was the case with the American and British invasion of Iraq and Afgahanistan .
Lets also not forget the wonderful idea of teh occupation movement in which hundreds if not thousands of towns and cities
This in responce of course to the global economic crisis and the thought of the ruling class putting all of the burden on to ordinary working people and the poor to pay for a crisis they did not create.
This has been the case all across the world largely where capitalist leaders have locked their nations in to a deep program of austerity including cuts to public services that the working class's will use the most, tax hikes, further privatisation and a increase in their vicious neo-liberal policies.
I have made the point before on here that people say to me ooh the nasty tories are back and such things as oh they dont know what they are doing they are incompetent . But believe me this may be the case up to a point but this is about far more than that. You only have to look across Europe to tell this as Spain, Italy and Greece with imposed technocratic leaders now all in place to push through austerity.
But is this working or having any effect ? yes it is having an afeffect on the poorest and the most in need but it is certainly not working. Ireland and Greece where deep austerity measures were meant to be the benchmark for others to follow have resulted in huge unemployment and huge suffering on behalf of those who as i say didnt cause this crisis.
Those who caused the crisis , those who run capitalism. Not the governments so much although they did play their part in bailing out the rotten bankers who had gambled away billins if not trillions speculating using our money and failed spectacularly causing the governments of the Uk and othrs to step in and save the banks but this was the crucial point in which private debt from the banks then became what is known now as "sovereign
debt"
and now the governments of all fashions be them social democratic or right wing are being forced to put through these cuts on behalf of the markets who are the true rulers of society as we do ultimatly live in a capitalist society. It is the market who call the shots unfortunatly and governments simply react to them to keep them happy.
But although governments are pushing through cuts like there is no tommorrow the markets are still sulking and would appear little will do to help them recover right now. But governments will not let up on their drive for cuts in living standards of the ordinary working class.
So as we go into 2012 i feel it is more nessesary than ever before for us to create new mass workers parties to get into some position of influeincing things to popularise the ideas that aausterity is not needed and that it is actually making things worse if not better.
We need to be saying we need jobs not cuts. Investment in industry and affordable homes not higher rents and cuts in housing benifits to the poor. At the end of the day it is the working class who create the wealth not the rich they only ruthelessly cream off the wealth from what we produce. So they want to keep us working and competing against each other for jobs and wages to craete further division as waht the ruling class fears most is workers organising and fighting back.
The odd organisation they dont mind but when workers organise in a huge mass way there is very little stopping them carrying out and forcing throuhg what they want. We need to get back to a position of power like that where what the working class says gets done where we have the power to bring the capitalists to their knees and grovelling before we start demanding a better standard of life for the many not just the few.
I see 2012 being a big year as the class struggle intensifys but we must be ready and ready to put our best foot forward. Trade union leaders at the top of our movement will not be allowed to flinch if they do they will be gone. We need real leadership and if it is not forthcoming we will organise ourselves as rank-and-file.
So you thought 2011 was big i really do feel 2012 will be even bigger!
Sunday, 18 December 2011
Assessing the contiousness after N30 and what next ?
As the dust is still settling after the fantastic national strike of public sector workers supported by thousands of private sector workers too on November the 30th. Many trade unionists and socialists are weighing up the impact this strike has had and where do we go from here.
30 November was the day when around two million public sector workers, members of 30 trade unions, took part in the biggest strike for over three decades. The majority had never taken strike action before, many had never expected to. But they see no other way of both defending pension rights and signalling to the government that they will not accept its plans to destroy public services.
There were massive demonstrations in cities, towns and even villages, with estimates of over 1,000 taking place. In most cases they were the biggest rallies to have taken place for many decades, if not ever. In Bristol over 20,000 marched, in Manchester more than 30,000. In smaller towns there were large demonstrations - 2,000 in Bournemouth, 4,000 in Truro, 1,200 in Birkenhead, 1,000 in Hastings, 1,200 in Warrington, the list goes on.
Whatever brave face the Con-Dems show in public, behind the scenes they were shaken by the massive display of 'people's power'.
In one day, 30 November (N30), trade unionists gave a powerful demonstration that - contrary to the government's propaganda - public sector workers are crucial to keeping the country running. N30 showed that if these workers withdraw their labour, they are capable of bringing the country to a halt.
The private sector as well as the public sector was affected in many ways - including the closing of the Metro and the Tyne Tunnel in the North East, the money lost by the airlines and, above all, by the millions of private sector workers who had to take the day off in order to care for their children.
That is not to say that N30 was 100% solid in every workplace. At national and local level some of the unions participating have not organised a serious struggle for decades. Union officials have in many cases become used to administering defeat rather than fighting to win. Inevitably, as a result, there were many workplaces with no real union organisation.
However, across the country there were reports of workers walking out and organising picket lines in such workplaces. This is a beginning of rebuilding the trade union movement in Britain. Unison membership applications have increased by 126% since the ballot result. The same will undoubtedly be true of the other unions that joined the strike.
Unfortunately, the right-wing trade union leaders are terrified of calling further national action. Unison's leadership have mooted 'smart action' - that is sectional action - as the next step. This would be a serious mistake. Sectional or regional action as a supplement to further national coordination action could be useful, but as a substitute it will demobilise and potentially divide the movement.
The struggle of local authority workers in Southampton is held up as an example of 'smart' action. In reality, while Southampton shows the determination of local authority workers to fight, it is a demonstration of the limitations of 'smart' action, not of its success.
On N30 millions of workers felt their collective power. At the same time the majority understood that the government would not retreat without further action. The right-wing trade union leaders only took part in N30 as a result of pressure from their members, who were frustrated that they had not been called out for the strike on 30 June. Now that so many trade unionists have had their confidence increased by taking strike action, it will be very difficult for the right-wing union leaders to avoid calling further coordinated action.
It is clear that N30 had a big impact but drawing concrete conclusions of how far and wide this impact was felt is difficult to tell.
I have heard many misguided thoughts and reports on the strike from some thinking that this strike would have been enough to bring down this government and stop the attacks in one go to other nieve feelings that one day will be enough. It wont unfortunatly and more pressure needs to be pushed for for further strikes. The NSSN makes clear there should be escalated action of at least 24 hours across the country.
The truth is this government wants us to endure a lifetime of low pay followed by an impoverished old age. They have sought to divide public sector workers from private sector workers. However, the real division in society is between the haves and the have-nots.
Our slogan is "fair pensions for all". When rich Tory ministers talk about "fairness" between private and public sector pensions what they mean is a race to the bottom - they want to impose on us the worst pension provision they can get away with.
That is why we must stand together to defeat this attack. But they couldn't get away with this if the Labour Party were not committed to protecting corporate interests above those of the vast majority in this country.
If the main political parties in this country are incapable of representing the interests of the vast majority, then it is time we do so ourselves.
We will use all campaigning methods to defeat these attacks. We will oppose them in the courts, in our workplaces, in our communities too. I urge everyone not only to support your trade union but also the anti-cuts alliance in your own town or city. If there isn't one - then set one up.
We give our solidarity and full support to the pensioners' alliances, the students and the school students and the Occupy movement.
After 30 November's brilliant show of strength and solidarity we must prepare for further action if the government does not concede. Which looks unlikely now with further threats being made that will force this on us all.
With a potential sell out coming from the tops of the trade union movement of which i have blogged about the dangers of this from more right wing trade union leaders is a real possibility this coming week. We must ramp up the pressure on these leaders to continue the fight till the end.
Tommorrow monday the 19th of december there willl be a conference of the Public Sector Liaison Group (PSLG), the body that brings together TUC affiliated public sector unions, will be convened on Monday 19th December at 3PM.
At this meeting TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber will attempt to sell Francis Maude's latest pensions offer as the basis for a settlement of the dispute to trade union leaders.
In a bid to head off this damaging out come the NSSN and other left trade union activists are calling for a lobby of the PSLG before it meets. Trade unionists will have the opportunity to voice their opposition to Maude's proposals and demand further action in the New Year.
If you are unable to make this lobby of the TUC which we can understand this time of year and such short notice we would urge you to sign this petition online demanding further action on pensions from the trade union leaders.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pensions_strike_january/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=button
The NSSN will be demanding:
Reject Maude's latest pensions proposals which will mean all public sector workers having to work longer, pay more, and get less.
No to secret deals by union leaders over the heads of the membership. We demand democratic control of the negotiations.
We demand that the date is set for the next co-ordinated public sector strike early in the New Year. UNISON Scotland has already proposed 25 January as the date of the next strike.
The lobby will begin at 2:00 PM at Congress House, 23-28 Great Russell Street. WC1B 3LS
The NSSN urges all of it's supporters and readers to come down to the lobby and build the pressure for further action in defence of pensions.
30 November was the day when around two million public sector workers, members of 30 trade unions, took part in the biggest strike for over three decades. The majority had never taken strike action before, many had never expected to. But they see no other way of both defending pension rights and signalling to the government that they will not accept its plans to destroy public services.
There were massive demonstrations in cities, towns and even villages, with estimates of over 1,000 taking place. In most cases they were the biggest rallies to have taken place for many decades, if not ever. In Bristol over 20,000 marched, in Manchester more than 30,000. In smaller towns there were large demonstrations - 2,000 in Bournemouth, 4,000 in Truro, 1,200 in Birkenhead, 1,000 in Hastings, 1,200 in Warrington, the list goes on.
Whatever brave face the Con-Dems show in public, behind the scenes they were shaken by the massive display of 'people's power'.
In one day, 30 November (N30), trade unionists gave a powerful demonstration that - contrary to the government's propaganda - public sector workers are crucial to keeping the country running. N30 showed that if these workers withdraw their labour, they are capable of bringing the country to a halt.
The private sector as well as the public sector was affected in many ways - including the closing of the Metro and the Tyne Tunnel in the North East, the money lost by the airlines and, above all, by the millions of private sector workers who had to take the day off in order to care for their children.
That is not to say that N30 was 100% solid in every workplace. At national and local level some of the unions participating have not organised a serious struggle for decades. Union officials have in many cases become used to administering defeat rather than fighting to win. Inevitably, as a result, there were many workplaces with no real union organisation.
However, across the country there were reports of workers walking out and organising picket lines in such workplaces. This is a beginning of rebuilding the trade union movement in Britain. Unison membership applications have increased by 126% since the ballot result. The same will undoubtedly be true of the other unions that joined the strike.
Unfortunately, the right-wing trade union leaders are terrified of calling further national action. Unison's leadership have mooted 'smart action' - that is sectional action - as the next step. This would be a serious mistake. Sectional or regional action as a supplement to further national coordination action could be useful, but as a substitute it will demobilise and potentially divide the movement.
The struggle of local authority workers in Southampton is held up as an example of 'smart' action. In reality, while Southampton shows the determination of local authority workers to fight, it is a demonstration of the limitations of 'smart' action, not of its success.
On N30 millions of workers felt their collective power. At the same time the majority understood that the government would not retreat without further action. The right-wing trade union leaders only took part in N30 as a result of pressure from their members, who were frustrated that they had not been called out for the strike on 30 June. Now that so many trade unionists have had their confidence increased by taking strike action, it will be very difficult for the right-wing union leaders to avoid calling further coordinated action.
It is clear that N30 had a big impact but drawing concrete conclusions of how far and wide this impact was felt is difficult to tell.
I have heard many misguided thoughts and reports on the strike from some thinking that this strike would have been enough to bring down this government and stop the attacks in one go to other nieve feelings that one day will be enough. It wont unfortunatly and more pressure needs to be pushed for for further strikes. The NSSN makes clear there should be escalated action of at least 24 hours across the country.
The truth is this government wants us to endure a lifetime of low pay followed by an impoverished old age. They have sought to divide public sector workers from private sector workers. However, the real division in society is between the haves and the have-nots.
Our slogan is "fair pensions for all". When rich Tory ministers talk about "fairness" between private and public sector pensions what they mean is a race to the bottom - they want to impose on us the worst pension provision they can get away with.
That is why we must stand together to defeat this attack. But they couldn't get away with this if the Labour Party were not committed to protecting corporate interests above those of the vast majority in this country.
If the main political parties in this country are incapable of representing the interests of the vast majority, then it is time we do so ourselves.
We will use all campaigning methods to defeat these attacks. We will oppose them in the courts, in our workplaces, in our communities too. I urge everyone not only to support your trade union but also the anti-cuts alliance in your own town or city. If there isn't one - then set one up.
We give our solidarity and full support to the pensioners' alliances, the students and the school students and the Occupy movement.
After 30 November's brilliant show of strength and solidarity we must prepare for further action if the government does not concede. Which looks unlikely now with further threats being made that will force this on us all.
With a potential sell out coming from the tops of the trade union movement of which i have blogged about the dangers of this from more right wing trade union leaders is a real possibility this coming week. We must ramp up the pressure on these leaders to continue the fight till the end.
Tommorrow monday the 19th of december there willl be a conference of the Public Sector Liaison Group (PSLG), the body that brings together TUC affiliated public sector unions, will be convened on Monday 19th December at 3PM.
At this meeting TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber will attempt to sell Francis Maude's latest pensions offer as the basis for a settlement of the dispute to trade union leaders.
In a bid to head off this damaging out come the NSSN and other left trade union activists are calling for a lobby of the PSLG before it meets. Trade unionists will have the opportunity to voice their opposition to Maude's proposals and demand further action in the New Year.
If you are unable to make this lobby of the TUC which we can understand this time of year and such short notice we would urge you to sign this petition online demanding further action on pensions from the trade union leaders.
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pensions_strike_january/?utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=button
The NSSN will be demanding:
Reject Maude's latest pensions proposals which will mean all public sector workers having to work longer, pay more, and get less.
No to secret deals by union leaders over the heads of the membership. We demand democratic control of the negotiations.
We demand that the date is set for the next co-ordinated public sector strike early in the New Year. UNISON Scotland has already proposed 25 January as the date of the next strike.
The lobby will begin at 2:00 PM at Congress House, 23-28 Great Russell Street. WC1B 3LS
The NSSN urges all of it's supporters and readers to come down to the lobby and build the pressure for further action in defence of pensions.
Friday, 16 December 2011
No to any sell outs on pension reforms, demand TUC set next date for action
As i posted on the eve on November the 30th on this very same blog that the TUC must name the next date for escalated action of at least 24 hour strike action on a national scale. So far we have not heard anything on this front sadly. Untill yesterday where the TUC met to discuss the next way forward or not it seems.
On 15 December the TUC’s Public Sector Liaison Group (PSLG) met for the first time since the magnificent 30 November public sector strike.
Disgracefully, Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, argued that all of the trade unions should sign up to the government’s latest ‘heads of agreement’ on pensions, which would then allow Francis Maude to announce before Christmas that the dispute has been settled. This was met with outrage by many of the public sector trade unions present.
Not one of the central demands of public sector workers has been met. All public sector workers are still being told to work longer, pay more and get less.
The teaching unions NUT and NASUWT reported that they had been offered no serious concessions by the government, as did the civil servants’ union PCS, the Fire Brigades Union and representatives of workers in the NHS.
In local government the only concession is to delay the attacks on pensions until 2014, provided that local government unions promise to accept the pain without a fight when it comes.
Yet Dave Prentis – general secretary for Unison – the biggest union in health and local government – argued for accepting this rotten deal. Hundreds of thousands of Unison members who struck on 30 November will not agree.
30 November showed the potential power of the working class in Britain. We can force this weak, divided government to retreat, but only if the action is stepped up.
The leadership of the TUC and Unison were only forced to support N30 because of the pressure of rank and file trade unionists – now we need to do the same again.
At the PSLG, PCS demanded that the meeting name the day for the next day of national coordinated strike action.
In Scotland, Unison delegates have already unanimously proposed 25 January as the day of the next strike.
National Shop Stewards Network supporters need to pile on the pressure for the date of the next strike to be set before Christmas, and to take place in January.
We immediately need to:
■Flood the TUC and Unison leaderships with letters, resolutions and petitions of protest demanding that they do not sell out the pensions struggle and immediately set the date for a strike in January in coordination with the other public sector unions.
■Members of all other public sector unions to send letters, resolutions and petitions to their National Executives demanding that they set the date for a strike in January in coordination with the other unions.
■Organise a mass lobby of the next meeting of the TUC, which is taking place in early January.
On 15 December the TUC’s Public Sector Liaison Group (PSLG) met for the first time since the magnificent 30 November public sector strike.
Disgracefully, Brendan Barber, general secretary of the TUC, argued that all of the trade unions should sign up to the government’s latest ‘heads of agreement’ on pensions, which would then allow Francis Maude to announce before Christmas that the dispute has been settled. This was met with outrage by many of the public sector trade unions present.
Not one of the central demands of public sector workers has been met. All public sector workers are still being told to work longer, pay more and get less.
The teaching unions NUT and NASUWT reported that they had been offered no serious concessions by the government, as did the civil servants’ union PCS, the Fire Brigades Union and representatives of workers in the NHS.
In local government the only concession is to delay the attacks on pensions until 2014, provided that local government unions promise to accept the pain without a fight when it comes.
Yet Dave Prentis – general secretary for Unison – the biggest union in health and local government – argued for accepting this rotten deal. Hundreds of thousands of Unison members who struck on 30 November will not agree.
30 November showed the potential power of the working class in Britain. We can force this weak, divided government to retreat, but only if the action is stepped up.
The leadership of the TUC and Unison were only forced to support N30 because of the pressure of rank and file trade unionists – now we need to do the same again.
At the PSLG, PCS demanded that the meeting name the day for the next day of national coordinated strike action.
In Scotland, Unison delegates have already unanimously proposed 25 January as the day of the next strike.
National Shop Stewards Network supporters need to pile on the pressure for the date of the next strike to be set before Christmas, and to take place in January.
We immediately need to:
■Flood the TUC and Unison leaderships with letters, resolutions and petitions of protest demanding that they do not sell out the pensions struggle and immediately set the date for a strike in January in coordination with the other public sector unions.
■Members of all other public sector unions to send letters, resolutions and petitions to their National Executives demanding that they set the date for a strike in January in coordination with the other unions.
■Organise a mass lobby of the next meeting of the TUC, which is taking place in early January.
Wednesday, 30 November 2011
Step up the pressure on the government, demand TUC set the next date for action
So as another big day draws to a end N30 will go down as a big day estimates of 3 million public sector workers out on strike on one day at the same time. Most schools were shut many council facilities were crippled and hospitals were badly affected too. Strikes were solid despite what David Cameron likes to say it was not a damp squib from where i was marching and standing shoulder to shoulder with ordinary working people facing an attack on their pensions to pay for the mistakes of the bankers.
I felt proud today to join this big day of action but be under no illusion this will have done nothing if we dont put pressure on the trade union leaders to call further days of action and further escalation if this government does not back down.
That does not look likely this is as i have said before out and out class war and the tories are acting on the behalf of the 1% making the rest of us, the 99% pay for the mess the bankers caused. They are intent on making ordinary workers pay driving down wages, benifits, public services, opportunities, education you name it it is all up for grabs.
Just yesterday we heard in the autumn review that the tories are off course in hitting their deficit reduction targets so you guessed it more austerity for the public sector and ordianry working people to suffer more, for longer than previously thought.
Well enough is enough quite frankly with the possibility of now 750 thousand public sector workers may loose their jobs its time the trades unions and the TUC took the bull by the horns and called a urgent meeting to decide the day or days as i wouldnt rule out any action as long as what we have said before in the socialist party and the NSSN that is it is on a mass scale and it is a escalation. be that another 24 hour strike or a 48 hour strike or rolling regional strikes something else will be needed to defeat this government over pensions and hopefully tumble them to the ground.
Today N30 would have shaken this incrediably weak government a series of strikes would harm their plans and would seriously damage their reputation. I dont think reputation comes into it with this government on a mission to make us ordinary people pay but it may play a factor in the eyes of their friends in the city of London.
So yes a great day of action march's strikes, pickets the lot but this cannot be the end we must demand more action from our union reps, union leaders and as a part of that continue the demands for a new workers party to speak and represent ordinary working peoples voices as Ed Miliband and his pathetic Labour party have ceased to stand for ordinary workers in failing to support todays and Junes strikes.
Well done all that took strike action too for possibily the first time ever you did yourselves well and hopefully will give the whole class confidence that it knows it can fight back and win if we stand together with our fellow workers.
I felt proud today to join this big day of action but be under no illusion this will have done nothing if we dont put pressure on the trade union leaders to call further days of action and further escalation if this government does not back down.
That does not look likely this is as i have said before out and out class war and the tories are acting on the behalf of the 1% making the rest of us, the 99% pay for the mess the bankers caused. They are intent on making ordinary workers pay driving down wages, benifits, public services, opportunities, education you name it it is all up for grabs.
Just yesterday we heard in the autumn review that the tories are off course in hitting their deficit reduction targets so you guessed it more austerity for the public sector and ordianry working people to suffer more, for longer than previously thought.
Well enough is enough quite frankly with the possibility of now 750 thousand public sector workers may loose their jobs its time the trades unions and the TUC took the bull by the horns and called a urgent meeting to decide the day or days as i wouldnt rule out any action as long as what we have said before in the socialist party and the NSSN that is it is on a mass scale and it is a escalation. be that another 24 hour strike or a 48 hour strike or rolling regional strikes something else will be needed to defeat this government over pensions and hopefully tumble them to the ground.
Today N30 would have shaken this incrediably weak government a series of strikes would harm their plans and would seriously damage their reputation. I dont think reputation comes into it with this government on a mission to make us ordinary people pay but it may play a factor in the eyes of their friends in the city of London.
So yes a great day of action march's strikes, pickets the lot but this cannot be the end we must demand more action from our union reps, union leaders and as a part of that continue the demands for a new workers party to speak and represent ordinary working peoples voices as Ed Miliband and his pathetic Labour party have ceased to stand for ordinary workers in failing to support todays and Junes strikes.
Well done all that took strike action too for possibily the first time ever you did yourselves well and hopefully will give the whole class confidence that it knows it can fight back and win if we stand together with our fellow workers.
Monday, 28 November 2011
How a victory over public sector pensions can give all workers a boost in confidence
This wednesday 30th of November its been well documented that up to 4 million public sector workers will be out on strike first time this many on one day since the 1926 great general strike. But this could be a game changer.
If and its a big if the government of millionaires are foced back and have to retreat which is not impossibly given their record of u-turns already. Mass action of working people can give huge confidence to other workers in say the private sector and to young and old workers.
An opinion poll commissioned by BBC News suggests 61% of people believe public sector workers are justified in going on strike over pension changes.
The research also indicates differences between men and women in their outlook on the strikes and the economy.
The polling firm Comres interviewed 1,005 adults by telephone across England, Scotland and Wales one week ago.
The poll indicates greater sympathy for the industrial action among women - at 67% - compared with men, at 55%.
Younger people, it also suggests, are considerably more supportive of the strikes than pensioners; almost four in five 18 to 24-year-olds back the action, a little under half of over-65s do.
No doubt much of this support has come through student demonstrations and demonstrations like the Jarrow march drawing attention to youth in struggle and how the young are being hit hard by this crisis in capitalism.
But a only a complete withdraw of the pension reforms and a change back to RPi from CPI which this government cynically changed when they came in will only do for ordinary workers who are due to loose out big time.
As i've said before ordinary working people did not cause this crisis so they should not have to pay for it. Not a single cut is nessesary as i've pointed out if the 120 billion estimated pounds of evaded tax from rich corporations and business's was properly collected.
Failing that the banks should all be nationalised under democratic workers control. These key demands must be started to be taken up by workers in struggle i feel.
But the sense of confidence a win in this dispute will given workers and unions alike will be huge. Just imagine if we push teh government back on this. We will be able to say look our unions pushed back the gov on this and strike action works now lets go further and push for more and more.
Lets be under no illusion this government forged together in the cellar of teh city of London a government of austerity and misery for working people who have no mandate are extremely weak and can be defeated.
For this to happen we must stand united public and private sector workers. No flinching from any trade union leaders. No to any secret deals everything must be done all out in the open.
The fact is public sector pensions are affordable and actually go down as a percentage to GDP over the years according to the Lord Hutton report.
Lets not buy the arguements that private sector pensions are poor so public sector should be too. That is a recipe for a race to the bottom. It is a arguement that private sector pensions should be decent aswell.
If the government says it cannot afford this then we must say we cannot afford your system and call time on capitalism and the 1%. Its time to look for alternatives. That alternative is socialism.
A system based on peoples needs before profits. A system that looks after the 99% not just the 1%.
If and its a big if the government of millionaires are foced back and have to retreat which is not impossibly given their record of u-turns already. Mass action of working people can give huge confidence to other workers in say the private sector and to young and old workers.
An opinion poll commissioned by BBC News suggests 61% of people believe public sector workers are justified in going on strike over pension changes.
The research also indicates differences between men and women in their outlook on the strikes and the economy.
The polling firm Comres interviewed 1,005 adults by telephone across England, Scotland and Wales one week ago.
The poll indicates greater sympathy for the industrial action among women - at 67% - compared with men, at 55%.
Younger people, it also suggests, are considerably more supportive of the strikes than pensioners; almost four in five 18 to 24-year-olds back the action, a little under half of over-65s do.
No doubt much of this support has come through student demonstrations and demonstrations like the Jarrow march drawing attention to youth in struggle and how the young are being hit hard by this crisis in capitalism.
But a only a complete withdraw of the pension reforms and a change back to RPi from CPI which this government cynically changed when they came in will only do for ordinary workers who are due to loose out big time.
As i've said before ordinary working people did not cause this crisis so they should not have to pay for it. Not a single cut is nessesary as i've pointed out if the 120 billion estimated pounds of evaded tax from rich corporations and business's was properly collected.
Failing that the banks should all be nationalised under democratic workers control. These key demands must be started to be taken up by workers in struggle i feel.
But the sense of confidence a win in this dispute will given workers and unions alike will be huge. Just imagine if we push teh government back on this. We will be able to say look our unions pushed back the gov on this and strike action works now lets go further and push for more and more.
Lets be under no illusion this government forged together in the cellar of teh city of London a government of austerity and misery for working people who have no mandate are extremely weak and can be defeated.
For this to happen we must stand united public and private sector workers. No flinching from any trade union leaders. No to any secret deals everything must be done all out in the open.
The fact is public sector pensions are affordable and actually go down as a percentage to GDP over the years according to the Lord Hutton report.
Lets not buy the arguements that private sector pensions are poor so public sector should be too. That is a recipe for a race to the bottom. It is a arguement that private sector pensions should be decent aswell.
If the government says it cannot afford this then we must say we cannot afford your system and call time on capitalism and the 1%. Its time to look for alternatives. That alternative is socialism.
A system based on peoples needs before profits. A system that looks after the 99% not just the 1%.
Tuesday, 22 November 2011
We will not pay for their crisis, join the fightback on N30
We now stand at 28 trade unions who have balloted and voted yes for strike action next wednesday the 30th of November. This could possibly be the biggest day of action since the first day of the 1926 general strike.
The titanic strike of 30 November in Britain will display the colossal power of the working class through the trade unions, to resist the savage cuts demanded by the capitalists and their political representatives, the Con-Dem austerity coalition.
It also presents a unique opportunity that must not be lost for the leaders and ranks of the trade unions to reach big audiences of working people.
Many will be involved in mass action for the first time and therefore can be receptive to discussion and debate about a real alternative to the future of unrelieved misery, 'planned poverty', promised by Osborne and Cameron with Clegg and Co in tow.
The PCS civil service union has already proposed an immediate alternative to Osborne's £81 billion worth of cuts over four years.
It demands the collection of the massive £120 billion unpaid tax of big business which, if implemented, would render the cuts completely unnecessary. The Socialist Party and the whole labour movement support this demand.
However, the speed and depth of the present crisis of capitalism and its devastating effect on the lives of millions of workers in Britain and worldwide poses sharply the issue, not just of immediate measures that offer some relief for working people, but of more profound solutions, of 'system change'. This means outlining and fighting for a democratic socialist alternative.
The powerful and inspirational mass movements of the Greek workers have heroically battered away at the foundations of rotten Greek capitalism.
Their counterparts in Spain, Portugal, Italy and here in Britain, in this decisive movement of 30 November, seek to emulate them.
It is also articulated in the tremendous 'Occupy' movement, which in the last months has swept through 1,000 cities worldwide and touched every continent.
Moreover, this first breeze of the class struggle - which foreshadows the storms and hurricanes to come - has even touched the summits of capitalism.
A founder of the far from radical Independent newspaper, Andreas Whitham Smith, recently stunned readers by telling them that the threat of "revolution" was stalking "Western capitalism".
However, this was not the deathbed repentance and repudiation of a former stalwart of capitalism but a warning to the capitalists themselves of the need for 'change' in the structure and organisation of their system in order to avoid such a 'nightmare'.
Not one of the leaders of the main political parties in Britain is proposing serious change. David Cameron, pressed on all sides by the increasing unpopularity of the venal system he presides over, poses as an alternative, mythical 'moral markets', a contradiction in terms.
Obscene bankers' bonuses, eye-watering and growing inequality, sky-rocketing poverty and unemployment are to be underpinned by the cement of a new capitalist 'morality'.
This represents an attempt by the apostles of capitalist slavery to reconcile us to the perpetuation of this failing system.
We can imagine Cameron's reply: "The talent and ability of bankers and the chief execs of top companies should receive their due rewards. Without them, we are doomed."
Ed Miliband, the New Labour leader, fares no better with his appeal for a "better capitalism", counterposing "productive" capitalism, which is 'good' to "predator" capitalism, which is 'bad'.
In reality, these are just different wings of the brutal profit system and are linked together in perpetuating the current deadly paralysis of society.
at least 200 million unemployed in the world who increasingly form a substratum of the poor, homeless and dispossessed.
Eighty-one million of this figure is composed of young people - who are condemned to a life of 'worklessness'. There is almost a 50% rate of unemployed young people in Spain and 40% in Greece.
Added to this are the seven million in Britain and 1.6 billion worldwide in part-time 'precarious' jobs.
They are a 'precariat', a modern manifestation of Marx's "reserve army of the unemployed". This is a pool of cheap, sometimes almost slave labour - including young people working as 'interns' for nothing.
They may be drawn into work when needed and then conveniently tossed aside like an old boot when the economic cycle of capitalism deems they are 'surplus to requirements'.
It is important we turn out in our numbers on the day and not just make this a nice day off work but a real show of solidarity across the working class. Bringing together public and private sector workers. Linking up teh occupations with teh construction workers and sparks who are facing struggles too.
We support a 'Robin Hood tax' on the transactions of big business. But history shows that the capitalists always find a million and one ways to circumvent any law which seeks to claw back some of the wealth and eats into their profits.
When the Labour government of Harold Wilson attempted to do something similar through a corporation tax in the 1970s, such was the opposition of big business it was completely watered-down and rendered largely ineffective.
The only way to prevent this is through the nationalisation of the banks and finance houses. Similarly, the 'dictatorship of the market', which is holding the whole of Europe to ransom, should be met with the cancellation of the debt to the bond parasites.
Nationalisation
This in turn could only succeed if nationalisation was carried through not just in one country but on a continental and world basis.
Inequality is intrinsic to capitalism. The exploitation of the working class - the capitalists garner what Marx called 'unpaid labour' in the form of profits - is the very foundation of the system.
From this flow all the inequalities and the class antagonisms which shape this society. The system can go ahead for a while as long as the surplus is invested in productive industry to create more factories and thereby the production of more goods and services.
But it stagnates and falls back when the restricted incomes of the working class - particularly marked in the last few decades - means they cannot buy back fully the goods and services they produce.
This results in 'overproduction', a glut of unsold goods and redundant workers and capital. This, in turn, can produce a 'death spiral' reflected in the paralysis of production evident throughout the world today.
Combine all this clear evidence of the wasteful character of the system with the extraordinary mass movements - Greece, Italy, Spain, Britain on 30 November, etc - and it is clear that capitalism faces one of its greatest threats in its long history.
In fact, a new social system is knocking at the door of history. This is the idea of a socialist democratically planned and organised economy and society. To usher it in requires a movement and the urgent building of a mass workers' party.
Ironically, this current threat to capitalism arises from its very triumph following the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the downfall of Stalinism.
The consequent dismantling of the planned nationalised, economies and its replacement by 'wild capitalism' represented a big ideological victory for capitalism.
This in turn moved the leaders of parties such as the old Labour Party, at its base a 'workers' party', and the trade unions to the right, leading to the transformation of these parties largely into pro-capitalist formations.
This meant that the capitalists no longer needed to look over their shoulders at a threat posed by the working class.
There is no check on their actions as there had been previously. Capitalism was therefore unrestrained in pursuing the policies of financialisation which were already underway in the late 1970s and 1980s.
In this sense, it became its own gravedigger, manifested in the economic madness of debt-driven capitalism; financial bubbles on top of financial bubbles, which collapsed like a house of cards in 2007-2008.
The consequences of this are evident in the idle factories, workplaces and the tragedy of the millions of 'idle hands' which presently litter the economic landscape of world capitalism.
It is true support for a socialist alternative will not develop easily or automatically given the relentless anti-socialist, pro-capitalist propaganda of the last two decades.
It has to be argued for and explained, particularly when the working class is on the move, as it will be on 30 November.
But support in the polls for the 'Occupy' movements has demonstrated the broad support for a better world.
The '99%' does not yet have a full understanding, consciousness, of how to achieve that alternative. Even those involved in the 'Occupy' movement know what they don't want but do not have a clear alternative.
Yet their aims can only be realised through real 'system change', socialism. Brutal capitalism is demonstrating daily the blind alley which this system is in and is preparing the ground for millions to search for an alternative.
Capitalism is incapable of satisfying human requirements in today's world. Socialism is the idea which will dominate the 21st-century.
extracts taken from this excellent article by Peter Taaffe on the socialist party website bits of which he talked about in his speech at socialism 2011
http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/13185/21-11-2011/capitalism-is-crisis-there-is-an-alternative-fight-for-socialism
The titanic strike of 30 November in Britain will display the colossal power of the working class through the trade unions, to resist the savage cuts demanded by the capitalists and their political representatives, the Con-Dem austerity coalition.
It also presents a unique opportunity that must not be lost for the leaders and ranks of the trade unions to reach big audiences of working people.
Many will be involved in mass action for the first time and therefore can be receptive to discussion and debate about a real alternative to the future of unrelieved misery, 'planned poverty', promised by Osborne and Cameron with Clegg and Co in tow.
The PCS civil service union has already proposed an immediate alternative to Osborne's £81 billion worth of cuts over four years.
It demands the collection of the massive £120 billion unpaid tax of big business which, if implemented, would render the cuts completely unnecessary. The Socialist Party and the whole labour movement support this demand.
However, the speed and depth of the present crisis of capitalism and its devastating effect on the lives of millions of workers in Britain and worldwide poses sharply the issue, not just of immediate measures that offer some relief for working people, but of more profound solutions, of 'system change'. This means outlining and fighting for a democratic socialist alternative.
The powerful and inspirational mass movements of the Greek workers have heroically battered away at the foundations of rotten Greek capitalism.
Their counterparts in Spain, Portugal, Italy and here in Britain, in this decisive movement of 30 November, seek to emulate them.
It is also articulated in the tremendous 'Occupy' movement, which in the last months has swept through 1,000 cities worldwide and touched every continent.
Moreover, this first breeze of the class struggle - which foreshadows the storms and hurricanes to come - has even touched the summits of capitalism.
A founder of the far from radical Independent newspaper, Andreas Whitham Smith, recently stunned readers by telling them that the threat of "revolution" was stalking "Western capitalism".
However, this was not the deathbed repentance and repudiation of a former stalwart of capitalism but a warning to the capitalists themselves of the need for 'change' in the structure and organisation of their system in order to avoid such a 'nightmare'.
Not one of the leaders of the main political parties in Britain is proposing serious change. David Cameron, pressed on all sides by the increasing unpopularity of the venal system he presides over, poses as an alternative, mythical 'moral markets', a contradiction in terms.
Obscene bankers' bonuses, eye-watering and growing inequality, sky-rocketing poverty and unemployment are to be underpinned by the cement of a new capitalist 'morality'.
This represents an attempt by the apostles of capitalist slavery to reconcile us to the perpetuation of this failing system.
We can imagine Cameron's reply: "The talent and ability of bankers and the chief execs of top companies should receive their due rewards. Without them, we are doomed."
Ed Miliband, the New Labour leader, fares no better with his appeal for a "better capitalism", counterposing "productive" capitalism, which is 'good' to "predator" capitalism, which is 'bad'.
In reality, these are just different wings of the brutal profit system and are linked together in perpetuating the current deadly paralysis of society.
at least 200 million unemployed in the world who increasingly form a substratum of the poor, homeless and dispossessed.
Eighty-one million of this figure is composed of young people - who are condemned to a life of 'worklessness'. There is almost a 50% rate of unemployed young people in Spain and 40% in Greece.
Added to this are the seven million in Britain and 1.6 billion worldwide in part-time 'precarious' jobs.
They are a 'precariat', a modern manifestation of Marx's "reserve army of the unemployed". This is a pool of cheap, sometimes almost slave labour - including young people working as 'interns' for nothing.
They may be drawn into work when needed and then conveniently tossed aside like an old boot when the economic cycle of capitalism deems they are 'surplus to requirements'.
It is important we turn out in our numbers on the day and not just make this a nice day off work but a real show of solidarity across the working class. Bringing together public and private sector workers. Linking up teh occupations with teh construction workers and sparks who are facing struggles too.
We support a 'Robin Hood tax' on the transactions of big business. But history shows that the capitalists always find a million and one ways to circumvent any law which seeks to claw back some of the wealth and eats into their profits.
When the Labour government of Harold Wilson attempted to do something similar through a corporation tax in the 1970s, such was the opposition of big business it was completely watered-down and rendered largely ineffective.
The only way to prevent this is through the nationalisation of the banks and finance houses. Similarly, the 'dictatorship of the market', which is holding the whole of Europe to ransom, should be met with the cancellation of the debt to the bond parasites.
Nationalisation
This in turn could only succeed if nationalisation was carried through not just in one country but on a continental and world basis.
Inequality is intrinsic to capitalism. The exploitation of the working class - the capitalists garner what Marx called 'unpaid labour' in the form of profits - is the very foundation of the system.
From this flow all the inequalities and the class antagonisms which shape this society. The system can go ahead for a while as long as the surplus is invested in productive industry to create more factories and thereby the production of more goods and services.
But it stagnates and falls back when the restricted incomes of the working class - particularly marked in the last few decades - means they cannot buy back fully the goods and services they produce.
This results in 'overproduction', a glut of unsold goods and redundant workers and capital. This, in turn, can produce a 'death spiral' reflected in the paralysis of production evident throughout the world today.
Combine all this clear evidence of the wasteful character of the system with the extraordinary mass movements - Greece, Italy, Spain, Britain on 30 November, etc - and it is clear that capitalism faces one of its greatest threats in its long history.
In fact, a new social system is knocking at the door of history. This is the idea of a socialist democratically planned and organised economy and society. To usher it in requires a movement and the urgent building of a mass workers' party.
Ironically, this current threat to capitalism arises from its very triumph following the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the downfall of Stalinism.
The consequent dismantling of the planned nationalised, economies and its replacement by 'wild capitalism' represented a big ideological victory for capitalism.
This in turn moved the leaders of parties such as the old Labour Party, at its base a 'workers' party', and the trade unions to the right, leading to the transformation of these parties largely into pro-capitalist formations.
This meant that the capitalists no longer needed to look over their shoulders at a threat posed by the working class.
There is no check on their actions as there had been previously. Capitalism was therefore unrestrained in pursuing the policies of financialisation which were already underway in the late 1970s and 1980s.
In this sense, it became its own gravedigger, manifested in the economic madness of debt-driven capitalism; financial bubbles on top of financial bubbles, which collapsed like a house of cards in 2007-2008.
The consequences of this are evident in the idle factories, workplaces and the tragedy of the millions of 'idle hands' which presently litter the economic landscape of world capitalism.
It is true support for a socialist alternative will not develop easily or automatically given the relentless anti-socialist, pro-capitalist propaganda of the last two decades.
It has to be argued for and explained, particularly when the working class is on the move, as it will be on 30 November.
But support in the polls for the 'Occupy' movements has demonstrated the broad support for a better world.
The '99%' does not yet have a full understanding, consciousness, of how to achieve that alternative. Even those involved in the 'Occupy' movement know what they don't want but do not have a clear alternative.
Yet their aims can only be realised through real 'system change', socialism. Brutal capitalism is demonstrating daily the blind alley which this system is in and is preparing the ground for millions to search for an alternative.
Capitalism is incapable of satisfying human requirements in today's world. Socialism is the idea which will dominate the 21st-century.
extracts taken from this excellent article by Peter Taaffe on the socialist party website bits of which he talked about in his speech at socialism 2011
http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/articles/13185/21-11-2011/capitalism-is-crisis-there-is-an-alternative-fight-for-socialism
Political representation on and beyond N30
So as we near the biggest strike in decades next wednesday workers wil be wondering who do we have to vote for ? who can we rely on to speak up for us apart from our unions ?
The very same question cross's my mind regularly and i do not think it is the labour party any longer. Despite what some of their more left wing members say they cannot disguise the fact their leadership have been silent on the strikes and the public sector pensions dispute till now. On June the 30th Ed Miliband was quoted as saying these strikes are wrong while negotiations are still going on. Of course there were no negotiations going on Ed and his condemnation of the strikes angered many ordinary working people.
There is a change going on and if Ed fails to support next wednesdays action where up to 4 million workers could be downing tools and striking he will loose all credibility he ever had in the labour movement. He'll be a dead force and have no respect left.
So then who will support workers you ask. I think TUSC although a small force at the moment can gain hugely if we place ourselves on the picket lines offering an alternative to the big 3 pro capitalist parties putting greed before workers need everytime.
TUSC - Trade Union and Socialist Coalition were formed a year or two ago and stands against all cuts and no privatisation a stark contrast to labours pathetic too far too fast line to cuts.
It is interesting to note Unite the Union are operating a completely opposing policy to the labour leadership now and oppose labours too far too fast line. We dont believe there should be a single cut made and a explicit no to all cuts stance is needed. Afterall what is a fair cut ?
to us in the socialist party there is no such thing as a fair cut. Why should we dictate who looses their job over another. Why should we decide who is a more important worker. We shouldnt be and that is another reason why i'm against all cuts.
There is plenty money in our society plenty of money at the top of society. 14 billion in bankers bonus's alone last year and you tell me there is no money left to keep local youth centres open, keep our valuable libraries open for all to enjoy and benifit from ?
Nonsense and if you hear labour tell you we need to make the cuts there is no alternative tll them to look up Liverpool city council in the 80's where the Militant influenced council refused to make any cuts and had great success in building 5000 new affordable social housing, new sports centres, pulled down old delaperdated areas and invested in construction and new jobs. Not a single worker lost their job back then despite what people say and that is the route all labour councils shuld be at leas c onsidering. If one labour council refused to pass on the cuts it would have a huge affect on the movement. But just like this year i do not see this happening. Not on a mass scale anyhow. Maybe one or two labour councillors who still have principles may vote against the cuts. But understand they will be expelled for going against labour party policy. What does that say about a Labour Party who expells their own members and councillors who dare to fight for the working class ? absolutely shocking.
So it is essential TUSC is put forward on N30 as a alternative to the capitalist parties and we stand strong against all cuts as we must be providing a beacon to workers who are looking for an alternative to labour who sell them out time after time.
In stevenage this year we stood candidates in every ward and recieved a very good vote. Granted we did not get anyone elected yet but if we compare the Labour party's figures back when they first formed they were getting 1%'s and the like back then and some still supported the liberals for a time . So we need a new break from the pro capitalist parties and i believe TUSC is that force and can be built on and broadened out to bring in all workers in struggle, all anti cuts groups and anyone who opposes this rotten capitalist system.
To find out more about TUSC and how you can support us please visit
www.TUSC.org.uk
The very same question cross's my mind regularly and i do not think it is the labour party any longer. Despite what some of their more left wing members say they cannot disguise the fact their leadership have been silent on the strikes and the public sector pensions dispute till now. On June the 30th Ed Miliband was quoted as saying these strikes are wrong while negotiations are still going on. Of course there were no negotiations going on Ed and his condemnation of the strikes angered many ordinary working people.
There is a change going on and if Ed fails to support next wednesdays action where up to 4 million workers could be downing tools and striking he will loose all credibility he ever had in the labour movement. He'll be a dead force and have no respect left.
So then who will support workers you ask. I think TUSC although a small force at the moment can gain hugely if we place ourselves on the picket lines offering an alternative to the big 3 pro capitalist parties putting greed before workers need everytime.
TUSC - Trade Union and Socialist Coalition were formed a year or two ago and stands against all cuts and no privatisation a stark contrast to labours pathetic too far too fast line to cuts.
It is interesting to note Unite the Union are operating a completely opposing policy to the labour leadership now and oppose labours too far too fast line. We dont believe there should be a single cut made and a explicit no to all cuts stance is needed. Afterall what is a fair cut ?
to us in the socialist party there is no such thing as a fair cut. Why should we dictate who looses their job over another. Why should we decide who is a more important worker. We shouldnt be and that is another reason why i'm against all cuts.
There is plenty money in our society plenty of money at the top of society. 14 billion in bankers bonus's alone last year and you tell me there is no money left to keep local youth centres open, keep our valuable libraries open for all to enjoy and benifit from ?
Nonsense and if you hear labour tell you we need to make the cuts there is no alternative tll them to look up Liverpool city council in the 80's where the Militant influenced council refused to make any cuts and had great success in building 5000 new affordable social housing, new sports centres, pulled down old delaperdated areas and invested in construction and new jobs. Not a single worker lost their job back then despite what people say and that is the route all labour councils shuld be at leas c onsidering. If one labour council refused to pass on the cuts it would have a huge affect on the movement. But just like this year i do not see this happening. Not on a mass scale anyhow. Maybe one or two labour councillors who still have principles may vote against the cuts. But understand they will be expelled for going against labour party policy. What does that say about a Labour Party who expells their own members and councillors who dare to fight for the working class ? absolutely shocking.
So it is essential TUSC is put forward on N30 as a alternative to the capitalist parties and we stand strong against all cuts as we must be providing a beacon to workers who are looking for an alternative to labour who sell them out time after time.
In stevenage this year we stood candidates in every ward and recieved a very good vote. Granted we did not get anyone elected yet but if we compare the Labour party's figures back when they first formed they were getting 1%'s and the like back then and some still supported the liberals for a time . So we need a new break from the pro capitalist parties and i believe TUSC is that force and can be built on and broadened out to bring in all workers in struggle, all anti cuts groups and anyone who opposes this rotten capitalist system.
To find out more about TUSC and how you can support us please visit
www.TUSC.org.uk
Monday, 7 November 2011
Spirit of Jarrow march must be taken forward
As the fantastic historic recreation of the Jarrow March concludes last weekend the sense of solidarity and pride in the working class has grown in me than never before. The power that we have as a collective force can be realised and put into action .
The support the Jarrow marchers recieved from trade unions and trade union branch's up and down the country was outstanding but this cant just be the end. We must harness the spirit of the march and push the struggle forward.
I myself met the marchers last week in Luton, Hatfield and now just recently last weekend in London in Trafalgur square. The feeling of solidarity and togetherness was amazing i've never felt anything like it i have to say. The young people marching fora future programme of jobs and a free, decent education for socailly useful jobs and a end to the dreaded work scheme.
The next big event coming up is November the 9th. A national student demonstration marching to the city from all the different London universities. Aswell as teh fantastic Jarrow march it would be great to get a good turn out for this too. I cant make this demo myself but wish all those who are planning to go all the best and to stay safe.
But the youth who were involved in the Jarrow march and all those who came out to support the march should make sure they are visible on the November the 30th public sector general strike. It is important there is teh biggest unity of the working class on that day. If your teacher or university or college lectuer is striking join them on the picket lines and walk out in solidarity. We will not be divided lets show this rotten con-dem government that we are strong when we are united than when we give in to divide and rule.
The fact that the governments so called improved pensions offer still requires public sector workers to still work for longer, pay more and get less even still is a offer we simply have to refuse and urge all unions to stand firm and strike together . Mark Serwotka explained this very well on Channel 4 news last week. We need more union leaders like Mark to hold a strong arguement and destroy the myths this government and its media barrons are sending out.
But the feeling that the youth are our future must be taken up. They really are its a chance to let them show the way. That have lead the fightback right from the start.
Being the first group in society to come out in protest last winter with the amazing demonstrations against tuitian fees huge numbers of students who felt betrayed and badly let down by this con-dem government . I sense the same level of anger and frustration today if not more.
With almost a million young people b etween the ages of 16 and 24 out of a job and not in education or training. It is a outrage and a disgrace that this government can be wanting public sector workers to work for longer with a million youth unemployed. Its a contradiction in this capitalist system that they'd rather elder workers to work for longer than help young people into a job.
Their idea to turn workers against the youth will not work. The Jarrow marchers have shown a amazing determination to fightback and stand up to this government. Their slogan "we will not be a lost generation" sticks in my mind certainly that they mean what they say. I think we should pay tribute to these marchers who have got together and done something constructive instead of turning to crime and rioting.
Its time to get organised channel that anger into a organised fightback. Nothing in the world can stop the power of the organised working class when we unite and stand together. Lets encourage our unions and fellow trade unionists to get the biggest turn out possible for N30 and make this the start of a co-ordinated fightback on this government.
Let youth have a chance and dont ruin their chances before they even start!
The support the Jarrow marchers recieved from trade unions and trade union branch's up and down the country was outstanding but this cant just be the end. We must harness the spirit of the march and push the struggle forward.
I myself met the marchers last week in Luton, Hatfield and now just recently last weekend in London in Trafalgur square. The feeling of solidarity and togetherness was amazing i've never felt anything like it i have to say. The young people marching fora future programme of jobs and a free, decent education for socailly useful jobs and a end to the dreaded work scheme.
The next big event coming up is November the 9th. A national student demonstration marching to the city from all the different London universities. Aswell as teh fantastic Jarrow march it would be great to get a good turn out for this too. I cant make this demo myself but wish all those who are planning to go all the best and to stay safe.
But the youth who were involved in the Jarrow march and all those who came out to support the march should make sure they are visible on the November the 30th public sector general strike. It is important there is teh biggest unity of the working class on that day. If your teacher or university or college lectuer is striking join them on the picket lines and walk out in solidarity. We will not be divided lets show this rotten con-dem government that we are strong when we are united than when we give in to divide and rule.
The fact that the governments so called improved pensions offer still requires public sector workers to still work for longer, pay more and get less even still is a offer we simply have to refuse and urge all unions to stand firm and strike together . Mark Serwotka explained this very well on Channel 4 news last week. We need more union leaders like Mark to hold a strong arguement and destroy the myths this government and its media barrons are sending out.
But the feeling that the youth are our future must be taken up. They really are its a chance to let them show the way. That have lead the fightback right from the start.
Being the first group in society to come out in protest last winter with the amazing demonstrations against tuitian fees huge numbers of students who felt betrayed and badly let down by this con-dem government . I sense the same level of anger and frustration today if not more.
With almost a million young people b etween the ages of 16 and 24 out of a job and not in education or training. It is a outrage and a disgrace that this government can be wanting public sector workers to work for longer with a million youth unemployed. Its a contradiction in this capitalist system that they'd rather elder workers to work for longer than help young people into a job.
Their idea to turn workers against the youth will not work. The Jarrow marchers have shown a amazing determination to fightback and stand up to this government. Their slogan "we will not be a lost generation" sticks in my mind certainly that they mean what they say. I think we should pay tribute to these marchers who have got together and done something constructive instead of turning to crime and rioting.
Its time to get organised channel that anger into a organised fightback. Nothing in the world can stop the power of the organised working class when we unite and stand together. Lets encourage our unions and fellow trade unionists to get the biggest turn out possible for N30 and make this the start of a co-ordinated fightback on this government.
Let youth have a chance and dont ruin their chances before they even start!
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