On Wednesday 22nd June, 700 activists
gathered in Friends’ Meeting House, London, in opposition to the cuts
and to build for the June 30th strike. Under the banner of "Unite the
Resistance," activists from trade unions, student groups and others
gathered to discuss the cuts. The rally was a great success and shows
the depth of anger against the cuts and austerity.
On Wednesday 22nd June, 700 activists
gathered in Friends’ Meeting House, London, in opposition to the cuts
and to build for the June 30th strike. Under the banner of "Unite the
Resistance," activists from trade unions, student groups and others
gathered to discuss the cuts. The rally was a great success and shows
the depth of anger against the cuts and austerity.
The meeting was called by left-wingers in the three main unions
taking action on June 30th: NUT, UCU and PCS. Many different activists
took to the stage to speak about the injustice of the cuts. In
particular, two young teachers explained how their pension contributions
would be increased by 50% when many young teachers are already opting
out of the pensions scheme because they can’t afford it. On top of that,
pensions have already been cut by at least 10% as a result of the
change in the calculation of inflation from RPI to CPI.
Several speakers also pointed to how the ballot results of two
teacher unions that normally don’t take industrial action, the ATL
(Association of Teachers and Lecturers) and the NAHT (National
Association of Head Teachers), pointed to the depth of resentment
against the attacks. They also acknowledged the significance of recent
statments by UNISON general secretary David Prentis in favour of
industrial action.
Many speakers attacked the myth of "gold plated" public sector
pensions, explaining that the average public sector pensions is only
£5,000, whereas managers of private sector companies receive £300,000 on
average. Mark Serwotka, PCS General Secretary, explained that private
sector workers are not exploited by public sector pensions but by
"shareholders and greedy Capitalists". He also ridiculed the Daily
Mail’s newfound fondness for single parents, who are supposedly to be
the victims of the strike on 30th of June. He also explained that it is
clear that the strike is not just about pensions. Pensions are simply an
excuse to co-ordinate action across the public sector in response to
the whole austerity programme of the government.
A speaker from UK Uncut explained how we need to fight for a
different society and also announced her organisation’s support for the
strike and how they were going to bring breakfast to striking workers.
This was followed by loud cheers from the audience.
The mood was very confident and the speakers were encouraged by
applause and cheers from the crowd. The more radical the demands and
slogans were from the speakers, the more enthusiastic the response from
the floor. Calls for a general strike from several speakers, including
King’s College student Mark Bergfield, were very well received. When UCU
London Metropolitan University branch chair Mark Cambell called for
another day of action of millions of workers in October to bring down
the government a torrent of cheers and applause cascaded across the
room. One could tell that the audience, composed mainly of public sector
workers, were ready for a serious fight against the government.
John McDonnell MP also spoke and explained that at the moment the
government was introducing laws against squatting and even contemplating
further anti-trade union laws. He explained however that if they were
to do so "we will have no other option than to take to the street in
civil disobedience". It was not entirely clear what this civil
disobedience would consist of, but the room once again erupted, sending a
clear signal that the workers were willing to take unlawful action,
should it be required. Cheers also followed when a disability rights
campaigner explained that we are "not just bringing them to account but
we are bringing them to their knees".
The mood was very militant and there would have been a very good
reception had someone presented an explanation to the crisis and
posed the perspective of waging a serious struggle against the
government. Yet, the speakers, many of whom no doubt considered
themselves socialists or even Marxists, did not raise such a
perspective. Mark Serwotka talked about how Greece shows that cuts just
make the crisis worse, implying that if you didn’t cut that would mean
you could escape or at least lessen the impact of the crisis. This is
similar to the argument made by the Labour Party shadow cabinet, who
argue that the cuts are “too far, too fast”. Many speakers talked about
tax avoidance and taxing the "fat cats" and axing bonuses. These were
the concrete proposals to pay for the deficit.
Yet, Greece is a tragic example of how under the dictatorship of the
markets, there is no way out. Attempts to tax the rich there are met
with a flight of capital (rich people take their money to Switzerland).
There is no investment because the cost of labour (wages compared to
productivity) is too high. The country is broke and about to default,
meaning no Capitalist, “fat cat” or government would be willing to lend
them any money. It is not enough to oppose the cuts and say that we can
pay for it with taxes on the rich and a clampdown on tax avoidance.
Socialists and Marxists also have to explain that this cannot be done
without breaking with the anarchy of the market, meaning to take the
banks and large companies into state ownership and control and plan the
economy in the interest of working people. The property of the richest
1% not only has to be taxed but expropriated.
Furthermore, the call for a general strike must have appeared
somewhat abstract. It is now time to be concrete about this question.
First of all, the TUC is the body that is supposed to represent the
generality of trade unionists in this country. Therefore, they should be
tasked with co-ordinating this strike. Given that the general
secretaries of UNISON, UNITE and GMB, as well as the unions taking
action on the 30th, have all spoken in favour of industrial
action, there should be a clear majority in the TUC general council for
serious action against the cuts, and the most powerful of actions is the
general strike. The leaders of the TUC and the big unions have to put
their money where their mouth is and set a date, UCU and PCS are already
in the process of naming a date in October and the other unions should
organise now to ensure their ballots are out in time. This has to be
combined with, what Mark Serwotka argued for, organising on a
rank-and-file level, explaining the need for the action and building
links between workers in different unions. This would bring out the
millions of workers that were mentioned by Serwotka. This would put real
pressure on the government and be a big leap forward for the confidence
of the movement.
The rally showed that the mood is there for serious action. The
workers across the public sector see the need for this and it can be
explained also to private sector workers. Indeed the polls show a
remarkable support for the action on June 30th in spite of
the media campaign and the opposition of Labour Party leaders like Ed
Balls. It is clear that the movement is radicalising and that the action
on June 30th will be a great show of strength of the working class in Britain.
● All out on June 30th!
● TUC must call, and organise, a 24hr general strike!
