in their attempt to make ordinary people pay for the crimes of the bankers and the billionaires.
The bosses press has attempted to demonise workers for refusing to go along with cuts to pensions, jobs and services. The Belfast Telegraph has exposed it’s anti-worker agenda by attempting to paint bus drivers participating in strike action as hurting school children. What a nerve from a paper owned by Sir Tony O’Reilly – a tax exile millionaire! The Irish News has sensationally attacked trade unionists for the temerity of availing of their rights to represent workers during working hours, claiming the taxpayer is paying £4million to unions. Utter rubbish! Not a word about the billions given to the banks or the millions wasted every year in tax loopholes for the rich.
The cabinet of millionaires in Westminster are threatening to further erode our right to take strike action as if the current anti-trade union laws weren’t enough. After savagely attacking workers in the private sector, political representatives of the rich have also attempted to turn workers in the private sector against public sector workers. But they have failed. Workers across the board are facing attacks on terms and conditions. There needs to be a united movement of all workers, the unemployed, pensioners and young people to the brutal austerity being carried out by all the parties in Stormont.
The magnificent strike on 30th November also demonstrated the potential support for a political alternative to the main parties – one which unites ordinary people to defend our jobs and livelihoods and which stands for a socialist alternative to bailouts for big business and the billionaires. The trade unions should take concrete steps now to initiate the launch of a new mass party of the working class to challenge the parties in Stormont. The Socialist Party is committed to organising workers and young people from all communities to resist the cuts and strive to build a new mass alternative. I appeal on all those who want to see an anti-sectarian working class political voice to join the Socialist Party and challenge this rotten system which only offers further cuts, unemployment and sectarian division.
In January, the Office for National Statistics declared the UK was out of recession – even if growth was a measly 0.1%! However, for workers the recession is far from over.
This month:
Privatisation to blame, not workers!
New party for working class needed