The following motion was passed by Southwark unison at a special members
meeting to discuss how to fight the cuts in local government. We are
publishing it here as it represents a good template that can be used by
trade unionists elsewhere in drafting similiar resolutions.
The FIAT plant at Pomigliano d’Arco
(Naples) has become the centre of attention for all militant trade
unionists in Italy. The bosses are trying to implement new draconian
work conditions and in the process have used all kinds of bullying
methods. But they can push too far and the workers are reaching the
limit and preparing to fight back.
On Saturday 10th July, around
200 trade unionists, local residents, and health campaigners took to the
streets in opposition to plans to franchise the management of
Hinchingbrooke
Hospital in Huntingdon to the private sector. Protestors received
support along
the route of the march through the centre of Huntingdon chanting, “Hands
Off
Hinchingbrooke; Defend the NHS”.
This year marks the hundredth
anniversary of one of the great events in modern history. On November
20th of 1910 Francisco I. Madero denounced the electoral fraud
perpetrated by President Díaz and called for a national insurrection.
This marked the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Today, the
conditions have matured for another revolution, this time with a mighty
proletariat at its head.
More than a century after the
formation of the Labour Party, the
party still remains rooted in the organised working class. Despite
everything, the results of the recent general election confirm the
ingrained support for Labour throughout the working class areas of
Britain.
Campaigners, trade unionists, and local
residents are set to take to the streets in Huntingdon this Saturday
10th July to
protest against plans to franchise the management of Hinchingbrooke
Hospital to
the private sector.
The draconian budget rolled out in June is only the first instalment in
a five year programme of austerity to be inflicted upon the British
people. The Tory-dominated government is telling us that the economy is
in a hole. This is true. They are softening us up for drastic cuts in
public spending, saying we can’t afford it and (in the words of
Thatcher) that there is no alternative. This is a lie.
We conclude Dan Morley’s three part study of the crisis inside UK housing.
The recent G20 summit in Toronto brought
to the surface all the
contradictions of global capitalism. Every capitalist nation wants to
climb out of the crisis at the expense of its competitors. Everyone is
calling for demand to be kept up, while at the same time applying cuts
in public spending at home. At the heart of this are the mountains of
debt that have accumulated everywhere.
The results of the SIPTU and IMPACT ballots recently
that the Croke Park deal was eventually pushed through by the ICTU
leaders, aided and abetted by the whole of the bought and paid for press
and with the full support of the bourgeois. After all, the whole of
official bourgeois society was united around one thing, the Irish
working class, if not to blame directly for the crisis are going to have
to foot the bill.
John McDonnell, supported by the Trade Union Co-ordinating Group,
presented his Private Members’ Bill to parliament on June 30th. If
adopted, the
Bill would significantly improve unions’ ability to defend their
members and would be the first step towards the full restoration of
trade union rights.
Here is part two of a three part article looking at the crisis in UK housing today.