activist 57 - june 2015

Serious Questions Avoided at ADM

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the Activist Issue 57

June 2015

Bulletin of Socialist Party members in

Inside: p2 - Labour leadership election p3 - Huge anti-austerity demo p4 - Irish Dunnes Stores Strikes p5 - Mailbag / Clerys lockout

Usdaws recent Annual Dele-gate Meeting (ADM) was a relatively quiet affair as op-posed to the challenge of the position of the leadership from the floor at ADM over the last few year. Whilst important motions were passed including calling for renationalisation of the three remaining deep coal mines that are due to close and opposition to TTIP & benefit smart cards, several of the more controversial pro-gressive motions were manouevered off the confer-ence agenda. The only issue where this wasnt the case was on the question of prostitution where branch reps stood defiant. The blatant bullying backfired of the leadership who lost the vote against it. Combined with no questions been allowed to the guest speaker on behalf of Labour, Chukka Ummuna, then it

leaves the impression of a stage-managed conference designed to not cause too many ripples ahead of the general election. One of the motions manou-vered off the agenda by pres-sure from standing orders was an amendment calling for a minimum wage of 10 an hour now, as supported by the TUC, a bid advance on the paltry offering of Labour of 8 an hour in 2020. S1 similarly wasnt accompa-nied by a bribe this year hav-

ing been secured in ad-vance.

Left Advances Further Although not reflected on the floor of ADM as in the last two years, the pre-ADM Broad Left meeting this year saw a much increased atten-

dance. This reflects the huge vote won by Broad Left president candidate, Socialist Party member Amy Murphy. With 45% of the vote it is the clos-est the left has come to win-ning a national officer position in years and reflects the huge discontent at the lack of a se-rious response from the un-ion. The meeting agreed to or-ganise divisional Broad Lefts with co-ordinators in each di-vision. Also agreed was the need to plan to make sure progressive rule changes get on the agenda at ADM 2017. Supporters of the Activist also held a successful fringe meet-ing.

9th annual conference takes place on Saturday 4th July, Conway Hall 25 Red

Lion Square, London WC1R 4RL 11am-4.30am

Speakers include: Mark Serwotka, PCS General Secretary;

Matt Wrack, FBU General Secretary; Dave Smith, Anti-blacklist campaigner;

Ronnie Draper, BFAWU General Secretary See www.shopstewards.net for info

Bulletin of Socialist Party members in USDAW


The resignation of Ed Miliband the day after the election has opened up a leadership election within the Labour Party. Initially a debate between different shades of neo-liberal supporting right-wingers, the entry of left-Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn into the elec-tion has enlivened the debate. In the immediate aftermath of the election, those on the right of the party sought to draw entirely the wrong conclusions from Labours defeat. Out of the woodwork creeped people such as Peter Mandelson and Tony Blair to tell Labour they needed to be more aspirational. Yet it was Labours incoherent message and failure to mount a serious alternative to the Tories which cost them the election. They failed to challenge the Tory myth that overspending on public services has led to the countrys national deficit (although that would mean admitting it was due to bailing out the finance sector). In Scotland where the SNP and Nicola Sturgeon used anti-austerity rhetoric (despite like La-bour councils actually implement-ing Tory cuts) then the SNP won a landslide, 56 of 59 seats, mostly at the expense of Labour.

Corbyn Enters the Race Corbyn entered the leadership election late, and after securing the nominations of the handful of genuinely left MPs was strug-gling, much like John McDonald five years ago, to reach the ballot paper. That he did do so, was due to right-wingers, who have openly said they will not vote or cam-paign for him. This includes openly right-wing MPs such as

Frank Field and David Lammy, but also some who say they are on the left, such as newly elected Sheffield Hallam MP Louise Haigh who is supporting Andy Burnham. Rather than showing a left resur-gence in the Labour Party, it shows just how far the party has drifted to the right.

One Member, One Vote The implementation of the Collins review has abolished the previ-ous electoral college system, where undemocratically Labour MPs had 1/3 of the total vote. But it also removed the collective voice of the unions who also had a third of the vote. It was the trade union section of the vote, of political levy paying members, who were the left-most section of the leadership elector-ate in 2010. Now these same people will have to register them-selves as Labour supporters in order to vote. Many will be so un-inspired by the leadership debate they not do so. But the partys individual mem-bership, which was the bastion of the left in the 1980s when Tony Benn stood for leader and deputy leader, is now much further to the right. Only 9% of constituency members voted for the most left candidate who made it to the bal-lot paper in 2010, Diane Abbott. Of course, the unknown factor is the introduction of a US primary style system where party support-ers can register to vote. Trade unionists who pay the political levy can do so for free, and other people have to pay 3. There are some who may see this as allowing Labours natural

supporters to finally have a say and swing the party back to the left. But the introduction of these measures was brought in to strengthen the right in the party by diluting the voice of the organ-ised working class in the trade unions even further.

Can Corbyns Campaign Change Labour? For there to be a possiblilty of Labour swinging to the left, then a mass campaign behind Corbyn would have to develop. When Tony Benn stood for deputy leader in 1981 he did have mass support behind him. In that cam-paign Benn held mass rallies, with 2,000 attending one in New-castle, he only narrowly missed out on winning, Undoubtedly, there is enthusiasm amongst a layer of trade union-ists for Corbyns campaign, as well as amongst some who may be disappointed in a lack of a breakthrough for those to the left of Labour.

Labour Leadership: Can Corbyn Win? Will it change anything?

Jeremy Corbyn, left Labour MP



But amongst the newly radical-ised young people who have marched on the streets over the last month and a half since the election, there seems to be hardly any registering of the elec-tion campaign at all. After all there experience of Labour has been a party of war in the Middle East, increased costs to study at university and putting up only lacklustre resistance to Tory aus-terity. For those who believe that La-bour can be reclaimed, then the only viable option on the ballot paper is Jeremy Corbyn. Any un-ion which fails to back him, ex-poses the hollowness of their claims to be trying to change La-bour. Unfortunately, given Us-

daws past track record of back-ing Blairites such as Jim Murphy, then it is likely that Usdaws lead-ership will recommend support for a right-wing candidate. But there are also huge obstacles to Labour moving to the right in terms of its structures and poli-cies. The vast majority of Labour MPs support the 3 candidates on the right who are putting forward a platform so indistinguishable from the Conservatives, Channel 4 were led to ask the candidates Why dont you just join the Tory party? Labours policy is not decided democratically at its annual con-ference, but by their National Pol-icy Forum. At the pre-election fo-

rum last year, a vote to reject the Tories spending plans was de-feated 127-14. This means that even if Corbyn wins, his leadership would be sabotaged by the right-wing from day one. Corbyn winning or los-ing will both demonstrate once again the dead-end that Labour has become as a vehicle for working class political represen-tation. The Activist has long argued that a new workers party is a neces-sity for workers to gain a political voice, a fact which will again be demonstrated by the outcome of this election. We support the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coa-lition as a step in that direction.

A vast mass of people compressed into the streets next to the Bank of England on Saturday 20 June, eager to show their anger and opposition to the Tory government's vicious austerity agenda. Estimates of the huge turnout ranged from 70,000 to over 200,000. The mood was very buoyant, as the size of the demo brought home to everyone that the fightback against Cameron's plans has really begun, and this just six weeks after the shock result of the general election.

After an opening rally of speakers invited by the demo organisers - the People's Assembly - the march set off through the City of London, pack-ing the streets through to Blackfriars and then along Fleet Street towards its destination - Parliament Square.

Many of the individuals and groups - who came from all over the country - were new to demonstrating. Young people were strongly present. All clearly felt that they can't sit back and watch a renewed onslaught on people's living standards, while the

richest get richer.

Trade unionists were also key par-ticipators, though not on this occa-sion in a highly organised form with large blocks of union contingents, which are an inspiring and important hallmark of TUC-led demonstrations.

Self-made placards were prominent, with inventive and humorous mes-sages condemning austerity - from the carefully polite to the rude or crude. The hundreds of placards on offer from the Trade Unionist and Social-ist Coalition (TUSC) and those of the So-cialist Party were eagerly snapped up, until all were gone.

Thousands of So-cialist Party leaflets headed "Organise! Strike! Resist! to smash Tory auster-ity" were also enthu-siastically taken, with their message

on the need to build for a 24-hour general strike meeting widespread support.

A number of the anti-cuts candidates who stood for TUSC in the 7th May elections spoke from a TUSC stage while the marchers were assem-bling, attracting a lot of interest.

Later, the Socialist Party hosted a stage on Whitehall, with speakers from it including former 'Liverpool 47' councillor Tony Mulhearn who was in the leadership of the major Liver-pool anti-cuts battle in the 1980s that achieved victory.

Huge Anti-Austerity Demo in London



Workers for Dunnes Stores, one of Irelands retail giants have been em-broiled in a fierce battle over secure contracts, decent pay and union rec-ognition. The Dunnes workers, could be work-ers in any company that is ununion-ised in Britain where the same work-ing conditions prevail. But the difference is, in the face of intimidation, workers have taken strike action on 2nd April and held a 3,000 strong march in Dublin on June 7th. To keep up with their campaign, v i s i t : h t t p s : / / w w w . f a c e b o o k . c o m /DecencyForDunnesWorkers Below we print an article from the website of the Socialist Party in Ire-land giving info on the background of the Dunnes family.

The Dunnes family dossier By Mick Barry The Dunne family own and con-trol 1.78 billion making them one of the richest families in Ireland. Frank Dunne is the 19th richest person in Ireland with 445 mil-lion. Margaret Heffernan is the 25th richest person with 389 mil-lion. Exploitation of workers at home and abroad, union busting and political corruption have all played a part in the rise of the Dunne family empire. It took a three year strike by Man-date shopworkers in the mid 1980s to force the company to take goods produced by slave labour in apartheid South Africa off their shelves. To this day Dun-nes continue to stock Israeli goods produced in colonial settle-ments in the occupied Palestinian territories. Workers rights a shameful record Closer to home Dunnes are lead-ing the way with low hour con-

tracts and anti-worker rosters policies they refuse to even discuss with representatives of their workforce. The company does not negotiate with trade unions and doesnt usually show up at Labour Court or Labour Relat ions Commission hearings. In 2005 they sacked a worker, Joanne De-laney, for the crime of wearing a union badge. Mandates Assistant General Sec-retary Gerry Light said recently of Dunnes boss Margaret Heffernan and her dictatorial style: Shes not so much anti-union as anti-opposition. The refusal by Dunnes to enter-tain grievances is reflected in the fact that the company has been named as defendant in 448 cases in the High Court in the last 5 years. Thanks, big fella When Ben Dunne Jr was arrested in a Florida hotel in 1992 not only did it open up a window on his lifestyle, which included cocaine and buying sex, but kick-started a battle with his siblings for control of the Dunnes empire which spilled secrets on political corrup-tion and resulted in a tribunal of investigation. This tribunal revealed that Ben Dunne had made more than 1.3 million pounds in secret payments to soon-to-be disgraced Fianna Fil Taoiseach Charles Haughey. What is remembered by the whole country is the exchange between Dunne and Haughey about a payment made on top of the 1.3 million pounds which later was recounted at the tribu-nal: Heres something for your-self (Dunne), Thanks, big

fella (Haughey). Whats less well remembered is the fact that Haughey arranged meetings for Dunne and his tax advisor with the then Chairman of the Revenue Commissioners Seamus Parcir to discuss the Dunne family trust tax assess-ment. Cash for favours The assessment was revised downward under Mr Parcirs su-pervision from 39 million pounds to 16 million pounds. Ben Dunne was an equal oppor-tunities donator to Irelands big business parties. As well as mak-ing donations to Fianna Fils Haughey he also gave money to Fine Gaels Michael Lowry. The rise of the Dunne family is sometimes retailed by supporters of capitalism as a rags to riches story, the story of Ben Dunne Sr who started a little shop in Cork in the 1940s to sell food and clothes to working class people and who built it up into an empire with stores in Ireland North and South, England, Scotland and Spain. But the facts are in plain view and cannot be hidden. If the rise of the Dunnes is symbolic of the Irish capitalist class as a whole, its symbolic of a class that is rot-ten and doesnt deserve to rule.

Solidarity with Dunnes Stores Workers in Ireland



Impressions of BFAWU Con-ference

Dear Activist, I was recently invited as a guest of the Bakers, Food & Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) to attend their conference in Stockport. Over the past year Ive worked with BFAWU in their Fast Food Rights campaign protesting outside com-panies such as McDonalds against low pay and zero-hour contracts. It was this that had me invited as a guest. In many ways the way the confer-ence was organised was refresh-ing. Instead of right-wing figures in Labour such as Andy Burnham or Chuka Ummuna, the conference heard left-wing Labour figures like John McDonnell and had other guest speakers like Ricky Tomlinson & PCS union leader Mark Serwotka. The standing orders committee helped delegates to get motions and emergency motions on the agenda, instead of being used to quietly dispose of motions the leadership was politically opposed toat this conference they took the debate to the conference floor. But key to all this was the fighting attitude of conference delegates. Not just in keeping their own lead-ers accountable, but also in fight-ing for a decent living wage. This confidence combined with their Fast Food Rights campaign has brought young people into their ranks which showed on the conference floor. If only Usdaw took a similar atti-tude with the millions of unorgan-ised retail workers! An activist

Usdaw General Secretaries and the Honours system

In the recent Queens birthday honours list, another trade union general secretary accepted a knighthood for services to the state, I wondered what the attitude was of previous Usdaw general secretaries were to bending their knee in front of the Queen. 1947: Joseph Hallsworth (Knighthood) 1949: Alan Birch (Knighthood) 1962: Alf Allen (Lordship) 1979: Bill Whatley (OBE) 1986: Garfield Davies (Lordship) 1997: Bill Connor (Knighthood) 2004: John Hannett Lets hope John Hannett takes a principle stand and refuses to have anything to do with this archaic honours system. Republican Greetings Jack (London)

Usdaw Members Support the Dunnes Workers

I was down in Dublin on Saturday 6th June along with about 20 oth-ers from Usdaw supporting Man-date union on a protest march for Dunnes stores workers. (see pg4) It was good protest, some Dunne's workers on the platform gave great speeches. They are definitely up for the fight. Theres great solidarity from the workforce, and Mandate backing them all the way. They have put the challenge up to the company I can definitely see them out on strike again By a Northern Ireland Usdaw member

Mailbag

Workers at iconic department store Clerys have been locked out for around two weeks. The lockout is due to private eq-uity firm, Gordon Brothers, engag-ing in brutal asset stripping. Gordon Brothers restructured the company with the official primary objective of preserving Clerys iconic store on OConnell Street. Yet, within these restructuring measures, which including closing two other Clerys stores, were the seeds of the lockout. The com-pany was split in two, with an op-erating company (op-co) manag-ing the business. The property and others assets became their own separate company with the op-co paying an hefty rent to the property company. As property prices have recov-ered in Ireland, Gordon Brothers have decided they can make more money by selling the prop-erty. This is not the first instance of Gordon Brothers doing this. Spanish retailer Blanco saw 45 of 250 stores close under their own-ership before being sold off. Rather than being placed in the hands of speculators, the Activist believes key retail and distribution companies should be brought into public ownership with their re-sources organised democratically. Workers at Clerys, members of Mandate & SIPTU, have received fantastic solidarity greetings from trade unions in Ireland, Britain and across the world. To find out more about their cam-paign - see their facebook page - h t t ps : / /www. f acebook .com/justiceforclerysworkers

Clerys workers locked out in Dublin

activist 57 - june 2015

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