The Socialist welcomes correspondence from readers, including that which is critical. On this occasion we felt it useful to respond to Jerry’s letter, as an opportunity to explain the Socialist Party’s approach to some of the serious questions about strike strategy and pay campaigns being discussed in the trade unions.
27 April 2023
I bought your propaganda newspaper yesterday for the first and last time.
Ok your statement about what you stand for is totally acceptable to me.
However, I took the time to read the various articles as follows.
Helen Perriam (a mental health nurse and Royal College of Nursing member) on why nurses need a fighting leadership. She has the audacity to state that what is needed is for the National Health Service leadership to get a backbone and lead a campaign in support of the nurses. What does Perriam think Pat Cullen has been doing for the past year? Does Perriam represent your views?
In a second article by Adrian O’Malley (Unison Health Service Group Executive!) talks about the right-wing leadership of Unison union.
Does this idiot think that the brilliant Sharon Graham is right wing? Again does this pathetic individual represent your views?
And finally we have the Socialist Party member, Marion Lloyd, who desires to become President of the Public and Commercial Services Union. Does she seriously believe that Mark Serwotka is doing a bad job? She is not fit to tie the shoelaces of Mark.
So all in all you are determined to divide the left in this country by attacking the unions which represent working people.
Your party will get nowhere as you will not receive widespread support and without such support you will not gain power and without power you are a waste of space. So carry on selling your divisive propaganda.
Jerry Harrington, Ex-member of the Labour Party and new member of the Green Party.
Josh Asker, editor of the Socialist, responds
Our paper is a workers’ paper written by activists in the trade union and socialist movement. Helen’s article about the NHS pay offer expressed her opinion, that the Tory government’s offer was insufficient and that RCN members should vote to reject, an argument the Socialist Party agreed with.
But what were Jerry’s views? Does he agree with the majority of RCN members who voted to reject the offer, or with RCN leader Pat Cullen who recommended that members accept?
In fact, Pat Cullen has been pushed back into the fight by the preparedness of RCN members, like Helen, to refuse to uncritically accept everything the union’s leadership says, as Jerry seems to suggest members should do.
Across the unions, members’ refusal to accept being made poorer is piling pressure on trade union leaders to call and maintain strike action.
As for Unison health, Adrian is a long-time socialist campaigner in the union. He was one of 15 out of 35 who voted in favour of Unison recommending that its members reject the NHS offer (like RCN members did).
The right of the union has long had a majority on the Unison Health Service Group Executive and, on this occasion, like Pat Cullen’s RCN leadership, it recommended and campaigned for Unison NHS members to vote to accept.
Sharon Graham’s union Unite (a different union), did not recommend the NHS pay offer to its members. In agreement with Helen and the majority of RCN members; Adrian and around 40,000 Unison NHS members; and the Socialist Party; Unite members in the NHS voted ‘reject’.
PCS is yet to receive an improved pay offer from the government. It achieved its strike mandate on 10 November 2022. It took from 10 November until 1 February for PCS to bring all its mandated members out on strike together. Since, there have been just two more days of nationwide action.
Socialist Party members standing as part of the Broad Left Network in the PCS elections are standing for a fighting alternative to the current ‘Left Unity’ leadership of which Mark Serwotka is a part. Marion is standing for President of PCS, against the incumbent Fran Heathcote. Mark Serwotka’s post of general secretary is not up for election.
We think most readers will strongly disagree with the suggestion that the Socialist ‘attacks unions’. In fact we are the most strident defenders of workers in struggle and are serious about building the strength of trade unions.
That includes putting demands on the trade union leaderships, and contesting trade union elections with a socialist programme.
We will continue to sell the Socialist to the increasing number of workers looking to help develop the trade unions into the democratic, fighting organisations we need.
