Shameless self promotion...

...well, I am a candidate. Anyway, The audio file of a debate I took part in last year is online, so you can go and listen to the socialist case on the question:

Should trade unionists support the Labour Party?

(There are many other audio files from across the years on our website, and well worth a listen if you want to hear the kinds of things we say).

Activity report

Yesterday we had our first stall of the campaign outside our premises in Clapham High Street. There'll be one there every Saturday between now and the election and maybe in other places too (Stockwell, Brixton, the Southbank).

Lambeth Stop the War group had a stall further up the road, outside Sainsburys. We visited them to make sure we get an invitation to the hustings meeting they are organising a week on Monday in Brixton:

Lambeth Stop the War Election Hustings
A chance for you to ask candidates questions about Afghanistan, Civil Liberties, Palestine and the War on Terror generally
Monday 19th April
7:30pm - 9pm
The Brix, St Matthews Church, Brixton Hill, SW2 1JF

Meanwhile other comrades covered the trade union demonstration about defending the welfare state that was going on in Traflgar Square at the same time.

Solidarity

The world we live in. The Tories attack Unite for seeking solidarity from the American Teamsters Union (according to the BBC). Now, the international solidarity of the workers is a principle of trade unionism, so it is in fact a good thing that workers are seeking one anothers' support. Just look, though, at the vitriol being poured on the BA workers for daring to stand up for themselves. Compare with the flood of stories about government cuts being needed to restore 'confidence' in the economy (e.g. here). What they mean by confidence is giving in to the overall policy demands of financiers, who will withhold their economic resources until their demands are met.

We are in the grip of a sustained capital strike, and yet the press turn vicious on any attempt by workers to mount a strike to defend their own interests.

As a note, the Tories are attacking the link between Labour and Unite, because Unite as the biggest union in the country is basically shouldering the cost of the Labour Party now. Labour loyalist Luke Akehurst rebuts the allegations.

The point, though, is that the link is hurting both parties, the interests of political parties and trade unions are not the same. Further, by linking themselves to a party that will form government under capitalism, the unions are signing a paycheque to those who will have to implement capitalism's attacks against the workers.

We support, fully and utterly, the BA workers and Unite and the Teamsters in their efforts to stand up to their employer, a struggle we all share an interest in. We share, though, an even greater interest in getting rid of the wages system all together, and Unite the Union would do better to try and raise their aims to Unite the Workers, for socialism. Unite members in Lambeth and Camden can do this by voting for our candidates.

More Unions

Last night I gopt a leaflet through the mail from my union - Unison - urging me to vote Labour. Unison is a registered third party, and so it can spend money on election campaigns that, unless I'm mistaken, don't count towards a candidate's campaign costs.

Given they have the names and addresses of about 150,000 (they claim) electors, this is a highly effective campaigning tool for the institutionalised labour party.

They are quite right that Labour has achieved many goals, and espouses many values consonant with those of the trade union. But, then, the trade union's demands and values are about a defence of market interests for workers within capitalism - seeing, particularly, its own interest wrapt up in the old conditions of public sector bargaining from nationalised and municipalised industries.

Of course, we could batter on at the union that the real interest of their members is socialism - but until the members of the union are socialists and are able to use their weight to move the lethargic democratic machinery of the union that just won't happen.

So, that makes it all the more important that trade unionists make this clear by voting for the socialist party, either by voting for Danny Lambert if they can, or joining the write-in if they're outside Lambeth & Southwark. And more than that, we need you to join the Socialist Party and stand up in your workplaces and unions to be counted.

A little try at my branch recently failed, we sent a motion to conference affirming that Unison has no leaders, and asking the NEC to make that clear, the standing orders ruled it out of order, because they can, but I'll keep on about it, and if thousands of socialists in the union started to camnpaign for that instead of saving the pittance and stopping the thing, we'd start to see real movement, and a real movement.

Another mystery

On 13 April we reported that we had been contacted by the London Regional Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union and invited to reply to three questions, with the promise that the replies would be published on the PCS website prior to the election on 1 May so that their members could make up their minds on how to vote.

It is now 29 April but a look at the PCS site (see here) shows that our replies have not yet been posted; in fact that we are not even mentioned as standing.

We have emailed the Regional Secretary to find out what is happening and will keep you posted.

By way of contrast, our candidate's (and the others') interview with the Southwark News is published today (Danny knows how to spell "root" even if the interviewer doesn't!).

Good luck, mate

Our candidate, Danny Lambert, has received the following email from the London Regional Secretary of the Public and Commercial Services Union. Our replies to the questions are in bold.


Dear Danny,

Your views on public services

The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS) is asking candidates standing in the London Assembly elections about their views on public services. PCS is the union for more than 55000 London-based civil servants and those working in non departmental public bodies,related areas and the private sector. Responses will then be distributed locally to members and posted on the PCS prior to the election on 1 May to help them make up their minds when they cast their votes.

This is a unique opportunity for you to comment on the current state of civil and public services and will give you an opportunity to get your message across to all our members in the run up to the election.

We would be delighted if you could respond on behalf of your party to the following three questions:

1. PCS is campaigning for fair pay for its members, meaning that their pay should increase in line with inflation and be negotiated nationally instead of 200 separate sets of negotiations. Do you support PCS’s campaign for fair pay for public servants?

The Socialist Party is all in favour of wage and salary workers organising to fight employers to defend and try to improve their pay and conditions. So, good luck to you. This is necessary under capitalism but it's like running up a downward moving escalator. It's never-ending. We would urge your members to look beyond this, and consider the case for a genuinely socialist society (which has never yet been tried) based on the common ownership and democratic control of productive resources, where there'd be no employers and no working for wages but the application of the principle of "from each according to their ability, to each according to their needs". As Karl Marx urged trade unionists years ago: "Instead of the conservative motto: 'A fair day's pay for a fair day's work' they ought to inscribe on their banners the revolutionary watchwords: 'Abolition of the wages system'".

2. The government has proposed to cut over 100,000 civil and public service jobs disproportionately affecting London & the South East due to the Lyons review . They claim these cuts will not impact service delivery to the public, however every day our members are seeing how less staff means a poorer service to the public. Where do you stand on cutting civil and public service jobs?

The government is doing this to save money and reduce the tax burden on businesses so these can be competitive on world markets. That's the name of the game under global capitalism and all governments are forced to play it. Obviously less staff means more work for those left and, as you put it , "poorer services to the public". But capitalism is not about providing services for people. It's about making profits. These have to come first. Any government, and not just this Labour one, has to do this. This is why we would advise you to be wary of rival politicians who promise they won't. If elected, they will. This is a trade union issue and all we can do is, once again, wish your members luck in protecting their working conditions.

3. PCS is concerned that privatisation of the civil service has continued since 1997. We believe this is costly and unnecessary and jeopardises services being delivered to the public, often the most vulnerable in society. Where do you stand on privatising public services?

It was natural that a Tory government should privatise some government departments as they've always been the party of business, and privatisation opens up another area where their business friends can make a profit. Some might be surprised that this policy should be continued by a Labour government but privatisation is another aspect of cost-cutting to save taxes on profits, the idea being, as of course you know, to do this by undermining previously-established working conditions. (And of course Labour now has its own business friends who profit from privatisation and donate money to them.) Once again, don't expect help from any politician on this. That's why our members in your union don't pay the political levy and think the PCS should not be affiliated to the Labour Party. Only sound trade union action has any chance of maintaining previous conditions whether the employer is the government or a private firm.

We request that you keep your answer to each question to less than 150 words and send us your responses by 4th April. Please send them to me at myvcgla@pcs.org.ukor send to the above address. If you have any queries regarding this request please call me on 020 7801 2764.

Government job cuts are ripping the heart out of our public services we all rely on.

PCS members are campaigning for:No compulsory redundancies
An end to privatisation without agreement
An end to unfair pay
Adequate resources and decent working conditions
No cuts to the civil service compensation scheme

I look forward to receiving your response.

Dean Rogers
Regional Secretary
PCS London & South East