Welcome 2023: Trade union resurgence

Dear Colleagues,

Happy new year to you all!

It is clear that 2023 will herald the most significant era of trade union strike action this century and in modern times. Arguably what makes this wave of action quite different is that includes groups of workers - notably members of the Royal College of Nursing - who have since formation retained a no strike policy within their rulebook.

An interesting short article in The Lancet on the ethics of industrial in the NHS helpfully underlines that the root of this action (and arguably that for most of the public sector strike action) rests in the defence of well-funded, properly managed service, with pay being one, intrinsic factor. The authors write:

The ethical justification for strike action can be more clearly conveyed when such action is articulated beyond individual pay demands. The political root cause of pay stagnation can be traced to an underfunded public health system. 

One of many effects is lower pay, which precipitates staff departures, which further compromises the health system. 

The argument becomes the pursuit of greater long-term collective benefit at the expense of short-term disruption. This is further bolstered by arguments that health professionals have an obligation to highlight, protest against, and actively resist actions that are harmful to our collective health, such as we have seen with civil disobedience in relation to the climate emergency

The full article can be found here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(22)02308-X/fulltext#%20

Whilst the government prepares to respond to strike action through the introduction of further restrictive legislation on industrial action it is clear that this will not deter trade union members from engaging in strikes.

What the Conservatives have never understood is that deeply felt, justified anger at mistreatment at work cannot be restricted nor ignored. At the time of writing this piece of the government appear to be reaching out to all General Secretaries of unions engaged in strike action to discuss possible options to avert strike action. This is unlikely as the government refuses to discuss pay.

Thus, we are likely to see continued rounds of co-ordinated strike action continue across 2023, and I'll comment further here on this.

In Solidarity

Ian

Apologies for the lack of blog posts

Dear Comrades,

You will see that there has been a massively long gap between my last post and this. As I have bemoaned extensively over the last couple of years this is because the Blogger platform is periodically blocked by a third party. It is impossible to access the platform and there is no support available from the people behind this platform to help overcome the problem.

Anyway, as many of you will know, I write at a time of significant industrial unrest across the UK, and with more strikes to come during 2023.

This morning whilst attending a meeting of organisers across Europe (who had been brought together by Ben Egan (graduate of the MA ILTUS at Ruskin College) who is now Organising Director of UNI Europa - the European federal arm of UNI Global) I mentioned that one of the positive effects of this increase in strike action is a significant increase in trade union membership, and this on the back of an increase during the period of the Coronavirus pandemic:

https://www.itv.com/news/2022-06-24/unions-see-surge-in-membership-interest-as-workers-fight-back-against-pay-cuts

A key point I was making is that this increase clearly reflects a conscious appreciation for the value of trade unions in encouraging collective action to protect workers' interests, and based on the data gathered thus far on this recruitment surge, there is a noticeable trend across groups younger workers. 

This is a very welcome change in the UK where the average age of trade union members has been increasing exponentially since the 1980s. Although the union that I work for, Equity bucks this trend with an average membership age of 28, it is nevertheless important that the union maintains a strong focus on ensuring that this group of members, and others, gain a clear, explicit sense of what it means to be in a union, and what it means to express solidarity, by taking an active role in supporting the large body of strike action across the UK - as pictured by with Equity staff and activists supporting a CWU picket.

What remains to be seen however, is how and whether the UK labour movement can retain the membership gains of the past two years. My personal perspective is that the labour movement will continue to demonstrate to these new cohorts of members that that their safety and security is better guaranteed within a union than without, and notably as the economy will remain in recession for at least the next 18 months.

I hope to post another piece before Christmas, and so long as Blogger folk aren't locked out of their accounts once again.

In solidarity

Ian

We Demand Better! TUC Cost of Living March, London, 18th June

Dear Colleagues,

I have been plagued by the same problems all users of this blog service have, which is that it periodically gets taken over by some form of hacker and becomes inaccessible.

So, a quick post to share a great picture of my wife Sophia and I attending the TUC's Cost of Living march and rally in London yesterday as part of the Equity delegation. Not only should we keep the pressure on to support further working people and their families, it is important that the movement is visibly seen to be leading on this demand.

And, as for those who say marching changes nothing - nothing else ever works in making social change than protest.

In solidarity

Ian

Support the P&O Workers!

Dear Colleagues,

I am sure that you have been appalled by the appalling behaviour of P&O in issuing an instant redundancy notice via a video message. Everything that we know about gangster capitalism is expressed in their appalling behaviour.

So please sign and share the TUC petition to lend support for the campaign for reinstatement.

The petition is here: Save P&O Jobs - Save Britain's Ferries | Megaphone UK

Follow the news on the RMT protest action - and support this where you can - here: RMT organises emergency P&O demonstrations - rmt

In solidarity

Ian

Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival: 15-17th July 2022

 Dear Colleagues,

Although I always promote Tolpuddle in the sidebar of this blog, as I am going to attend again this year I thought I would give the event an extra special plug - and as this year's Festival is live/real - and not via Zoom.

All registration info is here: https://tolpuddlemartyrs.org.uk/festival/

See you in July!

In Solidarity

Ian

International Women's Day: Hold employers to account

Dear Colleagues,

Just a brief post to promote a new resource from the TUC to challenge employers who make a pretence on International Women's Day of a commitment to sex and gender equality. 

As was witnesses during the Black Lives Matter (BLM) resurgence following the murder of George Floyd many large corporations attempted to model themselves as active anti-racist organisations when in truth they were attempting a form of corporate 'whitewash'. 

The new resource from the TUC helps give activists the tools to challenge any employer making claims to equality with questions on issues ranging from its policy on equal pay to its family friendly practices. 

Let us hold employers to account on International Women's Day

Sign-up here: https://actionnetwork.org/forms/we-demand-better-from-corporations-on-international-womens-day?source=direct_link&&link_id=4&can_id=aaf7cf87cfb3aa1b42c454757626e485&email_referrer=email_1459631&email_subject=no-more-lip-service-on-international-womens-day

In Solidarity

Ian

Why We Fight: Essays on Fascism, Resistance, and Surviving the Apocalypse

Dear Colleagues,

Whilst there is never enough time to read the vast wealth of relevant, topical material out there, I like to keep an eye for particularly valuable new books to promote.

And so, I came across Shane Burley's new book, Why we Fight, when reading reading the transcript of this podcast from Truthout: https://truthout.org/audio/activists-are-building-a-counterculture-of-care-in-apocalyptic-times/?fbclid=IwAR1veozzduf6NCBG4C44--RtpPfxQ5neE2V33B8OBbW9dFk7O6LtUka6PGE

Whilst 'the fight' for progressive social change is so important to pick apart and understand, why we fight, and particularly in the face of relentless assault, is just as important to stop and reflect upon.

And for left activists in the UK this fight is so difficult and not least in the Trump aftermath - a dominant theme of Burley's book.

You can buy the book here, and here is some promotional blurb.

These essays, many published here for the first time, cover the shifts in rhetoric and tactics of the Alt Right since their disastrous Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville in 2017, and the explosion of antifascist, antiracist, and revolutionary organizing that has risen to fight it. Burley unpacks the moment we live in, confronting the apocalyptic feelings brought on by nationalism, climate collapse, and the crisis of capitalism, but also delivering the clear message that a new world is possible through the struggles communities are leveraging today. Burley reminds us what we're fighting for not simply what we're fighting against.

“No writer is more knowledgeable about the recent politics and culture of fascism and antifascism in the U.S. than Shane Burley. As a journalist, Burley has closely followed local and national struggles against white supremacy. As a theorist, he has helped us to situate the Alt Right and anti-fascism within broader conceptual dynamics. Finally the broad range of his work making sense out of this era of struggle has been gathered together in Why We Fight—an invaluable resource for fighting fascism and imagining a new world in the 21st century.” —Mark Bray, author of Antifa: The Anti-Fascist Handbook

“From the streets of Charlottesville to the bleachers of Major League Soccer, Burley’s Why We Fight is a clear-sighted and utterly compelling collection of stories of fascist creep and organized resistance. Beyond its chronicling of the bumbling and violent rise of white-supremacist groups during the last few years, Burley’s most important lesson is this: Fascism will come for us all if we let it, but we are neither alone nor powerless to fight it. Read this book then give it to a friend and then organize.” —Vegas Tenold, author of Everything You Love Will Burn

In Solidarity

Ian