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NEWS & LETTERS, October 2002
British labor action
London--Trades Union Congress delegates representing
Britain's 6.8 million union members came close to passing a motion expressing
outright opposition to the impending invasion of Iraq. However, after a show of
hands indicated a majority for the anti-war argument, the big right-wing
controlled unions called for a card vote and voted for “military action only
with UN approval.” This made it easier for Tony Blair, in his address the
following day, to put over the Blair-Bush line on action against Iraq. Blair told delegates their choice was “partnership”
with his government through the Private Finance Initiative or
“self-indulgent” militancy. The TU Lefts are by no means ready for a
showdown with New Labour, but with an unmistakable leftward shift amongst union
activists, they think time is on their side. Unease over Blairite partnership deals with private firms
running public services has resulted in the election of left-wingers at unions
previously dominated by the Right. There have been repeated calls for repeal of
Thatcherite anti-union legislation, such as bans on solidarity actions. Workers at steel works in Wrexham, Tredegar and Scunthorpe
have been striking one day a week since a decision in July by steelmaker Caparo
to close its final salary pension scheme. The first-ever strike for pension
rights has just been won and the firm has had to reinstate the scheme. This is a
serious challenge to the increasing number of firms attempting to close down
final salary schemes and switch to money-purchase schemes where the employee
bears most of the risk. FIRE BRIGADES The Fire Brigades Union is balloting members on strike
action over pay. The wages of fire fighters have fallen behind other sectors by
as much as 20%, but employers have only offered a 4% raise and an “independent
enquiry.” A national fire fighters' strike seems likely during the next few
months, the first in 25 years. In 1978, when the Callaghan Labour Government was in power,
the strike was broken by deployment of army firefighting units. The FBU believes
that because of the advance in technology, army intervention will not be a
viable option this time around. Bob Crow, left-wing leader of the Rail, Maritime and
Transport union, declared at the Congress that if the fire fighters do strike,
rail workers would refuse to work without the safety cover provided by the fire
brigades. This would effectively bring London, at the very least, to a
standstill. In mid-July, 750,000 council workers struck in a one-day
protest over the local authority employers' rejection of their claim for a 6%
wage increase. The strike affected ferry services, benefits offices, parking
patrols, schools and what remains of non-privatised garbage collection. In
August a pay deal brokered by the government's arbitration body, ACAS, resulted
in calling off a badly-timed one-day follow-up strike (in the middle of August)
by the union leaders. The unions, having extracted a slightly increased offer
from the employers of 3.5%, have since been '"consulting" members in
local government and are recommending acceptance. In London, however, a 24-hour strike over the employers'
failure to increase the London Weighting Allowance is set for Oct. 1, coinciding
with a speech by Blair to the Labour Party conference. Council workers in London
want a flat rate rise of £4,000 a year from the current £1,400-2,600 to help
their members meet the cost of living in the capital. Refuse collectors, teaching assistants, social workers and
street cleaners will be among those workers expected to take part. This action
is likely to be followed up with industrial action aimed at council revenues
such as parking attendants, who extract huge sums from offending motorists
throughout London. --David Black |
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