17.09.2008
Striking a chord with TUC delegates
Ben Lewis reports on a successful intervention
At last week’s Trade Union Congress in Brighton, a small group of activists handed out Hands Off the People of Iran leaflets and other material, spoke to delegates and visitors, and all in all highlighted the current drive to war against Iran and the tasks of the solidarity movement in Britain.
Congress delegates were extremely receptive to Hopi’s principled message - against imperialist war, against the theocratic regime. This was reflected in the fact that exactly 116 signed up to get more involved and requested information for their unions, branches and campaigns.
Those interested were from various unions. Unsurprisingly given the recent decisions to affiliate, delegates from the Public and Civil Services union (PCS) and the Associated Society of Locomotive Engineers and Firemen (Aslef) were the most enthusiastic. Some were very informed about our aims and role. Some comrades - particularly in Aslef - were keen for their union publications to give more coverage to the campaign, and asked for more updates from Hopi’s contacts in the Iranian workers’ and students’ movement.
Delegates unfamiliar with the campaign were - despite the claims of Hopi’s opponents in the anti-war movement - more than capable of understanding that unequivocal opposition to imperialist bullying, war and sanctions must be combined with support for the working class and democratic movements in Iran. It was also interesting to gauge the politicisation of the various delegates. I was struck by how many from, in particular, the Prison Officers Association, the Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers Union and the National Union of Teachers were very much up to speed with many of the inspiring struggles of Iranian workers and students.
What was particularly encouraging was that Hopi managed to gain a sympathetic hearing amongst numerous trade union press and media officers. We were also able to sign up the general secretary of the National Union of Journalists, Jeremy Dear, as well as Tony Benn - president of the Stop the War Coalition.
The warm reception that Hopi enjoyed at the congress should further underline that, if our trade union work is better planned and coordinated, there is no reason why we cannot deepen the links that have been established between the Iranian and the British working class movement. This is a crucial task of the anti-war movement - not least given the recent willingness of sections of the trade union bureaucracy to pose in solidarity with Iranian workers while keeping quiet about the threat of a US attack and the sanctions that are hitting the Iranian masses. Despite the rhetoric, the agenda of, for example, the International Trade Union Confederation and International Transport Workers Federation is politically compromised and tied up with imperialism.
The international working class movement needs its own political strategy - independent of both imperialism and the purportedly ‘anti-imperialist’ regimes that are in fact pro-capitalist and brutally anti-working class. This is why Hopi must look to strengthen its grassroots support. Our intervention at this year’s TUC was a small step in achieving this.
