Post - Labour Representation Committee

Dec 7

Dec 7 Not either or, but both - Linking the industrial and political

Despite ructions over questions around his integrity with the appointment of Braverman and Williamson, Sunak appears – for the moment – to have stabilised the political situation for the Tories.

While commentators generally regard the financial statement on 17 November as necessary to `stabilise’ the economy, it is a massive attack on living standards and public spending.

The opposition to these austerity plans is hindered by the lack of clear opposition by Starmer. While he challenges Sunak on the integrity issue (though there is a large element of hypocrisy there) he has little to say of an economic alternative, while going along entirely with the anti-migrant rhetoric of the government.

Sunak’s `stabilisation’ of the political situation has not yet translated into a lead for the Tories in opinion polls, though polling on `personal standing’ puts him ahead of Starmer .

In these turbulent times it is not possible to predict what might happen in a general election 2 years hence. The Tories unpopularity could persist, as it did after Black Wednesday in 1992 (though not with the 20-percentage point lead to Labour that polls currently give) or they could turn the situation round.

One thing is certain, the chances of the Tories managing to `stabilise’ the economy (in their/capitalist terms) depends on the level of opposition to their plans.

Starmer is clearly relying on the Tories being unpopular rather than offering a radical alternative, either in terms of policy, or support for resistance in the here and now, the onus is on the trade union and community struggles to do so.

The call by Labour and the other opposition parties for a general election is right, and we must argue it on the basis of rejection of the Tories' policies, particularly further austerity, but Starmer has no intention of taking that demand outside the `safe’ channels of parliamentary politics. Encouraging demonstrations, even strike action calling for the Tories to go would put politics in the hands of the `mob’, something unthinkable.

The purchase of the call for a general election will not remain constant over the next period. It had obviously gone off the boil somewhat by the demonstration on Nov 5th, which, while mobilising the left and many union activists, did not reach beyond that.

Starmer continues with the policy of cleansing the party in general, and the PLP in particular, of the left. There are clearly no limits to his willingness to ignore the rule book as regards parliamentary selections. Yet there is little public denunciation of this either by left MPs or affiliated unions (with the exception of the FBU).

With the opportunity to commit a crushing defeat on the Tories, we need to continue to raise the call for a general election while raising demands (such as nationalisation of utilities and inflation matching rises in wages, benefits and pensions), which address the cost of living crisis.

The resurgence of industrial action, already at levels not seen for decades, is exhilarating, and we must encourage and support it wherever possible.

While many current disputes are primarily, if not exclusively, about pay, they pose bigger issues too. It's not just that some disputes, like Royal Mail, Transport for London and the rail network already have to address issues about terms and conditions, but others, where pay is seen as the immediate issue, face, or will soon face, similar issues about the quality of the service provided. Education and the NHS are faced with massive cuts in funding, compounded by the government’s wish to see pay rises coming out of basic funding.

These disputes face strategic issues beyond simply taking strike action, but need the unions to address these bigger issues, and hence the issue of in whose interest services are run. It raises the need for the unions to go beyond simply calling out their members, to mobilise the community (`service users’) alongside them. To give an example, the relative success of the campaign to save London buses from cuts with only 3 of 22 routes being axed was the result of widespread campaigning that involved users as well as unions.

At the same time as wanting to purge the Labour Party of the left (and putting hurdles in the way of it ever achieving ascendancy again), Starmer is also desperate to distance himself from industrial action (and, in blocking potential parliamentary candidates with union support, from the unions altogether). In that way he hopes to show he would be a safe pair of hands for capitalism, untroubled by a restive working class. Yet there are plenty of MPs, Councillors and party members, who see it as natural to support the strikes and turn up on picket lines.

And, of course, Starmer is keen to show that, even when he claims to agree with their aims, such as around climate protests, he supports Tory measures to criminalise protests.

The importance of the strike wave cannot be underestimated, both in immediate terms in winning (at least) inflation-matching pay rises and defending terms and conditions, but beyond that, in providing the opposition Starmer fails to provide, in giving the class confidence that it can take things into their own hands and laying the groundwork for taking on a Starmer government if and when it comes.

It is of concern that both the RMT (in the national rail dispute) and the CWU (in Royal Mail) agreed to de-escalate the disputes while talks were ongoing, as if it isn’t the case that talks only happened because of the strike action. In both cases management have shown their hope that this demobilizes workers by then either withdrawing from negotiations or placing impossible demands. It remains to be seen the extent to which this de-escalation leads to de-mobilisation, but the risk is of settlements which accept too much of what the capitalist class / management wants. This is yet another sign of the fact that years of very little industrial action have weakened workplace organisation and confidence, with the strikes being very much orchestrated from the top. Weakened workplace organisation and confidence is also a factor in disaggregated strike ballots taking place, where ballots take place at an employer / workplace level rather than nationally.

However, any stalling of the CWU and RMT disputes doesn’t seem to have dampened the enthusiasm of others for action, with positive ballot results announced among civil servants and nursing staff, and expected among teachers (with UCU, Unison and Unite members in universities and NEU members in sixth form colleges taking strike action). As the RCN takes the historic step of announcing strike dates, the level of public support can be safely predicted to be even greater than shown already for postal and rail workers, posing a major problem for both the Tories and Starmer.

That’s why Enough is Enough was welcome as a sign of some unions not only coordinating their action, but also taking up wider issues e.g. right to food and housing. However, this seems to be being squandered due to bureaucratic infighting between different unions and a refusal to allow local democratic input. We need to argue for local, inclusive and democratic campaigns, bringing together activists from the strikes, climate campaigns, housing, benefits etc together and support all positive national initiatives.

In their desperation to prevent the working class fighting back, the Tories have already brought in some new anti-union measures and have made clear their intention to bring in more. Despite recent Labour Party conferences having called for the repeal of all anti-union laws, Starmer and others on the front bench either only commit to repealing the latest (2016) law or leave the issue suitably vague. The LRC needs to up its support (we are already affiliated) for the Free Our Unions campaign, urging union branches, trades councils, CLPs etc to support, but also raise the issue of the TUC, unions and trades councils organising against those laws beyond words of objection.

It is also important to educate and agitate within the working class for a fight back against the anti-trade union laws. From strike ballot thresholds, ballots being carried out by post, restrictions on the length of time strikes can take place before the need to reballot, the lengthy notice periods for taking action and the inability to take legal secondary solidarity strike action, these are all severe restrictions on the ability of the class to build resistance. There is potential to link the wider struggles over civil liberties (e.g. the right to protest) with the struggle against the anti-trade union laws. When the CWU cancelled functional strikes (where different sections of Royal Mail workers were set to strike on different days), after a legal challenge from Royal Mail, there was a missed opportunity to raise the need to collectively organise against the anti-trade union laws.

Even when unions manage to overcome the hurdles necessary to take legal strike action (and even the RMT has failed in some cases), the laws restrict what is possible. So it would not be possible for the CWU to make renationalisation of Royal Mail a demand of the strikes, since it would be deemed political action. It will not be possible for other groups of workers to legally strike in support of NHS workers.

An indication of how far years of industrial inaction has taken us backwards is the fact that around 30 CWU (Royal Mail) members have been disciplined for `picket line activity’. In the past many of those would have led to unofficial walkouts, yet there don’t appear to have been any this time, with Dave Ward merely saying he is taking them up with management.

At present, there is an urgent need to organise in the face of the crisis of capitalism, the attack on the working class by the Tory government and establishment wing of the Labour Party, climate emergency and ongoing Covid-19 health pandemic. Struggles through the trade unions are a key part of this, including:

• action for pay increases given the cost of living crisis;

• action against job cuts, redundancies and fire and rehire;

• action against attacks on pensions, terms and conditions; and

• the need for a just transition to well paid, unionised green and purple jobs.

When a general election does come, we must call for a Labour vote, not because a Starmer government will necessarily be any better than a Tory one, but because it is through the link with the organised working class that pressure (internally and through industrial action) can be brought for anti-capitalist policies which address the real needs of the class. However, we need to strengthen and democratise the Labour Party-trade union link in order to do this.

* For a General Election now, kick the Tories Out;

* Build, broaden and coordinate the strikes, build community support;

* Build action around climate, benefits, housing, public services and all the issues facing the class;

* Build local inclusive, democratic campaigns to fight back, under whatever rubric.

LRC NEC November 2022

For more information

Free Our Unions - https://freeourunions.wordpress.com/

Up-to-date reports of planned strike action, pickets and forthcoming ballots for action and the issues involved can be found on the union websites:

CWU

Royal Mail Group https://www.cwu.org/rmgstrikeinfo

BT and Openreach https://www.cwu.org/btopenreachstrikeinfo

Post Office Counters https://www.cwu.org/post-office-strike-info