WORKERS' WEEKLY Vol.27 , No.20 , December 13-20, 1997

Newspaper of the Revolutionary Communist Party of Britain (Marxist-Leninist)

170, Wandsworth Road, London, SW8 2LA. Phone 0171 627 0599,

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Lone Parent Legislation :Pressing Ahead with Attacking the Most Vulnerable

Britain Must Cease All Interference in Ireland

New Korea Friendship and Solidarity Campaign Launched

Labour Government Follows Imperialist Logic over Gibraltar

For Your Information Positions of TUC and CBI on Union Recognition

Bank Staff to Strike on Christmass Eve

European Youth Rights Charter

CUBAN SOCIALISM IS FULLY RELEVANT




Lone Parent Legislation

Pressing Ahead with Attacking the Most Vulnerable

Forty-seven Labour MPs voted against the government and some 14 abstained over the amendment to the Social Security Bill which would have deleted its provision for reducing the child benefit to lone parents. An even longer list backed a new Schedule to the Bill which would have specified circumstances where claims to benefit could have been backdated by a period of longer than one month. However, only three Labour MPs were prepared to vote against the government's Bill as a whole, and it was passed by 295 votes to 58.

Although the provision which would reduce child benefit to lone parents by some £11 a week is the most notorious clause, the whole Social Security Bill is shot through with a vindictive, punitive and undemocratic spirit which targets precisely the rights of the most vulnerable in society for attack. It concentrates powers to make decisions regarding benefits in the hands of the Secretary of State, and, as many commentators have pointed out, it is motivated not mainly by the aim to save the Treasury money but by some other aim. What is this aim?

In essence the aim is to take society even further back along the road of dismantling what all progressive people would recognise as the hallmarks of a modern democratic society. Such a society is expected to respect and protect the rights of minorities and the vulnerable. It is expected to recognise the rights of all individuals as human beings and not grant them handouts as a "favour" while denying to them their human dignity and their claims on society as human beings. It is expected to recognise the rights of various collectives by virtue of their objective conditions which define them as a collective. It is expected to cherish the interests of the vulnerable and not make them scapegoats for problems which arise in the course of social development which are not of their making. But the Labour government is implementing measures which attack the very notion of such a society. The objective basis for these measures is the necessity for the government of the day to meet the ever-more voracious appetite of the rich for their claims to be met and that social programmes must come under the axe to meet them.

For Harriet Harman and the Labour government to say that their measures are designed to ensure that the hardships of those in "genuine need" are addressed is an open admission that for them the claims of all people in society are not recognised as of right, and is also to say that there are many in receipt of welfare benefits that they regard as not in "genuine need". Perhaps the lone parent families where £11 a week can make the difference between eating and going hungry are not considered as in "genuine need" by the government.

The Social Security Bill is a telling exposure of the Labour government, and a confirmation that the working class and people need to fight every step of the way for their rights and interests as much if not more than they had to under the previous governments which had responded to the crisis in the welfare state by a programme of privatisation and attacking the very notion of a responsible society.

The workers need to join with all those in struggle against the cuts in demanding a reverse in the direction of the economy and for an increase in investments in social programmes. In particular they should fight for a society fit for human beings to live in, in which the rights of all sections of society are recognised and are guaranteed in law.

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Britain Must Cease All Interference in Ireland

Much was made of the fact that the visit last week of Gerry Adams and the other Sinn Fein negotiators to meet Tony Blair was the first time Irish Republicans had entered Number 10 Downing Street since Michael Collins met Lloyd George in 1921.

The result of that previous visit was the partition of Ireland and continued British rule over six of the nine counties of Ulster. The subsequent agreement brought to an end the War of Independence which had begun when the British government refused to accept the logic of the 1918 General Election results – when some 80% of Irish voters returned candidates who stood for independence from Britain – and suppressed by force of arms the Dail established in Dublin by the Irish people. It was an agreement imposed from the British side by the threat of all-out war. It has been an agreement which has brought 75 years of intermittent bloodshed and conflict. It has proved an unmitigated disaster which has served the interests neither of the Irish people nor of the people in Britain.

If anything is to be learnt from history then any new agreement must be of a quite different character. In 1993 John Major's government in the Downing Street Declaration acknowledged for the first time the right of the Irish people as a whole to self-determination. But having made that acknowledgement they refused to take it to its logical conclusion. Tony Blair and his government seem to have forgotten that acknowledgement altogether.

The talks which have now begun can only lead to peace, to the healing of divisions caused by centuries of foreign rule, to the development of true good-neighbourly and equal relations between the peoples of Britain and Ireland, if they are based on this principle. Britain must cede all claim to sovereignty over any part of Ireland. The talks must proceed swiftly to the complete withdrawal of Britain from Ireland and an end to its interference in the affairs of the Irish people. As with any people, only the Irish people themselves can sort out their own affairs and the government in this country must once and for all and unconditionally cease all its attempts to hinder them doing so and causing divisions.

This is in the interests of the struggle of the working class and people in Britain for their rights and their own sovereignty as much as of those of the Irish people.

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New Korea Friendship and Solidarity Campaign Launched

A NEW Korea Friendship and Solidarity Campaign was launched in London on November 29. The Campaign is being supported by a number of longstanding friends of Korea who are members of various political parties and anti-imperialist organisations and who will work with all friends of the Korean people in support of the following aims: (1) Building friendship between people in Britain and the people of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) and supporting the development of political, diplomatic, cultural, humanitarian and commercial links between the two countries; (2) To give support to the cause of Korean national reunification and national sovereignty; (3) To campaign for the withdrawal of US forces from the Korean peninsula; (4) To support the struggles of the south Korean workers, students and other people in south Korea for democracy, trade union rights and self-determination; (5) To oppose all aggression, threats, intimidation and interference in the internal affairs of the DPRK.

It was announced that Eric Trevitt, President of New Communist Party (NCP), David Bookbinder, former leader of Derbyshire County Council, and Jimmy Nolan, leader of the Liverpool dockers, all longstanding friends of Korea, had agreed to be Honorary Presidents. Acting officers and executive committee members were elected to lead the campaign and build the membership until an annual general meeting in six months time. These were Keith Bennett, chair, Lila Patel, secretary, Neil Slater, treasurer, and Andy Brooks of NCP, Ian Morrison of Morning Star and Chris Coleman of RCPB(ML) as executive committee members. At the conclusion of the meeting Chris Coleman gave a report of the recent visit of the delegation of RCPB(ML) to the DPRK. This was followed by a lively discussion in which a number of veteran friends of Korea, including Jack Shapiro, were prominent. Workers' Weekly welcomes the launch of the Korea Friendship and Solidarity Campaign and calls on all its readers to give it their support.

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Labour Government Follows Imperialist Logic over Gibraltar

On 10 December the Foreign ministers of Britain and Spain met to discuss the future of Gibraltar, which the British government refers to as a "Dependent Territory", but which has been a colonial possession of Britain since it was seized from Spain by conquest at the beginning of the eighteenth century.

In recent years the Spanish government has tried to reassert its sovereignty over the territory, while the British government claims that this is impossible since most of Gibraltar's population are British citizens and that it is therefore powerless to act against their wishes. The same logic is used to claim that the Malvinas, which lie off the coast of Argentina, are also British "Dependent Territory".

Although the Foreign Secretary, Robin Cook, repeated this same logic following the meeting, he also made it clear that Britain's main interest in Gibraltar was military and strategic and referred to it as "a valuable military asset for Britain". In other words it is an imperialist or colonialist logic that the government is following over Gibraltar.

At the present time there are some 14 "Dependent Territories" including the Malvinas (Falkland Islands), the Cayman Islands and Montserrat – a legacy of Britain's imperial past, maintained for financial, strategic and other reasons, but which are an anachronism in the modern world. Despite government assertions that its only concern is the wishes of the population of these territories, in most cases, Gibraltar included, the people have little say in government decisions and executive authority is in the hands of a colonial governor appointed from Westminster.

The days of Britain's empire are long gone, though the Labour government appears to indulge its dreams of empire on the basis of "making Britain great again". As we enter the 21st century, the working class and all democratic people must demand that Britain severs all its colonial and neo-colonial ties. Britain must withdraw from Gibraltar as well as from the Malvinas and its other colonial territories.

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION * FOR YOUR INFORMATION * FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Positions of TUC and CBI on Union Recognition

THE GOVERNMENT is to publish early next year a White Paper "Fairness at Work" on recognition by employers of employee's trade unions with the prospect of legislation in the 1998-9 parliamentary session. The promise of this legislation was one of the main pledges of the New Labour's election manifesto to try and win over organised labour in the election by promising employment rights.

It was reported last week that the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) is increasingly confident that it has convinced Tony Blair to limit government plans to strengthen trade union power through recognition rights from companies. The view of the CBI is that the government should ensure that union recognition does not "threaten the competitiveness" of companies in the global market, or "provoke" industrial conflict. John Cridland, the CBI's human resource director, is reported as saying: "The government is listening to us. We and Mr Blair share common objectives. We remain opposed to union recognition on principle, but if we can't get government to drop the idea we are confident our specific demands on detail will be met."

The CBI is countering the TUC's proposal that a majority of employees voting in a ballot would secure recognition for the trade union by demanding that:

• Trade unions should "demonstrate" at least 30% support from relevant employees before a ballot can be called

• Recognition should be granted only if the numbers who vote for it represent a majority of those eligible to vote

• Small firms should be exempted

• The employer should decide what constitutes the "relevant workforce", the size of those eligible to receive trade union recognition and eligible to vote

• Individuals should be free to agree their own terms and conditions with their employer, even if they work in a unit covered by a union recognition award

• Striking in pursuit of union recognition should be made illegal

• Employers allowed to call a union de-recognition ballot where 30% of employees "demonstrate" they want one

• Training to be excluded from collective bargaining

It is reported that the CBI and big business "sense victory" on these proposals which are aimed at opposing "in the detail" any attempt by organised labour to gain recognition rights for trade unions amongst unorganised workers.

In a news release of December 2 entitled "Union recognition is 'good for business'", the TUC state that a pamphlet "Take your Partners" launched by the TUC at the CBI conference says that union recognition will be good for British business because it will encourage the spread of partnership at work.

"The pamphlet," the news release says, " contains detailed case studies – drawn from a range of sectors - of how companies have prospered after working with their unions to improve their competitive position. The pamphlet was given to delegates at the CBI conference, where the TUC took part in the exhibition, sent to the chief executives of the top 300 companies and to MPs from all parties, and has been inserted with CBI News."

In a further news release, the TUC says that the TUC and CBI have concluded discussions relating to the government's proposed legislation on trade union recognition. It says, "The TUC aims to achieve a workable set of procedures to pave the way towards implementing a long standing goal. The TUC and CBI have therefore held a series of discussions aimed at identifying areas of agreement as well as clarifying areas of disagreement."

According to the news release, areas of agreement identified include:-

• Agreements on recognition should be voluntary wherever possible. Where there is no agreement there should be a period for voluntary conciliation

• An effective infrastructure is needed to supervise the statutory procedures

• There are circumstances where it would be judged inappropriate for an application for union recognition to proceed – for example where there was an inter-union dispute. It is for the TUC, rather than legislation, to settle disputes involving its affiliates

• A further comparable claim for recognition can only be made three years after a claim has failed (this would also apply in the case of re-recognition)

• There is no reason why other channels of representation cannot exist alongside trade union collective bargaining

• Ballots for union recognition should be subject to independent scrutiny, with all workers in the bargaining unit entitled to vote

• Where there is a recognition award, there will need to be remedies available where it has not been complied with, but there is no desire to see punitive sanctions for non-compliance

• Those involved in recognition procedure should be able to do so "without detriment"

The news release goes on to say that significant areas remain, however, where there is no agreement. In particular, the TUC believes that:-

• It is inconsistent to set a prior threshold before infrastructure referred to in the report as "the Agency" has defined what constitutes a bargaining unit

• Rights to have a union negotiate on your behalf should not depend on the size of the firm, as many millions of employees working in small firms would be disadvantaged

• The Agency should decide the bargaining unit after taking into account range of matters. It is unacceptable that the employer alone should dictate this

• The TUC believes the Agency should grant recognition automatically where a union has majority membership

• The TUC attaches great importance to training and believes this should be included in the bargaining agenda

• The TUC believes that employers should not be able to offer financial incentives to individuals to undermine collective agreements

• The TUC believes that although industrial relations practice will be improved by these new procedures, the framework of UK law on trade disputes need not be affected

Both the points of agreement and those of disagreement have been set out in a joint statement which has been sent to the President of the Board of Trade and copied to the Prime Minister.

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Bank Staff to Strike on Christmas Eve

THE BANKING, INSURANCE AND FINANCE UNION (BIFU) announced on December 12 that thousands of Midland Bank workers will strike on Christmas Eve in protest against attempts to force them to work on the afternoon of December 24. The BIFU members voted in a ballot for a 24-hour strike. The strike decision comes after a long period of bank staff dissatisfaction with the huge job losses and wage freezes over the past two years.

The banking unions UniFI and BIFU have also planned the fourth in a series of one day strikes of Barclays Bank workers for Christmas Eve as part of a long-running dispute over pay. On November 7, staff at Barclays' Bank had taken part in their third one day strike. Previous strikes took place on October 17 and 20. Members are taking part in the series of strikes supported by an indefinite overtime ban against the pay freeze scheme which has been imposed by Barclays' Bank. The November 7 strike was widespread affecting Merseyside, Manchester, Yorkshire, Wales, London and parts of the South East. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) issued a notice to all its members in British Telecom instructing them not to cross picket lines. Commenting on the strike, Bob Drake, UniFI Assistant General Secretary said, "Our members are totally committed to fighting Barclays' wage-cutting scheme and understand that, given the Bank's extraordinary level of intransigence, that they're in this for the long haul."

UniFI estimates that the new pay scheme will net Barclays' savings of over £150 million in wage cuts and reduced pension costs. In addition the new bonus scheme will reward senior management up to 18% for excellent performance but only 8% for clerical staff and the union says that the "only people who will benefit from Barclays' anti-personnel policies are the millionaire directors and the big shareholders."

It is also reported that BIFU members at Royal Bank of Scotland branches in England and Wales are voting on a Christmas Eve strike over plans to turn December 24 into a normal working day from 1999.

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EUROPEAN YOUTH RIGHTS CHARTER

Workers' Weekly has received the following under the title "European Youth Rights Charter" from Marches europeenees contre le chomage, la precarite et les exclusions. We are reprinting it for the information of our readers.

The free-market road to European construction and liberal economic policies in eastern Europe are leading the people of all these countries to social disaster, imposing decreases in wages, the destruction of public services, demolition of social rights, which can only lead to increasing unemployment, poverty, social inequality and the destruction of environment.

European youth is one of the main victims of this situation : cuts in school and university budgets, imposed part-time work and low-paid jobs, worse and worse living conditions...

Fed by this situation of social poverty and deprivation, we see the rise of far-right parties in many countries, which is a real threat to democracy.

Faced with this situation, we are convinced that European youth must have a social status based on the following rights :

1. Right to education : against the logic of privatization and destruction of public school systems, we demand public funds and budgets as large as needed. We refuse selective systems of accepting students and pupils at universities and in high schools. We ask for the right to choose subjects and to continue to study as long as we want.

2. Right to decent living conditions : we demand a decent income for each young person (student, unemployed or in temporary jobs). No working young people should be paid less than a legal minimum wage. This income should take into account the real cost of living (food, independent housing, clothes, leisure...) and must be allocated to each student and job-seeking young person.

3. Right to housing : every young person must have the right to their own housing, a necessary pre-condition for leading a decent and independent life. This requires the existence of a legal minimum wage for all young people and adequate housing allowances.

4. Right to jobs : we refuse wage discrimination against young people. We demand a radical and general cut in working time without wage cuts, the change of non-stable jobs into stable jobs. The real value of the level of diplomas and qualifications must be recognised in job contracts.

5. Right to health : we demand free access to a high level of healthcare and to preventive medecine.

6. Right to a healthy and clean environment : production must be sustainable, so we demand the raise of environmental legislation to the highest level.

7. Right to democracy : we ask for the possibility for young people to give their opinion and to participate in decisions on questions that concern them. In every European country, young people should have the right to create committees allowed to express themselves freely.

8. Right to equality for women : women must have the right to control their own bodies. Abortion and contraception must be free and on request. Women should have to access to the same jobs as men and have the same wages as men for the same jobs.

9. Equality of rights : we demand the abolition of all discriminatory legislation against foreigners and immigrants, and against all minorities, whether national or others.

10. Right to future : the Europe in which we want to live is one based on a logic of convergence of social rights towards a level which would make it possible to fulfil the needs of all. Young people regularly fight against the liberal policy of their governments and the consequences for themselves. As we do now, we will be with them to defend their rights in the future. —

The web site for Marches europeennes contre le chomage, la precarite et les exclusions is

http://www.mygale.org/02/ras/marches/

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Motif of Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba

CUBAN SOCIALISM IS FULLY RELEVANT

The following article, reprinted from Granma International, October 19, 1997 reports on the 5th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba held in Havana from October 8 to October 10.

* * *

The 5th Congress of the Communist Party of Cuba reaffirmed the ideological principles on which the revolutionary process is based, the irreplaceable role of the single Party and the total relevance of the political system chosen by the Cuban people. The most important meeting of Cuban Communists (who total 780,000 men and women, without including the hundreds of thousands of Young Communist League members, out of a total population of 11 million) was inspired by Che Guevara's heroic example.

The Congress began on October 8, the 30th anniversary of the date on which Che died while fighting in Bolivia, and ended on October 10. Within minutes after the close of the Congress, the participants viewed Che's remains, on display inside the José Marti Memorial in Havana's Revolution Square.

As Cubans had expected, the Congress reelected Fidel Castro as the Party's first secretary. Without the slightest sign of fatigue, Fidel had given an impromptu inaugural speech lasting six hours and 40 minutes, during which he didn't even stop to drink water. The speech covered the main events in the life of the country in the last six years, including:

• The negative repercussions for Cuba caused by the disappearance of the Soviet Union, its principal ally and trading partner

• The emergence of the United States, already Cuba's historical enemy, as the only world superpower

• The stepping up of the United States' criminal blockade through the application of the Helms-Burton Act

• The intensification of biological, political, ideological and armed attacks originating in U.S. territory

• The Cuban people's valiant resistance and its unbreakable ties with the country's leadership

• The conviction that the Cuban Revolution, its ideas and principles, are indestructible.

The almost 1,500 delegates to the Congress elected a new Central Committee (the number of members was reduced from 225 to 150), which contains representatives of three generations of revolutionaries, including a large number of young people, thus guaranteeing the Revolution's continuity and the preservation of socialism.

At its first plenary session, the new Central Committee elected its leadership body, the Party's Political Bureau (which has 24 members this time instead of 26), and reelected General of the Army Raúl Castro as second secretary.

The country's most sensitive problems and the policy of continuing to deal with them were the subject of extensive analysis on the part of the participants. The critical, rigorous discussion, chaired throughout the Congress by the Party's organizing secretary, Jose‚ Ramón Machado Ventura, centred on the adoption of necessary measures. Concrete examples were given of socialist enterprises which are functioning very well at this time. The goal is to overcome the special period in the shortest time possible. The special period, which began in the early 90s, consists of a deterioration of the national economy and Cubans' standard of living (specifically shortages of food and medicines, energy, transportation vehicles and other public services) resulting from the blockade imposed by the United States and the disappearance of the socialist bloc, along with instances of inefficiency and our own errors.

Despite all this, since 1995 there has been a gradual economic recovery: this year growth will be two to three percent, given the low amount of sugar produced. This confirms the correctness of the measures that have been taken, with the consent of the population, to ensure the country's survival.

The subjects that were discussed in depth were agricultural production, the cultivation of citrus fruit and other crops, and tobacco's recovery. Indications were given that it is possible to increase the amount of green vegetables, root vegetables and cereals to 2.3 million tons, half a million more than last year. Almost two full work sessions were devoted to the urgent need to make the basic units of cooperative production (UBPCs) profitable, through cost reduction, better utilization of science and technology, improved worker discipline, better work organization and a demanding attitude on the part of cadres.

The government has drawn up a list of 19 measures to strengthen the UBPCs, which are agricultural production entities which work land leased by the state to its workers. The UBPCs are expected to play an important role in food production.

Throughout the event, Fidel, Raul, Vice President Lage, government ministers and municipal and provincial Party leaders made useful comments.

Some of the issues discussed during the debate on the Economic Resolution were the issue of wages and wholesale prices; the inequality that has been generated among the citizenry; the way in which the farmers markets, industrial markets and food services have been performing; and plans to continue taking in excess currency in circulation.

Special attention was paid to the complex problem of energy, the fuels that must be purchased abroad, the tense situation with electricity and the efforts the country is making to diminish the number of power cuts, which are so bothersome to the population.

The 5th Congress made it very clear that the only way to overcome the current situation is to achieve greater economic efficiency on a daily basis, something which has yet to be accomplished in agriculture and other production sectors.

Examples given of socialist enterprises which function with great efficiency were those included in the Ministry of the Armed Forces system, all of which show a profit.

In addition to the Economic Resolution which sets down guidelines to be followed over the next few years, the Congress also approved the historical and political document which had been debated by the entire population, entitled "The Party of Unity, Democracy and the Human Rights We Defend," and the Party's bylaws.

In his closing speech, Fidel explained that the basic task in the next few years is the economy, so that inefficiency may become the exception instead of the rule. He urged his audience to do this for the good of the people, for the beautiful ideas which Cuba defends and to fight against the cruel imperialist system which has no future.

Fidel expressed satisfaction with the work carried out at the Congress. He added that it was not easy to draw up the list of candidates for Central Committee members, among so many comrade with so many merits, and he warned that we must be aware of the ever increasing need to encourage the emergence of new cadres in the Party, since history has taught us that the Party cannot take the chance of one day being without leadership.

As for Raúl Castro's reelection as second secretary, he said that we were lucky to have a comrade like him. He noted that individuals cannot guarantee the continuance of what we have today, but collective leadership can. In that regard, he called on the Party cadres to cultivate virtue, to struggle against any weakness or tendency to boast and - in the case of the youngest cadres - to fight against any tendencies toward personal ambition.

He said that the ideas of imperialism have been discredited and cannot conquer anyone. They can buy and corrupt but they can't conquer hearts and minds.

The future is only for the ideas we defend, he went on, for the principles we defend, and he stressed that we must embrace the immortal ideas of Che, and his immortal example.

What has happened to other revolutions in the modern era will never happen to the Cuban Revolution, Fidel stated. We must build a Party of steel to safeguard the Revolution against any danger, and so that the people, the Revolution and the Party may achieve the immense historical feat of not only defeating the empire in the field of ideas, not only in its plans to destroy Cuba, but also in order to guarantee a Revolution which never stops and which no one can destroy.

The Cuban people will preserve the things they love the most and the interests that are most sacred to them.

Fidel noted that if Che were still alive, he would be proud of the Cuban people's bravery and their Revolution's merits.

Rodolfo Casals, Granma International

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