Menu
GMB persecutes for King and Country: Solidarity with Nathan Hennebry!

GMB persecutes for King and Country: Solidarity with Nathan Hennebry!

, ,

GMB – one of the biggest unions in the country – has decided to fight its own rank-and-file rather than Labour’s government of war. We stand in solidarity with Nathan Hennebry, threatened with expulsion from the union for his position against militarism.

GMB – one of Britain’s largest unions and an enthusiastic advocate of Burnham’s militarism – has scandalously threatened Communist Party of Britain member Nathan Hennebry with expulsion.

Click here to sign Nathan Hennebry’s petition.

In an e-mail, the GMB police told Hennebry that he was due for a hearing, alleging two things. The first was a post on X criticising the GMB central executive committee (CEC) for denying him speaking rights at the union’s congress.

Crucially, Hennebry wanted to speak against the CEC statement on the Ukraine War – a statement he correctly characterised as “a clear call for the building of a war economy throughout Europe.”

The second allegation regarded an article Hennebry wrote for The National titled ‘Will unions fight the war economy or help build it?’.

What Nathan says in these two episodes is true. The Ukraine War is a reactionary, proxy war between the US-led NATO and Russia. And it is being used as a pretext for ‘our’ ruling class – with all its cynical fearmongering – to pass devastating austerity against the working class at home.

In the face of this, Nathan is right to ask: “What is the trade union movement doing?”

The GMB accusers do not share our view – instead alleging that Hennebry “brought our union into disrepute”.

GMB plays KGB

In reality, what brings the union into disrepute is GMB victimising young, rank-and-file activists for opposing the union’s warmongering policy.

How ironic that the same GMB ‘statement on Ukraine’ – which GMB wants to expel Nathan for criticising – vitriolically condemns right-wing populist parties in Germany and Hungary for their alleged “hostility” to “democracy in Europe”.

Apparently, it is fine to send young men to meet their certain death in Ukraine, to protect the very same “democracy” in Britain where young men can be censored by their union leaderships for speaking out!

Nathan is a shop steward; a democratically-elected branch secretary; and active organiser. He is far closer to his members than the GMB machine will ever be – a machine which consists of swathes of unelected officials; a general secretary on a six-figure salary; and a CEC that was largely elected unopposed (no wonder, given the bureaucracy has persistently persecuted left-wing organisers throughout its history).

Even if our views did not coincide with Hennebry’s – which in this case, they do – we would defend his right to speak his mind. GMB’s bureaucratic methods are a stain on the labour movement. Their main purpose is to prevent militant leaders from transforming the union and leading an industrial upsurge against the bosses, war criminals, and billionaires.

Class collaboration

Clearly, meanwhile, the GMB ‘judges’ deemed Hennebry’s ‘case’ to be particularly threatening due to its content. This was not just an oppositionist – but an oppositionist to GMB’s pro-militarism policy. As Nathan explained simply on X:

“My crime ? Opposing the drive to war”

As we have warned repeatedly, the GMB and Unite leaders’ support for the Labour government’s rearmament drive is nothing more than a class-collaborationist policy.

Ignoring the (very important) fact that austerity at home to fund imperialist war abroad harms the working class as a whole, their policy amounts to supporting private investment in so-called ‘good, British, manufacturing jobs’.

In other words, rather than proposing an independent, class-based programme to revitalise British industry; and rather than waging class war against the bosses and their government; they instead propose working hand-in-hand with ‘good’ bosses and the warmongers in Westminster.

Anything that might upset their cosy relationship with the bosses of Leonardo, Rolls Royce, et al. – where they can negotiate pay and conditions behind closed doors – is seen as a threat. This is the real reason for Hennebry’s victimisation. We say:

  • An injury to one is an injury to all! Reinstate Hennebry immediately!
  • For democratic control of GMB by rank-and-file members!
  • Fight Labour’s government of war, not rank-and-file activists!

Related Posts

The Marxist approach to war

,

The Marxist approach to war

War always accompanies periods of revolutionary turmoil like our own. The coming period will include inter-imperialist wars, national wars, civil wars, and class wars. Communists must be theoretically prepared to make sense of this maelstrom.