striking for the alternative

So as we all walked away from march 26th in London coming up for two months ago now we were all wondering what next for the anti cuts movement. As i have blogged on here before i do feel that strike action has got to be the next course of action.

But it is the way it is framed which will be crucial to winning the battle on cuts.

Making sure we dont frame it in a way that will splinter the anti cuts movement at all and keeping maximimum unity in the class is key.

I dont buy this call that many on the left call for that we should all unite on the left. I feel those who do are missing the point slightly. I feel that class unity is far more important right now. As socialists we look to raise class contiousness wherever we can.
After 13 years of the harshest trade union laws not being even tried to be reversed by a right wing labour government we have little room to move today.
But trade union action on pay and job loss's will be crucial to putting up a resistance to the cuts i feel.

Many on the left accuse the socialist party of being secterian and divisive. Of course we refute these claims. We see things in a clear marxist perspective with elements of what Trotsky said too. We dont feel that individaul action will enhance the labour movement in any shape or form. We raelise that people do want to see action and fast but we should be careful to not jump into the wrong decisions which will set us back possibly permantly in this movement against cuts.

Only this weekend a few individuals who call themselves left attended the rally against debt march in London where only a pitiful 200 or so protesters turned out to protest about our debt crisis and how more action should be took to tackle the debt which in other words would mean more cuts at a faster pace.

So some on the left attending this march as a counter protest would help the anti cuts movement how exactly ?

it is just egotistical liberal left types who just want to be given some coloumn inch's in next weeks papers no doubt and will ultimatly achieve nothing.

Also we must be careful who we work with as at the moment many people still beleive labour are against the cuts. We must point out that this is blatent hypocrisy from the labour party as all across the country all of their councils this year have voted through the cuts at a local level. When they in the labour party claim to be socialist and against the cuts lets just remind them of these small but important facts. Lets also remind them how many cuts their party was committed too if it had been elected.

Lets not be under any illusions from anyone in the labour party left or right that they would be carrying out cuts just as savage and as brutal as the tories right now all be it at a slower less deeper pace. Like that would be felt in the working class communities across the country.

The fact is that labour are not the right people to lead this movement and we should be wary of working with them i feel.

But it is also up to people to decide for themselves we cannot tell them waht to think of course but we feel building a independant anti cuts message reaching millions of working class people will be music to many peoples ears.

This should start now after all elections are out of the way with building for strike action within the public sector. This is looking increasingly likley to be June the 30th this year. Where already several unions have committed to co-ordinated strike action on job cuts and pension reforms. We must rally around these unionsa nd put pressure on other public sector unions such as Unison and GMB to call on its members to ballot for strike action on or around that key date for the next stage in the anti cuts movement.

Just like with the RMT workers we must stand side by side with any members of the trades unions taking strike action as a injury to one is a injury to us all we will do well to remember that i feel.

SO as Mark Serwotka rightly pointed out on march 26th. We havea ll marched together today and that is good but now we must use our strength and strike together for our futures!