Lobby of Parliament

THOUSANDS OF public-sector workers met on 27 June to lobby their MPs
over the mass privatisation of public services.

Bill Mullins reports. Pictures, Paul Mattsson

 Under the slogan of "Public Services Not Private Profit", 15
unions came together to organise the lobby and rally, initiated
primarily by the PCS civil service union.

Hundreds waited in Central Hall Westminster for their turn to tell
their MPs what they thought about the scandal of their jobs and services
being handed over to the private-sector fat cats.

Disgracefully, the TUC had refused to support the lobby. Even worse,
the ‘big four’ unions – UNISON, TGWU, Amicus and GMB didn’t either.

At a meeting of the UNISON NEC before their recent conference, it was
claimed that because the lobby had not gone through the TUC and that it
had been called by left Labour MP John McDonnell, they could not support
it.

But PCS general secretary Mark Serwotka explained from the platform
that they had raised it with TUC leader Brendan Barber. And it was: "sad
that the TUC was not here today".

The reality is that the TUC, along with some of the other union
leaders, do not want to be seen as following in the wake of the PCS and
its socialist leadership.

Pensions criticism

UNISON general secretary Dave Prentis in particular, following on the
debacle of his failure to win the same pension protection for his local
government members as won by the PCS and other unions, feels the
criticism of his members.

This has further irritated many UNISON members, who see their union
giving millions to the Labour Party "to gain influence with the Labour
government". Yet many of the unions who have won full protection for
their existing members’ pensions are not in hock to the Labour Party in
any way.

The ‘big four’ unions are affiliated to the Labour Party. They are
throwing their weight behind Gordon Brown’s succession to Blair’s crown.
They are also coming up against a certain pressure from those in the
unions who think that the unions should not back Brown, who is seen as
no different to Blair and instead find a left candidate to stand against
him.

It was clear that some of the platform speakers would want someone
like John McDonnell to stand against Brown. He is the high-profile chair
of the Campaign group of Labour MPs and a parliamentary spokesperson for
many of the left trade unions.

But McDonnell wouldn’t be the only choice. Others talk of people like
Michael Meacher.

Meacher, who spoke at the rally, made it clear that he was promoting
himself. His speech was nothing less than his manifesto. He called for
an independent foreign policy not tied to Bush. He supported the ‘fourth
option’ in housing – keeping council housing under public control.

But like McDonnell or whoever, assuming they are not subject to
Labour Party witch-hunts, he would still be prisoner of the Labour Party
machine and unable to give the working class back its own voice in any
real sense.

Matt Wrack, FBU general secretary, came the nearest to saying that
the answer wasn’t in the Labour Party when he said that: "There has to
be a political challenge to the neo-liberalism of the Labour
government". But he did not mention that his union had broken from
Labour as result of the government attacks on the FBU.

Mark Serwotka raised in his speech that the battle against
privatisation cannot stop with one lobby. He called on the TUC to call a
mass lobby and demo in London in the autumn.

Following that there should be: "a co-ordinated day of action across
the country, with workers demonstrating outside every school, every
hospital and every part of the public sector to show that it is not for
sale".

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Trade unionists speak to the socialist

CHRIS NEWBY spoke to public-sector trade unionists as they waited to
lobby their MPs.

Sheila, from the HMRC (Revenue and Customs) east London branch told
the socialist:

"I don’t agree with the private sector taking over government jobs.
As a taxpayer I don’t want that and I definitely don’t want that as a
civil servant.

This morning it’s taken me over two hours to get into central London
from an east London borough. So anyone whose office is closed will
either get moved further into London, with the nightmare of commuting,
or get moved out of London with less pay and an even longer journey.

I think we should have a one-day public-sector strike to defend
public services. People who aren’t really big strike fans are coming
round to the idea that we’re going to have to do it."

When Chris asked: "What do you think about our campaign for a new
workers’ party?" Sheila replied: "I’ve got the stuff, I’ve bought the
book and made the donation! I think the Labour Party doesn’t represent
the workers any more."

Susan, a home help, explained:

"I’ve come to stop the NHS being
privatised. It’s draining money away and that shouldn’t happen. PFI
means hospitals will be 30 years in debt.

I’ve been a home help for over 25 years and I’ve seen the service
deteriorate. The clients used to get four hours a week with us, now they
get an hour and a half a fortnight. And soon it will all be done through
an agency, so that’s privatisation.

Everything we used to do is being stripped away from us. The shopping
service was taken away. Clients used to have a nurse come in to bath
them, now they have to pay for that. Where’s it going to end?

I think a one day public-sector strike would bring this to more
people’s attention. It would sharpen their minds."

Carole from the Probation Service in Sussex explained:

 "There’s a lot of people here from the Probation Service and
from the Prison Service as well. Higher management have been gagged by
the Home Office from exposing what’s going on. Morale is terrible and
we’re constantly being attacked, even though we meet all the targets
which the government arbitrarily sets. We’re performing better than
ever, yet that’s not good enough. We’re being put out for
"contestability" which is privatisation is anybody’s language.

A one-day public-sector strike is the direction we should go in.
Where are the TUC, they’re not here today? They should be behind us all
the way and a one-day day of action would show parliament that we really
mean it.

I don’t think any of us ever believed that the Labour Party would go
the way it has – out-conservating the conservatives. They’re more
right-wing than most right-wing parties. There’s nobody now who stands
for what used to be called old-fashioned Labour values. I think that
campaigning for a new party is a good idea. There’s room for another
party for people who were once the bedrock of the Labour Party but now
have nowhere to go."

Lesley, a PCS branch secretary from Fylde said:

"We deal with NHS
pensions, which is currently under the threat of privatisation. We’ll
fight to retain the service in the public sector, which is the whole
intention of today.

If privatisation goes through, we’ll definitely see a deterioration
in our terms and conditions. These companies are looking for profits all
the time rather than a quality service.

Privatisation is a big threat to us but it’s also a big threat to NHS
workers whose pensions are under threat. I believe we need a new party.
The far-right policies of Maggie Thatcher’s government have now become
central to both parties’ policies."

Andrew, a PCS rep at the department for Constitutional Affairs:

"The department has informed all its staff that efficiency savings
have to be made. I’m very concerned about the impact this will have on
the staff and the public. Public services shouldn’t be run for private
profit.

When all public-sector unions stood together we got much better
results than standing alone. I’m sure my members will support a one-day
public-sector strike."