British Rail Strike - Union First Round Victory

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Coordinate escalation actions now!

Hugh Caffrey Socialist Alternative (ISA England, Wales and Scotland)

(This article was first published on June 25, 2022)

As the third day of the National Rail Workers' Strike by the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) comes to an end, it is clear that workers and unions have won the first leg.

Solid strike action has demonstrated the power of workers' organizations, leaving employers and governments gnashing their teeth and powerless.

Despite the overwhelming media hype, the mainstream public still supported the strike action.

The RMT leadership also supported the strike with a fighting attitude towards the media. In addition, the strike was also driven by the fact that ordinary people deeply felt the rising cost of living, perceived the threat of profit-seeking motives to the employment of the entire economy, and that opposition would only harm the boss. and shareholder-friendly rail privatization disaster. But how will the situation develop next?

Employers and the government have no intention of making concessions. This is a deliberate and coordinated attack by Network Rail over the years, involving the very nature of the operating model of these rail operators - wanting to hire fewer people and pay lower wages.

Management and the Conservatives are likely to be defeated, but we need further industrial action to force them to back down. Other workers' groups will also take the opportunity, starting with the Royal Mail and British Airways, and by this autumn will be backed by educators, grassroots civil servants and others, as well as various public and private sectors. Workers affected by labor disputes also plan to join the fight one after another.

These industrial disputes all stem from the same cause: a fundamental crisis in the UK and world economies.

escalate strike action

The solidarity of RMT members has already led to strong strike action this week, after which rail strike action will require dialogue with other unions to decide the most effective action.

The schedule of the strike will be decided by members, but it is clear that the Conservative government's threat to intensify anti-union action will have to be countered with a larger and longer strike. RMT members who have not yet joined the strike need to intervene in this labor dispute - either by re-voting to meet the strike threshold, or by raising their own demands and concerns.

It's clear that employers are fearful of this, so with Merseyrail raising wages by 7.1% this year (compared to the national average of around 2-3% for rail workers), unions should capitalize on this fear The tide is chasing after the victory, expanding labor disputes and gaining more. The Federation of Train Drivers and Stokers (Aslef) and the Transport Sector Employed Association (TSSA) should also allow members to vote on similar issues and get involved in industrial disputes before they are exploited by management.

Solidarity and solidarity with railway workers in labor disputes is extremely important. The current Conservative government's threat to lift legal restrictions and allow employers to replace striking workers with dispatch workers shows the limitations of the current "progressive" bill, which can only operate entirely on the conscience of politicians and judges.

Whether employers can fight the strike with others ultimately depends on the strength of the strike. All attempts to use dispatch workers should be stopped by the picket line, which should be supported by the solidarity and mobilization of local unions.

The bosses of dispatch companies are also afraid of the reverse effect, and seem to be very nervous about being a scab. And if they take steps to help the Conservative Party, they should expand the protests to these companies on the basis of this, and demand that the dispatch companies withdraw their workers, and call on the dispatch workers not to become strike-breakers.

The previous labor dispute of P&O Company also indicated the crisis and potential of this strike. At that time, the security who did not participate in the strike was used by the employer to break the strike, but at the same time, when the dispatched workers learned that they were sent to work for the purpose of After that, they also left their posts to protest.

Mobilizing solidarity and public support

Public sector unions need to forcefully refute allegations of railroad strikes, such as the strike preventing nurses from helping the sick or preventing teachers from teaching young students, and then launching campaigns among these union members , to explain why all workers need to support the railroad strike, linking this to similar issues like caregivers, educators, and so on.

We need to effectively capture the public's fervent support for the strike. We must see local protests mobilized by the RMT and other local unions to mobilize railway workers, postal workers and other workers.

Issues of RMT policies such as "fair fares" and rail re-nationalisation must be raised. We must make it clear that a publicly owned and operated, budgeted and affordable rail system can play an important role in stopping the worsening climate crisis.

In addition, we call on the picket lines to hand out flyers to the public, thereby creating a broader stream of support and mobilizing the broader union movement. The Communications Workers' Union (CWU) should support this movement and include the re-nationalisation of the Royal Mail as part of its demands and protest slogans.

It's not hard to imagine the broad support for a well-organized, union-led, march demanding "Re-nationalize the railways and postal offices! Defend jobs! All workers must get a raise!"

The UK Trade Union Confederation (TUC) had already demonstrated the potential of more than 50,000 people to protest on June 18, and now all trade unions need to rally and mobilize on the streets.

Time to start coordinated strike action

The protest requires further coordinated actions to launch coordinated strike votes and coordinated strike schedules. The national leadership of the RMT and CWU will coordinate their strike schedules to strike on the same date for maximum benefit.

At the local level, the RMT and CWU labor activists should communicate with each other and discuss together to take back their unions to ensure that the struggle can escalate, and the labor disputes of local organized members can also be discussed.

There are already several industry unions discussing action in the fall - the general secretary of the National Education Union for School Teachers (NEU), the Public Service Union for Public and Commercial Services (PCS) and the General Public Service Union (Unison) has gone from attacking other unions to strike. , turned to boasting that his union was "strike ready".

A coordinated strike vote schedule by unions, or the RMT's re-run strike vote, is the best way to show the intensity of a movement strong enough to defeat the government and employers. This is to gain support under anti-democratic turnout rules and to break the threshold of anti-union laws.

Unions must prepare for action immediately, not just on a technical level, but involving direct support to workers and workplace activists, involving as many members as possible and supporting the strike vote. Actions should be based on clear demands, and also require direct coordinated action by unions in the workplace (especially in workplaces with multiple unions) (such as the coordination between NEU and Unison organized in primary and secondary schools, and the coordination between Unison and Unite in hospitals). etc.), regardless of which union the members belong to, to act together to achieve the maximum voter turnout of each member.

The Conservatives are wary of fears this fall, which is why they are threatening to pass a "minimum service" law, which basically means banning many pro-strike workers from going on strike.

We can do this by paralyzing legislation through massive industrial action, whether formal or informal if necessary, through protests to support and protect picket lines threatened by dispatch workers.

Intensified legal attacks on unions have called into question the role of workers' political organisations. At present, only a few Labour MPs support the strike, and the Labour Party has been unable to become an effective tool for organizing workers, building struggles, calling for public ownership, and removing anti-union laws.

Established local comprehensive activities such as "a township/city needs a salary increase", or local rallies to fight the rising cost of living, will create political space for workers and bring together the demands of various activities, which can be extended to organizations in various communities and the working class at large, and to discuss broader political issues to address the cost of living crisis.

On this basis, we can go further and create new mass left-wing parties to fight. Such a party would be a completely different type of party, one not focused on elections, but one composed of workers and acting for them, allowing them to organize politically.

The socialist alternative says that in order to implement a real solution, such socialist parties must be established to counter the capitalist system that is causing the crisis.

The first round of strike victory belongs to the railway workers, and the working class at large, and despite the deepening economic crisis and recession, the Conservative Party will fight back more forcefully next time.

Only solidarity will win the second leg, and concerted and expanded action will defeat the Conservatives and take on employers and the entire capitalist system.