unity Communist Party TUC daily
Wednesday 13 September 2006
Action needed to save jobs and manufacturing Kevin Halpin F a c t o ry closures and the e x p o rt of jobs continue apace. Not because firms are in the red – far from it. No, the c l o s u res are because transnational corporations are always engaged in a relentless drive to maximise profit. They seek to cut costs, employ cheaper labour, spend less on health and safety and other ‘ o v e rhead’ expenses. At the same time, City financial institutions export huge amounts of capital overseas to invest in pro p e rt y speculation, oil, banking, retailing, cheap raw materials and sweated labour. British governments could take measures against the deindustrialisation of Britain and the super-exploitation of workers overseas. For example, if Peugeot transfers production fro m Ryton to eastern Europe and
then exports cars to Britain, the company should face p rohibitive levies and taxes. Another option would be to f reeze the export of its pro f i t s f rom Britain, leaving its capital to lie dormant – for big business this is a crime! But this is only part of the solution. Govern m e n t i n t e rvention is needed to take over viable enterprises which g reedy employers want to cut or close altogether. Public money should always be matched by a public stake. These are just some of the policies put forw a rd by the Communist Party in the LeftWing Programme. It should not be forgotten that after capitalist owners had bled the ship-building, motor car and aircraft industries dry in the 1960s, it was a Labour government which had to take these strategic industries into public ownership in the 1970s. They
were put back to work after a massive infusion of public capital – only for the Tories to sell them at knock-down prices. Coal and rail industries would have to shut down t o m o rrow if the govern m e n t ’s massive subsidies were withdrawn. Large sectors of the armaments and construction industries would collapse if they weren’t guaranteed fat profits by public sector contracts. Yet New Labour and the CBI have the nerve to lecture trade unions and public sector workers about the so-called ‘independent’ and ‘wealthcreating’ private sector! The Amicus and TGWU call for a boycott of Peugeot p roducts is a step in the right d i rection. Why should workers e v e ry w h e re not hit back when their jobs, livelihood and communities are threatened? When some on the ultra-left accuse unions of jingoism,
they are standing i n t e rnationalism on its head. Allowing the transnationals to drive down wages and conditions pre p a res the g round for non-unionism. Despite weaknesses, British trade unionism can take pride in its internationalism, especially in the oldest imperialist country of all. The union-led campaign to pro t e c t and unionise migrant workers here is a credit to our labour movement, standing in sharp contrast to the New Labour government’s shameful scapegoating of immigrants, asylum seekers and refugees. Our capacity for i n t e rnationalist action weakens every time a unionised workplace is shut and work is transferred to non-union or super-exploited labour. Kevin Halpin is industri a l o rganiser of the Communist Party
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unity TUC Communist Party daily Wednesday 13 September
Unity in solidarity
Solidarity with the Miami Five
Robert Griffiths Venezuela’s ‘Bolivarian revolution’ is using that country’s vast oil wealth to benefit the poorest and most downtrodden sections of the people. Almost all children of primary school age now receive full-time education and – as the result of a new programme - the poorest also receive free school meals.Venezuela is now one of the most literate societies in the Americas, with the gove rnment struggling to meet the rocketing demand for books of eve ry kind. Four thousand health clinics have recently been opened across a country where, until recently, the rich monopolised the doctors and hospitals. In addition, there are the thousands of neighbourhood medical units established in the wo rking class barrios, staffed by 14,000 Cuban doctors who live among the poor. Although they have now been joined by 6,000 Venezuelan medical staff, the vast majority of home-produced physicians prefer more lucra t i ve practice among the the rich. Many more women are entering a variety of professions as the state wages a major campaign against domestic violence. Venezuela’s indigenous peoples are beginning to benefit from land reform and for the first time have elected representatives in the country’s National A s s e m bly. Now 4,000 citizen‘s asemblies are being elected in a huge drive to develop a genuine people-based mass democracy. And all this is being achieved as Venezuela not only maintains its independence from IMF and World Bank neo-liberal ‘adjustment’ policies, but is rallying other Latin American countries to the Bolivarian patri o t i c, internationalist and progressive alternative. No wonder US President Bush and his ‘neo-cons’ are furious. Their creatures in Caracas – the plundering oligarchs – in have lost political and military power and their grip on the all-important state oil corp o ration. This is why the US and its counter-revolutionary ‘fifth column’ are going all out to try to discredit the presidential elections set for 3 December. President Chavez and now the governing coalition of his Movement for the Fifth Republic, social-democrats, liberals and Communists have won six elections since 1998.The US-backe d military coup of April 2002 – so enthusiastically welcomed by failed British foreign minister Denis McShane – was trounced by ‘people powe r ’ . It is vital that the TUC, trades unions and other progressive organisations send observers to Venezuela during the forthcoming election, to witness a process that could only be an improvement on presidential elections in the US. In a climate of orchestrated hostility to Chavez and the Bolivarian revolution, it is also vital that solidarity wo rk is stepped up in Britain. If a wide and diverse alliance for the revolution can be built inside Venezuela itself, it should be possible to develop greater unity on a principled, non-sectarian basis among its supporters ove r here. That is why the proposals from the NUJ at this year’s TUC deserve support, in the interests of the peoples of Venezuela and Latin America. Robert Griffiths is general secretary of the Communist Party and recently returned from the congress of the Communist Party of Venezuela
Geoff Bottoms While five Cuban political prisoners remain in US jails following the recent rejection of their latest appeal by the C o u rt of Appeals in Atlanta, the Bush administration has released a second report fro m the so-called Commission for Assistance to a Free Cuba. The report reinforces the administration’s aggre s s i v e annexationist plans for the socialist island and tightens its illegal blockade. Unashamedly committed to the idea of illegal regime change in Cuba following the death of Fidel C a s t ro, the commission calls for $80 million (about £45m) in spending over the next two years to fund 'opposition g roups' in Cuba, a propaganda o ffensive to break 'the Castro regime’s information blockade', and support for i n t e rnational eff o rts to assist U.S. corporations and their c ronies in a bid to re-colonise the island. There has already been a g g ressive lobbying of the British and Euro p e a n g o v e rnments by the US government. The most disturbing element of the report is the inclusion of a sinister secre t
appendix that remains classified in the interests of national security. In fact, the report is written in a way that would gladden the hearts of individuals like Orlando Bosch and Luis Posada Carriles, who have been called the Osama bin Ladens of the We s t e rn Hemisphere and enjoy US protection as a re w a rd for their terrorist activities against Cuba. It is in this hostile climate that Cuban intelligence agents Gerardo Hernandez, Ramon Labanino, Antonio Guerre ro , F e rnando Gonzalez and Rene Gonzalez (the 'Miami Five') remain unjustly imprisoned in the US for collecting information on Miami-based terrorists responsible for m u rdering 3,500 Cubans and injuring a further 2,000. An International Month of Action from September 12 to October 6 is set to highlight the hypocrisy of the case. All of us who believe that another world is necessary should demonstrate our solidarity with these true fighters against terrorism and its causes. Geoff Bottoms, is the coordinator of the Cuba Solidarity Campaign’s Working Group to Free the Miami Five.
Wednesday 13 September 2006 TUC Communist Party daily unity
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Co-ordinated action needed on rails and pensions Andy Bain A year ago in Brighton, the TUC celebrated the winning at the previous y e a r’s Labour Part y conference of a policy committment to ‘re t u rn the railways to public ownership’. We re g re t t e d the re t u rn of South E a s t e rn Trains to the private sector and we praised transport and e m e rgency workers for ‘demonstrating high levels of professionalism, compassion and commitment’ and demanded no reduction in staffing levels. We have got used to the fact that with a New Labour government things don’t get better unless we put up a fight, and the issues concerning the TUC this year are little different f rom last. The rail unions are still campaigning for public ownership and they have worked sometimes in conjunction, sometimes separately. The TSSA conducted intern a l consultation to try to put some details on how and in what priority the many sectors of the industry should be taken from the privateers. The union’s motion submitted to this y e a r’s congress states that ‘a publicly owned and accountable railway should begin with the passenger train operating companies’. This is a good start i n g point and joint union discussions could consider f u rther demands and details. The RMT is leading a campaign to retain the London Underg round East London Line in the public sector and not be franchised like the ex-BR
lines. The South Eastern Trains battle was lost, but this time the unions are calling on the London Mayor to do the right thing. ‘… it is important that the three rail unions unite, put their d i f fe rences behind them’ Despite government and employer praise for workers reacting to the July 2005 bombings, the rail industry is reluctant to collectively engage with the unions on security issues. A trained, trusted
and well-treated workforc e would be to the benefit of passenger and public security. Other issues to the fore at this year’s congress are nothing new. ASLEF continues to push the environmental arg u m e n t s for investment in rail, especially for rail to ro a d and port hubs. The rail industry pensions campaign, initially in reaction to t h reats of incre a s e d contributions, started with full unity between the unions in the industry. The eventual strike ballot of RMT and TSSA members
on the rail industry pension scheme led to the setting up of a pensions commission. This struggle is not over, and it is important that the thre e rail unions unite, put their d i ff e rences behind them and maximise their influence. Losing the pensions battle now would be a terrible loss for younger rail workers and those of the future. C o o rdination of actions in the many pensions struggles will strengthen the situation for all of us in this crucial political conflict. Andy Bain is TSSA president
Reviving Britain’s manufacturing industry Jerry Jones Several motions at this year’s TUC highlight the disastrous consequences of the government’s ‘hands-off ’ attitude towards Britain’s manufacturing industry, and the limited resources going into scientific and technological research needed for it to advance.The government interventions that they
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advocate are sound, but need to go further. In particular, as the failure of the government’s ‘let-themarket-decide’ dogma becomes increasingly obvious, the trade union movement needs to have more confidence in pushing for more involvement of the public sector. For instance, we should be pushing for the public takeover of the abandoned Peugeot Ryton factory, and – since chronic overcapacity exists in the auto industry – convert it into making something else, such as buses, which currently are mostly made by foreign firms. Once established, the factory could be turned into a co-operative owned and managed by the workers. Similarly for the HP sauce factory – allowing such a quintessentially British product to go abroad surely speaks volumes for the contempt the government has towards British manufacturing. Meanwhile, a thriving public sector research programme could indeed provide the basis
for public sector investment in manufacturing to replace those productive activities that can more economically be undertaken elsewhere. But how would this be financed? First, controls on capital flows and on creative accounting to avoid tax must be re-introduced to prevent financial resources created by Britain’s workers from disappearing abroad into offshore tax havens. And to prevent the undermining of public investment in research and new industries, quotas or tariffs to control the amounts of particular products being imported are needed to prevent imports destroying quality jobs in Britain. Furthermore, new employment laws are needed that oblige employers to re-train and redeploy workers in new productive activities to replace those that are no longer viable, rather than ditching them when old skills are no longer required. Jerry Jones writes on economic matters for the Morning Star
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unity TUC Communist Party daily Wednesday 13 September
Beware the General Council’s ‘milk and honey’ on the EU Brian Denny The discredited proposals for a neo-liberal EU Constitution should have extinguished any illusions among trade unionists that the euro federalist project was designed to enhance the lives of workers. Clause after clause re p resented a blueprint for corporate capital to tear up all national laws that impeded the complete free movement of goods, capital, services and labour within the EU in the relentless pursuit of profit. The peoples of France and the Netherlands clearly recognised this and rejected the constitution in referendums. Delegates to TUC Congress last year also saw the dangers and opposed the constitution, the serv i c e s
directive and other privatising directives. However, to read the General Council statement on E u rope you might think there is a new wave of milk, honey and socialism flowing acro s s the continent. The statement openly criticises the decision taken by delegates last year! Attacks on manufacturing, public services and skills are increasing with directives demanding the sell-off of postal services, railways, h e a l t h c a reand education s e rvices, pensions and many other essential industries. Existing EU tre a t i e s intensify the assault on workers and the powers of the unelected Commission and the unaccountable Euro p e a n Court of Justice result in directives that weaken the position of trade unions.
Defend the rights of the Palestinian people
Pauline Fraser Israeli violations of the lebanon ceasefirecontinue and Israel continues its offe n s i ve against the Palestinian people in Gaza, where recentlymore than 200 people have died. There must be an arms embargo on Israel. Our government’s complicity in
a l l owing US arms – including anti-civilian cluster bombs – to be transported from airports in Britain must be condemned. Israeli troops must be withdrawn from the occupied territories to allow meaningful negotiations with the elected g ove rnment of Pa l e s t i n e. A b oycott of Israeli goods adds pressure on the Israeli
The employers and capitalists want absolutely e v e rything deregulated, including the deregulation of all national borders and removal of the right of E u ropean nation states to control who comes into their c o u n t ry. In effect this neuters and d e regulates government itself. The objective is to let capitalism rip where market f o rces reign without a care for the social or human consequences. The purpose is v e ry simple, to maximise
p rofit by undermining hard won rights, conditions, decent pay and social protection. This reality is having an adverse effect of millions of workers every day. It is time the organised working class acted in defence of these workers rather than sleepwalk into obscurity. That means opposing European Union policies and diktats fro m Brussels. Brian Denny is spokesman for Trade Unions Against the EU Constitution
Trade Unionists Against the EU Constitution The Services Directive and the EU drive against workers Today at 12.30pm Quality Hotel, West Street, Brighton Speakers include: Swedish trade unionist in the Vaxholm case, Socialist MEP, Jane Carolan UNISON, Bob Cro w RMT Refreshments provided
G ove rnment to enter into negotiations. These must aim to create a viable Pa l e s t i n i a n state and include the right of return for all Pa l e s t i n i a n refugees, the dismantling of the apartheid wall and roads. Israel holds over 10,000 Palestinian prisoners, including 122 women and 400 children under 16. There can be no case for holding minors, which violates the UN Declaration on the Rights of the Child. British trade unionists can g i ve backing to the 80,000 Palestinian publ i c - s e c t o r workers who are taking stri ke action to demand their salaries, which have not been paid since March. The pressure on MPs and MEPs must be i n t e n s i fied for the EU to release funds to the Pa l e s t i n i a n Authority to pay their wages – including back pay – and to alleviate the food crisis in Gaza, n ow affecting 70 per cent of the population. While the population of Gaza is being starve d , Israel
e n j oys a preferential trade agreement with the EU. This agreement should be ended. The Fire Brigades' Union is to be congratulated for raising these demands at this TUC. As well as ensuring that the TUC has a clear and progressive policy on this issue, all unions should affiliate to the Palestine Solidarity Campaign. This summer the PSC supported the two national demonstrations against the war in Lebanon and for the rights of the Palestinian people, initiating four other events in protest at Israeli war crimes. Arsenal supporterscan call on the club to ditch its sponsorship deal with the Israeli Ministry of Tourism. While Arsenal is promoting ‘fun in the sun’ h o l i d ays in Israel, the ludicrously-named ‘Israeli Defence Force’ has been busy massacring Palestinian families on the beach in Gaza. www.palestinecampaign.org