Here are some impressions of the Nov 30 protest from Birmingham.
Here are some impressions of the Nov 30 protest from Birmingham.
08:30 Arrived at the Picket Line at the Birmingham and Solihull Mental
Health Foundation NHS Trust HQ. Three entrances covered. Chief Exec
came down to tell us it was the first time she had crossed a picket
line and it was her pension too! At least she had a union placard in
her window overlooking the gate.
Lots of passing support in cars and non-unionised support going in.
10:00 Some jobsworth security officer came to ask us to take the flags
off the landlord’s fence. Since none of us knew who had put them there
we politely declined, and firmly refused to move out of the way when
he suggested he would remove them himself!
11:00 Departed for the 15 minute walk to the march through Birmingham.
11:15 Arrived at central Birmingham march location to find thousands
waiting to depart. Union contingents were supported by Pensioners,
Anticuts Groups and the Occupy Birmingham protestors. Apparently the
march was unofficial and illegal as the Council had tried to charge
the TUC for closing the streets and policing it. The TUC had therefore
called it off, but had not been able to tell the members! The
resulting 15,000 strong march through central Birmingha, was a model
of working class discipline and organisation, and applauded almost
along its whole length by patient motorists, pedestrians, students and
shop and office staff.
13:30 Rally at the NIA with appearances from Brendan barber (TUC),
Dave Prentis (UNISON), Tony Woodleigh (UNITE), Chris Keates (NASUWT),
Janice Godrich (PCS) and others. Plenty of support for the ideas from
the platform that there is enough money, just in the wrong hands, that
the fight is for jobs and services as well as pensions, and that we as
a class are rediscovering our strength and will need to strike again
and again in this campaign and in others against this government that
has less mandate than we had for strike action.
Afterwards I was engaged in a conversation with a colleague about the
need to broaden the grass roots organisation in the workplace,
disregarding inter-union rivalries, to enable the membership to hold
the leaders to their militant promises of further action and
intransigance in the struggle betwen the 1% and the working class.
