TUC-Putting out the Fire
vngelis | 07.12.2002 19:07
Despite the fact that the TUC rarely organises demos and only to lead them to defeat, tens of thousands rallied with the Firefighters. Nearly every union banner from every union was there and the size of the deom as reported by the police to number 9,000 is ludicrous as there were probably 3 times that number.
But size aside, the demo took around two hours to start freezing all the participants to death but it was lively in particular the banners made by Firefighters who had Blair and Prescott burning in a Fire. Free hooters were given out and the noise drowned out any possibility of slogans and discussion as well as the fact that it went behind Regent Street and as such didn't actually meet any workers along the root in the big stores of the West End. The police tried to be on their best behaviour trying to crack jokes in the freezing cold even accepting stickers from the Firefighters and saying to them good luck.
The far left shouted some half-hearted slogans from "Tony Blair Stop the War Pay the Firefighters Now (Stop the War brigade)" to "Public Sector General Strike Now "(WRP). The platform speakers at the end of the rally were all the mainstream union bosses - Monks, De Gruchy, Prentis, Morris and as such encapsulated the stitch up being prepared on behalf of their masters. Left to hang alone the Firefighters as a body of members need to get militant, but their history weighs down heavily in the present conditions. More demos are needed on a local level. The lack of publicity is also another factor which goes to show that the union bosses dont want the Firefighters to become a pole of attraction for the whole of the Public sector, hence their strategy of nipping in the bud any outbreaks of militancy, by dominating the proceeding early on. But this policy may boomerang against them as they might be called to account to show what supporting the Firefighters means in practice.
Fighting to spread the strikes into other sectors.
Starting a campaign against the Anti-Union Laws.
But size aside, the demo took around two hours to start freezing all the participants to death but it was lively in particular the banners made by Firefighters who had Blair and Prescott burning in a Fire. Free hooters were given out and the noise drowned out any possibility of slogans and discussion as well as the fact that it went behind Regent Street and as such didn't actually meet any workers along the root in the big stores of the West End. The police tried to be on their best behaviour trying to crack jokes in the freezing cold even accepting stickers from the Firefighters and saying to them good luck.
The far left shouted some half-hearted slogans from "Tony Blair Stop the War Pay the Firefighters Now (Stop the War brigade)" to "Public Sector General Strike Now "(WRP). The platform speakers at the end of the rally were all the mainstream union bosses - Monks, De Gruchy, Prentis, Morris and as such encapsulated the stitch up being prepared on behalf of their masters. Left to hang alone the Firefighters as a body of members need to get militant, but their history weighs down heavily in the present conditions. More demos are needed on a local level. The lack of publicity is also another factor which goes to show that the union bosses dont want the Firefighters to become a pole of attraction for the whole of the Public sector, hence their strategy of nipping in the bud any outbreaks of militancy, by dominating the proceeding early on. But this policy may boomerang against them as they might be called to account to show what supporting the Firefighters means in practice.
Fighting to spread the strikes into other sectors.
Starting a campaign against the Anti-Union Laws.
vngelis
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and...........
08.12.2002 01:05
Bill Bo Bolshevik
All over the place
08.12.2002 01:17
How can you argue that the firefighters have been 'left to hang alone,' when you also say that 'all the mainstream union bosses - Monks, De Gruchy, Prentis, Morris' were there to support them on the demo today?
We shouldn't be naive about the capacity of these union leaders to sell out the firefighters, but at the same time we should welcome the fact that the TUC backed this huge demo and that other union leaders are publically showing their support. This makes it easier for us to build support on the ground - ie at grass-roots trade union level - for the firefighters' struggle. It makes it easier to convince ordinary members of the NASUWT, UNISON, TGWU and other unions affiliated to the TUC to participate in some real solidarity action with the firefighters.
And for all their 'shouting', the 'far left' have been central in building this solidarity.
Still, your heart's in the right place. You're right to say that 'more demos are needed on a local level' and that we need 'to spread the strikes into other sectors.' Turn the sympathy into solidarity, to coin a phrase.
Mr Yes/No