Congress
Bill Greenshields, NUT, seconding composite 14.
Privatisation is the order of the day across the free market world not because governments have “lost the plot” but because very powerful forces demand that everything be turned over to profit.
Our education union international puts it like this. “Public education is increasingly being
targeted by predatory and powerful entrepreneurial interests, aiming at nothing
less than its dismantling by subjecting it to competition.”
New Labour has undoubtedly embraced these entrepreneurial
interests. Thus their
Comrades, this is not about “standards”. Why would a millionaire sausage king run a better school than a Local Authority? I’m prepared now to give a firm undertaking that teachers will steer clear of interfering in processed meat production, provided the pie man backs off from grabbing our schools.
But there is no democratic procedural way of stopping privatisation. There’s no parental vote, no community control over Academies – just the interests of the private sector, and, on the other hand, the campaigning strength of local people.
Our decision on public sector pay and this composite are inextricably linked. There cannot be good public services unless workers are properly paid. Conversely, low wages, “pay flexibility”, “workforce reform”, undermining national pay and conditions, reduced job security - all are features of the privatisation process.
So do we just protest, or can we actually stop privatisation? Firstly, we need real unity. The composite recognises that until the whole privatisation agenda is defeated, all services are at risk - we need not just to declare unity of purpose, but to co-ordinate our campaign, and to build active community support – through campaigning bodies such as the Anti-Academies Alliance. Any lack of involvement by any one union will weaken all the rest. A failure to fight now against privatisation and pay cuts will result in plummeting conditions in the future.
We need to reflect on what Brian Caton of the Prison Officers Association said yesterday in speaking passionately on the need to organised co-ordinated industrial action. The Government has rejected the power of reason. The battle is on. Many fear that this might lose the Labour Party the election. But there is only one organisation that is going to lose the Labour Party the election… and that’s the Labour Party. Maybe this could be a discussion over dinner tonight. The only chance Labour has of winning is if they abandon their anti-worker, anti-public service policies, even at this late stage.
Recent public sector strike action revitalised members and organisation and recruited new members. We look forward to passing this composite unanimously, putting it together with the pay strategy, building ever greater unity with all our sister unions – and coming out fighting.