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Showing posts with label british workers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label british workers. Show all posts
Wednesday, 6 March 2013
Labours shameful position on immigration
During their years in government labour were the friends of the boss’s as we well know and actively encouraged high levels of immigration which not only brought a hell of a lot of low skilled workers into the work force it did create tensions in the working class we have to be honest. The affect of high immigration has to be seen through the eyes of the boss’s. The boss’s of many of the largest and most profitable multi nationals use immigration as a tool to lower wages and conditions. Immigrants tend to come from much less well off lands and are happy to take work at a low end to work their way up.
This has an affect of driving wages down as the competition in the labour market is a concern to the British working class. We as socialists must fight every form of nationalism racism and divide and rule.
We should look to fight for everyone to get the rate for the job not to do as labour do claim immigration of low skilled workers is far too high now.
It’s important for trade unions to reach out to migrant workers much like the RMT is doing fantastically with the cleaners who are being used to undercut wages. The RMT has rightly recognised this and are fighting for cleaners to get the rate for the job and a living wage. We cannot be falling into the trap of the capitalists of a classic divide and rule strategy.
Labour has played a shameful role in terms of immigration and they show no sign of changing as Ed miliband describes in his piece today in the papers.
In today’s Daily Telegraph Ed Miliband is quoted as saying
“I believe that diversity is good for Britain but it's got to be made to work for all and not just for some,” the Labour leader says. “That means everybody taking responsibility, everybody playing their part and contributing to the country.”
During the 2010 election, Mr. Brown had to apologise after he was overheard describing one pensioner who raised concerns over immigration as a “bigoted woman”.
Gillian Duffy confronted the then Prime Minister on camera during his campaign visit to Rochdale, Lancs. Mr Brown’s private frustration was broadcast to the world after he stepped into his car while his microphone was still live.
David Cameron has set a target to cut net migration to the “tens of thousands”. However, in his broadcast, Mr Miliband suggests that limits must apply only to workers with low levels of training.
“Low-skill migration has been too high and we need to bring it down,” the Labour leader says.
This will mean “maximum controls” for eastern Europeans entering the European Union and “properly enforcing the minimum wage so people aren’t brought here to undercut workers already here”.
Mr Miliband again draws on his personal family history, telling viewers that his father, the Marxist academic Ralph Miliband, studied English after he fled the Nazis for Britain.
Anyone working in a government-funded job in which they face the public should “be able to speak English”, he says.
With quotes and extracts taken from
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/labour/9911983/Ed-Miliband-says-low-skilled-immigration-is-too-high.html
Thursday, 13 December 2012
Have British workers lost their fight ?
The National Shops Stewards network and the socialist party answered brilliantly to the calls by Observer journalist Nick Cohen who claims British workers have lost their fight. This is just not true and the NSSN fantastically replied to him this week with this reply.
Dear editor
Nick Cohen (“The British have no fight in them any more” – 9/12/12) would have us believe that the resistance of working people is next to non-existent in the face of the ConDem austerity offensive.
Nick hasn’t been the first with this pessimistic view. In November 2010, on the eve of George Osborne’s first Autumn Statement which set out his initial cuts target of £81 billion, Jeremy Paxman asked TUC leader Brendan Barber on Newsnight, “Why aren’t British workers like those in Europe?” Paxman was contrasting the TUC’s modest 3,000-strong rally that day with the mass protests and strikes that were raging across Europe.
However, between that Autumn Statement and Osborne’s latest effort last week, we’ve seen the greatest mobilisation of working and middle-class people for decades. Nick briefly mentions the student movement at the end of 2010 but this was a mass movement of hundreds and thousands of young people. On March 26th 2011, well over half a million marched on arguably the largest union-led demonstration in this country’s history and on November 30th last year we saw possibly the biggest single day of strike action since the 1926 general strike as public sector workers took action to defend their pensions.
That day could and should have been the beginning of the type of concerted and co-ordinated industrial action that could have forced the government to retreat on pensions in the same way that they’ve U-turned over 40 times from culling badgers to the pasty tax. But because the cuts have been so unrelenting, millions of workers still see the need for the unions to strike together to stop the austerity programme that is destroying our lives.
This Tuesday, the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) is lobbying the TUC General Council to call on the union leaders to name the date for a national strike of workers across the public and private sectors – effectively a 24 hour general strike. The NSSN believes that such joint action would be hugely popular and well supported. The strikes that are almost a daily occurrence but rarely reported by the media, from the victorious the construction electricians early this year to the Tesco delivery drivers who are currently on all-out strike in Doncaster, show that actually the willingness to fight is absolutely present amongst workers in this country. PCS has announced a strike ballot early next year, we call on the other unions to join them.
Rob Williams
NSSN national chair
www.shopstewards.net
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Thursday, 24 May 2012
Solidarity with workers across Europe
As the crisis in capitalism grows deeper and deeper and the ruling classes look increasingly desperate for ordinary working people they haven’t seen this drop in living standards for a very very long time possibly ever.
In Britain, as in every country of Europe, millions of working people are following events in Greece with baited breath. In part this is because of fear of what the deepening economic crisis in the euro zone could mean for workers in Britain. But it is not the only reason. It is also because workers are inspired by the defiance of the Greek population.
Seventeen general strikes have shaken Greece in the course of the last two years as Greek workers have refused to accept the mass impoverishment demanded of them. And now the Greek working and middle classes have shouted their defiance in the elections - shattering the electoral base of the previous establishment parties - Pasok and New Democracy - and voting for those who opposed austerity.
Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) was the biggest beneficiary of the anti-austerity mood in the recent Greek general election, increasing its vote from 4.6% to 16.78%.
Since then Syriza's principled stand, refusing to join a coalition that accepted more austerity and instead demanding a left government, has led to increasing support in opinion polls - as high as 26% - mostly topping the polls. This also shows the potential for left, anti-cuts candidates to make breakthroughs outside of Greece, including the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) in Britain.
The right-wing and fascist Golden Dawn won 21 MPs in the 6 May elections but has since seen its support plummet in the polls. This gives an indication of how support for the far right can be undermined when a credible left alternative emerges. But it is also a warning of what could emerge if Syriza does not lead a battle against austerity.
All across Europe workers are being forced to accept austerity in Ireland next week people will go to the polls to vote on the European austerity treaty as socialists we call for a strong NO vote rejecting permanent austerity and being locked into a straight jacket in terms of Ireland’s options from this point on.
The capitalist classes of Europe are now cranking up the pressure on the Greek working class, trying to blackmail it into voting 'the right way' at the recall general election in June.
Typically Cameron has led the charge, crudely sending "a very clear message to the people of Greece: there is a choice - you can vote to stay in the euro, with all the commitments you made, or if you vote another way you're effectively voting to leave."
Cameron is attempting to turn the general election into a referendum on the euro. He is gambling on the fact that a majority of the Greek population still want to remain in the euro, fearing the prospect of being a small, isolated and impoverished country.
It was not the Greek people that made a "commitment" to endure endless misery. This was done by the previous government parties and, as a result, the Greek population punished them at the polls.
The policies demanded by the troika of the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, and implemented by Greek governments, have left sections of the Greek population destitute and the vast majority in terrible poverty.
The Greek economy has shrunk by 20% in four years, a catastrophe not seen in Europe since the 1930s. Public sector wages have fallen by 40%. The church is now feeding an average of 250,000 people each day as sections of the population literally face starvation.
As the pressure of the axe-men and women mounts on the Greek people to submit, the working class of Britain, along with workers across Europe, needs to send a resounding message to the Greek people: 'We stand 100% with your rejection of austerity. We support your struggle and will step up the battle to stop cuts and defend living conditions in our own countries, as the best means of assisting your struggle. If, as is overwhelmingly likely, the capitalist classes of Europe force you out of the euro zone, you will not be isolated - the workers of Europe stand in solidarity with you.'
What better support could workers in Britain give to workers in Greece than by bringing down the hated Con-Dem government?
It is not only in Greece but across Europe that the working class has rejected austerity on the streets and at the ballot box. The defeat of Sarkozy in France and of Merkel's party in Germany's most populous state, the huge vote against the Con-Dem's in Britain's local elections, plus the local election results in Italy; are all electoral indications of a growing tidal wave of opposition to austerity.
The battle against austerity must be linked to struggle against capitalism - a system in a profound crisis. It is not the supposed past profligacy of the peoples of Greece, Spain, Ireland or Britain that has led to the current catastrophe but the economic crisis of capitalism, and the past and current profligacy of the financiers and speculators who dominate the economy.
The euro zone has become an austerity zone, where all the problems of the capitalist crisis are intensified. We as Socialists always warned that the euro, a single currency for very different economies, would not work on a capitalist basis.
When the world economy was growing it could appear a success, but in a crisis it would become a terrible trap for the working classes of Europe.
The leaders of the euro zone, headed by German capitalism, are trying to overcome the crisis by driving the working class into the dirt.
Cameron is applying the same policy in Britain. But this is exacerbating the economic crisis and is creating a gigantic revolt. It is fear of a deepening of the economic crisis and, above all, of the revolt that is coming, that is forcing the leading representatives of capitalism, including Obama, to put pressure on German capitalism to move towards some measures to stimulate the euro zone’s economies.
The economic crisis is not caused by a lack of profits for big business. The capitalists have huge piles of cash. The Wall Street Journal estimates that in the US, the euro zone, the UK and Japan, some $7.75 trillion in cash, is sitting in the vaults of big business.
Because the capitalists refuse to invest this money, we call for an immediate 50% levy on it, in order for it to be used for a massive programme of investment in public work and job creation. However, there is no prospect of capitalist governments carrying out this kind of serious stimulus, which would create howls of outrage, and opposition, from their big business backers.
So let’s join together across Europe and look across borders and see we are all fighting the same enemy and that if we unite across borders workers can finally feel their huge strength they do hold. Once workers in Europe break out of their chains the tide will turn very quickly. In Britain we can do our bit by helping to bring down this weak rotten con-dem government which is intent on making the poor pay for a crisis they did not create. This October on the TUC demonstration we also need to have placards and banners with messages of solidarity with Greek, Spanish, Irish and Portuguese workers on this will scare the ruling class’s with the ideas and solidarity that is spreading like wild fire across Europe as we speak.
Its time to fight back, its time to unite but most of all stand together.
In Britain, as in every country of Europe, millions of working people are following events in Greece with baited breath. In part this is because of fear of what the deepening economic crisis in the euro zone could mean for workers in Britain. But it is not the only reason. It is also because workers are inspired by the defiance of the Greek population.
Seventeen general strikes have shaken Greece in the course of the last two years as Greek workers have refused to accept the mass impoverishment demanded of them. And now the Greek working and middle classes have shouted their defiance in the elections - shattering the electoral base of the previous establishment parties - Pasok and New Democracy - and voting for those who opposed austerity.
Syriza (Coalition of the Radical Left) was the biggest beneficiary of the anti-austerity mood in the recent Greek general election, increasing its vote from 4.6% to 16.78%.
Since then Syriza's principled stand, refusing to join a coalition that accepted more austerity and instead demanding a left government, has led to increasing support in opinion polls - as high as 26% - mostly topping the polls. This also shows the potential for left, anti-cuts candidates to make breakthroughs outside of Greece, including the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) in Britain.
The right-wing and fascist Golden Dawn won 21 MPs in the 6 May elections but has since seen its support plummet in the polls. This gives an indication of how support for the far right can be undermined when a credible left alternative emerges. But it is also a warning of what could emerge if Syriza does not lead a battle against austerity.
All across Europe workers are being forced to accept austerity in Ireland next week people will go to the polls to vote on the European austerity treaty as socialists we call for a strong NO vote rejecting permanent austerity and being locked into a straight jacket in terms of Ireland’s options from this point on.
The capitalist classes of Europe are now cranking up the pressure on the Greek working class, trying to blackmail it into voting 'the right way' at the recall general election in June.
Typically Cameron has led the charge, crudely sending "a very clear message to the people of Greece: there is a choice - you can vote to stay in the euro, with all the commitments you made, or if you vote another way you're effectively voting to leave."
Cameron is attempting to turn the general election into a referendum on the euro. He is gambling on the fact that a majority of the Greek population still want to remain in the euro, fearing the prospect of being a small, isolated and impoverished country.
It was not the Greek people that made a "commitment" to endure endless misery. This was done by the previous government parties and, as a result, the Greek population punished them at the polls.
The policies demanded by the troika of the European Union, International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank, and implemented by Greek governments, have left sections of the Greek population destitute and the vast majority in terrible poverty.
The Greek economy has shrunk by 20% in four years, a catastrophe not seen in Europe since the 1930s. Public sector wages have fallen by 40%. The church is now feeding an average of 250,000 people each day as sections of the population literally face starvation.
As the pressure of the axe-men and women mounts on the Greek people to submit, the working class of Britain, along with workers across Europe, needs to send a resounding message to the Greek people: 'We stand 100% with your rejection of austerity. We support your struggle and will step up the battle to stop cuts and defend living conditions in our own countries, as the best means of assisting your struggle. If, as is overwhelmingly likely, the capitalist classes of Europe force you out of the euro zone, you will not be isolated - the workers of Europe stand in solidarity with you.'
What better support could workers in Britain give to workers in Greece than by bringing down the hated Con-Dem government?
It is not only in Greece but across Europe that the working class has rejected austerity on the streets and at the ballot box. The defeat of Sarkozy in France and of Merkel's party in Germany's most populous state, the huge vote against the Con-Dem's in Britain's local elections, plus the local election results in Italy; are all electoral indications of a growing tidal wave of opposition to austerity.
The battle against austerity must be linked to struggle against capitalism - a system in a profound crisis. It is not the supposed past profligacy of the peoples of Greece, Spain, Ireland or Britain that has led to the current catastrophe but the economic crisis of capitalism, and the past and current profligacy of the financiers and speculators who dominate the economy.
The euro zone has become an austerity zone, where all the problems of the capitalist crisis are intensified. We as Socialists always warned that the euro, a single currency for very different economies, would not work on a capitalist basis.
When the world economy was growing it could appear a success, but in a crisis it would become a terrible trap for the working classes of Europe.
The leaders of the euro zone, headed by German capitalism, are trying to overcome the crisis by driving the working class into the dirt.
Cameron is applying the same policy in Britain. But this is exacerbating the economic crisis and is creating a gigantic revolt. It is fear of a deepening of the economic crisis and, above all, of the revolt that is coming, that is forcing the leading representatives of capitalism, including Obama, to put pressure on German capitalism to move towards some measures to stimulate the euro zone’s economies.
The economic crisis is not caused by a lack of profits for big business. The capitalists have huge piles of cash. The Wall Street Journal estimates that in the US, the euro zone, the UK and Japan, some $7.75 trillion in cash, is sitting in the vaults of big business.
Because the capitalists refuse to invest this money, we call for an immediate 50% levy on it, in order for it to be used for a massive programme of investment in public work and job creation. However, there is no prospect of capitalist governments carrying out this kind of serious stimulus, which would create howls of outrage, and opposition, from their big business backers.
So let’s join together across Europe and look across borders and see we are all fighting the same enemy and that if we unite across borders workers can finally feel their huge strength they do hold. Once workers in Europe break out of their chains the tide will turn very quickly. In Britain we can do our bit by helping to bring down this weak rotten con-dem government which is intent on making the poor pay for a crisis they did not create. This October on the TUC demonstration we also need to have placards and banners with messages of solidarity with Greek, Spanish, Irish and Portuguese workers on this will scare the ruling class’s with the ideas and solidarity that is spreading like wild fire across Europe as we speak.
Its time to fight back, its time to unite but most of all stand together.
Saturday, 10 December 2011
Why shorterning the working week with no loss of pay would benifit us all
Britain's working week is one of the longest in Europe. Hundreds of thousands work over 50 hours a week, while record numbers of workers have switched to part-time work to avoid the poverty trap of the benefits system.
Sharing out the work would dramatically cut unemployment. The idea of a standard 35-hour week has always been attacked by employers and governments, for them 'casual' work means the employers' right to hire and fire without consequence.
The influential think-tank, the New Economics Foundation recently published its findings on the working week. They predict that a 21-hour working week will become the norm in a future capitalist society - for them however, a shorter working week is for the capitalists' benefit not the workers'.
In reality, they argue for a super-casualisation of working life, with annualised hours (they talk of working a 21-hour week or its equivalent in hours spread across a month or year). Workers will be left waiting for the call to come to work and will only get paid when the employer feels they are needed.
We must argue that the need for shorter working hours and employment for all should not be paid for by the working class, but by the giant monopolies which exploit us to line shareholders' pockets and dominate the economy. Share out the work, with no loss of pay!
There is more than enough wealth in society to make these demands a reality. The economic crisis means redundancies and repossessions for many, but it is business as usual for the super-rich, who remain super-rich at our expense.
The modest demand for a 35-hour week should form the backbone of trade union campaigns for jobs now and for future generations. If capitalism can't afford a 35 hour week or a living wage for all workers, then we can't afford capitalism!
This is one of our "transitional demands" as socialists we look to set the capitalist system targets it ultimatly cannot provide highlighting how inadequate this system based on greed is raising the contiousness of workers bringing them to the conclusions that capitalism cannot provide for us all. Yes it has advanced the way production works to a point and to a point has improved the living standards for the workers but ever since th mid 70's this has been in steady decline and working class living standards have stagnated from then on and in many cases have gone backwards. With the austerity we have now to try and eliminate the so called deficit which i prefer to call planned povety is only set to make this worse.
So this demand of a shorter working week is a reasonable demand to be making and is a sort of reformist demand but ultimatly cannot be realised under capitalism we know that but wish to highlight this and how capitalism cannot provide for all.
Sharing out the work would dramatically cut unemployment. The idea of a standard 35-hour week has always been attacked by employers and governments, for them 'casual' work means the employers' right to hire and fire without consequence.
The influential think-tank, the New Economics Foundation recently published its findings on the working week. They predict that a 21-hour working week will become the norm in a future capitalist society - for them however, a shorter working week is for the capitalists' benefit not the workers'.
In reality, they argue for a super-casualisation of working life, with annualised hours (they talk of working a 21-hour week or its equivalent in hours spread across a month or year). Workers will be left waiting for the call to come to work and will only get paid when the employer feels they are needed.
We must argue that the need for shorter working hours and employment for all should not be paid for by the working class, but by the giant monopolies which exploit us to line shareholders' pockets and dominate the economy. Share out the work, with no loss of pay!
There is more than enough wealth in society to make these demands a reality. The economic crisis means redundancies and repossessions for many, but it is business as usual for the super-rich, who remain super-rich at our expense.
The modest demand for a 35-hour week should form the backbone of trade union campaigns for jobs now and for future generations. If capitalism can't afford a 35 hour week or a living wage for all workers, then we can't afford capitalism!
This is one of our "transitional demands" as socialists we look to set the capitalist system targets it ultimatly cannot provide highlighting how inadequate this system based on greed is raising the contiousness of workers bringing them to the conclusions that capitalism cannot provide for us all. Yes it has advanced the way production works to a point and to a point has improved the living standards for the workers but ever since th mid 70's this has been in steady decline and working class living standards have stagnated from then on and in many cases have gone backwards. With the austerity we have now to try and eliminate the so called deficit which i prefer to call planned povety is only set to make this worse.
So this demand of a shorter working week is a reasonable demand to be making and is a sort of reformist demand but ultimatly cannot be realised under capitalism we know that but wish to highlight this and how capitalism cannot provide for all.
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