What is the SWP doing in the unions?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.workersliberty.org/node/9673

PLEASE NOTE NEITHER TBT OR POSTMAN HAS ANY ALLEGIANCE TO EITHER SWP OR WORKERS LIBERTY - THIS ARTICLE IS POSTED FOR GENERAL INFORMATION AS AN ORDINARY NEWS ITEM

What is the SWP doing in the trade unions? A key factor in trashing the possibility of a united public-sector fightback this year against Gordon Brown's 2% limit has been the decision by the civil service union PCS, although it already had a live ballot mandate for action, to withdraw into prolonged "consultations" of its membership while the POA and CWU strikes and the Unison health and local government ballots came and went. Having "consulted" and announced that PCS members supported further national strike action, the PCS leadership then... decided to call off any further national action, at least for the time being.

The main force driving that decision was the Socialist Party, but the three SWP members on the PCS Executive, Sue Bond, Paul Williams, and Andy Reid, also voted to call off action.

In the postal workers' critical dispute, SWP member Jane Loftus did vote on the CWU's Postal Executive against the shoddy deal eventually recommended to CWU members by their leadership and ratified in a ballot which closed on 27 November.

But she did not campaign for a no vote. Dave Warren, another Postal Exec member who voted against the deal on the Exec, did campaign, and was quoted extensively in Socialist Worker as well as in Solidarity. But there were no quotes, or appeals to vote no, from Jane Loftus in Socialist Worker.

Apparently the procedure in the CWU is that if an Exec member wants to campaign against an Exec majority decision, they must formally register their intention to do so. Dave Warren did. Jane Loftus didn't.

According to CWU insiders, her explanation was that her position as President of the CWU made it "inappropriate" for her to campaign for a no vote.

In the first place, CWU insiders say that it would have been perfectly possible within normal CWU procedures for Jane Loftus to campaign for a no vote while being union president, once she had registered she would do so. In the second place, suppose it would have caused trouble, and cost Jane Loftus her presidential position: wouldn't it still have been right to come out publicly for a no vote when the issues were so important?

Neither episode is a one-off.

In October 2005, the two members of the SWP then on the Executive of PCS, Martin John and Sue Bond, voted to approve the Government-TUC pensions deal. An article in Socialist Worker that same week, personally signed by SW editor Chris Bambery, had already denounced the deal - rightly, though in rather exaggeratedly strident terms - as an “abject capitulationâ€

[davidessex]

This shows how "weak" unions, in particularly CWU, are during a labour government. Under the conservatives there could be no collusion with opposition labour and the fight was taken on behalf of the members, to the government. Today the role is reversed and not only are the members fighting the government, we are also fighting the morally corrupt leaders of our union.

[L Tommo]

ROCK ON DAVE!!!


HOLD ME CLOSE - 04/10/1975
3 weeks at #1 - 10 weeks on chart

Hold me close, don't let me go, oh no
I, yes I love you and I think that you know
Do ya know
With your love light shining
Every clouds got a silver lining
So hold me close, don't let me go

Hold me close, don't let me go, oh no
You and me, yes our love it will stop the show
Do you know
With your love light shining clearly
It's so good to have-a-ya near me
So hold me close, don't let me go

And if that road gets weary, oh I love you
Waiting here if you need me
'Cause I love the things that you do

So hold me close, don't let me go,oh no
You see I, yes I love ya and I think that you know
Do you know
With your love light shining
Every clouds got a silver lining
So hold me close, don't let me go

And if that road gets tougher, oh I love you
No I'll let ya suffer 'cause I love the things that you do
So hold me close, don't let me go oh no
You and me, yes our love it will grow and grow
Do you know
With your love light shining
Every cloud has a silver lining
So hold me close, hold me close, hold me close don't let me go

Hold me close
Closer girl
Hold me close !!

CLASSIC!

[davidessex]

trust you to come up with a serious reply to a light hearted thread !! nice one tommo.