The Socialist 20 September 2007

Nationalise the banks

Economy hits a rock

Crisis will hit north east jobs

Time for a new party

Fight for a living grant

What do youth think?

Student Socialist: Issue 5 out now!

Studying on a low wage

Flexible hours? Suits you sir!

NHS: Our message to Labour

Swansea - no more cuts for cash

Victory! Campaign saves nursery

Medway schools

Lobby demands asylum for Sadiq

Socialism 2007

Make Socialism 2007 an unforgettable weekend

TUC conference: Workers defy Brown

Linking the struggles together

Egypt: Worker militancy shows pressing need for political voice

Consumed: How markets corrupt children, infantilise adults and swallow citizens whole

Remploy workers fight for jobs

Defend the Burslem 12

CWU: Further national action discussed

Previous issues, etc

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Linking the struggles together

The National Shop Stewards Network (NSSN) fringe meeting at the TUC met at the same time and in the same hotel as the Labour Representation Committee's "Saving Labour Party Conference" meeting.

Nancy Taaffe

But the impossibility of saving democracy in the Labour Party and its conference is partially responsible for the emergence of the NSSN in the first place.

The 50 people at the NSSN meeting heard both rail union RMT general secretary Bob Crow and prison officers' (POA) leader Brian Caton stress the growing divide between the ranks of the trade unions and the various layers in their hierarchy.

Brain Caton explained how the POA's strong grassroots structures had organised their recent strike action.

He said that prison bosses had lost the faith and goodwill of the workforce through years of staff cuts and deteriorating conditions. All it took was the union to pick up the phone for the membership to respond to the call.

Bob Crow was understandably fuming for being kicked off the TUC general council. He asked the meeting what his crimes were. Was it organising one of the most successful strikes in London for a decade? The RMT had hit big business in the belly of the beast.

They were doing what all unions should be doing - defending pay, conditions and pensions, particularly in the newly privatised sections of the public sector.

Rob Williams, convenor of the Visteon plant in Swansea and Chris Baugh, PCS assistant general secretary and Dave Chapple from the CWU illustrated the fight that is taking place in the workplace.

The message given was strong structures on the ground and militant fighters at the top are required right across the trade union movement.

The NSSN is an acknow-ledgement that activists exist and fightbacks are taking place but a network is necessary to link those struggles together, with the understanding that the big three political parties have nothing to offer us.

They have all lined up to support privatisation. So the struggle is left to the activists, community campaigners and trade unionists to defend the public sector.

Linda Taaffe explained from the chair that a round of regional events will be organised to start putting flesh on the bones of the NSSN's structure.

In this issue

Nationalise the banks