the Communist Pa rty at UNISON confe re n c e
2009
Unity in UNISON
A million signat u res for the People’s Charter The People’s Charter fo r Change aims to challenge big business power, ensure decent jobs and homes for all, enhance our public services, promote social justice and help safeguard the planet. Help win a million signatures for the Charter. www.the peoplescharter.com
SIGN UP FOR THE PEOPLE’S CHARTER BRITAIN is in the grip of an economic crisis. So is the world. Every time there is a slump the politicians and financiers seem mystified as to how the system has failed. But boom and bust is the way it works. It's not stable. When the economy grows, banks, corporations and speculators, driven only by greed, gamble other people's money in their global casino. When they lose 'confidence' in their profit making schemes and panic, the bubble bursts and we
pay the price. Redundancies throw hundreds of thousands on to the dole. Savings are lost. Homes are repossessed. Pensions lose value. Workers are put on short time. Wages and conditions are cut. Public services are slashed. Government is spending billion of pounds of our money bailing the banks and big business out of their crisis. It's not right and we didn't vote for it. Those £billions are our money. And our children’s. We
want that money better spent. We have launched a People's Charter. It sets out what must be done to get out of this crisis and put the people first, before the interests of bankers and speculators. We need one million signatures to show we mean business. So sign and support the Charter - on line, at work, in your community. Together we can get the changes we need. Can we do it? Yes we can! www.thepeoplescharter.com/ ★
Charter flags Based on the colours carried at the 1848 Charter demonstration in Kennington Park. www.communist-party.org.uk
Daily paper of the left 60p
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unity in UNISON 2009
Thousands of jobs and services are on the line – now is the time to fight back
Question everything Election analysis from the left Politics Robert Gri f fi t h s
UNISON confe rence We meet in an unprecedented time of economic and political crisis.The collapse of British finance capital banking infrastructure, followed by the Labour government’s £1.3 trillion blank cheque bail out, presage a major attack on public expenditure and front line services. The political bankruptcy of the Labour Party leadership and the disarray in its parliamentary ranks has led recently to a sense of disorientation resulting in a muted response from affiliated unions including UNISON. The election of two fascists to represent Northern England in the so-called European Parliament, despite the best efforts of the anti-fascist movement, is a stark reminder that capitalist economic depression breeds political reaction. The major debates at the conference on public services (motion 31) and the economic
crisis and public services (composite I) set the scene for UNISONs response. Last week’s press reports of a £15 billion ‘shortfall’ in the NHS and the intensification of commissioning, the KPMG scare storythat local government could shed 100,000 jobs during the years after the current comprehensive spending review period ends in 2011, a consortium of banks committing to fund the £54bn Building Schools for the Future project (including several German institutions such as Deutsche Postbank, Barclays, bailed out Llloyds and the Japanese bank SMBC – all points towards a relentless drive to extend private finance initiative deals and downsize the public sector. Unless Labour radically changes course, the outcome of the upcoming General Election will have little impact on this neo-liberal public policy agenda. This point needs to be made forcefully by UNISON and other affiliated unions in the months ahead. Building stronger union organisation (motion 2 & composite A) – recruiting more
3
unity in UNISON 2009
stewards and members, securing recognition in the private and not for profit sectors and improving density in existing areas – is the other major challenge for the union. Lessons from past periods of economic austerity and public sector cuts is that union resistance is critical if jobs and services are to be defended. Local campaigns involving other unions, community groups and service users quickly need to become the norm rather than the exception. The Peoples Charter can be a rallying point for local activity complementing the various union specific campaigns. UNISON’s internationalist tradition is central to the union’s political ethos and is widely respected. Maria Rodriguez Reyes, general secretary of sister union SNTS (Cuba) will address conference on the contribution of Cuban healthworkers to the Cuban revolution and international solidarity. The key international debate will be on Palestine (composite J) which in condemning the use of
indiscriminate military and economic violence by the Israeli state against the Palestinian people calls for a ban and boycott of all goods produced from settlements in the occupied territories. Conference will also debate union structures (motion 9 & rule changes) on Thursday. This should not be seen as a sterile internal debate or an end in i t s e l f. Left wing academic Gregor Gall, writing in the Morning Star observed that ‘the big issue for the ever bigger general and conglomerate unions is whether they can organise themselves internally in a way which works effectively for the many and varied types of w o r kers who they represent. Essentially, the connection between members and their occupation or sector within their unions needs to be made concrete and evident’. It is this question that must be addressed by UNISON if it is to retain its relevance to public service w o r kers in the ever fragmented, devolved and privatised b a rgaining units. ★
The swing to the Tories and the extreme right in the European and local elections was based on massive working class abstention.While some commentators have been quick to blame the left for ‘splitting the vote’ and allowing the election of two BNP fascists to the European Parliament, it is New Labour which must bear the primary responsibility. The New Labour government’s failure to protect jobs, pensions and homes while promoting policies for privatisation, war and a police state has driven millions of working class electors away from the Labour Party. The Westminster corruption scandal was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the millions of working people on low pay, state pensions or benefits who see Labour MPs grabbing salaries, allowances
and property deals worth seven or eight times their own annual income. Advances by the fascist BNP and the far-right UKIP have been in no small part due to the fact that, for nearly a decade, the government and the rightwing press have been promoting an agenda which demonises asylum seekers, migrant workers and Muslims. Almost every year, Parliamentary Bills have treated these people in our community as though they were the source of society's major problems. The reality is that the big affiliated trade unions have failed to organise an effective fight-back against the New Labour clique which has hijacked the Labour Party and attacked the jobs and living standards of millions of workers. Instead, union leaders have doled out millions of pounds to fund New Labour’ s betrayal of the labour movement’s values, policies and democratic procedures, while demanding next to nothing in return. continued overleaf
Communist University of Britain 6-8 November 2009 London
JOIN THE COMMUNISTS. New Labour has lost all credibility in the working class movement. Now is the time to join Britian’s revo l u t i o n a ry party of working class power and join the fight to defeat New Labour and unite the labour movement. I want to join the Communist Party/Young Communists name
M/F
address
postcode
phone
age if under 29
e mail
place of work RETURN TO COMMUNIST PARTY Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Rd, Croydon, London CR0 1BD
2
unity in UNISON 2009
Thousands of jobs and services are on the line – now is the time to fight back
Question everything Election analysis from the left Politics Robert Gri f fi t h s
UNISON confe rence We meet in an unprecedented time of economic and political crisis.The collapse of British finance capital banking infrastructure, followed by the Labour government’s £1.3 trillion blank cheque bail out, presage a major attack on public expenditure and front line services. The political bankruptcy of the Labour Party leadership and the disarray in its parliamentary ranks has led recently to a sense of disorientation resulting in a muted response from affiliated unions including UNISON. The election of two fascists to represent Northern England in the so-called European Parliament, despite the best efforts of the anti-fascist movement, is a stark reminder that capitalist economic depression breeds political reaction. The major debates at the conference on public services (motion 31) and the economic
crisis and public services (composite I) set the scene for UNISONs response. Last week’s press reports of a £15 billion ‘shortfall’ in the NHS and the intensification of commissioning, the KPMG scare storythat local government could shed 100,000 jobs during the years after the current comprehensive spending review period ends in 2011, a consortium of banks committing to fund the £54bn Building Schools for the Future project (including several German institutions such as Deutsche Postbank, Barclays, bailed out Llloyds and the Japanese bank SMBC – all points towards a relentless drive to extend private finance initiative deals and downsize the public sector. Unless Labour radically changes course, the outcome of the upcoming General Election will have little impact on this neo-liberal public policy agenda. This point needs to be made forcefully by UNISON and other affiliated unions in the months ahead. Building stronger union organisation (motion 2 & composite A) – recruiting more
3
unity in UNISON 2009
stewards and members, securing recognition in the private and not for profit sectors and improving density in existing areas – is the other rmajor challenge for the union. Lessons from past periods of economic austerity and public sector cuts is that union resistance is critical if jobs and services are to be defended. Local campaigns involving other unions, community groups and service users quickly need to become the norm rather than the exception. The Peoples Charter can be a rallying point for local activity complementing the various union specific campaigns. UNISON’s internationalist tradition is central to the union’s political ethos and is widely respected. Maria Rodriguez Reyes, general secretary of sister union SNTS (Cuba) will address conference on the contribution of Cuban healthworkers to the Cuban revolution and international solidarity. The key international debate will be on Palestine (composite J) which in condemning the use of
indiscriminate military and economic violence by the Israeli srtae against the Palestinian people calls for a ban and boycott of all goods produced from settlements in the occupied territories. Conference will also debate union structures (motion 9 & rule changes) on Thursday. This should not be seen as a sterile internal debate or an end in i t s e l f. Left wing academic Gregor Gall, writing in the Morning Star observed that ‘the big issue for the ever bigger general and conglomerate unions is whether they can organise themselves internally in a way which works effectively for the many and varied types of w o r kers who they represent. Essentially, the connection between members and their occupation or sector within their unions needs to be made concrete and evident’. It is this question that must be addressed by UNISON if it is to retain its relevance to public service w o r kers in the ever fragmented, devolved and privatised b a rgaining units. ★
The swing to the Tories and the extreme right in the European and local elections was based on massive working class abstention.While some commentators have been quick to blame the left for ‘splitting the vote’ and allowing the election of two BNP fascists to the European Parliament, it is New Labour which must bear the primary responsibility. The New Labour government’s failure to protect jobs, pensions and homes while promoting policies for privatisation, war and a police state has driven millions of working class electors away from the Labour Party. The Westminster corruption scandal was the straw that broke the camel’s back for the millions of working people on low pay, state pensions or benefits who see Labour MPs grabbing salaries, allowances
and property deals worth seven or eight times their own annual income. Advances by the fascist BNP and the far-right UKIP have been in no small part due to the fact that, for nearly a decade, the government and the rightwing press have been promoting an agenda which demonises asylum seekers, migrant workers and Muslims. Almost every year, Parliamentary Bills have treated these people in our community as though they were the source of society's major problems. The reality is that the big affiliated trade unions have failed to organise an effective fight-back against the New Labour clique which has hijacked the Labour Party and attacked the jobs and living standards of millions of workers. Instead, union leaders have doled out millions of pounds to fund New Labour’ s betrayal of the labour movement’s values, policies and democratic procedures, while demanding next to nothing in return. continued overleaf
Communist University of Britain 6-8 November 2009 London
JOIN THE COMMUNISTS. New Labour has lost all credibility in the working class movement. Now is the time to join Britian’s revo l u t i o n a ry party of working class power and join the fight to defeat New Labour and unite the labour movement. I want to join the Communist Party/Young Communists name
M/F
address
postcode
phone
age if under 29
e mail
place of work RETURN TO COMMUNIST PARTY Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Rd, Croydon, London CR0 1BD
4
unity in UNISON 2009
continued from page 3 There can be no doubt that the writing is on the wall for the next General Election. Britain is on course for a right-wing Tory victory. Workers and their families do not believe that the Labour government or party is defending jobs, incomes or public services – while the capitalist class sees no further use for the New Labour clique now that the Tories are electable again. What is needed is a massive upsurge in industrial and mass action to defend jobs, pensions, manufacturing industry and public services in the run-up to the General Election. This is where the labour movement’s untapped power really lies. The reinstatement of victimised Linamar convenor Rob Williams, in the face of united support for strike action on the part of the workforce and their union, is just a small indication of the power of the labour movement when it’s effectively utilised. The tendency of the labour and left-wing movement to focus solely on
electoral politics, where the state and capitalist monopoly mass media are ruthless in their efforts to blot out left-wing alternatives to the procapitalist parties, can be a distraction from the political imperative of mass, collective, working class campaigning. A huge grass roots campaign in support of the People’s Charter could help mobilise those millions of working class people who have been betrayed by New Labour. In desperation, some of them have turned to the fascists – almost most of them have stayed away from the polling booths altogether. A massive, successful campaign around the People’s Charter would lay the foundation for creating a much more favourable political climate in which we can force a change of Labour policies and keep out the Tories. This is, at the moment, the only viable alternative to the election of a Tory government which would be a disaster for the labour movement and the working class as a whole.★
www.communist-party.org.uk
SURVIVING CAPITALISM’S CRISIS Conference Saturday 20 June 2009 TUC Congress House Great Russell Street London WC2 Morning and afternoon plenary sessions, including questions and answers and debate. Workshops, covering themes as diverse as the crisis in manufacturing, trade unions and their response to the global crisis, housing, health, the environment, peace, the Charter for Women and welfare reform – all to be hosted by guest organisations. The cost is £10 a head (£5 unwaged). Free refreshments (including sandwich lunch) provided. Registration commences 9.30am. Conference ends at 4.30pm. Solidarity stands and stalls may be booked – details available on request. Contact the Secretary (Conference), William Rust House, 52 Beachy Road, London E3 2NS (Tel: (0)20 8510-0815). Cheques should be made payable to PPPS. The conference is supported by the Unite the Union, CPB, the Cuba Solidarity Campaign, Venezuela Information Centre, Health Emergency, the Institute of Employment Rights, the Labour Representation Committee, the National Assembly Of Women, Thompsons Solicitors, the Stop The War Coalition and SERTUC
Pamphlets from the Communist Party £2.50 each from www.communist-party.org.uk or CPB Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Road, Croydon CRO2 1BD