Britain

The 30th November day of action, for all intents and purposes a general
strike of the public sector, is a turning-point in Britain. It
represents a re-awakening of the working class after years of relative
dormancy. Now there is a catching up with the workers in the rest of
Europe, as the Coalition unleashes an austerity regime not seen for
generations. Sections are being drawn into struggle who have never been
involved in action before, such as head teachers – the first time they
have been on strike in their union’s 114-year history.

Trade
unionists in Cambridgeshire have taken the first steps in coordinating
the strike action taking place on November 30th by establishing a county
wide cross union strike committee. The strike committee involves local
activists from those trade unions taking action and both the Cambs and
District and Huntingdon Trades Councils.

The Tory-led government has come forward today with newly revised
proposals on public sector pensions in the wake of the build-up to the
mass strike on November 30th.

The protest camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral in the heart of
the City of London has had one unexpected side effect. It has revealed the
usually hidden fissures  inside the
Church of England.

Socialist Appeal member Adam Booth spoke against Vince
Cable, the Secretary of State for Business in the Coalition government, in the
Cambridge Union on Thursday 27^th October, in a debate that
highlighted the two starkly contrasting choices facing society as a result of
the crisis of capitalism: austerity or socialism.

As the Coalition intensifies its attacks on working people, it
clearly reveals itself as a government completely in the pockets of big
business. In fact it is a government of the stinking rich, for the
stinking rich, by the stinking rich.

The Tory Party conference is the place where leading Conservatives get
to "let their hair down" and head off into flights of fancy about giving
the working class/young people/foreigners (delete as applicable) a good
hammering. This is not just to cuddle up to the Torygraph and the Daily
Mail but to square things with the assembled Tory ranks in case they
are needed for election purposes.

It was billed as a "March and Rally for the Alternative: Jobs,
Growth and Justice". On Sunday, September 18th, over two thousand trade unionists and political activists descended on Birmingham
to march and rally with the aim of trying to bring pressure on the Lib
Dems at their conference in the city to break with the Tory policies of
the Condem government.

It’s official. November 30^th is the agreed date
for a national “day of strike action” by public sector unions and others
against the government’s plans over pensions. It is expected that three million
workers could strike in what has been called the “biggest mobilisation in a
generation.” Unison, Unite and the GMB have given notice that they will ballot
their members, joining other public sector unions in what is intended to be the
start of a rolling campaign of action, which will go through the winter and into
2012.

Barnet Council workers are taking action on Tuesday – however the bosses
are attempting to impose a ‘lock out’ to pressurize  Unison members
into backing out. This is just the latest in a series of attacks
initiated by Tory-led  councils against workers resisting the cuts.
Plymouth has ‘derecognised’ Unison and Soujthampton workers have been
taking action for some weeks now.

Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee have issued a report which comes as close as they dare to damning the
Private Finance Initiative (PFI) approach used over the last decade or so to
fund public projects.

Socialist Appeal recently met up with Claire Locke, president of
London Met SU, to discuss the cuts taking place at London Metropolitan
University and the fightback against them Claire described
how the Tories are conducting a class war at the University. They are
cutting humanities, arts and student support at the same time as
strengthening the business ties of the university.