Wednesday 31 December 2014


WORKERS ON TAP!

Today’s Economist magazine front page cartoon depicts workers coming out of a tap. “Workers on tap” is the headline. It may be unintentional (although I’m not sure) but the effect is to show how working people are seen - from the viewpoint of the large employer and of capital.

They want a world in which workers can easily be hired and fired; workers on low, “competitive” wages; on zero-hour contracts; on absent health and safety regimes, with no unions! This undoubtedly will become the “new normal” in the coming years - unless we stop it.

In many countries, we are seeing the first signs of great political change - in Greece, Spain, Italy, Ireland and elsewhere. Here, workers and youth have started the process of forging their own political combat organisations and leadership. 

But in other countries, such as France, in the absence of a bold and ambitious lead from trade union leaders or workers’ parties, the forces of the racist right are able to rear their ugly heads, to sow confusion and disruption amongst workers.

In the UK, it looks very much like “One Nation Labour” has neither the will nor the political programme to challenge the rule of big business. On the contrary, it hobbles lamely behind the worst of British politics! It is truly lost to workers - even if it pulls the odd left-sounding phrase out of the bag!

Many trade union leaders similarly are not up to the job (although with honourable exceptions). Some have tried to reform “New Labour” from within - only to be expelled and shunned. The National Shop Stewards Network, however, is fighting hard, and gaining ground, to change the climate (and the leadership) in the union movement.

Therefore, many workers and union activists, and also community activists and campaigners, are drawing the conclusion that a new workers’ party is required to challenge the rule of the 1% in the political sphere. This is the conclusion reached by the indefatigable Bob Crow, recent leader of the RMT. Together with other like minded individuals and socialist organisations he helped  create TUSC as the vehicle for putting socialist, working class political firmly back on the agenda.

TUSC is an umbrella organisation that seeks the maximum unity of all workers and left organisations behind a programme of socialist challenge to the Tweedledum and Tweedledee parties of big money. 

We aim to show there is an alternative to austerity, poverty and uncertainty.

We aim to build a powerful political influence for working people. A party not only for workers, but also of workers. 

We will be fighting hard in 2015. 

Change starts here! Join us!

Friday 19 December 2014

TUSC CHRISTMAS APPEAL

Sweet it is to sleep, sweeter to be a stone.
In this dread age of terror and shame
Thrice blest is he who neither sees nor feels.
Leave me here then, and trouble not my rest.

For many families - too many - daily life is hard: full of worry and uncertainty. It is perhaps understandable how these words of Michelangelo may ring true for them. 

BUT TUSC IS FIGHTING BACK! 

The long history of working people has been one of determined struggle for a better life. Through trade unions, political parties, community organisations; workers have fought to change society. And that continues….

The Trade Unionist & Socialist Coalition will not idly stand by whilst the lives of millions are ruined by the barbarism of big business and their stooges in Parliament and councils. We aim to halt “this dread age of terror and shame”!

But finances are the sinews of war. So, if you possibly can, please make a small (or large!) donation to our local bank account - details below. We have no millionaire backers. We rely on the sacrifices of ordinary people. (If you’d prefer to send a cheque or cash, please email us at SuttonCroydonTUSC@gmail.com)

Poverty! Bad Housing! Unemployment! Food Banks! Zero Hours! High Rents! Racism!

END IT!

HART! FOR CROYDON NORTH!

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Unity Trust Bank
Account Name - Sutton Croydon TUSC Support Group
Account Number - 2 0 3 3 7 3 4 2
Sort Code - 0 8 6 0 0 1

Monday 15 December 2014

CALLING CROYDON NORTH! 

Your TUSC candidate, Glen Hart, publishes his manifesto! You can see the full document here.

Please share with friends and family - as widely as possible! 

This is the Manifesto’s opening statement -

Glen Hart, the TUSC candidate for Croydon North, has lived all his life in Thornton Heath. He is an active trade unionist in the Rail and Maritime Trades Union (RMT), and currently is a station supervisor. Glen is married with 3 children

He is a socialist. One of his earliest political recollections is participating in the demonstrations against the Tories’ hated Poll Tax in the early 1990s.  “I am standing for TUSC”, he says, "because I want to give the people of North Croydon a real choice. The careerist mainstream candidates offer the same diet of austerity, and cuts in public services. If elected, I will be a workers’ MP on a workers’ wage. I will not take the fat salary and lavish expenses and benefits - I will stay in touch with my constituents!"


The Manifesto covers in more detail Glen’s top ten priorities. These are the headings -

1. Tackling Low Pay and the Cost of Living
2. Real Jobs, Real Work
3. The Local Community - Fighting Racism
4. Tackling the Housing Crisis
5. No to Privatisation: Yes to Public Services
6. Progressive Taxation
7. Defend the NHS - Health before Wealth!
8. Free Education for ALL
9. Protecting the Environment
10. Clean Politics


In due course this Manifesto will comprise the main content of the document that will be posted into everyone’s home in Croydon North, nearer the election. But we wanted to get the message out now.

Wednesday 3 December 2014

AUTUMN STATEMENT & CROYDON'S JOBS!

Today the Government will announce its “Autumn Statement”. They are not succeeding, everyone will say, in cutting the deficit. According to the BBC, New Labour's Ed Balls will say that unless wages are rising, the deficit won’t come down, and what is needed therefore is, “A plan for jobs and work”.

The apparent need to “balance the budget” (there is actually no need to do so) will be the subject of a later post. What concerns us here is that “plan".

A plan for “jobs and work” is indeed vital, but not to get the deficit down! It is vital because we need to end unemployment and lift living standards; to end the misery it causes!

But, does Croydon's “One Nation Labour” council, or Labour nationally, really have a plan to tackle unemployment? Take the Croydon party's flag-festooned manifesto, for example, where the plan should be.

In relation to youth unemployment, it says, “we are ambitious for our young people”. Good. So what is your strategy for tackling it? 

“Labour’s strategy is to create an ambitious and vibrant ‘place to be’ ”, it says.

This is pathetic! It encapsulates our complaint about New Labour, and what it has become. There is no “ambition” here for workers, at all!  None whatsoever! 

They will, the manifesto says, "work with" businesses to make Croydon an attractive place to invest. This is their best shot - do whatever it is that business wants, and then hope they'll employ Croydon’s workers.

But we think we already know what it is that big business wants. It says so itself often enough. It wants low wages, zero hour contracts, no trade unions, no health and safety legislation. In other words it wants workers who are easy to hire and fire, and who are cheap!

New Labour’s problem is that it accepts the limitations and permissions set by big business. Consequently it must go cap-in-hand to the leisure classes. Please, it says, please invest here. We’ll do whatever you want! And because we are “Labour”, we’ll be better able to persuade workers to toe the line.

The other part of their solution for the jobs crisis is improving the skills and education of job seekers. Nothing at all wrong with that. But there’s an issue here too.  According to the reports earlier this year, there are, "about 39 applications for every graduate job…”. Non-graduate job vacancies are just as over-subscribed. Some jobs attracts thousands of applicants!

So if ten people apply for a job, it hardly matters how skilled and educated they are. Only one person is going to get it!

The fact is, what is causing unemployment is NOT the absence of skills, but the unwillingness of big business - despite swimming in cash - to invest! They are sitting on their hands!

With the compliance of spineless “Labour councils, THIS is what is happening >

- Around 500,000 jobs have been lost in local government since May 2010. (Financial Times, 10 Nov, 14)
- Armed Forces - 11,000 redundancies since 2011.
- Portsmouth Naval Shipyard - 900 job losses, bringing an end to shipbuilding there.
- Remploy - factories and workshops for people with disabilities - around 1,700 job losses due to closure of most installations. (2013/14)
- Grangemouth oil refinery - 200 job cuts. (Early 2014)
- nPower - announced 2,500 cuts in August 2013.
- Royal Doulton ceramics - 1,000 UK jobs - Dec 2013 announcement.
- Blockbuster closure - 1,200 losses.
- Tie Rack closure - 200.
- “The big four banks have cut 200,000 jobs since the credit crunch. And another 50,000 or more are set to be cut in the next five years”. (CityAM, 5 Mar 2014)
- Post Office announces 1,300 job cuts (March 2014)
- Nottingham cigarette factory to close - 500 jobs. (Early 2014)
- Morrisons announce 2,600 job losses, June 2014.
- Phones4U goes into administration. Around 5,000 jobs. Sept, 2014.
- Birmingham's “Labour" council announces 6,000 job cuts over next few years.  Sept 2014.
- TfL wants to cut 1,000 jobs in tube network. Closing the ticket offices. Sept 2014.
- Unipart (Solihull) has gone into administration. 1,400 job losses. (Guardian July, 2014)
- Lloyds bank has lost around 30,000 jobs since financial crisis. (Guardian July, 2014)
- Tata steel is proposing 400 job cuts in Wales. (Guardian. July, 2014)
- Lloyds bank announces 9,000 more job losses. (BBC Oct, 2014)
- Murco's Milford Haven Oil Refinery - 340 jobs to go. And 200 contract workers also likely to go. (BBC. 5 Nov, 2014)
- Rolls Royce - 2,600 jobs to go - 1,700 of which in UK - mostly around Derby. (Guardian. 5 Nov, 2014)