Make Unite fight in Labour

The rules conference of the Unite union (13-16 June) took place against the backdrop of strikes planned for 30 June and with the newly elected “United Left” dominated Executive Council in place.

Tony Woodhouse, chair of the Unite Exec, opened the conference by saying it is time to fight, and for socialist principles.

General Secretary Len McCluskey followed in a similar vein, but added that we shouldn’t do anything to disrupt our good relations with the new Labour Party leader Ed Miliband.

Reinstate Arwyn now. Nothing less!

Update 22 June: The Employment Tribunal today found that London Underground dismissed Arwyn Thomas unfairly.

The Employment Tribunal panel in the case of sacked Tube driver Arwyn Thomas convened a week earlier than expected to decide on its verdict. That suggests that there is significant pressure to see this dispute closed.

The panel is now due to announce its decision on Wednesday 22 June, but as things stand the strike beginning on Monday 27 will go ahead because right now Arwyn does not have his job back. It's as simple as that.

SP

Who are the Socialist Party?

Peter Taaffe, leader of the Socialist Party (SP), has recently denounced the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty over Libya. We have replied, and challenged Taaffe to a debate (no formal reply yet). Who are the Socialist Party? Martin Thomas offers a briefing.


The Socialist Party is a would-be Trotskyist group in Britain. Though smaller than the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), it prides itself on the number of places it has won on union Executives and on its electoral activity (for a while, it had a few local councillors, though it is now down to one).

Euro

Greece and the "quit the euro" debate

In autumn 2008 big banks in the world’s richest countries went bust. Governments bailed them out or nationalised them. The sharp end of the crisis was swivelled to point at governments, and their ability to manage debt, rather than at the banks.

The governments have managed the sequel by giving priority to getting banks profitable and independent again, and making the working class pay. That is the story behind the “bail-outs” of Greece, Ireland, and Portugal, and Greece’s second “bail-out”, currently being negotiated.

Remembering Patrick Rolfe

Patrick Rolfe, a revolutionary socialist activist and member of Workers’ Liberty between 2008 and 2010, died on 10 June from a rare form of stomach cancer. Patrick was a leading activist in a number of campaigns, particularly around issues of climate change and free education as a student at Cambridge, Sussex and Leeds.

General strike

The left on 30 June: more "general nonsense"

As we approach the first large-scale strike against the Coalition cuts offensive, unrealistic demagogy about “General Strike” continues to proliferate on the left.

The Socialist Party calls for a “one day public sector general strike”, i.e. not a full-scale general strike, usually with GENERAL STRIKE in huge letters and the rest tiny. Meanwhile, in the leadership of the PCS union, it deflects discussion of the kind of action that can actually win. PCS conference was told that “nothing is ruled out”, but delegates were not allowed to debate specifics.

Organising for 30 June

Croydon: teachers and students uniting

By a Croydon teacher and South London AWL member

I got the news of the NUT and ATL [teachers’ unions] ballot results from an email at 3.10 on Tuesday 14 June. At 3.15pm I walked out of my classroom to find a group of very excited year 10s shouting “teachers are going on strike!”

The teacher who runs the art club got the kids to help make banners today, some of the slogans (which the kids chose) included “no pension, no work” and “we won’t clean up your mess”.

Prentis promises a fight to win. Hold him to it.

On 18 June, Dave Prentis, general secretary of the public service workers’ union Unison, told the Guardian that in the autumn the union, with others, will start a campaign of industrial action, “the biggest since the general strike”.

“It won’t be the miners’ strike [of 1984-5, which shook the country for a year but eventually was defeated]. We are going to win.”

He promised more than one-day strikes.

Liberation

Single parents and children not welcome in the labour movement?

A little while ago I attended a regional meeting of the United Left in the Unite union.

Myself, a woman comrade, Rhiannon, and her six-year-old daughter Star were there. We had political debates on Unite and the Labour Party, Libya, reports from the executive and from the United Left AGM.

The most surprising thing was how Rhiannon and Star were treated. Afterwards I emailed some of the United Left people with the following:

“I just wanted to say I was very surprised at how Rhiannon was spoken to at the meeting.

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