Communists @ Unite Rules Conference June 2011

Britain is witnessing the biggest onslaught on working-class living standards since the early 1980s, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Bank of England governor Mervyn King predicts that people's real incomes will fall on a scale not seen since the 1920s. This presumes, of course, that the trade unions and labour movement do nothing to stop it happening. But unemployment is already heading towards three million. If the £203 billion spending cuts go through between now and 2015, another one million jobs will be lost. The merciless drive to force the long-term sick and incapacitated off benefits and into low-paid work or destitution will increase the misery, while disguising the full extent of rising unemployment. Most public-sector pay is Continued on back page

We are facing the biggest attack on our standard of living in decades, as the ConDem government rush to put in the final nail in the coffin of the Welfare State. All in the name of cuts that are not necessary. At the same time, workers’ rights are threatened yet again with the outlawing of ‘wild cat’ strikes, co-ordinated actions, strike bans for ‘essential’ workers and business secretary Vince Cable promising last week at the GMB conference, to go even further if workers increase the level of industrial action, in response to government cuts. Our BA members know that resolute industrial action is effective and our union will continue to play a leading role in the fight to win back all our civil rights including the right to take solidarity action.

London’s streets saw one of the greatest shows of solidarity for many years against the common enemy on March 26. Only a government which condemns so many to poverty, deprivation and unemployment could have brought out so many thousands from up and down the country from a host of different local anti-cuts groups and trade unions. The Communist Party believes that the People's Charter can play a vital role in presenting a positive alternative to cuts in pensions, benefits and public services. Co-ordinated action in defence of pensions by civil servants, teachers and lecturers at the end of this month are to be welcomed and can play a key part in building the momentum towards even wider actions involving both public and

private sector workers. Calls to move eventually to a general strike is a clear signal that workers are up for this challenge, which could help bring about the collapse of this illegitimate government. Unions must stand together in the fight against cuts, for jobs and in defence of services, as Unite and PCS agreed in their landmark agreement last month. The widest possible unity is needed if we are to defeat this onslaught by the ConDem government. It’s vital that attempts to divide public sector and private sector workers are resisted. It becomes a meaningless division as the privatisation agenda marches on relentlessly. After all once you're on the dole, nobody asks whether you're an unemployed public sector worker or a private sector one.

Lies, damned lies & inflation figures... Cont from front being frozen this year, while private-sector increases will vary from 2 to 3 per cent, according to Income Data Services. According to the consumer price index (CPI), which governs the minimum wage and state pensions and benefits, the cost of living is only rising at 4.5 per cent a year. Even the retail price index (RPI), which includes housing costs, puts it at a mere 5.2 per cent. But the true picture for most people is that prices are actually rising far, far faster. Alcohol and tobacco prices have risen by 9 per cent over the past 12 months and transport by nearly 10 per cent. Food prices are calculated to have increased by just 4.4 per, but basic foodstuffs such as bread and cereals went up by 7 per cent, soft drinks by 10 per cent and "sweet" condiments and confectionery by more than 7 per cent. But why is there such a huge discrepancy between the fantasy world of government, business and media statisticians on the one side and the real world of working people on the other? This is because official indices consider price changes for a "basket" of household expenditure items, each item given different weight according to its prominence in the typical household budget. According to the latest CPI presumptions, the "typical" household in Britain spends no more than 12 per cent of its outgoings on food, less than 5 per cent on domestic fuel and only 4 per cent on petrol. These are the areas where most of the biggest price increases take place - but their impact in the "typical" CPI household is, not surprisingly, negligible.

Mr and Mrs Typical CPI, on the other hand, are keen to buy vehicles and audio visual equipment, go to the opera, eat out frequently and pay young Jemima and Jocelyn's school fees. So they spend 4 per cent of their annual income buying cars, 15 per cent on culture and recreation - excluding pubs and clubs - another 12 per cent on hotels, restaurants and cafes (but not canteens) and 2 per cent on education. These are areas where many of the smaller price increases have occurred over the past 12 months. So, hey presto, the cost of living in Britain has only gone up by 4.5 per cent. The RPI provides a slightly more realistic picture of the cost of living for working class and many middle-class households. It excludes the richest 4 per cent of households from its calculations, while including housing costs. Even so, the RPI measure is also misleading. It excludes pensioner households that are heavily dependent on state benefits, while the housing costs element presumes that the typical household spends just £230 a month on mortgage interest or rent. A working class price index would put the real annual rate of inflation at around 8 or 9 per cent, taking basic food, drink, tobacco, metered gas and electricity, petrol and public transport costs fully into account, including for pensioner households. And worse is to come. Household electricity and gas bills are set to rise this year by 10 and 15 per cent, respectively. High oil and food prices on world commodity markets will push up petrol and food prices in Britain still further. At the same time, companies such as British Gas, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Shell will continue to reap super-profits from soaring prices in

sectors where they have a monopoly. So what is to be done? The Communist Party has drawn up a Left-Wing Programme which details a series of policies which can lessen the impact of the crisis on workers and their families. It calls for government action to: Impose price controls on

household fuel, petrol and basic foodstuffs.

Levy a windfall tax on monopoly profits to fund public investment in council housing, renewable energy and employment.

Charge a wealth tax on the richest 10 per cent of households to raise pensions and benefits and reduce the public finances deficit.

Place a "Robin Hood" tax on all financial, currency and commodity transactions in the City of London.

Close all tax havens Take gas, electricity and

railways out of the hands of the profiteers and invest in a greener Britain.

Unions need to lead a big wages offensive for increases which meet the real rate of inflation. The TUC should demand negotiating rights on the national minimum wage. Above all, we need the unions to lead a mass, broad-based people's campaign to defend public services, benefits, jobs and local communities against the Tory-Lib Dem cuts. Britain is still one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Our capitalist class owns more than £4,000 billion in declared personal wealth. Taxing the rich and big business, instead of reducing corporation tax on company profits still further, would raise far more than the £21 billion being "saved" by this year's cuts.

Join the fight against cuts, for peace & socialism

name address

postcode Age if under 30 phone E-mail

return to CP Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Rd, London CR0 1BD

t: 02086861659 e: office@communist-party.org.uk

The Communist Party has a proud and influential history in the unions which have formed Unite. Notably, in the T&G – especially in the car industry, amongst bus workers, and dockers. But we were also strong in the old AEU and other skilled manufacturing workers’ unions. Draughtsmen and technicians, printers, and others all saw highly-respected and powerful Communists at all levels. Today, Communists in Unite have reformed, regrouped and reconnected. Delegates such as you – yes, you – reading this bulletin, can play a role in shaping our union for the future. If you’ve agreed with what we say in this edition of UNITY, our regular bulletin for union conferences, then isn’t it about time you joined us?

Unity!Unity!

A World to WinA World to Win

Lies, damned lies & inflation figures by Robert Griffiths

80p Monday-Friday, £1 Weekend edition from your local newsagent

The unions which came together to create Unite had different traditions and cultures. Some believed fervently in election of full-time industrial and regional officials at all levels, arguing that if it’s good enough for the general secretary and the workplace rep then what’s the problem. And there are those who believe as passionately that workers deserve only the best full-timers to serve their interests and that this is assured by appointment. As I say, elections versus appointments is a matter of tradition and culture. It should never become an issue that splits the left and progressive forces in our union. It may have been used somewhat opportunistically to try and create an artificial left/right polarisation in the recent GS election but I would not wish to see this happen in the future. There is no question that if we want to ensure that the members

are best served there needs to be open and transparent accountability. After all shop stewards are elected regularly with the clear understanding that they will be kicked out if they don’t deliver. The CP believes that this principle of more accountability of officials is a key part of what makes and sustains a democratic and fighting union. In our view this could be best served by moving over time to more elected posts at senior level. Kevin Halpin has been a member of the Communist Party for over 60 years. In his working life he played a significant role in the engineering union as a steward and convenor at Briggs Bodies, Ford Dagenham, various ship repair yards and London Underground. He remains active in Unite and chairs the West London branch of 4,300 members

This first rules revision conference of Unite is a crucial stage in the forging of our union. The nature of Unite is defined by its Aims & Objects and we welcome amendments confirming our union’s commitment to the principles of socialism, including the redistribution of wealth and public ownership (remember Clause 4?). If the Labour Party had stuck to these principles, New Labour would not have been invented to serve the bankers and Eurocrats. Labour could have won the general election if, when the last labour government bailed out the banks, it would also have ensured that we got our money back - and with interest - rather than letting billions be squandered on obscene bankers’ bonuses. The tax payer had the majority shareholding, so why didn’t they call it what it was - public ownership - and act accordingly? The May elections saw many previous LibDem voters turning to Labour. They felt betrayed by the LibDem leadership’s decision to join a coalition with the Tories and ditch the policies that 7 million of them had voted for in the 2010 General Election. Labour gained 50 per cent

more seats in England, winning 37 per cent of the poll (up from 29 per cent in the General Election). Progress was helped a bit by Ed Milliband putting a little more ‘pink water’ between his regime and the previous New Labour ones. Now his leadership needs to draw a red line against the past. But as long as the Labour Party continues to accept the false case for public spending cuts – instead of arguing for progressive taxation, public ownership, investment in manufacturing, energy, public transport, housing etc. – then it will never be accepted as an alternative government. As the Labour Party revives locally, and engages in discussion of future policies, it is important for the working class and peoples of Britain that the Labour Party is reclaimed for the labour movement if possible. Workers need a voice in Parliament; after all that’s why the unions founded it so that labour would be represented at Westminster. Labour needs to look at the real reasons why they are not advancing more in the face of the Government’s vicious dismantling of public services. Labour’s weakness is that there is no clear class analysis in their anti-Tory

cuts policy. The argument that it’s just too much too quickly is wrong; it’s not a case of ‘our cuts are better than yours’. Labour should be saying that there was never any need to make cuts because, as most of us have come to realise, the money is going to the wrong people and thus boosting the scandalous profits of big business. Milliband must ditch the bankers and the bosses and start building a class-based party. Unite supported Ed Milliband to lead the party of labour and should be demanding a change of policy to support the objectives of our union. And a much more powerful case will be made if we can do this alongside those other unions who supported Milliband. In the past three months more than 90 per cent of Labour Party donations came from the unions. Don’t those who pay the piper have the right to call the tune? Now is not the time to withdraw from Labour Party affiliation, but it is the time to hold the Party to which members pay affiliation fees to account and to insist that they and their MPs abide by the policies set by our conference and the executive council.

Nick Clegg’s ‘miserable little compromise’, the AV referendum, blew up in his party’s face. He traded electoral reform for the redrawing of constituency boundaries - an even bigger clanger - as LibDem MPs are going to be the largest group of casualties. However, it is important that the defeat for AV is not allowed to become an argument against all electoral reform. The Communist Party will continue to argue for the Single Transferable Vote in multi- member constituencies, as the system which produces a broadly proportionate elected body while retaining the most local, direct link between the electors and their representatives.

Clear Pink Water? To be or not to be ... elected by Kevin Halpin

This specially produced 60 minute documentary, made in association with Platform Films, charts the 90 year history of Britain’s Communist Party. Featuring previously unseen interviews, footage and much more. DVD £5.50 (inc. p&p) from www.communist-party.org.uk

Unfair Burdens

International financial institutions treat even relatively rich European nations in exactly the same way that they have treated the developing world for decades – put them into debt, make them cut services, lend them money at higher interest rates than needed and then ask them to start again as economies falter – so much for the much vaunted EU being a level playing ground for labour and capital.

The European Union and European competition law – in making privatisation compulsory and eroding workers’ rights are fundamentally anti democratic and anti people.

falseecononomy. org.uk ier. org. uk no2EU. org. uk

March, Rally and cultural programme. Sunday 2nd October London E1

Communist University of Britain 2011

25th-27th November Central London

a weekend of discussions, debates, rallies, workshops, roundtables, food, film, drink and music with leading national & international speakers from the labour & anti-imperialist movements

Tickets £20/£10 concessions*

*for bookings made before 30th September

www.communist-party.org.uk www.communistuniversity.org.uk

The unions which came together to create Unite had different traditions and cultures. Some believed fervently in election of full-time industrial and regional officials at all levels, arguing that if it’s good enough for the general secretary and the workplace rep then what’s the problem. And there are those who believe as passionately that workers deserve only the best full-timers to serve their interests and that this is assured by appointment. As I say, elections versus appointments is a matter of tradition and culture. It should never become an issue that splits the left and progressive forces in our union. It may have been used somewhat opportunistically to try and create an artificial left/right polarisation in the recent GS election but I would not wish to see this happen in the future. There is no question that if we want to ensure that the members

are best served there needs to be open and transparent accountability. After all shop stewards are elected regularly with the clear understanding that they will be kicked out if they don’t deliver. The CP believes that this principle of more accountability of officials is a key part of what makes and sustains a democratic and fighting union. In our view this could be best served by moving over time to more elected posts at senior level. Kevin Halpin has been a member of the Communist Party for over 60 years. In his working life he played a significant role in the engineering union as a steward and convenor at Briggs Bodies, Ford Dagenham, various ship repair yards and London Underground. He remains active in Unite and chairs the West London branch of 4,300 members

This first rules revision conference of Unite is a crucial stage in the forging of our union. The nature of Unite is defined by its Aims & Objects and we welcome amendments confirming our union’s commitment to the principles of socialism, including the redistribution of wealth and public ownership (remember Clause 4?). If the Labour Party had stuck to these principles, New Labour would not have been invented to serve the bankers and Eurocrats. Labour could have won the general election if, when the last labour government bailed out the banks, it would also have ensured that we got our money back - and with interest - rather than letting billions be squandered on obscene bankers’ bonuses. The tax payer had the majority shareholding, so why didn’t they call it what it was - public ownership - and act accordingly? The May elections saw many previous LibDem voters turning to Labour. They felt betrayed by the LibDem leadership’s decision to join a coalition with the Tories and ditch the policies that 7 million of them had voted for in the 2010 General Election. Labour gained 50 per cent

more seats in England, winning 37 per cent of the poll (up from 29 per cent in the General Election). Progress was helped a bit by Ed Milliband putting a little more ‘pink water’ between his regime and the previous New Labour ones. Now his leadership needs to draw a red line against the past. But as long as the Labour Party continues to accept the false case for public spending cuts – instead of arguing for progressive taxation, public ownership, investment in manufacturing, energy, public transport, housing etc. – then it will never be accepted as an alternative government. As the Labour Party revives locally, and engages in discussion of future policies, it is important for the working class and peoples of Britain that the Labour Party is reclaimed for the labour movement if possible. Workers need a voice in Parliament; after all that’s why the unions founded it so that labour would be represented at Westminster. Labour needs to look at the real reasons why they are not advancing more in the face of the Government’s vicious dismantling of public services. Labour’s weakness is that there is no clear class analysis in their anti-Tory

cuts policy. The argument that it’s just too much too quickly is wrong; it’s not a case of ‘our cuts are better than yours’. Labour should be saying that there was never any need to make cuts because, as most of us have come to realise, the money is going to the wrong people and thus boosting the scandalous profits of big business. Milliband must ditch the bankers and the bosses and start building a class-based party. Unite supported Ed Milliband to lead the party of labour and should be demanding a change of policy to support the objectives of our union. And a much more powerful case will be made if we can do this alongside those other unions who supported Milliband. In the past three months more than 90 per cent of Labour Party donations came from the unions. Don’t those who pay the piper have the right to call the tune? Now is not the time to withdraw from Labour Party affiliation, but it is the time to hold the Party to which members pay affiliation fees to account and to insist that they and their MPs abide by the policies set by our conference and the executive council.

Nick Clegg’s ‘miserable little compromise’, the AV referendum, blew up in his party’s face. He traded electoral reform for the redrawing of constituency boundaries - an even bigger clanger - as LibDem MPs are going to be the largest group of casualties. However, it is important that the defeat for AV is not allowed to become an argument against all electoral reform. The Communist Party will continue to argue for the Single Transferable Vote in multi- member constituencies, as the system which produces a broadly proportionate elected body while retaining the most local, direct link between the electors and their representatives.

Clear Pink Water? To be or not to be ... elected by Kevin Halpin

This specially produced 60 minute documentary, made in association with Platform Films, charts the 90 year history of Britain’s Communist Party. Featuring previously unseen interviews, footage and much more. DVD £5.50 (inc. p&p) from www.communist-party.org.uk

Unfair Burdens

International financial institutions treat even relatively rich European nations in exactly the same way that they have treated the developing world for decades – put them into debt, make them cut services, lend them money at higher interest rates than needed and then ask them to start again as economies falter – so much for the much vaunted EU being a level playing ground for labour and capital.

The European Union and European competition law – in making privatisation compulsory and eroding workers’ rights are fundamentally anti democratic and anti people.

falseecononomy. org.uk ier. org. uk no2EU. org. uk

March, Rally and cultural programme. Sunday 2nd October London E1

Communist University of Britain 2011

25th-27th November Central London

a weekend of discussions, debates, rallies, workshops, roundtables, food, film, drink and music with leading national & international speakers from the labour & anti-imperialist movements

Tickets £20/£10 concessions*

*for bookings made before 30th September

www.communist-party.org.uk www.communistuniversity.org.uk

Communists @ Unite Rules Conference June 2011

Britain is witnessing the biggest onslaught on working-class living standards since the early 1980s, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies. Bank of England governor Mervyn King predicts that people's real incomes will fall on a scale not seen since the 1920s. This presumes, of course, that the trade unions and labour movement do nothing to stop it happening. But unemployment is already heading towards three million. If the £203 billion spending cuts go through between now and 2015, another one million jobs will be lost. The merciless drive to force the long-term sick and incapacitated off benefits and into low-paid work or destitution will increase the misery, while disguising the full extent of rising unemployment. Most public-sector pay is Continued on back page

We are facing the biggest attack on our standard of living in decades, as the ConDem government rush to put in the final nail in the coffin of the Welfare State. All in the name of cuts that are not necessary. At the same time, workers’ rights are threatened yet again with the outlawing of ‘wild cat’ strikes, co-ordinated actions, strike bans for ‘essential’ workers and business secretary Vince Cable promising last week at the GMB conference, to go even further if workers increase the level of industrial action, in response to government cuts. Our BA members know that resolute industrial action is effective and our union will continue to play a leading role in the fight to win back all our civil rights including the right to take solidarity action.

London’s streets saw one of the greatest shows of solidarity for many years against the common enemy on March 26. Only a government which condemns so many to poverty, deprivation and unemployment could have brought out so many thousands from up and down the country from a host of different local anti-cuts groups and trade unions. The Communist Party believes that the People's Charter can play a vital role in presenting a positive alternative to cuts in pensions, benefits and public services. Co-ordinated action in defence of pensions by civil servants, teachers and lecturers at the end of this month are to be welcomed and can play a key part in building the momentum towards even wider actions involving both public and

private sector workers. Calls to move eventually to a general strike is a clear signal that workers are up for this challenge, which could help bring about the collapse of this illegitimate government. Unions must stand together in the fight against cuts, for jobs and in defence of services, as Unite and PCS agreed in their landmark agreement last month. The widest possible unity is needed if we are to defeat this onslaught by the ConDem government. It’s vital that attempts to divide public sector and private sector workers are resisted. It becomes a meaningless division as the privatisation agenda marches on relentlessly. After all once you're on the dole, nobody asks whether you're an unemployed public sector worker or a private sector one.

Lies, damned lies & inflation figures... Cont from front being frozen this year, while private-sector increases will vary from 2 to 3 per cent, according to Income Data Services. According to the consumer price index (CPI), which governs the minimum wage and state pensions and benefits, the cost of living is only rising at 4.5 per cent a year. Even the retail price index (RPI), which includes housing costs, puts it at a mere 5.2 per cent. But the true picture for most people is that prices are actually rising far, far faster. Alcohol and tobacco prices have risen by 9 per cent over the past 12 months and transport by nearly 10 per cent. Food prices are calculated to have increased by just 4.4 per, but basic foodstuffs such as bread and cereals went up by 7 per cent, soft drinks by 10 per cent and "sweet" condiments and confectionery by more than 7 per cent. But why is there such a huge discrepancy between the fantasy world of government, business and media statisticians on the one side and the real world of working people on the other? This is because official indices consider price changes for a "basket" of household expenditure items, each item given different weight according to its prominence in the typical household budget. According to the latest CPI presumptions, the "typical" household in Britain spends no more than 12 per cent of its outgoings on food, less than 5 per cent on domestic fuel and only 4 per cent on petrol. These are the areas where most of the biggest price increases take place - but their impact in the "typical" CPI household is, not surprisingly, negligible.

Mr and Mrs Typical CPI, on the other hand, are keen to buy vehicles and audio visual equipment, go to the opera, eat out frequently and pay young Jemima and Jocelyn's school fees. So they spend 4 per cent of their annual income buying cars, 15 per cent on culture and recreation - excluding pubs and clubs - another 12 per cent on hotels, restaurants and cafes (but not canteens) and 2 per cent on education. These are areas where many of the smaller price increases have occurred over the past 12 months. So, hey presto, the cost of living in Britain has only gone up by 4.5 per cent. The RPI provides a slightly more realistic picture of the cost of living for working class and many middle-class households. It excludes the richest 4 per cent of households from its calculations, while including housing costs. Even so, the RPI measure is also misleading. It excludes pensioner households that are heavily dependent on state benefits, while the housing costs element presumes that the typical household spends just £230 a month on mortgage interest or rent. A working class price index would put the real annual rate of inflation at around 8 or 9 per cent, taking basic food, drink, tobacco, metered gas and electricity, petrol and public transport costs fully into account, including for pensioner households. And worse is to come. Household electricity and gas bills are set to rise this year by 10 and 15 per cent, respectively. High oil and food prices on world commodity markets will push up petrol and food prices in Britain still further. At the same time, companies such as British Gas, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Shell will continue to reap super-profits from soaring prices in

sectors where they have a monopoly. So what is to be done? The Communist Party has drawn up a Left-Wing Programme which details a series of policies which can lessen the impact of the crisis on workers and their families. It calls for government action to: Impose price controls on

household fuel, petrol and basic foodstuffs.

Levy a windfall tax on monopoly profits to fund public investment in council housing, renewable energy and employment.

Charge a wealth tax on the richest 10 per cent of households to raise pensions and benefits and reduce the public finances deficit.

Place a "Robin Hood" tax on all financial, currency and commodity transactions in the City of London.

Close all tax havens Take gas, electricity and

railways out of the hands of the profiteers and invest in a greener Britain.

Unions need to lead a big wages offensive for increases which meet the real rate of inflation. The TUC should demand negotiating rights on the national minimum wage. Above all, we need the unions to lead a mass, broad-based people's campaign to defend public services, benefits, jobs and local communities against the Tory-Lib Dem cuts. Britain is still one of the wealthiest countries in the world. Our capitalist class owns more than £4,000 billion in declared personal wealth. Taxing the rich and big business, instead of reducing corporation tax on company profits still further, would raise far more than the £21 billion being "saved" by this year's cuts.

Join the fight against cuts, for peace & socialism

name address

postcode Age if under 30 phone E-mail

return to CP Ruskin House, 23 Coombe Rd, London CR0 1BD

t: 02086861659 e: office@communist-party.org.uk

The Communist Party has a proud and influential history in the unions which have formed Unite. Notably, in the T&G – especially in the car industry, amongst bus workers, and dockers. But we were also strong in the old AEU and other skilled manufacturing workers’ unions. Draughtsmen and technicians, printers, and others all saw highly-respected and powerful Communists at all levels. Today, Communists in Unite have reformed, regrouped and reconnected. Delegates such as you – yes, you – reading this bulletin, can play a role in shaping our union for the future. If you’ve agreed with what we say in this edition of UNITY, our regular bulletin for union conferences, then isn’t it about time you joined us?

Unity!Unity!

A World to WinA World to Win

Lies, damned lies & inflation figures by Robert Griffiths

80p Monday-Friday, £1 Weekend edition from your local newsagent