‘WORKING people in the UK can help stop the Conservative-led coalition from taking a wrecking ball to the fabric of daily life.’
This is the New Year’s message from the GMB, Unison and Unite, who organise some 3.5 million members, and by themselves make up a majority of the total TUC union membership.
They therefore have enormous power, and are in fact more powerful than the government if they should choose to use that power.
However they see the working class as just a ‘helper’ to stopping the ‘wrecking ball’ of the coalition.
The working class is meant to play the parliamentary game and put itself at the disposal of the Labour Party leader Miliband!
Their New Year’s message makes demands on the coalition but does not call a single concrete action.
They remain Miliband’s men, prepared to stand by and make some propaganda as hundreds of thousands of their members are sacked and the Welfare State disbanded.
The three unions state ‘that the government’s dangerous prescription of economic deflation and historically high cuts will not revive the economy but will instead bring it to its knees.’
The ‘landmark joint message’ sees the three unions pledge that in 2011 they ‘will inspire and support resistance to the cuts across the UK’. They also vow to make the Spring elections ‘the first referendum on the government’s austerity programme.’
They do not call for strike action!
The statement adds: ‘Such is the level of concern about the real intent behind the cuts – recasting the state so that the private sector can sweep in, allied to the fear that harsh cuts will cause endemic inequality across society and plunge a new generation into unemployment – that the unions have vowed to work tirelessly together throughout 2011 to pursue a sound economic alternative.’
They are not proposing any action at all.
They state that: ‘The unions are furious that the government is using the cover of coalition and a whipped-up fear over the deficit to terrify people into acceptance of what is little more than the rolling back of social provision’, but then pledge ‘The unions say it is high time that the truth was told about the government’s reckless policies.’
They continue ‘January will see the three embark on a programme of promoting an economic alternative to their members urging them to get active in both opposing cuts and making their voices heard at the May election, the first chance for large parts of the country to vote on the government’s cuts programme.’
Paul Kenny, General Secretary of GMB states: ‘The deficit is not Labour’s deficit, it’s the bankers’ deficit’, and limits himself to stating ‘the banks now need regulating so it doesn’t happen again. This is also the view of Mervyn King, the Governor of the Bank of England.’ We know that some union leaders are on the board of the Bank of England but this is the first time that the Governor has been summoned up as a supporter of the trade unions.
Dave Prentis, General Secretary of Unison says: ‘It’s clear that the government is ideologically driven to massacre public services and bring the misery of unemployment and poverty to millions. This is a recipe for social turmoil on a scale not seen since the 80s. A whole generation of young people betrayed, facing a bleak future.’ He doesn’t like the idea of ‘social turmoil’ and he definitely won’t be leading it.
Len McCluskey, General Secretary-designate of Unite says of the coalition ‘But where is the Plan B,’ when he has not got any plan for action at all, either A or B. The TUC lets the cat out of the bag completely in their advert for their first national action, a march in London on Saturday March 26 whose main demand is ‘Let’s march to tell the government they need to change course.’
These leaders cannot fight and defeat the coalition because they are afraid to call a general strike to bring it down.
This is why they must be made to resign and be replaced by leaders who are prepared to do the job that workers want to see done – call a general strike to bring down the coalition.
