Come to the NSSn annual conference 29th june 2013

National Shop Stewards Network conference 29 June: Unite to fight all the cuts The National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) has its seventh annual conference on 29 June. It will bring together trade unionists and anti-cuts campaigners in an important forum to discuss and plan for anti-cuts action over the coming months. Crucially, activists campaigning against the bedroom tax will be joining fighting trade unionists in the debates and discussions. Katrine Williams, president of Cardiff Trades Council and Wales chair for the PCS civil service union, and, Tommy Sheridan, Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation chair, explain why they will be at the NSSN conference. NSSN lobby of the TUC congress in Brighton 2012, photo Socialist Party (Click to enlarge) Katrine: "I have been involved in the NSSN since it was initiated by the RMT transport union seven years ago. It has proved an invaluable network over these years to get union reps together to discuss tactics on how to mobilise to defeat the cuts and attacks on our living standards. In the PCS we are struggling to make ends meet. It is our seventh year in the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) without an inflation-proofed pay rise, yet big business thinks it is fine to avoid, evade and not pay £120 billion in tax every year. But this is provoking mass anger. When a lead is given, workers show they are willing to fight. PCS joint action across DWP and HMRC is getting widespread support with our demand to close the tax gap so that we can fund a fair welfare system to meet the needs of all. The NSSN is playing a key role in promoting the idea that those unions with strike mandates work together to coordinate our action. This would be the starting point for coordination - cuts in pay, pensions and jobs, as well as privatisation mean every union has a potential trade dispute. The NSSN campaigned and lobbied the TUC congress in 2012 to call a 24-hour general strike and the TUC voted overwhelmingly to consider the practicalities of such a strike. The NSSN conference this year is at a key time when we can discuss how we can build momentum for such action across the whole of the trade union movement in the public and private sectors. Our members in PCS are keen to campaign and strike with other trade unions to maximise the effectiveness of our action. The NSSN conference will be a great opportunity for union reps to discuss this and keep the pressure on to ensure that the trade union leadership moves on from just exploring the practicalities of organising a general strike and gets on with naming the day for a 24-hour general strike." Tommy: "The anti-bedroom tax campaign in Scotland is based in local communities. We are determined not only to oppose the tax but organise physical resistance to bedroom tax evictions. Our Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation seeks to bring all the grassroots campaigns together, organised under one umbrella. It makes grassroots action easier to organise and coordinate. Just like the NSSN, without local activists, groups and the promotion of grassroots activity we would be ineffective. That's what makes the NSSN so important." The 7th annual conference of the NSSN will take place on 29 June, 11am - 5pm in the Camden Centre, Judd Street, London WC1H 9JE The NSSN was initiated by the RMT transport union in 2006. Seven national unions - RMT, PCS, CWU, NUM, POA, NUJ, and BFAWU - are either affiliated to the NSSN or officially support it as well as many union branches, shop stewards' committees and trades councils. The conference will include main sessions on resisting the cuts but also workshops on defending the NHS, organising in the workplace, housing, organising the unorganised, fighting blacklisting etc. It's open to everyone in the trade unions and community campaigners. Speakers include union general secretaries: Mark Serwotka, PCS, Billy Hayes, CWU and Steve Gillan, POA and Tommy Sheridan, Scottish Anti-Bedroom Tax Federation chair For more information contact: info@shopstewards.net or send your fee of £6 per person to: PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE. www.shopstewards.net

My take on Socialist party congress 2012

Having just returned home from socialist party congress 2012 I am completely shattered but more inspired and ready for the coming period than ever before. Having spent 3 solid long days in the sunny surroundings of Clacton on sea in Essex I can safely say I have experienced the most democratic political fighting conference I have ever been to.

This is no exaggeration attending my first congress I witnessed some amazing contributions from new and elder comrades. All contributed effectively and made a big difference to the discussions.

I arrived on the Friday night not really knowing what to expect but eager to find out. But come tonight I have been blown away with the sacrifice and dedication comrades show to the party and the fight for a transformation of society towards socialism.

Hearing some fantastic speeches was not the only thing that happened this weekend. Lots of fighting programmes and tactics discussed and debated and this effectively sets our perspectives for the coming year as a party.

Hearing such inspiration speakers warms your heart but also shows how much comrades do and are involved in. Hearing from comrades slogging it out in the trade unions keeping our presence strong in the left unions including PCS and RMT and the NUT to name just a few.

There was a terrific campaign for subs appeal for comrades to pledge further funds to the party to help us campaign producing leaflets banners and material for promoting our party and various struggles we are likely to need.

The difference with our party is we have no rich donors and union backing in terms of funds its all funded by the membership and every pound or penny we get is very appreciated and put straight back into campaigning for working people.
No comrade who takes a responsibility or a full time position in the party gains any financial reward for it. They don’t join the party for that reason and certainly don’t take on positions such as leadership to gain from it at all. The only benefit they do have is that they can make more sacrifice than others dedicating far more time and resources to the struggle.
The party building and organisational points and discussion over the weekend was excellent and further improvements to our paper – the Socialist will be happening with us hopefully going to a full 16 page colour edition very soon if we can continue improving our sales figures.
Much was made of the paper being the lifeline of the party our calling card on protests and street sales if you like. Many comrades do well selling the paper but we can always do more of course. But overall we are progressing well in terms of subs payments and fighting fund raising. It is some testament to the comrades that we are increasing our monthly subs yet many are seeing pay frozen, cut or loosing jobs or mixture of the lot. It shows that our comrades have confidence in our party and our ideas to invest further money in it and redoubling their efforts.
We had a international report from the CWI and its various 45 sections across the world where we are involved in big struggles in some very challenging environments too sometimes too i found this part especially fascinating given my interest in international matters affecting the world working class.

I myself did make a contribution on the second day getting up on stage in front of 200-300 comrades and visitors to speak on the growing region that is eastern region that we are in. I felt very good after I spoke and was so glad I got up to do it. Talking on my role in the party and how far I’ve com already in my political education and the fact I’ve been elected as Harlow branch secretary already I feel so proud to be given the opportunity to develop even further still.

The ideas of Marx, Lenin, Engel’s, Lenin and Trotsky have not gone away and our party looks to apply the ideas of Marxism to today’s struggles and provide a programme for workers to take up. We feel we have the right programme and our aim now is to convince new layers of the working class to sympathise with our ideas and hopefully one day join our party and help join and make a big contributions in helping changing society into a fairer equal socialist society that benefit the 99% using the wealth of the 1% and planning society based on needs of people.

The 5th annual NSSN conference 11th June, what to expect

So next weekend we return to London for the 5th annual NSSN conference. For anyone who doesnt know the NSSN is the National Shop Steward Netowrk. Organised in trade unions and workplaces to fight for workers rights.

Last year at a one off anti cuts special conference it was voted hugely in favour of setting the NSSN up to become a anti cuts body helping out in industry based and work place disputes. We in the socialist party had the foresight to see that the oncoming cuts will be affecting working people the greatest and to organise within the NSSN was going to be key. We still believe this to have been the right decision to take yet there is still a lot of dissent from others across the left like the SWP for example. Last year when the majority motion was passed many in the SWP were so angry that their motion to keep the NSSN as a simple body to just deal with work place disputes and not fight the cuts was voted down. Many of their activists after the conference decided to resign their membership of the NSSN claiming the socialist party had ruined the organisation and is now a front for the socialist party. This is not the case at all and we within the SP have not kicked the SWP out or refused to work with them. They are still welcome to attend next saturdays conference and i am sure many of them still will do despite their antics last year.

The thing is their walking out last year will not have been forgotten if they do change their minds and do decide to work with us within the NSSN workers will have noted their actions and wondered what benifit their resignation would have helped the movement.

On 22 January, 2011 the very successful National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) anti-cuts conference overwhelmingly agreed to launch an anti-cuts campaign (ACC).

An initial anti-cuts committee involving leading trade union and community anti-cuts activists was established (including Alex Gordon, president of the RMT and Ben Sprung, London regional organiser of the FBU).

Hannah Sell, Socialist Party deputy general secretary
Since the conference the NSSN ACC has supported and built for lobbies and demonstrations outside the Labour Local Government and Tory Spring conferences.

It also organised two very successful stages on the 26 March TUC demo, where thousands of workers heard the NSSN's call to oppose all cuts and for the next step to be a 24-hour general strike against the cuts.

The increasingly important role the NSSN is playing in the anti-cuts movement means that the debates which took place at the beginning of the year on whether the NSSN should launch an anti-cuts campaign at all now seem a distant memory.

Events have quickly confirmed that the NSSN was right to do so.

Split from SWP
Nonetheless it is worthwhile briefly commenting on recent developments in the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) because they have so clearly confirmed many of the points made by the Socialist Party in the debate at the beginning of the year.

In the run up to the January NSSN conference the Socialist Workers Party (SWP) was among the most vociferous opponents of an NSSN anti-cuts campaign being launched on the spurious grounds that it would unnecessarily divide the movement to launch another national anti-cuts campaign when Coalition of Resistance (CoR) and Right to Work (RtW) were already in existence.

In the anti-cuts movement there is rightly and inevitably a mood for unity. Nonetheless, as was understood by a large majority of delegates at the NSSN anti-cuts conference, to attempt to use that mood as a reason to oppose the NSSN launching its own anti-cuts campaign was completely disingenuous.

The NSSN has consistently argued for the maximum possible cooperation between the national anti-cuts campaigns. To give just two examples from recent weeks the NSSN invited RtW and CoR to speak on its stages at the TUC demo and has taken part in joint delegations to discuss with the TUC.

However, to merge the three campaigns into one organisation would only be a step forward if the net result was an open, democratic anti-cuts campaign organised around a clear, fighting programme.



Right to Work's lack of democracy
The Socialist Party warned at the NSSN anti-cuts conference that the political approach and top-down methods of both CoR and RtW meant that this would not be the case.

Our warnings regarding the top-down approach of RtW have been confirmed by events that have taken place in the SWP over the last weeks.

Chris Bambery, secretary of RtW and longstanding SWP Central Committee member, has left the SWP along with a number of others. Both Chris Bambery's resignation letter and the SWP CC's reply demonstrate many aspects of the mistaken political approach and method of the SWP.

However, it is the points he makes on RtW which are of the most pressing importance for anti-cuts activists.

Bambery refers to RtW being "initiated in bizarre circumstances" and adds that he only found out about it when he read it in the SWP's 'Party Notes'. This confirms that RtW is not a broad democratic anti-cuts organisation as Chris Bambery and the SWP have claimed, but is run by the SWP.

It was founded without a democratic discussion in the anti-cuts movement, or even within the ranks of the SWP, or even it seems on their Central Committee!

RtW was set up virtually overnight, without discussion, in order to try to create a rival to the NSSN, as the SWP Central Committee stated explicitly in their 2010 pre-congress discussion documents that said that this was because the NSSN was now "dominated by the Socialist Party with the RMT's blessing".

As on previous occasions - such as in the Socialist Alliance - the SWP have taken a 'rule or ruin' approach to the anti-cuts movement. The NSSN, which was founded by the RMT in 2006, has from the beginning had an open and democratic approach, bringing together militant workplace representatives from across the trade union movement.

After RtW was launched in 2009 the NSSN steering committee passed a resolution which stated:

"We view therefore with some concern the setting up of the Right To Work (RTW) by the SWP and their allies which is attempting to occupy the same ground as the NSSN, to appeal to the same union branches and national unions.

"This will only confuse the situation in the eyes of workers and has the potential to fragment the fight-back.

"We note that previous attempts of this character have failed, because, unlike the NSSN they have not been firmly rooted in the unions and workplaces, and have not been seen as an open unifying force."

The NSSN steering committee has been proved correct regarding RtW. And when the NSSN came to discuss founding a national anti-cuts campaign, it took a fundamentally different approach, setting aside a whole day for a democratic discussion at its anti-cuts conference on whether to launch a new campaign - with equal speaking rights for and against doing so.

Chris Bambery also states that internal arguments in the SWP have brought RtW "near to derailment". The SWP CC's reply refers to Chris Bambery, as RtW national secretary, "not effectively helping to build a broad Right to Work".

While they disagree on who is to blame both parties accept that RtW has not developed in a healthy way.

Yet this is the organisation that was counterposed to the NSSN!

If NSSN activists had listened to the SWP and others there would have been no effective intervention by the national anti-cuts organisations into the magnificent demonstration on 26 March.

Instead the NSSN was able to intervene very effectively to popularise a programme to defeat the cuts.



Mistaken approach to Labour
We have dealt with the mistaken political approach of the leadership of RtW (and CoR) in detail elsewhere, in particular their determination to build up New Labour councillors as leaders of the movement.

Our view is that, where councillors vote against cuts we should fully support them. However, we warned at the time of the NSSN conference that there were very few examples indeed of Labour councillors pledging to vote against cuts and that RtW and CoR were misleading the movement by creating illusions that Labour councils would stand and fight by their side.

By contrast the NSSN has warned from the start that it would be necessary to organise a struggle against both the government and local councils in order to defeat the cuts.

For this the NSSN was attacked as sectarian. However, since then our warnings have been proved correct as every Labour council in the country has wielded the axe handed to them by central government leading to hundreds of thousands of job losses.

No wonder that, at a London anti-cuts meeting on 9 April, with fifteen local anti-cuts campaigns represented, including those led by RtW and CoR, for the first time no-one could oppose our consistent position that the anti-cuts movement cannot give uncritical platforms to Labour councillors who vote for cuts.

Unfortunately, in the same week, a RtW public meeting in Leicester had a Labour councillor who had voted for cuts as the main speaker, with the speaker from the SWP also emphasising the need to keep working with Labour councillors even though they had voted to lay off 1,000 workers.

The role that RtW has played is one of many instances where the fundamentally mistaken approach of the leadership of the SWP has acted to weaken the forces of socialism and the labour movement in Britain.

The working class in Britain is now entering a period of tumultuous struggle where the correct programme, strategy and tactics will have a decisive effect on the outcome of coming battles.

The Socialist Party will continue to argue for the maximum possible unity with other forces on the left, but around a clear programme that will increase, rather than decrease, the prospects for victories.

We appeal to members of the SWP, and to those that have left, to fundamentally reassess the programme and methods of their party in order that it can play a positive role in the coming battles.






The National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) conference 2011, that takes place on Saturday 11 June, is a must for all workers willing to play a part in getting our national trade unions to stand up decisively against this government of the rich - and even richer!

We invite shop stewards and workplace reps, in the public or private sector, who daily confront bosses over the driving down of conditions and pay, to come along.

We welcome students, who showed such courage and dynamism in their fees demonstrations last winter, and who now want to link up with workers in similar struggles.



We are also keen to win the participation of local anti-cuts campaigners who see the trade unions as key to their success. So waste no time! Register now. All union reps and stewards are automatically delegates. Everyone else is a welcome visitor.

The conference takes place just a few weeks before a momentous joint strike on 30 June against the Con-Dem pensions robbery. Around 750,000 teachers and civil servants in NUT, UCU, ATL and PCS are likely to take the lead and pour onto the streets in every area of the country.

The NSSN conference hopes to encourage delegates to act as organisers of support in their areas, to help get solidarity activities from workers, especially those in other unions whose leaderships are facing the same pensions attack, but who are, as yet, dragging their feet. It is crucial that this attack is fought off now by all unions.

Leading speakers and militant activists on the ground will spell out to the conference what is needed and encourage discussion and debate on the way forward.

There will also be a range of workers engaged in various battles like those 400 workers locked out at Saltend, like blacklisted construction workers, and sacked tube drivers.

There is no doubt the bosses are prepared to squash militancy by individuals or groups of workers. They know what's coming and will use everything at their disposal, especially the anti-trade union laws, to dampen and render ineffective, a serious fightback.

Two years ago the NSSN conference included the leaders of the inspiring battles at Visteon, Lindsey and Linamar. Last year we affirmed international solidarity by inviting leading trade unionists involved in mass demos and general strikes in Spain, Ireland and Greece.

This year British workers are about to embark on our own very real battle on pensions. Those who come to NSSN conference 2011 could play a vital part in helping ensure success. Make sure you are there!


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NSSN CONFERENCE 2011
Speakers include: Alex Gordon, president RMT, rank and file fighters like Keith Gibson, locked out at Saltend along with 200 workers, and Frank Morris, construction worker blacklisted from the Olympic site. Also leaders from NUT, PCS and other unions.
Saturday 11 June, 11.30am-4pm
South Camden Community School, London NW1 1RG
www.stopcuts.net
To register for the National Shop Stewards Network conference go to www.shopstewards.net/conference.htm
PO Box 54498, London E10 9DE

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So i will be there hopefully with other like minded comrades i hope you can all make it there too whichever political background you have. If you are against teh cuts it will be a key conference for the plans for the next coming months and years i would say.

I am looking forward to the speakers and especially the greek bus union leaders about how the working class has been dealing with austerity measures in Greece where things are a lot worse than here.