So& Wloirkdersa’ Lirbeirtty y No 247 23 May 2012 30p/80p www.workersliberty.org For a workers’ government

Quebec government Rebekah Brooks Capitalism: tries to ban protest is angry can it last? page 3 page 4 page 9 Solidarity against bankers’ cuts blackmail

See page Help the 5 Greek le ft!

6 May: Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras celebrates with supporters on gaining 17% in the elections; 21 May: Tsipras visits Paris seeking solidarity for Syriza’s stance against austerity NEWS

What is the Alliance for Workers’ Liberty? Soaring cost of childcare Today one class, the working class, lives by selling its labour power to another, the capitalist class, By Esther Townsend Under current rules evitably reduce the quality but whether they can use it which owns the means of production. Society there has to be one carer of childcare and the at all. In the last two years, is shaped by the capitalists’ relentless drive to No wonder it is expen - for three children aged five amount of engagement 24% of mothers have left increase their wealth. Capitalism causes sive to bring up children. or younger. Truss wants a and interaction children re - work, and 16% have re - In January 2012, child - poverty, unemployment, the blighting of lives by ratio of 1:5. She argues that ceive. duced their hours, because care costs were a whop - the current ratio limits the The Department for Ed - overwork, imperialism, the destruction of the childcare costs are too ex - ping £63,099 of a total income of childcarers (an ucation says it is investing environment and much else. pensive. Against the accumulated wealth and power of the cost of raising a child average £11,000 a year), in free early years educa - More than a third of UK capitalists, the working class has one weapon: solidarity. until their 21st birthday lowering quality and tion, and the government parents rely on “informal” The Alliance for Workers’ Liberty aims to build solidarity of £218,000. pushing up prices. guarantees 15 hours per Chief executive of the week free child - childcare arrangements: through struggle so that the working class can overthrow A recent report by Con - capitalism. We want socialist revolution: collective ownership Daycare Trust Anand care/education. But the grandparents and other servative MP Elizabeth Shulka argued that chang - choice of childcare and relatives — arrangements of industry and services, workers’ control and a democracy Truss shone a spotlight on much fuller than the present system, with elected ing the ratio would force overall support for bring - which break down when this; the report said UK nurseries to increase child - ing up children has been representatives recallable at any time and an end to family circumstances has the second highest carer salaries, but, since undermined by cuts to ma - bureaucrats’ and managers’ privileges. change (e.g., when grand - costs of childcare in Eu - that cost would be passed ternity grants and child We fight for the labour movement to break with “social parents get ill). rope: 26.6% of average on to parents, it would not benefits and closures of Social isolation and partnership” and assert working-class interests militantly family incomes, or 40.9% help parents. In reality, Sure Start centres and loss of independence are against the bosses. of the average UK wage. salaries probably won’t in - after-school clubs (hit by the consequence of Our priority is to work in the workplaces and trade unions, Truss sees a solution in crease but the profits of local authority spending women of all generations supporting workers’ struggles, producing workplace bulletins, simplified regulation — private childcare compa - cuts). bearing the burden of helping organise rank-and-file groups. freeing up workers to care nies will. Increasingly, parents childcare cuts and spi - We are also active among students and in many campaigns for more children at the More worrying, the won’t be worrying about raling costs. and alliances. same time. changed ratio would in - the quality of childcare, We stand for: G Independent working-class representation in politics. G A workers’ government, based on and accountable to the Single parents struggle to find work labour movement. G A workers’ charter of trade union rights — to organise, to strike, to picket effectively, and to take solidarity action. By Cathy Nugent parents but particularly so for them alone is a disaster expanded over recent G Taxation of the rich to fund decent public services, homes, for single parents — the if, in the absence of a years, none of these jobs, education and jobs for all. In 2008 New Labour vast majority of whom are strong trade union on your meet the real needs of any G A workers’ movement that fights all forms of oppression. began to take away un - women — and even more side, you also have no workers. Nonetheless, Full equality for women and social provision to free women employed single parents’ so for parents of children partner or family to back under pressure to find from the burden of housework. Free abortion on request. Full entitlement to Income as young as five or six as you up. work, single parents take Support (IS) when their equality for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. children of that age are not GFrom the interviews: up these jobs. Increasing youngest child reached a at all independent. Black and white workers’ unity against racism. “When I worked 20 competition for these jobs, certain age — and the But “flexible work” is hours and my son was in G Open borders. and when many more peo - “qualifying age” was synonymous with poor hospital, I asked to go in G Global solidarity against global capital — workers ple are taking up part-time gradually reduced. pay, possibly inadequate different days to work my everywhere have more in common with each other than with work (even when they their capitalist or Stalinist rulers. hours (fewer than 16 hours hours and they said no.” These parents were G want full-time work), is Democracy at every level of society, from the smallest a week) and insecurity. “According to the job G switched to Job Seekers Al - making it much tougher workplace or community to global social organisation. Not surprisingly, a high centre there is a breakfast lowance and told to find proportion (22%) of single for single parents. G Working-class solidarity in international politics: equal club at a local school but work. In 2013 the introduction rights for all nations, against imperialists and predators big parents who do manage to there isn’t, because my The Tories completed get work (not a given in of Universal Credit will re - and small. children can’t walk the the erosion of any “special the current economic cli - move the threshold of 16 G Maximum left unity in action, and openness in debate. mile and a half unsuper - status” for single parents mate) leave within a very vised between two schools hours for when single par - G If you agree with us, please take some copies of Solidarity with the Welfare Reform short space of time. if I am at work. I haven’t ents can claim in-work to sell — and join us! Act — IS entitlement now The proportion of got a Tardis, I’d love one benefits. DWP research stops when the youngest 020 7394 8923 [email protected] “churn” is very high for but I don’t.” shows that single parents children are 5 or 6. G single parents for many “I’ve looked into local will then go for “mini 20e Tower Workshops, Riley Road, A recent report by Gin - reasons: it is more difficult child minders and cost - jobs” (of less than 16 gerbread, interviewing to make childcare arrange - London, SE1 3DG. ings, but there is nobody hours). But these jobs (in many single parents, high - ments work if you are on local. There is a nursery- so far as they exist) are lights the huge difficulties your own; it is more diffi - cum-after school club but even more short-term, and these changes have cult to cope with the it is so expensive. And low paid. GET SOLIDARITY brought into the lives of “squeeze” of work and there’s no bus link.” The future for many single parents. being a parent; and em - The benefit system does single parents is one of “Flexible working” is an ployers’ belief that “flexi - still allow for “flexibilities” massive insecurity: EVERY WEEK! absolute must for most ble working” is “flexible” for single parents, e.g., working for little scraps they can restrict their job of money, being on and Special offers search to certain jobs. But off benefits, rushing from benefit advisers often G Trial sub, 6 issues £5 Commissioning: GPs must one job to another, and  withhold that information. trying to hold it all to - G 22 issues (six months). £18 waged £9 unwaged While unskilled, low gether against the odds.   consider “public” option paid, part-time jobs have G 44 issues (year). £35 waged £17 unwaged   Stroud Against the Cuts GPs Clinical Commission - (SATC), through their G European rate: 28 euros (22 issues)  or 50 euros (44 issues)  ing Group, created by the “Keep Gloucestershire’s Health and Social Care Health Alarm NHS Public” campaign, 11:59 Tick as appropriate above and send your money to: Act to take over the role of have scored a victory Mobilise to save the NHS choosing which organisa - 20e Tower Workshops, Riley Road, London, SE1 3DG against NHS privatisa - tions provide local health - tion. Cheques (£) to “AWL”. care services from the Or make £ and euro payments at workersliberty.org/sub. Responding to protests PCSTAiTnC20c1a3ll.ed for a PROTEST AGAINST and legal action, the De - “genuine” consideration partment of Health has of NHS options to run Name ...... told NHS Gloucestershire the county’s nine com - it can give a non-tendered munity hospitals and CARE UK Address ...... contract to a local NHS nine health clinics, and body as one of the options will continue their public Private profiteers in the NHS ...... when commissioning the campaign, including county’s primary health among NHS staff, for Wednesday 30 May, 5-6.30pm services. Previously DH ...... this outcome. had ruled out this option. G St Vincent’s House, 21 Great SATC immediately at - More: I enclose £ ...... tended the first public http://keepglosnhspublic Winchester Street, EC2N 2JA meeting of the shadow .posterous.com

2 SOLIDARITY NEWS Iraqi unions resist anti-worker labour law

By Falah Alwan, grant workers now work - trained, or at least that President, Federation ing in Iraq. they received redundancy of Workers’ Councils The unions have held settlements. It looks as if meetings and negotiations the job losses may have and Unions in Iraq with representatives from been postponed till 2013. the Ministry of Labour, There are still problems On 16 May, the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts organised a demonstration in The unions in Iraq are which are ongoing. Unions in many workplaces with solidarity with Quebec students outside the Canadian High Commission. UK student activists continuing our joint cam - will meet together on Sat - foreign investors using for - joined Quebecois students to make noise against police repression of the movement in Quebec. paign against the impo - urday 19 May to discuss eign labour to undercut sition of a new labour our ongoing campaigning domestic labour. At a re - law, and against govern - and plan a conference. finery in Erbil, Iraqi work - mental interference in We want any labour ers have worse pay and union elections. Quebec government code to include legal guar - worse conditions than mi - The labour code the gov - antees of the right to strike grant workers. In Kerbala, ernment is currently pro - and the right to organise. there is a dispute around posing represents only the We want guarantees of workload at a cement fac - interests of the factory healthy and safety, unem - tory operated by the tries to ban protest owners and big business. ployment benefit and re - French company Lafarge. It’s worse than the labour dundancy payments, none Foreign investors like La - laws of the Saddam era. It of which are guaranteed farge have taken over the By Ed Maltby stringent and extraordinary confidence between the guarantees no basic work - by the proposed law. operation of a lot of facto - ries and plants with old restrictions on all protests people and their institu - ers’ workers, and prevents equipment and, despite The student movement in taking place before June freedom of association and JOBS tions . Corruption and the committing to upgrade it, Quebec faces an all-out 2013, and criminalises any - strikes. It also relates only There have been some influence of lobbies and have failed to make im - offensive by the govern - one organising or helping to the private sector, as big struggles in Iraq re - economic interests on gov - provements. However, ment. organise actions which fall public sector workers are cently against job ernments have birthed a po - losses. they still expect workers to outside strict limitations. litical cynicism. ...This law formally considered “pub - For more than 90 days, lic servants” rather than maintain production rates In response the student deepens the nail in the cof - On 17 and 18 April, more than 150,000 students workers. that the machinery isn’t re - movement has mounted fin of Québécois democracy. workers staged sit-in in Quebec have been on an It would institutionalise ally capable of. Workers at more demonstrations: flam - protests and demonstra - all-out indefinite strike “With this law, the gov - a 48-hour week, which is the Lafarge plant in Ker - ing barricades were erected tions at a petrochemical against Quebec government ernment is attacking much the same as the first formal bala want a production plans to cut education fund - in the streets of Montreal on more than student associa - plant in Basra. 5,000 work - rate of 60,000 tonnes per Saturday 18 May. Quebecois labour code in Iraq — ing and raise fees by 75%. tions: it is attacking the pos - ers are employed by the month but the bosses are students, organised in the from 1936, under a monar - Demanding free educa - sibility that each woman company but the plant is demanding much more radical coalition CLASSE, chy! It also discriminates tion funded by taxing the and man should have to operating at less than half than that. Workers have have issued a statement: against women workers by rich, students have freely contest decisions that attempting to codify a tra - its capacity; bosses say this struck to demand pay in - mounted mass demonstra - “To submit oneself to this means they have to lay off creases to match the in - law is to accept it. We are have been made in their dition whereby widowed tions and confronted police women leave the work - 3,116 workers. Hundreds creased workload. witnessing a historic face names by those with politi - violence. The government place and stay at home. of workers held a sit-in, These sort of problems off between the government cal“Wpoewaefrf.irm today that made a weak offer to repre - There’s also discrimination followed by a general as - and disputes can be ex - and youth. This law is a sentatives of the student we refuse to capitulate to against non-Muslim work - sembly of over 1,000 work - pected to continue and in - test. If we submit ourselves protests at the beginning of fear and intimidation. We ers; the right to time off for ers the following day. They crease as the government May — but, following dis - to it, we are acknowledging stay loyal to our princi - Islamic religious holidays demonstrated at the local wants the Ministry of In - cussion in dozens of mass the efficacy of its repres - ples of individual and col - and ceremonies is recog - government building and dustry to become self-fi - meetings around the sion: the government wins. lective freedom.” nised, but this ignores the the authorities promised to naTnhcinsgwoilvlemr ethaennaexgtryeeaat r. province, students voted to If it wins once, it will do it G great number of Nepalese intervene to protect jobs, deal more privatisation reject it. again. Full text: and other East Asian mi - or to ensure that the work - and private investment. Now the government has “This law has come to www.arretezmoiquelquun.c ers were relocated or re - passed Bill 78, which places break the already rattled om All at sea with the Pirate Party of Germany

By Matt Heaney of the neoliberal FDP and conferences are open to all ier for smaller parties to get being abandoned. In East Germany for similar rea - the Left Party, to sink. members and anyone could elected, there is an impor - Germany the “state secu - sons. A new-ish political party I’m not talking about speak — but there were a tant “hacker movement”, rity” Stasi had a large per - Such laws, which are in is changing German poli - some far-left grouping, lot of technical interven - with structures and organi - centage of the population Britain naively referred to tics. Apparently. though some “abuse” them tions, some of them border - sations of its own. voluntarily giving informa - as a “snoopers’ charter”, in - ing on the ridiculous. A secretive bunch in as such. This is the Pirate In Germany in 1984, the tion on friends, acquain - volve the storage of per - For example, a vote was some ways, who often use Party Germany, who, “Chaos Computer Club” tances and workmates. sonal data of basically taken on whether during “party names” in public founded in 2006, recently proved that online banking And the Nazis under everyone, regardless of the card votes to the lead - and while discussing with held their largest-ever party was anything but safe, by Hitler used computers from whether they are suspected other members, yet who at conference. ing committees — there is a breaking in to the Prestel IBM to organise the holo - of criminal activity. They chairperson, but no the same time have “trans - I watched hours of that (basically teletext over the caust. make everyone a suspect. “leader” as such — parency” as the main ele - conference over the inter - telephone, a forerunner of There is, therefore, a cer - The current successes of episodes of “My Little ment in their as yet thin net. It was held in a civic the internet) account of the tain sensitivity to technol - the Pirates in Germany base sports hall somewhere in Pony” should be beamed Hamburg Savings Bank ogy and the rise of the political programme. on two things: a general the western German onto the wall. and transferring themselves observation state. When the Largely male, the mem - mistrust of career politi - provinces. About 1,200 135000 Deutschmarks over government tried to intro - bers use antiquated greet - PONY cians and disinterest in ca - members were present. one evening. This knocked duce laws to block certain ings and — for outsiders — “Ponytime” is a popular For an organisation back people’s trust in state internet sites — a legal cen - reer-party politics. Many an often strange language, concept among the Pi - which looks set to overtake organs — and in the state- sorship mechanism — the voters are previous non- impenetrable to those not in rates, especially when voters. The other reason is the know and those with - the Greens as Germany’s owned bank’s trust in the arguments, familiar from debates cannot be re - the public debate on inter - out the technical know-how third party, while helping telecommunications system Britain, regarding child solved easily. net and data issues, where to take part. the neoliberal FDP into its which they had been as - pornography didn’t wash. After elections the group grave, and at the same time “My Little Pony” holds sured was unbreakable. Especially when one minis - the politicians involved is now taking its maiden possibly putting the “Left important lessons for us all Similarly there was a ter responsible didn’t even have been shown to have voyage in the Berlin city- Party” into a permanent about how people (or uni - massive campaign against know what an internet been out of their depth. state parliament, further ex - vegetative state, and whose corns) can get on with each the first census in West Ger - browser is. At some point the Pirates cursions as the kingmaker main selling point is being other, despite differences. many in 1987. People The campaign argued for must decide whether they in north-German dilettantish and “anti- There are reasons why feared the state nosing into “deletion, not censorship” want to develop a political Schleswig-Holstein, and an party”, the convention was and how the Pirates have their personal affairs, the (which could be easily got prAognrdamwmheet.her they are of success in North-Rhein very old-school. become so successful. Aside storage of data on (then around anyway). Data re - the left, or of the right. It Westphalia. It may cause The very idea of dele - from the German electoral massive) computer sys - tention laws have also not is still hard to tell. two unstable political ships, gates is frowned upon — system, which makes it eas - tems, leading to the census (yet) been introduced in SOLIDARITY 3 REGULARS Rebekah Brooks Questions for the democracy is very angry movement in Morocco

Is not the political platform too defensive? A democratic constitution — but to what end? Platform Has not the movement had difficulty in linking itself to Press Watch other social movements and concrete popular struggles? [E.g] how to tie links between the movement of unem - By Pat Murphy By Ziyad Mohammed, an activist of the ployed graduates and the movements of the unemployed Moroccan Trotskyist group Revolutionary more broadly? The course of the democratic struggle will On 13 May Rebekah Brooks, her husband and five other Marxist Current be decided by the responses to these questions. people were arrested and told that she faced three sep - A “profile” centred on social questions implies creativity arate charges (conspiracy to pervert the course of jus - On the 19 and 20 of February — the first anniversary of in forms of organisation and action. There is a need to re - tice) related to hacking into voicemails by the News of the [Arab democracy] movement in Morocco — rallies flect on the forms of organisation which would allow the the World . and demonstrations took place in dozens of towns. One movement to root itself in the daily life of working-class dis - tricts and workplaces; and to move beyond the current form Rebekah is angry. In a statement she professed herself baf - year on, although the movement has not won its de - mands, the determination is still there. of organisation in creating committees of popular struggle fled by the decision to charge her. Her husband described which aim to be active in all the theatres of conflict, local her as the victim of a witch-hunt. His own arrest was no But if the battle is far from over, many questions remain. and national; to orient part of the activity of the committees more, he claimed, than an attempt to ‘ratchet up the pres - Did not the policy of concentrating on the demand for a to aid on day-to-day issues, not in the manner of Islamist sure’ on her. The most revealing aspect of Rebekah Brooks’ democratic constitution and the struggle against corrupt clientilism, but in a project of concrete solidarity which reaction, however, was how upset she was about how statesmen give rise to a broad perception of the Movement speaks to people and gives a greater social and moral legit - “those closest to me… have been dragged into this unfairly.” of 20 February as being mainly oriented towards reform or imacy to the movement. It would take a clumsy novelist or playwright to invent a changing institutions and personnel rather than changing The demonstrations are reaching their limits. There is a character so weighed down with hypocrisy. As full of self- the daily, concrete conditions of life and work of the im - need to imagine forms of occupation which aim to give regard as she is lacking in self-awareness, Brooks has dis - mense majority? mass support to current struggles and set up new cam - covered, after years of celebrating privilege, wealth and The platform and slogans adopted, while they may have paigns. power, a hunger for fairness. allowed for partial unity of organised groups, did they Can we move towards new forms of trade union struggle Having used her company’s papers to attack the most allow for popular unity in action? Did they allow the move - which advance the common interests of workers, eliminate vulnerable, preach self-reliance to the jobless and urge gov - ment to address sacked workers? To the unemployed? To bureaucratic blockages, and combine specific demands with ernment to exclude and expel those fleeing torture and re - peasants who have no land to survive on? To the millions of the need for a general response to policies which are hostile pression, she now pleads for justice. Most hypocritically of people who live in shanty towns or who are unable to pay toMthaenpyeoopthlee? r questions could be posed, but the key all she chooses to single out the involvement of “those clos - their rent? To millions of women who are prisoners of the thing is to debate, not just the gains of the movement est to me” as the final straw, the greatest injustice. Let’s think patriarchy and whose desire for equality was only given which we all recognise, but the road which remains to for a moment about the principle. consideration after Al Adl Wal Ihsan [hard-right Islamists] be travelled. Rebekah Brooks was editor of the News of the World from left the movement? 2000 to 2003 and then editor of the Sun until 2009. Her time at the NoW coincides with the worst of the phone-hacking scandals, hence her resignation, appearance before Leveson and arrest. Baffling it isn’t. She was in charge when the British unions out of step on Histadrut phone of missing teenager Milly Dowler was hacked into and voicemails which may have provided the police with some clue as to her fate were deleted. How angry the Re - again — this time following speakers from Egypt, Bahrain, bekah of 2012 must be at the “unfairness” meted out to the Tunisia, Algeria and Palestine. She welcomed the new Dowler family by her 2002 alter ego. Palestinian affiliate to the IUF and asked unions to help build up links between Palestinian and Israeli unions — and CONCERNS was once again applauded. When elections were held to When public figures raised concerns about phone- choose the IUF’s new Executive Committee, a representa - hacking, secret taping and so on her papers paid no re - Eric Lee tive of Histadrut was re-elected. gard to the sensitivities of their family or friends. No one at the IUF congress called for the Histadrut to be A series of articles in 2003 ridiculed Labour MP Chris As PCS convenes this week (23-24 May) in Brighton for expelled from the organisation. No one rose to leave the Bryant starting with a picture of him in his underpants from their annual conference, delegates will be be expected hall when the Histadrut representative spoke. No one heck - a gay dating website. His actual offence was to be on the to vote on a wide range of issues, including some inter - led or booed her speeches. Media Select Committee and ask some searching questions national ones. And I repeat: in the hall were representatives of the about her paying the police for information (now known to newly-independent unions from the countries of the “Arab Buried deep in the more than 200 pages of conference doc - Spring” — including the Palestinian agricultural workers be true). uments is this sentence: “Conference … instructs the NEC to Even before the hacking scandal Brooks’ career was char - union. None of them mentioned the Histadrut in their … [c]all on trade unions around the world to review and speeches. There was only one reference that I heard to Is - acterised by some of the most insensitive and unempathetic sever all ties with the Histadrut.” journalism. As editor of the Sun in 2003 she ran a front page rael, and that was a sentence or two from the Palestinian This the only reference to the Histadrut in the entire doc - delegate about how difficult the occupation of the West story about the mental health problems of boxer Frank ument - and there is no explanation to PCS delegates what Bruno under the headline “Bonkers Bruno Locked Up”. At Bank was for workers — a valid point. But not a word of the Histadrut actually is. Delegates presumably know that criticism of the Histadrut. the News of the World she pioneered the campaign to pub - the Histadrut is something evil, and that unions in other lish the names and addresses of alleged paedophiles in the countries would almost certainly welcome the PCS call for WORD wake of the Sarah Payne murder case. The populist cam - the them to “review and sever” ties with Israel’s national Even the South African unions, some of which have paign was successful in terms of sales and readership but trade union centre. been outspokenly anti-Israel, had not a word to say on criminally indifferent to the risk of violent vigilantism, in - There is no indication in the resolution that there is any - the subject. Nor did the British trade unions, some of cluding against innocent victims. A paediatrician had her thing remotely controversial about this. which have said some very critical things in the past house vandalized by people who thought her occupation about Histadrut. made her a danger to children. Unlike the arrest of a woman UNPLEASANT clearly associated with criminal practices in the media or - If the resolution passes, and if the PCS NEC actually Something very odd is going on in the British labour ganisation she ran, that really was a witch-hunt. does go about telling unions around the world to break movement. Brooks has now discovered that innocent people can be with the Histadrut, they may be in for a rather unpleas - Unison, for example, sent a delegation to Israel and Pales - “unfairly dragged into” scandals. Unfortunately her de - ant surprise. tine and asked everyone — Palestinians, left-wing Israelis, scription of the people close to her as victims is no more con - and others — whether British unions should sever relations vincing than her claim to be baffled at the charges against Let’s start with the two global union federations that the with the Histadrut. And every single one of them said “no”. her. PCS proudly affiliates to — Public Services International The Palestine General Federation of Trade Unions (PGFTU) We cannot know whether the charges against Brooks and and UNI Global Union. was adamant on this point. They don’t agree with every - her clan will be upheld, but they certainly don’t lack clarity Both have Histadrut affiliates as members and both pub - thing the Histadrut says or does — but they are convinced or detail. She, her husband, PA, chauffeur and a NI security licised the Histadrut’s recent general strike. that only by engaging with it can one influence it. The re - man are accused of conspiring to conceal material from the PCS is also affiliated to the TUC, which in turn is part of port of the Unison delegation was approved by the union’s police. All of the accused, apart from her husband, are or the International Trade Union Confederation — which not NEC, but then Unison went on to call for a boycott of the were employees of Rebekah Brooks and News International. only has the Histadrut as a member, but which elected His - Histadrut. In spite of what its own delegation learned. They are not simply bystanders or family members with no tadrut chairman Ofer Eini as one of its vice presidents. I The fact is that British trade unionists are deeply igno - connection to the organisation at the heart of this affair. think it’s unlikely that PSI, UNI or the ITUC will be partic - rant about the Histadrut. Many of them believe that His - Clearly still struggling to cope with her loss of power, Re - ularly welcoming to the PCS call to toss the Histadrut out. tadrut doesn’t have Arab members, for example. This bekah will have to let the courts decide whether these peo - A week before PCS convened in Brighton, representatives ignorance drives them adopt resolutions whose only effect ple have had any involvement with the central issues. of nearly 400 trade unions in the food and agriculture sector is to isolate British unions from the mainstream of the inter - Meantime she should maybe reflect on the inverse link be - met in Geneva for the world congress of the International national trade union movement, which has much more re - Union of Food workers (IUF). The Histadrut representative tween fairness and power. The less power you have, the aliWstihceanndreinpfroersmeendtavtiievwe.s of PCS start telling “trade more important justice is. addressed the congress twice. The first time, she spoke Brooks had to lose only a small bit of her previous about precarious work — a key priority of trade unions unions around the world” what to do about the His - power to become very angry indeed about injustice and around the globe. When she mentioned that the Histadrut tadrut, they may find themselves compelled instead to fairness. She might be improved immensely as a per - had secured a collective bargaining agreement with a local listen and to learn. Maybe they would even reconsider son if she loses an awful lot more. subsidiary of catering giant Sodexo, her speech was inter - their view. rupted with applause. During the closing session, she spoke 4 SOLIDARITY WHAT WE SAY Help the AWL raise £20,000 AWL branches around the country are organising fundraising socials to help our fund drive and argue for our politics. The North East London AWL branch has hired the ten - ants’ hall on a housing estate and plans a film showing of the Marlon Brando film Burn on Saturday 9 June. The film deals with issues of colonialism, racism and liberation and tells the story of a slave revolt on the island of Guade - loupe. Organising events like this is a good opportunity for Workers’ Liberty members to promote and discuss our politics in a less formal environment, as well as raising some money for our group. Help us widen our circle of readers but supporting us financially. But you can also contribute by writing for Sol - Alexis Tsipras in Paris idarity — a letter, a report, a review, a feature. Or why not take copies of Solidarity to sell. GYou can help by: Taking out a monthly standing order. There is a form at www.workersliberty.org/resources and below PleGase post to us at the AWL address below. Making a donation. You can send it to us at the ad - Help the Greek left! dress below (cheques payable to “AWL”) or do it online atGwww.workersliberty.org/donate Organising a fundraising event Alexis Tsipras, leader of the Greek left coalition Syriza, G and bosses behind them, of blackmail. Taking copies of Solidarity to sell at your workplace, visited Paris on 21 May and spoke to a crowd outside Syriza’s advance in Greece’s 6 May election has shaken university/college or campaign group. the National Assembly. G the rulers of Europe enough that the meeting of EU leaders Get in touch to discuss joining the AWL. “The war we are fighting in Europe is not between people on 23 May is likely to suggest some softenings in, or offsets More information: 07796 690 874 / or nations. It is between the forces of labour and the invisi - to, the Euro-cuts programme. But only some. [email protected] / AWL, 20E ble forces of finance and the banks. Those sops will be designed only to tell the Greek people Tower Workshops, 58 Riley Rd, SE1 “It is difficult to be victorious over an enemy when that that if they vote for New Democracy, Greek equivalent of 3DG. enemy has no face, no programme, no political party, yet it the Tory party and Syriza’s leading rival for the 17 June elec - governs us. If we perfect our victory in Greece it will sent a tion, then ND will be able to negotiate adjustments and re - great message of hope throughout Europe. calibrations. But the threat will remain brutal: if the Greek people vote 48 Total raised so “Greece is a link in a chain. If it breaks it is not just the 3,0 link that is broken but the whole chain. What people have for the left, and for a programme which says that the eco - £1 far: £13,048 to understand is that the Greek crisis concerns not just nomic crisis should be tackled by taxing the rich rather than Greece but all European people so a common European so - by pauperising the people, then the EU leaders will threaten Once again we raised only a lution has to be found. to expel Greece from the eurozone and maybe the EU, and small amount last week — “The public debt crisis is hitting the south of Europe but leave its relatively small economy to crash and burn in the £100 — from donations. it will soon hit central Europe. People have to realise that world market. Thanks to Caroline and Richard. their own country could be threatened. The EU leaders can make that threat stick only if the “We are fighting the battle in Greece not just for the Greek labour movements of Europe let them do it. people but for people in France, Germany and all European The EU leaders want the threat to work by threat alone. countries. There is no legal mechanism to expel a country from the eu - “They talk about austerity programmes; but in Greece, it rozone: they would have to invent one. Standing order authority is not just an austerity programme. It is a European experi - To go ahead with the threat will damage them too. Ex - ment in neo-liberal shock doctrine, which has led my coun - perts reckon the cost to EU governments of expelling Greece To: ...... (your bank) try into an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. from the euro to be at least 225 billion euros first-off, and al - “There is nothing to negotiate in the [EU/ ECB/ IMF] most certainly more with reverberations and ricochet ef - ...... (its address) memorandum. You don’t negotiate hell. fecTths. e EU leaders can be forced to retreat from the “If this experiment continues in Greece it will be exported threat, and then to retreat from the whole continent- ...... to other European countries. wide Euro-cuts drive, if the labour movements mobilise. “I am not here to blackmail, I am here to mobilise”. Tsipras said he was bringing “a message of hope” to Eu - Account name: ...... • Solidarity skips a week at the end of May because of the rope. Over the next three weeks or so, up to Greece’s new difficulties of organising sales on the holiday weekend 2- election on 17 June, a race will be run between that message 5 June. Solidarity 248 will be printed on 5-6 June. Account no.: ...... of hope and the message, from EU leaders and the bankers Sort code: ...... SOUTH LONDON WORKERS’ LIBERTY FORUM WORKERS’ LIBERTY LONDON FORUM Please make payments to the debit of my ac - ISSUES FOR MARXISTS IN GREECE: IS WORKERS’ count: Payee: Alliance for Workers’ Liberty, THE GREEK WORKERS’ account no. 20047674 at the Unity Trust REVOLUTION ON THE Bank, 9 Brindley Place, Birmingham B1 2HB STRUGGLES (08-60-01) TUESDAY 5 JUNE, 3-6PM, AGENDA? Amount: £ ...... to be paid on the NEW CROSS (NR. NEW CROSS ...... day of GATE STATION) THURSDAY 21 JUNE ...... (month) 20 RING JILL ON 07904 944771 FOR VENUE 7PM, THE LUCAS ARMS, ...... (year) and thereafter monthly until 245 A GRAYS INN ROAD, this order is cancelled by me in writing. This MARK OSBORN FROM WORKERS’ LONDON WC1X 8QZ order cancels any previous orders to the LIBERTY LEADS A DISCUSSION ON same payee. SPEAKERS INCLUDE GREEK THE ISSUES FACING GREEK Date ...... WORKERS AND DISCUSSES HOW SOCIALIST THEODORA POLENTA Signature ...... MARXISTS HAVE UNDERSTOOD REVOLUTIONARY CRISES. MORE: 07796 690874

SOLIDARITY 5 GREEK CRISIS Will Merkel budge? Right un

There is an area for autonomous decision by the Euro - pean Central Bank here. In reality the ECB’s decision is By Theodora Polenta made in discussion with the governments, but formally it is their decision. The area in a compromise package that New Democracy (Tory) leader Antonis Samaras is inten - the ECB would be responsible for would be a structured sifying his attempts to create a centre-right front against recapitalisation of the Greek banks, which are the most Alexis Tsipras and the prospect of a government of the fragile brick in the edifice. left in Greece. The decision on the granting of the major bail-out funds is a matter for the euro-area governments. They do not He wants to get ND into government by exploiting the have the power to expel Greece, but they have the power bonus of the 50 seats that is given to the top party. According to say that their conditions are not being met and they will to all polls, the election on 17 June will be tough for ND, with not deliver the next round of bail-out funding. a close contest for the lead between the Radical Left and ND. A messy default would be triggered not by an act of re - On 21 May a merger was announced between ND and moving Greece from the euro-area, which they can’t do, Dora Bakoyannis’s ultra neo-liberal party Democratic Al - but as a consequence of the fact that without further bail- liance. out funds, internal Greek financing of the state’s opera - Bakoyannis, whose party failed to enter the parliament in tions would dry up within weeks. That could easily lead the 6 May elections because it was below the 3% threshold, to the famous contagion danger. Financiers conclude that will be placed in first position on the ND ballot list, which if the EU leaders are willing to do that to Greece, who are will guarantee her election. Other members of her party will we to know that they won’t do it again with Spain or Por - be placed in electable positions. tugal? That would trigger the kind of run on the banks that Just last November Bakoyannis said: “ND has adopted an you saw the beginnings of in Spain last week. ultra-right, ultra-nationalistic, populistic orientation that is My judgement is that everybody knows that this a not compatible with the European context. ND has adopted John Palmer, former European editor of the Guardian , process that could easily get out of control. The EU lead - national socialist opinions. ND exploits the genuine patriot - spoke to Solidarity about what the current talk among ism of people and diverts it in anti-European nationalistic EU leaders about “growth initiatives” is likely to yield. ers say they could have a firewall big enough to insulate all the other states other than Greece, but that firewall does parochial directions”. In the polls in Greece, New Democracy are about two not yet exist. There is a firewall, but it is nowhere near big The ideological basis of the common electoral platform of or three points ahead of Syriza at this point of time, so enough to contain the tsunami-like consequences which ND and Bakoyannis is ultra neo-liberalism, with emphasis it’s by no means certain that the outcome on 17 June could flow from a messy unilateral de fact departure of on reducing the “wasteful” state. In her election platform for will be the Syriza victory which looked likely shortly Greece from the euro area. May, Bakoyannis promised to outdo the Papademos govern - after 6 May. ment’s planned 150,000 public sector redundancies. She PRESSURE wants the privatisation programme speeded up, and labour If Syriza emerges on top, what happens will largely de - There are huge pressures on both sides [Greek gov - laws and workers’ rights dismantled. pend on the nature of the agreement which is to be nego - ernment and EU leaders] to deliver concessions. tiated at the European summit on 23 May. The Syriza SECURE leader has been invited to France and Germany, and he is My view, reading the internal German debate, seeing Samaras states that the common aim is to rescue travelling this week to have discussions with the powers that the opposition SPD has said it may not support the Greece from the crisis and secure Greece’s position in that be in Paris and Berlin. final Bundestag stage of the European fiscal treaty ratifica - the eurozone. According to him, Syriza is going to lead I imagine he will be briefed on what kind of package tion if there are not growth initiatives, knowing that the Greece out of the euro and into a bigger crisis. they think they can unfold at the full EU summit on 28-29 European Commission has a series of measures all pre - Both Bakoyannis and Samaras accuse Tsipras and Syriza of June. The question for him will be whether it is in any pared and ready to go ahead to focus investment through misleading the Greek people, using populist language, and sense acceptable — will he reject it out of hand? — or will the European Investment Bank and the EU funds on the exploiting people’s anger to lead Greece out of the EU and he claim that the intervention of Syriza, and its determina - periphery, is that the outcome is likely be within the mar - into bankruptcy, isolation, and chaos. tion to oppose needless austerity, has paid off by produc - gins of supplementary investment spending and a year or Georgios Karatzaferis, of what was previously the main ing at least the beginnings of a shift in policy. two extra to meet fiscal targets. far-right party, Laos, has for his own opportunistic political Tsipras’s position is that Syriza wants Greece to say in Interestingly, the CSU in Bavaria, which normally is on reasons declined a call from Samaras to join forces, but al - the euro, and he also says — what is true — that there is no on the madcap right of the CDU spectrum, is now saying ready three ex-MPs from Laos are expected to announce to legal way to expel a member of the euro area. that there should be a more balanced strategy, because the CSU also has a trade-union wing [Catholic trade-union - join the ND lists : Plevris, Velopoulos and Kiltidis. STRATEGY ists]. This two-sided expansion of ND exposes the fuzzy borders But if the government in Athens does not pursue a On balance, I think at this time the forces probably exist between dogmatic “small-state” neo liberalism and the xeno - strategy which the rest of the EU states can accept, to enforce some concessions. phobia, nationalism and anti-Semitism of Laos. then those other states are under no obligation to sus - The European Central Bank is limited in what it does by Laos has repeatedly called for military dictatorship. Its tain the big cash flows which have kept the Greek its statutes. It can and does intervene in the European founding statement proposed that political decisions be banks ticking over. banking system to counteract the liquidity strains, which made by a council including military officers and Church of - we now know last year were very close to a Lehman-type ficials. Athanasios Plevris, an ex-Laos MP who will now be a At the end of June or shortly thereafter, the need for a collapse — no bank would lend to any other bank because candidate on the ND list, is the son of the Laos ideologist further major capital injection will become critical because they did not know what they had on their books. Kostas Pleveris, who published a book Jews—The Whole at that point the Greek state will not have funds to pay its The Tory government is now saying that the EU and the Truth , in which he praised Adolf Hitler, and called for the ex - own employees, or pensions, or all the rest of it. ECB have really got to act, and why? Not so much because termination of the Jews, depicted Jews as sub-humans, and What margins are realistically available for something the British banks are so massively exposed to Greece — described himself as a “Nazi, fascist, racist, anti-democrat, that might be hailed as a liveable compromise? That is dif - they’re not — but they are massively exposed to other Eu - anti-Semite”. ficult to say. If the opinion polls are right, then the more ropean banks which are exposed to Greece. Makis Boridis, another ex-Laos MP and current ND MP, likely scenario is that New Democracy, with Pasok and The argument that has been going on between the Ger - was before joining Laos the youth secretary of EPEN, a party maybe one or two smaller parties, will emerge to claim man conservatives, particularly the Bundesbank, and the that was created from inside prison by the military dictator of some concessions as a triumph for Greek insistence on a rest of the ECB, is that although in theory the ECB’s role is Greece from the 1967 junta Georgios Papadopoulos. As a stu - change in the euro-area policy. restricted to the provision of liquidity [i.e. of cash, to banks dent, Makis Boridis participated in violent attacks against an - Within Syriza there is a complex debate going on. I and others which have sufficient sound assets but just archists. There are pictures of him holding hammers counted, the last time I looked, six or seven different fac - have trouble converting them to cash], in practice the ECB alongside his fascist gang, and posing alongside French fas - tions, with a wide range of views, as between say the has been helping fundamentally insolvent countries to cist leader Jean-Marie Le Pen. greens and some of the further-left elements within Syriza. keep the show on the road. Two other ultra neo-liberal parties which failed on 6 May On top of everything else, you have to judge what the in - The ECB would say no, those countries are not yet in - to cross the 3% threshhold to get MPs are expected to an - ternal balance of the argument within Syriza will be if — solvent, and so the ECB is free to lend. nounce a common list for 17 June: Action (Drasi), led by Ste - and I stress if — the Euro-summit comes out with a big ac - Even with a formal suspension of the next Greek bail- fanos Manos, and “Recreate Greece”, led by Thanos celeration of capital investment through the European In - out installment, the ECB could buy Greek government Tzimeros. If the new list wins MPs on 17 June, it will provide vestment Bank and through the EU budget within the bonds. But that would be a clear violation of its statutes indispensable help for ND. peripheral economies and especially Greece. which ban the ECB from funding insolvent states. On 6 May elections the three hard-core neo-liberal parties Merkel said the other night in a press conference, and it The ECB could also just provide more short-term got 6.5% between them.. wasn’t picked up outside the German media, that there liquidity to Greek banks. But if the ECB did that, would That indicates a sizeable presence in Greek society, for the “may be circumstances in which we could review the exact the markets be fooled? Or would the financiers just first time, of a power that clearly and comprehensively advo - terms” of austerity. I think that is code for what they have say that the ECB had given them another week or two cates the destruction of all social protection, welfare provi - already offered the Spanish, more time to meet the targets. to get their euros out of every hole in the wall? sion, and labour legislation in order to entrepreneurship and

6 SOLIDARITY GREEK CRISIS Right unites to blackmail voters

promote growth (over the corpses of the workers and youth: but that’s a detail that does not seem to be particu - larly important to the neo-liberals). Defence minister welcomes Nazis Layoffs for four hundred thousand public-sector work - ers, says Stefanos Manos. Fund education with vouchers, says Bayokannis. Ban demonstrations in the streets and par - army to suppress strikes against cuts. In August 2010, sol - ties suspected of wishing to overthrow the regime, says Tz - diers broke the strike by truckers against the deregulation of imeros. their profession. In October 2011, the government placed In this crisis the ultra neo-liberals converge with the pop - striking refuse workers under military discipline and forced ulistic nationalistic ultra-right in their attempts to crush the them back to work. On 4 February 2011, Athens News working class and encourage global capital to invest in a Agency reported that the army’s 71st Airborne Brigade had Greece which has Bulgarian wages of €200 and €300 per staged a mock battle with anti-austerity protesters. month and German prices. In May 2011, a CIA report declared that a coup in Greece These developments make it even more urgent issue to was a possibility. rally the Left coalition to overturn the cuts and pave the This should be viewed in the context of the €8 billion of way for a government of the Radical Left. annual military spending that has not been cut in the last two years’ vicious attacks. PARTICIPATE By Theodora Polenta An exit of Greece from the euro (whether it is a forced exit, The whole left should register the left turn by workers or a soft negotiated exit) would unavoidably lead to a re - and the poor to Syriza, and refuse to participate in the duction in military spending. Unless there is a workers’ gov - On Thursday 17 May, all the media interest was directed witch-hunt against Syriza launched by the bourgeois ernment, able and willing to organise workers’ control to towards the entry into the parliament for the first time of parties (assisted by the Stalinist KKE). safeguard livelihoods, chaos and uncontrollable anger will elected MPs from the openly racist and Neo-Nazi gang prevail. The call for a military man or a colonel to govern At the same time, we should not cease to criticise Syriza of Golden Dawn. the country with an iron fist may gain ground. for its reformist policies and its defensive stance towards Cameras captured the Nazi symbol on a ring worn by the eurozone blackmail. PARAMOUNT Golden Dawn leader Nikos Michaloliakos. The Golden We do not want to return to the drachma, and we are not It is of paramount importance that the main forces of Dawn MPs refused to stand up when Muslim MPs swore going to actively campaign for an exit from the euro within the left (Syriza, KKE, Antarsya) form a united front to in the Koran. the context of capitalism. Our slogan should be clear: No confront the fascist threat. KKE secretary Aleka Papariga turned aside to avoid fac - sacrifice for the euro. We refuse to sacrifice the majority of ing the Golden Dawn MPs, and ex-leftist (now Pasok) MP the Greek population to rescue the euro and the Greek KKE has only recently started to recognise the danger of Mimis Androulakis refused to participate in the inaugura - bondholders’ interests. Golden Dawn and open a front against them, at least in its tion of the government in protest at the Golden Dawn’s The dilemma drachma or euro has been built up as a newspaper. The political consequences and the conclusions entry into parliament. blackmailing slogan. Behind the call to “stay with the euro” about direct action are yet to be drawn by KKE. But Frangos Frangoulis, the new caretaker Minister of De - is hidden a demand to accept the EU/ ECB/ IMF memo - It is true that a robust and combative working class move - fence, greeted Nikos Michaloliakos with a warm handshake. randum policies. ment that leads the struggle against the austerity measure - Shortly before Pasok leader George Papandreou resigned A government of the Left should immediately reverse the ments, the poverty and the unemployment enforces and in late 2011, he and then defence minister Panos Beglitis austerity packages already voted through, independent of strengthens the unity of the working class against racist sacked the entire General Staff of the armed forces, leading whether if that “safeguards” Greece’s position in the euro prejudices and it has the potential to defeat stop the grow - to widespread suspicions that they were worried about a or “increases” the chances of our exit from the Euro. ing of the fascists. But it is a mistake when some sections of coup. Frangos Frangoulis was among those sacked in that It is also the duty of the revolutionary left to warn about the left to underestimate the necessity to build up a specific clear-out. the dangers of a “popular front” left government of the Al - political front to fight against the fascist and racist threat. Golden Dawn has praised Frangoulis over the arrival of lende type. The need for workers’ and popular committees or coun - We should not remain blind to the popular hopes in - 400 Abrams tanks from USA which, according to Golden cils to form workers’ defence squads and workers’ militias vested to a government of the Left, but we stress that Dawn, will make Greece the top armoured force in Europe. is urgent to fight capitalist sabotage, the fascist gangs, and a real government of the Left should be a workers’ gov - Golden Dawn demands: “Increase the power given to the theT hther ekaety o fis a tmheil istaerlyf- coorugpa.nisation of the masses. This ernment, based on the organs of workers’ power military forces”. “Massively increase defence spending”. should be linked with the revitalisation and creation of (workers’ committees, popular assemblies, workers’ “Liberate the North of Epirus [i.e. southern Albania] and neighbourhood communities of solidarity, social defence squads etc.) unify it with mother Greece”. “Liberate occupied Cyprus”. kitchens, and community exchange of goods and serv - The newspaper VIMA (11 May) estimates that one in two ices, as counterposed to the fascist thugs’ persecution G More on Greece: see page 5 police officers voted Golden Dawn. of immigrants and “other undesirables”. Pasok Prime Minister George Papandreou mobilised the

SOLIDARITY 7 GREEK CRISIS Who are the Greek left?

By Colin Foster inised. ANTARSYA, SEK, SPARTAKOS Between 1941 and 1944 the KKE played a big role in the Antarsya is a coalition of ten left groups including two On the Greek the Syriza coalition and the KKE are the armed resistance to the Nazi occupation of Greece. A civil Trotskyist currents, the SEK and OKDE-Spartakos, biggest groups, but there are many others. This briefing war followed, between 1946 and 1949, between KKE-led Maoist groups, and splinters from the KKE tradition. describes the background to Syriza and KKE, and to forces and the forces of the monarchy, backed by British some of the groups in Greece which consider them - It got 1.2% of the vote in the 6 May election, with the slo - troops and the USA. selves Trotskyist. gan “Bread, Education, Freedom” (clunkily adapted from The KKE of today is the diehard-Stalinist remnant of the the Bolsheviks’ “Bread, Land, and Peace” in 1917: the Bol - old KKE, after the splintering-way of “Eurocommunist” cur - SYRIZA sheviks also pushed less bland demands for workers’ con - rents which have flowed into Syriza and of Maoist groups. trol, for the organisation of the working class, for Red Syriza is an alliance of 13 left parties and groups. The It proposes a “popular government” which will “disen - dominant force in it is Synaspismos. It was formed in Guards, and for power to workers’ councils). gage from the EU” and overthrow “the monopolies” at some 2004 (with only five groups in the alliance then). The vote was more than in 2009, but has disappointed An - time in the future, but all large measures have to wait for tarsya activists and led to some debate between them. that distant future. For now it has no answers but to It campaigns now, and cam - DEA criticises Antarsya as follows: “Antarsya... adopted strengthen the KKE so that it can pursue “the path of rup - paigned in the run-up to 6 May, for a the slogan ‘an anti-capitalist exit from the euro’. This formu - ture, conflict, [which] requires sacrifices”. left-unity government. After 6 May The KKE is diehard-Stalinist, and publicly mourned lation isn’t honest... If we are talking about an anti-capitalist it proposed six points to other par - North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il. overthrow of the existing system and the new system that ties after 6 May as conditions for would emerge from this, then a slogan about currency isn’t Syriza’s participation in a coalition XEKINIMA the best place to start... For most of the comrades of An - government: tarsya, the way to resolve the contradiction in their every - • Reverse all the anti-working- Xekinima was in Syriza between 2008 and 2011. It quit last year but called for a vote for Syriza or other left par - day political activity is to forget about the adjective class policies implemented during ties on 6 May, and backed Syriza’s call for a united left ‘anti-capitalist’ and speak only about an exit from the euro, the last two years — wage and pension reductions and abo - government. pure and simple...” lition of collective bargaining agreements, union rights etc SEK, however, praises this position of Antarsya for bring - • Freeze all debt payments. A moratorium on the debt for “Xekinima urges Syriza to make a ing EU withdrawal into immediate left politics. The KKE is at least three years. bold call to the rank and file of the very anti-EU, but talks about Greek withdrawal from the EU • Nationalisation of the banks under workers’ control. KKE and other left forces to join in an as something which should happen only with a “popular” • Elect a committee to examine and assess the Greek debt electoral bloc on an anti-austerity (KKE-backed) government already in power in Greece, not and write off the “illegal” part of the debt platform and to fight for a majority now . • Introduce proportional representation left government with a socialist pro - SEK does not oppose the call for a united left government, • Scrap protection for MPs from being prosecuted for acts gramme”. but stresses the “limits” and sees the answer in more mili - of Icto wrraunpttsio Gn raenedc ero tbob esrtya yo fi np uthbeli cE mUo annedy. eurozone, and The tag “with a socialist pro - tancy in workplaces. argues that defiant rejection of the cuts imposed on gramme” reflects Xekinima’s links SEK is the group “officially” linked to the SWP in Britain. Greece by the EU, ECB, and IMF can force the EU lead - with the Socialist Party in England, OKDE-Spartakos is linked with the “Mandelite” current rep - ers to back down. which for a long time summed up its aim as “Labour to resented by such organisations as the NPA in France. (There power with a socialist programme”, as if a full socialist pro - is a tiny affiliate of this current in Britain, called Socialist Re - SYNASPISMOS gramme were something that could be achieved by nudg - sistance). ing along Labour (or Syriza). Spartakos suggests that the left should give “extra- Synaspismos essentially comes out of the “Interior” parliamentary support or votes in parliament to all Xekinima’s attitude to Europe is, however, very different (“Eurocommunist”) faction of the old Communist Party measures of a leftist government that break with the of Greece, KKE. from the “No2EU” Socialist Party’s. politics of capital”, but emphasises struggle for “work - “While the vast majority of Greeks vociferously oppose ers’ control and workers’ self-management”. In 1987 the two factions of the KKE formed an electoral the austerity programme they also want to remain in the eu - coalition under the name Synaspismos. In 1989-90 Synaspis - roz“Tonhe.y understandably fear the aftermath of exiting the EEK, OKDE mos joined a coalition government with New Democracy common currency”. (Tories), theoretically on a short-term mandate to clean up There are two main Trotskyist groups which stood in the 6 May elections against both Syriza and Antarsya. corruption. DEA Most Synaspismos members and leaders came to think EEK (which got 0.08%) was historically linked to the that the coalition was a bad move. The collapse of the USSR DEA is a group within Syriza which sees itself as part of the same “tradition” as the SWP in Britain. “Healyite” SLL/ WRP in Britain, which was the biggest and in 1991 led to KKE-Exterior quitting the Synaspismos coali - most visible revolutionary left group in Britain in the 1960s tion, and the remainder of Synaspismos converting itself Its international links are, however, not with the SWP, but and early 70s. EEK stuck with the WRP even after it went from a coalition to a party. with the ISO in the USA, which the SWP expelled from its in - crazy (from about 1968) and then (from 1976) took money “Eurocommunism” was a trend in many Communist Par - ternational network in an obscure dispute in 2001, and with from the Libyan and Iraqi governments to sustain itself, and ties in the 1970s to distance themselves from the USSR and Socialist Alternative in Australia. in return praised those tyrannies. In 1987 Healy expelled the Stalinism and to open up to movements like feminism. DEA commented on the 6 May election: “we commit our - EEK because it would not go along with his applause for In Britain the “Eurocommunists” soon became, essentially, selves once again to doing anything we can to keep Syriza Gorbachev. EEK is now linked not with other ex-Healyite right-wing Labourites or liberals with a top-coating of Marx - moving in a radical left-wing direction...” groups but with Politica Obrera in Argentina. It declares: ist jargon. In some countries, including Greece, the “Euro - It further explains: “In the Syriza alliance, we are trying to “Elections will not provide the solution, the solution lies in communists” were more left-wing. organise around the slogan: ‘Not a single sacrifice for the the immediate organisation and victorious conduct of an in - The KKE-Interior was so called because led by those “in - euro, no illusions in the drachma’. Our goal is a left-wing definite General Political Strike that will last until the fall of side” Greece (rather than in exile) under the military dicta - policy that confronts the vulgar ‘Europeanism’ which legit - the Papademos government and its po - torship of 1967-74. imises austerity policies today, but without taking responsi - tential successors... a red socialist Some of the old “Eurocommunist” leaders, such as Fotis bility for raising a call for an immediate return to the Greece in a red socialist Europe”. Kouvelis, split off from Synaspismos in June 2010 to form dr“aIcfh [ma ar.e..t urn to the drachma] does happen under the OKDE (which got 0.02%) is the result the Democratic Left. Most Synaspismos members today current constellation of social and political forces, the of a split from OKDE-Spartakos by haTvhe ejo Sinyenda sipnicsem thoes dyaoyust hof m “Eouvreomcoemntm isu nmisomre”. left-wing results will be bitter for the Greek people...” young activists who saw the whole than the older members, and among the older members “Mandelite” current as drifting into too there are several different shades of politics. KOKKINO soft, flabby politics. The OKDE com - Kokkino is a splinter from DEA, also within Syriza. It ap - rades are open and keen to discuss, and COMMUNIST PARTY (KKE) pears more ecumenical than DEA. AWL has attended meetings with them The Communist Party of Greece (KKE) is the oldest po - and carried comment from them in Solidarity . litical party in Greece, and has much deeper roots in It declares that a left government will “face a coordinated OKDE’s view on the EU is different from ours. OKDE dis - Greek working-class history than Pasok (founded only attack from the markets” and should respond with measures tinguishes itself on the Greek left by raging against the EU as in 1974, and without the organic links with trade unions like “stopping payments, nationalisation with compensation “thOeK aDnEti- wcaolrlsk efro hr eaa drqeuvaorltuetriso,n thaery p priasortny oaf npde oap lseos”c.ialist which the Labour Party has in of banks and key sectors of the economy, control of trade and revolution, but also for a Constituent Assembly. Britain). capital flows... The key is to organise a wide support net - This makes the landscape of the work for a left government by the organisation and mobili - KKE-ML, ML-KKE sation of its social base”. left in Greece very different from There are many Maoist groups in in Britain. DEMOCRATIC LEFT Greece, offshoots of the strength of the KKE was founded in 1918, The Democratic Left is a split from Synaspismos in KKE tradition. when the workers’ revolution in 2011. Russia inspired a number of small Two of them, KKE-ML and ML-KKE, socialist groups to join together and many workers to join Although it voted against the second EU/ ECB/ IMF have formed an electoral alliance focused them. “memorandum”, in negotiations after 6 May it indicated it on “the struggle of our people for leaving The first general secretary of the KKE, Pantelis Pouliopou - would cooperate in a government carrying through the the EU and NATO and to overthrow the los, and others, stayed loyal to revolutionary Marxism and “memorandum”. doImt winoanti o0n.2 o5f% im opne r6i aMlisamy. ”. became Trotskyists, but the majority of the KKE became Stal - 8 SOLIDARITY AWL Ideas for Freedom: Friday 29 June to Sunday 1 July 2012 What is capitalism? Can it last?

Ideas for Freedom is Workers’ Liberty’s annual week - end of socialist education, discussion and debate. It is an opportunity for members and sympathisers of our organisation, and others interested in class-struggle, revolutionary ideas, to learn from each other in an en - vironment which is simultaneously politically sharp, thoughtful, welcoming and accessible. It opens on Friday evening at the Exmouth Arms (Lon - don NW1 1HR), and continues on Saturday and Sunday at Janine Booth Hannah Thompson Ed Maltby Highgate Newtown Community Centre, 25 Bertram St, Lon - don N19 5DQ, near Archway. workers on the RMT national executive, and Unison mem - ber Hannah Thompson will discuss Marxists’ under - standing of and involvement in trade unions. The Saturday night social will feature a film showing and speaker from the victorious mechanical and electrical con - struction workers’ dispute against pay cuts, British work - ers’ most important victory since the capitalist crisis began. CRISIS ACROSS EUROPE Europe is now at the centre of the world capitalist cri - sis. Ideas for Freedom will feature socialists from a number of European countries on what our understand - ing of and response to the crisis should be. Owen Jones Alex Phillips Rosie Woods Antonin , an activist in the L’Etincelle (Spark) tendency of France’s New Anticapitalist Party, will join our panel on a discussion about the European left with others including THE FUTURE OF SOCIALISM Irish Labour Youth’s Neil Warner . Greek socialist Theodora Capitalism is increasingly unpopular, but socialist ideas Polenta and Workers’ Liberty’s Ed Maltby will just have re - are weak and marginal. How can we change that? And turned from Greece and will lead the discussion on the is - what does socialism mean after the experience of so - sues facing revolutionaries there. cial democracy and Stalinism? Economists John Grahl (Euro-memo) and Jo Michell (Re - The Saturday of Ideas for Freedom will open with a panel search on Money and Finance) will discuss the eurozone cri - on “How do we make socialism a force again?”, with speak - sis with Martin Thomas from Workers’ Liberty. ers including author and journalist Owen Jones , French Roma activist Toma Nikolaev and Dan Barron from Trav - New Anticapitalist Party activist Antonin , Green party eller Solidarity will report on the alarming threats facing councilor Alex Phillips and Rosie Woods from Workers' Roma and traveller communities across Europe. Liberty. MARXIST THEORY Elaine Jones And on Sunday, will debate ex-Workers As in recent years, this year’s Luke Cooper Power member from the new “Anti-Capital - IFF will feature a series of ist Initiative” (ACI) on “What kind of anticapitalist organi - “Introduction to Marxism” Key struggles of the past year. From top: electricians fight pay sation do we need?” The ACI is led by people who split workshops for new and cuts, mass strikes against pension reforms, the “Occupy from the Trotskyist group Workers Power. young comrades. London” protest. CLASS STRUGGLE IS THE KEY Alice Marshall and Liam Our understanding of capitalism and anti-capitalism women’s rights within working-class communities and the Conway will be asking “What has working-class struggle at its centre. labour movement, on women in struggle against capitalism. is capitalism?”, looking at how • Amin Kazemi from the Iranian Revolutionary Marxist How can we develop workers’ socialists understand capital - Tendency and Cathy Nugent from Workers' Liberty on organisation and confidence to ism and how we think it can be workers’ struggles in Iran and the possibility of war. meet the huge challenges posed by replaced. Janine Booth and • Workers’ Liberty’s Sacha Ismail debates NUS executive the crisis and the massive assault Liam McNulty Hannah Thompson will dis - member and National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts on our living stands and rights cuss “Marxism and trade leader Michael Chessum on whether the left should “Boy - being pushed through by the ruling unions”. Liam McNulty and cott Israel”. class? Sarah Weston will be asking “Why is the left so divided?” • Professor Colin Schindler , journalist Dave Osler , and Ideas for Freedom will open on And Alison Brown and Daniel Lemberger Cooper will Tom Unterrainer of Workers’ Liberty on the left and anti- Friday night with a discussion cele - lead a discussion on the neglected question of what a social - semitism. brating the stormy workers’ strug - ist society would actually be like. • Jill Mountford of Workers' Liberty and Health Alarm gles of 1972, which prepared the The event will also include dis - and Dr Jacky Davis of the NHS Consultants’ Association way for the fall of Edward Heath’s cussions on “Is Marxism Eurocen - will discuss the NHS. Pete Radcliff Tory government, and seeking to tric?”, led by Paul Hampton and • In the Royal Jubilee year, John learn the les - Camila Bassi from Workers’ Lib - Moloney of Workers’ Liberty dis - sons for today. Pete Radcliff , who erty, and on the lessons of the Falk - cusses the English civil war and took part in the successful mass lands War for Marxists dealing with revolution, which led to Britain be - picket at Saltley Gate, where miners, conflicts today, looking at what the Tcohmerineg w ai lrle bpue bflriec ein a 1c6c4o9.mmoda - engineering workers and other trade socialist left said about the issue at tion, a free crèche and cheap unionists confronted the police to the time. food available. If you want to picket the West Midlands Gas Board OTHER SESSIONS book accommodation or a coking works in Saltley, will explain Other sessions will include: Camila Bassi crèche place in advance, get in what that struggle and the labour touch. [email protected] or Patrick Murphy movement of the early 70s were like. • Music journalist and 07796 690 874 Other speakers will include Jean author Dorian Lynskey , writer of the successful book 33 Lane , the Unison rep who led the re - Revolutions Per Minute , and hip-hop artist The Ruby Kid on Weekend tickets bought before cent victorious anti-cuts dispute at Central Foundation Girls protest songs past and present. the end of May are £24 Michael Chessum School in East London (see back page and page 10 of this • Women Against Pit Closures , the working-class waged, £16 low-waged/HE stu - paper), and an activist from recent women’s organisation that was crucial to building solidar - dents, £6 unwaged/FE/school successful anti-victimisation strug - ity in the 1984/5 miners’ strike, as well as fighting for students. Tickets bought in advance at £26/£17/£6, and gles on London Underground. tickets bought on the door are £28/£18/£6. Day tickets Over the weekend Pat Murphy, a and single-session tickets will also be available. member of the National Union of Teachers national executive, and tube worker and RMT activist Becky Crocker will look at the Na - G tional Minority Movement of the Facebook: Ideas for Freedom 2012 1920s and discuss the lessons for G building rank-and-file movements Twitter: @workersliberty in the unions today. G As part of our Introduction to Professor Colin Web (including online bookings): Marxism series, Janine Booth , who Becky Crocker Dorian Lynskey The Ruby Kid Schindler workersliberty.org/ideas represents London Transport SOLIDARITY 9 FEATURE How solidarity won school cuts fight

By Fran Burrows

New head teachers in a school always want to stamp their authority by making a few changes. The new head at Central Foundation Girls School, in Bow, East Lon - don, went a few steps too far. Under her “leadership”, the sickness policy changed to trigger procedures against absentee staff after four days (previously eleven). Support staff became subject to a new evaluation process. Observations of teachers increased. Data entry went through the roof. Not surprisingly, morale hit rock bottom. This was the backdrop to the announcement, in December 2011, of a restructure, affecting both teachers and support staff, and involving 13 redundancies. Several support work - ers were going to have their all-year-round contracts altered to term-time-only, causing a huge drop in pay. It was also proposed to increase teacher workload by giving them an extra 50 minutes a week in class, breaking National Union of Teachers (NUT) guidelines for an 80-20 ratio of contact time to non-classroom work. Unison, the union organising support staff in the school, and the NUT immediately set about organising ballots for strike action. The Unison dispute was about compulsory re - dundancies and cuts in pay. The NUT’s focused on compul - sory redundancies and increased workload. Workers at Central Foundation Girls’ School in East London have beaten management’s cuts plan. For more on their successful SHAKY dispute, see back page. Above: CFGS picket line from the strike on Friday 11 May. Because of the low morale, the start of the fightback was shaky. At a staff meeting, the head told everyone used, and voted to go ahead with the next strike. lished comments from Sir Michael Wilshaw, the head of OF - that striking was a waste of time because there was Morale in the school was going up as people began to take STED, in which he claimed that teachers didn’t know what nothing that could be done about the restructure, and control of the fightback against this vicious attack on their stress really was, and that being a head teacher dealing with denied the union reps a chance to reply. working lives. Staff were smiling at each other in the corri - industrial action by staff was “real” stress! Two more days Her own intransigence and unreasonableness made staff dors, thanking and congratulating each other, and even of action were set for the 13 and 14 June, and Unison mem - begin to stir. Up until then, many had believed the head was stopping for the occasional hug. The difference from a few bers again voted not cross teachers’ picket lines. behaving in a transparent and reasonable way. Her actions weeks before was palpable. The teachers suggested a compromise on the workload at the staff meeting proved she was not. Up until this point the head had insisted that this was her issue. They would agree to 50 minutes a fortnight across the At a second whole staff meeting, the head attempted to school, her staff, and her decisions. Then the local authority board, but only if the management conceded on a whole raft drive a wedge between the two unions by running down stepped in, and called the head and governors to a meeting of other issues that had been increasing teachers’ workload Unison’s handling of the job re-evaluation process at the with the unions to broker a deal. and wearing down morale since the new head’s regime same time as again refusing the chance to respond. The Uni - began. DIVIDE They demanded an agreement that observations would son rep made an impassioned plea to members of both There was a second attempt to create a divide between unions to attend union meetings, where workers could dis - only take place at at least five days’ notice, and be only for support and teaching staff. The compulsory redundan - a specific lesson. They demanded a reduction in the amount cuss a response to the cuts on their own terms. Sure enough, cies were dealt with by ensuring that those who wished the next two union meetings were packed. of data entry required, and changes to the marking system. to go would be able to do so at a time that suited them, They also demanded the withdrawal of the hated sick leave The demands of the fightback were: no compulsory re - and those who did not would be offered redeployment. dundancies; no pay cuts; no increased workload. The two policy, and a guarantee that any future changes would have unions met together from then on, produced joint strike bul - The cut to support staff pay was withdrawn. A compro - to be properly negotiated through the unions. If manage - letins, and discussed joint responses at every turn. mise was offered on the teacher workload — that the extra ment agreed to these demands, it would represent the re - The headquarters of both Unison and the NUT sanctioned teaching time would only affect those members of staff who claiming of significant ground by workers in the school. strike ballots and when they returned a yes vote, two dates had additional, paid, “Teaching and Learning Responsibil - The local authority stepped in again and, in the next were set; 24 April and 11 May. The exams period was just ities” (TLRs). It was felt that, since the NUT were now iso - round of negotiations, management caved. All the teachers’ about to begin, and the unions agreed that they would at - lated, they would accept the deal. demands were met. There was a half-hearted attempt by the tempt to minimise disruption to the students to whom the At a huge joint meeting, Unison members voted to accept school’s chair of governors to get the union negotiators to staff devote their working lives. That meant implementing their offer, as both of the demands most immediately affect - withdraw further strike action there and then, but the union control of the exam processes, whereby teachers ing Unison members had been conceded by school manage - unions refused, saying that this was for members to decide. could apply to the joint union reps for permission to run ment. The teachers voted to reject the offer made to them. At a further joint union meeting two days later, the final particular exams or revision classes. All staff then had to vote on whether to go ahead with the deal was accepted and the strike called off — but not before The evening before the first strike day, several members of second planned strike on 11 May. The teachers voted to workers voted to maintain the strike committee as a perma - staff met to make banners and placards. The next morning, carry on with the strike, and Unison members refused to be neWnto jorkinetr su nhioanv ec otmakmeintt eae . big step forward in Central torrential rain prevented them being put up at the school split from their NUT colleagues and voted not to cross the Foundation Girls’ School, and their committee — gates (they had been made with water based paint) but picket lines. buoyed by victory in this fight — can be a platform for there were still over 70 people on the picket lines. A mass The second strike day went ahead with better weather pressing that advantage. meeting later in the morning, held in a packed hall, set up a and another mass meeting. Teachers spoke emotionally strike committee, discussed how the strike funds would be about the workload issue. The national press had just pub - John Carlos: “It’s about being a freedom fighter”

By Sacha Ismail The facts, including was not very clear politically and does not seem to be a so - the fact that not a cialist in any spelled-out way, but his message was radical Seven or eight hundred people attended the 21 May single police officer and humanist. “It’s not about black versus white,” he told public meeting organised by the rail workers’ union has been convicted the audience to cheers. “It’s about right versus wrong.” RMT and the firefighters’ union FBU to hear legendary for any of the many And it was an appeal to sports people to abandon a sup - John Carlos, one of the black athletes who raised his hundreds of deaths posedly apolitical stance — “My life wasn’t about winning fist at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics in protest against in police custody, medals. It was about being a freedom fighter” — and to racism. were not new, but young people to get involved and renew the radical move - they still do not fail ment. Other equally inspiring speakers from anti-racist strug - to shock. Equally the The meeting unanimously agreed to launch a campaign gles in Britain, and trade unionists, also spoke, bringing the stories of family, for an inquiry into police cover ups and corruption. whole room to its feet again and again for standing ova - friends and activists It was good that the meeting was explicitly a trade union tions. who have refused to meeting, organised by two left-wing unions, the RMT and The audience had a wide age range and — fairly unusu - give up in the face of FBU. ally for a left/labour movement-organised meeting — was This was an excellent initiative which showed the enormous obstacles ethnically very mixed ethnically, with many Asian and labour movement in a good light. could not fail to in - many more black people attending. spire. Other speakers were representatives of campaigns John Carlos is an excellent public speaker, touching and • More on the 1968 protest by Tommie Smith and John Car - against police racism, violence and murder — including funny with a lively, memorable style and turn of phrase. He los (left) — bit.ly/JkGDM1 Doreen Lawrence, Janet Alder and Samantha Rigg-David.

10 SOLIDARITY REPORTS

LGBT Train drivers in pensions battle transport

By a train driver cial turmoil, drivers are issue. ASLEF will probably strike by train maintainers, workers rightly concerned that any wait for the results of those which would see trains Train drivers working for reduction now will leave a ballots before deciding gradually becoming unfit East Midlands Trains deficit in 2013. The com - what to do next. If the for service, there is a good discuss (EMT) have taken 6 days pany has been asked to other unions vote for ac - chance we could win this of strike action in the provide an interim valua - tion (and this could be a one quickly. If we don’t get past 3 weeks to try and tion to confirm that the proxy for all the other is - the results, ASLEF could solidarity prevent the company fund is in surplus now but sues we currently have call token strikes to keep from reducing contribu - has refused. In other com - with the company includ - the ballot live and then By Paul Penny tions to their pension panies where recent valua - ing victimisation of reps, have another push during fund. tions have shown actual pay, rosters and the car the Olympics, which Delegates to this surpluses union members park levy), it will be diffi - would give the dispute na - In 2010 an actuarial val - year’s LGBT mem - have voted to reduce the cult for EMT to maintain tional publicity. uation revealed a funding As we are always bers’ conference of contributions. EMT has their strike day skeleton level of 99.1% and a pre - being told to save more the Rail, Maritime and also been unwilling to service if different grades diction that if the Joint the franchise. for our pensions, the Transport workers’ commit to make up any strike on different days. It Contribution Rate (the So far, only members of company would be union (RMT, 18 May) shortfall if the reduction would be feasible for in - money paid into the fund the drivers’ union ASLEF shown up to be the pen - debated a range of is - goes ahead. Drivers are stance that the drivers by management and work - have taken action. The sion raiders that they sues including inter - suspicious that, as 2013 is could strike one day, other ers) stayed the same, then other unions organising on are, and we can rightly national LGBT rights, the end of the franchise, train crew the following the fund would probably EMT, RMT and Unite, are portray ourselves as the homophobic bullying EMT are looking to make a day and platform staff the move into surplus. in the process of balloting responsible party trying in UK schools, equal fast buck at our expense day after that. Coupled With the current finan - their members on this to maintain them. marriage, and the before they give up or lose with a possible week long banned advertising campaign on London buses (which aimed to “Workfare” comes promote the “ex-gay” London bus workers ballot movement and “con - version therapy”). into hospitals Delegates also dis - for Olympics strike cussed the recent up - By Ollie Moore a risk to patient safety. surge in religious and Union representatives at state-sponsored homo - By Darren Bedford the bus companies have campaign to secure a no- The latest manifestation the trust’s hospitals said phobia in many regions so far refused to award strings bonus for its mem - of the government’s that they had been con - around the world. A strike ballot of London bonuses for the extra bers employed by London “workfare” schemes sulted about the scheme Conference noted bus workers is under - workload their employees Underground Ltd. has sees not only job-seek - and has consented, but with concern that across way as transport work - will face during the been undermined by the ers being exploited, but only if the participants Africa, parliaments are ers’ campaigns for Olympic Games. 800,000 drivers-only unions also hospital patients put were not involved in direct currently advocating at risk. laws that would further decent Olympic working extra people could travel ASLEF, which signed an paTtiheant tchareey. consented at arrangements continue. penalise and even exe - on the buses during the agreement for a £500 Sandwell and West all is a worrying sign; period of the Games. bonus conditional on vari - cute homosexuals. The Unite union is bal - Birmingham hospital trust trade union activists The Rail, Maritime and ous breaches of the exist - In Russia, the city of loting its 21,000 members has piloted a scheme must fight to ensure that Transport union (RMT), ing collective agreement Saint Petersburg has re - across London’s bus serv - whereby unemployed peo - the labour movement which represents workers which regulates working cently passed a law ices for a strike. The union ple worked, unpaid, for six takes a firm line against on the London Under - conditions. making it illegal to is demanding a £500 flat- RMT’s campaign to weeks, cleaning wards and “workfare” schemes and ground, has already se - speak in public about rate Olympics bonus for win a bonus that does helping to feed patients. fights to decent unem - cured bonuses for its not require workers to ployment benefits for all homosexuality. In Iraq, the workers, who are em - They were given just two sectarian militias are members at several com - sacrifice their hard-won weeks of training. who need them, and a ployed by 21 separate brutally murdering gay panies, including London terms and conditions This scheme is not only shorter working week service providers. Unlike men, and young men Overground and Dock - continues. exploitative to the job- (with no loss of pay) to other transport providers, perceived to be gay. lands Light Railway. Its seekers themselves but an create jobs. In Iran, the theocratic insult to NHS workers and regime continues to Privatisation threat at Sussex Uni criminalise and oppress homosexuality. Confer - ence also discussed the By Clarke Benitez with visits by private serv - tions will change signifi - work of the charity Di - ice providers preparing cantly, and we will have a Greenwich library versity Role Models in Students and workers at bids to run the outsourced two-tier workforce, as new preventing homophobic the University of Sussex contracts. staff will be employed on bullying in UK schools will protest the visit of A joint campaign involv - different terms and condi - by educating about dif - potential private in - ing Unite, Unison, aca - tions. The plans were workers win ferences in sexuality. vestors to their campus, demics’ union UCU, and sprung upon us with no Delegates passed all of as the university at - the Students Union has discussion about finding the six resolutions dis - tempts to privatise its held meetings and is run - solutions in-house. “The university seems to Greenwich Leisure Ltd. cussed at conference. catering, estates and fa - ning a petition against the determined to outsource Although GLL will still Two resolutions from cilities services. privatisation. regardless of the impact take ownership of the li - the conference will be Maureen Winder, the Over 200 workers face on quality or future braries, bosses have guar - sent to the RMT Annual branch secretary of the outsourcing to private em - costs, and this is devas - anteed the protection of General Meeting (24-29 Unison branch on campus, ployers, more than 10% of tating for the whole Uni - terms and conditions be - June). The first resolu - said: “If staff become em - the workforce. A protest on versity community.” yond the minimal protec - tion calls on the RMT to ployees of a private com - Thursday 24 May follows a tion offered by “TUPE” support campaigns pany their future pension • Petition against privati - similar action on Tuesday legislation (which protects against homophobia rights and working condi - sation — bit.ly/JgXdMZ 22 May, held to coincide contracts at the point of around the world, and transfer but allows new build international soli - employers to change them darity links with LGBT New jobs at Ellesmere, but with round-the-clock working? rights campaigners and By Darren Bedford soon afterwards for “eco - nomic, technical, or organ - traTdhee u sneiocnoinstds .r esolu - deal that keeps work at levels of flexibility and isational” reasons). tion calls on the RMT the plant until 2020. Greenwich library work - could require workers to ers will retain their local Unite officer Onay to foster a working re - Kasab said: “I am proud The new deal, which work round the clock to authority contract terms lationship with Diver - of the fact that these brings the production of meet production targets if after a strike against po - sity Role Models and workers were prepared to the new Vauxhall Astra to necessary. tential cuts, related to run political cam - By Stewart Ward The deal could also stand up and fight in de - the plant, will also create mean job losses at Gen - transfer to a private- paigns to oppose cuts sector employer, suc - fence of pay and condi - in funding to anti-bul - Car workers at the 700 new jobs. A further eral Motors plants else - ceeded. tio“nIts .i s only because lying initiatives in the Ellesmere Port plant of 3,000 jobs could be cre - where in Europe that ated in the supply chain. were also potential sites they have made clear UK. auto industry giant Gen - The workers, who are However, the deal is for the Astra produc - that they will strike, that eral Motors voted over - members of Unite, struck these assurances have • More on LGBT&Q whelmingly to accept a based on what managers tion. struggles — call “groundbreaking” in April, closing 11 of the been won.” 13 libraries facing transfer bit.ly/KuNqgz SOLIDARITY 11 Abolish the S&o Wloirkdersa’ Lirbeirtty y monarchy! Up the Joint strikes republic!

By Ruben Lomas

More than £10 million will come straight out of the public purse to fund the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee win in East Celebrations, along with millions more from private sponsors. That’s money for pompous pageantry to celebrate an accident of birth, and an institution that more civilised countries than ours abolished centuries ago. Even when they’re being rammed down our throat by the media and political establishment, there’s a temptation to dismiss the monarchy as an irritating quirk, a relic, but ultimately one that has no real grip London school on or connection to actual politics. But the rogues’ gallery of despots that came together for the Queen’s Jubilee lunch shows how the British Joint strikes of support This affirmed for the ac - monarchy is still part of a network of reaction that in - staff and teachers, involv - tivists in the school that of - cludes people engaged in far worse crimes than the ing Unison and National ficial postal ballots are not odd bigoted gaffe. Union of Teachers (NUT) necessarily an indication of AGttendees included: members, at Central Foun - willingness to fight and can Mswati III , the King of Swaziland who, in 2000, dation Girls School in East be used by union leaders to proposed the branding and sterilisation of HIV-posi - London, have forced undermine action. tive people as a response to the AIDS epidemic, and school management to The joint unions meeting who spends tens of millions of dollars on private jets back down on plans for agreed that strikers did not anGd Maybach cars while “his” people starve. pay cuts and job losses, intend to disrupt the GCSE Prince Mohammed bin Nawaf bin Abdulaziz Al and have won victories on examinations. They would, Saud was there, a representative of the monarchy of teachers’ workload, obser - therefore, try to hold strike Saudi Arabia which maintains theocratic gender vations, and sickness pol - days when no exams were apGartheid. icy. Read the story of the on. But one or two faculties The King of Bahrain attended, presumably on a strike on page 10. Below, a also said that some of their day off from overseeing the murderous repression of trade union activist in the revision classes badly theG pro-democracy movement in that country. school explains how the needed to go ahead. The “King of Romania” , the “King of Bulgari - battle was won. It was agreed that those ans” , and the “King of the Hellenes” also came along for the day, even though Romania has been a republic From the moment that faculties should approach the strike committee rather since 1947, Bulgaria since 1946, and Greece since 1973. both Unison and NUT The Queen’s Jubilee gives political legitimacy and began their ballots, all than school management for sanction to go in on a cover not only to “monarchs” whose power and posi - meetings, bulletins and tion has been abolished decades ago, but to currently- decisions were joint. No strike day. They would sign in on the picket line instead reigning despots and autocrats whose subjects would single action took place Picket line, Central Foundation Girls School of in school, receive no pay, love the luxury of dismissing them as irrelevant hang - unless both unions were and rejoin the picket line overs from a bygone age. in it together. had attempted to silence those cleaners not in the once their session was over. the unions. union to join. REPRESSION This ensured that, de - Because the strike com - A strike committee was One cleaner said: “My The lengths to which the British state is now pre - spite several attempts, mittee had shown this flex - set up at the first mass Dad hates unions. That’s pared to go to protect the monarchy, and its self- management could not ibility, both Science and meeting on the first strike why I never joined one. But promoting public celebrations, from criticism was drive a wedge between the English faculties decided day. It included people I need to know that, if I get shown last year, when dozens of people were two unions and divide the on the day that their revi - who had never organised called on not to cross the rounded up and arrested in a police operation staff. sion classes did not need to or even been on strike be - picket line, I will get the based on pre-emptive political arrests. Unison had a high return run after all. fore. It ensured that more backing of the union.” and a very high “yes” vote people than just the elected Humour was invaluable Arrestees included 10 socialists and anarchist repub - JOINT BULLETIN licans, arrested to “prevent a potential breach of their in an indicative ballot From the first whole-staff reps were involved in deci - in this dispute, as a which is organised in the sion making, and also en - weapon against manage - peace” while committing the heinous crime of stand - meeting, when manage - ing outside a train station... on the day of the Royal workplace and is accompa - ment attempted to stamp sured that messages spread ment’s stiff-lipped determi - nied by discussions in around the school more nation to get their way but Wedding. their control on the They, along with several other arrestees, commence meetings. But the official process, the strike com - quickly. It gave the mem - also to boost morale. ballot from regional office bership ownership of the From early on in the dis - a Judicial Review against the Metropolitan Police on mittee produced a joint Monday 28 May. If the Review finds the police’s ac - had a very poor return. unions strike bulletin. dispute. pute the head teacher re - If both unions had not It was also agreed at the ceived the nickname “The tions to have been unlawful, republicans should press been involved, Unison re - It came out in particular end of the dispute that it Vogon”, the name of char - their advantage by organising the biggest possible re - gion would probably not before whole-staff meetings should continue to exist as acters in the Hitchhiker’s publican presence at the Jubilee celebrations. have sanctioned the action. so that members were a joint unions committee, Guide to the Galaxy whose The “but-they-bring-in-tourist-money” argument for This would have been armed with the union argu - which would meet once catchphrase was ”resis - the continued existence of the monarchy hardly stands wrong. Despite the low bal - ments before management every half term. This will tance is futile”. up to scrutiny when one looks 20 miles across the lot return, the strike was got to speak. This was im - strengthen union organisa - Some members of staff Channel to France, whose tourist industry does not ap - solid on both days. portant, as management tion in the school and make began to hum the Specials’ pear to have suffered much since its monarchy was sure that no-one is isolated. song “Too Much Too abolished for the last time in 1870. People still visit the Young” when they looked Palace of Versailles even though it is uninhabited. Al - UK Uncut’s “Great CLEANERS back on all the changes that though Britain’s monarchy has not invoked its powers The cleaners and care - had been going on in the of royal veto and dismissal since 1975, when its repre - takers, though Unison run-up to the restructure. sentative in Australia dissolved a Labor Party govern - British Street Party” members, were not al - They reckoned that if the ment, the very existence of those powers — and of the lowed to take part in the head had done it more monarchy itself — is an affront to democracy. Saturday 26 May, central London dispute as they worked slowly she might have got The monarchy is a financial drain, a political cover for private company G4S. away with it. for violent reaction, and a reservoir of immense wealth The lessons of and power obtained solely through accidents of birth. Actions on: G women G NHS G They were not happy Thatcher’s salami slice Its abolition is not something to be put off until with this and sent someone tactics were not learned some revolutionary future, but a key democratic welfare state G democracy to all the union meetings. by a head who wanted to demand to be fought for now. We can start on Ju - They gave out tea to the show who’s boss in a bilee weekend. www.ukuncut.org.uk/actions/866 pickets to show their sup - very short space of time. port. They also persuaded