21/07/2022
Thanks to everyone who came along tonight.
Here is a copy of what I said. If you agree and want to get involved, message the page.
See you at the next meeting in the autumn
Yesterday the capitalist economists were predicting that inflation could rise as high as 12% in October which is the highest it’s been in 40 years.
They are also saying that the energy price cap will rise from £2,000 to £3,000 in the autumn.
This is alongside rising food, petrol, clothing, childcare, rent and all other the costs but with the added worry of wage freezes or paltry pay offers which amount to pay cuts.
You don’t need to me tell you that this situation is unsustainable.
3,500 children in West Dunbartonshire are living in poverty which is higher than the national average across Scotland. This number dropped by 15% from last year but this decrease was attributed to the universal credit uplift which has been removed and it is predicted to increase again due to the cost of living crisis.
We’ve not called this meeting to scare people but we are living through unprecedented times where the gap between the poorest members of society and the richest is at the largest it’s ever been.
This is because the capitalist system is chaotic. It is driven by the absolute thirst for profit of a tiny minority, the capitalist class. It is based on the private ownership of industry, banks science and technique. But who creates that wealth in society? It’s certainly not the Jeff Bezos’ of the world, who exploit the working class through low wages and poor working conditions. Unlike struggling small businesses, Amazon has just had been given a £2 million tax credit from HMRC even after receiving millions in furlough payments during the pandemic. Nor is it the oil and gas companies who have made such astronomical profits that they can afford to pay their shareholders more than £1 billion in dividends. Its estimated that £250 billion a year is transferred directly from the pockets of the working class into those of the capitalist class. It’s clear to see that they are making a fortune from the increase in our energy bills and through austerity measures implemented after the 2007/2008 financial crash. Profits need to come down and wages need to go up. The bosses and the Tories are saying that wage rises will increase inflation. The actual main driver of inflation is colossal, subsidised profits. Sales of luxury goods are through the roof while they are saying they cannot afford above inflation pay increases. Effectively we are being asked to pay, through inflation austerity, for the chaos of the market economy including speculation bubbles, supply chain shortages and tax avoidance.
As I mentioned, wages have been stagnant for years now but the good news is that the level of industrial action to fight this disgraceful attack on pay, has shifted up a gear recently with huge swathes of workers balloting for and taking strike action.
The RMT will be striking for the second time next week and then again in August. This is over pay, job security and working conditions. Private profiteering is siphoning 100’s of millions from the railways each year and the government has £2 billion worth of cuts planned from the rail industry. Cleaners on GTR, Network Rail, HS1 and South East trains have also just completed a three day strike action for a pay rise in-line with inflation, company sick pay and for free travel for staff across the network.
The CWU postal workers, have this week voted decisively to take strike action with a 97.6% yes vote in their ballot. This again is over pay but they have also announced another ballot over the massive changes the bosses are proposing which include later deliveries for postmen and women, an increase in the working week up an extra 6 hours to 43 hours and outsourcing which will mean job losses. They also awarded themselves huge bonuses of £2 million pounds to be shared amongst the three top directors of Royal Mail who are already on seven figure salaries. There’s plenty of money in society, it’s just in the wrong hands.
Both of these industry’s workers worked throughout the pandemic to deliver goods and keep the country running, allowing other workers to get to work and after being described as essential workers by the government they have been thrown on the scrap heap expecting to work longer for less money during the worst economic crisis most of them will have witnessed.
It’s no coincidence that the increase in trade union ballots and strike action has coincided with the demise of Boris Johnson as prime minister. Bus workers, HGV drivers, engineers, construction workers, oil rig workers and airport workers have all taken action and won pay increases. The Tory party, scandal ridden and weak has no answers to this crisis or for workers demanding pay rises. Their leadership contest to replace Johnson will be won over who has the best plan to attack the working class and make us pay for their cost of living crisis.
However the Scottish SNP/Green government and local councils run by both them and Labour will also come in to the firing line with council workers, civil servants, NHS staff and teachers possibly walking out over pay and conditions in the coming months. This is a consequence of passing on Tory austerity for over a decade. And that is only set to continue with the finance minister Kate Forbes releasing their spending review which would see tens of thousands of public sector job losses. It’s nothing but Thatcherism on steroids. And they do not support striking workers, in fact they attacked them recently when Health Secretary Humza Yousef said the NHS trade union pay demands were unaffordable. The SNP/ Green Scottish government is only offering frontline NHS workers what is an effective pay cut of 5%.
The Tories and the bosses are actually using the pandemic aftermath to fundamentally alter the terms and conditions of well organised sections of workers and this will also have a huge impact on our day to day lives, for example the railway cuts will make the railways unsafe and the cuts to Royal Mail will sound a death knell for the universal postal service.
The trade union movement including the STUC and the TUC should now organise coordinated strike action which could topple the Tories and trigger a general election.
But workers need to be prepared for this and should begin to build a new mass party of the working class that would represent our needs over the current capitalist parties who prioritise profit for the bosses.
What can we do locally though to stave off the worst of the cost of living attacks and help this process along?
Socialist Party Scotland are proposing that we organise mass lobbies and demonstrations of the energy companies, local councils and the Scottish government. We have to be prepared to fight in the work places and in our communities. Both Labour and the SNP in West Dunbartonshire say they are going to deal with the cost of living crisis but the policies that Labour deputy leader, Michelle McGinty announced in the Lennox Herald do not go anywhere near the scale of what is required. I’m now going to list some policies that are part of an overall no cuts needs budget that could be implemented at a council and Scottish government level
Setting a no cuts budget that would stop cuts for a year
Organising a mass campaign to demand more money from central government
Councils and the Scottish government could mass distribute fuel vouchers
They could mitigate benefit sanctions and the universal credit cut
They could create their own cost of living payments
They could organise a mass building of well insulated council housing and set up warmth centres
They could give their council workers an above inflation pay rise
They could fully fund all the services that the people of West Dunbartonshire need like leisure provision, free school meals and drug treatment centres
How would this be paid for?
By taxation of the wealthy and the super rich
The Scottish government has income tax raising powers
By nationalising the energy companies, banks and big business
What can we do as activists in our local area?
Because we know the councils won’t fight for these policies we could
Organise together in meetings like this
Create lists of activists willing to stop energy companies forcing people into prepayment meters and to physically prevent evictions
Already there are working class people cancelling direct debits to energy companies and taking part in go slow protests on the roads and refusing to pay at petrol stations
All of these actions are legitimate but to be effective have to be organised on a national mass basis in alliance with workers taking strike action
Both the SNP and Labour say it’s unrealistic to nationalise the gas and electricity companies but the SNP promised to set up a public energy company but then withdrew that promise
It’s not just a question of the cost of living but also the climate with the rising temperatures this week
The working class needs control over the energy companies
Finally on the question of prices and food poverty we are likely to see riots and the spread of malnutrition and already there are increased incidents of minor offences like shoplifting. Food banks are running out of food and people don’t have money for gas and electric to cook the food anyway
At a certain stage, working class people will be demanding control of prices by elected democratic committees and even the mass requisitioning of the food from the supermarkets
Just to finish there’s probably more things we can demand and do but the main point is to begin to get organised. If you’re in work join a trade union or if you’re in a trade union become a shop steward or rep. If you’re not working you need to get active in the community and we would urge everyone to join Socialist Party Scotland
Coming out of this meeting we are going to discuss calling protests at the energy companies and council and how to support workers on strike.
