Tomorrow, June 30th, there will be a one-day strike in the UK by teachers and civil service workers. Approximately 600,000-750,000 workers will go out on strike over changes to pensions proposed by the ConDem government. Is this the beginning of "the summer of discontent"? Trade unions are stepping up the fight and they will be joined by groups already fighting the cuts in support and solidarity.
Two teachers unions (NUT, ATL) covering both state and public schools, the college and university lecturers union (UCU) are going out on one-day strike over government proposed pension reforms:
The reforms would raise the public sector retirement age by up to six years to 66, increase employee contributions by 50 percent in some cases, and replace final salary pensions with one based on average career earnings (http://www.google.com/...).
Civil service workers are also facing significant job cuts due to government cuts and the squeeze on local governments and a 2 year public sector wage freeze combined with a VAT increase that is hitting standards of living for working people. The teachers are being joined by the PCS and FDA representing some public sector workers unions:
But there is widespread anger among public sector workers who have already been hit with a two-year pay freeze and face more than 330,000 job losses by 2015 as the government slashes spending to eliminate a record budget deficit(http://www.google.com/....
Unions participating in the strike include the National Union of Teachers (NUT, 220,00 workers have been called out), Association of teachers and lecturers (ATL, 160,000 members), University and college lecturers union (UCU, 120,000 members), PCS (Public and commercial services union 250,000 out of 290,000 members have been called out), and have been joined by First division association (FDA 19,000 members senior civil servants).
Estimates as to the number of schools that will be closed range from 2000 to 5000. But the government is saying that 3500 schools will be closed and 2600 will be partially closed (http://www.bbc.co.uk/...). Universities are already on summer break. Job centres, customs offices and immigration offices, police support workers, government offices (such as tax offices and courts) will be closed or their activities strongly affected. This is causing warning to those entering the UK tomorrow through airports and ports (http://www.bbc.co.uk/...). Some civil service workers unions (UNISON) are still negotiating with the government, but have already built up a strike-fund for actions in the autumn. Prison Officers Association workers are holding protest meetings in solidarity (http://www.bbc.co.uk/...) . Further actions are planned with PCS, UNISON and Unite in the autumn.
One expects Tory cabinet Minister Francis Maude to say the somewhat ironic ”A massive blow to working parents” (see the evening standard, p. 8, quote of the day, on Monday 27th of June 2011). Given whom Francis Maude (http://en.wikipedia.org/...) is, people have come to expect self-serving hypocrisy. This has also been the line taken by Michael Gove, the education secretary (http://news.bbc.co.uk/...). Gove actually went a bit farther, by suggesting that mothers and fathers of pupils could help break the strike by sending their kids to school (see evening standard, monday june 27th, 2011, p. 9 in "Parents breaking strike 'may harm children')." This provoke the head of the rather moderate ATL "some parents with the best of intentions could put themselves in danger and children in danger. They should not do it." Needless to say, David Cameron has also pulled that card out of his hat; the irony is, of course, that the impact of their cuts and job loss will have a far greater effect on working families than a 24 hour strike by teachers and civil service unions.
The additional point being raised is that talks are still ongoing; however, a time comes when you begin to wonder whether these talks are actually being done in good faith as the government does not seem willing to compromise. Mark Serwotka of the PCS said “negotiations so far have been a farce” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/...).
The government insists that the strikes are "wrong," the reforms are “necessary to stop the pension system from going broke" and of course the mantra that the reforms are “fair” to both workers and taxpayers (somehow he doesn’t see that they are the same people) a refrain that is getting both tiresome in its repetition and demonstrably unfair since they seem to refuse to raise corporate taxes (in fact they lowered them), institute financial transaction taxes and increase taxes on wealth (http://www.bbc.co.uk/...). So somehow “fair” just doesn’t quite seem very convincing, even more so in the face that there are simply unnecessary. Just in case, you want to see what the LibDems are saying, here is Vince Cable threatening workers at the GMB conferences in early June (http://www.bbc.co.uk/...); this meme is also part of the attack seen in right-wing papers with respect to invoking laws to make striking harder and which had been used against UNITE in the BA cabin-crew strikes.
But what is extremely disappointing, to say the least, are the comments by Ed Miliband and Andy Burnham (please read this, the comments in response are wonderful and indicate rising annoyance by working people against the Labour Party http://edmiliband.org/...):
Strikes are a sign of failure. They are a sign of failure on both sides and Thursday’s industrial action is a mistake. Even with just hours to go I would urge both the unions and the government to think again.
The Labour Party I lead will always be the party of the parent trying to get their children to school, the mother and father who know the value of a day’s education. On behalf of those people I urge unions and ministers to get back around the negotiating table and sort this out.
I understand why teachers are so angry with the government. But I urge them to think about whether causing disruption in the classroom will help people understand their arguments. You do not win public backing for an argument about pensions by inconveniencing the public – especially not while negotiations are ongoing.
This is not to excuse David Cameron from taking his share of the blame for these strikes. The Conservative-led Government has badly mishandled the whole process.
As we saw on the NHS and sentencing, it is typical of ministers in this government to rush ahead with plans only to find they have got the detail wrong as problems emerge all around them. The same has happened here.
Urging unions to keep negotiating with people that are not negotiating in good faith and even more so telling people to wait while the Labour party and the ConDem sort things out is laughable. All that this is demonstrating is that the Labour party has abandoned its base and its base does not trust it to fight its battles for them. The responses to his blog-post are very telling. Dismissing these comments as being written by members of the “loony-left” will only cause the Labour Party to further alienate itself from its traditional supporters. In fact, looking at the three main political parties (probably soon to be down to two) we need to ask which of them is standing for the working people of Britain? I, for one, cannot see a friend in sight.
I will be at tomorrow’s march in London and will be discussing the march, the tactic of a one-day strike and its impact (if any) in Sunday’s anti-capitalist meet-up diary.