THE British working class is showing a real class determination and ability to defend its jobs, its wages, its basic rights and its families, against the massive inflation that has been consciously let loose by the UK-US ruling classes as they pour billions into the Ukraine to try to weaken Russia and overthrow President Putin, and in the process drive inflation sky high, pauperising and starving hundreds of millions of people world-wide.
The UK workers have rejected with contempt the Tory suggestion that they should tolerate their families being starved and frozen in the cold to strengthen the right wing Ukrainian regime and weaken Russia.
Instead they have launched a massive movement to force wage rises that keep pace with inflation.
In fact, many workers are suggesting that, with the Tories boosting inflation sky high to try to ruin them and ruin Russia, there must be legislation to bring in a Sliding Scale of Wages, so that wages keep pace with the real inflation rate!
The working class is pressing forward, with the RCN Scotland rejecting the Scottish government’s imposition of a miserly pay deal, and taking its stand against the Scottish bourgeoisie alongside the masses of the UK working class.
The UK’s nurses, rail workers, bus workers and airport workers are showing the revolutionary way forward to the whole of the working class and shaming the TUC, who it seems has greeted the huge inflationary crisis by going into permanent hiding.
In fact even the media servants of the bourgeoisie are becoming disenchanted with their ruling class masters, and are even showing their demoralisation over the situation.
Wednesday’s Guardian pull-out section printed the following. ‘On Xmas Day, Rishi Sunak marked his 62nd day as prime minister, far surpassing Liz Truss’s time in office. A trifling achievement, by any measure. But after the Annus Horribilis that was 2022, the Conservatives are not really in a position to turn their noses up to small victories.’
In the face of the growing crisis of world and British capitalism the Guardian is showing signs of demoralisation and defeatism.
The Telegraph is however peddling its ‘physical force’ line.
It wrote: ‘Rishi Sunak was last night urged to bring forward promised “tough” anti-strike legislation.’
It added: ‘As the country faces strikes by NHS nurses, am- bulance workers and train drivers there were also claims that union bosses have been plotting a “de facto general strike” in the New Year.’
In fact nurses, postal workers, rail workers, and airport workers are absolutely determined to defend their wages, jobs and their basic right to strike.
The TUC Congress, the national body of the unions, might as well not exist in this situation, where its members require leadership. A general strike is absolutely out of order as far as it is concerned.
There is not the slightest doubt that the British ruling class is desperate because the working class is determined not to bear the costs of its crisis.
The ruling class is now rushing in anti-union laws of all kinds that it intends to use to tie down the UK workers while it loots their wages and destroy their jobs.
What is required is not some unofficial alliance of trade unions to try and resist the ruling class drive, which will inevitably be split divided and beaten.
To mobilise the entire working class for the battle the TUC must be made to officially call a general strike and establish Councils of Action in every area that mobilise the entire working class for the struggle to remove the government, and bring in a workers government.
It must not be allowed to sit out the battle since this will then split the struggle, and inevitably betray the movement even quicker than it did in 1926, when the going gets tougher and the state and its state forces, the law courts and the military intervene.
What Oliver Cromwell did in the 17th century when he shut down parliaments, must be done today by the working class bringing in a socialist government to see the bankers and bosses nationalised and expropriated.
Workers in the trade unions must say ‘no’ to some loose trade union alliance that can be split and divided by the Tories.
The TUC must be made to call a general strike to bring down the Tory government and then replace Parliament with a Workers Assembly and a regime of Workers Councils that will run the nationalised and planned economy for the benefit of the working class!
Make the TUC call a general strike – Forward to the British socialist revolution! Join the WRP today!
