IN the international debate on Wednesday afternoon, delegates at the Unison National Delegate conference in Manchester said the best way to show solidarity with workers in other countries is to take action against the Cameron government.
The session was opened with a speech from Irish trade union Impact general secretary Shay Cody.
He said that the Irish property boom in 2002 was an ‘artificial bubble’ that led to a ‘banking meltdown’ and that ‘in an act of madness the government guaranteed all the deposits and liabilities of the banks’.
He warned that today: ‘There is no certainty that Ireland will come through this crisis without default.’
He added: ‘A default requires the immediate elimination of the current Budget deficit.
‘That would require an immediate reduction in public expenditure of 10 per cent – slashing the wages of public service workers, again, as well as pensions and all other social transfers.’
He concluded that, ‘The trade union slogan needs to move beyond the defensive one of simply opposing austerity to the more positive one of growing our way out of the crisis.’
Unison delegates voted unanimously for motion 87 The Internatonal Campaign Against Public Service Cuts which called on Unison to ‘work with sister unions in individual countries to build campaigns in defence of public services and public service workers’.
The motion was amended to call for ‘international days of action’ and ‘welcome the general strikes in countries such as France, Greece, Portugal and Spain’.
Moving the motion Jean Butcher, NEC, said: ‘Across Europe, governments are cutting public services and wages. Public services did not cause the crisis, the bankers did.’
She added: ‘Is living longer a crime? Whether we live in Salford, Swaziland, Dublin or Cairo, let’s all work together. It is our duty to ensure public services remain in public hands.’
Moving the amendment, 87.1, a delegate from Ealing said: ‘We all have to support each other – the millions who marched in Spain, the general strikes in Greece and France.
‘A small country, Iceland was the first to challenge the international concensus and voted not to pay back the money owed to other governments.’
She added: ‘The best kind of solidarity we can show is to take action against our rulers who are taking action against us.
‘We need action that is national, that is continous. Let us inspire people across the world.’
Tony Phillips, London Fire Authority, speaking in support of 87.1, said:
‘There is no end in sight to this economic crisis. A default in Greece threatens German and French banks.
‘The Merkel and other governments agree that Greek workers must pay.
‘Greece and Portugal are imposing the same cuts as Cameron. Workers in Greece have shown their neighbours the way with their general strikes.
‘Millions marched in Spain, and workers rose up is Tunisia and Egypt.
‘We should do the same. March 26th showed the way.’
Pat Jones of Kirklees declared: ‘Our struggles are all the same, as workers throughout the world, to stop them stealing from us.
‘The best thing for us to do is to bring Cameron and his bunch of thieves down.
‘Striking workers throwing out Mubarak and workers taking general strikes in Greece inspired our March 26th demonstration.
‘Collective action is not only possible, but can bring about change.’
A second amendment 87.2 urged Unison to oppose the draft EU Competitiveness Pact.
Moving 87.2, Lillian Macer, Scotland, said the pact ‘commits governments to pay 84 per cent of current wages, and end the Minimum Wage’.
She added: ‘The EU is not an aid agency, it’s an enforcer.
‘It’s important that the interests of the people are put before the banks.’
Speaking in support of 87.2, Colin Firth of York and Humberside, said: ‘The Liberal Democrat and Conservative government are spending millions of pounds to bomb Libya, while cutting public services.
‘If we’re cutting Sure Start, how can we afford millions of pounds to bomb another country?
‘The UK banks lent £11bn to Greece. It costs half a million for every Cruise missile, there is enough money to fund public services.’
Supporting the substantive motion, Owen Stuart from the north of Ireland, said: ‘People in Greece, Spain and Portugal are standing up for their rights and dignity.
‘We need to do that now. All round the world people’s rights are being sacrificed on the altar of greed.’
Dave Fellows, East Sussex local government, added: ‘None of us can fail to be inspired by the events taking place in Greece and Spain.
‘That’s the way we should act here. We need to give lessons to other countries.
‘We need national general strikes. We can’t just rely on Dave Prentis, we need coordinated national action, and if that’s illegal under the anti-union laws, we have to defy the law.
‘That’s something we need to take over the next three months.’
The afternoon’s second guest speaker was Swaziland’s Phumzile Nxumalo, NAPSAWU deputy general secretary.
She told conference, ‘Workers have identified one of the main causes of their weaknesses, i.e. fragmentation.
‘Unions have now resolved this fragmentation and created one trade union centre.
‘This has been made possible by you, Unison, through the TUC and in this regard, we wish to express our sincere gratitude to Unison and the British trade union movement.’
She added that since 1973, the King has imposed a state of emergency.
‘In the process, he banned all political parties and trade union activities which he said would bring unrest to ther country.’
Nxumalo continued: ‘Yesterday, the Chief Justice issued a notice to effect that no case shall be brought to court if it involves the King.
‘We have seen homes being demolished, people evicted in the name of the King and these people have nowhere to seek legal redress.
‘Trade unions are confined to bread-and-butter issues. Workers have labour rights but not political rights.
‘Any efforts to demand the latter is met with state brutality and arrest. This happened on April 12 where many innocent people were beaten to a pulp, and the leaders were put behind bars.
‘While all this is happening, unemployment is above 45 per cent, 64 per cent of the population lives below the poverty line and the country records the lowest economic growth in the region.
‘The IMF has imposed structural adjustments and salary cuts for civil servants but of course cuts are not imposed on the King.’
She went on to thank South Africa ‘who supported the Swazi workers’ at the recent Southern Africa Development Community meeting.
‘We now hope to see this develop into practical support.’