28.11.2002

Strike together against Blairism

Tony Blair's government has thrown down the gauntlet - not only to the Fire Brigades Union, but to the whole working class movement. Dare to fight and we will make you pay the price - that is the meaning of John Prescott's blunt message to FBU members. He told them what New Labour means by 'modernisation' - job losses by the thousand, possibly 10,000 in all. Up to 20% of existing firefighters are not needed - not if those remaining in the job agree to a hike in their rate of exploitation. A Downing Street spokesperson said of the firefighters prior to Prescott's announcement to the Commons: "They have laid a trap for themselves. Nobody was pressing them to put in a claim for 40% but, having done so, they have drawn attention to their very restrictive working practices" (The Sunday Telegraph November 24). In other words, keep your head down and perhaps we will let you hold onto your conditions a little longer. The FBU strike has shown Blair up in his true colours. Those who said he wanted this dispute to be his very own 'miners' strike' have been proved right. That was why he and Gordon Brown vetoed the employers' offer of 16% back in July and did the same in the early hours of Friday morning last week. When commentators have compared him to Thatcher, Blair has clearly regarded this as more of a compliment than an insult. For this New Labour government, taking up where Thatcher left off is central to their agenda. Particularly at this time, when preparations are underway for a war against Iraq, it is more important than ever that workers know their place. So defeating the FBU and imposing humiliating new working conditions as an example to others is of greater importance than ensuring that fires can be efficiently put out and lives saved. After all, if the military can keep the situation under control with a third of the personnel, using clapped out, 50-year-old appliances, it only goes to show that the fire service is overstaffed "¦ doesn't it? No, it does not. And just as cutbacks in fire cover or making firefighters work longer hours would eventually have their cost in terms of more property destroyed and more people killed, so it would be with paramedics. Blair wants firefighters to use fibrillators so as to be able to reduce the number of NHS ambulance staff. So when he says, "This is a strike they can't win", we must prove him wrong. Amicus joint general secretary Derek Simpson has remarked that Prescott's open flaunting of the aim to impose such swingeing cuts is an "attempt to put out the fire dispute with petrol". But by - literally - inflaming the situation, Blair is taking a big risk. While he hopes the whole establishment will fall in behind him, that is no certainty. The military wants rid of their tiresome and "demotivating" role as second-rate firefighters as soon as possible, so as to be able to get on with planning and training for the expected assault on Saddam Hussein's regime. The local employers certainly want to settle - ironically it is the Tory and Liberal Democrat councillors from the more affluent authorities with recruitment difficulties who are more prepared to pay their firefighters what it takes, while cash-strapped Labour inner-city councils want to keep their wage bills to a minimum (although this division causes the hard-line union-bashers to demand an end to national bargaining). It will also be difficult to keep his own party in line. While overenthusiastic Blairites like Scottish executive member Richard Simpson, who dubbed the firefighters "fascist bastards", have taken their support for Blair's stance too far even for him, more traditional members have expressed their disquiet. For example, Denis Healey, once regarded as a Labour rightwinger, has said the deal struck up with the employers last week "should have been accepted". The Labour left may be thin on the ground, but it is regaining confidence. Mark Seddon told reporters before the November 26 meeting of Labour's national executive that he would be arguing for Labour to support the firefighters (needless to say, he did not persuade the NEC) and a handful of Labour MPs have also voiced their support. For the moment, though, Blair has got the overwhelming majority of his MPs behind him. If they cannot even bring themselves to back a Liberal Democrat amendment calling for an attack on Iraq to be expressly approved by a Commons vote, you cannot expect them to stand up to him over such a strategic confrontation with the 'enemy at home'. In order to force Blair to retreat, improve their conditions and win a substantial pay increase without strings, firefighters must, first of all, look to their own strength and determination. Secondly they must consciously ally themselves with other workers. The 'special case' pleading of some FBU leaders is disastrous, when, as GMB general secretary John Edmonds says, "It is quite clear this is no longer a dispute between the government and the Fire Brigades Union. It is a dispute between the government and the union movement." He is right. Except that it is more than a mere "dispute" or, as TUC general secretary John Monks claims, just a "family row" that can easily be overcome. Blair is determined to crush the firefighters, and win a key battle on behalf of the class he represents - CBI director-general Digby Jones egged him on and urged him to put an end to "union militancy". That is why workers too must go beyond sectional interests and respond as a class. This week not only the firefighters, but teachers and local government workers were on strike in the capital. Unison and the teaching unions backed up their claim for a big rise in London weighting with a day of action. Like firefighters, these workers have been hit by soaring housing costs (as have many others - not only in the south-east, but in many other parts of the country). It is excellent that the call for them all to join forces and make common cause was so widespread. The RMT is balloting its London underground members for a strike in protest at disciplinary action against those refusing to work with inadequate fire cover. Parts of the tube network ground to a halt the week before, when 150 drivers would not work during the first FBU strike, and last Friday 20 drivers were sent home for the same reason. GMB members could also walk out in other industries on 'safety grounds'. The solidarity action taken by these workers should serve as an example to others. Firefighters' support groups must be set up in every town. We need to challenge New Labour and the system it defends not just as wage slaves, but on all fronts. The threat of war against Iraq is part of imperialism's global offensive to extend its hegemony over the working class and every dissident force. Workers must leave Blair in no doubt that they have no interest in his war drive and will not be blackmailed into calling off their action with accusations of lack of patriotism. Our loyalty must be to the international working class. Most of all, we need our own, independent political organisation. That means winning the majority of our class to the idea of an organised break from Blair's party. In the first instance the trade union political funds must be democratised, allowing them to be used for other purposes than writing blank cheque after blank cheque to Labour. The Socialist Alliance must be the crucial player in drawing together all these separate threads. * Extend solidarity - link the struggles * Democratise the political funds * No to imperialist war on Iraq Peter Manson