06.12.2001

Our history CPGB mobilises unemployed

The boom following World War I was short-lived. In the 12 months from September 1920 un­employment in Britain rose from 250,000 to two million. Soon after its foundation the Communist Party of Great Britain instructed members to participate in and lead the struggles of the unemployed. In October 1920 the party's weekly paper carried an account of the fruits of this work in Coventry. 'Full maintenance at trade union rates of wages' was the main demand advanced by communists. This was taken up in the form of marches by the unemployed to local boards of guardians who were responsible for providing poor law relief to the unemployed. Often the marches would end with an occupation of the board offices until extra money was forthcoming. In 1921 the Party was instrumental in forming the National Unemployed Workers' Committee Movement, a body which organised the unem­ployed throughout the United Kingdom in the years between the wars, years char­acterised by permanent high levels of unemployment.

Coventry unemployed: a soviet formed

Comrade J Stewart, Communist Party organiser for the Midlands, is doing good work at Coventry. At the request of the Unemployed Workers Commit­tee he has been addressing huge meet­ings of unemployed, and his sugges­tions have already led to practical ac­tion which is having a marked effect on the town authorities.

At the head of 2,000 men he marched to the Deasy works and de­manded to be allowed to address the men still at work there. Opposition was useless, and so at the head of his army, Stewart marched into the works and held a joint meeting of employed and unemployed. The manager wished to speak first, but the meeting insisted on him waiting until Stewart had finished.

Stewart told them that unemploy­ment could only be finally abolished by the abolition of the capitalist system, but suggested as an immediate step that the men already employed should reduce their hours of labour until all the unemployed were absorbed.

Tom Dingley also spoke, and then the manager said that the firm would do all in its power to do something for them. Stewart stated, both here and at other factories that were visited, that the men were coming back again and again until they could control the entire factories.

During the weekend more large meetings have been held at various works. Complete order is being main­tained by a police force formed from the workers themselves, and the ordi­nary police are conspicuous by their absence. The mayor has called a town's meeting to deal with the situ­ation and "to consider the method whereby the growing volume of unem­ployment prevalent in this city may be overcome, and a full living wage be assured to all citizens willing to render service to the community."

The men are in no mood to consider proposals of the usual charity dole order, and their demands are of a prac­tical and far-reaching character, as embodied in the following resolutions: "Seeing that everyone willing to render useful service to the community has the right to enjoy all the benefits won by labour from nature, we demand that all workers shall have mainte­nance, whether working or not.

"We demand, as a practical solution to unemployment, that the civic au­thorities invite the Russian trade dele­gation to meet them in order to dis­cover what commodities Russia is prepared to purchase from Coventry.

"We demand that a factory be taken in the interests of the community to produce such commodities, the work­ers to elect their own management.

"Further, we demand that the civic authority uses its power to prevent private interests hindering the work of the workers' and soldiers' council."

Comrade Emery has been elected secretary of the local soviet, and comrade Stewart has been instructed to assist the Unemployed Workers' Committee to the best of his ability.

The old features of pre-war unem­ployed demonstrations are entirely absent from these manifestations. Here is no cringing body of half-starved men begging for bread or, on the other hand, a crowd of potential rioters out for loot. It is an ordered demonstration by intelligent, organised workers that will not starve at the behest of capital­ism; but that if production cannot be carried on by the present owners of factories and plant without inflicting suffering on large masses of the com­munity, the workers can and will. Other towns please copy.

Let those workers still in employ­ment resolutely refuse to work a single minute over the time necessary to ensure employment for all. Control production instead of being controlled by it. If a single man in any industry seeks employment and cannot obtain it, it is a reflection on all his fellow work­ers.

The workers can stop unemploy­ment; it is clear the capitalists cannot. It is up to the workers to make the attempt.

The Communist
October 7 1920

The London unemployed movement

To the Islington Unemployed Relief Committee is to be given the credit of starting the direct action campaign of the unemployed, which has now as­sumed such large proportions in Lon­don and the neighbourhood. The committee, when first formed, found itself faced with the difficulty of obtaining suitable accommodation for holding its meetings, or for storing and distributing the food presented by shopkeepers in the borough.

The South East Library in Essex Road, which during the war had been used by the food ministry for con­trolled purposes, was empty, and seemed an admirable place for the purpose. So the committee took posses­sion and there the Islington unem­ployed still remain. Apart from a summons for obstruc­tion by taking a collection with a box, and another for chalking the pavement, there has been no trouble with the police.

The Islington unemployed are well organised. A demonstration recently to the guardian was lined up in military formation - ie, platoons of 20 with a sergeant in charge of each. These ser­geants were elected from the men themselves, and are ex-servicemen.

In Edmonton, Tottenham, Walthamstow, Hackney, Southwark, Camber­well, Peckham and St Pancras similar movements are now organised. Town halls, public libraries and empty houses have been seized in all these places. A central committee, composed of delegates from the different localities in and around London, now meets at the library in Essex Road, Islington, daily.

All this is not to say that a revolu­tion is in progress. Nevertheless, it is a very good sign that the unemployed have determined to make their discon­tent open and organised, instead of keeping it secret and shameful. Already local authorities have been compelled to take steps to remedy the existing distress far beyond what they would have taken had the unemployed re­mained quiescent. They will be wise if they break through their present pow­ers entirely and throw the whole blame on the government. They will be lucky if they escape being compelled to do so.

In all these movements the active spirits have been communists, them­selves unemployed. They know how impossible it is to solve unemployment while the capitalist system remains, but they realise also the necessity for or­ganised action in order to drive the lesson home, and to ensure that some­thing, at any rate, is done to alleviate immediate distress. Communist branches everywhere should neglect no opportunity of giving support and guid­ance to the unemployed movement. In most localities they are already doing so.

The day of ragged processions is over. The demands now being made are put forward by men who are reso­lute to redress their wrongs because they have not lost their self-respect. They are learning by bitter experience the communist lesson that only in a new order of society will unemploy­ment be finally abolished. They are learning, too, how futile capitalism is to touch even the fringe of the problem.

The Communist
December 9 1920