Unity! TIME TO STOP THE RETREAT by Kevin Halpin When the depression hit Britain in the early 1920s and millions were on the dole, it was Communists who coined the slogan ‘Stop the Retreat’ and campaigned alongside others against the shameful treatment of the unemployed. In 1931, the final betrayal of the working class by Labour Prime Minister Ramsay McDonald saw the creation of a coalition government and a savage attack on welfare benefits. And now, in 2012, the fall out from yet another round of anti-working class attacks sees crippling unemployment and misery for millions. While not accepting unemployment as here to stay we should certainly support the reinvigoration of unemployed workers centres
up and down the country. With welfare cuts of £30bn already made and the decimation of the public sector, every section in society is affected. Over the past 30 years employment in the UK has become much more precarious with over a third of the workforce now slaving for low wages with few benefits, little or no collective representation and no job security. How bad were the ‘bad old days’ of the 70s when they were also the ‘good old days’ of full employment? The hope of returning to full employment recedes as successive governments - at the behest of EU austerity mongers - raise statutory retirement age and extend the working life. But communists do not accept that there is an economic need to increase the pension age. Labour would be on the winning ticket if
Communists at the TUC 2012 Wednesday 12 September
it committed to lowering the pension age for both men and women and increasing the state pension. This would both increase the quality of life for pensioners and put money back into the economy. It would also serve to create jobs for many young workers and further refuel the economy. Why should workers suffer because the benefits of our welfare state have meant that they are living longer. How can the solution be to make them work longer when latest statistics show that working longer ultimately means living less. Labour should champion decent pensions for all in both the public and the private sectors and look at imaginative ways to improve the quality of life like providing winter breaks for pensioners in warmer countries as do some Scandinavian countries and France. (Not only a social benefit but also an environmental benefit in fuel savings.) And, as argued on Monday, an alternative economic strategy can provide an alternative to austerity and make positive social measures affordable; the cost of higher pensions can be met by tax on high earners, on excess company profits and cracking down on tax dodgers. Full employment was not an era of 20th century history, it must be an aspiration for the 21st century and the crucial element in achieving this - for too long the ‘elephant in the room’ in terms of the AES - is a commitment to the shorter working week. Remembering the successes in the 1980s of the 35-hour campaign, trades unions - with the TUC’s support - should revive this demand as part of the overall aim to forge a better life for all. Above all we have a duty to defend the welfare state, our peacetime legacy of the war against fascism