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The TUC Lobby of Parliament on 4 December followed
the predictable pattern. John Monks and the bulk of the General Council have no
real intention of taking on New Labour on the issue of privatisation. There are
a great number of words- some of them sharp - but no strategy for dealing with
the offensive and this at a time when the credibility of the privatisation
proposals in all public service spheres, is looking less and less sustainable.
Byers and the Railtrack receivership fiasco have brought home just what a
nonsense it is.
Byers is now even hinting at changesreplacing
Railtrack by a not-forprofit company. Ken Livingstone might even get his way
(or enough to satisfy him) on the London Underground. At this time the blunt
message should be that the unions should put the boot into privatisation.
"Public Works", the slogan of the TUC, may seek to celebrate the public
services but at a time when the rail service is in melt down, it hardly
suggests that the TUC is gearing up to take on Blair and company.
A national campaign is needed. That is what is
essential -there is no point in beating around the bush. We need a campaign
that links together all the fights against privatisation in the education
sector and in turn links up with the fights in health, transport, council
housing and elsewhere. Local fire-fighting campaigns are good and necessary.
They have in some notable cases - Pimlico produced some outstanding results.
However they tend to be the exceptions. The fight at Pimlico took over 5 years
and owed its success in large measure to the determination of some very
committed people pursuing the issue day after day.
Of course there are many who would and could do
the same but it is not a prospect that the will appeal to many. The prospect of
5 year campaigns will not appeal to the average Governing Body nor to many
teachers and other workers who rightly are demanding immediate improvements to
their working conditions - new buildings, improved facilities and so on.
In the main Pimlico, sadly, is the exception and
what we need is - Yes - to create one, two many Pimlicos (to borrow a saying)
but the real task is to try to stop the whole thing before it gets off the
ground. It wasn't long ago that Thatcher, and New Labour have their own
version, said that "There is no alternative" - New Labour now talk about "The
only show in Town". Both were and are rubbish. Internationally capitalism is in
a major crisis. The collapse of Enron - the 7th largest US company - with
£10 billion of debts highlights the vulnerability of the much-vaunted
private capitalist system.
The US Government is now in the process of
providing £2.7 billion of subsidies to companies like Boeing and
Microsoft in order for them to continue functioning in nonUS markets. The US is
itself in the process of smashing the World Trade Organisation agreements in
order to protect US big business. Whilst this may seem a million miles from
what is happening down the road with our own PFI proposals it is not. As the
economic recession hardens private companies will become even more predatory in
their search for profits and the public sector remains a huge golden egg that
they want to get their hands on. The NUT's privatisation meeting in January
must provide an opportunity to get this message across and to prepare the
ground for a real discussion inside the Union, at every level, about how this
can be built.
There have been a number of socialist initiated
conferences so far that have tried to group people but what is need is
something which can draw on really mass support and engage the backing of the
millions of people who are opposed to public services being run for profit by
private companies.
There is still time - but not a lot - to do this.
11 - 4 January 24 NUT briefing on
privatisation NUT HQ Make sure your association is represented |
Not For Sale - big selling pamphlet - just
reprinted - make sure your association has bought it in bulk.
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