Teachers in the NEU, junior doctors in the BMA and HCA, civil servants in the PCS and Prospect, tube workers in the RMT and Aslef, university staff in the UCU and BBC journalists in the NUJ are striking together while the Tories announce their anti-working-class budget.
Socialist Party members are out on strike themselves or joining them to show support and solidarity. We will be campaigning for the leaderships of all the unions which have live ballots to meet to prepare further coordinated action. As the editorial of the Socialist newspaper issue number 1217 says:
“A real victory, all the way down the line, is absolutely possible. But to get it means maintaining and extending coordinated action. There have been no reports of the unions meeting together after the mass February strikes. Such a meeting could have hammered out a fighting strategy to build on those successful mass strike days. It could have seen the Budget Day strike reach even higher levels, perhaps of over a million workers if all those with strike mandates had come together on that day.
“But nevertheless, the 15 March action is another crucial milestone, and the infusion of fresh forces joining the action, such as the junior doctors, shows that the strike wave is not relenting and, on the contrary, can be broadened and escalated. Another sign is the historic first strike by Amazon workers in the UK.
“Militant members, reps and activists in all the unions must demand that the unions meet immediately to name the day for even greater coordinated action, up to the scale of a 24-hour general strike to inflict a major, if not terminal, defeat on the Tories, altering the class balance of forces in society.”
Read this article in full here which includes a model motion for you to use in your own union branch: Build for a 24-hour general strike to smash the cost-of-living crisis and force the Tories out
If you’re a civil servant check out the article written by Dave Semple, PCS branch secretary in Wigan (personal capacity): Civil service unions gear up for struggle: United national action can win!
For teachers: Anna Scott NEU member writes: NEU: Fighting for pay and funding, to save education and read what Socialist Party members have put forward for discussion on how to escalate the action to win.
RMT members on London Underground can read from a tube train driver about why he’s striking and what Socialist Party members are saying.
Read some of the comments and get a feel for the first two days of the junior doctors’ picketlines: ‘We’re at breaking point’
And if you want to discuss what it means to join the Socialist Party, to find out about meetings near you or hear about the work we do then get in touch.
