(Monday 02 March 2009)
MALCOLM BURNS sees Scotland start to fight back against attacks on workers.
A NEW Scottish People's Charter aimed at focusing left-wing resistance was launched on Saturday at the inaugural meeting of the Scottish Labour Representation Committee (SLRC) in Glasgow.
The meeting heard a call from Labour MP John McDonnell (pictured) to unite around the charter in a campaign against new Labour's "toxic mix of policies."
A wide range of activists from unions, community-based campaigns and from within and outside the Labour Party backed the initiative to launch the LRC in Scotland.
The meeting also welcomed the charter as a campaigning manifesto around which to build resistance in the face of attacks on the working class in the deepening recession.
Unite union organiser Rozanne Foyer told the meeting: "The SLRC is a much-needed step which will bring together a vibrant mixture of left-leaning CLP delegates, socialist campaigners and grass-roots trade unionists to support a broad range of progressive campaigns and develop a robust socialist policy agenda fit for our 21st century devolved democracy.
"The Scottish People's Charter is a manifesto around which we can galvanise working people at this time.
"It already has the formal support of the United Left grouping of Unite. Our role has to be to get out there and build support for the charter in our unions, in our party and in our communities."
Mr McDonnell said the left needed to move beyond representation to resistance.
"We have a shared understanding of what is happening to us as a class," he said.
He added that the latest British unemployment figure was 1.9 million but, with thousands of Department for Work and Pensions staff laid off, there were literally not enough civil servants to count the rising numbers signing on.
"I believe the real number of people unemployed will reach three million by the end of the year, whether or not the government figures show it," he warned.
The very specific nature of this recession has had a very specific set of causes, said Mr McDonnell.
"The cause of the recession has been a toxic mix of policies by this government.
"Anti-trade union policies provided the opportunity for employers to force down wages by privatisation and offshoring and straightforward brutality.
"Everyone needs a roof over their heads, but the government has prevented councils from building housing and the private sector forced prices up and people had to borrow.
"The People's Charter takes this toxic mix of policies one by one and says: Here are the solutions."
SLRC secretary Vince Mills told the meeting their purpose was not to "argue about how many left factions could dance on the pinhead of a new party.
"The Scottish left has been debilitated, divided and confused for a lot of reasons," he said.
"But in the face of the current crisis of capitalism, the SLRC and the People's Charter provide the opportunity for progressive forces to come together and resist the attack."
Pic: John McDonnell MP addressing launch of People's Charter at Scottish LRC inaugural meeting. Also in pic, seated from left: Rozanne Foyer, Vince Mills and Kevin Lindsay.
MALCOLM BURNS sees Scotland start to fight back against attacks on workers.
A NEW Scottish People's Charter aimed at focusing left-wing resistance was launched on Saturday at the inaugural meeting of the Scottish Labour Representation Committee (SLRC) in Glasgow.
The meeting heard a call from Labour MP John McDonnell (pictured) to unite around the charter in a campaign against new Labour's "toxic mix of policies."
A wide range of activists from unions, community-based campaigns and from within and outside the Labour Party backed the initiative to launch the LRC in Scotland.
The meeting also welcomed the charter as a campaigning manifesto around which to build resistance in the face of attacks on the working class in the deepening recession.
Unite union organiser Rozanne Foyer told the meeting: "The SLRC is a much-needed step which will bring together a vibrant mixture of left-leaning CLP delegates, socialist campaigners and grass-roots trade unionists to support a broad range of progressive campaigns and develop a robust socialist policy agenda fit for our 21st century devolved democracy.
"The Scottish People's Charter is a manifesto around which we can galvanise working people at this time.
"It already has the formal support of the United Left grouping of Unite. Our role has to be to get out there and build support for the charter in our unions, in our party and in our communities."
Mr McDonnell said the left needed to move beyond representation to resistance.
"We have a shared understanding of what is happening to us as a class," he said.
He added that the latest British unemployment figure was 1.9 million but, with thousands of Department for Work and Pensions staff laid off, there were literally not enough civil servants to count the rising numbers signing on.
"I believe the real number of people unemployed will reach three million by the end of the year, whether or not the government figures show it," he warned.
The very specific nature of this recession has had a very specific set of causes, said Mr McDonnell.
"The cause of the recession has been a toxic mix of policies by this government.
"Anti-trade union policies provided the opportunity for employers to force down wages by privatisation and offshoring and straightforward brutality.
"Everyone needs a roof over their heads, but the government has prevented councils from building housing and the private sector forced prices up and people had to borrow.
"The People's Charter takes this toxic mix of policies one by one and says: Here are the solutions."
SLRC secretary Vince Mills told the meeting their purpose was not to "argue about how many left factions could dance on the pinhead of a new party.
"The Scottish left has been debilitated, divided and confused for a lot of reasons," he said.
"But in the face of the current crisis of capitalism, the SLRC and the People's Charter provide the opportunity for progressive forces to come together and resist the attack."
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