25.04.2001

Teesside

Linking with struggles

Activities have been stepped up in Middlesbrough's Socialist Alliance during the past fortnight, after union proposals to save the privatised Lackenby Coil Plating Mill - once part of British Steel and now a subdivision of the transnational Corus Ltd - were rejected, and mass redundancies and the plant's closure were confirmed by management.

Workers arriving at a mass union meeting last Friday were greeted by five SA comrades, armed with leaflets pressing for immediate industrial action, and advocating the renationalisation of major industries under democratic workers' control. A good response was received from both the workers themselves and members of the public, who indicated their support for the cause. The Socialist Alliance's efforts were proven not to be in vain when news of a unanimous vote for a strike ballot hit the front pages of the local press the following morning.

A stall in Middlesbrough town centre last Saturday proved a substantial success. Petitions to renationalise industry were signed in abundance, and widespread discontent was expressed towards the unpitying, laissez-faire attitude that has epitomised Labour's response to the closures. Some seemed to blame indolence for the lack of government intervention, others recognised that the true face of Labourism is not one which casts a second look at the working class.

The SA in Middlesbrough is committed to working with and for the steelworkers - not through vain promises of what we will do if elected, but now, in the wake of what could become an all-out strike in Teesside's steel industry. We are pressing, quite rightly, for a strike across the country, and indeed internationally, from those workers who will be involved in taking the orders left unfinished by the Lackenby plant. If action is decided upon, Teesside SA will be encouraging the nearby Scunthorpe works to strike alongside Lackenby workers in solidarity: the grim reality is that it is they who are likely to be cast off next.

Despite this largely positive development, concern was expressed by certain SA comrades recently as to whether this militant turnabout is too little, too late. There is no doubt they are probably correct in a way. However, a strike across Labour's heartlands in the run-up to an almost certain Blair victory in the general election would undoubtedly cause people to think twice about voting for a his party, and could spark a shift to the left.

What the Socialist Alliance needs to do now - in the midst of what could turn out, if we act wisely, to be a dramatic onset of support - is to touch upon issues not necessarily directly affecting steelworkers, railworkers, etc, but ones which nevertheless are fundamental in capitalist society. We must not lose sight of the bigger picture. So far in Middlesbrough, questions of immigration, drugs legalisation, the monarchy and youth have been largely disregarded.

The SA must not simply evolve into a union support group, or a left faction in union politics. We must address broad political issues, and raise the question in working class minds of exactly what kind of society we live in, and how socialists can work to change it for the better.

James Bull