A-Infos (en) Italy, FAI, Umanita Nova #33: Eve of struggle. Workers' resistance to Labour government in England. (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

It was abundantly clear at the Labour Party conference that the party 
leadership is eager to demonstrate that it can be trusted to act in the 
interests of the bosses. From cuts in fuel allowances to a refusal to 
abolish the cap on two child benefits, to sacrifices for the economy. 
---- At the same time, Labour has made a deal with union leaderships 
that they would move to resolve pay disputes while the government offers 
minimal and inadequate reforms to workers' rights and strike laws. To a 
greater or lesser extent it has worked so far, with various sectors 
accepting paltry pay deals. This may all change in the future.

There is widespread discontent in the workplace over wages, and over 
regulation. Many workers have little trust that the Labour government 
will defend their interests. Labour's planned austerity measures, 
including declaring no further funding for the NHS and so-called 
"reforms" that mean more privatisation of the NHS, will make matters worse.

There will be calls from union bureaucrats to "give them a chance", to 
hold off on strike action and give Labour time to act. This may not 
prevent new struggles from emerging. Nurses in the RCN overwhelmingly 
voted to reject a 5.5% pay offer and there will be new rounds of pay in 
spring 2025.

The recent strike wave in 2022-23 has led to many workers walking out of 
work for the first time and has shown workers that solidarity and strike 
action can be effective.

On top of that, there is the distinct possibility that Labour will 
increase tuition fees, excluding many working-class young people from 
higher education and putting more pressure on those who are still able 
to attend. This will be combined with Labour's determination to let some 
universities, now in dire financial straits, go under. Skills Minister 
Jacqui Smith confirmed this by saying: "We will let some universities go 
under."

Chancellor Rachel Reeves will present the new government's first budget 
on 30 October, which will be the moment of truth for Keir Starmer's 
Labour government. A £40bn (EUR47.8bn) package of new taxes and spending 
cuts is expected to provoke criticism and protests, and will indicate 
where Labour, back in government after 14 years in opposition lockdown, 
intends to move the UK.

Nurses should be supported in any future industrial action, because 
their fight is everyone's. Their anger was expressed in a rejection of 
the 5.5% offer by two-thirds of 145,000 voters. To some extent, they 
were encouraged by the narrow pay win for junior doctors, who won a 22% 
rise. But nurses' anger is fuelled above all by paltry pay and a growing 
staffing crisis. Forty thousand nurses have left the NHS in the last 
year, a testament to the situation.

This decision follows the move by other health unions to accept pay 
offers below inflation. Unite's leadership did not advise its members on 
how to vote, but 35% of them voted to reject the 5.5% offer (this was 
not the case among Unison members, where only 23% voted to reject the 
offer).

If nurses take action, despite the RCN management's manoeuvring, they 
must be fully supported, as must any localised industrial action in the 
health service. The Labour government and the media will lash out at 
nurses, claiming their demands are unrealistic and that greedy workers 
like nurses are the reason fuel allowance payments have been cut. This 
divide-and-conquer propaganda must be met with full solidarity.

Tiziano Antonelli

https://umanitanova.org/vigilia-di-lotta-resistenza-operaia-al-governo-laburista-in-inghilterra/
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