|
History and Theory
|
Latest International NewsLatest British NewsLatest Trade Union NewsWellred featured books
Send us reports!Send us your letters, articles or workplace and trade union reports! Please get in touch and wherever possible we will publish submitted articles on our website or in our monthly paper Socialist Appeal. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
On 4th May 1919 Chinese people marched to end backwardness in China and
humiliation by the imperialist powers. They were led by Chen Duxiu. Chen realised that the modernisation of China could only be carried out by
the working class and founded the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. For a
hundred years the Chinese have engeged on the long and tortuous march to
modernisation.
Socialist Appeal 162 is out now!
Present-day economic
conditions demand that the working class fight back. The interests of the
ruling class and the working class are irreconcilable. The bourgeois are
screaming, "more cuts, more cuts" and the workers shout back
"Enough is enough". The stage has been set for a "Hot
Spring" in Europe.
“While many are worrying about filling their gas tanks, many
others around the world are struggling to fill their stomachs,” says Robert Zoellick, head of the World Bank. We are
confronted with actual starvation. He warns that the present food crisis will
give us “seven lost years.” It means “lost learning potential for
children...stunted intellectual and physical growth.” His colleague at the IMF,
Dominique Strauss Kahn, concurs. He foresees that “hundreds of thousands of
people will be starving.”
The Grangemouth strikers are now back at work. They know
they may have to walk out again if management stick with their plan to trash
the company pension scheme. What’s their problem? Ineos is 75% owned by Jim Ratcliffe. Listed as the 25th richest person in the
land, his fortune is reckoned at £2,300 million. The ‘Sunday
Times’ thinks he was worth £3,300 million in 2007. He’s dropped a billion, poor
old soul. That must explain why he wants to nick the workers’ pension pot.
On Thursday April 24th teachers, lecturers and
public sector workers staged a one-day strike. Teachers were out on official strike
for the first time for 21 years. They were joined by Further Education (FE)
lecturers organised in UCU and public sector workers from the PCS union who are
faced with a government imposed 2% pay rise limit. At last workers in the
public sector were taking organised, coordinated and united strike action
against pay offers that represent a cut in their standard of living.
Workers’ Memorial Day is held on
28 April every year. All over the world workers and their representatives
conduct events, demonstrations, vigils and a whole host of other activities to
mark the day.
Every year more people are
killed at work than in wars. Most don't die of mystery ailments, or in tragic
‘accidents’. They die because an employer decided their safety just wasn't that
important a priority. Workers’ Memorial Day commemorates those workers.
Recently,
The University College London Students’ Union (UCLU) voted to ban The Officer
Training Corps (OTC) from recruiting at union organized events like Freshers'
Fair. The ban has caused quite a stir on and off
campus, making the front cover of the ‘Evening Standard’ with the banner
headline, "Students Ban Military". Speaking
about those in opposition to the motion, UCLU General Secretary, Samantha
Godwin, said: “they know that if replicated
elsewhere, it would become a really effective method of protesting against the
war."
Working in the private sector means rubbish pay
and rubbish conditions, such as no pension, no sick pay, long hours and
no lasting terms or contracts. It all looks great from the
outside, efficient, spick ’n' span, clean as a whistle. Scratch the surface however, and
you will see a workplace run on the cheap, with lots of paper work and a poor standard of care. Poor staffing
leads to long hours, fatigue and poor performance, and the need to
comply with managers' demands, or risk being identified as a
troublemaker are ever present.
A red and white Unite
flag hung out of a window of the union office. More
banners and placards were held by the pickets, their bright
orange overalls clashing with yellow fluorescent vests as they gathered for their
rally.
“Ineos has hit out at our members, that’s the truth, but
we’ll sit down with them at
any time. We will also, continue safety work and fuel would
go to those who
need it in all life critical situations. We will win!”
Mark Lyon (Unite Convenor)
Yesterday we reported on the strike rally in London, where teachers went on strike against Gordon Brown's pay freeze. It was the first time the teachers had gone on strike for a generation. They were
joined by members of the public sector union PCS and the lecturers union UCU. The following article contains reports on local action around the country.
