PRESIDENTS COLUMN

RMT helpline 0800 3763706 :: january 2008 :: RMTnews 25 I am pleased to report that our Council of Executives has agreed to sponsor an event marking the 30th anniversary of the Rock Against Racism event in London’s Victoria Park on April 30th 2008. I am old enough to remember the bands that played that day at the original Anti-Nazi League event back in 1978 – The Clash, X-ray Spex, Steel Pulse – and the impact they had on young people. And I am sure there are plenty of trade unionists and socialists out there who were equally inspired back in the day. The politically-charged and challenging lyrics of these bands and others like The Jam reflected the daily lives of millions of young people and certainly got me to look at the world in a different way. The Jam’s hit single Going Underground, denouncing “kidney machines replaced by rockets and guns”, certainly “made this boy shout and this boy scream”. This included the idea that things could be changed and that you didn’t have to put up with the racism, unemployment and the inequality all around us. Rock Against Racism was set up in 1976 in response to dodgy racist comments made by some musicians. This led to the formation of the Anti- Nazi League a year later to counter the growing number of racist attacks in Britain. In other words the cultural movement came first and the political movement followed, highlighting the importance of culture in our lives. Today, although many cultural and political advances have been made, the poison of poverty and racism is still with us. My young son and his friends talk about bands in Hackney and East London today that I’ve never heard of – and so it should be! These bands also speak about their experiences on the streets where they live and the racism that still prevails. This problem has to be met head on culturally and politically just as they were 30 years ago. We valued the music that fought prejudice and gave us hope at a time when Margaret Thatcher ruled Britain and was busying dismantling entire industries and throwing millions on the dole. Artists like the sadly late Joe Strummer showed alienated young people that there was another way of thinking about these issues and you didn’t have to be “working for the clampdown”. Events like Rock Against Racism today are widely regarded as a watershed in raising awareness of the fascist threat in Britain. As a result of events like this being a member of a racist and fascist group became generally unacceptable to many people. Today young people use all forms of culture and art to express themselves and a desire for something better and we should be encouraging that. Therefore trade unions have a strong responsibility to take part and confront all forms of inequality and class divisions that fascist groups like the BNP still thrive on. I am proud that our union is co- sponsoring the anniversary event and I may even embarrass my son and be a ‘groovy’ dad, dancing to whatever passes for music these days in Victoria Park on April 30th. Stay Free. John Leach President’s column RUSSIAN STRIKE WAVE R ail unions are using inventive methods in their fight for wage increases in a wave of strikes that is spreading across Russia as prices spiral, leaving wages far behind. A few days after a court declared their strike action illegal members of the Vologda region rail union all reported sick to back a 50 per cent wage rise on their basic wage. And in Sverdlovsk and the Moscow region many train wagons developed “technical problems” at the same time during a dispute with the regional train network. GERMANY STRIKES SUSPENDED DURING TALKS T he German train drivers’ union, GLD, and national rail company Deutsche Bahn (DB) have agreed to recommence talks following months of strikes for higher pay. GDL’s members voted overwhelmingly to reject a 9.5 per cent salary rise, a one- off payment of £1,400 and separate talks for its train drivers, guards and other crew in DB. According to the union, the basic salary start for drivers is one of the lowest in Europe. Transnet and GDBA, the other two unions at DB, last summer struck a deal for a record 4.5 per cent pay increase plus a one-off payment of £400 from this January. DB, which is attempting to privatise the railways, last year made profits of £1.3 billion and its management received 60 per cent increases. ITALIAN RAIL UNIONS FIGHT NEW RETIREMENT PROVISIONS I taly’s rail unions were in the forefront of a nationwide stoppage and demonstration against a new law that rises the retirement age from 57 to 61 in stages by 2013. According to the unions, two million people stopped work throughout the country, 400,000 joining several big demonstrations including tens of thousands in Rome. Left-wing MPs claimed that if they had voted against the law, the retirement age would have passed to 60 immediately and they have demanded a new parliamentary debate. Meanwhile, the new law is likely to emerge again in a vote of confidence in parliament early in 2008. ROCKING FOR A CAUSE