THE TUC leaders are unanimous in their condemnation of the latest Tory autumn statement, but yet again refuse to call any action to bring down the Tories.
TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said: ‘The Conservatives crashed the economy – now they are making working people take the hit. This is a recession made in 10 Downing Street, which will put jobs at risk and hit workers’ wages.
‘We are all paying the price for the last decade of Tory governments, which decimated growth and living standards. Today’s statement shows it will be two decades until real wages recover.’
The TUC view is that this is an inevitable process and that, as throughout most of UK history, the poor and the UK workers are about to be assaulted and battered in every conceivable way, and nothing much can be done about it.
O’Grady continues.‘The Chancellor talked about everyone making sacrifices, but the super-rich have once again been let off the hook – token tweaks to tax will do little to dent their bank balances.’
The TUC are looking for a Starmer-led Labour government and are prepared to wait two years while the working class suffers to get it. They are looking for a Labour government, but they are opposed to workers taking any action to organise regime-change and even a change of system NOW!
The TUC has even drawn up a list detailing how the working class is to suffer.
- Hospital porters’ real pay will be down by £1,000.
- Maternity care assistants’ real pay will be down by £1,200.
- Nurses’ real pay will be down by £1,500.
- Paramedics’ and midwives’ real pay will be down by nearly £1,900.’
The TUC is willing to allow the working class to put up with this robbery and refuse to call any action against the Tory regime. It has no intention of even breaking any Tory anti-union laws.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham has also spoken up to say: ‘Our economy is broken. This Autumn Statement is not for working people. The Chancellor has taxed income over wealth, backed City bankers instead of nurses and chosen profiteers over public services. He has made political choices based on rules that he himself has the power to change.
‘As for the Labour Party, they appear to have accepted the economic premise of the black hole rather than challenge it. That is a mistake.
‘We are stuck in an economic straight-jacket. Our political class repackage the same failed approach crisis after crisis, choosing to put a sticking plaster on a wound that needs surgery. In a country where the wealth of billionaires rockets whilst pay is cut and the gap between the super-rich and the rest grows, we need do more than appease the markets.’
Graham is right about the betrayal being carried out by the Labour Party, but she refuses to call any action to deal with the traitors and bring down the Tories.
Her message is the same as the TUC’s – you have no option but to accept what the bosses are doing to you, and the only alternative is a ‘mistaken’ Labour Party.
Unison general secretary, Christina McAnea said in her blog: ‘As Hunt admits the NHS is “on the brink of collapse” and Rishi Sunak rightly points out that “we face a profound economic crisis”, how can they think that austerity will fix it?
‘Despite the Chancellor’s claims of wanting to “protect the vulnerable, because to be British is to be compassionate”, it’s reported that free school meals in England won’t be expanded, energy bills will rise dramatically again in April, and despite public sector pay lagging way behind inflation and private sector pay, it’s about to be capped at 2%.’
The ruling class is getting ready to starve the working class, while the trade union leaders are just watching! Meanwhile, postal workers are taking action over Xmas to defend their industry and their jobs against privatisation plans.
Following further attacks on the terms and conditions of postal workers, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) have taken the decision to call further strike action on Friday 9th December, Sunday 11th December, Wednesday 14th December, Thursday 15th December, Friday 23rd December and Saturday 24th December.
This is in addition to the action already notified for Thursday 24th November, Friday 25th November, Wednesday 30th November and Thursday 1st December. We urge workers to join the CWU picket lines and to organise a general strike to bring down the Tories and bring in a workers government!
