It is unusual
for the captains of industry to blatantly come out and formally back the
Tories in public. It is more likely that these creatures of the night stay in the dark
pulling the political strings, manipulating the news media and ruining the
lives of millions of workers. However,
a well-planned media storm has been created just before the election over
National Insurance increases but, as Edward Heath might have described them,
these ‘Ugly Faces of Capitalism’ have a lot to hide.
These rogues
cry crocodile tears over the potential job losses they claim will come from the
NI increases, yet many of the same bosses presided over drastic reductions in
workers on the payroll over the last year. For example, Paul
Walsh, the boss of drinks giant Diageo, was paid
£3.5million as the firm axed 900 whisky jobs at the Johnnie Walker bottling
plant in Kilmarnock and at Glasgow’s Port Dundas distillery. Then there is Sir Anthony Bamford, who took home £5
million in pay and bonuses in
2008/2009. First of all he forced through massive pay cuts and then followed up
with whole plant closures of JCB. And we need no lectures from the likes of Kirby Adams, Chief
Executive of Corus, who has wrecked the lives of thousands of steelworkers’
families on Teesside
Theses robber barons ensure that while the workforce has to tighten its
belt, salary restrictions do not apply to them. Sir
Christopher Gent, Chairman of Glaxo Smith Kline plc , saw his part time pay go up from £520,000.00
£675,000.00, a 30% pay rise. And if you don’t get the salary you want, you
can always do what John Lovering, Chairman,
Mitchells & Butlers plc, did.
He fired the pay
consultants and then planned big salary increases for directors. And finally we
have Mick Davis who banked nearly £29m in the year 2009. He too is a
prominent supporter of the Tories’ campaign against the proposed increase in
NI.
These bosses are the big
financial backers to the Tory Party. Lord Harris
of Peckham, Chairman and Chief Executive of Carpetright plc, has consistently backed the
Conservative Party with his donations now reaching £500,000 a year. These donations do come with strings
attached. A Tory Government will be expected to do the bidding of their
paymasters at the expense of ordinary workers.
A large number of firms mentioned are High Street names such as Sainsburys,
Next, Kingfisher and Marks & Spencer’s. It is ridiculous for these
companies to complain about National Insurance contributions. The majority of high street workers are part
time and on minimum wages and therefore do not earn enough to pay NI in the
first place.
We should also not forget that for the Tories themselves to come out
against the increase on the basis that it will cost jobs in nothing less than
hypocrisy of the highest order. We should not forget that the last time the
Tories were in power they showed very little concern for the millions they made
unemployed as a direct result of their policies. Under Thatcher, the Tories
were more than happy to create a mass reserve army of available workers,
rotting in dole offices, as a weapon to attack the wages and conditions of
those ‘lucky’ enough to have a job and – of course – to help break the power of
the unions.
Workers are not happy about paying the extra NI either as it directly
reduces wages – and it should be noted that employers also usually look to pass
on the cost of paying for their share of the increase to workers in one way or
another – and is being paid to help meet the costs of the big payouts to the
bankers rather than improve or protect public services. But thse 68 ‘experts on
saving jobs’ are not interested in the welfare state – just their personal
welfare.
Unfortunately, instead of attacking this undemocratic group of 68 overpaid
bosses, we have had the situation of New Labour bending its knee, telling them
that the Tories have deceived them. Is
it possible that New Labour thinks that this group can be won over to the cause
of socialism? This cartel of big business wants the most savage cuts in social
welfare taking us back to the 1930s. The only reason that that this group has
come out from the shadows is that the possibility exists of a labour government
being reelected, but under pressure from the labour movement unable to
implement the cuts demanded of it by these representatives of Capitalism.
It is still possible for Labour to win but only if it adopts a bold
socialist program to end the shortages in society.
