by Steve Ryan
The Public and Commercial Services union (PCS ) is currently balloting in a general secretary election. The union is one of the biggest in the TUC and seen as a left led bastion of militancy.
At first sight the elections seem unremarkable: the left poster boy Mark Serwotka is standing as the incumbent against only one opponent, Rob Bryson, who is standing in a last ditch effort by the rump of the old Reamsbottom-led right wing ‘Moderate’ group. Read the rest of this entry »
The September issue of our monthly paper The Commune is now available. Click the image below to see the PDF, or see articles as they are posted online in the list below.
To purchase a printed copy for £1 + 50p postage, use the ‘donate’ feature here. You can also subscribe (£12 a year UK/£16 EU/£20 international) or order 5 copies a month to sell (£4) online here. If you want to pay by cheque, contact uncaptiveminds@gmail.com.
troops out of afghanistan! – editorial of The Commune
wildcats show how to fight royal mail bosses – by Paul Haste
government pressure on civil service: crunch time for pcs left – by Steve Ryan
wind turbine occupation ends, but struggle continues – by Gerry Emmett
purnell’s new ‘old labour’ is just new ‘new labour’ – by David Broder
resisting redundancy and recession: reappraising the tactic of occupation – by Gregor Gall
amey struggle: burn your bridges, save your dignity – by Mónica del Pilar Uribe Marin
exposed: soas unison, rmt and unite cleaner activists in the pay of the bosses – by Chris Kane
update on the activities of the commune around britain
yes, chris ann, obama is punking us – by Ernie Haberkern
beyond props for capital – by Allan Armstrong
liberalism, citizenship and democracy – by Mark Ellingsen
the workers’ self-management alternative – by Chris Kane
review of the july/august left press – by Nathan Coombs
building from below: the case for working in residents’ groups – by Dave Spencer
latin america’s future is being played out in honduras – by Roberto Sáenz
by Steve Ryan
The PCS civil service union faces yet another massive challenge.
The government have signalled the intention to alter the Civil Service Compensation Scheme (CSCS) as it is apparently “too generous “. The effect would be dramatic, halving redundancy payments for example.
The union is getting ready for massive consultation exercise with members, No doubt industrial action will be necessary. Read the rest of this entry »
by Chris Kane
For many union bureaucrats, hardened cynics on the traditional left and post-modern professors who believe the working class has disappeared, the events of the last five months must be very frustrating. We have seen the revival of unofficial strikes during the Lindsey oil refinery dispute, with the complete and open defiance of the anti-trade union laws. We have also seen a whole string of workplace occupations, the most recent being at the Ford Visteon plants in Belfast and London.
These past months of revived activity and assertiveness by workers have been remarkable: it is clear evidence that there is an alternative to simply accepting the recession. It offers the possibility of gathering together the forces of the labour movement to challenge the employers’ offensive now underway. The choice facing the working class could not have been posed more starkly than when Wales TUC general secretary Martin Mansfield called on the congress to “drive forward partnership working” with employers, a new wave of unofficial strikes were breaking out down the road at Milford Haven in South Wales spreading to Vale of Glamorgan and a string of other sites. Read the rest of this entry »
by Steve Ryan
Recent events covered by The Commune such as the wild cat strikes and Visteon would indicate a surge in militancy amongst workers. However, look a bit deeper and there are real problems emerging in the trade union movement.
Both the wild cats and Visteon took the unions by surprise, but more telling was the lack of concrete support given by the union leaders and general union movement.
Also, as we sink into the deepest recession since the 30s the reaction of the TUC was to produce a booklet on how to spread your debts and write CVs! Read the rest of this entry »
We are pleased to announce an addition to the line-up of speakers for The Commune’s 30th March London forum on “what unions do we have, and what unions do we need?”.
Fabien Liberski is the Convenor and Health & Safety Officer in Southwark Council, and was victimised by his employer with the collusion of UNISON bureaucrats.
He will be speaking alongside Alberto Einstein Durango, a cleaner activist involved in disputes at Schroders and Willis in the City of London, in the face of resistance by the Unite union; and John Moloney, a PCS activist in the Department for Work and Pensions.
The meeting is from 7pm on Monday 30th March at the Lucas Arms, near King’s Cross. Email uncaptiveminds@gmail.com for more info, and see here for a map.
The next of The Commune’s ‘uncaptive minds‘ forums on “capitalism and the working class today” is on the subject of “what unions do we have, and what do we need?“
The meeting, taking place at the Lucas Arms near London’s King’s Cross from 7pm on Monday 30th, will be looking at the decomposition of the official labour movement in recent decades; the signs of revival of class struggle and the new forms of activism taking place among the casual workforce; and the dynamics of rank and file and bureaucracy, and how we can empower self-organisation.
The speakers leading off the discussion will be John Moloney, a PCS activist in the Department for Work and Pensions; Fabien Liberski, Convenor and Health & Safety Officer in Southwark Council, who was victimised by his employer with the collusion of UNISON bureaucrats; and Alberto Einstein Durango, a cleaner activist who played an important role in the victory of cleaners at Schroders in the City of London and is now helping with the Mitie/Willis campaign in the face of resistance by the Unite union.
All are welcome to come and take part in the debate. Email uncaptiveminds@gmail.com to register your interest or to find out more information. A map appears below.
by Chris Kane
National elections are underway in the civil service trade union PCS. In a twist of history an independent left candidate of rank and filist politics is standing against Hugh Lanning, for Deputy General Secretary. In 2000 the same Hugh Lanning was the candidate defeated by the then independent left candidate Mark Serwotka for General Secretary. Then the Trotskyist Socialist Party backed Lanning against Serwotka, demanding a re-count when he won! Today, the Socialist Party are again backing Lanning.
Hugh Lanning is painted as some kind of left candidate who stands up for workers – in reality he is a fake-left rightwing bureaucrat who should have been dumped when the old CPSA moderate group were defeated. The current hierarchy of the PCS – for all the militant language has failed to match the bosses’ offensive in the civil service with an effective strategy. Some of the leadership are simply politically bankrupt, careerist opportunists or both. Aloof and out of touch they are more at home with on a committee or with management than amongst the members. Much of the responsibility for what has gone wrong in PCS in the years since Serwotka’s victory has been the failure to build an effective rank and file movement and the bureaucratic antics of the Socialist Party, who have little resemblance even to their Socialist Party comrades outside of the Civil Service. Read the rest of this entry »
On Monday night we held the first in our new series of ‘uncaptive minds‘ forums on ‘capitalism and the working class today’. The subject of the meeting was ‘resisting the recession’, and 26 people turned out to take part in a discussion on labour movement strategy led off by Christine Hulme (PCS), Chris Ford (The Commune), Steve Hedley (RMT London Transport regional organiser) and Gregor Gall (Professor of Industrial Relations, Hertfordshire Uni). This theme tied in somewhat with the new second issue of The Commune, particularly in that both Christine and Gregor had articles featured.
The next reading group is on Monday February 9th, whereas the next ‘uncaptive minds’ forum is on 16th. The title is ‘the storm in the world economy’, with Kim Moody (US activist involved in rank-and-file publication Labor Notes) and Andrew Fisher (Left Economics Advisory Panel) leading off discussion on the composition of the global working class today and its connexion to the current crisis of capital. Click here for leaflet about February’s meetings.
If you were there, do feel free to post your comments and thoughts.
by Chris Kane
Pick up any paper, listen to any news bulletin, and you will find reference to yet another redundancy announcement.
Unemployment is predicted to rise to two million by spring and three million in another year: indicators put it as the worse recession since 1980. Due to the rising cost of living and growing unemployment, arrears are mounting, repossessions are expected to rise to at least 75,000.
The unelected Business Secretary Lord Mandelson says that after the recession there will emerge “a renaissance in UK manufacturing and the expansion of the UK’s knowledge-based industries”. This promise of jam tomorrow is no more comforting than Brown’s job creation schemes, a drop in the ocean of the jobs cull underway. Read the rest of this entry »
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