PRESIDENT’S COLUMN

President’s column DEFENDING WORKERS AND DEMOCRACY Working people all over the world in increasing numbers are turning again to their trade unions, which are gaining renewed relevance by fighting back against attacks on workers’ rights and freedoms, the policies of austerity and wage cuts, which it is promised will restore profitability to a tired and bankrupt political and economic system. Global capitalism recycling the dogmas of ‘neoliberalism’ – an ideology that has prevailed in the UK now for 35 years– is mounting a frontal assault on the welfare state. Monopoly capitalism’s British enforcers Cameron, Clegg, Osborne and Cable are redoubling their attacks on our class by threatening trade unions with further anti-union legislation if we dare stand up to defend our members. Yet have just received the welcome news of the reinstatement of our loyal members, Eamonn Lynch and Arwyn Thomas by London Underground and I know that you will join me in extending warmest solidarity greetings to all trade unionists taking strike action on June 30 to defend pensions in the largest coordinated strike movement in this country for many years. It is a disgrace, however, that the leader of the Labour Party, Ed Miliband saw fit to attack the strike. The so-called leader of the opposition can barely lead his own party and he certainly isn’t leading much opposition to this illegitimate and unpopular government. In fact the pension attacks at the centre of the current dispute were designed by John Hutton, a minister in the previous Labour government, who was appointed to carry out his pensions review by that government, as was Sir Roy McNulty who recently published his “Value for money review of GB rail”. This Con-Dem coalition lacks even the legitimacy of a general election victory for its policies, which amount to implementing the austerity diktats of the finance capitalists, the banks, the monopolists of the EU and the IMF. Today democracy itself is now an impediment to the policies of privatisation and wage cuts, which they advocate as a solution to the crisis of their economic system. In Britain the great victories of our forefathers and mothers are all are under threat from a new feudal era, where power is exercised by technocrats on behalf of finance capital. No social or political gains can now be taken for granted. Capitalism in its current phase is a decadent system in decline, which has no more use for democratic legitimacy. No electorate in the world ever voted for railway privatisation. Yet, no matter, whatever the financial markets demand, they must have. Rail privatisation is now being extended across the European Union – as RMT has predicted – as part of the EU’s new ‘Single European Railway Area’, to appease PFI profiteers, ‘outsourcing’ rackets and other financial interests and against the wishes of workers and voters. Capitalism now stands in opposition to government by consent and defends arbitrary rule by unelected technocrats. We will continue to fight to make governments accountable to those they rule over. Our fighting, democratic trade union stands in irreconcilable opposition to finance capital’s attacks on democracy. What is a trade union after all? It is the distilled experience of day-to-day democracy practised by working people. In our branches and regional councils week after week we teach and relearn the importance of democratic debate and decision-making and above all of collective responsibility. To all delegates to this the parliament of our union, especially to all first-time delegates, I remind you all of your great responsibility. We will at all times be guided by our Rule Book and our Standing Orders, which are binding on all of us. Myself and all the officers and staff are here to assist you in making your decisions. I wish you all good luck. *This is an extract from the president’s address to the 2011 RMT AGM. See the full speech on RMTv: www.rmtv.org.uk/video/video90/index.html Alex Gordon RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: july/august 2011 :: RMTnews 25 RMT has won a significant victory that will see seafarers and offshore workers included in the automatic enrolment provisions of the Pensions Act 2008. The victory, confirmed in a letter from Pensions Minister Steve Webb to RMT Parliamentary Convenor John McDonnell confirmed that:îwe are proposing in broad terms that the Pensions Act 2008 provisions should apply to seafarers and offshore workers in the same way that they apply to land-based workers. “With this approach the location of the employer would not be a key determining factor in deciding whether an individual is ordinarily working in GB, nor would their nationality or place of residence, or indeed the country of registration of the ship”. RMT executive committee member Malcolm Dunning had noticed the exclusion of seafarers while investigating the possibilities of gaining pension provision for seafarers working for shipping companies where there was no pension scheme, using Norfolk Line [DFDS] as an example. “Many seafarers have no pension provision at all and there are significant numbers who have been in the Merchant Navy scheme but have moved to companies that donít have provision who face a void in their pension entitlements. “I trawled through the Act to find that seafarers and offshore workers were, once more, actually exempt despite the fact that there had been no consultation with the union,” he said. RMT’s Parliamentary group raised the issue with the government and John McDonnell MP secured a meeting with Pensions Minister Steven Webb who confirmed that it would be possible to change the legislation but it would be "complicated". On July 13, while the union was meeting to consider asking seafarers to come forward as examples of the effects of this exemption, the minister confirmed in writing that seafarers and offshore workers would be now included in the auto enrolment provisions. “This is a rare victory for shipping which could have a big impact within the industry and it is a great example of how effective our Parliamentary group is,” said Malcolm. PENSION VICTORY FOR SEAFARERS AND OFFSHORE WORKERS