At last weekend's national march for jobs Socialist Resistance supporters distributed a leaflet drafted by our comrades in Birmingham. The main article is below, and a few extra points have come to light about the March.
UNITE asked for a route through the main shopping streets e.g. New Street, Corporation Street. The police were OK with that but the Tory/Liberal Controlled City Council objected that it would damage the shopkeepers. UNITE gave in which leads us to the situation where the largest trade union has been refused permission to walk through the middle of the second largest city. What price democratic rights to protest? This of course really arose because the Palestinian youth came within a hair's breadth of occupying the Council House in the January demonstration and, in their second demonstration, the police had to give in when they threatened to march through New Street in defiance of a police ban.
Rob Williams was refused permission to speak by the UNITE leadership in spite of being sacked as convenor of Swansea Linamar (ex-Ford), and we understand that Visteon shop stewards were also not invited to speak. At the fringe meeting called by the National Shop Stewards Movement Rob Williams claimed that management had called him to a meeting . They had openly stated that they were sacking him for actively supporting Visteon, and because they were afraid he would propose illegal action (perhaps occupation) to oppose the package of redundancies and reduced pay which they were contemplating. They offered Rob money to go quietly.
Visteon Occupation Shows The Way To Win!The magnificent struggles at Lindsay, Visteon and Waterford Glass show what can be achieved by ignoring the anti-union laws and taking direct action. Unfortunately in each case the achievements came in spite of only lukewarm support from the UNITE leadership and full time officials, who seemed paralysed by fear of sequestration of the union’s assets. The sight of union officers trying to terrify the workers at Visteon Basildon into abandoning their occupation by scare stories of imprisonment and assault by riot police was truly shameful.
It is estimated that 25% of workers in manufacturing have taken pay cuts and reduction in other terms of employment to avoid or reduce redundancies. It is obvious that such deals can only decrease spending power, deepen the recession and lead to further redundancies. However UNITE has not only failed to mount any organised resistance to these cuts, but has in many cases played a leading role in negotiating them.
The situation in Britain is in sharp contrast to events in France, where Trade Unions have organised three general strikes against Sarkozy’s attempts to make workers pay for the crisis. Unions there have openly supported the kidnapping of managers declaring redundancies, and the new Anti-Capitalist Party (NPA) has wide support among workers.
In Britain the pathetic lack of leadership from union leaders, and their continued support for a Labour Government that does nothing but attack workers, is driving many alienated youth into the arms of the British National Party.
The need to for unions to break from New Labour and form a genuine workers party that fights for our interests has never been so urgent. British workers are not apolitical, as the massive demonstrations against the Iraq war showed. The RESPECT party, which came out of that struggle, maintains considerable electoral support in some areas. But the action of current leaders of workers organisations is decisive, and the RMT’s launching of the No2EU campaign for the European Election is very welcome. Socialist Resistance supports this campaign and hopes it will lay the basis for a more decisive move to found a new workers party in the future.
In the meantime UNITE should be campaigning for: .
• 100% lay-off pay to avoid redundancies, funded out of the billions given to the banks.
• A programme of public infrastructure works for green energy production, energy conservation measures and public transport.
• One million new homes for rent or buy at affordable prices.
• An increase in pensions and the minimum wage to the European “living wage” of £290 per week.
• An end to privatisation – keep Royal Mail public – sack Mandelson.
• All banks to be fully under state ownership and control with funds used to restart production .
Jerry Hicks took many of these demands up in his campaign for Joint General Secretary of UNITE. But his main message was that UNITE must become a fighting union which supports and leads the struggle to defend workers from the effects of the crisis, in defiance of the courts, the anti-union laws, the police, and New Labour.
May 16th 2009