In the red heat of the greatest strike wave in 50 years, the Trade Union bosses walk once again into a trap choreographed by the state and its capitalist masters.
We warned about this in November when the RMT, without a mandate from its members, paused it’s successfully mounting actions on the ‘promise’ of meaningful talks. That con effectively bought a month’s breathing space for the then reeling rail industry.
In the state’s latest trick to buy time for training up more army strike breakers and introducing a ‘sack not clap’ essential workers bill, almost every active sector has found an open door for a cozy chat with their respective government overlords. All later emerging claiming disappointment or insult.
Both sides knew, the government had been very clear, that only productivity, not wages, would be on the table. However insulted or disappointed union leaders profess to be, they have actively served the bosses propaganda agenda!
The months of sacrifice by hundreds of thousands of workers hasn’t been for the right to access the top table, but to win against the onslaught on our communities, wages and terms and conditions. What the unions are demonstrating is their inability, if not unwillingness, to meet the needs of our class.
With a million workers predicted to be on strike by February, 2023 should be a new year of renewed commitment and militancy! Workers are clearly up to the task, but their ‘representatives’ are feeding the government narrative of listening, caring but constrained by crises not of their making. A reason for us all to be quiet and on the same side – it worked so well when their hive queen died in September.
Our eyes must remain on the prize despite the unions obsequious demonstrations of weakness. We are in a unique situation. We are all being brought together not just by assault but through our struggle against it.
Everyone knows someone impacted by Covid, everyone knows someone who’s too cold, everyone knows someone who’s going hungry, and everyone knows someone striking or thinking about it.
We are usually manipulated to not see how much we have in common. Now though, reality is asserting itself above the spin. We are not isolated individuals but a community of shared experience, need and action. Nothing in our response says we are failing or getting weaker. On the contrary, our community of resistance and solidarity is growing.
Every day of implied concession feeds our bosses, not us. The shameless groveling masquerade and humiliation of the organised Trade Union leaderships should be called out for what it is, cowardice bordering on collaboration, in effect if not intent.
More and more of our class are fighting back, each worker is recognising their struggle in their solidarity with another. The government is mobilising not conceding and will soon confront us with the challenge of criminality – where we don’t already face it through hunger and extortion.
Trust your class, not your Union leaders with their eyes over their shoulders on their bureaucratic corporate interests. Spread the word, spread the struggle, spread the solidarity – build a unity of resistance in strength.
AnarCom Network 