JOBS are now going in a huge avalanche.
The Lloyds Banking Group, where the government has the major stake, is set to begin a massive redundancy programme by cutting over 1,660 workers’ jobs after deciding to close all Cheltenham & Gloucester branches.
Almost 3,000 jobs have already been axed since Lloyds’ merger with Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS), and tens of thousands more workers are set to be ruined in this death by a thousand cuts restructuring operation.
The Labour government has the major share in the merged bank. It encourages the jobs massacre, since it will allow the bankers to repay some of their debt to the state.
The major bankworkers union Unite, a union with 2 million members, stands on the sidelines muttering that the mass sackings are ‘disgraceful’, yet will not lift a finger to stop them. They don’t want to anger PM Brown.
Railworkers are also worried about their job security.
RMT General Secretary Bob Crow said yesterday on the eve of the 48-hour tube strike: ‘The fact is that Tube workers have been driven into walking out today.
‘Tube bosses have deliberately provoked this confrontation and the RMT wants the issues at the heart of the dispute to be resolved so that our members can get back to delivering a first-class transport service.
‘On London Underground, bosses are threatening to tear up an agreement aimed at safeguarding jobs, and have refused to rule out compulsory redundancies.
‘Up to 4,000 jobs are at risk as part of a multi-billion pound cuts package that can be traced directly back to the collapse of Metronet and the failure of the PPP (Public Private Partnership).’ He added: ‘We will not be bullied into accepting that our members should be forced to pay for an economic crisis that was cooked up by the bankers and the politicians.’
Airline workers are also on the front line.
British Airways boss Walsh said yesterday that he wants to see 4,000 job cuts before the end of June.
BA baggage handlers, check-in workers and other ground staff voted six-to-one against pay cuts and compulsory redundancies.
Walsh states that union representatives have been informed that the deadline for the imposition of job and pay cuts is June 30.
Car and car parts workers are already in the battle. On Monday the LDV van factory went into liquidation and over 800 workers were sacked by the liquidators.
The Unite statement made by Tony Woodley said that the union and the government could not be faulted as they had done all that could be done to save the van factory.
This disgraceful message sent shivers down the spines of motor car workers around the country, since it meant that Unite was not going to lift a finger to defend their jobs and that its leaders were going to support the Brown government policy of allowing hundreds of thousands of car jobs to go to the wall, by doing nothing to defend them.
On Monday night workers at GM Luton were told that all production would be stopped from the second shift on Tuesday afternoon.
The night shift was told by management not to attend to work last night and to ring the plant after 10am this morning to find out if they are required tonight.
One worker commented ‘Phoning in to find out if you have a job of work that night means we are being treated like casual labour to be hired or laid off at the will of management.’
It is crystal clear that a new and revolutionary leadership must be built in the trade unions.
Every job must be defended. Luton GM and all threatened plants must be occupied and a national campaign begun for them to be nationalised, under workers’ control. A general strike must be organised to bring down the Brown government, and bring in a workers government that will carry out socialist policies.
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