THE TUC General Council statement issued on Saturday constitutes a betrayal of the working class and the trade unions. It seeks to divert the movement from action to bring bring down the Coalition, to pleading with the Tories to change their policies and favour cuts over a longer period.
The TUC, if the general council has its way will be seeking to change Tory Party policy, and will be lobbying the Tory Party and LibDem conferences.
The body of the statement opposes the Tory-LibDem policy of savage cuts and ‘argues for an alternative approach to deficit reduction that will safeguard services, jobs and growth and make the UK a fairer and more sustainable society’.
It does not call for nationalisation of bankrupt industries or socialist policies. It does not outline a struggle to defend wages and jobs against rampant price inflation. It does not even call for a socialist government.
After stating its willingness to help coordinate industrial action of unions whose members vote to take action against cuts, the TUC reveals its strategic aim, to organise ‘not from the top down’ but across the board with all community organisations and political parties who want the Tories to change their policies.
It wants the Tories to adopt ‘fair cuts’ and for the Treasury to impose a ‘Fairness Test to ensure that decisions taken to reduce the deficit do not unfairly impact on the poorest in society’.
It adds: ‘But history shows that governments can change direction. The previous Government adopted an active industrial policy as the full effects of the crash became clear. Conservative governments abandoned the poll tax in the 1990s and similarly harsh economic policies in the 1970s.’ We don’t know where Brendan Barber was in the 1970s, but the Heath government was brought down in 1974 by the strength of the miners.
The statement continues: ‘Winning such a change in direction is no easy challenge. Much of the media reinforces the Government’s message that the nation’s finances are like a household’s. Public sector staff have seen sustained attacks on their pay, pensions and conditions. . .
‘Unions and public sector workers are unlikely to achieve a fundamental change in direction on our own. But the potential to win allies and work with others is clear.
‘Our challenge therefore is to build a great campaign against the cuts – rooted in every community and with a clear national voice – that can win the argument for the alternative.’
This great campaign is to be made up of a ‘Lobby of delegates and fringe meetings at the Liberal Democrat and Conservative conferences, support for the ETUC action against austerity with TUC participation in the demonstration in Brussels.
In October, there is to be a ‘week of action’ against the CSR (Comprehensive Spending Review) which will include a lobby of Tory and LibDem MPs and support for a STUC demonstration on 23 October.
The TUC quotes the success of the campaign to force the Tories to dump the Poll Tax. This was possible because the Poll Tax was not vital for the survival of British capitalism.
When the strategic interests of the ruling class were concerned there was a different outcome. In 1993 the whole country rose up to defend the NUM when Heseltine announced the pits were to close.
The situation was ripe for a general strike, but the TUC called for ‘People’s Power’, and said that the enormous scope of the movement could force the Tories to change their policy.
The TUC policy led to the complete closure of the UK’s coalfields at the hands of the Tories.
Now, when the situation calls for bringing down the Tories with a general strike, the TUC is bringing back the notorious ‘People’s Power’ policy.
The TUC congress must throw the General Council statement out and call a general strike to bring down the coalition and bring in a workers’ government. This is the only way forward.
