Another step was taken on the road to creating a new right-wing. pro-partnership union at a special conference of the white collar union MSF on November 11, which voted to proceed to a membership baliot for merger with the scab engineering and electricians' union AEEU.
No count was taken, despite being called for, but the platform got its way by around 60-40.
The Lyons' leadership of MSF has manoeuvred constantly to bring about this outcome since being defeated at Annual Conference in Harrogate. Having failed to get the free hand they wanted to proceed with the merger they ignored conference decisions and held a membership poll on their proposals.
This was a completely rigged exercise where endless amounts of members' money was used to put the leadership's case, and not one word was allowed from those who tried to explain the history - and present in its tracks. of the AEEU's sweetheart deals with management on occasion after occasion, and their consistently right wing role in the TUC. sible to defeat the merger in Opponents of the merger the full membership ballot consistently won the argu- we expect early in the New ments but not the decisions. Year, we also need to reor. This situation is not only a ganise the left. result of the right wing con- For too long national left trol of the apparatus but of meetings have been organthe fact that sections of the ised on an undemocratic so-called left. essentially basis and too little attention some of those from a has been paid to organising Stalinist background. sup- in the workplace and ported the platform. Without amongst shop stewards. this disgraceful perfor- The right cannot be mance. Lyons' project could defeated by aping their possibly have been stopped methods. Partnership can only be broken by militant The conclusion that has action on the ground not been drawn from this by through manoeuvres in many activists is that while committees. lution against threatened job losses in British Telecom was also agreed.
The workshop on organisation passed a resolution supporting Livingstone's readmission to which had successfully been kept off the conference floor.
Other for GLLP board saw some good left candidates elected - particularly in the trace union section again.
But November 11 mainly be remembered for the defeat of the left in the London CLPs.
absence there is no one else who can effectively put a lid on the mounting anger of railworkers at the government's CWU abject failure to deal with the railway crisis and its effects on passengers and staff. For rail staff working under worse conditions, facing the righteous indignation of the travelling public the cause of the party, the crisis is clear - privatisation.
But Labour has refused to even countenance taking any the Dart of the railway back -despite the huge increase in subsidy the privatisation has led to. Prescott could have bought Railtrack outright three times will over with the subsidy he has given them in the last few years. So expect interesting times ahead.
Outlook Deputy Prime Minister Prescott's attempt to French negotiator Dominique Voynet for the failure of the world climate talks at the Hague last month might well have been sexist, but his own role was definitelv criminal.
The real story of what happened at the Hague was that Prescott's task was to try to sutch up a acal acceptadie to tne American ruling class - a deal which could in all probability have led to the destruction of the planet.
As we have been told many times over recent weeks the US is the world's largest producer of green house gases whole globes outpourings of the deadly emissions that, among many other events, have been linked to the destructive weather conditions we have been suffering in Britain in recent weeks.
If the effects of those storms have been devastating for those whose homes have been flooded here, how much worse is it for the hundreds and thousands of people in far poorer parts of the globe who have been subjected to extreme weather for far more extensive periods?
In the face of all this, the deal done at Kyoto itself was completely inadequate, a tinkerering at the edges. promised a 5% reduction on 1990 levels - while scientists agree that a reduction of between 60-80% is what is needed.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN's own body of experts, has said that "potentially tens of millions of people" - including in some instances the whole of some island populations -placed by rising sea levels over the next 65 years. The scenes in the London Borough of Hackney where a Labour-Tory coalition is implementing huge cuts and major privatisations over recent weeks have been somewhat reminiscent of the mid-80s where fighting cuts in jobs and services in local government was a regular part of most Wiard activists' political diet.
And hearing reports from Andrew campaigns in West Yorkshire -albeit focused mainly against privatisation - it's not iust in London that the fight back is sharpening up.
Hackney council has slashed €750,000 off its housing budget, £630,000 from the money for nurseries in the borough and is pushing through privatisation of the refuse service from which it had previously retreated. At the same time, despite promises made during the recent Hackney Wick by-election, it has refused to sack ITNet, the private company that runs the council s nousing benefits service. ITNet's incompetence has led to thousands of residents being in rent arrears of more than £25 million in unpaid benefits.
But at the same time many things have changed since that previous round of battles -John American society is the car society par blame excellence, but contrary to popular myth the reasons for this have rather more to do with the power structures of industry and government than the supposed greed of American workers. In large parts of this huge continent it is impossible for people to move about - to work, to shop or to socialise - without drivublic transport is even less available been in Britain in recent months! And many people who have jobs - 24% of the have to travel huge distances to get to them. But the steep rise in emissions in the US since Kyoto is a product of industrial consumption, not individual consumers. More than that, the motor industry, and even more importantly the oil industry are key backbones of the American economy and therefore closely tied into the US political elite. Blair's crawling to the captains of these industries has nothing on his American Despite all this, it would seem on the surface that the American bosses would have as much to lose as anyone else from the devastation of the planet. How can they make the profits on which their existence depends if Kyoto their actions lead to the destruction of their markets through death and disease? What can possibly be the rationale for their cynical proposals that carbon credits be sold without limit (or indeed for any trading of credits which the majority of governments seemed prepared to agree)? What can be the logic for proposing that will be dis- ancient mixed forests replaced with fast growing single species plantations - which will lead to the faster eroiTNET which is why in many places town hall steps have not been the constant site of demonstra. tions though cuts and attacks on conditions have been relentless in the intervening years.
Last time round there was opposition inside most Council tion. chambers and the demonstrations outside were led by an alliance of the labour left and council trade unions. This time there are few critical voices amongst Labour councillors -and none in Hackney. To give her her due, local Labour MP Dianne Abbot has been vociferous in her opposition to the
Wiard
destroyed and RJ CRING CHIN LA Council's cuts in Hackney, tak- defend conditions and services. ing a particularly prominent The UNISON branch is ballotstand in support of the success- ing for strike action against the ful occupation of two of the cuts and is confident that they borough's nurseries which will be successful. were summarily closed by the Chief Executive of Hackney boroughs Labour-Tory coali- Council, the hated Max Caller has said that he is not surprised Council trade unions took a that the Trade Unions are callfair battering through the ing tor industral action but Is defeat of the rate-capping disappointed " particularly as struggle and the constant round they chose to do this prior to of cuts that followed. It is to the consultation we are curthe credit of its current leader- rently engaging in with staff. ship; especially branch secre- Strike action is not going to tary John Page than Hackney resolve our financial difficulties UNISON is playing such a piv- and will certainly do little to otal role in today's struggle to improve our efficiency or serLabour's half-baked transport strategy is another contribution to increased pollution ters? All of this to allow them to increase emissions from 1990 levels by up to 9%!! ing the planet.
The problem is that to ask these questions is to make one rather large miscalculation. For one of the fundamental characteristics of this rotten capitalist system is that it is incapable of long term planning - even when to fail to do this fatally destroys not only its own basis but the very continuation misguided.
vices to our residents." John Page has responded: "It is a bit rich that Max Caller complains that we initiated a ballot for Strike action in advance of consultation. At the time that the ballot was initiated, the council had already decided to cut terms and conditions, to remove the voluntary severance scheme and the timescales for implementation demonstrated they had no plans to meaningfully consult with us. The decision to hold a ballot has already forced management to the Negotiating table. A resounding Yes vote and solid strike action in defence of our terms and conditions can break the cycle of crisis and cuts. Our campaign continues to gather momentum" Many previous anti-cuts cam. paigns saw the formation of umbrella organisations under the rubric "Fightback" - and today's campaign in Hackney has done the same. Common to both incarnations are the council trade unions and community organisations. Sadly the Labour left is now represented by only a small number of individuals. On the other hand the left outside the Labour Party, which in the of human existence. For them creating a market from environmental destruction is more "sane" than savThat is why we need to build mass protests against this criminal irresponsiblity before the Bonn summit next May - - and also why we need to persuade those in the environmental movement who think they share a common interest with the profiteers in seeking to save the planet that they are fatally previous period often abstained from these mobilisations are today at their centre. The Hackney Socialist Alliance (HSA) has been particularly crucial to each mobilisation against the administration making it presence felt through banners and leaflets while marching in unity with anyone prepared to fight the devastation of the borough these proposals represent. Through this united front approach HAS is going from strength to strength - recruiting 41 new members on the November 25 demonstration of 500. Also noticeable has been the presence, particularly on the November 6 protest outside the town hall of anarchists and libertarians who led the dancing in the rain that gave that evening particular energy. George Monbiot's address on November 29 illustrated that the anti-capitalist movement has brought new layers into action, which previously were dismissive of local government. Strike action is likely to commence on December 18, which will be the next major focus for the campaign • Contact Hackney Fightback on 07979 823 597 www.hackneyfightback.org