By Daphne Liddle
HUNDREDS of thousands of public sector workers went on
strike last Thursday, 10th July in protest at low pay, pension cuts
and job cuts. Estimates of the total number taking part range from one to two
million strikers, angry at sharply declining living standards as the greedy one
per cent of top capitalists are enjoying unprecedented rises in their income.
Schools, libraries and council offices closed throughout the
country; bins went uncollected, streets went unswept and driving tests were
postponed. This was the biggest national strike since November 2011 – and that
was the biggest since the General Strike of 1926.
And hundreds and thousands of workers took to the streets of
towns and cities throughout the country in marches and rallies to drive home
the message of the strike.
In London around 15,000 assembled outside the BBC headquarters
in Portland Place – to ensure the biased BBC could not pretend it did not
notice the event, to march to a rally in Trafalgar Square.
The unions PCS, GMB, FBU, Unite, Unison and many others were
there in force but the biggest group by far were the members of the National
Union of Teachers. There were dozens of bright banners, giant balloons and
thousands of placards. The mood was upbeat in spite of the rain but there was
no mistaking the real hatred of the teachers for Education Secretary Michael
Gove – who has since lost his job.
Firefighters were also angry at their very long-running
fight to defend their pensions and right to retire at 55. The Government wants
to force them to work until 60 in a job that depends on a high standard of
fitness and firefighters are tested regularly on this. If the Government has
its way those who fail the test between 55 and 60 will lose their pensions.
Charles Brown, a 52-year-old firefighter from London, said:
"They want us to work longer, pay more in and get less out. We have tried
to have negotiations with the Government but they are not listening, so we have
no option but to strike."
The Fire Brigades Union is staging strikes every day this
week as part of that dispute.
Many strikers and speakers were outraged at plans by the
Government to regard strike ballots as invalid unless more than 50 per cent of
those who could vote supported the strike.
TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady criticised Tory plans
raise the threshold for strikes saying: “Rather than get round the table,
ministers are threatening a change in the law that would make legal strikes
close to impossible.
"Instead of imposing a ballot threshold that not a
single MP met in the last election, politicians should stop ignoring sensible
proposals to increase secret ballot turnouts at the workplace and online."
Union leaders criticised the Labour Party for not backing
the strike. Dave Prentis, general secretary of Unison, said: "It is time
for Labour to make up its mind. Public service workers are people who should be
Labour's natural supporters and they deserve Labour's unashamed backing in
return."
A survey last week showed widespread public support for the
strikes and the aims of the strikers.
Of those who gave a view, 59 per cent think that the Government
is unfairly targeting public sector workers on pay with almost the same again
(58 per cent) saying that council workers deserve an extra £1 per hour on their
wages; even among 2010 Conservative voters, support for a pay rise stands at 52
per cent.
Unite assistant general secretary Gail Cartmail said: “This
Government’s ceaseless attacks on our public service workers are misguided and
find no favour with the public. They can see through this bullying for what it
is – an attempt to turn friends and neighbours against the good people who care
for their kids, keep their streets clean and run our valued community services,
and they are not buying it.
“The public has no appetite for the government’s belittling
of public sector workers, and certainly none whatsoever for the Tories’ threat
to remove the right to strike action.”
Speakers at the rally in Trafalgar Square spoke of plans for
further general strikes – one in October and another in the New Year in the
run-up to the general election.
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