Excerpts from a report in 'In Defence of Marxism' written by Alan Woods and Rob Sewell Thursday, 30 June 2011
Thousands of trade unionists hit the streets of London and other cities all over Britain today in a national strike called by the Public and Civil Service Union (PCS), the National Union of Teachers (NUT), University and College Union (UCU) and the Association of Teachers and Lecturers (ATL) to protest the government’s plan to vandalise pension schemes. This was an important turning-point for the British labour movement.
One of these unions, the ATL, voted for its first national strike in 127 years. This fact alone serves to underline the depth of anger that the LibDem-Tory Coalition has provoked by its constant attacks on living standards. ATL president Andy Brown has pointed out that the date set for the strike was picked to “avoid external exams and important school and college events so that any strike causes as little disruption as possible to children's education... We do not want to strike, but unless we take a stand now the government will irreparably damage education in this country and children will lose out.”
London demo (June 30, 2011)NUT leader Christine Blower said that “teachers do not take strike action lightly” but accused the government of trying to “ride roughshod over them” in changes to their pensions. That is correct. This government is trying to ride roughshod over workers’ rights and living standards. The workers are only trying to defend themselves against these savage attacks. The teachers and civil servants are campaigning against changes to their pensions which will mean working longer, paying more and getting less when they retire.
Following the very restrictive rules laid down by Britain’s notorious anti-strike laws, all these unions held ballots, which received strong backing for strike action. Anyone who has spoken to civil servants, teachers or university lecturers lately will know that there is no mistaking the deep feelings of anger and resentment felt by people who would normally never consider going on strike and demonstrating.
One of the most disgusting aspects of the government’s campaign of vilification of the public sector workers is the attempt to split them from the workers in the private sector. The civil servants in particular are portrayed as “privileged”, when in reality most are on very low wages. At a crowded meeting on the eve of the strike, one civil servant stood up and protested: “My shoes are full of holes and my dilemma is: do I buy a new pair of shoes or buy food for my children?” These are the “privileged” workers whose pension Cameron, the Old Etonian posh boy, wishes to take away.
The following letter was sent to
The Guardian (we do not know if it was published):
“I am a civil servant striking today. I don't want to be on strike, the loss of pay next month is going to hit me very hard, and I don't particularly want to cause other people inconvenience. But I feel it’s necessary to show the government that civil servants are fed up of being deprived of decent pay rises and treated like scapegoats by government and media alike. We accepted a two year pay freeze to help the country out, whilst private sector got an average of a 3% pay rise. We have had our compensation scheme virtually destroyed, are losing jobs all over the place and now are expected to pay 3% extra for a pension, which was the only thing we had that made rubbish pay worthwhile. If this change comes in I will lose the equivalent of one day’s pay a month. Can anyone afford to take that kind of pay cut?
“What's more, that money will not go into the pension but will go to pay for a crisis created by greedy people in the private sector who are walking away from this laughing.
“I believe everyone should have a good pension, no one should need to rely on benefits when they get old, and I don't accept that just because private sector employers are allowed to line their own pockets at the expense of their workers that it somehow puts me in the wrong for not being willing to accept the same thing. This government has no intention of negotiating in a meaningful way over pensions; it has already stated when these changes are coming in! Finally I pay tax, so I fund my pension that way, something that always seems to be ‘overlooked’ when ministers talk about being fair to tax payers.”
For the full report visit:
http://www.marxist.com/june-30-national-strike-turning-point-for-britain.htm
