L a b o u r ’s laws

by Carolyn Jones

For the past two ye a rs Congresshas called for the repeal of anti-union laws and a Trade UnionFreedom Bill and for greaterlabour market regulation toprotect wo rke rs .

This ye a r ’s agenda shows thatequal treatment for agencywo rke rs , rights from day one andunion freedoms in line withi n t e rnational standards are stilld e m a n d e d .What is different is anew premier, a new cabinet andan election round the corn e r.

So will Brown deliver the longawaited rights and freedoms?

On the eveidence notvo l u n t a ri ly.There are no tra d eunion appointments in the ‘ b i gt e n t ’ to match the elevation ofD i g by Jones; the FundamentalC h a rter of Social Rights has been‘red lined’; the Trade UnionFreedom Bill has been bl o c ked atan early stage as has the A g e n c yWo rke rs Bill; proposals onchanging the law to reflect thedecision on ASLEF v UK fail torecognise union autonomy andtheir right to determine theirown rules and attempts are inhand to reduce the union vo i c eat Labour’s confe r e n c e !

But politicians are not beyo n dp e rsuasion – especially at electiont i m e. E f fe c t i ve campaigning andl o bbying by unions and theirm e m b e rs helps. A s s e rt i n gp o l i t i c a l , financial and industri a lpressure will focus minds.T h eTrade Union Rights andFreedoms Bill is due a secondreading on 19 October.T h eUnited Campaign has organised al o bby of parliament in support ofthe Bill for18 October and theG e n e ral Council is backing it.

If Brown refuses to listen, weshould consider fo l l owing theexample of our sister unions inA u s t ralia and organise a centra l lyc o o r d i n a t e d , multi-union fundedcampaign aimed at raising thepolitical profile of the calls fo rt rade union rights at wo rk .Globalisation will not delive rf a i rn e s s .Trade unions can.

Carolyn Jones is director of the

Institute of Employment Rights

TURN OFF THE PROFITS TA P !

IT IS TIME TO PUT PUBLIC OWNERSHIP ON THE A G E N DAA bid to shift basic indust ryand utilities into publicow n e rship has re c i eved wideb a cking in the labourm ove m e n t .

The initiative emerged at theve ry successful ‘Politics Afte rBlair’ Morning Star confe re n c eon June 16 when it wa sp roposed that the labourm ovement should seek to putpublic ow n e rship back on thepolitical agenda.

An initiative was suggested toe stablish a body under thename ‘Common Good – theC e n t re for Public Owners h i p ’ .Its role would be to pro d u c ere s e a rch briefings bulletins andm a s s - d i stribution leafl ets; issuesta tements to the media; holdm e etings, seminars andc o n fe rences; and launch awe b s i te .

The body would not bealigned with or affi l i a ted to anypolitical part y.

The idea has won a positiveresponse in trade union,political and academic circ l e sand a founding sta tement hasbeen dra fted and circ u l a ted toleading fi g u res in the labourand pro g re s s i ve move m e n t s .

The founding statement'Common Good'—the Centre forPublic Ownership campaigns forthe speedy return of the water,gas, electricity, coal, railway andbus industries to publicownership and control on thegrounds of democraticaccountability, financialrectitude, public utility,economic efficiency andenvironmental security. Inthese and other areas,privatisation has proved to be anexpensive failure for the citizensof Britain, benefiting privatedirectors, big shareholders andfinancial institutions atenormous cost to the generalpublic and the workforcesconcerned. 'Common Good'will therefore strive to exposeprivatisation as the greatestpolitical and financial swindle ofthe 20th century and will opposeany further measures to privatiseany section of Britain's publicservices, including suchpreparatory steps asmarketisation and theintroduction of share ownership.

In particular, the role ofEuropean Union policies inpromoting privatisation needs tobe brought to the attention oftrade unions, consumers and thegeneral public. New and moredemocratic models of public andsocial ownership are needed toensure that Britain's energy andtransport industries are run inthe interests of citizens,consumers, workers and societyas a whole.

'Common Good' will alsoresearch, publish and take otherinitiatives to indicate the benefitsthat would flow from publicownership of other key sectors ofthe economy such as banking,armaments production andpharmaceuticals.

Affiliation to 'CommonGood' and participation in itsaffairs shall be on the basis of aconstitution approved andadopted by its foundingmembers.

A list of supporters and thefounding statement is to bepublished and a meeting ofsupporters convened. Fordetails write to 'Common Good'at Ruskin House, 23 CoombeRd., Croydon CR0 1BD

u n i t yat the TUC in Bri g h t o nM o n d ay 10 September 2007

O ver 100 ye a rs ago, the T U Cinitiated the steps which led tothe founding of the Labour Pa rt y.This was a great political leapforward for wo rking people.T h e yhad seen through Liberal Pa rt yclaims to speak for labour, t orepresent the interests ofwo rke rs as well as those off a c t o ry ow n e rs , coal barons andshipping magnates.

Millions of wo rking class vo t e rselected Labour gove rnments in1 9 2 4 , 1 9 2 9 , 1 9 4 5 , 1 9 5 1 , 1 9 6 4 ,1 9 6 6 , 1974 (twice), 1 9 9 7 , 2 0 0 1and 2005.They did so notbecause they believed it wo u l dlead to a socialist society. M o s tpeople long ago realised thatLabour Pa rty leaders ‘ p l ayed theg a m e ’ to win votes and not upsetthe Establishment too mu c h .Compromises came to beexpected from Labour in offi c e,some sell-outs eve n .

But all Labour regimes tried tor e d i s t ri bute we a l t h , i m p r ovesocial and welfare provisions fo rwo rke rs and their families, d e fe n dand enlarge the public sector,extend democratic ri g h t s , o p p o s eracism and – in intern a t i o n a la f f a i rs – uphold the League ofNations and the UN in the faceof military aggression.

Labour often fell a long ways h o rt .The Communist Pa rty inB ritain was fo rmed in 1920 tomobilise wo rke rs and people to

fight for progress and socialistr e vo l u t i o n . C o m munist attemptsto remain in and then affiliate tothe Labour Pa rty were rejectedby right-wing Labour leaders ,despite at times winningsubstantial trade union support .

N e ve rt h e l e s s , a large section ofthe wo rking class has stayed loya lto Labour.The Communist Pa rt yhas long recognised this reality,wo rking in alliance with otherson the left to improve Labour’spolicies rather than try to replaceit as the mass party of the labourm ove m e n t .

But the ‘tectonic plates’ h avebeen shifting in ways which thet rade union movement and theleft can not ignore.

In its fi rst term , the NewLabour gove rnment met pledgesto a national minimum wage,increased some employment andunion ri g h t s , and devolution fo rScotland and Wa l e s . But since2001 New Labour has gove rn e dp ri m a ri ly for big bu s i n e s s .

Wealth has been redistri bu t e d– but to the richest tenth of thep o p u l a t i o n , who now own morethan half Bri t a i n ’s we a l t h .T h ebasic state pension has beenc o n t i nu o u s ly devalued, and futurewo rke rs will have to get to 68b e fore qualifying for it.

Instead of fulfiling its pledge tot a ke the ra i lw ays back into publ i cow n e rs h i p,New Labour hasindulged in an orgy ofp rivatisation and contracting out.P r o fi t e e rs are given a red carp e tinto our state education andhealth serv i c e s . PFI repay m e n t swill cost more than £100 billionover the next 12 ye a rs .

Our civil liberties have beenc u rtailed to a degree unknown inp e a c e t i m e, c o s t ly ID-card ‘ d o gl i c e n c e s ’ are coming. I n c e s s a n tg ove rnment attacks on asylum

s e e ke rs and migrant wo rke rsh ave stoked ra c i s m , t u rning theBNP into the most successfulfascist party in Bri t a i n ’s history.

Blair – with Brow n ’s shamefulacquiescence – has locked usinto the foreign policy of themost reactionary circles of USm o n o p o ly capitalism.The UN istreated with contempt. H u n d r e d sof thousands, civilians ands o l d i e rs , h ave died, while the giantUS oil, c o n s t ruction anda rmaments corp o rations havereaped the benefi t s .

N ow prime minister Brown isripping up intern a t i o n a ld i s a rmament treaties bycommitting Britain to the US StarWa rs project and a newg e n e ration of nuclear we a p o n s .

We do not have a Labourg ove rnment in any social-d e m o c ratic sense. B r ow n ’sproposals for the policy-makingprocess in the Labour Pa rty willcomplete the anti-democra t i c,a n t i - t rade union dri ve begun byPa rt n e rship in Powe r.

The T U C, individual unions, t h eC o m munist Pa rty and the leftcan do all in our power tocombat the most reactionaryNew Labour policies.The LeftWing Programme provides au n i f y i n g , coherent and progressivea l t e rn a t i ve.

But we cannot ignore theelephant in the room which isthe Labour Pa rty in the grip ofNew Labour. Some unions havealready disaffi l i a t e d , and morem ay regrettably fo l l ow as theirm e m b e rs have enough of attackson their jobs, pensions and livings t a n d a r d s . Individual members h i phas halved and millions of fo rm e rLabour vo t e rs have deserted theLabour Pa rty at the ballot box .

The trade unions and thepeople of Britain need a massp a rty of labour. Opting out doesnothing to secure one. A f fi l l i a t e dunions must fight as never befo r eto break New Labour’s death-g ri p, with the support of allsections of the labour move m e n t .But from next month’s LabourPa rty confe r e n c e, e ve ry tra d eunion and eve ry socialisto rganisation has a responsibilityto outline its proposals fo rreclaiming or re-establ i s h i n gB ri t a i n ’s mass party of labour.

R o b e rt Griffiths is general secretaryof the Communist Pa rt y

Us and them There’s anunusual motion (16) in theemployment rights debate thisafternoon. Not because it callsfor a Trade Union Freedom Bill– and the POA knows all aboutthe lack of trade union freedoms– but because it clearly spells outwhat progressive trade uniondemocracy is about. Firstly, thatonce adopted, policy should befully supported by all affiliates.Secondly, that while inconstructive debate withgovernment, TUC policies whichare contrary to governmentpolicies should still be fully actedupon.

Don’t mention the class warAny reminder of the Warwickagreement is in extremely badtaste. Ministers don’t like beingreminded that they promised theunions anything and unionleaders don’t like beingreminded they were taken for aride. But this convention holdsno fears for the ‘class cuddlecomrades’ of Unions 21. Theirannual TUC outing today ismore about accommodating toprivatisation than fighting forpublic ownership.

Bravo Brendan Brendan Barberhit the nail on the head when hewarned Gordon Brown that ‘hisabsolute rigid position on pay isneither acceptable noreconomically viable’.

It is around the divisionbetween profits and pay that thecontradictions in governmentpolicy strike most workers. Andas capitalism slips again intocrisis pay struggles will sharpen.

OPPOSE THE NEWNUCLEAR T H R E ATNO TRIDENT AND TOUS MISSILE DEFENCEC N D fringe Monday 5:30pm

Quality Hotel, West Stre e t

Hear Kate Hudson CND.

Roudabeh Shafie Campaign

I r a n , G e r ry Doherty T S S A

. . . a l a b o u r p a rt yR o b e rt Griffiths on Britain's mass party of labour

Wa n t e d !

by John Fo s t e r

The government’s Green PaperHousing for the Future proposesan increase in the number ofhouses to be built annually from185,000 to 240,000. It alsosuggests that the governmentshould consider the option ofsome of this housing being builtby councils on council-ownedland. Both proposals arewelcome. They represent the firsthesitant step towards revising adisastrous policy inherited fromthe Tories which has resulted inan enormous crisis. But it's notenough. Councils must beallowed to access funds withoutcoming under pressure to enterpublic/private partnerships, setup separate companies or sell yetmore valuable land for privatehousing. There must also befunds to improve existing councilhousing stock, including onestates which have voted againstprivatisation. What causedtoday's housing crisis? The Torydrive to destroy council housingand recreate the housing marketas a source of super-profit.Currently housing has thehighest rate of return apart fromoil. Immense fortunes are beingmade out of land sales and landhoarding, speculativedevelopment, old-style

landlordism and corporatelending to home buyers. Thesesuperprofits have one simplecause: scarcity – deliberatelycreated. The building of publicsector housing has virtuallystopped. Only 277 councilhouses were built in England lastyear. Most old housing has beensold off and rents pushed up to alevel that cannot be afforded byworking families. There are now1.6 million people on councilwaiting lists, with 800,000 livingin overcrowded conditions inLondon alone. The average priceof a house is eight times theaverage annual wage, far higherthan in the last housing crash inthe early 1990s. Repossessionshave already increased 30 percent this year over 2006. Onlythe building of many new houseswill resolve this crisis. The GreenPaper targets are just too small.And the private sector hasalready shown it is quiteunwilling to meet even theexisting targets. It already ownsenough land. But it does notwant to reduce its profits – andwill be even more unwillingduring the current credit crisis,137 Labour MPs have nowsigned Early Day Motion136,demanding that council tenantsshould have a ‘fourth option’ ofremaining council tenants and

receiving the necessaryinvestment. The government’sGreen Paper represents a keyopportunity to secure a change.The TUC has policy. So does theLabour Party, where the lastthree conferences havedemanded a level playing fieldand an end to penalties againstcouncil housing. It is now amatter of the trade unionmovement, tenants, councilhousing campaigners, LabourCLPs and MPs ensuring thatpolicy is implemented – andthe threat of poverty and squalorlifted from future generations. For campaigning materials andmore information go towww.defendcouncilhousing.org.uk

John Foster is international

secretary of the Communist Party

End the housing crisis

REFERENDUM NOWNO EU CONSTITUTIONT H ROUGH THE BACKD O O R

M o n d ay lunchtime 12.45pm

B e l g r ave Hotel

To ny Wo o d l ey Unite, Bob Crow

R M T, K a rtika Liotard Dutch

Socialist Pa rty MEP, C a ro l y n

J o n e s , D i rector IER,

Ian Davidson MP

C h a i r: Moz Greenshields Unison

O rganised by T UA E U C

LABOUR LAW W H AT ’ SON THE A G E N DA ?

M o n d ay 5.30pm (or end of T U C

session) Meeting Room 1

Brighton Conference Centre

Hear Brian Caton POA , B o b

C row RMT, Jon Cru ddas MP.

Keith Ewing President IER,

Sally Hunt UCU, Pam James

N ational Group on

H o m ewo r ke r s , John McDonnell

M P, Sarah Veale T U C, To ny

Wo o d l ey UNITE.

C h a i r: John Hendy QC IER

S p o n s o r s : Thompsons Solicitors

R e f reshments ava i l a bl e

O rganised by the Institute of

E m p l oyment Rights & United

Campaign for the Repeal of the

Anti Trade Union Law s

CUBA SOLIDA R I T YCA M PA I G N W H O S ERULES RULE? W hy the US

blockade forces firms to bre a k

UK law. M o n d ay 5:30pm,

Room 7, Brighton Centre

H avana Club rum re c e p t i o n ,

f e aturing live Cuban

m u s i c, guest speakers and

Cuban rum cocktails

Hear To ny Wo o d l ey Unite, D ave

P rentis Unison; B rendan Barber

T U C, plus Cuban guest

r a l l yTuesday lunchtime 12.45pm Hilton Brighton Metropole

Defend UK manufacturing; equal treatment for agency andtemporaryworkers; end of privatisation of public services;employment rights to protect jobs; building affordable housingfor working people. Hear Derek Simpson and Tony Woodley of UNITE,Carolyn Jones of the Institute of Employment Rights; Jon Cruddas MP forDagenham Chair: John Haylett, Editor, Morning StarRefreshments will be provided. Sponsored by Unite.

by Joanne Steve n s o n

In 1999,Tony Blair pledged toeradicate child poverty in Britainby 2020 and to cut it from 4.1million to 3.1 million by April2005. The latest revised figuresnow show that the numberactually fell by only 500,000,missing the target by half amillion. And over the followingfinancial year, the number ofchildren in poverty ROSE by200,000, from 28 per cent of allchildren to 30 per cent. A familyis officially considered to be‘poor’ if it lives on less than 60per cent of the median incomefor that type of household inBritain (ie. the line which dividesthe richest half and the pooresthalf). The number of childrenliving in absolute poverty—below 60 per cent of the1998/99 median in real terms—also INCREASED for the firsttime in over a decade, to 2.4million (almost one child in everyfive). In money terms, a two-parent household with twochildren would be defined as'poor' if their weekly income wasbelow £301 after housing costs.For a single parent with twochildren, the threshold is £223.The absolute poverty levelswould be £246 and £182,respectively. How can it be that,in the fourth wealthiest countryin the world, we tolerate asituation in which the parents ofmore than three million childrenreceive such meagre incomes?We have a government whichspends more pursuing thepoorest people who commitbenefit fraud than it does on taxevasion by the super-rich. Insteadof adverts telling us to shop

social security scroungers, howabout a massive blitz to tell poorfamilies how they can take upcouncil tax benefits and othersto which they are entitled? Thatwould reduce poverty numbersdramatically. The government’spolicies have forced more than300,000 lone mothers to findemployment—but at what cost?Many large families and thosewith disabled children are still indifficulties. Half of the poorchildren in Britain live inhouseholds with one or moreparent in paid work. Work, onits own, is no guarantee of aliving income. Not only do weneed to improve the miserlybenefits for people in these direcircumstances and create morefull time secure jobs. It is also ourtask as trade unionists to insiston a living wage for all, not onlyfor our own sakes, but especiallyfor all those children who willotherwise live in poverty. Wemust push harder to end child

poverty across the whole rangeof housing, jobs, education, healthand transport policies. Inparticular we need to fight for:

universal childcare, free at thepoint of delivery better jobs, notjust more jobs higher benefitsand tax credits (particularlyduring pregnancy) an end toregressive taxes such as counciltax and VAT (especially onchildren’s goods) full access toschool meals, uniforms andactivities for all children incomesupport, child tax credit and childbenefit to be linked with earningsgrowth benefit entitlements forall residents irrespective ofimmigration status reform of thetax credit and benefitsadministration.★The Households BelowAverage Income report is atwww.dwp.gov.uk/asd/hbai.asp

Joanne Stevenson is the Young

Communist League women’s

organiser

‘a we e kend of discussions,

d e b at e s , r a l l i e s , f o o d , and drink

and music with leading

n ational and intern at i o n a l

s p e a kers from the labour and

anti-imperialist move m e n t s ’

Fr i d ay October 26 7pm

90 YEARS OF THE OCTO B E R

R E VO L U T I ON Rally organised by

the Co-ord i n ating Committee

of Communist Pa rties in

B r i t a i n

S at u rd ay October 27

‘ I N S AT I A B L E , I N E Q U I TA B L E ,

I N H U M A N E : THE CRIMES OF

CA P I TA L I S M ’

★ From slave ry to neo-

colonialism ★ Anti-communism

★ Imperialism and the drive to

war ★ Capitalism Exploitat i o n ,

boom and slump ★ Fa s c i s m

ye s t e rd ay and today ★

Capitalism vs women

Global future or globalised

disaster? ★ P u blic ow n e r s h i p

or private profit? ★ Fre e

capital and flex i ble labour

★ E nv i ronmental security

S at u rd ay evening

C E L E B R ATING CHE

Cuban speake r. F i l m . M u s i c

S u n d ay October 28

MARXISM AND REVOLUTION IN

THE 21ST CENTURY

★ Wo m e n , race and class

★ A Scottish Road to

Socialism? ★ Trade unions vs.

t r a n s n ational capital

★ Reforms and revo l u t i o n s :

which way forwa rd?

V E N U E : Ruskin House,

23 Coombe Road, C roy d o n

o f f i c e @ c o m m u n i s t - p a rt y. o rg . u k

w w w. c o m m u n i s t - p a rt y. o rg . u k

0208 686 1659

3.5 MILLION CHILDREN A R ESTILL BELOW POV E RTY LINE

Equality means extending childcare

Grandparents among us will recall the early days of childcareprovision at labour movement events. Remember how we used toput on a brave face as we left the kids in cold, dreary halls withfew facilities? It’s much better now, but it’s still not perfect.AtTUC events at least, childcare is limited to the ‘formal’ sessions.But we all know that there’s much more to a union conference,not least delegation and fringe meetings. That’s why this year’sWomen’s TUC conference voted overwhelmingly to put downmotion 80. The motion is very clear. Delegates who are parentswant to be able to represent their union to the best of theirability.That means being a full-time delegate, not clocking off at5.45 pm and turning back into a mum or a dad. It’s not that the'girls' want time to go off to the pub – although that’s where a lotof business gets done! But if a job is worth doing, it’s worth doingwell and that means full-time. Motion 80 deserves everybody’ssupport so that childcare provision is extended beyond the formalbusiness of congress.That would give every delegate theopportunity to participate fully in every aspect of our congress.

C o m m u n i s tU n i versity ofBritain 2007

Communist Pa rty TUC Fr i n g e DO WE HAVE A PA RTY OF LABOUR?R o b e rt Griffiths General Secre t a ry, Kevin Halpin Industrial Organiser Chair: Joanne Stevenson YCL Women's Organiser

We d n e s d ay 12 September 12.45-1.45pm Sussex Room, Old Ship Hotel, Kings Road