15Marxist Thinking A party of a new type

Construction Bosses fail to impose contract 06

IF YOU WANT TO REBUILD BRITAIN, READ ON

JOURNAL OF THE COMMUNIST PARTY

One nation The affluent South East? 12

WORKERSwww.workers.org.uk APRIL 2012 £1

TRADE UNIONS:DEAD OR ALIVE?

WORKERS

News 03

Features 06

Contents – April 2012Budget attack on national pay, p3; Olympics ban on leave, p4; NHSalarm over language, p5

Building bosses fail to impose contract, p6; Trade unions – dead or alive? p9;The affluent South East? Take a closer look – the real world is rather different,p12

HistoricNotes 14The Falkland Islands: a long way from being British, p14

WORKERS is published by the Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)78 Seymour Avenue, London N17 9EB. www.workers.org.ukISSN 0266-8580 Issue 157, April 2012

Humanitarian war?

Seedy commemorationCAMERON IS rattling sabres to commemorateThe Malvinas (Falklands) War of 1982. The warwas just a seedy footnote to theundistinguished history of British imperialism,but now the Malvinas – at almost thesouthernmost tip of the South Atlantic – aredeclared as one of the furthest outposts of theNorth Atlantic Treaty Organisation .

What value is a NATO outpost in theserocky outcrops? Solely if you are preparingexpansionist plans for the raw material wealthof Antarctica or the 60 billion barrels of oil

which are estimated to lie in the islandsterritory or seas.

Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Argentina allrefuse to recognise shipping that flies theFalklands flag. Do Cameron and Clegg thinkthey will emulate Thatcher’s warmongering of1982 and sweep to re-election? Will the Frenchlend Cameron a navy? The withdrawal ofBritish armed forces from every foreign base –Malvinas, Germany, Belize, Gibraltar,Afghanistan, Iraq, etc should be the onlycommemoration. ■

ANY NATO attack on Syria would be anoutrage, a flagrant act of aggression. There isno justification for attacking Syria. It is not inBritain’s or Syria’s interests. There is no legalmandate for military intervention, becauseRussia and China have vetoed at the UnitedNations Security Council a US-Britishresolution which would have opened the doorfor NATO to attack Syria.

The United Nations is founded on statesovereignty, the right of nations to decide theirown future. So it is for Syria’s people alone todecide what government they want.

The UN charter permits the use of force onlyin the case of attack or imminent attack on a

sovereign state. Is Syria attacking, or about toattack, another state? No.

The government told us that its warsagainst Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya werehumanitarian wars, that killing by NATO forceswould save lives. “Humanitarians” now call forwar on Syria, but when has all this self-righteous do-gooding actually done any good?

These wars have simply killed more people.These wars brought not peace and democracyto invaded countries but reaction, disorder,widespread use of torture, warring tribes,break-up of the countries and foreignexploitation. They have and are costing usdearly. No to meddling and war! ■

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BUDGETEUROZONEOLYMPICSEDUCATIONHEALTHENERGYPROFESSIONSSPECULATIONEUROBRIEFSWHAT’S ON

APRIL 2012 NEWS DIGEST WORKERS 3

Attack on national pay

RebuildingBritain

Attack on national pay Going down, going down Ban on leave Academies fight Petition ignored EU forces station closure Alarm over NHS language Half a billion for Battersea? The latest from Brussels Coming soon

If you have news from your industry, trade or profession wewant to hear from you. Call us on 020 8801 9543 or emailrebuilding@workers.org.uk

DEATH OF THE EURO

Competition oversubscribed

GEORGE OSBORNE’S announcement in the Budget speech that the government wants tomove to regional pay rates is a simple attempt to drive down wages even further. Publicsector workers have had pay frozen for two years under the Coalition (and the tail end ofBrown’s government). They now face that being extended for the next two years, in effect,by 1 per cent wage increases, no wage increases, or wage cuts. Some public sector workers,for example firefighters following on from their disastrous campaign in 2006, haveeffectively had a pay freeze for the past five years.

The implied abandonment of national bargaining for terms and conditions for publicsector workers is a double-edged sword. Such a move in the early 1980s was rapidlyshelved. Today a significant number of south of England Tory councils that have abandonednational terms and conditions still have to shadow national agreements or even pay more.But public sector employers will undoubtedly seek to drive down already depressed wagerates in areas of sustained and systemic unemployment and it will take time to regroupbattered trade union organisation not only to resist but to go onto the offensive.

Trade union density and organisation is at its lowest ever in the private sector. There isthe need to develop a strategy of reconquering that lost ground. Reconquering it notthrough inter-union squabbles, take-overs or back-room agreements with the employermade without reference to the workers involved. Reconquering has to be through a genuineorganising campaign, one that brings about a change in workers’ thinking to put collectivityback centre stage.

Public service workers similarly are going to have to think through a strategy over payto overcome fragmentation of workplaces and bargaining units, massive privatisation andoutsourcing, and changes to funding that give the privatised sector the whip hand. As thepublic sector moves provision of public services into the private sector, one obvious lesson isgoing to stare us in the face. Private sector provision of public services will be solely aboutprofits. They will not be able to hide their bloated and stolen billions. We have to target ourshare through future wage fights. Redistribution of wealth starts with fighting for wages,not tinkering with tax rates.

The way our unions organise and function will likewise have to change. Everything willbe centred on the workplace, we have to be embedded in work: organisation in theworkplace is primary. A study of the resurgence, growth and effectiveness of the rail unionspost-privatisation would be a valuable exercise.

We have a choice: reorganise, restructure, re-establish ourselves in the private sector –or die. Fighting for wages is the first step for that resurgence. ■

ON 6 MARCH the Wolfson EconomicsPrize posted the following notice on itspolicy exchange website: “Due to the sheernumber of Prize entries, we will bepublishing the shortlisted submissions laterthis month.”

The task set was submission of a planfor the painless death of the euro. (Precisewording: “The Wolfson Economics Prizewill be awarded to the person who is ableto articulate how best to manage theorderly exit of one or more member statesfrom the European Monetary Union.”)

The prize on offer: a quarter of amillion – sterling, of course. The judgesare looking for an entry that will take intoaccount the full legal, economic andpolitical ramifications of their solutions. ■

THE IRISH economy slid back intorecession at the end of 2011, as GDPcontracted by 0.2 per cent in the finalquarter. GNP (which excludes the earningsof large foreign companies) fell 2.2 percent in the final quarter of 2011, thoughforecast to grow by 1.5 per cent.

Output growth in Germany slowed inMarch, economic activity contracted inFrance and manufacturing across theeurozone fell sharply, all suggesting theeurozone has entered a recession in thefirst quarter of 2012.

Spanish ten-year borrowing costs roseabove 5.5 per cent on 22 March for thefirst time since January as marketsbecame increasingly concerned over Spaindue to weak eurozone growth. ■

EUROZONE

Going down, going down

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4 WORKERS

The latest from Brussels

EDUCATION

Academies fight

Bailout for bankersTHE “BAILOUT” to Greece totals 282billion euros so far. Out of that 160billion euros will go to the country itself.The rest will go to banks and otherbondholders.

The EU has told Greece to cut itsbudget by 20 per cent of GDP by the endof the year. No country has ever had tomake such cuts outside of a period ofwar. Domestic demand will fall asunemployment rises and lending remainsfrozen, while Greek exports will be heldback by the overvalued euro.

Greece will have to cut a further 5.5per cent of GDP in 2013 and 2014 tomeet EU targets according to a leakedreport by the EU/IMF/ECB troika. Itwarns, “The recovery previouslyannounced for next year will be furtherdelayed with, at best, a stagnation ofactivity in 2013.”

Northern exposureGERMANY’S potential cost in theeurozone bailouts is 72.9 billion euros,equal to Germany’s defence, transportand healthcare spending combined.

Landing a fortuneSOME OF Britain’s wealthiestlandowners get millions in subsidies fromthe EU’s Common Agricultural Policy.Payments are linked to the amount ofagricultural land a person owns; thelargest landowners get the most. In2010, across Britain, 709 raked in morethan £250,000, 133 more than£500,000 and 47 more than £1 million.

Unpopular voteA NEW IPR Marketing poll askedItalians about their new EU-imposedgovernment. A hypothetical “party oftechnocrats”, including Italian PrimeMinister Mario Monti and somemembers of his cabinet, would get just 22per cent of votes if it were to stand in thenext general election. That is EU-styledemocracy for you.

We want a referendumA RECENT YouGov-Cambridge poll onpublic attitudes to the EU found that 60per cent of us want a referendum todecide on Britain’s relationship with theEU. The same number want a looserrelationship or to leave altogether. 14 percent want more integration, and 13 percent want to keep things as they are. ■

EUROBRIEFS

Olympic ban on leaveUTILITY WORKERS in gas, water and electricity are being threatened with a ban on leaveduring the three months during and around the Olympics and being forced to work 12-hourshifts during the actual games. All pretence of social priority in guaranteeing power orwater to the elderly, schools or business is now being overridden with only one priority:keep the Olympic stadium and other sites working without interruption.

Local authority workers in the London boroughs directly affected – Tower Hamlets,Newham and Greenwich – are being told to work extended days, sleep in makeshift campbed provision, all without recompense. Rail workers and bus crews have already achieved orare pursuing additional payments to meet the demand for longer hours and extended publictransport provision. Health workers are facing a similar threat of holiday bans andheightening of security as London becomes a militarised zone during July-September.

The TUC fiddles with cosy agreements with the companies providing security, cateringand site infrastructure – Compass, Amadeus and Sodexho – providing for US-stylecorporate union recruitment to try and recruit the thousands of short term workers, heretoday, gone tomorrow, while the Olympic organisers try to head off industrial disputes.

A whole industry has arisen offering advice on how to overcome the predicted massivedisruption across London, when the road and rail infrastructure will groan under hundredsof thousands of additional daily journeys across the capital. It’s predicted there will nolonger be one rush hour at each end of the day but five or six throughout the day.

Paying for the Olympics will cost every Londoner a council tax supplement until 2042and it is still a secret how many millions of tickets have gone to company corporatesponsorship and brand promotion. ■

Central Hall Westminster was packed on 7 March as representatives from all unions inthe NHS gathered to protest against the Health and Social Care Bill. Pictured: CeciliaAnim from the Royal College of Nursing speaks from the platform. An e-petitionreaching 100,000 signatures is referred to the Backbench Business Committee forconsideration of suitability for debate. The 600,000 signature e-petition demandingdebate on the Health and Social Care Bill was declined by Health Secretary Lansley. Somuch for the concept of petitioning the government by email so as to have theopportunity for “citizen” control of business coming before parliament.

Photo: Workers

EDUCATION SECRETARY Michael Govehas met fierce opposition to his attempt toforce state schools to convert to“independent” academies. At four primariesin Haringey, north London, parents andstaff are fighting the move. At DownhillsPrimary the opposition has beenparticularly fierce, with governors refusingto connive with the move, and parentsunited against Gove. Now an Ofsted

inspection has deemed the school as“failing”. Under intense pressure, a widelyrespected headteacher has resigned. Theentire governing body has now beenreplaced by a group of governmentappointees.

Gove wants all state schools to convertto academies, with their budgets removedfrom local authority school funds andhanded over by government to spend as theywish, setting them apart from the localcommunity of schools. By 1 January just360 out of 17,000 schools had switchedvoluntarily – hence the use of force. ■

April/MayCPBML/Workers May Day Meetings

Destroy the European Union, DefeatWar, Rebuild Britain

Saturday 28 April, 12 noon. The PackHorse pub, 208 Woodhouse Road, LeedsLS2 9DX

Tuesday 1 May, 7.00pm. Word PowerBooks, 43 West Nicolson Street,Edinburgh EH8 9DB

Tuesday 1 May, 7.30pm. Conway Hall,Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL.Nearest tube Holborn.

See advertisement, page 8. All welcome.

Beyond the Frame: Contemporary CubanArt

Monday 23 April to Saturday 28 April,Gallery 27, 27 Cork Street, London W1S3NG

Monday 7 May to Sunday 13 May, TheLighthouse Gallery, Glasgow G1 3NUAn exhibition and sale of original worksby 29 of Cuba’s leading artists. Seewww.cubabeyondtheframe.com.

WHAT’S ON

Coming soon

ALARMED BY the criticism of health professionals and their unions that the EU MutualRecognition of Professional Qualifications (MRPQ) Directive 2005 allows EU healthprofessionals to join Britain’s professional registers without a test for languagecompetency, the NHS employers’ confederation produced “Language competency: goodpractice guidance for employers” in February 2012.

But the document has, if anything, underlined that alarm. It underlines the differentposition of non EU v EU nationals: “Individuals who have trained and qualified outside theEEA [European Economic Area] must satisfy Britain’s regulatory bodies of theirknowledge of English.” In contrast EEA professionals: “are exempt from any routineassessment for language competency before registration”. In any other employment contextthis would be deemed as discriminatory. It certainly discriminates against patient safety.

It gets worse. In response to union and patient organisation concerns, government inrecent weeks has stressed that employers can “test” for language competency. Howeverthis “good practice” document rules out routine testing: “employers must notsystematically test all applicants from the EEA. For example, making all applicants sit thesame test, even though they may be able to demonstrate their competence in other ways, isnot permitted”. Again, in other contexts this advice would be deemed discriminatory.

One good thing that could have emerged from this good practice guide would be to alertemployers that the EU directive is up for re-negotiation. But the fact that the EUcommission is currently conducting a review is cunningly disguised in a microscopicfootnote on page 3 of the guidance! The professional and patient demand is simple andclear: no health professional should join the register without the public being assured oftheir language competency. ■

NHS alarm over language

APRIL 2012 NEWS DIGEST WORKERS 5

Pellets and profits

ENVIRONMENT

LONDON’S BATTERSEA Power Station,which ceased generation in 1983, is now onthe market for £500 million. For 40 years ithas been unproductive other than on theasset registers of banks, developers andfantasists. A reflection of capitalism indecline, it has turned from producing usefulpower into an engine of speculation.

Alton Towers Leisure Park bought thesite for £1.5 million in 1983 and strippedits assets, just leaving the iconic turbine halltowers. Redevelopment plans followed thickand fast with numerous changes ofownership. All the while the costs of doingnothing sent debts soaring.

From a site worth £1.5 million, itbecame £35 million, to £70 million. Sellingthe debt became very profitable. Real EstateOpportunities, with links into Ireland’sfailed banks, Jersey fundraisers, New Yorkplanners and Uruguay architects, bought itfor £400 million in 2006, looking to raise£4 billion for another redevelopment –25,000 office workers and 3,400 flatshousing 28,000 inhabitants. The crash ofIrish banks swept away the delusion.

From 1983 to 2010 the site has beenidle except for being used as a film lot, foradvert promotions and the launch of theTory election manifesto in 2010. ■

EU forces power station closure

ENERGY

TILBURY POWER station, owned byGermany’s RWE and one of 14 remainingcoal-fired power stations in Britain, hasconverted to burning wood to avoid the EULarge Combustion Plant Directive.

It is now the world’s largest biomasspower station – burning wood pellets fromGeorgia, USA, which attracts 100 per centsubsidies from the European Union. Thedrawback: the burning efficiency is 25 percent less than using coal, so the station hasdropped from 1100 megawatts generationto 750 megawatts.

The Directive was supposed to reduce

pollution and carbon dioxide emissions. Yetmore CO2 is produced from biomassgeneration than from burning coal. To dealwith the CO2 emission would require cleancoal technology filtering and storing, as atKingsnorth or Drax in Yorkshire. Butbecause biomass burns wood not coal it isexempt from the Directive. The carbonfootprint of importing the wood fromGeorgia is also ignored - and Tilburyrequires 500,000 tons of wood pellets ayear.

On 27 February a fire occurred atTilbury Power Station when over 120 fire-fighters had to put out a fire in 6,000 tonsof wood pellets, which as “green” woodhave a habit of self-combusting. ■

KINGSNORTH POWER station in Kent isto be forced to close under EU emissionsreduction targets. It had exceeded its totalproduction quota. The 123 workersemployed there by E.ON will lose their jobs.

The power station has fallen victim tothe EU diktat to substitute coal-firedgeneration by wind farms and renewablesources of energy. That policy now seesKingsnorth and the mothballed Grain powerstation marooned at the Isle of Grain.

The subsidies and profits are faster andgreater from wind farms than from long-term investment in refitting Kingsnorth to

burn coal in a clean and sustainableoperation.

The impact on the local Isle of Graineconomy will be devastating. It is estimatedthat seven jobs outside the station depend onevery job inside.

Attempts to install clean coal-burningtechnology at the station were frustrated byenvironmental protesters despite E.ON andlocal authority support.

Kingsnorth supplies the equivalent oftwo million homes, and its early closurebrings ever closer the crisis gap in electricitysupply and demand. The proposed closurehas been accelerated by power companygreed, which boosted coal station generationduring the winter of 2010 as profit returnswere greater than using gas-fired stations. ■

A spare half billion, anyone?

SPECULATION

THE ATTEMPT by a group of seven buildingindustry employers to scrap existingnational agreements covering mechanical,electrical and engineering construction andto impose their own agreements hasfailed.

They started off aggressively and inhigh hopes, with five of the companiessaying they would sack their workforces on7 December 2011 and re-employ them onthe new set of conditions, known asBESNA (Building Engineering ServicesNational Agreement – see WORKERS

November 2011). Over the months theseven companies have had to back down,withdraw from BESNA and return to theprevious national agreements. The last ofthe seven withdrew on 24 February.BESNA is no more.

The union campaign has beenprotracted – necessarily so – but the deathof BESNA is a significant victory.Negotiations between the union and theemployers’ body, the Heating andVentilation Contractors Association, areback on.

Just a truceThe war has not ended, though. If, as issuspected, the main issue of the disputehas merely been put on hold, and thenegotiations are going to founder, then thecoming months must be used to re-organise the industry, particularly theelectrical side. Part of that process mustbe an honest recognition of the realities ofa dispute that has never been easy andwhere mistakes were made.

What led to the abandoned attempt toimpose BESNA is now the subject ofcontention. Was it the “Rank and File”(R&F) organisation set up at a meeting ofsome 500 workers on 13 August 2011 inLondon, electing from their number a“national committee”? Or was it won bythe union, Unite? The truth is that it was acombination of both but there is acontinuing disconnection that needs to beresolved – or at least more clearlyunderstood.

Four days after R&F began, Unite helda meeting of its Electrical, Plumbing andMechanical Shop Stewards Forum in

Leeds. Two of the R&F committee attendedand put forward a motion from the R&Fmeeting, which called on the forum andthe Union to begin a campaign. The motionwas not taken: the campaign had alreadybegun and as many aspects of the motionwere already in train it was thereforesuperfluous.

A subsequent Forum decided to targetBalfour Beatty Engineering Services (BBES)for industrial action, as it was the leadingemployer of the seven and had the largestworkforce. Unite balloted some 600members, aiming to begin strike actionfrom 7 December – the day dismissalnotices were due to be issued. The resultwas 360 voting Yes (81.6 per cent) and 81No (18.4 per cent).

Ballots and courtsBBES’s response was to seek and obtainan injunction. Unite then announced animmediate re-ballot – over the Christmasperiod! Fortunately wiser counsel prevailedand the second ballot began at the start ofJanuary. This time 295 voted in favour of astrike with 145 against. BBES againchallenged the ballot, but this time Unitedecided to fight the decision through thecourts.

Meanwhile the R&F called for an all-outstrike irrespective of the court's ruling –seemingly oblivious to the relativeweakness of the membership and thecertainty that Unite would not risk havingits assets seized by the courts (notbecause the union would not want to butbecause unlike in the AUEW’s strugglewith the Industrial Relations Act in the1970s, the membership now is unlikely todefend the union in the same way).

At no point did the R&F propagandahelp or support the union to achievepositive results by calling on all existingmembers to contact the union to ensurethey held correct details necessary for anaccurate ballot. Balloting workers withinthe law is hard enough for a union,especially those workers whose job meansthey are regularly on the move (andemployers constantly use mobility clausesto mess up ballots).

Neither did they call on existing

members to recruit those non-membersworking next to them and engage morefully in the dispute – BBES said in court itemployed more than 1,200 constructionworkers, double the number balloted.

The implication was that recruitment is“the union’s job” and if it failed then itwould be the union’s fault, not the “rankand file’s”. And yet the best recruitershave always been “the ordinary members”.

Still, the R&F was “welcomed into theteam” in early January, with Uniteproviding funding for travel todemonstrations, protests and meetings,and so on, in recognition of its value anddespite the vitriol that full-time officershad previously received at the variousmeetings they “dared” to attend inEngland and Wales. (It should be madeclear that this sort of relationship did notexist in Scotland.) Besides, many full-timeofficers were prominent in the numerousdemonstrations being held on a weeklybasis around the country.

The court gave its decision on 16February – giving Unite the right to legallycall a strike. The judge commented, “Ithink it fair to say that Unite went toconsiderable lengths to ensure democraticlegitimacy which might be thought toexceed what would ordinarily beexpected.” Within 24 hours BBES hadwithdrawn from BESNA. The following day,NG Bailey withdrew and by 24 Februarythe remainder had run for the hills. BESNAwas history. Negotiations will now beginwith the union, whose team includesrepresentatives from the R&F.

Would BBES have backed down if thejudgement had gone their way, even in theface of the weekly demos? They certainlyhadn’t done so up to then. There is nodoubt that the demonstrations, protestsand the “civil disobedience” were havingan effect and drawing a good deal ofattention to the dispute, but would they beenough to win? These actions had beenongoing since the middle of August soclearly they alone had not persuaded theemployers to back down.

It is also fair to say that Unite’sOrganising Department was slow off themark despite the fact that the battle

6 WORKERS APRIL 2012

Construction workers have won a major victory in their fight tokeep their national agreements. Winning future battlesrequires an honest assessment of strengths and weaknesses…

Building bosses fail to impose contract

Photo: Workers

APRIL 2012 WORKERS 7

contained all the ingredients upon whichthe “organising model” thrives, ie a globalcorporation with union-organisedworkforces overseas. When eventually itwas brought in, connections with sisterunions in the USA and Australia weremade and they engaged in supportivedemonstrations and representations toarms of BBES there. A programme ofaction against anything and everythingconnected with BBES was set out andcommenced. The battle, however, has tobe won on home soil.

MisrepresentationSuch headlines as "The ‘Rank and File’won the BESNA battle. Now let’s win thewar” are not only a misrepresentation butalso beg the question as to what is “thewar”? It would appear that it is to do withsecuring a better agreement with theemployers and “reclaiming the union forthe members” – conveniently forgettingthat only the members can do that forthemselves. For R&F to claim that they andthey alone secured the victory is both farfetched and ultimately dangerous: itbelittles the union’s machinery and impliesit is unnecessary; it is also plainly untrue.

The R&F is not only made up ofgenuine active electricians/union membersbut, as usual, also has among its number

individuals from the various ultra-leftgroupings, who with monotonousregularity latch onto any struggle going.Although “ordinary” workers may utilisethe presence of these groupings in theabsence of genuine leaders coming to thefore, they will not be fooled into thinkingthat they are the answer.

Unite’s Forum in Leeds in August lastyear called for maximum unity to face theattack, a demand that should be obviousto all. But clearly some people, with theirown agendas, see division as morebeneficial. With their hatred of appointedfull-time officers (as if being elected is aguarantee of commitment to the cause)and a starting point that the union will sellout and make sweetheart deals – unityclearly does not suit their aims.

For example, R&F reported on themeeting saying, “2 of the newly ELECTEDcommittee went to Leeds on 17th Augustfor a Unite shop stewards meeting whichwas full of appointed UNELECTED Uniteofficers, apart from 4 or 5 elected stewardsand activists.” It went on to say its repsurged that a campaign be startedimmediately, but that National OfficerBernard McAulay “told us it would be bestto wait until January or February 2012before we should start a campaign and getour army together”.

The impression is of a meeting packedwhere full-time officers hugelyoutnumbered the rest. Yet the minutes ofthe meeting show some 26stewards/activists and 14 full-time officers– and that the campaign had alreadystarted. Indeed, this type ofmisrepresentation from R&F publications istypical.

If negotiations hit that brick wall thenthe membership must be in a position totake the employers on, and fight to win.This will not be achieved by constant facilereferences to “sell-outs” and “sweetheartdeals” but by painstaking recruitment andthe development of genuine organisation.Those who have involved themselves inthe R&F must take that enthusiasm intothe union’s structures and onto the sites –because if the call comes again, there maynot be time to chase around trying tocollect accurate details. Engaging in thechallenging activity of arguing with fellowworkers is not the preserve of full-timeofficers but is the responsibility of all trulyworried workers.

The withdrawal from BESNA haspresented a breathing space – not to baskin reflected glory but to get betterorganised. The employers know what theyare after and inevitably they will comeagain. ■

London, 9 November 2011. Protest at the Shard against the employers’ plans to withdraw from the JIB national agreements.

CPBML/Workers 

MAY DAY MEETINGS 

Saturday 28 April, 12 noon

Speakers and discussion

The Pack Horse, 208 Woodhouse Lane, Leeds LS2 9DX

Tuesday 1 May, 7.00 pm

Speakers, music and discussion

Word Power Books, 

43 West Nicolson St, Edinburgh EH8 9DB

Tuesday 1 May, 7.30 pm

Speakers and refreshments

Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL 

(nearest tube: Holborn)

DESTROY THE EUROPEAN UNION,

DEFEAT WAR, REBUILD BRITAINAcross the states comprising the European Unionunelected financial cliques or self-styled “right wing”governments are being installed in power to do the bidding ofthe European Union Commissioners, European Central Bankand International Monetary Fund. Greece, Italy, Spain,Portugal, Ireland are sacrificed to the obscenity of monopolyfinance capital – the Banks.

In Britain, Cameron and his Coalition government,supported by Miliband, hint at the desire for an unelected“government of national unity”. Fascism, the unbridled rule ofmonopoly capitalism, grows with every breath the EU takes.

Every attack on British workers in the past 40 yearshas been orchestrated by the British ruling class hiding behindEU legislation and directives. The deindustrialisation ofBritain, devolution, theft of our national assets, the assaults oneducation, housing, health, welfare, pensions, migration, theright to work – all are rooted in the EU. To save Britain we

have to destroy the European Union. The EU breaks up nations, colonises nations within

Europe and, as an armed camp, threatens Africa, the MiddleEast and Russia. The drive for a European Army and PoliceForce, in cooperation with NATO, is the greatest threat topeace in the last 60 years. Destroy the European Union anddefeat the drive to war.

We are for the rebuilding of Britain. Independent,sovereign, determining our own affairs, trading with whomwe wish, beholden to no one. Building the industry, skills,education, health, transport, housing, employment to meetthe aspirations and expectations of British workers in the21st century.

This cannot be achieved inside the EU. This cannotbe achieved under the threat of EU aggression. It can beachieved by us, the British working class, rebuilding Britain forthe working class.

Celebrate May Day with the Communist Party. All welcome 

It is time to forget the fads and the political play fighting.Get back to the workplace…

ON 1 DECEMBER 2011 a sub headline in theLondon EVENING STANDARD newspaperdecried: “Barely a million take strikeaction.”

Barely a million – this was genuinelywritten as if to dismiss the biggest strike ina generation, when well over a millionpublic sector workers took strike action toprotect their pensions on 30 November.This was easily the biggest show of unionstrength since the “winter of discontent”and possibly since 1926.

But while the numbers are indeedimpressive, and the attempt to belittle thisdemonstration of collective organisationridiculous, another story is told if thenumber is converted into a percentage ofall those entitled to take action.

Had the EVENING STANDARD said only 35per cent took strike action it would lookquite different. A third take strike actiondoesn’t sound half as good as a million. Sowhy is this important? Because 30November was a paradox. On the one handit was collective organisation in action, buton the other it showed that this action wasnot absolute, resolute or sustainable. Thestrike and its aftermath illustrate whereunions are today.

State of the unionsThe current balance sheet is not good forunions. We have a declining membershipand massive cuts in traditionally unionisedareas – a membership fearful, demoralisedand apathetic. Unions are continuallysubject to a media hate campaign. Theyendure straight hostility from the Coalitionand indifference from the party inopposition. Trade unions operate in analmost fascist legal environment whereevery action is scrutinised and subject tothe courts’ interpretations.

On the plus side Britain still has over 10million workers organising themselveswithin their workplaces. Union membershipis worth 20 per cent more in pay.

In 2010 the average hourly rate was£14 for union members; £12 for non-unionmembers.

Trade unions – dead or alive?

APRIL 2012 WORKERS 9

Professionals join unions – much morethan do the lowest paid. Those that needmost to act together are being picked offby employers and left marginalised by thelack of collective bargaining. 2010 statisticsshow a trend that membership levels havesettled but collective bargaining is dying.Less than a third of employees are coveredby collective agreements, with significantlyfewer – 16 per cent – in the private sectorand around 65 per cent in the publicsector. But the past decade saw a fall of 10per cent during a time of expansion inpublic sector jobs and improvements inunion–government relations.

Too big to fail?Unions are sitting targets without theflexibility or agility to respond to disputesor attacks from employers or government.The sheer effort it takes to avoid Tribunalor Certification claims means unions aredefensive and bureaucratic.

The consequences of breaching thedraconian trade union laws are such that aunion is rightly terrified. Sequestered fundsmeans bankruptcy. For all the cash ferriedround in 1984 during the miners’ strike, thefact is now a union would collapse andpeople would end up in jail for moneylaundering.

Despite the rhetoric in the missionstatement of Unite, the bigger the unionthe less coherent the thread of solidarity

that runs through the disparate andfragmented membership.

The corporate behaviour of SEIU, theUS-based Service Employees InternationalUnion, or even of Unite, is the antithesis ofthe movement. In the quest for expansionthe organisations are over-reaching, tearingapart the very fabric that made the bodystrong to start with. It is fatal. But theywant to become bigger still. Unite–PCS?UCU–NUT? Union mergers fuelled by ultraleft fantasists.

A whole body of academics, think tanksand trade unionists pontificate andconjecture about the future of themovement. Too many start at the highpointof TU membership – 12 million in 1979 -and ask how to survive this fatal decline –6 million at present. Very few actually askthe simple question: How did we have 12million members in 1979? What drove thisand was it sustainable in a changingBritain? The movement originated at a timewhen the act of membership was a crime,and burst into life, becoming a political andindustrial force at a time when strikes wereunlawful.

But now fad and fashion have takenhold across unions, TUC and academics –even in research. The claim is made thatthe main reason people have not joined a

Photo: Stephanie Delvin

RMT banners on Tyneside during the November action on pensions.

This article is an edited version of aspeech given at a CPBML public meetingin London in February. Continued on page 10

union is that they haven’t been asked.Really? Anyone who has spent any timetalking to non-members will know this isrubbish but it is part of the myths that havekidded much of the movement. Most of thepeople answering the question in thisresearch are in non-unionised workplaces.So the real answer is because there was nounion in my workplace.

The insurance approachThis obsession with arresting decline ledunions to adopt an employee insuranceapproach. The attempt has backfired as toomany members see the union as a cheaplegal service and the weight of Europeanlaws has forced ever more disputes intothe courts and out of the workplace.

Belatedly unions have recognised thata service-based model is bad for membersand bad for the organisation. But in itsplace is the new fetish called organising,and in this unions tend to look abroad: thewrong answer to the wrong question.

Take the SEIU. What on earth can we

learn from a US organisation that is theproduct of ruthless corporate unionism stillnumbering only 2 million members, in acountry with a 300 million population?Britain has 65 million people, and itsbiggest union is 1.4 million strong. As apercentage of the population, Unison has 2per cent of the population, while SEIU has0.75 per cent. Yet we are seeking lessonsfrom them?

Another buzzword of the moment iscommunity organising. We’ve failed to useour inherent strength through theworkplace and demonstrable throughcollective action? Instead, let’s pop roundto the vicar and ask him to write a letterabout cuts. If a union is strong andorganised in the workplace it will de factoplay a role in the community.

Unions are 19th-century organisationsin a 21st century world. We should beproud of our traditions but free ourselvesfrom dated language in communications.Members rarely read letters or newsletterfrom their union so using mass media isessential. And presentationally the unionshave far to go. Unions constantly allow the

media to set the terms of the debate andvery rarely know how to rebut the lies andspin. Few unions have a genuine mediastrategy or even understand the media.

The same is true for IT and the web.But in the rush to seem trendy and relevantunions have jumped on a social mediabandwagon without understanding the lackof control. Technology is a great tool butdiscipline is hard to maintain wheneveryone is on Twitter or blogging withinseconds of any action, meeting or event. Ifyou followed Twitter about pensions youwould have had the strangest impressionabout who belongs to unions and why! Thevast majority of union members still gatherinformation from the broadcast media, nottheir union.

Whatever its weakness the 30November action was an awesome displayof strength that forced the government toshift. It wasn’t outright victory but clearlynot a defeat or a capitulation, as so manymad ultras would have you believe.

But the episode is a good examplebecause it demonstrates once again thatthe activist base in so many of our unions

10 WORKERS APRIL 2012

Continued from page 9

Change Britain, Embrace Your PartyThis pamphlet brings together the statement from the Party’s2009 Congress with those from two former Congresses in 2003and 2006. Also included is a statement on the European Union:“The fascist dream of a united Europe resurrected”.

The pamphlet represents a decade of thought and analysis ofthe situation in Britain, and considers how to move forward asa British working class.

Available now: £2.75 (incl. P&P).

Published by Bellman Books78 Seymour Avenue 020 8801 9543London N17 9EB info@workers.org.uk

APRIL 2012

is dominated by the naysayers and theimpossibilists that engenderdemoralisation and reinforce the notionthat unions are weak. It is these so-calledfighters and militants that are stranglingthe unions.

Roughly a third of union members tookpart in the ballot. Most agree that it wasjust above half the membership takingaction. This means that with membershipdensity rarely above 50 per cent we had 1in 4 employees on strike.

Anybody who spent time with workerson the ground knew that workers wereresistant to striking. When convinced as towhy we had to they were clear thatsustained action would not be achievedthrough lots more days of action.

The government position had hardenedafter the strike in June as they could sensevictory. But they overplayed their hand andspent much of November trying to return towhere they had been – why? Because nowthere were millions about to walk out.

It also helped that the government wasincapable of recognising the differencebetween the schemes. This inabilityensured the employers were silent. Theemployers played a major part in thedispute but for the most part it was in theunions’ favour.

When the Treasury publicly supportedthe unions' Heads of Agreement, it wasannounced that attempts to introduce 50per cent ballots would be shelved andother consultations would be revisited.

But this wasn’t a concession. It was atactical withdrawal. The government knowsthe laws are so tight that to tighten furtherwill mean workers break them with orwithout unions. This is the lesson fromevery anti-trade union law. Eventually theworkers will break the chains.

This government was not able to go towar with unions – despite its hopes – andworkers showed genuine strength.

To call for a continuing “rollingprogramme” of strikes is weak and self-defeating. We have to be smarter –conserve our forces and fight were we arestrong on the ground.

Some union leaders want to becommentators on the Westminster theatre

rather than participants in the industrialstruggle. When they forced the issue overthe Labour leadership, to choose betweenMilibands, they found they had installed apuppet with faulty strings. The same oldcries of why fund the Labour Party etcspring up, but not a single union isseriously looking into cutting links. TheLabour Party has infiltrated the unionmovement.

The terms of political discussion aredominated by more fads and identitypolitics. Real politics is on the shop floor, the factory canteen and the

open-plan office. Workers will organise themselves

whatever we call the organisation. Wages,hours and safety were and remain thedriving issues for the working class.

The local workplace is the mosteffective unit to build solidarity andpurpose. In the workplace workers canbargain together, resist attacks togetherand defend each other.

So it is time to forget the fads and thepolitical play fighting. Get back to theworkplace. Build and develop solidarity atthe most local level to the members. ■

London, 12 March 2012: Demonstrating for pensions.

eet the PartyThe Communist Party of Britain’s new series of London public meetingsbegan on 29 September 2011 and will finish on 14 June; except on MayDay, all are held in the Bertrand Russell room, Conway Hall, Red LionSquare, Holborn, London WC1R 4RL, nearest Tube Holborn. Othermeetings are held around Britain. All meetings will be advertised inWhat’s On, see page 5.

The next meeting is the Party’s annual London May Day rally –always held on May Day itself, regardless of state bank holidays –on Tuesday 1 May, in Conway Hall, Holborn. There will also be May

Day meetings elsewhere in the country; see the advertisement on page 8.As well as our regular public meetings we holdinformal discussions with interested workers and

study sessions for those who want to take the discussionfurther. If you are interested we want to hear from you. Callus on 020 8801 9543 or e-mail to info@workers.org.uk

MM

MM

MM

12 WORKERS APRIL 2012

PEOPLE ARE often bemused by thedifference between what they experience intheir everyday lives and what politicians tellus is happening. The problem for politiciansis that we work and live in the real world,so we’re not easily fooled. And goodstatistics can tell us a truth that politicianswould rather ignore or hide.

The term “affluent London and thesoutheast” trips off the tongues ofpoliticians and is used sloppily in themedia, usually in an attempt to divide usand foster resentment. Alex Salmond isfond of the term. And it’s true that averageincomes are highest in London and theSouth East, but this fact covers anotherreality.

The east London borough of TowerHamlets has one of the highest averageincomes for those in work yet is one of thepoorest local authorities in the country,with 27 per cent of its children living inpoverty. Consider its high level ofunemployment together with the presenceof Canary Wharf (with many highly paidemployees living inth borough during theworking week) and a picture emerges ofhuge discrepancies in incomes. This pictureis replicated to a greater or lesser degreearound London.

In Britain as a whole, the picturepainted by statistics is grim. A 2011 index,which mapped health and social problemsagainst income gaps between the highestpaid and the rest in 20 developedcountries, showed Britain as having thethird worst record.

Problem factorsIt is no surprise that countries with thebiggest gaps have the worst problems. Theproblem factors included life expectancy,infant mortality, murder rate, imprisonment,mental illness and obesity. The US “leads”the field by a long way (interesting whenwe are constantly encouraged to emulatethe way they do things), followed byPortugal, then Britain (Greece comes fifth).Within Britain, London is home to therichest and some of the poorest people inWestern Europe, and it has the biggestincome gap in the EU.

Britain’s youth and adult

unemployment is among the highest inEurope. Incomes here fell 3.5 per cent inreal terms in 2011, with inflation 5 per centor higher during the year. Many lower paidprofessionals effectively had sizeable fallsin pay, while senior managers and directorshad massive rises. There is a trend towardspart-time working due to highunemployment levels. For those in work,incomes are often too low to live on andare “topped up” by working tax credit – adirect subsidy from the people to poverty-wage employers. In London, 20.7 per centof children live in households wherenobody works.

A dramatic rise in the population ofyoung children in parts of Britain is leadingto an acute shortage in school places.Based on government data, it is estimated

that half a million new primary places willbe needed by 2015 – the equivalent of over2000 new primary schools. The spurt inchild population is particularly acute insome outer London boroughs, where oldschool buildings are bursting at the seams.

London has a high proportion of thepopulation living in overcrowdedaccommodation; 7.2 per cent ofhouseholds compared with 2.3 per cent inthe rest of England. It also has one of thelowest levels in the country of under-occupation (households having two ormore bedrooms more than they need). Andevery space is likely to be grabbed forbuilding. The average density of new buildin London in 2009/10 was 121 dwellings perhectare, three times the next highest regionin Britain and the England average.

Photo: Workers

Old housing stock, multiple occupation: affluent London?

A case study of one London borough exposes the lie peddled by politicians – usually seeking to divide us – that the north is poorand the south is rich…

The affluent South East? Take a closer look – the real world is rather different

APRIL 2012 WORKERS 13

The Greater London Authority estimatesthat at least 380,000 undocumentedmigrants live in London, about 5 per cent ofthe population. An additional 3-4 per centhave been awarded refugee status. In 2008about a third of all arrivals in Englandintending to stay stated London as theirdestination – around 160,000 people. Thereis a high rate of people moving in and outof London boroughs – called population“churn”. In nine boroughs over 10 per centof the resident population moved in or outin 2008. This makes the planning ofservices very difficult.

Consider the situation of one outerLondon borough, Waltham Forest in thenorth east of the capital. The Central andVictoria tube lines both run through theborough, so housing is at a premium andthe population has traditionally beenmixed, with professional, semi-skilled andunskilled workers living side by side. Butconditions in the borough for workers arenow deteriorating rapidly, as this casestudy shows.

Jobless LondonThe Claimants to Vacancy Ratio (Office ofNational Statistics) listed the ratio ofregistered Jobseekers to available jobs in206 regions of Britain and northern Irelandin 2011. London contained most of theworst 40 ratios. Travelling from west toeast London on the Central Line lifeexpectancy decreases dramatically: atNotting Hill Gate in the west it is 84.3 yearsfor men and 88.9 for women; at Leyton inWaltham Forest it is 76.5 for men and 81.2for women.

Youth unemployment in WalthamForest rose by 3 per cent in 2011 alone, thebiggest rise in the country. 12.6 per cent of18-24 year-olds claim Jobseekers Allowance– one of the highest rates in Britain.

National trends affecting schools inWaltham Forest include the rapidconversion of local authority schools toacademies and the creation of free schools,both of whose funding is removed from thelocal authority education budget bygovernment, and to reductions in localauthority expenditure and in supportservices for schools. The axing of the

Building Schools for the Future programmehas affected schools badly, as it has leftmany schools in poor buildings at a timewhen medium- and long-term capitalfunding is seriously in doubt.

In addition to all this, there has been asignificant rise in the population in theborough, leading to an increase in demandfor school places. In London as a whole arapidly rising population means anestimated shortfall of 70,000 primaryschool places by 2015, with a fundingshortfall of £1.76 billion. In Waltham Foresteach year brings crisis planning of newreception places (for 4- and 5-year olds).Now the local authority is seeking space inexisting schools for a further 22 receptionclasses from this September. There can beno new local authority schools to cope withthe crisis – the government only permitsnew academies and free schools now.

It is common for local primary childrento have to eat their dinners in theclassroom because of lack of space inschool canteens and halls. PE, dancing andmusic are difficult to manage with theincreased numbers, and school librariesand ICT suites are becoming fast-disappearing luxuries. A number of

primaries are to take an additional 60children starting from this September. In analready overcrowded borough there is nospace to expand, so other buildings arebeing taken over as “annexes” foradditional classes. In one case, Portacabinson a car park behind a bookmaker in a localshopping centre 15 minutes walk away is asolution being considered. The situation isdesperate.

This case study does not deal withother aspects of life in Waltham Forest,such as health, social care and socialservices, the pressure on infrastructure,and so on, with their own crises. Of course,many of the problems affecting WalthamForest so acutely are mirrored all overBritain. But let’s stop allowing politicians etal to refer unchallenged to “the affluentSouth East”. ■

Sources of statisticsFocus on London 2011 Housing: a growingcity. Greater London AuthorityLondon’s poverty profile. Trust for Londonand New Policy InstituteThe impact of recent immigration on theLondon economy. London School ofEconomics 2007

Housing in Waltham ForestOf 98,180 registered domestic residentialdwellings, 21,280 are social rented(council or housing association), 22 percent of the total.

The private rented sector increasedfrom 18 per cent in 2001 to 32 per cent in2011. The average stay in the privaterented sector is 4 years – this has asignificant impact on the turnover ofborough residents and communities.

The average joint household incomeis just under £29,000. At that incomehousing in the borough is unaffordable.The waiting list for social housing is longand growing, particularly as people aredriven out of central London by new rulesgoverning social rents.

Private rents are rising rapidly, makingthem unaffordable for many, particularly

for family-sized homes. Council rents are to rise by an average

of 6.9 per cent from April 2012, with somemuch higher.

There are 3,910 registered houses inmultiple occupancy, 5 per cent of thetotal. The true figure is likely to be muchhigher, with small Victorian terracedhousing in the private sector sometimesunofficially housing a family in each room.Changes in Housing Benefit will bringgreatly increased demand.

Waltham Forest now has the highestlevels of homelessness in the country. Ofevery 1,000 inhabitants, 2.55 arehomeless. A local soup kitchen reports asteep rise this year in nightly visitors, witha significant proportion being from easternEurope. ■

A case study of one London borough exposes the lie peddled by politicians – usually seeking to divide us – that the north is poorand the south is rich…

The affluent South East? Take a closer look – the real world is rather different

ABOUT 3,000 people live in a group ofislands in the southwest Atlantic, justabove the Antarctic Circle, propped up byBritain. The economy is based on fishing,agriculture (with sheep farmingpredominant), tourism and latterly oilexploration. The islands are claimed byArgentina, which calls them “lasMalvinas”.

It is unclear who first truly discoveredthe Falkland Islands, though theyattracted attention in the 16th and 17thcenturies when European powers begantheir imperial expansion. Spanishnavigator and explorer FerdinandMagellan may have been the first to findthe islands on his 1519/21 expedition,though this is disputed. Other sightings ofthe islands were made by the Portuguese,Dutch and British in the 1500s.

BarrenBy the late 1600s Britain and France hadre-discovered the barren and stilluninhabited islands as their ships weresailing in the area. Britain named themthe Falkland Islands while France calledthem Les Isles Nouvelles or Les IlesMalouines. The Treaty of Utrecht in 1713ratified Spain’s control over the territoriesand seas of the Americas.

In 1764 it was France that founded afirst settlement at Port Louis, though itmade no formal claim. In 1765, a Britishexpedition explored and claimed theislands, and a British settlement wasfounded at Port Egmont in 1776introducing cattle, goats, sheep and pigsto the islands. But in 1767, France cededPort Louis to Spain (which it renamedPuerto Soledad) in exchange forcompensation.

Some maintain that as a result Spainoccupied and administered the Malvinasfrom 1767 until Argentinian independenceand national liberation from Spain in1816; others say that Spain only hadcontrol over Puerto Soledad. Spainwithdrew its governor in 1806 whilemaintaining its claims. The remainingSpanish-speaking settlers withdrew in1811, though more arrived from the UnitedProvinces of the River Plate in the 1820s

and an Argentine penal settlement in1832. Even a United States warshiparrived in 1831, though nothingpermanent ensued.

In 1833 British forces returned to theislands, which became a coaling stationfor the British navy. From 1840 apermanent British colony wasestablished, and the islands became astrategic point for navigation around CapeHorn for the British Empire. Between 1931and 1982 neglect saw the populationthere decline from 2,392 people to 1,800.It’s risen now to 3,000, a number swollenby military garrisons and seekers afterpossible oil reserves in the waters aroundthe islands.

Argentina says its right to possessionof the islands stems from being heirs ofthe Spanish empire, as well as territorialproximity. Argentina pressed its claim forsovereignty over the islands with renewedvigour in the second half of the 20thcentury.

Talks between British and Argentineforeign missions took place in the 1960s,but failed to come to a conclusion, mainlybecause the islanders wanted the islandsto remain British territory. But the talksled in 1971 to the islands’ first air link,with a service from Argentina to Stanley,the islands’ capital, (which operated until1982). Later the Argentine national oil andgas company was given a monopoly overthe supply of the islands’ energy needs.

InvasionOn 2 April 1982, Argentina’s military junta,hoping to divert growing internalopposition, ordered their armed forces toinvade the Falkland Islands, no doubtencouraged by Britain’s reduction inmilitary capacity in the South Atlantic.

Thatcher’s government sent anexpeditionary force to retake the islands,leading to the Falklands War. Fierce navaland air battles and a land campaignresulted in the deaths of 255 British and649 Argentine soldiers, sailors andairmen, as well as 3 civilian Falklanders –from “friendly” fire. The Argentine forcessurrendered on 14 June 1982. By 1981 theThatcher government had become deeply

14 WORKERS HISTORIC NOTES APRIL 2012

unpopular, but the chauvinism and phonynationalism of the Falklands War broughther an unlikely khaki election victory in1983 that allowed her to go ahead withher vicious war against British workers’jobs, wages and unions.

After the war, Britain increased itsmilitary presence on the islands andconstructed an airport, RAF MountPleasant, as cuts to the navy ruled out arepetition of another naval task force.Although Britain and Argentina resumeddiplomatic relations in 1990, no furthernegotiations on sovereignty have takenplace.

A sensible solutionThe civilian governments of Argentinacontinue to assert that the FalklandIslands are Argentinian territory and willnot relinquish their claim. Since 1994 it iseven part of the Argentine Constitution,with patriotic sentiments enduring ratherthan ebbing away. In addition, thecountries of Latin America have agreed tosupport a boycott of Falkland-flaggedships in their ports. The possibility of

Though lying only 300 miles from Argentina and 8,000 miles from Britain, theFalkland Islands remain a remote imperial relic…

The Falkland Islands: a long way from being British

Rusting hardware, a relic of the 1982 war, beside the road in Port Stanley.

Photo: Tom K!/Shutterstock.com

APRIL 2012

Our Party is unlike any other in Britain, a new type of political body weddedto a different destiny, one of workers taking control and refashioning theworld.

Founded in 1968, fresh and confident from the then revolutionary revival in the world,the CPBML was the special, dedicated creation of a group of industrial engineers led byour founding chairman, Reg Birch. From birth, our Party has had one unshakeablepurpose – to change the thinking of the British working class – to secure theunderstanding that our survival with dignity is impossible under a declining capitalism,that only revolution and working class rule will assure work, peace, security – civilisation– for all.

We do not seek to instruct or command the working class. Workers are thinking beingswho must be convinced themselves of the need for any course of action. Our party is ofthe working class, not a set of special people above it, external, doling out an alientheory. We attempt from the conditions of material existence to refine the strategicthinking of a working class and return it to its proper owners in pristine form. In ourfounder’s metaphor, the working class is the seed, the communist party the fertiliser,enabling the class to flourish more expansively.

We are an unpaid, voluntary community of doers and thinkers with everyone expectedto take responsibility and play a full part in developing the party. We attend regularmeetings, we study together, we pay our financial commitments, we reflect on andanalyse current affairs in Britain and the world, we develop a strategy and tactics thatnot only make sense of the predicaments we face in the world but also chart a way outof the mess. We produce our own publications, website and public meetings from theideas we generate after collective exchange. Without rich or foreign backers, ourfinancial resources are either self-generated or come from workers’ donations.

We have democracy within our party with members always expected to think andcontribute. Our highest authority is our three-yearly representative Party Congress,which sets out a direction for progress and elects a leadership to administer andsafeguard our precious jewel. Discussion establishes the political line, but onceestablished it is adhered to and embellished. We have no factions.

All party members are workers first and foremost, sharing the weal and woe of ourclass. We have no full-time professional revolutionaries and never will have. Weoperate on the willing, equal commitment of members.

Proud of our achievements over 44 years, we readily admit the greatest challenges lieahead. We aim to grow and prosper in these difficult times.

Interested in these ideas?• Go along to meetings in your part of the country, or join in study to help push forwardthe thinking of our class. Get in touch to find out how to take part.

• Get a list of our publications by sending an A5 sae to the address below, or by email.

• Subscribe to WORKERS, our monthly magazine, by going to www.workers.org.uk or bysending £15 for a year’s issues (cheques payable to WORKERS) to the address below.

WORKERS78 Seymour Avenue, London N17 9EB

email info@workers.org.ukwww.workers.org.ukphone 020 8801 9543

More from our series on aspectsof Marxist thinking

finding oil fields in the area will only be acomplicating factor and increase tensionsfurther.

Britain’s government needs to live inthe real world and start reflecting theinterests of over 60 million peopleactually living here – not just thenostalgia of 3000 posturing on some far-flung islands. Britain needs to live onamicable terms with Argentina and LatinAmerica, a growing area for trade anddevelopment. Britain cannot continue tohide behind the dubious interpretation ofthe doctrines of “prescription” (thatsovereignty of a territory can beestablished by peaceful occupation over aperiod of time) and “self-determination”.

In effect, the Falklanders are a smallgroup of introspective pariahs kept afloatby an expensive imperial lifeline. Weshould jettison this aspect of our colonialpast. Negotiations with Argentina couldstill take place to create transitionalarrangements, as we did in Hong Kong,that would protect the ability of thecurrent Falklanders to live and prosperthere, if they so wish. ■

PPPARTY OF A

NEW TYPE

Though lying only 300 miles from Argentina and 8,000 miles from Britain, theFalkland Islands remain a remote imperial relic…

The Falkland Islands: a long way from being British

Rusting hardware, a relic of the 1982 war, beside the road in Port Stanley.

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Publications

WHERE’S THE PARTY?“If you have preconceived ideas of what acommunist is, forget them and read thisbooklet. You may find yourself agreeingwith our views.” Free of jargon andinstructions on how to think, thisentertaining and thought-provokingpamphlet is an ideal introduction tocommunist politics. (Send an A5 sae.)

BRITAIN AND THE EURefutes some of the main arguments infavour of Britain’s membership of the EUand proposes an independent future forour country. (50p plus an A5 sae.)

Workers on the Web• Highlights from this and otherissues of WORKERS can be found onour website, www.workers.org.uk, aswell as information about the CPBML,its policies, and how to contact us.

‘The tone ofBudgetspeeches anddetails mightvary, but theproblems of acapitalisteconomy don’tdisappear withfine words…’

Back to Front – Wealth and moneyOSBORNE’S BUDGET on 21 March wasabout the creation of wealth, or ratherthe lack of it, and not about tax rates orincome distribution. It purported to befor business and growth but was sodevoid of any clue about how to make ithappen that even his cheerleaders werelaughing behind their hands at the“target of £1 trillion exports”.

But there’s little gain for workers inhis discomfiture or even in the inevitableultimate failure of the solutions offeredto end recession.

The headlines were about reducingthe top tax rate, partially fulfilling theLib Dem “big idea” of increasingallowances but not for pensioners, andlowering the rate for companies too. Likeall chancellors Osborne promised tostop tax avoidance – but without themeans to do so.

The outrage from other politiciansand commentators was contrived, fallinginto the “why don’t you take the moneyfrom someone else” trap so artfully setby this government from day one. HMRCwill send out “personal” statements totell people where their taxes are going.Their only purpose is to highlightspending on state benefits and to fuelresentment.

We pay income tax before we takewages home. Since the Second WorldWar that’s been the dominantcontribution to government funds. Goodsand services we buy are taxed again.Even more so for the past 35 plus yearsthrough VAT, the tax favoured by the EU.A proportion of the profits we create forcapitalists are also taxed, though notenough.

Tax avoidance is rightly condemnedby movements like UK Uncut and unionsrepresenting government workers. But inthe end it’s largely irrelevant that verywealthy individuals, high earners andcompany owners will pay less tax thanthey did before. Collecting more tax fromthose who can pay may ease somepressure but that alone will not preventthe destruction of public services put onthe market or go very far to replacethose we’ve lost or create jobs for youngworkers.

The reality is that there is littlechoice for this government or any otherlikely to be elected, even if you buy thetenuous argument that current levels ofpublic debt demand extreme austerity.The tone of Budget speeches and detailsmight vary, but the problems of acapitalist economy don’t disappear withfine words.

The symptoms are simply stated:unemployment, overwork for those whohave jobs, poor or zero prospects for theyoung, lack of investment, a fallingstandard of living, recurrent financialcrises and many needs unfulfilled. Theresult of fewer jobs is less tax for publicspending and more to pay to those outof work. The answer is not to hope foranother, more benevolent government.

There is only one real source ofwealth and tax in the country – theworking class, which produces throughindustry the goods and services weneed. Capitalist governments both needand fear that productivity; it’s time weset the agenda about how we create realwealth for Britain, and how the wealthwe create is used. ■