A Socialist Appeal fringe
meeting on lessons of the Sparks’ dispute at the Unite Trade Union Policy
Conference in Brighton attracted 30 people.
A Socialist Appeal fringe
meeting on lessons of the Sparks’ dispute at the Unite Trade Union Policy
Conference in Brighton attracted 30 people.
Steve Kelly, one of the leaders
of the recent BESNA dispute and Unite London Construction Branch Secretary,
explained how the threat of a 35% pay cut produced a meeting of 500 angry
people. While the union’s national officer had wanted to wait before taking any
action, the rank and file started weekly protests around the country.
The union eventually became
involved under pressure and held a ballot for industrial action, which won
massive support. Despite an 80% vote for strike action, the employers made a
successful legal challenge because about 25-30 members had not received ballot
papers. The ballot was repeated, but despite another challenge from the bosses,
the court ruled in favour of the union. The BESNA agreement crumbled soon
afterwards.
Steve said that they needed
to spread rank and file action further. They had occupied sites and also
involved students in the dispute. He said: “It shows what you can do. You need
not to be afraid to break anti-trade union laws. At times we had to fight the
police. We used social media to organise.”
Steve Acheson, Unite Manchester
Construction Branch Secretary, said that he’d only worked for two years out of
the last 12, due to the blacklist.
The rank and file movement
came about because of the failings of previous General Secretaries. A lot of
appointed stewards are like nodding dogs with management. The national officer
seemed like he’d done a deal.
At Ratcliffe power station,
two lads were victimised. They were Health and Safety reps and were suspended.
In response, the rank and file turned up at Ratcliffe at 6 am. He said: “We
know what language the employers understand. These people don’t like you
outside the gates!”
Within an hour, 100 men
walked off the job. Then 400 more went and the entire site of 1,300 stopped
work by lunchtime. The reps were reinstated!
Other past problems included
when the former union, EEPTU had put up £200,000, in partnership with the
employers, to form an employment agency which was later sold for millions. The
employers had also paid the union subs for the workers. Transport and General
union electricians were all put on the blacklist.
When the Manchester Royal
infirmary, the largest hospital in Europe, was being built, 1,000 workers got
no holiday pay and were sacked if they asked for it.
Steve ended: “I’m full of
enthusiasm for the future of Unite.”
Dave Smith of the Blacklist
Support Group, who’d been blacklisted since 1964, spoke next. He said that the
files on workers were clearly headed “Building Industry Blacklist”.
The unions had started
taking individual cases to employment tribunals, but the workers thought more
was needed. They had lobbied the National Building Awards Ceremony. They met
with a European Commissioner (taking a London University professor with them) –
“after all, we’re just ex-building workers! – why couldn’t the trade unions
have done that?”
A hundred were now taking
their case to the High Court.
What’s happened over the
last three years? “Since the election of McCluskey, there’s been a sea-change.
They wouldn’t even talk to us before.”
The files show that
multi-national building firms, police, Special Branch and the security services
were involved. Shamefully, some union officials had been involved too.
In 1964, Mick Abbot of the
Economic League had said that they don’t do it anymore. “They’re still doing
it!”
It only came onto the agenda
because of the BESNA dispute. “Stop the blacklist” has become a demand.
In the latest pay
negotiations, the employers’ side refused to talk because Steve Acheson was an
elected member of the union negotiating team.
But Gerry Harvey of Balfour
Beattie, who was involved in the blacklisting, is on their team. “If they
object to me, we should refuse to talk to him,” Steve ended.
Pete Farrell of Justice for Shrewsbury
Pickets explained that information on the pages of blacklisting was blacked out
due to ‘national security’ – that was 40 years ago.
In 1972, with the Industrial
Relations laws and pay freeze brought in by the Tories, there were mass pickets
with dockers defending jobs against containerisation. When some were victimised
and imprisoned, 60,000 surrounded Pentonville Prison and ‘they’ found a reason
to release the dockers.
The first national building
strike had been shutting sites all over the country. The police shook hands
with Des Wilson and Ricky Tomlinson and congratulated them on how well they’d
conducted themselves.
There was no evidence of
violence, but Sir Robert Mark said the pickets’ crime was worse than murder.
The Government had to criminalise the trade unions. In Des Wilson’s book, ‘The
Key to My Cell’ he said that the Labour and Trade Union leaders had the key the
whole time –industrial action.
“Cameron is now training the
police with rubber bullets and water cannon. They will be used against the
Trade Union movement.
Rob Sewell, the final
speaker, pointed out that on the 40th anniversary of the Shrewsbury Pickets;
the building industry was down 40% from 2006 and 80% down since the 1960’s.
The Greeks had held 19
General Strikes but there was still a relentless onslaught to drive down living
standards. He said: “We need to understand what’s coming. Greece is an alarm
call – with people scavenging to survive. We are talking about depression in
Europe and our banks are linked to the European banks.
“When the unions were
created 200 years ago, the ruling class tried to destroy them. When that didn’t
work, they tried to corrupt the leaders. The Labour Party was taken over by
carpet-baggers and Tories!
“We need to fight and fight
again and realise that capitalism is the problem. We need to reform the Trade
Unions and purge the Labour Party. It is good that Unite is taking members in
to transform the Labour Party, but Labour can’t just patch up capitalism.”
He said that the Trade
Unions needed to represent the interests of the rank and file. We needed to
look at Greece and what was coming here.
“We need to take over the
banks and the rest of the economy. The Trade Unions need to become offensive
weapons of the working class. We need to change society.
“Conditions are ripe now. If
ever there was a time to explain the need for socialism, it is today!”
The
speakers were all enthusiastically received and £87 was raised for the Greek
workers.
