Socialist Resistance

Nick Wrack, National Secretary of Respect, spoke in a personal capacity at the Socialist Resistance dayschool on broad parties

 

Cleaners have been on strike since Tuesday evening after Transport for London failed to grant any concessions during the cleaners’ one day strike last week.  London Underground cleaners - the majority of whom are women and people from ethnic minorities - have to struggle with low wages, no pension schemes or proper sick pay, contracts which offer as little as 12 days annual leave and the indignities of on-the-spot third party sackings.

Activists from Feminist Fightback planned actions and demonstrations to cause chaos in order to highlight the crucial role that London Underground cleaners - the majority of whom are women and migrant workers - play in keeping the underground running.

The group piled bin bags full of rubbish in front of the headquarters of the London Underground, chanting, "Poverty Pay - no way" and "Transport for London - clean up your act!" until they were moved on by the police.

Clara Osagiede, RMT Cleaner’s Grade Secretary explains the situations cleaners have to deal with:

‘We have a member whose normal shift is 11pm-5am, he was thirsty on his shift, and so went to the kitchens to get some water. A representative of his contracting firms accosted him, asked what he was doing there, demanded his pass and then put it in his pocket and ordered him to get out. With no further explanation, the man was fired the next day.’

‘Sexual harassment of female cleaners by their managers is rife. Because their immigration status is uncertain they are unable to complain or they will face being sacked. Many of these women get very depressed.’

Laura Schwartz, member of NUS women’s committee and Feminist Fightback activist, states: ‘Keeping the underground clean is an essential task. As feminists we want to highlight the extent to which what is traditionally seen as ‘women’s work’ is so undervalued and are willing to take direct action to do so. Cleaning is vital work and women workers deserve fair pay and decent conditions.’

Last Friday the group invaded London Underground Headquarters. Armed with feather dusters, brooms and mops, they set about helping Transport for London ‘clean up their act’ until they were forcibly removed. Activists are targeting Transport for London to ensure that they do not pass the buck and instead take responsibility for the working conditions of the underground cleaners.

More on the story here.

Kevin Ovenden is a member of Respect’s leadership and works for George Galloway in Parliament. This is a video of his talk to the Socialist Resistance dayschool on the European experience of broad parties.

 

Joseph Healey is the Green Party’s International Co-ordinator and the co-convenor of the Green Left. In this talk to the Socialist Resistance seminar on broad parties he surveys the European Greens.

 

The next video from the Socialist Resistance dayschool features Willem Bos.  Willem is a long-standing activist of the Dutch left and a member of the Socialist Party. He spoke in a personal capacity about his experiences in this important and successful party of the left.

 

 

This text was voted on and passed at a meeting in London on Sunday 29th June. A Steering Committee was also elected.

      The purpose of this document is to launch a regroupment process, which will culminate in a conference after a period of discussion. It registers the most important areas of agreement we have achieved at the beginning of this discussion. There are other areas, not included, which will have to be the subject of further discussion.

1. This is a proposal made by members of the International Socialist Group (ISG), Socialist Resistance (SR), a group of former members of the SWP and some independent Marxists not presently in any organisation. It is an invitation to everyone who would be interested in establishing a new revolutionary organisation based on an understanding of the need for Marxists to build a revolutionary organisation and to work for the widest unity of the working class on economic, social and political issues.

2. We propose a regroupment, based on our common traditions as active revolutionary socialists. This proposal emerges from practical collaboration over the recent period in building Respect. We also appeal to independent revolutionaries and new militants to join us.

3. We hope that a process of discussion throughout this year will culminate in a founding conference to be held towards the end of this year.

4. We have a shared analysis of the nature of class society and how it can be changed. Capitalism is an outmoded system which cannot satisfy even the most basic needs of billions of the world’s population. The further advance of humanity and the protection of the environment from catastrophe can only be achieved by the creation of a socialist society.

5. The capitalist state cannot be reformed but has to be overthrown and replaced by a workers’ state. This revolutionary act can only be carried out by the working class, the only agency that can transform society.

6. The emancipation of the working class is the task of the working class itself, acting as a class in its own interests. Socialism cannot be achieved from above by reformist politicians or trade union leaders. The struggle for socialism is international; the struggle of workers and the oppressed everywhere is one struggle.

7. We recognize that capitalism uses the oppression of certain social groups to divide the working class. The organisations of the working class must constantly strive to overcome any divisions by advancing the causes of these oppressed groups. We oppose all forms of oppression and defend the right of the oppressed to self-organization. We support, and will participate in, the struggles against national oppression, women’s oppression, racism and Islamophobia and against homophobia.

8. What existed in the “communist bloc” was not socialism. It was a Stalinist perversion of socialism; a dictatorship that brutally oppressed all political opposition, suppressed workers’ rights and trampled on workers’ democracy. Socialism cannot exist except with the extension of democracy so that the working class collectively takes the decisions about the future of its new society.

9. The dominant ideas of the present society are those of the capitalist class. For the revolution to succeed the most militant workers and their allies have to be organised into a revolutionary organisation which challenges and confronts that ideology with one in the interests of the new socialist society.

10. The revolutionary organisation must be part of the working class and take part in the life and struggles of the working class and the oppressed. It seeks to absorb the lessons of working-class struggles from the past and from today. It must give guidance and perspective to its members in their activity in the workplace, communities and campaigns. Theoretical study and discussion serve as a guide to the practical work of the organisation. In this way we can test our ideas in practice and learn from our experience.

11. Any revolutionary organization must be democratic, including the right to organize around minority viewpoints, but must aim to act in a unified manner. Socialist democracy is the only way to develop a genuine political leadership of the working class and its allies.

12. We believe that the decline of the Labour Party and the disintegration of its mass base present the best opportunity for many decades to build a viable alternative to the left of Labour. The signatories of this appeal have been working together as revolutionaries and with others to build such a party. We believe that the building of a united party of the working class is one of the overarching strategic tasks for revolutionary socialists in this period. The role of revolutionary Marxists in helping to build Respect over the next period will be an important one.

13. We state clearly our commitment to building a revolutionary socialist organisation, which will locate itself in working-class struggle – in the workplace, in the community, amongst the oppressed and in the broad party.

14. We are internationalists, against imperialism and war; we stand for mass action from below in the interests of the working class; we do not set ourselves apart from the working class and its organisations but seek the broadest agreement with others, using the methods of the united-front. Our aim is both to advance the interests of the class and the ideas of revolutionary socialism. To these ends we will explore the possibility of links with other revolutionaries internationally.

15. This document is intended only as a preliminary text. We invite all those who are interested in the ideas outlined above to join us in a process of discussion.

For more information or to become involved e-mail

revolutionaryregroupment@googlemail.com

or visit

http://revolutionaryregroupment.wordpress.com

Ivan Beavis of the Communist Party of Britain speaks at the Socialist Resistance seminar on broad parties. He begins by saying:

He’s not seeking to take power because the role of the Communist Party in Britain was defined by Lenin as that of acting within the mass party of the working class, the Labour Party and within the mass organisations of the working class.

It is Communist Party policy that they should be part of the Labour Party and they were part of it until they were expelled in the 1920s. They do not seek to supplant the Labour Party….

 

A fascinating day of discussion and debate on building broad left parties across Europe

Saturday June 28^th 10.30 – 6.00 ULU Malet St London – nearest Tube Goodge St.

Tickets10 pounds waged five pounds unwaged (two pounds students)

Across Europe working people are looking for a political alternative. Their traditional parties have become parties of the rich. This conference will look at the experiences of socialist from across Europe in building new political voices for the working class.

Opening plenary 11.00

Penny Duggan – LCR.

Miguel Reis - Left Block.

Andrej Hunko - Die Linke.

Angelo Cardone – Sinistra Critica

 

Lunch – 1.00

 

First round of workshops - 2.00

The German experience - Andej Hunko

The Portuguese experience - Miguel Reis

The LCR new party project - Penny Duggan

The emergence of Sinistra Critica – Angelo Cardone

 

Second plenary - 3.30

Willem Bos - Dutch Socialist Party.

Nick Wrack – Respect

Ivan Beavis – Communist Party of Britain

Joseph Healy – Green left

 

Second round of workshops – 4.30

The CPB approach – Ivan Beavis

The Dutch experience – Willem Bos

Building Respect - Kevin Ovenden

Green parties in Europe – Joseph Healy

End 6.00

Speaker profiles

Penny Duggan. Penny is a leading member of the LCR in Paris. She was a recently candidate on the “100% a gauche” list in both local and national elections in the 20^th district of Paris. She is involved in the current LCR campaign for a new anti-capitalist party in France and will speak on the current stage of this remarkable campaign and the prospects for it.

Andrej Hunko. Andrej is a member of the board of Die Linke in Northrhine-Westfalia and a supporter of the left-wing current inside Die Linke – the Antikapitalistische Linke. He is a long-standing activist of the German anti-war movement and the movement against public service cuts. He will talk about the importance of the emergence of Die Linke and the way it is developing.

Miguel Reis. Miguel is a leading member of the Portuguese Left Block. He will speak on how this important organization of the Portuguese and European left has been built and successes it has achieved in the electoral and other fields.

Angelo Cardone. Angelo is a member of Sinistra Critica (the Critical Left) which left Rifondazione Communista after it joined the pro-capitalist Prodi government. He will talk both this deeply negative experience and of the success of the Critical Left in establishing itself as an independent organization.

Willem Bos. Willem is a long-standing activist of the Dutch left and a member of the Socialist Party. He will be speaking in a personal capacity about his experiences in this important and successful party of the left.

Nick Wrack. Nick is the National Secretary of Respect. He will be speaking in a personal capacity on the struggle for an effective left alternative to new Labour.

Joseph Healy. Joseph is a member of the Green left and will speak on the European Green parties.

Ivan Beavis. Ivan will be speaking as a member of the executive committee of the CBP on its approach to broad left parties. He is also the circulation manager of the Morning Star.

Kevin Ovenden. Kevin is a member of the Respect national council and works for George Galloway MP. He will be introducing a workshop on building Respect.

A fascinating day of discussion and debate on building broad left parties across Europe

Saturday June 28^th 10.30 – 6.00 - ULU Malet St. London – nearest Tubes Goodge St or Russell Sq.

Across Europe working people are looking for a political alternative. Their traditional parties have become parties of the rich. This conference will look at the experiences of socialist from across Europe in building new political voices for the working class.

Book now: Tickets are 10 pounds waged / five pounds unwaged / two pounds students. Pay to/order from "Resistance", PO Box 1109 London N4 2UU or email contact@socialistresistance.net

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Plenary speakers:

Penny Duggan. Penny is a leading member of the LCR in Paris. She was a recently candidate on the “100% a gauche” list in both local and national elections in the 20^th district of Paris. She is involved in the current LCR campaign for a new anti-capitalist party in France and will speak on the current stage of this remarkable campaigns and the prospects for it.

Andrej Hunko. Andrej is a member of the board of Die Linke in Northrhine-Westfalia and a supporter of the left-wing current inside Die Linke – the Antikapitalistische Linke. He is a long-standing activist of the German anti-war movement and the movement against public service cuts. He will talk about the importance of the emergence of Die Linke and the way it is developing.

Miguel Reis. Miguel is a leading member of the Portuguese Left Bloc. He will speak on how this important organization of the Portuguese and European left has been built and successes it has achieved in the electoral and other fields.

Willem Bos. Willem is a long-standing activist of the Dutch left and member of the Socialist Party. He will be speaking about the experiences of this important and successful party of the left (in a personal capacity).

Nick Wrack. Nick is the National Secretary of Respect. He will be speaking in a personal capacity on the struggle for an effective left alternative to new Labour.

Joseph Healy. Joseph is a member of the Green Left and will speak on the European green parties.

Communist Party of Britain: The CPB is sending a speaker to introduce on where the CPB stands on the need for a new party of the and on its pamphlet The Fight for a Mass Party of Labour. Name to be announced as son as received.

Kevin Ovenden: Kevin Ovenden is a member of Respect’s national council, and works for George Galloway MP.

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Workshops: There will be workshops on: The German experience; the Portuguese experience; the LCR initiative, The CPB approach; the Dutch Socialist Party; building Respect.

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Why attend? There is clearly a very interesting and important discussion to be had about experience of building broad left parties.Many socialists have rightly championed the idea of building broad anti-capitalist parties as social democracy have move ever further right. There have been difficulties and setbacks, however. In Brazil the long march of the Workers Party (PT) to the right has culminated with the ‘social-liberal’ Lula government. In Italy Rifondazione Comunista turned away from its championing of the global justice movement and went into a pro-capitalist government, and paid for it with a split and electoral wipeout.
Against these defeat the Left Bloc in Portugal has been extremely successful - maintaining an anti-capitalist perspective and representation in parliament. In countries like Denmark and the Netherlands broad left parties have enjoyed considerable success, as has Die Linke (Left Party) in Germany. Socialist Resistance has since its formation has strongly argued for the building of a broad anti-capitalist party in England and Wales. It is involved in Building Respect today. But in the context of the new world economic crisis is this perspective still valid? What are the implications for a new party of the left. And what role does ecosocialism have in the perspectives and practice of the militant left? These and many more questions will be raised and discussed at the seminar.

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Book now: Tickets are 10 pounds waged / five pounds unwaged / two pounds students. Pay to/order from "Resistance", PO Box 1109 London N4 2UU or email contact@socialistresistance.net

Socialist Resistance supporter John Lister was recently invited to speak in Belfast on the National Health Service. This is the video of his talk.