Communists @ Unite Conference 2010

The outcome of the general election represents a real challenge to working people. 13 years of New Labour privatisation and war will now be replaced by the one thing that we can categorically say is worse – a Conservative government. Because that is the reality of the situation; LibDems or no LibDems, this government will be Tory through and through. It is working people who will bear the brunt of this government’s policies– as workers but also as service users, in their own communities. The only thing that stands between the ConDem government and its destructive agenda is the trades union movement and the wider working class. Over the coming months and years, we will need to build the strength and unity of the movement to withstand the attacks that we will face. The recent rulings on Unite and RMT disputes at BA and Network Rail show the lengths to which employers will go to prevent unions from taking action to defend their members interests. Work must begin now to build the kind of movement which can not only respond to the ruling class offensive but which can put forward an alternative set of policies

Continued Overleaf

This conference takes place at a time, when there is no possibility of our union influencing government policy, except by supporting and leading mass action against attacks on our members. Unquestionably, the biggest task ahead is to mobilise unity across the union and the movement in face of the biggest onslaught against working people to come in over seven decades. Shouldn’t the Parliament of the biggest union in the country discuss how Labour lost 5 million voters over the lifetime of three governments? The Communist Party has always supported the Labour Party. Not always on its immediate policies, that's true. But Communists back Labour on the basis that it is unique. It is the only party established by trade’s unionists to defend their members in parliament. It was set up with the specific aim of defeating the kind of legal action that saw the main railway workers union in 1901 massively fined. This was the Taff Vale case and it established that unions could be liable for loss of profits to employers when they took strike action. The Trade

Disputes Act, which came out of this, laid the basis for union expansion across the 20th century until the anti-union laws introduced by Thatcher turned back the clock. New Labour allowed matters on this front to worsen. Things have got to change but Britain’s unions still need a mass workers’ party to represent their interests. But New Labour’s record over 13 years of government calls much into question. Over the course of 13 years, New Labour openly defied the interests and policies put forward by trade unions; they attacked the movement they purported to represent, imposing cuts on public services, flogging vast swathes of the public sector off. They consistently opposed any intervention to preserve or extend Britain’s manufacturing base, which has allowed the decimation of our productive economy to continue. They instead, placed their faith in gambling, speculation and unsustainable economic policies that benefited the city and fat cat bankers. Then New Labour threw billions at the banks, instead of taking them over

properly. Bankers, city spivs and monopolies have reaped super profits none of which has found its way into the public coffers. But the key has always the anti-union laws and the ‘flexible’ labour market that came out of that. Under Blair and Brown’s stewardship we have actually seen a worsening in the anti-union laws. New Labour watched on while the law was twisted to weaken workers’ rights; judge-made law has become the norm, just as at Taff Vale in 1901, that has allowed the likes of Willie Walsh to undermine not only industrial action but also to seek to destroy our union, sack activists, and set up a scabbing organisation. Far from condemning Walsh and BA for their tactics, New Labourite ministers lined up alongside them in this attack on our members. We doubt that, as a result, many cabin crew - and maybe other Unite members - eagerly dashed out to the polling booths to vote Labour. Now, however, Unite needs to pull out all the stops to give maximum support for the Cabin Crew – their fight is ours!

Continued Overleaf

Unity to defeat ConDemsUnity to defeat ConDems

Defeat ConDems Cont.

We are sure that most delegates will agree with much of the case we Communists put here. But Unite also needs to ask how it got into the position of bankrolling a bunch of careerists who haven’t lifted a finger to help the union. “Don’t rock the boat” became the clarion call from sections of our union. “Any criticism of New Labour will let the Tories in” was the ridiculous rationale put forward for refusing to use what influence Unite has to secure commitments in Labour’s election manifesto. Some even argued that industrial action before a general election was unhelpful – clearly pursuing privatisation, attacks on workers rights and unending illegal wars had nothing to do with the lack of enthusiasm on the part of the working class. Is the position hopeless? No, Unite can be the most powerful voice for ensuring that we return to our base - a Labour Party that supports socialist policies and is seen to be standing up for working people by ending the so-called flexible labour market and tilting the balance of power and wealth away from the rich and useless. A conference of Unite that buries its head in the sand and debates issues without debating how we got to a Tory-Lib Dem government, why Labour lost 5 million voters, and what we do about it next would be a non-event. Hardly an inspiring start to the future of what could be a great union! But this can only be a great union if this great parliament of working people roars demands for a clear way forward. A fighting-back union needs a fighting-back political party alongside it. Unite by name – unite by nature? Not yet, unless conference clearly points the way. In future, Unite needs to organise united opposition to government and big business attacks. This must not be based on big union chauvinism that excludes medium and small sized TUC

affiliates. We cannot possibly successful resist the massive offensive underway by merely putting the big-three unions together and secretly lobbying influential MPs. Unite needs to build unity with unions that are not affiliated, for a whole host of, to the Labour Party. As successive TUCs have shown there is broad agreement across the trade union movement on a whole range of left-wing policies. As poll after poll as demonstrated these policies also potentially have mass support amongst the population as a whole. We must ensure that Unite elects Len McCluskey to the General Secretaryship as the start of this process. Len will also need a solid left-wing lay executive elected alongside him. And all unions need to reconnect and reclaim the working class in every community across Britain by linking up with community and campaign groups in struggle for an alternative to the programme of cuts, job losses and privitisation pursued by New Labour and now the ConDem governments.

Unite needs a political strategy that goes beyond simply seeking to reclaim Labour; Unite is big enough to lead the struggle to reclaim the working class. All else will follow; working people will decide what political expression they need only once they confidence and experience through struggle. Our Area Activists Committees need resources to organise local Peoples’ Charter campaigns and anti-cuts and anti-unemployment bodies. We need to connect to and revive trades councils, not diminish them. Our union should link up with service users in the public sector as well as the many excellent but fragmented campaigns such as Defend Council Housing, Pensioners Groups, Keep our NHS Public, and other broad campaigning bodies. Only then will we begin to fight for and win a future which will benefit all working people. This article was written by the Industry, Services & Transport Advisory which is jointly organised by the Communist Party of Britain and the Communist Party of Ireland.

The People’s Charter Cont.

in the interests of working people. The People's Charter presents just such a set of alternative policies around which unions, campaigns and communities can unite. But we need to seize the initiative. Already, People's Charter campaign groups are being formed which bring together union branches, campaign groups and community organisations on a local basis to begin the fightback. Unite has a key role to play in this process. The resources that our union has at our disposal could be used to re-establish the a direct link between unions and the communities in which they are based. If we want to see a real change, we need to organise not only in the workplace but also out in the community. Whether it is a campaign to save a local school or hospital, or to build affordable housing, to defend a community centre or increase access to local facilities, trades unions must be on the front line. And every opportunity must be used to link theses struggles to the alternatives put forward in the Peoples' Charter. A united movement can not only defend and extend our current rights but can forge a new direction in politics. This struggle is too important to wait. The fightback begins here!

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As we contemplate the election result one thing seems certain – post-election cuts will fall on the many, not on the few. The working majority will pay for an economic meltdown created by the privileged few. Deregulated during the Thatcher years and encouraged under New Labour, bankers and bosses speculated, asset-stripped and exploited until the whole rotten system stumbled and fell. Now, in an effort to rebuild a meaner, leaner international capitalist structure, politicians, media moguls, employers and the judicial system are

united in their determination to ensure that the workers pay while the capitalists play. And play they are. Bosses bonuses and bankers bonanzas are back. £38 million to HSBC bosses; £1.3billion to investment bankers at RBS; 58% rise in profits to British Gas shareholders. This is war. Class war. And battle lines are being drawn throughout Europe. In Greece, France, Germany and Spain, thousands are taking to the streets under a common theme – we will not pay for your crisis. Back off and look elsewhere for savings (war machine)

and income (Fair taxes). Noting and fearing a similar response, British bosses are inceasingly turning to anti union laws to deny democratic decisions of workers. Recent injunctions against First London bus drives, BA cabin crews, EDF Power workers and Milford Haven harbour crews show how the full force of the law is being used to quell worker resistance and undermine union attempts to protect members’ jobs and conditions. If the law on ballots continues to prevent unions responding to their members then the law must go. That’s why we continue to support calls for a Trade Union Freedom Bill and why we support John McDonnell’s EDM 710 on simplifying the balloting procedure. But the law will not change until it’s challenged. And the time to challenge is now. Carolyn Jones is director of the Institute of Employment Rights

The continuing rise in unemployed within Britain, at 2.51 million in May, makes it increasingly likely that it will soon reach 3 million. However, as the YCL has continuously been arguing, the picture is likely to be much worse. The governments official figures are based on the number of people currently claiming Job Seeker’s Allowance, whereas due to the difficulties in claiming, the correlation between unemployment and precarious work, the true figure is likely to be much closer to the record number of economically inactive people of working age, currently at 8.2 million. If you also take into account 1,066,000 people who are working part-time because they could not find a full-time job. What we see is somewhere in the region of at least 12million people within Britain who are unable to find decent secure, well paid employment. What this shows is that to separate unemployment from temporary, part-time, casual and so-called flexible work is to misunderstand the situation facing an increasingly large proportion of the Working Class. The reality is that the `choice’ between precarious work or unemployment is what the vast majority of young people face. However it is also the lot of most women, migrants, and ethnic minorities of all ages. The ONS figures showed youth unemployment rising, with 941,000 16 to 24-year-olds out of work in the January to March period- a rise of 18,000 on the previous three months. However the latest ONS figures suggested that people in the 35 to 49 age bracket had been hardest hit. Over the last three months 85,000 in this age group have left the workforce, a drop of 0.8 per cent, a much bigger drop than the 0.3 per cent fall witnessed across all age groups. Joanne Stevenson is the YCL Industrial Organiser.

by Joanne Stevenson

For up-to-date reports on the campaign against public spending cuts in Greece, visit the English language section of the KKE (Communist Party of Greece) website. www.inter.kke.gr

Workers’ ballot & bosses’ bonuses by Carolyn Jones

"Freedom from Tyranny" is essential reading .In his well illustrated book, Phil Katz outlines the international events which led to WW2. Katz deals effectively with the thwarting of Soviet attempts to build an anti-fascist alliance to stop Hitler’s expansionist plans by the "traitor class" in Britain and France, whose sole aim was to appease the Nazis and destroy Socialism in Russia. He deals with the immense self sacrifice, struggle and solidarity of the British and Soviet people on the home front and in battle, as well as the suffering & resistance of People across occupied Europe. The book is particularly timely given current attempts to rewrite history by revisionists - which has culminated in the notorious Prague Declaration of 2008. This gross distortion by far-right politicians across Europe places the blame for the outbreak of war and only begrudgingly acknowledges that Fascism might have played some role. Anti-Communism is on

the rise and feeds on these lies. Phil's passion and research shines throughout and makes this book both extremely readable and enlightening. He does not shirk issues which anti Communists thrive on and he writes in detail on the German-Soviet pact of 1939, the Katyn Wood massacres, the Finnish-Soviet war and the Warsaw uprising of 1944. "Freedom from Tyranny" has been published to coincide with the 65th anniversary of V.E. day on May 8th. To preserve the memory of that remarkable generation from Coventry to Stalingrad who stood together against Hitler's murderous regime with millions giving their lives reading this book goes some way to show our gratitude. Freedom From Tyranny - The fight against fascism & the falsification. ISBN 978-1-907464-03-4 £5.95 (+£1.50 p&p) 114pp illustrated. Published by Manifesto Press with the CP History Group.

Freedom from Tyranny by David Horsley

manifesto press www.manifestopress.org.uk Manifesto Press is a new publishing venture with a focus on politics and analysis, action and culture. It aims to make the link between working class power and liberation with an ambitious publishing programme.

Uniquely, it commissions work in cooperation with trade unions, progressive campaigns & pressure groups in order to reach new audiences with books that connect directly with their experience and interests.

Recently published titles include: The education revolution: Cuba’s alternative to neoliberalism

by Théodore H. MacDonald (£13.95 +£2 p&p, 265pp illustrated) US interventions in Latin America published for free distribution

with the Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. The Imperial controversy: Challenging the empire apologists

by Stop the War chair Andrew Murray (£12.95 + £2 p&p, 150pp) Killing no murder? South Wales and the Great Railway Strike

of 1911 by Robert Griffiths (£12.95 + £2 p&p 126pp illustrated) published in cooperation with the RMT Union.

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The Communist Party has a proud and influential history in the unions which have formed Unite. Notably, in the T&G – especially in the car industry, amongst bus workers, and dockers. But we were also strong in the old AEU and other skilled manufacturing workers’ unions. Draughtsmen and technicians, printers, and others all saw highly-respected and powerful Communists at all levels. Today, Communists in Unite have reformed, regrouped and reconnected. Delegates such as you – yes, you – reading this bulletin, can play a role in shaping our union for the future. If you’ve agreed with what we say in this edition of UNITY, our regular bulletin for union conferences, then isn’t it about time you joined us?