Support students right to a free education for all

Tommorrow students from up and down the land will be protesting against teh attacks on their opportunities of a decent life for themselves and others who will follow them. This is also a fight for free education to international students too who have also been put off in coming heer to study we cannot forget them too. Free education should be a right in this day and age why should young people today have to pay when many of their parents and the smug politicians never had to pay a penny. Many students and young people are joining a London demonstration calling on the government to scrap tuition fees and cuts. Paired with the introduction of £9,000 university tuition fees for 2012’s student intake, the slashing of benefits and key services for students and young people is having a devastating impact, the organisers say. Scrapping of the education maintenance allowance (EMA) The EMA was a weekly means-tested payment of up to £30 for students aged 16-19, at schools or in further education colleges, in return for their attending lessons. It provided a lifeline to students . Around 45% of students qualified for the EMA, costing over £560m. But in late 2010, the government scrapped it in England. It still exists in Scotland and Wales. The budget was slashed to just £180m and reallocated to a 16-19 “bursary fund”. Unlike the EMA, which was distributed according to parental income, the new fund can be distributed by schools and colleges as they see fit. Pupils can apply even if they weren’t eligible for the EMA, so it’s unclear how many students qualify. Some of today’s sixth formers don’t know the EMA ever existed, but those with older siblings have found the injustice hard to swallow. “It seems as if the government is trying to make higher education less accessible to those from lower income families. University now feels like something more related to social class rather than to education.” Youth services have been slashed, with councils closing youth clubs up and down the country. Connexions – which provided information, support and advice to 13- to 25-year-olds – has been almost completely cut and replaced by the National Careers Service with disastrous results, particularly for the most vulnerable. Aimhigher – a programme that aimed to widen higher education participation – was also scrapped in 2011, just before the fees increase. “Where you come from remains such a key factor in whether or not you go on to university,” says Megan Dunn, NUS vice-president for higher education. “Young people from the most advantaged neighbourhoods in England are three times more likely to enter higher education than those from the most disadvantaged.” The government planned to “modernise” the DSA, which students in England can receive to meet the extra study costs arising from their disabilities, long-term mental and physical health conditions, and learning difficulties. Some changes have been postponed for at least two years after protests from students. But from 2015, many of the provisions the DSA currently pays for, such as standard computers for disabled students, will no longer be covered. Since 2010, the Department for Education has protected funding for educational provision for five-16s, but has slashed funding for 16-18 education. Some sixth form colleges will have lost a third of their funding by the end of this parliament, according to the Sixth Form College Association (SFCA), because of a combination of cuts to entitlement funding, which provides tutorials and enrichment activities, a new 16-19 funding formula, and a reduction in funding for 18 year olds. This has meant increased class sizes and a reduction in the number of A-level and vocational courses available at many schools and FE colleges. A survey of sixth form colleges by the SFCA found that 68% had dropped courses, with 38% cutting modern foreign language A-levels and 22% Stem subjects. with quotes and extracts from http://www.theguardian.com/education/2014/nov/17/robbed-of-their-futures-how-austerity-cuts-hit-young-people-hardest?CMP=twt_gu In a National campaign against fees and cuts press release students wrote "This Wednesday, on November 19th, thousands of students will march through London in what is likely to be the biggest education protest in several years. The demo – which is organised by the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts in coalition with a number of other student groups – will march on parliament under the banner of ‘FREE EDUCATION: no fees, no cuts, no debt’. The demonstration aims to be the spark for a new and proactive generation of student protests. There will be a press conference on the day of the demonstration. The press conference will include school students, activists from across the country and representatives of the different organisations behind the march. The press conference will take place at UCL (University College London) at 10am. Callum Cant, from Warwick for Free Education and the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts said: “At Warwick we have been campaigning on the ground for almost a month, and we’ve seen our hard work pay off. On campus, the mood is changing, people are excited, and we have seen a huge number of people getting involved in student activism for the first time.” Hattie Craig, from Defend Education Birmingham and the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts said: “The students attending this demonstration are a new generation: one that was not involved in 2010, one for whom £9,000 fees are the norm. Despite this, they’re daring to call for demands which envisage a radical reshaping of education. This demonstration, expected to be the biggest since 2010, is the start of big things for the student movement.” Kirsty Haigh, from NUS Scotland and the National Campaign against Fees and Cuts said: “NUS scotland firmly believes in free education and we are supporting the demo on November 19th. We believe education is a right that should be accessible to everyone and barriers such as fees are unjust. That is why I, and many other Scottish students, will be marching this Wednesday.” Deborah Hermanns, from the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts, said: “We will not win this with one march, but by creating a movement too big to ignore or to betray. So we have called for two further days of action on 3 and 6 December in campuses and communities across the country, and will keep fighting for as long as it takes to win.” Notes: 1. NCAFC is a democratic coalition of students and workers fighting for free education and against fees, cuts and privatisation in education. It has existed since 2010 and has around 500 members. " http://anticuts.com/2014/11/18/demonstration-to-be-start-of-big-things-as-students-prepare-for-an-autumn-of-protest/

Another march from A to B is the best Britain’s Unions can offer this year

So the TUC will be holding another set piece demonstration/march from A to B this October the 18th. This for me shows where we are at on so many levels. It’s the last thing we need another arch in central London to go to Hyde Park to listen to Ed Miliband once again and all go home feeling thoroughly deflated. This will be the third big national demonstration since the con-dem government came to power and I do suspect the size of this one could be smaller still. The first demonstration march for the alternative back on March 26 2011 I went on full of optimism that this could be the start of things has quickly faded into my mind. The feeling after that demo and all the militant talks by union leader after union leader that we must strike together now after marching together rings rather hollow. Also who can forget in 2012 Len Mcckluskey of Unite calling for a general strike by a show of hands almost seems laughable now that people actually took that seriously at the time. For me this is all rather depressing it feels like we are going around in circles and in many wyes we are while the government and the state run rings around us laughing all the way to the bank quite literally in many cases. The title for this year’s march from A to B will be called Britain needs a pay rise so we're no longer marching for an alternative just a bit of a pay rise. How much it’s not clear. Clearly this will be channeled into voting for labour next year for this to happen no doubt. So you may ask what I think should be done instead if March’s don’t work? Well I think that fighting for ourselves not looking towards leaders to lead us all the time taking control of our own struggles where we can be it in our communities or our workplaces. Many people are at breaking point that will be able to afford to come up to London to go for a march again anyway? Will those being threatened with eviction due to the vicious bedroom tax which still rumbles on despite labours claims to abolish it be able to come along for a nice day out listening to Mr. Ed? No doubt many of the trot parties out there will talk this up as the chance to prelaunch the anti cuts movement and cease it as another hot bed to sell papers and recruit some poor souls who can be easily mislead. As Karl Marx once said it is for the workers and the workers themselves to change society not a self appointed top down leadership. Also I’m sure we will hear those calls for a 24 hour general strike from the usual suspects again. This is just not going to happen by calling on the TUC to organize it from the top down. Of course it would be welcome but we’d be far better building it from below going around the union tops if need be. Let’s start today by organising in our towns and cities without the tired old leaderships. We have the power when we get together to affect change. A march in a cold October will change nothing and the unions know this. It’s a way of letting off steam. Lets by pass them.

Support the London wide save our NHS demonstration

This weekend see’s nother step towards saving the NHS. A London wide demonstration, this must be just the start. The chair of the National Health Service (NHS) regulator has warned that pressure on Accident and Emergency (A&E) units is "out of control... [and] totally unsustainable". David Prior, head of the Care Quality Commission, was reported as saying it meant he could not guarantee against any future scandals similar to the highly publicised tragedy of Mid Staffordshire NHS. This increasing pressure has led to a number of A&Es struggling to hit targets for waiting times. Bizarrely, Mr Prior's response to this appears to be to call for fewer, not more, resources. He told the King's Fund health think tank that "if we don't start closing acute beds, the system is going to fall over". He believes that the increased pressure is due to people "misusing" A&E services for less serious health problems, which they would apparently be less likely to do if they knew there were less resources! Anyone who thinks about this, even briefly, will see the lie in it. Clearly, those who do not actually need the services will never be sent on to acute beds; however if beds are cut it will be the patients who do need these services that will be left waiting for longer. The BBC's health correspondent Nick Triggle, reporting on the story, mentioned some more believable reasons for the increased demand on A&Es, including: "A rise in the number of people with chronic conditions, such as heart disease, that end up having emergencies; the ageing population; and problems accessing out-of-hours GP care." This shows the need for more staff and resources, not less. Triggle also made a fleeting but telling reference to "staffing problems". 6,000 nursing jobs across the NHS have been cut since the Con-Dems came to power, with that number expected to double by 2015. Closures This story also raises further concerns over plans to close four A&Es across north-west London. Communities covered by Ealing, Central Middlesex, Charring Cross, and Hammersmith hospitals have been campaigning against the closure of their A&E services, which would mean in an emergency they would have to travel to one of the remaining A&Es at five other hospitals covering the wider area. How five A&Es are expected to take on the previous workload of nine while maintaining waiting list targets is not clear, although perhaps a hidden agenda is revealed later in Mr Prior's speech when he blamed the NHS's apparent problems on the lack of a health market. Aside from the fact that an internal market has existed, and has been undermining the NHS, for over 20 years now, this also hints at the future of healthcare in north-west London, and nationally. When the remaining hospitals struggle with the additional demand and become "failing" hospitals, the bloodsuckers of the market will step in. This is so much easier now under the Health and Social Care Act. No one who works for the NHS would claim it is perfect, but we must fight to defend and improve it, as opposed to running it into the ground to be replaced with a system that puts profits over patients, which is the true aim of scare stories like this. The London demonstration (see box) can help pull together health workers and campaigners as we have seen in many other local demos. However, these must be followed by a national demonstration to focus the defence of the NHS. The trade unions must take the lead in this campaign, including building for coordinated industrial action and a 24-hour general strike, to stop the government's destructive agenda. Defend London's NHS All-London demo organised by trade unions and health campaigners. Saturday 18 May. Assemble 12 noon, Jubilee Gardens, Waterloo. National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) Defend the NHS - new bulletin Downloadable resource - available at: http://shopstewards.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/NSSN-NHS-Bulletin3-1.pdf article taken from www.socialistparty.org.uk

Students back on the streets this Wednesday, join the demo against fees and cuts

This Wednesday the 21st of November will see the return to struggle on a mass scale by thousands of students on the streets of London for the first time since 2010. The monstrous demonstration of 2010 still lives in the memories of many students and the government too. The NUS who have called this demonstration against their will are being forced to organise this due to mass pressure from below. Shamefully we suspect many NUS officers will be doing very little and have been doing really little in organising for this demonstration this week. So it will be left to groups such as socialist students who have had a big upsurge in recruitment and taking up of our ideas on campuses up and down the land this term already. Just like in 2010 much of the organising for the demonstration will be on the ground carried out by rank-and-file students many of which may be looking at socialist students and discussing with us our ideas. Unlike the NUS we are fully opposed to all cuts and all fees. We stand for a free fully funded education for students. An end to cuts in higher education and further education. In the winter of 2010, by the skin of their teeth, Cameron, Clegg and their rich mates managed to weather the storm of student protest, college walkouts and university occupations and forced through the most draconian raft of education 'reforms' ever enacted in Britain. These 'improvements' included the tripling of tuition fees from an already unaffordable £3,000 to a sky-high £9,000, the removal of vital EMA for college students, and the slashing of education budgets by up to 80% in some departments. The face of our education has visibly changed - university applications have already fallen by 15% in my native Sheffield. Entire groups of friends who were at Sheffield's colleges now languish on the dole, unable to afford to go to university and unable to get jobs. The neoliberal slash-and-burn of our education has had chilling effects. But though the student movement was set back by the passing of these vicious assaults on working class people's right to education, we're still here and we certainly haven't forgotten. The 50,000-strong demonstration in November 2010, the storming of Millbank Tower and the subsequent mass student uprising against the Tories still loom large in the minds of students. This year, the 'Class of 2010' comes of age - some of the students who walked out of their colleges, who took part in the biggest demonstration of college students ever, are now at university, forced to pay £9,000 a year. The need to kick out this shambolic government is becoming clear. The National Union of Students demonstration 'Educate, Employ, Empower', on 21 November, could open the floodgates to this simmering anger. This tide can be a storm surge, made unstoppable and irresistible by Socialist Students' ever-present slogan: 'students and workers - unite and fight!' Only the union between the dynamism and energy of the students with the industrial muscle of the organised working class can lead to success. The task is clear - taking forward the demands of Socialist Students beyond this demonstration and into the new year: free education, no budget cuts, fair pay for teaching and support staff, and to lend all support possible to workers in the coming struggles. We'll kick out this shower of posh boys and we'll fight for a socialist future.

20th October how I saw it and where next

I like many other trade unionists made my way with other socialist party comrades yesterday to London we luckily don’t vie too far away. We took a different strategy this year instead of going on the march we stayed at Hyde Park all day and leafleted and held stalls as the march reached the end. Early estimates reckon the march was around 200,000 I’d say that would be about right it felt big still very big but the march did seem to thin out the nearer it got to 4 pm whereas last year there were still loads of marchers still making their way to Hyde park at a similar time. The atmosphere on the march was very Good lots of people hardened since last year and the betrayals of the right wing trade union leaders. There was a sense of we have been here before though and that may have played a part in the lower turnout perhaps. The NSSN and the socialist party’s calls for a 24 hour general strike were taken up very well by the workers on the demo lots of leaflets handed out many by me and lots of socialist papers sold too have no figures as yet but we made a terrific intervention I thought. Lots of positive comments coming our way when people came up to our stalls. I wasn’t sure how the demo would go before hand but was pleased with our efforts in the end. Clearly our calls for a 24 hour general strike caught an echo as several trade union speakers like Bob Crow, Mark Serwotka and Len Mcklusky all endorsing the NSSN’s calls. It’s clear now the TUC has to act and if not the left lead unions need to take the lead for further co-ordinated action. Len McCluskey, general secretary of the union Unite, got the overwhelming endorsement of the crowd when he asked all those who supported the organising of a general strike to raise their hands. Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT and seconder of the motion to 'consider a general strike' that was passed at the recent TUC congress, got massive applause when he called for a 24-hour general strike. Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS union, also called for coordination of strike action across the trade union movement. Huge support was received for the campaign by the Socialist Party and the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) to demand that the TUC name a day for a 24-hour general strike and then launch a massive campaign to mobilise the working class behind this call. What I was glad bout was the fact that Ed Miliband was roundly booed for his speech which I was disgusted to hear he was even there in the first place. He said he and his labour government if elected had to make tough decisions and they won’t be popular, dam right Ed you won’t be. SO its clear that labour will not be on our side if elected as if we didn’t know that before but some clearly still need reminding. As a result of this our stall could not give away TUSC leaflets quickly enough there was a big thirst to find about a alternative and TUSC can be that alternative in the coming by elections and beyond. All together the 20th of October must be remembered for being used as a springboard to further action this autumn or as soon as possible. Trade unions need to link their common disputes pensions, pay, privatisation you name it could be one of many issues and name the day for action. This demonstration opened a new phase in the war against austerity, giving a glimpse of a more hardened and militant working class. There was a widespread interest in socialist ideas, with many applying to join the Socialist Party. It’s now time to take the ideas forward and win the arguments; no cuts are necessary and must be fought.

Defend the right to protest

As demonstrations, protests and strikes against austerity become more common, there are even more horrific policing tactics in the pipeline. The Independent recently revealed that, in London, the use of rubber bullets has been authorized 22 times in the last year. Scotland Yard is also considering making water cannon and Taser stun guns more easily accessible for the police.
This is on top of some of the most draconian laws already in place which are set to get even worse were a person will be banned from a particular area for 48 hours if deemed to be acting suspiciously. This would obviously consist of protesting politically and against the cuts most notably. With the treatment of protesters over the last few years this doesn’t bode at all well for the future of the right to protest.

I am not even sure we do have the right to protest or if we ever had it it is a debate in itself. But it is perceived that we do and people generally can but further tightening of these oppressive laws will only increase as demonstrations increase and people’s anger deepens.
We must remain vigilant to police violence and attempts to deter students, workers and anti cuts campaigners from protesting in a mass form. As this week the TUC has announced its second mass demonstration for the 20th of October it will be key that we defend this right and our right to distribute our own material and offer those on the demonstration the chance to take a leaflet and more information on how we can fight the cuts. But fundamentally protesting is something which will become increasingly more popular as this crisis in capitalism deepens. This was shown when one of the people of the year given out by one of the national newspapers gave the person of the year to the year of the protester in 2011. I can only see this trend continuing and as more and more layers of the class get drawn into the movement we need to defend their rights to organize and to protest peacefully.

We say as the socialist party:
• Build a mass campaign in defense of civil and democratic rights! Defend the right to protest
• Scrap the anti-trade union laws, defend the right to strike
• Stop victimization of protesters by the police and in the courts
• Repeal all the draconian 'anti-terror' legislation and stop new repressive powers
• For the election of judges and the right to trial by jury
• For the police to be under the control of, and accountable to, the communities they serve. For trade union rights for the police

Why the police should have the right to strike

This is a contentious issue among the left do we support the police and are they workers in uniform or simply agents of the state. Strong arguments can be made for both case’s I’m still indifferent to the debate myself I have never really found the police to be an issue but I’m yet to experience how they can act. We all know the police’s record of attacking pickets during the miners strike and their role in the Wapping dispute and the police violence we hear about a lot. But if there is the chance we can win some of them lower ranked layers to the labour movement then I don’t think we should turn our nose up at it.

With the half a million out on strike on Thursday the 10th of May a little less known demonstration was going on too. Up to 35 thousand off duty police officers were marching in central London.

Their issues included 20% cuts to the police service, which is leading to redundancies, opposition to the Windsor Report on the Police Service, which includes cuts to pay levels and conditions on top of a two-year pay freeze and increased pension contributions, and opposition to privatisation of core police functions.
Socialists who went to intervene in the police demo were wondering what the response would be. The answer surprised us.
An estimated 35,000 off-duty officers marched, fuming with the government over the above issues. So much so that they snatched all the leaflets from the handful of Socialist Party members there - we underestimated the response we would get! - And over 50 copies of the Socialist were sold.
Many officers politely declined to take leaflets or buy our paper. Some said they were non-political and were surprised to learn how many of their colleagues had bought a copy.
But there were very few hostile responses. And we made it clear to those who wanted to talk that we have strong criticisms of the policing of demos, picket lines and communities [see articles: Grim toll for hidden police racism and After the Riots from the socialist)

But we welcome any action that brought the Police Federation and ordinary police officers closer to the trade union movement if they are going into conflict with their employers, the government and police authorities.
We supported their call for the right to strike, which they may ballot for soon and will have to fight for if they win the ballot.
But this is truly the sign of a government and capitalist society on the rocks when sections of its state feel the need to demonstrate against it! The police are used by the government to frighten people off from demonstrating, as brutally experienced by students in 2010, but developments like this could help to weaken their use against strikers and demonstrators in the future.

Ordinary police officers are still bound to the wage labour system that keeps capitalism afloat and as such should like other workers have the right to strike. The fact that it is still illegal for the police to strike is a key tactic in protecting their state for the capitalist system to survive if police did strike this could split the state and if not careful could be drawn into the ranks of the labour movement. I think we’re still a long way away from that it may never happen but we cant rule it out or turn our backs when the police yes the police are protesting against this government we must stand with those who do wish to protest and campaign against cuts it could be another feather in our cap in building the movement against all cuts.

All out in the autumn for a 24 hour public sector general strike

After 30th june when 750,000 trade unionists and working people downed tools and took strike action which was at the time some of the biggest we've seen for years if not decades many wondered if this was it. Well no the trade union movement never to be out done is looking ahead now to the autumn and more action if the government does not back down on public sector pension reforms. This is seemingly increasingly likely it would seem. The government consisting of many millionaires in the cabinet have no idea how ordinary public sector workers live and how their pittiful pension pots will help or hinder them in later life.

So this autumn i am hoping we get as many unions out as we possibly can. Not just the ones that are more militanta nd are not affiliated to labour. We need them all out. All those linked to the public sector, to show this government that the public sector will not just roll over and have its belly tickled.

The news in the last week is that the PCS, teh public sector communications union one of the most forthcoming in recent times and with many socialist party activists working hard inside it have been at the fore in calling fora one day general strike for the public sector to strike fear into this weak weak tory government.

But now we hear on top of 30th June which was big and successful in itself the likes of the Prospect union, FDA and now the NASUWT union are pledging to join the PCS, NUT, ATL in joint co-ordinated industrial action come the autumn.

WE still hope Unite, Unison and GMB , FBu and the RMT the other big unions join with the others in bringing Britain to a stand still in the public sector for one day in the autumn.

Many sceptics say oh well what will this achieve ?

But although it is a while ago now 30th June achieved much it had the government defeated on its pathetic arguements that public sector pensions were affordable and were actually going to fall in cost over the years according to their own Lord Hutton of Labour who they commissioned to do the report on public sector pensions. Although much has happened since June 30th the government on that day were well and truely beaten with many more workers than the government had predicted coming out on strike action in defence of their pensions and winning the day. We in the socialist party recognise 24 hour strikes are not enough to bring this government down but as Le the great Leon Trotsky pointed out in his transitional program the working class must be taken with us at all times.

So as Trotskyists we area lways looking to gauge the current contiousness of workers at a given time. We feel that contiousness is still very low and we are practically starting from scratch with many workers. This is ok but we will need to work vey hard and get our ideas out there into the movement very quickly and effectively indeed. A 24 hour public sector general strike will be a huge jump forward especially for some unions who havent taken mass scale industrial action for some time if at all will be a big leap forward in contiousness we feel.

The actions of June 30th will give those unions who have took action then much confidence to step up action and boost confidence amongst members to maybe bring out more next time. When workers returned to work after June 30th many would have talked about June 30th as a big success and why do yuo not join us next time out there on the picket lines ? many will feel they can now having seen their peers doing so and leading the way. If no picket was arranged they will have wittnessed others in more contious areas have them and contiousness will spread and grow from last time. We are getting there with the leap forward June 30th had just think how big this next step could be.

We could really have the government on the back foot if millions come out in the autumn.

It will be interesting how Ed "the scab" Miliband handles this future strikes if his own affiliated unions do decide to come out and support other unions in solidarity where will he stand. Will he stand with his own unions who elected him as labour leader or stick to his " prosperous capitalist" mentality of condemning strikes before neogotiations have finnished and we shoudl all get back around the table.

Something tells me he may act differently when his own unions are acting and taking action as those were the ones who helped elect him. Failiure to back these unions will be suicide for Mr Miliband i feel. Hopefully this is the end of him and the start of a take back of labour by the workers. Hopefully i say in jest as i dont see this myself i feel he will continue his path in denial of workers and his move that the labour party can run capitalism better and fairer than the tories. We will see Ed's desctruction of the Labour party deepen if he does not back future strikes by affiliated trade unions. More calls will be made to ask what does he stand for and why doesnt he stand for us many workers will ask.

And uwe will say in the socialist party he is toeing the capitailist big business power hungry careerist line the new labour party have taken now ever since Tony Blair.

The only way forward now for working people is to form our own new workers party based on the traditions of fighting trade unions and socialism with fairness and revolutionary feelings at its base. To eventually over throw this rotten capitalist system which does far more harm than good for many workers which cannot be allowed to continue.

The next wave of strikes must start putting forward demands from the working class as a whole. That although this strike is about pensions we are here by demanding a end to all austerity and all cuts. That a change of course is needed or else. We will not just stop at pensions the ruling class is coming for all we have gained over decades of working class struggles.

WE must act now or never. This is a fight we must win. If we dont fight we will not be forgiven by future generations who will have to live with our actions or inacctions.

So i invite you all to come to this sundays lobby of the TUC called by the NSSN the national shops stewards network . THe evening before the TUC congress conference next week this sunday 11 september at 1.30 pm all meet at friends meeting house in Euston where Bob Crow and Mark serwotka general secteries of RMT and PCS respectively will be speaking before we march on the TUC conference to present a petition for the TUC to back calls for a 24 hour public sector general strike and start the preparations for this in the autumn.

We cannot wait and stand by and wait for a labour government jobs, pay and conditions are disappearing under our feet we must act now before its too late.

Nationalise Bombardier to save jobs

Train manufacturer Bombardier has announced the loss of 1,400 jobs following the government decision to award the Thameslink rail project to German company, Siemens.

These cuts will devastate the area; for every job at Bombardier there are four in the supply chain. The existence of the last train manufacturer in Britain, employing 3,000 people in Derby, is under threat.

Around 10,000 marched against job cuts on Saturday 23 July in the biggest demonstration in Derby for decades. It was a protest of the working class, with Bombardier workers marching alongside supporters from all over Derby and beyond.


Large numbers of trade union banners from across both the public and private sectors mingled with homemade ones such as "Save my granddad's job". Workers came from far and wide to show solidarity, but it was Derby people who made up the bulk of the march.

Shoppers applauded the march through the city centre; workers came out of factories en route to signal support. The anger against the Con-Dem government is palpable.

They are blamed for awarding the contract on a basis that did not take into account of the costs of throwing up to 15,000 people in the Derby area out of work: lost tax, extra benefits to pay out and the knock on effect on the local economy.

At the closing rally a range of speakers including Bob Crow, RMT general secretary called for a reversal of the government decision to give 'preferred bidder status' to Siemens rather than Bombardier.

Various politicians were also keen to identify with the workers, including Labour MPs and even the Tory Council leader (although he is making hundreds of job cuts at the council himself!)

Thousands of leaflets were handed out by Socialist Party members and supporters of the National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) calling for the re-nationalisation of Bombardier and the rail network in order to expand public transport and create a long term future for rail jobs.

On the Friday, the Derby Telegraph had a piece on the NSSN's call for nationalisation of Bombardier quoting Dave Gorton, Midlands co-ordinator: "In the 1970s, the then Conservative government nationalised Rolls Royce to save it.

"They can do the same again with Bombardier. In fact, the whole rail industry should be renationalised immediately".

That nationalisation call has gained an echo in Derby, where Rolls Royce established its first factory. Hundreds of copies of the Socialist were sold and our petitions calling for nationalisation were popular.

One example of how broad the support for that call is was the nun who offered to take some of the Socialist Party petitions back to her convent to get signed!

"I'm buzzing, I feel as though something can change"
Following the demo 100 people went straight to a meeting called by the NSSN on how the fight to defend jobs could go on.

Darren Barber, vice chair of the Bombardier trade union shop stewards committee, got proceedings off to a lively start with an enthusiastic and well received contribution, "I'm buzzing, I feel as though something can change because everyone has got together.

"The mood was dead when the announcement first came, but when the unions start getting involved we started to get some belief. It makes me proud to be a rep."

Alex Gordon, RMT president, in an excellent speech, spelt out his union's position on nationalisation and public ownership and that workers' jobs would never be safe while in the hands of private companies.

His remarks were welcome, coming only an hour after the chairman of Bombardier UK had been invited to speak at the main rally!

Alex congratulated the NSSN and went on to attack the government's economic policies: "The job the Shop Stewards Committee has done to turn round the mood, working with the unions, has turned this into a massive campaign, It couldn't have happened with just a newspaper editor or a couple of sympathetic local MPs who might be worried about how the blame is going to go in the next election.

"The existence of a shop stewards system of organisation is proving its worth."

"[Tory chancellor] Osborne says the 750,000 jobs going in the public sector will be replaced in private industry. What has happened over Bombardier gives the lie to the government's policies. Bombardier was cheaper on the design and build.

"Siemens was cheaper because they don't require credit as the German government has given them a massive loan. The other reason is that Siemens 30-year contact for maintenance of their nine maintenance depots in this country does not recognise a union, one of the worst employers in the train maintenance industry. It is about driving down pay and conditions.

"This contract decision needs to be reversed. But only when it returns to public ownership, benefiting all the people of this country will we be able to solve these problems."

Rob Williams, chair of the NSSN, said: "We fully support the Bombardier workers. It is in all workers interests, whether in the public or private sectors, for Bombardier workers to win. It is important we join up these battles.

"We stand for international solidarity, but that is no contradiction to defending the jobs in Derby. How can any government force a company to invest when it isn't owned by the government?

"Why can't the government nationalise Bombardier just like the banks? It was a Tory government that nationalised Rolls Royce in 1971 overnight to save that company - there is a precedent.

"Except that this time it should be with democratic workers' control and management."

Rob urged all in attendance to plan for the lobby of the TUC in September where we can urge the trade union leaders to call united action in defence of pensions and jobs across the public and private sectors.

Rob concluded: "This is a weak government. We are lobbying the TUC for a 24-hour public sector general strike in the autumn over the issues of pensions and job cuts in public services.

If we win on that will it make it easier or harder to win at Bombardier? We have to say no more 'heroic defeats', let's unite private and public sector workers and win a famous victory here in Derby."

Latest National Shops Stewards Network bulletin

With the Murdoch Media scandal ongoing, the massacre in Norway and continuing
starvation of growing numbers in Somalia, plus the rise in poverty globally as
the cuts hit, whilst we pay for the bosses’ crisis, it would be easy to
despair. In the UK alone, there has been a rise of those taking anti
depressants to 43% in the past 4 years, with more and more workers and
communities struggling with unsecure jobs, homes and futures. The question seem
unanswered, what kind of world are we living? It could be easy in some ways to
think this was just part of life, something to accept or that theres nothing we
can do to change things. But we can! We are part of the trade union and anti
cuts movement not just to fight for our jobs, services and homes but, within
that, fight the establishments idea that says we can not or do not have the
right to fight, to question or to consider alternative ways of running our
society for the collective benefit of us all, not the tiny minority who work
hard to burden us with their greed and manipulation.

Last Saturday in Derby saw a huge trade union and community demonstrations of
around 10,000 against the closure of Bombardier.
http://www.shopstewards.net/news.129.htm

NSSN midlands held a public meeting with the Vice chair of the Bombardier shop
stewards committee, Alex Gordon RMT president and Rob Williams NSSN organiser.
The nationalisation of the company was called for; something that unfortunately
none of the outdoor platform speakers suggested. http://tinyurl.com/3jysbkj
Shamefully, Tony Woodley of UNITE ended his speech at the main rally with the
call for ‘British jobs for British workers.’ This pandering to the race to
the bottom and dangerous set of nationalist ideas was unnecessary and holds out
nationalism and the ideas of the far right as the torch to follow. It is not a
fight between worker against worker in this country or workers in other
countries but a fight by workers in every country for our jobs and future.

And that is part of the reason we are lobbying the TUC on the 11th of Sep. To
push our leaderships to make use of all the resources, financial, human
publicity to call for a 24 hour public sector strike, to raise the idea more
clearly and openly of co-coordinated action and not to leave it rotting on a
website of motions passed for the virtual world to imagine that because its
written, it will happen, it wont, anything we have ever fought for, takes time,
energy, conversations, meetings, actions, strategies worked out together and
then for each and everyone of us to take responsibility to act together.

We welcome the national support from RMT & PCS for the lobby of the TUC and
Mark Serwotka and Bob Crow will be speaking at our rally, starting at 1:30-3:30
on the 11th at Friends meeting house before we move onto the march and protest
at TUC. Coaches have been booked from Newcastle, Coventry & Stoke so far, other
areas will be organizing to come together on trains and in cars.
http://www.shopstewards.net/sign.htm

Leaflets & Petitions: http://www.shopstewards.net/resources.leaflets.htm
As the volume of work has increased with the number of events and actions we
are involved in we need more finances: Please send in donations and
affilations: http://www.shopstewards.net/affiliate.htm

DISPUTES & UPDATES
Swindon Honda Steward Suspended
The National Shop Stewards Network has just received word that Paddy Brennan,
UNITE Convenor at the Swindon Honda plant has been suspended from work. More
details to follow when we get them, but Paddy's suspension is a provocative
attack on a prominent trade union fighter and by extension an attack on the
right to organise at Honda. We demand Paddy's reinstatement and the NSSN
pledges to do all it can in support of this.

Please text messages of support to Paddy on 07503 174 827 and email letters of
protest to humgen@honda-eu.com. More updates to follow.

EDL & Muslims Against Crusades
The right-wing group Muslims Against Crusades has called a national
mobilisation in Waltham Forest this Saturday; in response, the EDL are
threatening a counter-protest.

Waltham Forest Anti-Cuts Union is calling on all trade unionists and
anti-fascists to come to Walthamstow Town Square on this Saturday 30th July
from 11am onwards. This is to help the Anti-Cuts Union give out leaflets
promoting working class solidarity, opposing all those forces that create
divisions in the fight-back against cuts, and pointing the finger at the real
fight culprits ie the bankers, the bond traders, speculators and global finance
companies.
We stand for working class solidarity in Waltham Forest against any demands
that workers pay for bankers’ greed, and we will not allow our neighbourhood
and our fightback to be divided along racist or religious lines.

NUJ Strikes
Members of the NUJ working at the BBC will be taking their second 24-hour
strike action on Monday 1st August in opposition to compulsory redundancies of
NUJ members in the BBC. The industrial action will be from 00.01 hours to 23.59
hours on Monday 1st August 2011 and there will be picket lines on a majority of
the BBC sites across the United Kingdom. There will be an indefinite work to
rule from 2nd August 2011.

Coca-Cola Strikes
Workers from Coca-Cola Enterprises have voted overwhelmingly for industrial
action. Staff from distribution centers across the country will strike for 24
hours from 6am on 4 August in a dispute over pay with an offer of 2.3% 4th
August
http://tinyurl.com/3g4n7fy

Save Our Coastguards
Over 200 people packed into Oystermouth primary school, Swansea on Friday
evening (22 July) to hear coastguards and local campaigners make the case for
saving Swansea coastguard station.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/save-swansea-coastguard.html and respond to
the consultation on the Department for Transport web site.The original
government proposal was to close Milford Haven station and downgrade Swansea to
a daylight hour’s only service. Now the Con-Dem coalition has done a U-turn
and proposes to close Swansea, the busiest coastguard station in Wales,
although Milford Haven has had a reprieve.

Remploy
Remploy & the Sayce report: Remploy is still the biggest employer of disabled
people in the UK, but it must be remembered that it is not the ONLY employer of
disabled people there are still very many more ranging from factories run by
charities to those run by local authorities.

Birmingham Council backtracks on offshoring: http://tinyurl.com/3ffalzj

Stop bullying disabled claimants, says PCS
http://tinyurl.com/3eppk4a

Support for Korean strikers as they picket Standard Chartered UK headquarters
http://tinyurl.com/3g9vfz9

RMT & TSSA to merge: http://tinyurl.com/42rdngg

DIARY
Sat 30 July
12 - 3pm Croydon Town Centre, North End
GMB to join UK UNCUT protest in CROYDON over cuts and tax dodging at SOUTHERN
CROSS HOMES : http://tinyurl.com/42jmd9w

Mon 1 August 12.30pm
Demonstration against the Health Bill when Health Minister Andrew Lansley will
be at the Royal Hospital Farnborough, Bromley BR6 8ND from 1 to 1.45pm to open
the new stroke unit (which we are not against!). Assemble at car park entrance
to Hospital near Sainsbury’s. Frances Hook Tel: 020 8853 2567

Wed 3rd August
Southampton Council Strike Rally Guildhall Square Southampton 11am
Brighton Stop the Cuts 7:30pm King and Queen

25th July – 12th August News International Wapping – 25 Years on TUC
http://tinyurl.com/3pk37te

11th Sep Rally & Lobby TUC for call for 24 hour public sector strike!
Assemble 1.30pm Friends Meeting Hse, Euston Rd, NW1 for a rally before our
protest.
http://www.shopstewards.net/sign.htm

5th November London March for Jobs
Youth Fight for Jobs is marching from Jarrow to London, starting on 1 October
2011. This is on the 75 anniversary of the Jarrow Crusade, when 200 unemployed
workers took a similar route to raise awareness of mass unemployment
http://jarrowmarch11.com/about/

Join, Get involved, and donate!
http://www.stopcuts.net/affiliate.htm
info@shopstewards.net
07952 283 558

Why i feel banning the far right EDL would be a dangerous precedence to set

As i'm sure you are all well aware over the last week or so the far right and their activists have been thrown into the spotlight following the horrific murderings in Norway of young innocent teenagers and the bomb attack in Osl city centre.

There has been increased calls from the EDL to mount demonstrations and march's to stand with the person who performed these horrific actions.

Likewise many are also calling for groups like the EDL who are anti muslim and oppose islam and would be considered far right to be banned from marching and protesting.


Who are the EDL ?

The EDL has now organised around 15 principal figures loosely based around the football firms providing the most support. Not all of those involved are from a football background, and many of the men have yet to meet each other face-to-face. But they are mobilising for each other on trust, using websites including Facebook and YouTube.

The British National Party has distanced itself from the EDL, but anti-racism campaigners have named party activists they have photographed at demonstrations. They add that some demos have included people with a record of football violence.

Each demonstration has led to confrontations. But leaders like Tommy are appealing for demonstrators to avoid drink because they don't want to be written off as racist thugs.

In Birmingham last week, the BBC filmed black and white men alongside each other on EDL's lines.

So if it's not exclusively white, is it just a cover for a wider Islamophobia?

"People aren't against Islam, they aren't against anything else other than the funders of terrorism, the sworn enemies of Britain," says Tommy.

"For 10-15 years these groups have gone unchallenged in our towns and cities. Those days have gone now. We will challenge them. Wherever there are terrorists, we will be there."

Street army

Nick Lowles is the editor of Searchlight, which campaigns against far-right extremists.



Whilst i do not agree with a thing the EDL stand for or their actions at all i do feel that stifling their right to protest as much as we disagree with them and what they stand for would be undemocratic and set a dangerous level of precedence for other protests.


I could see a situation if a call to ban protests by the EDL was stretched to cover all politically motivated or any supposed politicaly motivated protests. Any that are deemed provocative in any such way would be banned.

This is not the country i'd like to live in. Whilst i do feel we should all have the right to protest which is still a very hot potato at the moment especially on the left right now with police brutality called into question on several ocasions i would not like to see riots either. A peaceful protest with banners loud noise and well mannered protest is fine i'd say but trying to stir up racial hatrid or inciting violence is something the labour movement cannot support or condone .

So i do feel going forward that peoples right to protest should be upheld and respected while respecting peoples rightto disagree and form a counter demonstration which we are happy to do on the left to offer people a alternative a working class alternative to unite us all whichever race, creed, religion or nationality you happen to be.

At the end of the day we are all workers and facing the same challenges for jobs, food, housing and living conditions so i feel we would be better placed uniting as the working class than as a nationality or a race or anything i feel it is counter productive and only turns us further against eachother, playing right into the ruling class's hands.

The EDL mass protest in Luton this saturday

So as this weekend draws closer to the 5th of Febuary thoughts start turning to this saturdays mass demonstration in Luton where the EDL - the English Defence League a hugely right wing extremist group who are very racist are collaborating together in Luton to protest about the influx of asian and muslims into this country. I and other comrades were set to attend this demo this weekend as a counter protest to this protest to show the people of luton they are part of our thoughts and we stand side by side with them in terms of driving out this horrible sick racial tension the EDL love to whip up in areas like this.

As part of the counter protest

Antifascists have organised transport to the demo from more than 40 towns and cities around the country.

Overridden
Sadly, however, the police have given St George’s Square in Luton to the EDL as an assembly point, and have allocated us Park Square by the town centre and university.

UAF is shocked and angry that the police have overridden representations by the town’s MPs, councillors and community groups and trade unions.

But to ensure everyone’s safety we have agreed to hold our rally in Park Square, where will be speeches and live music. A new leaflet is now available for download.

We will now assemble at 12 noon on Saturday 5 February, in Park Square, Luton town centre. UAF is also supporting the mobilistaion to defend Bury Park, the area where many members of Luton’s Muslim community live.


The UAF if you werent aware is the Unite against fascism group set up to campaign against groups like the EDL who seem to feel the need to stir up racial hatrid in our country and other western worlds.

There is a scarey sweap of right wing governments popping up across Europe be it from Austria to Sweden the trend is worrying and the balance does need to be addresssed.

I as you may or may not know am very anti racist and will stand up against it whenevera nd wherever i can. I find it sub human and totally offensive even when i recieve racist jokes. i do not find them the least bit funny and only add to people like the evil EDL and the BNP's claims that racism is something we all area nd can all tolerate. Not true some of us have our skin crawling at the thought we canta ll live together in peace and harmony and become a multi cultural society like we can.

So as i cant make this protest this weekend as i've been advised to give it a miss due to the unpredictable nature of the protest and the EDL could just kick off at any moment i will be watching proceedings closely from home. But i will be no less interested in events in Luton and to other comrades i know attending. This is a major event in our area and something major attention and the right attention showing these low lifes up for who and waht they are.