WTUC Conference: unions need to break from Welsh Labour government implementing Tory cuts

In a leaflet I wrote for the Socialist Part for distribution to delegates at the Wales TUC Conference in Llandudno at the end of last month, I wrote the following:

"Almost every motion on the agenda deals with organising to fight cuts and privatisation of public services. All motions rightly attack the Tory/Liberal Democrat coalition for austerity. But this conference can't afford to let the link between some trade unions and Labour, hamper the effectiveness of the Wales TUC in opposing cuts when they are passed on by a Labour Wales Assembly or Labour councils."

Alec Thraves: Censured!

Reflecting on the conference, I think that although there was an understandable desire for unity, amongst trade unionists facing the worst attacks on our jobs, terms and conditions, services, pensions and our very ability to organise. But there was a significant divide at the conference on some issues between those unions that remain affiliated to the Labour Party and will only fight cuts they can blame on Tories and those that are committed to fighting all cuts, no matter which party implements them. There wasn’t a lot of controversy - apart from TUSC election agent for Swansea during the recent council elections, Alec Thraves, being formally censured for criticising UNISON’s leadership for not allowing members the chance to take part in further strike action on pensions (for more see: http://www.swanseasocialistparty.org.uk/view/news/2012-05-28/150-wales-tuc---a-tale-of-two-conferences.html) – but where there were divided votes it was regularly the unaffiliated unions, including PCS, POA, RMT, FBU and Trades Councils voting against the ‘big 3’ that between them, give £millions of members’ subs to the Labour Party every year.

Welsh Government First Minister, Carwyn Jones, got a standing ovation (although not from all parts of the conference hall) for what I thought was a rather boring speech in which he claimed that there would be no downgrading of NHS services in Wales. At the same time as he was speaking, in Cardiff outside the Senedd, hundreds were protesting at plans to close the A&E unit at Llanelli’s Prince Phillip Hospital! The threat to accident and emergency services at Prince Phillip is part of cuts health Boards are making across Wales as they struggle to find the £290 million of savings that the Labour government of Wales is demanding of them for 2011-12. But this is only the beginning; they will have to save similar amounts, the best part of £300 (by coincidence, roughly the amount that’s stolen from Wales annually through the Barnet Formula for determining funding for devolved areas) or 5% of their budgets, every year for the next 3 years.

In the run up to the conference there has been a heated debate between Labour-supporting trade unionists, such as then-WTUC president Andy Richards and Plaid Cymru. Obviously rattled by concerns that with a new left leader in Leanne Woods, Plaid might threaten Labour’s support in, and finance from, the union movement in Wales, Andy Richards had claimed, “There is only one party for the working people of Wales, the party that the trade unions founded to give a voice to working people – the Labour Party. This is why it is called the Labour Party.”

I support TUSC not Plaid Cymru and I wonder if Labour had got one less seat in the Assembly elections last year, would Plaid now be in partnership with Labour, carrying through same cuts? But the debate has highlighted just how blinkered the Labour-supporting leadership of trade union movement in Wales has become. This fixed outlook, assuming that because trade unions have backed Labour for 100+ years they always will, ignores history and ignores important developments taking place in the more radicalised unions. I’m sure you would have found Liberal Party spokesmen making very similar statements to Andy Richards about the Liberals being the only party for the working person over a hundred years ago when Keir Hardie and others were laying the basis for Labour’s future growth in Wales and Labour Party pioneers were being attacked for splitting the Liberal vote. Within a generation the Liberals went from being a party of government to a broken rump.

PCS was never affiliated to Labour but RMT and FBU were and no longer are; the FBU disaffiliated after a bitter strike dispute against a Labour government. Even in those unions that give the most financial support to Labour, members are not all happy about the uncritical support their leadership gives to a party that has done nothing to support them. They are unlikely to go through but 25% of the motions at this year’s GMB conference are on disaffiliation. Only UNISON’s bizarre rules in this respect – rules that say that only the union’s Labour Link can determine the union’s relationship to the Labour Party – prevent all union members discussing this issue but the leadership will not be able to rely on this to hold back members for ever.

The growth of disenchantment with Labour may be quicker for Welsh trade unionists because, unlike the rest of Britain, we have a Labour government in Wales and, after May’s council elections, Labour in power in many council chambers as well. If, as they have given every indication they will, the Welsh government and Labour councils say they have no choice but to pass on Tory cuts, the disintegration of Labour’s base of support could be extremely rapid. Supporters of TUSC can speed that process up by intervening in struggles against cuts and posing the question of the need for a new, mass workers’ party. TUSC has already taken important, if modest steps, in the direction of attracting trade union support. In the May council elections, TUSC was backed officially by a national trade union, the RMT, for the first time. 3 union general secretaries, from RMT, POA and FBU, gave their personal backing to TUSC. 

Unless the government collapses, which could happen if the tops of the trade union movement prove capable of building a campaign that matches the anger of their members, the only elections in Wales in the next 3 years will be the European ones. The main focus for TUSC supporters now should be the trade union movement, which is where the campaign against cuts and austerity will be fought in the immediate future. All TUSC supporters, particularly anyone who hasn’t been before should definitely try to attend the 6^th annual National Shop Stewards Network Conference (see http://www.shopstewards.net/) next Saturday and the Welsh Shop Stewards Network Conference in Cardiff on June 30^th.

After the elections... back to the fight!

Like many Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition Candidates, I suspect, I was happy to put the election work behind us this week and get back to the main arena for fighting the cuts - the trade union struggle. Today, around 400,000 members of UNITE, UCU, PCS, RMT and NIPSA took action over their pensions and reminded the government that the pensions struggle is far from over. They were joined in an unofficial walkout by POA members, for whom the last Labour government made striking illegal.

Refusing to cross a picket line of my UCU comrades at the College where I work, I joined other Socialist Party members and fellow delegates to the Trades Council, in visiting a number of picket lines. Everywhere we went there was a determined mood to see this fight through no matter what it takes. Most of those on strike today have laready begun to see the effect of increased pension contributions in their pay packets. The other thing common to every picket line, was the desire to see the other public sector unions commit to the fight, in particular my own union, UNISON.

Today was not a day for the half-hearted picket as the Swansea weather seemed determined to throw everything at us - rain, hail, howling winds. The strike rally has to be moved from Castle Square to the Unitarian Church. Nonetheless it was well-attended and everybody was in fighting mood. Visteon pensioners, fighting Ford for the pensions they've had stolen for 3 years now, reminded anybody that might have forgotten that this struggle is about all pensions - public, private and state pensions too.

Everybody at the meeting was determined to rebuild the unity of November 30 and to fight not just on pensions but against regional pay, in defence of our health sevice and in opposition to all cuts. It is in these struggles that TUSC will be built.

Support May 10 strike action. Defend all pensions.

The Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition urges everybody who voted for us last week and all trade unionists to do what they can to support the strike action tomorrow. Upto 500,000 trade unionists in PCS, UNITE, RMT, UCU. NIPSA will be taking co-ordinated strike action. Visit picket lines to offer solidarity and join the rally in Castle Square at 12:30pm.

Defend pensions - public, private and state pensions.

Welsh Labour's £290 million NHS cuts

Now that the council elections are over, the level of cuts planned by Welsh Labour begins to be revealed. During the elections, the First Minister was adamant that there were no cuts to the NHS in Wales, repeated by Welsh trade union officials ranting against cuts in England. And, while nobody seems to be using the word 'cuts', it appears NHS boards have to meet 'tough savings targets' of £290 million in the coming year and an average of 5% a year for the next 3 years.

This annual saving of the best part of £300 million is roughly the amount that Welsh Labour says is stolen from Wales through the Barnett Formula funding mechanism. Socialist Party members have consistently demanded that the Assembly set a 'needs budget' and mobilise trade unionists and working class people around a campaign for the return of this money, urgently needed for services in Wales.

This demand needs to be linked to the fight to overturn Welsh Labour's NHS cuts, inscribed on the TUSC banner in Wales and taken into the unions representing health workers. Saving NHS services is too important to allow the link between the leadership of the likes of UNISON Cymru and Welsh Labour to derail it. Fail to defeat these cuts and the NHS in Wales will look very different in 3 years' time. But health workers and users of NHS services will have no choice but to fight and the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition has an important role to play in that struggle.


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Election analysis - video with Pater Taaffe

Peter Taaffe, General Secretary of the Socialist Party, analyses the election results and outlines a perspective for the development of the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition: http://youtu.be/6u9_GHdoDUA

Swansea TUSC - let's build on this start!

In yesterday's elections, around 550 people in Swansea voted for the 4 Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition candidates in the 3 wards where we stood, Castle, Sketty and Gowerton. Even though Labour had not been in power in Swansea for 8 years before last night, leaving it able to portray itself as the anti-cuts party, already trade unionists and campaigners are drawing the conclusion that in order to fight the cuts they need an alternative. These hundreds of votes are the music of the future; Labour now has a dominant majority in Swansea and in councils across Wales; they have nowhere to hide from the key question: will they fight for their working class and trade unionist voters or will they pass on Tory cuts?

You only have to look at the 2 councils that were under Labour control in Wales before last night to see the likely answer to that question. Neath Port Talbot (NPT) and Rhondda Cynon Taff (RCT) were the pioneers of the threat and, in RCT's case, use of, the 188 notice to tear up national agreements on terms and conditions for local authority workers. Neighbouring NPT implemented a pay cut for its staff, scrapped a raft of allowances, in some case leading to cuts to take home pay for some of the lowest paid of upto 40% and, despite these savings from their own workforce, out-sourced and cut services.

With Labour in power and implementing the cuts it will be TUSC supporters that will be organising the fight back at a workplace, union branch and community level. TUSC is sinking deep roots in the trade union movement, across the UK and here in Wales; amongst the 14 TUSC candidates in Cardiff, Swansea and RCT that contested these elections, were elected representatives and activists from GMB, UNISON, UNITE and PCS, including the national Remploy trade union convenor, an organiser of the 'sparks' rank and file movement that defeated the employers plans to do away with national agreement on wages and conditions and the secretary of Swansea Trades Council. RMT branches in Wales voted to officially back TUSC in this election and. TUSC was backed in a personal capacity by 3 trade union general secretaries.

Trade unionists need a new mass party to represent us, the working class needs a new mass party to fight with us; the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition is helping to bring that about. The near 1,500 votes our candidates achieved in South Wales show there is a potential waiting to be tapped and the ability of our supporters to overcome obstacles to reach working class people with our programme. Before the next elections in Wales there will be major trade union struggles against the cuts, beginning with the strike action in defence of public sector pensions on May 10. TUSC supporters will be playing our part in organising for victory in those struggles and all the time we will be pointing to the need for a political party to fight alongside us. We've taken a big step forward in the last few weeks - let's build on that in the fight to oppose all cuts!

Remember to vote TUSC today

Thank you to everybody who has worked hard in the last few weeks to build support for TUSC. Hopefully our vote in Swansea will reflect the work we've done but regardless of the result tonight, our work has helped in further establishing the reputation of TUSC as the alternative to the cuts consensus of all the main parties.

The work of TUSC in Swansea doesn't stop today. This campaign has made clear the need for a new workers' party, based on the trade unions and opposing all cuts. That also means supporting all trade unionists fighting back against the cuts. If you're voting TUSC today in Swansea then please make every effort to support the strike next Thursday, May 10, by visiting picket lines or attending the rally in Castle Square at 12:30pm. Please also continue to support the fight of Remplo workers to save their factories.

TUSC is backed officially by one major union - RMT - and has personal support from 3 union general secretaries - RMT, FBU and POA. More importantly, TUSC is backed by leading activists in many trade unions at national and local levels.

In South Wales, TUSC candidates, standing in a personal capacity, include a UNITE electrician, involved in the rank and file movement that thwarted attempts to undermine national terms and conditions, a GMB shop steward, Les Woodward, who is also the national trade union convenor for Remploy, PCS and UNISON activists, the secretary of Swansea Trades Council and many more.

If, as is fairly likely, Labour wins control of Swansea and begins to implement cuts, more and more trade unionists and working class people will draw the same conclusion - that we need a party committed to fighting all cuts. As this idea gains ground we need to make sure that TUSC challenges for more seats at future elections of all kinds, to offer more people the chance to vote for a genuine alternative.

Thank you once again and don't forget to vote today for the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition.