Stop US nukes coming to Lakenheath!

by New Worker correspondent

London comrades travelled to Suffolk last month to join hundreds of other anti-war campaigners outside the Lakenheath airbase in Suffolk on Saturday 20th May. The demonstrators were protesting against the return of US nuclear bombs to UK soil for the first time since 2008.
    RAF Lakenheath is run by the Americans, who have recently added the UK to a list of NATO nuclear weapons storage locations in Europe being upgraded under a multi-million-dollar infrastructure programme. This means that US nuclear weapons will be returning to RAF Lakenheath.
     Cumbria and Lancashire CND spokesperson, Philip Gilligan, who travelled to the protest on Saturday, told the media that: "The last thing the world needs at the moment is an escalation in nuclear sabre rattling. We need to be de-escalating the nuclear rhetoric, not importing more nuclear weapons of mass destruction to our shores. Doing so would not only add further instability to an already very dangerous international situation but would also increase the risks of a nuclear accident on British soil."
    The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which organised the protest, has condemned the return of US nuclear weapons to Lakenheath and has launched a campaign to stop this extremely dangerous and destabilising development.
    CND General Secretary Kate Hudson said: “The siting of these upgraded guided nuclear bombs at Lakenheath is not just a matter of concern for the people of East Anglia, but for the entire country as it makes Britain a clear target in any nuclear confrontation between Russia and the USA. The aircraft used to deliver these bombs, the F-35, is also a significant polluter to the local area with one tank of fuel emitting the equivalent of 28 metric tons of carbon dioxide. The F-35 programme has also been plagued with technical problems which remain unsolved and pose a serious accident risk. We’re calling on the British government to deny any US request to site B61-12s at Lakenheath and to engage in serious efforts to de-escalate tensions between nuclear-armed states.”
    Dutch peace campaigner Guido van Leemput added that: “A new nuclear arms race is coming. Russia wants to station nuclear weapons in Belarus and the USA is going to deploy its upgraded B61-12 guided nuclear bomb across Europe, at Volkel Air Base in the Netherlands and possibly at Lakenheath. It’s necessary to speak out loudly about the modernisation of nuclear weapons as part of a European-wide voice for peace.”
    CND says: “US nuclear weapons look set to return to RAF Lakenheath, a base in the UK that is run by the US. Their return will only increase global tensions and put Britain on the frontline in a NATO/Russia war.
    “The UK government can stop this from happening. If we show enough public resistance we can press them to reject these plans and prevent these terrible weapons from making us a target.
    “The US Department of Defense has added the UK to a list of NATO nuclear weapons storage locations in Europe being upgraded under a multi-million-dollar infrastructure programme. This means that US nuclear weapons will be coming to RAF Lakenheath.
    “110 nuclear bombs were stored at the airbase but they were removed by 2008 following persistent popular protest. Without public opposition, led by CND, they would still be here today. We stopped these weapons before – will you help us stop them again?”

May Day in London…

by New Worker correspondent

Thousands of trade unionists, socialists, communists and members of the Turkish, Kurdish and other communities living in London gathered in Clerkenwell Green outside Marx House for the start of the annual May Day commemoration. London comrades with the New Communist Party banner, marched alongside Ukraine anti-fascist solidarity supporters through central London for the traditional rally in Trafalgar Square. There they were joined by striking Unite workers who left their picket outside St Thomas’ hospital to join the rally in the afternoon.
     “It’s great to see such a diverse range of people coming together to celebrate our day,” Mick Lynch, the leader of the RMT transport union said at the rally “There’s a lot of talk about a big day coming up,” he said referring to the Coronation. “But this is about our history and our culture: the working people of the world, the people that generate all of the wealth so that these rich people can live on the cream of the world. That’s got to change: that’s what our movement is about”.

Northern Ireland – what next?

John Finucane speaking

by New Worker correspondent

Northern Ireland today – still divided by partition and sectarian division. There’s clearly still a job to do but there’s hope for the future. And at a meeting at the House of Commons in London on 25 April MPs on both sides of the Irish Sea joined in the discussion on the current situation following the historic 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA).
    Chaired by the Sinn Fein MP for Fermanagh & South Tyrone Michelle Guildernew, the panel included Pat Doherty, who was part of the Sinn Fein (SF) team at the negotiations, John Finucane, SF MP for North Belfast, Helen Jackson, a former Labour MP who was secretary to the late Mo Mowlam during the talks, former TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady, and the actor Adrian Dunbar, star of the TV series Line of Duty.
    Pat Doherty gave a gripping account of the peace talks before 1998, including the two IRA cease-fires, describing the "huge conflicts" between the Unionist parties, and saying that those who didn't join the talks (the Democratic Unionist Party walked out and the Ulster Unionist Party didn't take part) "made a huge strategic blunder".
    Doherty also said the the Women's Coalition, led by Catholic academic Monica McWilliams, "was a breath of fresh air" during the talks.
    Adrian Dunbar reminded the meeting that Belfast still retains a segregated education system, "with millions spent every year bussing children across the city". "The GFA sadly hasn't delivered on an integrated education system".
    John Finucane said it was important "never to underestimate the success of the GFA", pointing to the economic successes in finance technology, cyber security and two Belfast film studios, but condemned the Sunak government for pushing through a new bill "which will undermine the reconciliation process".
    He said "there is still a job of work to do" with major problems with inadequate spending grants from London, in health and job creation.
    Finucane pointed out that For the first time since 1921, Sinn Fein is the largest party" but was unable to govern due to the suspension of the Assembly by the DUP. With the largest number of seats the Sinn Fein president Michelle O'Neill is now in line to be First Minister.
    He also pointed out that the Biden administration has made clear that until London resolves the North-South border situation "there will be no trade deal, and no prime ministerial or state visits" until London resolves the North-South border situation and removes any threat to the GFA.
    Looking to the future, Finucane said "a new Ireland is not about rubbing out the border on the map and saying 'job done', but about equality, parity of esteem, and resolving power sharing".

Abolish the Monarchy Now!

By New Worker correspondent

British republicans have condemned the Metropolitan Police's oppressive treatment of protesters, who had gathered in their thousands in Trafalgar Square to denounce Charles III's coronation as the country's king. The protesters against the antiquated monarchical system said on Sunday that there is now no longer a right to peaceful protest in Britain after dozens of republican demonstrators were arrested.
    Overall, some 64 people were rounded up during the ceremony at Westminster Abbey before King Charles and Queen Camilla were driven back to Buckingham Palace. The police described the alleged offences that had led to the arrests as a breach of the peace and conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.
    Those detained included Graham Smith, the leader of the Republic movement which campaigns for the abolition of the monarchical system in the United Kingdom and its replacement with a directly elected head of state.
    "This was a heavy-handed action which had the appearance of a pre-determined arrest that would have occurred regardless of the evidence or our actions. The right to protest peacefully in the UK no longer exists," Smith said. "These arrests were not about protecting people from harm, but about protecting the King from embarrassment."
    “I have campaigned on the issue of the monarchy for twenty years,” Smith said. “Time and again I have been told the monarchy protects us from tyranny, that the monarch guards our democracy and freedoms, defending us against the excesses of government. These arrests put the lie to those claims and are another example of the weakness of our constitution and the failure of our constitutional monarchy.
    “The Crown is one part of our failing constitution that concentrates too much power in the hands of government at the expense of parliament and people. We need a fundamental shift in power. We need elected representatives who are able to resist such draconian laws as those introduced this week, and a constitution that empowers the people to defend their rights.
    “These arrests have also destroyed whatever trust might have existed between peaceful protesters and the Metropolitan police. What is the point in being open and candid with the police, working with their liaison officers and meeting senior commanders, if all their promises and undertakings turn out to be a lie?
    “It is notable that King Charles has said nothing about these arrests. Rather than defend our liberty and values he is content celebrating his anointment as monarch while citizens are locked up. What is the point of a head of state who will say nothing and do nothing to defend the people?
    “These arrests were not about protecting people from harm, but about protecting the King from embarrassment. It was the state wanting to stamp down dissent in order to present an image of a grateful and consenting public at the time of the coronation”.
    Trying to explain the reason behind the arrests, the police however, alleged that their so-called duty to prevent disruption outweighed the right to protest.
    Republic said that its members began to be released late on Saturday evening after nearly 16 hours in custody.
    The Metropolitan Police had deployed some 11,500 officers for one of its biggest-ever security operations for the day of the coronation. The police had warned that it would have an "extremely low threshold" for protests, and controversially planned to use mass facial recognition technology to monitor the crowds.
    "Our tolerance for any disruption, whether through protest or otherwise, will be low," the Met warned in the run-up to the coronation. "We will deal robustly with anyone intent on undermining this celebration."
    The Republic movement was set up in 2006 to raise the case for a republic to a wider audience while scrutinising the actions of the royal household. It is strictly non-party political and claims to have over 80,000 supporters.

XR’s “Big One” rocks London

by New Worker correspondent

Tens of thousands of protesters descended on Parliament on Saturday as part of a four-day action, billed “The Big One”, designed to “highlight the environmental failures” of government. Environmental group Extinction Rebellion (XR) kicked off the event on Friday, promising less disruption and more inclusion than the sit-downs and transport disruption that are its usual trademark. This time the climate change campaigners focused on street theatre, open-air debates and forums and protest pickets outside government departments in London “to highlight the environmental and social failures across them all”.
    Saturday’s protest, which coincided with Earth Day, focused on nature and biodiversity. It started from Westminster Abbey with protesters and their children, wearing animal costumes and masks. Many had made banners for the occasion, with one reading: “We defend the climate but police arrest us” and another “Extinction is forever”. Others warned that a third of UK birds were “at risk of extinction”.
Some XR supporters took part in the London Marathon in Sunday while others organised “people’s pickets and forums throughout the heart of the capital.
    They were joined by household names such as top film actor Juliet Stevenson, White Teeth author Zadie Smith, legendary producer and composer, Brian Eno, human rights advocate, Bianca Jagger, and indie band She Drew The Gun. The long weekend of climate change action was also supported by PCS, the main civil service union and a number of leading environmental and social justice movements.

Stop the War in Ukraine!

 By New Worker correspondent

Comrades joined other campaigners in London for a Stop the War rally at Hamilton House last weekend that brought together a number of British and international speakers under the banner of ‘Stop The War In Ukraine’.
    Stop the War (StW) has been on a journey over the last year where their position on the Russian intervention in Ukraine has gradually changed, partly under pressure from members, from a position that wasn’t very different to the Government and the mainstream media, to now, where the only call at Saturday’s meeting was to end the war.
    Having attended many StW events in that time, Saturday was also notable for the absence of any assertions that Russia is an imperialist state.
    Kate Hudson from CND spoke on the increasing militarisation of the region, where states are dramatically increasing their military budgets, and the increased danger this causes. Also the depleted uranium shells, which the UK proposes to send to Ukraine, will escalate the conflict, cause long term damage to the people of Ukraine, and increase the risk of further British involvement in the war. CND has arranged a protest at RAF Lakenheath on 20th May against US nuclear weapons being stationed in Britain, and asks all who can to attend.
    Next up was the rapper and activist Lowkey, who always presents lots of complex information in very accessible form. He touched on the same themes as Kate, on the birth defects still happening in Fallujah, due to the use of depleted uranium 20 years ago during the American occupation of Iraq.
    His other theme was how for some companies, war is good for business. He spoke of the four main US defence contractors who have doubled their profits in the last year, and of the endemic corruption, giving the example of defence secretary Ben Wallace who was previously director of weapons company QinetiQ.
    QinetiQ has received hundreds of millions of pounds in contracts since the start of the conflict, and is so entwined with power that a QinetiQ director, Gordon Messenger was appointed to head a review into the NHS, surely a conflict of interest as the company has expressed interest in gaining NHS contracts.
    Lowkey finished by warning about the media. “The same people who lied to us about WMDs in Iraq are the same people lying to us about the war in Ukraine. They are the very same people in the media and in the government”.
    Sevim Dağdelen, a German MP from Die Linke (The Left party) spoke of her experience of opposing the war inside the German parliament, and how the anti-war campaigners are routinely smeared as puppets of Putin, or connected to the far-right – both untrue. She spoke strongly on how NATO and the US are the main danger to world peace, and our duty to oppose them.
    “While people are dying in Ukraine, arms companies are making billions increasing their profits by 11.5 per cent. It is our responsibility to stand up to the warmongers in our governments and end this escalating spiral of war”.
    Irish MEP Clare Daly has become one of the voices and faces of opposition to escalation and war mongering and she had a great reception. She spoke from her perspective of the changes since February 2022, where only a few MEPs spoke against NATO and EU escalation, to now where more are openly opposing the war. She said any opposition to the drive to war is delegitimised, in a conflict that has seen what she described as ‘unprecedented censorship’ where the only view we have on the conflict is through government press releases.
    She spoke of the numbers of people who contact her every day, saying they agree with everything she and fellow MEP Mick Wallace say, but they are scared to say it themselves.‘War can never be stopped by war. It can only be stopped by peace. We are in a majority but we are silenced by the establishment because they fear the power of this movement against war.’
    This was a good meeting, and StW are to be commended for organising. But there was no Q&A session after the speakers, and some people wondered who the organisers were more worried about, the members from the floor, or the platform speakers?

No Depleted Uranium to Ukraine!

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined demonstrators in Whitehall last week protesting against the British government’s decision to supply of depleted uranium shells to Ukraine. The shells are for the Challenger tanks Sunak is sending to Kiev to prop up the Zelensky regime’s fight against the Russians who intervened last year to defend the Donbas people’s republics and help the Ukrainian anti-fascist resistance.
    The picket opposite the prime minister’s residence in Downing Street that caught the attention of tourists and homeward bound commuters on Wednesday was called by the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign (IUAFS) and supported by the No2Nato and other anti-war movements. Theo Russell, the IUAFS campaign organiser, was interviewed by Russia Today (RT) through a live-broadcast link from Moscow to London. The protest was filmed by camera teams from the TASS Russian news agency and RUPTLY, an RT subsidiary, who later interviewed Theo Russell and Andy Brooks for other programmes.
    Depleted uranium (DU) is both chemically and radiologically toxic. Used in battle it is spread throughout the environment including the soil and water tables, and remains radioactive for more than 4.5 billion years. Significant increases in horrific birth defects, leukaemia and other cancers, kidney damage, and mental illness in children have been recorded in areas where DU munitions were used.

East Meets West in London

East meets West

by New Worker correspondent

The East literally met the West at a concert in London that combined Chinese and Western cultures and showcased brilliant cultural exchanges between China and the world. Some 800 people packed the Cadogan Hall in Chelsea last week for an East Meets West concert presented by the China Performing Arts Agency and the London Philharmonic Orchestra.
    Honoured guests included the Chinese ambassador Zheng Zeguang and other Chinese diplomats as well as classical virtuosos and other guests from China and the UK.
    On the night Cadogan Hall was adorned in Chinese red and filled with applause and cheers. Internationally acclaimed conductor Qian Junping led the London Philharmonic Orchestra with featured Chinese violinist Ning Feng and classical guitarist Yang Xuefei.
    The programme featured celebrated and ground-breaking works by acclaimed Chinese composers Chen Qigang, Tan Dun, Wang Xilin, Zhou Tian, and Fu Renchang alongside Western composers Edward Elgar and John Brunning.
    The concert started with the Torch Festival, a vibrant, rousing piece depicting the traditional fire festival of ethnic groups in China's Yunnan province. This was followed by the Orchestra's performance of Elgar's classic Cockaigne overture. Ning Feng's passionate performance of the Violin Concerto No.1 incorporated traditional Chinese sounds scored for Western symphony orchestra and Western solo instruments, resulting in modern East-meets-West sonic experiences. The concert ended with the Gift which exhibited China’s profound culture and demonstrated the charm of exchanges and mutual learning between the two cultures.
    "I really hope that Chinese music can be performed more, and also be accepted and liked by more people in the West," said Yang Xuefei, one of the Chinese artists.
    After the concert, Ambassador Zheng Zeguang met with the Chinese musicians and expressed his appreciation to them for their efforts and contributions to cultural exchanges between China and the world. He also encouraged them to use their strength, talent and wisdom for the promotion of people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.
    Founded in 1932, the London Philharmonic Orchestra is one of London’s five major orchestras and the largest orchestra in Britain. The Orchestra made its first China tour in 1973 and it has valued the cultural exchange and cooperation between the two countries over the years. On 4th November 2022, the London Philharmonic Orchestra held a special concert to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the establishment of China-UK diplomatic relations at the ambassadorial level.
    The London Philharmonic’s principal piccolo Stewart Mcllwham and double bassist Laura Murphy both mentioned their unforgettable collaboration with Tan Dun, a leading figure in contemporary classic music, during the earlier Spring Festival at the beginning of the year. They have been embracing Chinese music as well.
    "I especially like hearing Chinese traditional instruments in contrast with ours," says Laura. She also mentioned her love of Chinese composers' works, which are "very melodic and harmonious”.
    The orchestra used to travel to China on a regular basis before the Covid pandemic, enabling them to get to know more about the Chinese music and musicians. Now, with the restrictions lifted at the borders, many artists have been looking forward to a journey back there soon. "Music is a common language that we can share, so it's a pleasure for us to be doing this," she said.

Honouring a great Korean revolutionary

Dermot Hudson and Theo Russell

by New Worker correspondent

Kim Il Sung was born on 15th April 1912 and his birthday has long been celebrated as the Day of the Sun in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and by everyone who stands by the DPRK. And on that day last week solidarity activists gathered at the Cock Tavern in London to recall the outstanding achievements of the leader of the Korean revolution.
    Speakers included Dermot Hudson, the chair of the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) that organised the meeting and NCP national organiser, Theo Russell. The Democratic Korean embassy in London sent a tribute that was read out at the meeting and messages were received from Korean friendship groups in Germany, Poland and Switzerland.
    In his tribute Dermot Hudson praised the successful test firing of the Democratic Korean ballistic missile as a great victory for Juche and self-reliance – the Korean-style socialism pioneered by Kim Il Sung that is followed by his successors in the people’s republic today.
    Kim Il Sung was a great anti-imperialist revolutionary who turned the DPRK into a fortress of militant anti-imperialism and totally opposed the line of compromise with imperialism. His life from beginning to end was one of principled and constant struggle against imperialism and for independence’.
    Theo Russell praised the life of Kim Il Sung as that of a great revolutionary . He said that the achievements of the DPRK are great and are due to the Juche philosophy authored by the great leader of the Korean people who worked tirelessly throughout his life for the communist cause.
    Shaun Pickford, the head of Staffordshire KFA focused on the international dimension of the DPRK and the Juche Idea. The first Juche idea study group was formed in Mali , West Africa and since then many international seminars on the Juche Idea have followed.
    This was followed by a general discussion on Juche and life in the DPRK and ended with the traditional refreshments and informal chat amongst friends of Korea old and new.

Down with Israeli oppression!

By New Worker correspondent

Comrades joined an angry crowd in London last week to condemn the latest wave of Zionist violence against the Palestinian Arabs. Over a thousand protesters rallied outside the Israeli embassy in a protest organised by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign and other Palestine solidarity movements to demand an end to the brutal Israeli occupation and the restoration of the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people.
    Ben Jamal, the director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC), said they gathered there because of the brutal attacks by Israeli forces against Palestinians. “We are here because once again Israel is bombing Palestinians in Gaza and we are here because, since the beginning of 2023, Israel has been massacring Palestinians,” he told the crowd.

Defending the rights of the unemployed!

 by New Worker correspondent

NCP campaign organiser Theo Russell joined demonstrators outside Caxton House, the headquarters of the Department for Work and Pensions, in London last week. Called by the Kilburn Unemployed Workers Group, the picketers were protesting against the radical overhaul of disability benefits that could see people with complex or invisible conditions left hundreds of pounds out of pocket.
    Under the changes, the deeply-flawed work capability assessment (WCA) for determining benefit payments will be replaced with the existing personal independence payment (PIP) system – which is used to decide what day-to-day help a disabled person might need.
    In its post-Budget analysis, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the Government could face a choice of either widening the criteria or seeing hundreds of thousands of people no longer qualifying for benefits. Tom Waters, economist at the IFS, estimated one million people could be forced into work and some 600,000 could lose an estimated £350 per month in support.

Workers' Notes: London strikes!

 by New Worker correspondent

At Heathrow Airport Easter is being marked by 10 days of strike action by over 1,400 security officers. The strike went ahead after unsuccessful pay talks. At present, the average salary of a Heathrow security guard, working endless shifts, is £30,000, of which £26,000 is the basic after three years experience, with a £4,000 shift allowance. Unite the union reckons that in real-terms this is 24 per cent less than in 2017. Heathrow Airport Limited (HAL) refused to substantially improve its pay offer and only offered a lump sum payment as an addition to the current offer.
    At the same time, HAL CEO John Holland-Kaye had an 88 per cent pay rise, which he surely deserved as in 2020 he was only on £800,000 and desperately needed a more reasonable £1.5 million. He had a hard time during the pandemic when he was energetically firing and rehiring its entire workforce, resulting in most workers suffering serious pay cuts.
    This sum he earned because of the huge £2.1 billion in dividends he paid out to such deserving cases as Spanish infrastructure company Ferrovial, the Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund, and the Qatar Investment Authority.
    Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “Heathrow can afford to pay a decent pay rise to its workers. This is a wealthy company which is about to return to bumper profits. In recent years it’s approved an astronomical rise in salary for its CEO and paid out dividends to shareholders worth billions. Yet somehow Heathrow executives seem to think it’s acceptable to offer what amounts to a real-terms pay cut to its security guards and ground staff who are already on poverty pay.”
    Wayne King, a regional co-ordinating officer, added that: “Heathrow Airport has thrown away the opportunity to avoid strikes. Unite went into today’s meeting looking for an offer our members could accept. Unfortunately it seems HAL went in with no intention of avoiding industrial action.”
    The strikes affects Terminal Five, which is British Airways private terminal, and the security guards, who are responsible for checking all cargo.

Outsourcing Battles

The pay struggle continues, meanwhile, for ‘outsourced’ workers. On London’s Docklands Light Railway (DLR), contracted-out staff working for ISS and belonging to transport union RMT walked out on 48-hours strike last weekend.
    The workers involved in revenue protection, cleaning and security have rejected a pathetic 1.8 per cent pay offer, much lower than the rate for directly employed Transport for London (TfL) staff who perform equivalent roles. Despite promises from London Mayor Sadiq Khan, ISS staff have also not secured free travel, which other TfL workers have.
    RMT General Secretary Mick Lynch said: “ISS are a multimillion-pound company whose arrogance knows no bounds. They already pay staff poorly and with inflation rapidly increasing an offer of 1.8 per cent shows they do not care one jot for their staff.”
    “RMT will continue their campaign for pay justice for these workers who are some of the most exploited in the transport system…ultimately Mayor Sadiq Khan needs to end the injustice of exploitation of contracted-out staff by bringing these workers back in house as soon as possible.”
    Also in London, outsourced cleaners at the Great Ormond Street Hospital For Children (GOSH) are undertaking a collective legal action against outsourcing, claiming compensation for past injustices.
    The court case by 80 largely migrant workers was brought by the small street union United Voices of the World (UVW), which points out that for decades the cleaners were outsourced on lesser terms and conditions than other directly employed GOSH workers. This led to a dispute between UVW and GOSH at the start of the pandemic that saw UVW force the hospital to abandon its cleaning private contractor and employ the workers directly as NHS employees. The recently concluded UVW action, if successful, could net each claimant between £80,000–£190,000. A decision is expected later this month. UVW say it is similar to a case it brought against the Royal Parks in late 2021, when outsourced Royal Park attendants at won an Employment Tribunal case that ruled their lower pay was unlawful because it amounted to indirect race discrimination. This case was contested by the Government who feared it setting a bad example.
    Not far from GOSH, in Oxford Street, London’s longest shopping street, outsourced cleaners organised by another small union, the Independent Workers’ Union of Great Britain (IWGB), took over the offices of mobile phone company Vodafone early last month.
    They are employed by subcontractor Mitie, whose low wages are matched by overwork, a lack of company sick pay, and victimisation for those who complain.
    Some cleaners faced disciplinary action from Mitie for turning down extra responsibilities beyond their job description after many redundancies of catering staff were made during the pandemic. Mitie did well from Covid, with profits rising 187 per cent to £167 million on the back of short-term Covid-related contracts.
    Last year cleaners won the London Living Wage at Vodafone buildings nationally and forced them to hire new staff, which partly reduced overwork.
    An eight-year veteran of cleaning the Vodafone HQ said: “I risked my life cleaning throughout the pandemic for £8.93 an hour, and had to take 10 days off without proper sick pay when I got COVID‑19. We need better sick pay. We need management to replace cleaners who leave or take holidays, so we’re not faced with excessive workloads. It's time for fewer meetings and more action from both Mitie and Vodafone.”
    IWGB General Secretary Henry Chango Lopez attacked Vodafone because: “Pretending concern for employee welfare whilst exploiting their outsourced migrant workers for poverty pay is shameless hypocrisy. They make billions in profit but deny their cleaners’ calls for basic rights like a proper sick pay. Mitie management have attempted to shut down the workers fighting back by victimising them and threatening them with blacklisting, but we will campaign alongside them until they get justice.”

Down with the Kiev fascist regime!

By New Worker correspondent

We had a good turn out at the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity campaign  picket in Whitehall on Saturday. NCP leader Andy Brooks joined comrades and friends at another picket organised by the International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity (IUAFS) campaign to highlight the plight of political prisoners jailed by the Zelensky regime and stand by all those bravely fighting the fascism in Ukraine.
    Some 30 to 40 supporters joined the lively protest including Paul C annon, the general secretary of the Workers Party of Britain, and supporters of the new No2Nato campaign who came along with their banner that was attached with the others on the railings opposite Downing Street.
    "We are protesting today because we believe that the British people should be aware of the crimes committed by forces that our government has spent billions of dollars and arms supplies to prepare. We are well aware that many people are very confused by what is actually happening in Ukraine, as the media is flooded with claims and counterclaims, but we also know that media reporting in the UK is overwhelmingly one-sided and hostile to Russia and the people’s republics of the Donbas," one them said.
    The demonstrators called for the release of Ukrainian political prisoners, the restoration of full political freedom and freedom of the media, as well as an end to arrests, beatings, torture and murder in Ukraine.
    Theo Russell, the IUAFS campaign organiser, was interviewed by Bernie Holland, the musician and independent film-maker whose the 22 minute report is now up on the IUAFS Facebook page and YouTube. A brief report of the protest filmed by another independent media maker is now also doing the rounds on the social media.

For a better, shared future for the peoples of the world

by New Worker correspondent

NCP leader Andy Brooks, along with Robert Laurie and John Maryon from the Central Committee of the New Communist Party, joined hundreds of other representatives from political parties and movements from around the world last week at an online seminar organised by the Communist Party of China in Beijing.
`    The meeting was opened by Xi Jinping, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China and President of the People’s Republic of China. He was then followed by other leaders of the Global South including President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro as well as the presidents of Serbia and South Sudan and senior government figures from Grenada, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, Russia, Timor Leste and Togo,
    Leaders of over 500 political parties and organisations from more than 150 countries attended the Communist Party of China in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting on 15th March. Together, they discussed the important theme of the Path Towards Modernisation: the Responsibility of Political Parties.
    The initiative calls for respect for the diversity of civilisations, upholding the common values of humanity in pursuing peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom, and promoting robust international people-to-people exchanges and cooperation.
    In his opening remarks Comrade Xi Jinping gave Chinese answers to a series of thought-provoking questions such as "what kind of modernisation do we need and how can we achieve it”.
    "As our own future is closely connected with that of other countries and peoples, we will strive to provide new opportunities for world development, add new impetus to humanity's exploration of paths towards modernisation and make new contributions to the theory and practice of humanity's modernisation as we make new progress in Chinese modernisation", Xi said.
    Noting that the history of human development is full of twists and turns and that the path to modernisation is also arduous, Xi said that “in today’s world, multiple challenges and crises are intertwined. The global economic recovery remains sluggish, the development gap is widening, ecological environment is deteriorating, and the Cold War mentality is lingering,” meaning that we are once again at a crossroads of history.
    We must put the people first and ensure modernisation is people-centred. The ultimate goal of modernisation is the people’s free and well-rounded development. “Modernisation is not only about indicators and statistics on the paper but more about the delivery of a happy and stable life for the people.”
    We must uphold the principle of independence and explore diversified paths towards modernisation. Each country must consider its own national conditions and unique features. “It is the people of a country that are in the best position to tell what kind of modernisation best suits them. Developing countries have the right and ability to independently explore the modernisation path with their distinctive features based on their national realities.”
    We must uphold fundamental principles and break new ground. “We should work together to reform and develop the global governance system and make the international order more just and equitable as we advance humanity’s modernization in an environment of equal rights, equal opportunities and fair rules for all.” Xi added that we must help others to succeed while seeking our own success. “We stand firmly opposed to the practice of preserving one’s own development privilege by suppressing and containing other countries’ endeavour to achieve modernisation”.
    The Chinese leader noted that “the journey of over 100 years that the Party has traversed to unite and lead the Chinese people in pursuing national rejuvenation is also an exploration of a path towards modernisation.
    “Chinese modernisation is one of a huge population, of common prosperity for all, of material and cultural-ethical advancement, of harmony between humanity and nature, and of peaceful development,” adding: “We will stay committed to the right direction, right theories and the right path. We will not veer off course by changing our nature or abandoning our system...
    “China will neither tread the old path of colonisation and plunder, nor the crooked path taken by some countries to seek hegemony once they grow strong… we firmly oppose hegemony and power politics in all their forms…
    “The world does not need a new Cold War. The practice of stoking division and confrontation in the name of democracy is in itself a violation of the spirit of democracy…
    “no matter what level of development China achieves, it will never seek hegemony or expansion...there are bound to be setbacks on humanity’s journey to modernisation, but the future is bright”.
    In the history of humanity, over thousands of years, various civilisations have come into being, developed, and have in return promoted the overall development of human society. Diversity has been a prominent feature of civilisations.
    In spite of differences in histories, cultures, political systems and development phases, countries around the world share the common aspiration for peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom – the common values of humanity.
    People need to keep an open mind in appreciating how different civilisations perceive values, and refrain from imposing their own values or models on others, and from stoking ideological confrontation.
    As the world is facing old and new challenges, there are more reasons for us to promote dialogue and consultation when addressing international issues, and to let cultural exchanges transcend estrangement, mutual learning transcend clashes, and coexistence transcend feelings of superiority.
    Spanning thousands of miles, the ancient Silk Road embodied the spirit of cooperation, mutual learning and mutual benefit. The year 2023 marks the 10th anniversary of a new “Silk Road” – China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), another project for the benefit of the masses which has brought tangible benefits to the people of the participating countries and promoted people-to-people exchanges.
    The diversity of civilisations is in nature a source of vitality and momentum in human development. Promoting people-to-people exchanges and mutual learning is of great value in summoning the enormous wisdom and energy needed to advance the progress and development of human civilisations.
    The BRI has delivered fruitful outcomes and won widespread support and participation. It has created jobs, improved infrastructure and promoted common development, especially in the developing countries.
    Security is the precondition for development. The Global Security Initiative calls for peacefully resolving differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, and supporting all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises.
    The recent Saudi Arabia-Iran dialogue in Beijing is a successful case of the practice of the Global Security Initiative, leading to the resumption of diplomatic ties between the two countries.
    The future of all countries are closely and increasingly connected. And tolerance, coexistence, exchanges and mutual learning among different civilisations play an irreplaceable role in advancing humanity's modernisation process.
    To realise a world with lasting peace and ever-improving welfare, we should embrace the Global Civilisation Initiative and draw on it to jointly create a better, shared future for humanity.
    Or as Xi Jinping says “a single flower does not make spring, while one hundred flowers in full blossom bring spring to the garden. Together, we can make the garden of world civilisations full of colours and life”.

His name will endure through the ages

Theo Russell with Italian comrades

by New Worker correspondent

Communists and progressives gathered alongside representatives of the embassies of the socialist countries beside the grave of Karl Marx last Sunday to commemorate his death on 14th March 1883.
    The event was led by Communist Party of Britain (CPB) central committee member Alex Gordon, who said: "People have gathered at this spo for many years to mark Karl Marx's death. Marx spent the longest period of his life in London. At his funeral his life-long friend and comrade Frederick Engels gave the oration, on 17th March 1883, saying “at quarter to three in the afternoon the greatest living thinker ceased to think”.
    To commemorate his passing the Marx Memorial Library has for many decades held an annual graveside oration at his burial place in Highgate Cemetery with leading members of the working class movement paying tribute to Marx's enduring legacy to today's class struggles.
    This year Fran Heathcote, national president of the Public and Commercial Services union, and CPB International Secretary Kevan Nelson, spoke about the current strike wave and the issues confronting trade unions in Britain.
    Representatives of communist parties and the socialist countries were called on to lay flowers on Marx's grave, including the Cuban Ambassador, Barbara Montalvo Alvarez, Guo Yuliang of the embassy of the People's Republic of China, and representatives of the Laotian and Vietnamese embassies.
    Flowers were also laid by members of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), the French Communist Party, the Communist Party of India (Marxist), the Frente Communista (Italy), the Communist Party of Italy, the Communist Party of Spain, the Tudeh Party of Iran, the Iraqi Communist Party, and Theo Russell of the New Communist Party of Britain.
    Although only a handful of people attended Marx's burial in 1883, the words of Frederick Engels were to become reality: "His name will endure through the ages, and so also will his work."

Down with the puppet regime

 

by New Worker correspondent 

NCP leader Andy Brooks joined London comrades protesting outside the south Korean embassy in London last weekend. The picket called by the Korean Friendship Association (KFA) was to protest against the forthcoming war exercises and the current wave of repression unleashed in south Korea against the people by the US puppet regime. KFA Chair Dermot Hudson in his address exposed the fascist and repressive nature of south Korea citing the recent raid on the HQ of the south Korean Confederation of Trade Unions as well as arrests of leftist and progressive activists . He stressed that south Korea is a puppet regime with no legitimacy, a creation of the US imperialists and that south Korea is simply the occupied southern half of the DPRK.

At the LSE

by New Worker correspondent

The London School of Economics, which older readers will recall was founded by Sidney and Beatrice Webb, authors of an important history of British trade unions, has acted viciously towards the leader of the 2017 strike by cleaners.
    Jamaican born Mildred Simpson, a member of the small non-TUC union, United Voices of the World, is a cleaner with 21 years of service at the LSE where she successfully led a strike which saw the ending of outsourcing. Now she is facing disciplinary action on very flimsy grounds with the aim of getting her sacked just before she reaches retirement age.
    Her alleged offence was to leave her post 15 minutes before the end of her shift on no less than three times in over two years.
    This she correctly points out is “all down to bullying and victimisation. I feel that they’ve been targeting me for years” she tells us. This constant picking on me seemed to intensify after our successful strike against outsourcing. I suspect this repetitive singling out has to do far more with my union activities than anything else.”
    Like many low paid workers she has effectively two jobs at the LSE: First as a cleaner from 6 am to 8.30 am and later as a janitor from 9 am to 5 pm. That long day is even longer because although her shift starts she is “in LSE every morning from around 5:15am because I’m a team leader and I want to have enough time before my actual shift starts so everything is ready before my team arrives.”
    As a reward for her trade union activities: “I’ve had several meetings about minor issues which have fizzled out without any result, but this constant picking on me seemed to intensify after our successful strike against outsourcing. I suspect this repetitive singling out has to do far more with my union activities than anything else.”
    She has also complained about understaffing which bosses interpret as her not being able to do her job properly, which she feels is unfair.
    As result of the stress from this victimisation she has been signed off sick by her doctor and had go to counselling to be able to cope.
    Despite this she remains defiant and advises any workers in a similar position to “keep your spirits up, keep your strength up, because we, in the union, support each other. Whatever they are doing to us, we are not standing down”.
    It is a pity that small street unions such as UVW are necessary. They are essentially the result of the big general unions, Unite, Unison and GMB failing to organise the migrant workers who make up the majority of cleaning workers. They have the resources to do so, but many of their recruitment campaigns begin and end with a photo-shoot with the General Secretary instead of the sustained work necessary. Among the TUC unions, only RMT have deployed their resources in this direction.

A new challenge to NATO's domination

Chris Williamson speaks

by Theo Russell

The launch of No2NATO – No2War last Saturday at the Bolivar Hall in London marked an historic new page in the British peace movement, with a new organisation challenging the domination of NATO in British and global politics and calling for an end to sending billions in arms to the Ukrainian government.
    N2N-N2W is the initiative of George Galloway's Workers Party and expelled Labour MP Chris Williamson’s Socialist Labour Party.
    In an atmosphere of censorship and demonisation of any criticism of the UK's unconditional support for the Kiev junta, two previous attempts to hold a N2N-N2W meeting were cancelled after the venues were deluged with threats and hate-mail. The venue for Saturday's meeting was withheld until the last minute.
    But the enormous pent-up demand for a new organisation that understands the reality of the Ukraine conflict was proven when the event was fully booked weeks in advance, and even then each of the three separate sessions held on Saturday – with many unable to get a seat – had twice as many people as both the recent Stop the War Coalition meetings on Ukraine in London and many more would have attended had enough tickets been available.
    This reflects the mealy-mouthed liberal position of the Stop the War Coalition, which held only one national meeting in eight years prior to the Russian intervention, and which instead of condemning the shocking repression and violence of the fascist-infested Zelensky regime calls for the Russian and Donbas forces to withdraw, leaving the people of the Donbas and many other parts of Ukraine at the mercy of fascists and Banderites who regard them as sub-human pro-Russian traitors.
    Opening one of the sessions, Galloway said: "The talking tailor's dummy Jens Stoltenberg recently revealed that NATO had been actively involved in Ukraine for at least six years prior to the western-backed coup in 2014."
    He described the current phase of the war as "a volcanic, tectonic shift which has accelerated by two decades the prize of a multipolar world", and said that in the West "the political dwarves we have elected are presiding over the rapid economic, cultural and social decline of their countries”.
    Galloway lambasted Washington’s warnings to countries not supporting NATO in Ukraine, declaring: "The days when China could be ordered around by anybody are over, over, over!
    “When South Africa was attacked for holding naval exercises with Russia and China, it responded by saying that the only countries which gave us weapons and bullets when we were fighting for our freedom were Russia and China."
    "The world is not against Russia and China", he said, "the 'West' is only 13 per cent of the world's population, and even in the West there are millions and millions of us who reject your domination".
    Fiona Edwards from No Cold War told the meeting: "Western governments want to silence and discredit us, but we want to say no to war and yes to peace." She condemned the incredible hypocrisy of governments which have fought wars in Asia and North Africa with huge civilian casualties, economic and social devastation.
    "The greatest threat to humanity is the warmongers in Washington and their NATO allies. Having caused this war, they are now escalating it, and for them the people of Ukraine are nothing more than cannon fodder. We need peace, an end to sending billions in arms which we need for our hospitals, schools and public sector workers."
    Fiona Edwards pointed out that a 50,000 strong demonstration in Denmark had succeeded in stopping savage cuts to finance higher defence spending, showing the potential strength of peace movements backed by working people.
    Andy Hudd, ASLEF Vice President, said: "I'm a socialist, but I'm not a pacifist because unfortunately in this world workers have to defend themselves. I'm a socialist because it's only in a socialist world we will get peace, and an end to the bloodshed of the working class in the interests of the wealthy and privileged."
    Hudd criticised the response of British trade unions and the Labour Party to the war in Ukraine, pointing to the GMB-backed TUC motion last year supporting increased military spending "on the back of food banks and overworked, underpaid nurses, poverty on a scale we've never seen before". He said the TUC had supported Stop the War resolutions and at the same time sending arms to Ukraine.
    "Trade unionists should be calling for solutions which bring security for Russia and Ukraine, and supporting campaigns against NATO and for a negotiated end to the war in Ukraine."
    Chris Williamson said that he had believed that being an MP “was a platform to achieve positive change, but I discovered that almost every Labour MP only cared about their careers".
    "We are told that Zelensky is defending democracy, but he's banned any political opposition, and he's even going for the Orthodox church. The Labour Party is calling for more arms to be sent, while a Ukrainian woman received a 10-year sentence for posting communists on social media. This is the regime which burnt to death dozens of trade unionists in Odessa in 2014. We're told to support people like that – I say never, never, never!
    "No2NATO has been attacked by toadying trolls and sycophantic media hacks who have pulled out all the stops to prevent this meeting today. But we can only go from strength to strength, because what we are asking for is pure common sense."
    Chris Williamson's call for the immediate release of Julian Assange was met with a prolonged standing ovation by the entire audience.
    Former British diplomat and now peace campaigner Craig Murray said that in the 1950s Russia's military arsenal was only 40 per cent of NATO estimates, and that: "Today we are being told that Russia is planning to march to Berlin, Brussels and even London. All this is designed to justify massive military spending by NATO members."
    A motion backing the appointment of an interim leadership of No2NATO – No2War comprising George Galloway, Chris Williamson and Andy Hudd was adopted unanimously by the session.
    Members of International Ukraine Anti-Fascist Solidarity distributed around 1,000 leaflets and received a warm welcome from all at the meeting, and the 25th March Whitehall protest against the fascist terror in Ukraine was announced from the platform several times.
    We can only look forward to the future of N2N-N2W, and building a new peace movement that is genuinely against the all-powerful domination of NATO and US-led imperialism in the West.

Growing resistance to austerity regime

by New Worker correspondent

On Tuesday the Office of National Statistics (ONS) confirmed what many of us have suspected for a long time, that the number of working days lost to strikes is highest since the bad old days of Margaret Thatcher drew to their miserable close. To be more precise, in 2022 some 2.4 million working days were lost. To find a higher number we have to go back all the way to 1989, when 4.1 million days were lost. To exceed 1989 will take a great deal of effort but as can be seen below from our selective samples, it is perfectly possible. It is certainly necessary with real pay falling dramatically.
    The same batch of figures also shows real-term pay, excluding bonuses, fell by 3.6 per cent in the last quarter of the year, almost the largest since 2001.
    Although workers won pay rises worth 6.7 per cent in the same quarter, that is still well below inflation. Whilst private sector workers got 7.3 per cent, that figure is distorted by city bankers taking the lion’s share. The 4.2 per cent secured by some public sector workers is effectively a pay cut.
    Strike-wise the year ended with a bang. Some 843,000 working days were lost in December, when postal workers took action in Royal Mail’s busiest month. While action by driving instructors did not have such a great impact, the case of workers not known for militancy taking action is encouraging.
    The Government rejoiced that the workforce has increased, with the ONS showing that many more younger people and students and older people between 50–64 now at work, this is likely to be a sign of desperation for many. Lack of support for students means that an evening or Saturday job, which was once a bonus, has now become a dire necessity. High energy prices will be seen to drive many of the early retired people off the golf course and freezing living rooms back to the workplace.
    These are unlikely to be very secure jobs. The number of zero-hours contracts are now at a record high of 1.13 million. This shows the shame of the claim by Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt that the present (but rising) low levels of unemployment (only 3.7 per cent, which is supposed to be good) were an “encouraging sign of resilience”.
    Hunt added: “The best thing we can do to make people’s wages go further is stick to our plan to halve inflation this year,” a statement which can easily be interpreted to mean that he will not be keen on opening the Treasury’s purse to finance much-needed pay rises for public sector workers – unless, of course, he is forced to by strike action.
    The Resolution Foundation think-tank says that the picture is grim for most people, apart from the likely decline in inflation. That should have started already as wholesale gas prices have recently declined, but unsurprisingly gas bills have not.

On the street;...

by New Worker correspondent

Outsourcing was one of the issues exercising the security guards employed by Bidvest Noonan belonging to the small street union, the Independent Workers Union of Great Britain (IWGB) at University College London (UCL) who joined in the massive day of strike action on Wednesday 1 February.
    In addition to a demand for a £15.00 hourly rate (which is the equivalent to that paid in 2002), they are seeking an end to outsourcing, and union recognition. In October UCL attempted to break a IWGB strike by employing subcontracting workers on a lower rate of pay in an attempt to break the last IWGB strike, despite running a £90 million yearly surplus.
This was condemned by University and College Union and the IWGB as an intimidatory strike breaking tactic and as a violation of UCL’s theoretical commitment to parity on account of these workers receiving lower rates of pay.
    The IWGB states that commitment to parity of terms and conditions with directly employed staff was won following IWGB strike action in 2019, while this resulted in improved pay, pension contributions and sick pay and annual leave entitlements full equality has not been achieved.
    Matteo Tiratelli, UCU’s Anti-Casualisation Officer at UCL added: “Outsourcing creates terrible working conditions for workers on the lowest grades at UCL, yet UCL management is determined to keep up this discriminatory practice. It is one of several ways in which working conditions are being worsened across the board. All staff at UCL are seeing our pay fall behind inflation, our jobs casualised and rights stripped away, and it is sadly not just staff, but students who are paying the price.”
    Yusuf Nur, a striking security guard, says: “I have young children and on the poverty pay I receive as an outsourced worker I am struggling to support them. I’ve been left with no choice but to strike - it’s the only way we can make our voices heard. After bullying, mistreatment and consistent basic errors with paying us our wages and pensions from Bidvest Noonan and neglect from UCL, we must fight for better conditions for each other and our families.”
The same union also claims victory in one of the north London borough of Barnet, which for two decades was held up as model of economical outsourcing by the Tory controlled council, who outsourced just about anything that was not nailed down.
    Now under Labour control, 330 affected workers presently employed by outsourcing multinational Capita, (or Crapita to Private Eye readers) will be brought back in-house from 1 April.
    2012 saw the Tory council hand over much of its services to Capita on decade-long contracts. Capita lived up to its nickname, with a decade of controversies including a multi-million-pound fraud and contracts running vastly over budget.
    After the May elections Labour won control of the council, and although the contracts had already been due to end next year, the council has fast-tracked plans to bring some services back in house.
    John Burgess, the union’s Barnet local government branch secretary declared: “This is good news for staff, good news for residents and good news for the services. I welcome the decision and look forward to welcoming back all the services back into Barnet Council where they all belong”.
    He pointed out that after a decade of campaigning, and a start to bringing services in-house: “there are still many issues to address for our members who are being TUPE’d”.
    “These include workplace inequalities such as staff being paid differently for the same role. Barnet UNISON is already seeking discussions with the council about harmonisation of the terms and conditions of the TUPE’d workforce”.
    Another strike involving outsourced workers is taking place in the north-west London borough of Hounslow whose most lovable of workers, Parking Enforcement Officers, started a strike which could last until 5 March.
    Employed by giant outsourcer Serco who last declared profits of £309.9 million, they are fighting for decent pay.
    Neighbouring boroughs Ealing and Brent councils recently conceded a pay rise after strike action. Civil enforcement officers and CCTV operators in Ealing received a 9 per cent rise pay increase back dated to April 2022 with low paid new starters getting 11.94 per cent, with another eight per cent from next April, and extra annual leave entitlement. In comparison, in Brent, workers are getting a total increase of pay rise of 10.7 per cent from last April with nine per cent to come in April.
    Unite’s general secretary, Sharon Graham said: “Serco and Hounslow council’s refusal to address the scourge of low pay is shameful. The truth is that the London Living Wage is not enough to live on. Serco is hugely wealthy. The Council and its outsourcer have the ability to pay workers more.
    “The strike will inevitably mean that parking restrictions across the borough will fall apart. Bosses need to realise the workers have Unite’s total support.”