UP TO 10,000 workers trade unionists, students and youth were on the London May Day march from Clerkenwell Green to Trafalgar Square on Wednesday.
There were banners from trade unions, trades councils and political parties including Newham NUT, the Shrewsbury Pickets, Greater London Unison, Wandsworth POA, Waltham Forest Unison, London BECTU, and Hackney Unison.
Many of the marchers spoke to News Line.
Simon Palastanga, Hackney Unison Branch Treasurer said: ‘I agree with the call for the General Strike to defend the Welfare State.
‘The damage that is being done by this government today won’t be easily repaired.
‘Come July, in Hackney, when the benefit cuts really bite, I think there will be a huge upsurge.’
Stan Seymour, Waltham Forest Unison Branch Committee member, said: ‘As a union it is our responsibility to defend the jobs of our members and the services they provide.
‘This applies especially to Unison, the main public services union.
‘A general strike should be called by the TUC and the national unions should support it. We’ve got to get rid of this government.’
Luke Crawley, Assistant General Secretary of BECTU, said: ‘We’re against this government, who are attacking our members in the theatre with local authority funding cuts and Arts Council cuts.’
Stewart McLaughlin, Wandsworth POA (Prison Officers Association) Branch Secretary, said: ‘I support the call for a general strike.
‘The government says it is illegal for us to strike because we are a vital public service.
‘But the new prisons being built are private prisons. If public services are so vital, they should not be privatised.
‘Last week at the TUC our general secretary Steven Gillen was pressing for a general strike call.’
Ross Foley, North East London Equity Branch Treasurer, said: ‘This government’s policy is the commercialisation of everything.
‘But to look at things in such a profit-oriented way is terrible, especially in the arts. We need to kick this government out.’
Paul Moore, CWU London Chairman, said: ‘The union’s position is to support the call for a general strike. That was the position adopted at conference.
‘It’s about all the different campaigns and actions – that’s how the position came about at the TUC last year – that all the unions are fighting different battles, and we need to bring them together.’
Carrying the Justice for the Shrewsbury Pickets banner, Peter Farrell said: ‘It goes back to 1972 and the building workers strike.
‘The Shrewsbury trials were about the criminalisation of the trade unions, and six Shrewsbury pickets were jailed.
‘The TUC and Labour leaders sold out, but there was a march from Wigan to London demanding their release.
‘Today, the state still refuses to release documents, 40 years later, on the basis of national security, in order to cover up the state conspiracy that took place.
‘The significance today is that you cannot defend hospitals, schools or anything without defeating the anti-union laws.
‘So Shrewsbury has enormous historic lessons for the working class.’
Peter Smith, Divisional Secretary Newham NUT, said: ‘I think there should be a general strike.
‘Free Schools and Academies are the privatisation of education.’
Megan Dobney South East Region TUC Secretary, said: ‘It’s a fantastic turnout, as always. The trade unions should defend the Welfare State.
‘We built it, our members need it and we must support action to defend it.’
Unite General Secretary Len McCluskey told News Line: ‘The debate at the TUC is taking place in relation to Motion 5, to examine the practicalities of a general strike.
‘There were different opinions expresssed at the meeting of the TUC General Council last week. There was no call to name the day and there was no vote.
‘There is likely to be a group of unions coming together under the banner of Coalition of the Willing to examine the matter.
‘The attacks that are being launched against everything our parents and grandparents fought for – the Welfare State, the NHS, Education – demand a response from the unions with all our strength and industrial action.’
Asked what he thought about the policy of occupying closure-threatened hospitals and other workplaces, McCluskey said: ‘Everything should be up for consideration – rule nothing in, rule nothing out.’
At a packed Young Socialists and Workers Revolutionary Party meeting, YS national secretary Joshua Ogunleye said: ‘We’ve never seen such an in-depth crisis and so much anger from the masses.
‘Youth unemployment in the UK is one million. Tuition fees are £9,000 while there are savage cuts in universities.
In Sussex there was a mass occupation for three weeks against privatisation. Students acted to defend education.
‘People are being used as cheap labour to keep companies like Tesco going.
‘It’s also happening in America where the Occupy movement started and spread to Spain and Portugal.
‘Youth need to unite with trade unions in a general strike.
‘Chase Farm was occupied. The Welfare State cannot be defended by reformism.
‘I was arrested but found not guilty. The judge ruled occupying a hospital wasn’t illegal.
‘The trade unions arguing about the legality of a general strike is nonsense.
‘The issue is to take workers forward. Young people are prepared to fight.
‘We are ready to go forward in organising the revolutionary leadership of the International Committee of the Fourth International to smash capitalism and go forward to socialism.’
Issa Chaer of the Syrian Social Club said: ‘Millions of Syrians are having to put up with a proxy war financed by the West – France, Britain and the US, and their Middle East supporters Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.’
He added: ‘The Syrian people stand united against all imperialist movements in the Middle East. Syria is being used as a platform for terrorists.’
He stressed: ‘We want a secular society. Before, everybody lived side by side in peace. We have health and education. Palestinians, Somalis, Iraqis all have the right to education in Syria.
‘The West wants to destroy this country just because it stands with the resistance in Lebanon, and with Palestine.
‘We want democracy but not the way the West dictates it.
‘Now the West is trying to materialise fake evidence against Syria. They say there are chemical weapons but cannot say who are using them.’
He warned: ‘If Western governments don’t wake up to fostering terrorism in Syria, they will come back to destroy us here.
‘We should stand united against the hijacking by the capitalists of the welfare of working families.’
Ealing NUT Vice-President Tom Davies told the meeting: ‘Most schools are being forced into Academy status now. The Tories want privatisation to sell off the schools.
‘(Education secretary) Gove is looking at unqualified staff because they are cheaper. Troops coming back from Afghanistan are going into schools.
‘The teaching unions are taking united action. We have the Tories attacking us on all fronts – pay, pensions and even the things we teach.’
He added: ‘It’s a daily, relentless assault on working people. We have to be united and fight back against the Tories.’
Rob Bolton, CWU South Central No1 branch delivery rep, said: ‘A general strike is needed, there’s no time to wait.
‘The government is desperate. It’s prepared to sell off Royal Mail at half its value.
‘Under the Blair/Mandelson government there was a plan to privatise Royal Mail.
‘The Tories have picked up their plan and are determined to privatise it.
‘The CWU leadership have gone for a consultative ballot to get members’ ideas about what’s going to be done about the situation.’
Despite their hesitation, Bolton added: ‘We see our strike as inevitable as part of a general strike to bring down this government.
‘We can’t rely on the forlorn hope of a Labour government. The only way is to fight for a workers government and socialism.
‘The WRP is the only party that is going to lead that struggle to victory.’
Sacked Gate Gourmet worker Parmjit Bains said: ‘In 2005, 800 of us were sacked at Gate Gourmet.
‘The union leaders let us down but we are still fighting for justice. We have our case against the union in the High Court.
‘The working class needs to fight for our rights and our jobs.’
Labour MP John McDonnell said: ‘It’s an honour to stand beside the Gate Gourmet workers. Trade union leaders need to fight for their members.’
He declared: ‘I want this government down now.
‘On Friday night a group of cleaners occupied the Barbican saying “we want a minimum wage”.
‘It’s kicking off all over the place. In Sussex there was an occupation by students in solidarity with workers facing the sack. Disabled people are taking direct action. In Ealing thousands marched for their local hospital, in Lewisham 20,000 marched.
‘It just takes a spark that will galvanise a movement to bring this government down.
‘It needs leadership but you won’t get that from the Labour Party.
‘In the coming period, it’s combining industrial action with community action. Coordinated action is a general strike but it needs mobilising the communities as well.’
WRP general secretary Frank Sweeney said: ‘We send greetings to the working peoples of the world who are in big class battles and the oppressed countries fighting imperialism.
‘The people of Syria have stood up against attempts to overthrow a secular government and replace it with a government like that in Libya.
‘The imperialists are after oil and gas. The WMDs claims are a lie. They tried to destroy Iraq but they were defeated.
‘Imperialism is going to be defeated. As well as waging war on countries like Syria, they are having to wage war on the working class in the imperialist countries.
‘The working class is not accepting austerity.
‘The capitalist state in Britain is trying to drive the working class back to conditions worse than the 19th century.
‘In Bangladesh, employers forced workers back into the building that collapsed by threatening to stop their wages for a month. It’s heaven for employers and hell for workers.
‘There is a link with Britain. High Street brands like Tesco, Primark and Wall Mart are profiteering from butchery in Bangladesh.
‘In Britain, there is a concerted campaign to get rid of all health and safety conditions. Cameron is trying to drive British workers back to conditions like in Bangladesh.
‘The Welfare State was achieved because of the threat of revolution.
‘The capitalist class is trying to turn the clock back – this isn’t going to be settled peacefully.
‘The Tories want to close 60 hospitals; Stafford is being used as a model of how the NHS should be run.
‘We call for an indefinite general strike to bring this government down and go forward to a workers government.
‘Labour is seeking a coalition with the LibDems. But the trade union leaders are being forced to express the anger their members are feeling about the cuts.
‘Britain has reached the point of transformation.
‘The trade union leaders will always betray, we need to build the revolutionary leadership of the WRP. We have a proud record, the spotless banner of Trotskyism.
‘The message of this May Day is capitalism is bankrupt, we have to put an end to it.’
Anthony Timmons of ‘Wise up for Bradley Manning’ told News Line at the end of the meeting: ‘He’s a young Welsh person who’s been banged up for three years. He’s also an American citizen.
‘We call Bradley the “releaser” for exposing US war crimes through WikiLeaks.
‘We’re very proud of him. He was only 20 when he was banged up. Bradley Manning is a very brave person who should be given a medal of honour.
‘His trial comes up on June 1st. We want all eyes to be upon him then.’
