Workers need an electoral alternative that fights for them

Paula Mitchell

Just days after hundreds of trade unionists met to plan how to continue to fight the Con-Dems' attacks on public sector pensions, Labour leader Ed Miliband pledged that a Labour government would have to 'face the reality of the deficit' and make cuts.

But several thousand local gov-ernment workers are already living the reality of massive cuts to jobs and pay implemented by Labour councils, and are bracing themselves for the next round of council budget-setting meetings.

Meanwhile, John Hourican, an investment boss at RBS - a bank 83% owned by the government after it was bailed out with public money - enjoys a £4.3 million bonus while he looks at axing 10,000 jobs. Who's not in touch with reality?

The pension 'reforms' are, in any case, based on a report by a former Labour minister, Lord Hutton. It is not surprising then, that at the PCS Left Unity organising conference on 7 January, many contributors spoke of the need for a political dimension to the trade union fight against cuts.

Support is gathering for a list of trade unionists, socialists and campaigners to stand in the London assembly elections this May.

New signatories to the supporting petition - all in a personal capacity - include porters at Whipps Cross hospital and tube workers in West London: Andy Molloy, Jeff Edwards, Dave Lottrie, S Peak, Craig Guiste, Heliberto G, Tony Pierce, Tony Williams, Ryan Kernvigh, Kenneth Welch, Oky Prest, F Madden, J O'Keefe, P Donovan, B Bhatt, C M Fitzgerald, Jake Wylie, Mick Singh, S Sood, A Mahi, Ian Granger, M Homewood.

Add your support by emailing jpjreidie@yahoo.co.uk or go to www.tusc.org.uk

...not big business

There was an item on the BBC website where shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna explained what he meant by responsible capitalism.

The Labour MP said: "It's about looking at what we can do to foster better business practices, behaviour, successful business models that tackle unfairness, and the cost of living, crisis at home, the problems we're finding domestically, and actually produce more competitiveness for British companies abroad."

I translate this as meaning that under Labour the bosses would come first and the workers last.