Socialist Workers Party Attacks Trade Unions

Trade unions exist for one reason; to protect their members at work. When they were first formed the unions tended to be representing very skilled groups of workers and were hostile to Marxist and Socialist movements. That partially changed at the beginning of the twentieth century and the unions became a primary force for the creation of the Labour Representation Committee and this transformed into the Labour Party responsible for the setting up of the Labour Party.

The central ethos of the unions has always (despite the political views of some of it's leaders like Scargill and McClusky) to protect its members Jobs, conditions of employment and wages. It's the reason the vast majority of union members pay their dues. The union has a responsibility to look after the individual interests of members in personal case work. For the member the union is an insurance policy.




Marxists see trade unions as a "conservative force" within the Labour movement precisely because at the end of the day the union leaders have to be pragmatic about policy. This attracts the ire of the Marxist left. Socialist Worker tells us:

...there has often been an antagonistic relationship between union leaders and Labour politicians—especially when workers’ struggle has challenged the bosses or threatened to cost Labour right wing votes.

But politicians and union leaders share an interest in limiting the demands of Labour’s ordinary members, who look to the party to bring real change. So for much of Labour’s history union leaders have acted with the Parliamentary Labour Party against the left.

and continues:

Under Corbyn, union leaders are back in the fold. But they won’t let Corbyn commit Labour to scrapping nuclear weapons because they think defending the arms industry means protecting their members’ jobs.

The GMB union supports fracking for the same reason.

And they don’t want Britain to leave the EU because they believe that what’s bad for the bosses is also bad for their members.

There are limits to what union leaders will accept from the left. And, over some of the most crucial questions, they’ll come down on the side of the right.

With the Labour Conference about to start and sides lining up for what promises to be at least an interesting affair the SWP says out:

This year’s Labour Party conference could mark the moment that trade union leaders reveal themselves as Jeremy Corbyn’s most unreliable allies.

Their actions could play a decisive role in events that dictate the fate of his leadership.

Corbyn has relied on the support of trade union leaders—particularly Len McCluskey, general secretary of Labour’s biggest donor, Unite.

This has always been a shaky alliance.

McCluskey likes to pose as a supporter of Labour’s leadership. But last year—before Labour’s success in the general election—he hinted that Corbyn had just 15 months before he would force him out.

GMB union leader Tim Roache “proudly” campaigned against Corbyn in 2016. And Unison leader Dave Prentis has repeatedly attacked Corbyn and the left.

Socialist Worker berates the union leaders for accepting the IHRA statement and continuing to support both Trident and the defence industry because of the threat to jobs. In other words at the end of the day the far left do not care about workers jobs.

The same attitude is taken to the CLP motions calling for a second vote. The SWP along with the Socialist Party (Militant), the Communist Party and other sections of the Marxist left are anti-Europe despite the possible effects on the withdrawal of  EU legislation that protects workers rights and the dangers of higher unemployment combined with higher prices that working people may or probably will face post-Brexit.

The suffering of ordinary people has never figured high in the comrades ideology. The cause is central, the end justifies the means. This led to the creation of several murderous regimes in the name of "socialism". The Soviet Union, China, Cambodia and many more saw the deaths of more people than Hitler managed.

The SWP illustrate how the far-left actually do not care about workers and only see them as a tool for their authoritarian beliefs.