Union elections, industrial action and the general strike

It seems it's "that time of year again" as my informants tell me that an lone, unidentified "comrade" was handing out leaflets for the PCS union elections in Balham this morning on behalf of one of these "front" organisations so beloved of the far-left. This particular one is laughingly known as the Democratic Alliance and is in effect run by the Socialist Party and their allies.

Elections are now starting in two of the countries major unions, PCS the largest civil service union and Unison, the UK's biggest union. In both organisations the far-left are undertaking efforts to either retain control, as in PCS or trying to control as in Unison, which thus far has kept the "comrades" out. 

All this comes at a time when the big project for the Socialist Party (and the SWP if anyone still listens to them)is to push for a "24 hour general strike".

This weeks edition of the (somewhat dull) newspaper The Socialist contains a rather lengthy article by Rob Williams making the call to get the TUC to "name the day".  Additionally members of the TUC General Council will have to face a phalanx of screaming trotskyists as they attend their meeting next week.

The author ties in the recent death of Margaret Thatcher to preface his clarion call on behalf of the Socialist Party and the "National Shop Stewards Movement" (another front organisation run by guess who) to argue for the "general strike" as a "key to fighting austerity". We are reminded of the POA motion to TUC Conference for such a strike (despite most trade unionists trying to forget such nonsense), claiming (absurdly) that it could "mobilise the 6 million strong trade unions". How exiting comrade, except it won't.

The only union currently involved in any action is the PCS and indeed who are currently supposed to be in the middle of a "week of action" in the Home Office, except nobody has noticed. Why? Because the death of Thatcher has totally dominated the news, up to and including the funeral today. Did none of the PCS leaders consider a delay? Probably not since they buggered up the last time, so went ahead regardless it would seem.

The real reason for the strikes continuance is of course the elections and the Democracy Alliance proudly proclaims that it is the competent strike organising force that wins victories in its' literature. Except they don't. Its all total waffle. 

PCS in particular has never been weaker and more isolated after a decade of control by the false messiah Mark Serwotka.

In a few weeks time, facilities for trade unionists will all but disappear in the civil service thanks to Serwotka and the Socialist Party handing the Tories an excuse on a plate with their threatened strike (on a strike vote supported by just 11% of the members in UKBA) the day before the Olympics began. The fury of other unions still rings after that balls-up.

It doesn't stop the comrades hi-jacking the PCS, RMT and Unite for their cause. They want a political strike at all costs, even though it's against the law (as it stands). Bob Crows union even hired a couple of lawyers to write their case. 

Williams argues that "the anti-trade union laws present a certain obstacle" and admits "they have done so in other European countries". Trying to use Greece, a country falling apart in part of it's own making, he says the ability of Government and employers to use these laws is not a given.

Without even considering what our Government would do, the Socialist Party argue that if the TUC call the strike and anyone is victimised, another general strike could push such laws aside. Wishful thinking I would say. Thousands of workers, particularly in the civil service could lose their jobs if it goes "pear-shaped" and he quietly forgets (as the comrades always do), that the unions lost the last general strike in this country which is the actual reason we've never had the like again.

Fortunately the majority of unions will not go down this road and more to the point neither will the members. For all their bluster the Socialist Party is unable to admit, even to itself that it cannot even get half the members out in the current PCS dispute, let alone mobilise the "6 Million". 

The only reason for this campaign and the dispute in the PCS is so that the Socialist Party can advance its' own narrow interests, even more so at a time when with the demise of the SWP their is a clear gap on the left for another group to assert its hegemony.

This campaign is a distraction from what is really needed, which is planning the revival of the unions over the long term, by reforging links not just with the Labour Party (which the Socialist Party do their best to undermine), but their members real interests and facing up to the reality on the ground. 

There is no groundswell (in this country) for any kind of revolt and despite the ill thought out formulations the trotskyists of the SP & SWP or fools like Zita Holbourne (PCS NEC) who called the riots "an uprising" rather than for what they really were, which was sheer criminal opportunism for looting.

The problem remains that these people make much noise and alienate large numbers of union members so that turnouts at election time is frankly abysmal (around 10% in PCS) which allows them to retain influence well beyond their means. 

Unison members would be wise to avoid the Socialist Party and their acolytes. Getting rid is far from easy when they get entrenched as they are in PCS.

 The time  has come for a reshaping of the unions with new thinking for the 21st Century. 

If you are in PCS there is an alternative to the current incumbents.

Vote for the 4themembers candidates. 

Go to: http://www.4themembers.org.uk/  for more information.

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UPCOMING at Howie's Corner:

Starting on Sunday, full coverage of the PCS elections on this blog with a number of guest posts from activists in PCS.

Act Now! Locked out port workers in Vancouver, Washington need our support!

A Labourstart Campaign

Workers at the Port of Vancouver, Washington, USA have been locked out by their employer, Japanese conglomerate Mitsui-United Grain, since February 27, 2013.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) believes the lockout is an anti-union attack and an attempt to avoid negotiating with workers in good faith over their collective bargaining agreement.

The workers' latest agreement expired in September 2012 leaving them without a contract and open to abuse by their employer which has now taken extreme and aggressive action.

We've been asked by the ITF to help flood the employer with messages demanding that they end the lockout.

Please take 60 seconds of your time to show your solidarity with the workers:

Go to: http://www.labourstartcampaigns.net/show_campaign.cgi?c=1795&src=lsmm

Update: http://www.ilwu.org/?p=4550

North Korea: a nightmare state

I'm somewhat late with my blog tonight as I wanted to watch the Panorama programme on North Korea that there has been so much fuss over the past couple of days. The country has after all been in the news almost constantly the past few days with the posturing of the North Korean Government over a possible war. A nuclear war.

What I saw was astonishing, if not unexpected. Hospitals without patients, farms without crops, animals or even tractors as far as anyone could see. One thing the country did have in abundance was soldiers with one commentator pointing out the military/civilian ratio was higher than pre-war Nazi Germany or Fascist Italy.

The latter comparisons seemed striking as we are told that North Koreans are taught they are "racially superior" (I understand that relationships with foreigners is strictly "verboten" as is so much else that we all take for granted) and that Kim-Il Sung, the regimes founder was a "fan of Hitler". That's not something I had heard before but anythings possible with these crazy people.

The description of the regime was not "communist", but "far-right nationalist". Food for thought methinks but kind of fitting since the end products of both extremes are fairly similar. Dictatorship, censorship, brain washing and oppression.

The fact that the leader of North Korea remains the long dead Kim Il-sung whose "101st" birthday was celebrated by the regime today is somewhat "unique" to say the least. The neo-religious nature of the regime is clear to see.

The disappearance of the portraits of Marx & Engles, the founding fathers of Marxism-Leninism on which this regimes ideology is supposedly based provided food for thought. Perhaps they were simply being cleaned? Who knows.

The reality is that the dominant ideology of the so-called Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea is known as "Juche" a form of nationalist self reliance as far as I can make out. Its' difficult to read the stuff they produce without losing the will to live, though some do.

There remain Marxists absolutely smitten with North Korea. The New Communist Party of Britain, The Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain and strangely or not Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party, strange bed fellows indeed. They have an occasional bash together in the Friends of Korea, recently celebrating the birthday of Kim Il Sung. (Find them here: http://friendsofkorea.blogspot.co.uk/).

Sometimes ideology blinds and in some cases completely.

There is no easy answer to how we end the suffering of the people who have to live under this regime, but in the short term we as a society must remain vigilant to the threats around us not just from the far left, but also the far right and the religious fundamentalists.

Democracy is not negotiable!

Further reading: http://www.ericlee.info/blog/?p=727

An open letter to PCS members

Hi All,

The union is currently in the middle of at best an ill-advised campaign of industrial action which despite the good intentions of the members who have taken part is clearly failing and at worst descending into farce.

In the Home Office in particular, members and reps have been pushed into a corner by the incompetence of the Group failing to deliver the notice of action on time, which has now been compounded by the General Secretary, Mark Serwotka announcing action on TV without consultation forcing reps into a corner. In the HMRC, ill thought out changes wasted members money with an ill-timed walkout not co-ordinated with other members. In the Metropolitan Police (Civilian Services) there has been no action.

Further reports of turnouts have been exaggerated whilst areas of low support, such as the Coastguards where just 4 out of 1,200 members struck have been pointedly ignored. The majority of members have not taken action and more to the point confidence amongst those who did is now in sharp decline.

Last week I circulated a message asking if it was time to end this dispute. One National Executive Committee member, Ian Albert replied with a simple "No!" without any explanation. Given he is one of a couple or so of NEC members that could be considered to have any common sense I find this disappointing.

This dispute was never about us. Despite the issues allegedly been fought over, the real reason for this dispute has always been political. The Socialist Party and their allies remain hell bent on using this union to provoke a "general strike" and with the policy of "standing and supporting candidates in parliamentary elections" more of a political party.

Last week election literature began to arrive on PCS reps desks which, besides giving the "impression" it was official PCS literature through deliberate design, also extolled the virtues of the current union leadership and how much they have achieved on out behalf.

The truth is the "Democracy Alliance" as they like to call themselves have achieved precisely the opposite. Nothing! PCS has gone from being a trade union to being a fringe organisation run by and for the interests of outside forces. The Socialist Party & the SWP.

PCS is not only isolated from the wider trade union movement, it has also ceased being taken seriously by management and more to the point a large swathe of members who whilst still recognising the need for a union have withdrawn from the current action along with general participation in the unions affairs.

This situation cannot be allowed to continue. The need for a strong, representative and rationally led union has never been greater.

Serwotka and his chums have failed.

The time has come not only for the election of trade unionists rather than political activists. People who put your real needs before the political causes of the current lot. Change won't come easy. It will take time, it will take commitment and hopefully some new thinking and greater participation from members and reps who normally keep in the background.

No one has easy answers, but the time has come to learn that "fighting the good fight" cannot be the basis of any rational membership orientated union. Sometimes one has to take a step back.

Serwotka, the Democratic Alliance including Mr Albert will continue to send you over the trenches regardless of the lack of prospect for any victory.

The far left continue to fail, and will always do so.

There is an alternative. There are those of us who seek change who will ask the right questions and gear the union back towards the interests of the very members that the union was set up to represent.

We are called 4themembers and we will do exactly what our name suggests.

Please take a few minutes to visit our website: http://www.4themembers.org.uk/

Shalom,

Howard Fuller

(Please note: This message was also sent by e-mail to members in PCS)

Comrades, crises and cults

An interesting article has appeared on the website of the breakaway International Socialist Network by science fiction writer and former Socialist Workers Party member China Mievelle on "Cult like thinking". He begins:

It's disarming to a socialist when a rote canard of the right, that the far Left - let alone the group to which that socialist until recently belonged - is 'like a cult', is persuasive.

That accusation has been regularly levelled against the SWP during its ongoing crisis. It's easy to see why: the CC's and loyalists' panicked and bullying responses to perceived heresy; the faith in an infallible leadership (in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary); the argument by citation of holy (Cliffite) writ; the almost unbelievable refusal, even now, to admit to any mistakes; the growing sectarianism. But underlying all this, and perhaps the most damning and extraordinary component of such mentality, is a fervent idealism.

The thing is the accusation that the SWP (and others like it on the far-left) is a cult is nothing new. Neither are many of the criticisms that recent former members now find themselves considering. China continues a little later that:

Given the CC's lies about a perfidious 'witchhunt', and/or 'hostility to Leninism', it's worth recalling that this catastrophe unfolded when a large section of the SWP was aghast at the initial cover-up of, and subsequent shameful, sexist and indefensible 'investigation' into, allegations of rape and sexual harassment within the party.(1) A scandal in its own right, this episode also illustrated a deep cultural rot,(2) that shocked even those of us in the party who had long argued that there was a democratic and accountability deficit in the organisation. Things were, simply, much worse than we had thought.

But the truly extraordinary shift was from what one might decry as 'everyday' Machiavellianism - reprehensible but hardly unusual behaviour like packing meetings, lying about membership numbers and so on - to this cult-like idealism.

What's new other than the handling of a specific serious allegation against "comrade delta"? The deep cultural rot that he refers to has been the subject of (at times) quite vociferous debate outside the SWP, principally by its' direct competitors, but also elsewhere by those who disagree with the type of politics that the SWP represents.

There has been a long standing joke on the left that the largest organisation to the left is "the ex-members of the SWP". There are literally thousands of activists who have gone through the SWP in what even one of their own was forced to describe as a "revolving door" recruitment strategy. In one of their Internal Bulletins one "comrade" finally asked the question about "why is it that most ex-members end up hating us so much".

Its' not as if no one noticed the huge turnover of members that the organisation has had in the decades it has been in existence. The authoritarian nature of the internal regime has been visible to those people outside the organisation, so why have people like China Mieville and Richard Seymour been so oblivious to what has been going on under their noses for so long?

China continues in this vein when looking at the nature of the SWP leadership and the politics thereof:

Normally one might associate such arrant Marxist determinism with the most mechanical materialism: here, however, it is inextricable from that idealism of a pure-souled priesthood. This Overcoming Of Division is an eschatology, a Rapture.

The crude materialism in fact serves and justifies the moralist idealism. There are two tiers: a few have the magic of Political Morality to efface reactionary detritus in their souls; and by their intercession, the cunning of history will do the job for the rest. There is, therefore, no need to detain oneself too long on these awkward theoretical issues of psychology.

Not good enough. Despite such philosophical predations Mieville never once considers whether it is in fact the very basis of Marxism-Leninism that is in fact at fault. The SWP, like all organisations of its' type runs on the basis of "democratic centralism", which supposedly allows for free internal debate but unity in action. Except it doesn't, nor does it even reflect the way the Bolsheviks organised within their own organisation before the revolution.

Lenin could not even get his way to expel a couple of opponents who publicly spoke out just before the Bolshevik coup. And he did try, his own authoritarianism was quite visible on any cursory reading of his writings and actions. The "democratic centralism" that most trotskyist groups follow is the product of the Stalinist foundations of the Soviet state and their desire to retain power. The next step was always going to be the gulags no matter what the comrades tell us.

The corollary has always been that differences of opinion within the Marxist-Leninists has at best led to continual splits every time their is a disagreement or at worst mass executions or cultural revolutions of the Stalin & Mao eras. It still goes on in North Korea today under the "Great Larder".

A more recent observation of the SWP is that they are the "scientologists" of the far-left. Here we return to the question of whether the far left are cults. The "blind obedience" and loyalty shown to the Professor by his supporters is quite disturbing. This isn't the first time we have seen this even in the myopic world of the British far-left. The Workers Revolutionary Party is the most prime example of the degeneration of idealism.

I will never understand the need of people to totally subjugate their individuality to an organisation. In my view that is the antithesis of being human. We are all individuals, with very human needs and concerns. That does not negate the need for social responsibility, but in my view reformism will always trump extremes of ideology on the left because it is more likely to see and treat people as individuals rather than some kind of amorphous mass as the neo-religious practitioners of Marxism do.

Even after all that has gone on in recent months, large parts of the far-left have not learned the lessons (of basic humanity and humility) as we now discover a new atrocity, this time in the Socialist Party.

Go to: http://shortarguments.wordpress.com/2013/04/11/sara-mayos-resignation-from-the-socialist-party-her-letter-to-hannah-sell/

Despite all Sarah Mayo writes she still has some faith in the organisational and ideological model that the SP/CWI represents as she opts to think about moving abroad and joining another section of their "International".

I have many many friends and supporters in the SP and they too will be speaking out and are discussing it in their branches. We will battle for women’s safety in this party until this is achieved.

It remains to be seen whether there is an eruption within the Socialist Party on the scale that the SWP faced as this group has always been quite secretive about it's internal affairs.

The time has come for those who seek a better world to rethink their "commitments and prejudices" and move away from the tired old ideas of Marx, Lenin and the rest. The socialism that these ideologues sought to create has not only ended in abject failure but led to some of the worst regimes in history.

The cults of the far left are in the way and must be consigned to the dustbin of history.

If we are to create a better world than the rights of the individual must be at the centre of new thinking. Anything else will lead to more failures, more suffering.

PCS: Home Office dispute in shambles

Guest Post by Jennifer Okundaye

(Editors Note: This message was issued to reps in the Home Office following a failed attempt at holding an all-inclusive te-kit conference yesterday. The author is a leading activist in the Civil Service union PCS)

If there was ever a definition for a farce this dispute most surely ranks highly on the list. 

Firstly we mess members about through utter incompetency at the inability to serve notice to the employer appropriately and in time, expect members to fully align with a half baked strategy that removes the most significant part of the Home Office Group (Border Force), compete for headlines in a week where the whole focus is on the death of Margaret Thatcher.  Then stage manage an officers meeting that was at best dictatorial, and then we can’t even successfully organise a tele-conference call of reps that are meant to promote, organise and actively lead the action.

It is clear that there is a total disregard for members and activists unless you are prepared to be a puppet. This is not the way to run an industrial dispute. I dare say that rather than management in the Home Office being the laughing stock, all I can see is members incensed at the lack of credibility from the PCS executives.

It is now openly acknowledged in management circles that PCS are incapable of reacting decisively and rationally to any credible challenge posed. We should have called management’s bluff and stuck to the 5^th of April when everyone else was out, or at best, organised better for the 8^th and ensure we delivered the notice in time rather than “blame the courier”. 

Now we are faced with the prospect of having members cross picket lines when other members are on strike. What a debacle, thinly disguised as "innovative" and "what members have been crying out for".

Has the time come to end the PCS dispute?

Following the recent one and a half days strikes in the civil service my PCS Branch Executive Committee met and discussed the general situation. Turnout had been low and enthusiasm virtually non-existent. There was a general feeling that this dispute was going nowhere and it was certainly clear that even the reps themselves were taking part only out of "loyalty" to the union as a concept rather than any misplaced belief in the current leadership around Mark Serwotka.

The one obvious question asked was were was this dispute going and of immediate concern what else was being proposed. As a Branch Secretary I had received no notification of any further dates and there was (and still is) nothing on the unions website to elucidate anyone further.

Given yesterdays report of the uproar caused by Mark Serwotka's seemingly "off the cuff" announcement on Sky TV of a "week of rolling strikes" without consultation you would think that the "comrades" would have learnt at the very least to tell local PCS reps of their plans.

No such luck.

Last night the latest issue of The Socialist (paper of the Socialist Party) published an article by John McInally (a PCS Vice President and leading SP hack) in which he outlined what DWP members would be expected to do next:

As well as the action in the Home Office there will be a series of group actions. It is possible there will be action as part of a 'Welfare Week' at the end of April around the question of the now dysfunctional Universal Credit system.

I am fed up of finding out from sources other than my own union what plans are being made on members behalf of the charlatans in organisations like  the Socialist Party before we are officially told. 

My other concern is that the leadership seem to be swallowing their own propaganda about the level of participation in the dispute. Despite all the claims made by McInally, the turnout was well under half the membership, with some figures now circulating that it could be as few as around 50,000 or about one in five of the membership. Certainly the half-day strike saw fewer members take part.

The comrades resort to publishing fine words from their own supporters in their papers, but substituting  

reality for wishful thinking is not a way to build a dispute, let alone keeping the union going in what is proving to be a very difficult time.

The one thing all the members of my Branch Executive agree on is that we need a union, but we need one that is more politically and tactically adept in the current political climate. There is a view, also held by swathes of members in our branch and beyond that this particular dispute is not for us, but for the direct political interests of the Socialist Party and their allies.

McInally's article in The Socialist simply confirms our worst fears.

The reason for this is the continued dream amongst the hallowed ranks of the comrades for a "General Strike". The Socialist writes:

Mark Serwotka told Sky News: "We are definitely having a discussion about generalised strike action.

"More imminently than that we are having the beginnings of a much more detailed discussion between unions who have real industrial issues in front of them now about co-ordinating their efforts."

The National Shop Stewards Network (a Socialist Party front organisation-ed) has called on trade unionists to lobby the general council meeting, to demand that the TUC name the date for a 24-hour general strike.

and there's more:

PCS members have just concluded the second strike of their national action programme, with HMRC workers ending their half-day strike and walking into work when Thatcher's death was announced! They can't be left to fight alone.

The TUC must name the day for a 24-hour general strike.

The conditions for  such a strike do not exist. Further there is the obvious question what next? Should the TUC call a one day revolution? A laughable strategy all round.

With PCS in continuing disarray (today's emergency telekit in the Home Office resulted in a three word response from my informant - "A total shambles!") and support dropping as further action is proposed the time has come for the union to seriously consider whether this dispute should actually continue.

There are three elements to the dispute - Pensions (which frankly is now a dead issue), Conditions of Service (which will affect newcomers rather than existing members) and Pay. The Government is not going to break its' pay freeze and all members are doing are throwing good money after bad. 

Overall the dispute has been badly thought out, executed and delivered. Time to end it not escalate it!

Time for reps to re-group, rethink and get rid of the Socialist Party and their allies in the misnamed Democracy Alliance.