Billy Hayes Speech - The fight against Austerity

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.cwu.org/billy-hayes/?p=884" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I wish to start by congratulating the Sussex Trade Union Network on organising this conference.

We are in difficult times, and it is important to organise opportunities for activists to discuss how to address the offensive against the working class.

The failure of austerity is twofold:

Osborne says “we are all in this together”, yet in reality austerity only reduces the living standards of the poor and the working class
and secondly, austerity does not solve the economic problems it claims to address.
Now, I will not go into the first point too deeply. Everyone in this room will have evidence and anecdotes about how austerity is wrecking the communities and the people we represent.

But if I can summarise the position – since 2008 we have seen a decline in real wages. Yet dividend payments to shareholders are at a record level with £76 billion paid out in 2012.

Austerity is a policy for transferring income from the poor and working class to the wealthy and the capitalist class.

The Coalition government and its supporters in the media deny this. For them austerity is about creating the basis for economic recovery by reducing state spending.

What we have to demonstrate is how by this measure austerity as also a failure.

The Coalition suggested that austerity would:

restore growth in the economy
clear the deficit in public spending by the end of this Parliament
maintain the Triple A creditworthiness of our national accounts
revive manufacturing
promote private investment take the place of the decline in public investment.
By all of these measures austerity has failed:

Osborne told Parliament that the economy will grow by 6% over three years-it has grown by 1% , that’s stagnation
far from clearing the public deficit by 2015 – it will be £96 billion
Triple A creditworthiness has been downgraded twice
far from manufacturing expanding, it has declined faster than services
private investors haven’t filled the loss of public sector investment – private investors are on strike with £777 billion of company funds being held idle in British banks.
So we have to keep demonstrating that austerity has failed by its own measures.

Let us grasp what is really at the root of the economic recession.

The latest Office for National Statistics figures show that the economy is still 3.9% below its peak in the first quarter 2008.

In monetary terms today – it is £61 billion smaller than at the start of 2008.

The difference here is the collapse of private investment – £68 billion below the 2008 figure.

This accounts for the entire drop in economic activity over these years. It is the private investors who have created economic stagnation.

In comparison household consumption has fallen £28 billion – that is the loss to the living standards of the working class and poor.

Of course, private investors haven’t suffered a drop in their living standards – they are simply hoarding money in banks. As I noted earlier around £777 billion idle company funds in British banks.

So, we cannot expect private capital to solve the economic problem. We need an expansion in the economy in order to overcome the recession.

Only government led investment will allow this.

Our alternative is “Investment not cuts”. That is the message CWU will be taking in a motion to the TUC Congress.

It is also the policy that the CWU will be raising in Labour’s policy review.

And lest there be any doubt, the CWU does not accept that an incoming Labour government has to stick to Tory spending limits.

And we certainly do not accept that Labour must maintain the attacks upon the unemployed, the disabled, the low paid and the working class generally.

Now, there are many things which an incoming Labour government can do to promote recovery. It can invest in infrastructure, services, housing and the next generation of workers. Labour can create a wages and jobs-led recovery.

And incidentally, growth in the economy will close the public spending deficit naturally by increasing tax revenue and reducing welfare spending, without burdening the poor and working class.

Now, we cannot simply wait for a more progressive government. We have to act now to defend the poor and the working class.

For the CWU, this immediately means a campaign against the privatisation of Royal Mail.

The Coalition Government used its parliamentary majority to secure the Postal Services Act 2011, which allows it to see sell Royal Mail. The government has announced its intention to sell Royal Mail in this financial year-i.e. before April 2014.

Now we are certain that we can defeat this. Privatisation was defeated by the union in 1994, 2007 and 2009. In each case we have had to use different tactics. But we have shown it can be done.

Last week, our members demonstrated that they are prepared to defend it a fourth time.

On a 74% turnout, postal workers rejected privatisation by 96%.

Now the union is opposed to privatisation because :

a private company will prioritise profits over services – leading to higher prices
a private company will lobby to reduce the universal service and uniform tariff
a private company will promote a race to the bottom in terms and conditions for the workforce.
So our campaign is in defence of the service and the customers it serves – as well as in defence of the workforce.

We are supporting an independent campaign “Save Our Royal Mail”. This campaign is promoting public activity, and working to raise awareness about the issue inside the Coalition parties.

As the CWU, our branches are also launching public initiatives. These include postcards to MPs, petitions, and stalls for informing the public.

We are also working alongside opposition parties – primarily the Labour Party – but seriously with other parties too.

This week, hundreds of CWU members lobbied Parliament. Over 70 MPs attended the briefing meeting. The meeting was so packed that many CWU members couldn’t get in.

Now the union is also preparing for a national strike ballot.

The employer has failed to offer an acceptable pay deal. The employer has made another attack on members’ pensions. The employer is refusing to give adequate guarantees on future terms and conditions.

The union has a special Postal Policy Forum for branches in July. There will be further negotiations before then – but it is almost certain that a strike ballot will be called later this year.

We will be pursuing legitimate industrial issues. But we know that potential investors are frightened off by the idea of a unionised, militant workforce.

Already articles of have appeared in the FT and the Sunday Times indicating that investors are not enthusiastic.

So, I’m confident that all the conditions are falling into place for the government to be forced into a retreat on this policy.

With your support, this will be more certain.

Thanks for listening.

[Red Robbo]

I'm so pleased that Billy is confident because I'm not, this employer ( RM) & (POL) are not going away, seventh strike action for counters and us next in September ?

[blackadder]

dont remember billy having a go when tony and gordon decided to let in any tom dick or abdul in. mayb if if he did and didnt have god knows how many immigrants in then we have jobs for the youth, houses for the british not as it stands 50% going to immigrants. we have been sold down the river by goverments since 1945, bout time we had a government that did what it was elected for. to do what the people want. oh and as for immigration, i myself have norse, roman and a whiff of french in me. immigaration is what built this fine island but not the immigration over the last 10 years which has dun nothing but take jobs, houses and hope from the average british man and woman

[beria]

Here ! here!

[sledger]

this country is now without question a s**t hole where the rich take advantage of the working man,the immigrants take advantage of the working man and a recession is like all their xmases coming at once

[baldrick]

Yeah everything's the fault of the Eastern Europeans/Blacks/Asians/Muslims/Jews (choose your favourite scapegoats).
Nothing to do with the rich privileged elite who actually run the country and the economy is it?

[savo]

dont remember billy having a go when tony and gordon decided to let in any tom dick or abdul in. mayb if if he did and didnt have god knows how many immigrants in then we have jobs for the youth, houses for the british not as it stands 50% going to immigrants. we have been sold down the river by goverments since 1945, bout time we had a government that did what it was elected for. to do what the people want. oh and as for immigration, i myself have norse, roman and a whiff of french in me. immigaration is what built this fine island but not the immigration over the last 10 years which has dun nothing but take jobs, houses and hope from the average british man and woman

Spot on bud, not a word from the unions about mass immigration forcing down wages, and bringing schools and hospitals to breaking point. Demographics = we are up $hit creek without the paddle.....

As for Hayes - makes the buffoon Prescott sound like a clever and incisive orator..

[subbie]

Is this a UKIP thread, or a BNP, or a EDL one ?

Subbie

[stokes11eg]

After watching this man twice yesterday, bumbling along as usual, I cannot beleive he writes his own material. On the early edition of the B.B.C. news, he couldn;t even say how much The Union had paid in fees to Labour. His next interview was just as bad----couldn't string two words together! And he is still putting on weight!

[savo]

Is this a UKIP thread, or a BNP, or a EDL one ?

Subbie

<=============== The Guardian is that way - jog on

[Red Robbo]

In terms of I say

[TrueBlueTerrier]

Is this a UKIP thread, or a BNP, or a EDL one ?

Subbie

<=============== The Guardian is that way - jog on

and the Daily Mail is ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
but I wont tell you to Jog On - its very impolite.

[UnhappyGremlin]

Is this a UKIP thread, or a BNP, or a EDL one ?

Subbie

None.

I think it's more of a 'Why the hell are the poorest in the country paying for/suffering for the richest's cock-up? Again?' type of thing.

[savo]

Is this a UKIP thread, or a BNP, or a EDL one ?

Subbie

<=============== The Guardian is that way - jog on

and the Daily Mail is ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------->
but I wont tell you to Jog On - its very impolite.

Agree the "jog on" was uncalled for, sorry.

Just annoys frightens me that so many people ( including most politicians ) ignore the elephant in the corner of the room - rapidly increasing population causing pressure on essential services and infrastructure and wages.

And the section of society that is increasing the most has a very different viewpoint on womens rights, gay rights etc

As Mr Churchill said, an appeaser is one who feeds a crocodile hoping it eats him last..