The Great Royal Mail Swindle

Just ten months ago, Royal Mail reported a massive 26% jump in profits (even though mail volumes had fallen and another 8,000 jobs disappeared from the service) - yet today Royal Mail claims it is virtually bankrupt. According to management talk, Royal Mail came 'dangerously close to not being able to pay wages' as staff learned they will no longer be in line for a payout.

Astonishingly Royal Mail have managed to turn millions of assets and a £404m profit (May 2010) into a business it describes as 'worthless'. Workers were told in 2007 they could 'earn' up to £5,300 each in controversial company shares. Now the same workers have been told those shares are now worth nothing. Royal Mail told workers, "The whole idea of Colleague Shares is to ensure that you are rewarded for your help in making improvements to the business." Workers went that extra mile, did all the company asked and now will be rewarded with job cuts and bigger post rounds. No wonder the CWU rightly dismissed the phantom share scheme back in 2007, workers should have been rewarded via the pay packet not in pretend shares.

Have people stopped posting letters?  -of course not! Have workers been awarded massive pay rises  - not a chance! The great Royal Mail swindle could be traced back to the £3.5m pay off awarded to Adam  Crozier for leaving, but that is only one part of the story. Since the coalition government came into power in May, they have been hell bent on dumping this much loved public service into the waste bin of the business world. What better way than offering Royal Mail for 'free' to a competitor by rendering the service 'worthless'. It came as no surprise to hear management echo the government call for privatisation of Royal Mail, especially now there is apparently no more money in the bank to even pay wages!

The real swindle can be seen when we examine the true facts about Royal Mail - workers are being conned into believing privatisation is the only way they will be able to keep jobs. Management were keen to back that up with the announcement of another 1,700 job losses and the proposed closure of two London mail centres. Hoping to strike fear into the remaining workforce, management are rubbing their hands in glee at the prospect of another company taking over Royal Mail. One worker rightly said, "We have done all you have asked us to do and still it isn't good enough for you!"

Let's not forget that workers at Royal Mail have transformed the way they work, seen over 40,000 fellow members lose their jobs and had their pension robbed from them. Now they are being conned about the state of the business to pave the way for privatisation. Unless the CWU get of it's backside and stops sucking up to Labour, who offer no hope for the union or it's members - then Royal Mail workers are doomed.

Privatisation will not result in a better service or a cheaper offer for the public, what it will lead to is the end of the 'one price goes anywhere' , an end to the 6 day delivery (and that doesn't mean posties will get Saturday off!) and a tearing up of terms and conditions. The best example Royal Mail workers can see, is the TNT postal workers story in Holland - as highlighted on a previous article, 'Royal Mail Workers Beware'. Only a fully nationalised public postal service will protect the public from money grabbing businesses who want to cream off the profit while killing off the service. If Royal Mail is as hard up as they say they are, maybe they should take back some of the millions paid out to former bosses.................

You Caused This Crisis

There has been a shift in responsibility during the past 18 months, and it seems WE are the ones to blame for the financial crisis. No longer is it the fault of the market speculators, nor the banks that happily lent billions on dodgy deals.

The ConDem government (and Labour), have shifted the debt burden to local councils - basically telling them to cut budgets by around 25%. That means YOUR services get cut because YOU are now to blame for the crisis!
Added to the misery of public sector cuts, employers have used the crisis to their advantage - forcing wages down as inflation climbs and reducing employee head count, even though British businesses have billions in the bank. The business world have used the historic low interest rates to their advantage, paying off debt which has enabled many companies to sit on a large pile of cash.

Little wonder business leaders are now calling on the government to lower taxes further and toughen union laws beyond what Thatcher did in the 80's. Money didn't disappear from our society, it just shifted into the hands of the few. The ruling class now have more of the wealth and YOU are being made to pay for 'the crisis'. While pensions are destroyed and earnings spiral downwards, the big bosses want even more from us - they want us to pay for their crisis. This is a crisis of capitalism, a failed economy that is now destroying the very fabric of society.

Barclays boss, Bob Diamond told the select committee that banker bashing needed to end, while he enjoys around £9m in bonuses during the coming year. He might be surprised to see people are angry that Barclays not only announced £6.07b in profits, but also robbed the UK by paying just £113m corporation tax. It has been business as usual at the banks, the millionaire government ministers do not know the reality of living on the poverty line. Sadly we can't afford a team of lawyers and fiddle our taxes, we are meant to just be grateful we have a job - even if rising inflation means we take a pay cut year after year.

It is a lie to say WE caused the financial crisis, even though the capitalist elite would like us to think otherwise. The £81b of spending cuts that are being forced through now are being blamed on YOU, but the truth is - these cuts are not necessary. They are an excuse to roll back advances made by the working class, our NHS and schools are all under treat because they don't make money for the capitalist system. Britain is heading back to the Victorian times unless we fight with all our might against the cuts. We need a democratic workers led society that runs a system for the benefit of all, not the elite.

Burning Quangos Becomes A Puff Of Smoke!

Just a few days into 2011 we have been inundated with news stories about the effects of the coalition's savage attacks on ordinary people. While George Osborne has praised his £81b cuts, leading organisations have repeatedly condemned the short-sightedness of the government.

Much fanfare proceeded the burning of the quangos, but now it looks like the £1b of so-called 'savings' have gone up in a puff of smoke. Conservative MP Bernard Jenkin, chair of the cross-party committee, said: "The whole process was rushed and poorly handled and should have been thought through a lot more." The effects of axing education quangos, such as almost 1,000 jobs lost in Coventry from Becta and QCDA are being felt by those who lost their jobs and schools will not save money. This coalition government has repeatedly failed to listen or take heed of warnings.

The police have issued warnings about the dangers of cutting their budgets, not because they want to keep their jobs but because they know the effects of the Comprehensive Spending Review will lead to an increase in crime. As poverty increases, more people will resort to a life of crime and reduced police numbers will only exasperate the situation. The last time the Tories were in power, Thatcher cut public services and police numbers fell - while crime increased under her leadership. The ConDem coalition will end up with the same result if the people of Britain don't fight back.

We all hate waste and quangos that flutter away our money, should indeed be exposed and call to account. Yet the bonfire of quangos has become nothing more than a puff of smoke - the promised £1b 'savings' will not take place and unsurprisingly, more quangos will be created to replace those burned out quangos.

Meanwhile, for the banks it is business as usual with big bonuses continuing to be paid out in 2010/11. Even though Liberal Democrate Vince Cable indicated he would take action against the banks that continued to award big bonuses for failure. Once again the opposite has been true and the coalition have taken no action, instead banks have seen many salaries rise significantly, by up to 40% in some cases. The highlights above are just a few examples of the failure that this capitalist government seeks to pursue it's ideological goals at the expense of the working class.

We need a workers party that will defend the working class in word and in deed, may 2011 be the year that workers unite and fight to gain control of our lives and society!

VIDEO: Captain SKA - Liar Liar

Watch Captain SKA's excellent video 'Liar Liar', which adds a very Two Tone sound as Britain heads back to the dark days of Thatcherism. The song exposes the lie that 'we are all in this together' and the myth of Cameron's 'big society'.

The single will be available to download from usual outlets from December 12th. More updates can be found on the Captain SKA Facebook page.

VIDEO: Police Charge Into Students With Horses

Originally police denied that horses had charged into protesting students at high speed, but this video footage by Massif101 clearly shows the unprovoked attack taking place. Before the YouTube footage was released, a Met spokesperson had said, ""Police horses were involved in the operation, but that didn't involve charging the crowd." The spokesperson said horses may have been used "to help control the crowd for everyone's benefit", but added "police officers charging the crowd – we would say: no, they did not charge the crowd."
Watch the footage for yourself and form your own opinions.


Questions have also been raised about Police reports that claimed they kettled students because an empty police van had been vandalised. Apparently Sky News filmed twelve minutes before the police decision to contain the protesters showed demonstrators milling around by a police van, which the Met said they had abandoned because "officers felt vulnerable". This has led to accusations that the van was left deliberately to "bait" protesters. It was later vandalised, reports The Guardian.

Massif101 has released this statement about the video: "I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone that's helped to spread this around, it really means a lot. hopefully now someone will be made to answer for the days events, including the use of a sacrificial police van as bait to justify their tactics against us.
I wasn't planning on uploading this, I assumed the BBC would mention it along with their coverage of all the other protests, they haven't.
These protesters are not those who were kettled outside the treasury building, we weren't allowed in for that, after some kids had started fires and thrown some sticks n junk at the police lines separating us from the main protest they began to move forward.
This happened about an hour and a half after police started pushing us back, they had already deployed the cavalry 3 times, although those instances were less aggressive than this one.
I have decided to follow the anticuts campaign and make a documentary out of all the footage I gather, so this will eventually be in there.

Students - Who Can YOU Vote For?

Students are angry and this was clearly seen as 50,000 demonstrated in London this week in the largest protest against the coalitions planned cuts to public services. While the UK government continue their mantra about cutting the deficit, the same ConDem government is happy to burden university students with a lifetime of debt.

The Liberal Democrats have come under fire for breaking their pledge not to raise tuition fees, Nick Clegg doing the media rounds in a desperate attempt not to lose anymore in the opinion polls (currently 11%). Students feel particularly sold out by Lib Dems, they were meant to be the party students could feel safe with - after all it was the Lib Dems who opposed Labour's introduction of tuition fees. But students have found the Lib Dems have opted to clinch a piece of power and sacrifice students in the process.

There is no safe haven for students in the Liberal Democrats, so does this mean students should return to the Labour Party again? The answer is an emphatic NO! It was Labour who introduced tuition fees in the first place, creating the foundation for class divide of the haves and have not's. It was Labour who let students down again and again as it clung onto power. Pandering to the markets and  private investors was a deliberate privatisation of our education system. Voters can not trust Labour, who would have introduced MASSIVE public sector cuts had they gained a fourth term in office. Instead, your local Labour councillors can be found wielding mini Tory axes and cutting public services instead of standing up and opposing them in deed and not just word.

Maybe students could feel safe voting Conservative? For those of us who are old enough to remember the damaging policies of Thatcher in the 80's, we clearly see that the 'new' look Tory party is no different from the old. It's ideological polices seek to damn the poor and reward the rich, with students being made to pay for education as the Tories move to a more elitist university system.

At the next local election students could be forgiven for not wanting to vote when they look at the Tories, Lib Dems and Labour and see three parties who are hell bent on forcing students into long term debt through tuition fees and cuts in public spending on education. Yet there is a political party that clearly says "No" to education cuts and tuition fees, it is the Socialist Party that speak out with students up and down this country. In Coventry - while every Labour, Tory and Lib Dem councillor voted through a £4.5m cuts package, only the Socialist Party councillor, Dave Nellist, voted against the cuts. Many people are getting angry about the cuts and a new workers party is welcoming people as they join the growing Socialist Party. Union candidates, those in the community and Socialists are seeking to field as many candidates in the next election, offering student voters an alternative to the failed capitalist policies currently being forced on voters.

To find information about TUSC visit the official website HERE, read more about the campaign for a New Workers Party HERE.

Youth Fight For Jobs is a website that campaigns against tuition fees, and Socialist Students can be found up and down the country - click here to find the nearest meeting place for Socialist Students.

VIDEO: Osborne & Co - The Spoof Advert

You know those adverts on the TV that are always giving you the number of some company or other if you have debt problems, well - I thought I'd make one of my own about George Osborne and Co. Seemed quite fitting on the week he announced spending cuts of £81b, we need a little bit of humour during this serious situation.

Enjoy.................

The Irony Of Sir Philip Green

Rather ironic that billionaire boss Sir Philip Green has been telling the Con-Dem coalition that he could save the government £20b. The capitalist businessman is no stranger to cutting corners, especially where taxes are concerned. Rather conveniently, his wife Tina relocated to Monaco and so avoids paying any tax in Britain. The Top Shop boss transferred virtually all his assets to his wife  - meaning she would have paid £285m in taxes had she remained in the UK.

If the Green's had not exploited the system, Britain could have put the £285 million too good use for the country. Instead Philip Green has the cheek to lecture us about where he could save taxpayers money. Another prime example where this government has the wrong priorities. Instead of punishing hard working public sector workers, the government should be getting the taxes that belong to them. As the PCS have shown, £25 billion is lost annually in tax avoidance and a further £70 billion in tax evasion by large companies and wealthy individuals (like the Greens!!).


The PCS document 'There Is An Alternative' also highlights that an additional £26 billion is going uncollected. Therefore PCS estimates the total annual tax gap at over £120 billion (more than three-quarters of the annual deficit!). It is not just PCS calculating this; leaked Treasury documents in 2006 estimated the tax gap at between £97 and £150 billion.

The ConDem Boat Rocks

As the ConDem Comprehensive Spending Review looms, it seems that the coalition is beginning to rock as the waters become choppy. Lib Dem energy secretary Chris Huhne now indicates that the £83 billion spending cuts were not "lashed to the mast", according to an interview in the Daily Telegraph. As the Lib Dem support ebbs away, Huhne said the government may have to "tack about" to get to where it wants to if the economic winds change.

Indeed the economic wind has changed, and Ireland is a clear indication of this. As the ConDem coalition follow the same route of tough public spending cuts, it is becoming more clear that Britain will end up on the same disastrous course as Ireland. Pointing towards a double dip recession as thousands lose their jobs and taxes for ordinary people rise.

The ConDem boat is also being rocked by the growing 'Fight The Cuts' groups springing up and the Unions voice is starting to sound the bugle and alert members that the ConDem pirate ship is coming to rob the poor and line the pockets of the rich. For the rich, corporation taxes have been lowered to the lowest in the Western world, while VAT will rise to the highest in living memory - hurting the less well off the most.

Between now and Oct 20th spin doctors from the ConDem camp will be busy trying to minimize the devastating news of massive cuts between 25- 40%. Ramping up talk about the cuts being spread over several years and some cuts being scaled back in a bid to hang on to public support.

Yet a small, but growing army of ordinary people are climbing aboard boats in a bid to fend off the ConDem pirate boat that has come to rob them. The coalition is already weak and should enough people oppose the cuts (like they did with the Poll Tax that ended Thatcher's rule), then the ConDem boat can be sunk before it has has a chance to impose it's all out attack on the working class. Workers should not expect the Labour boat to come and rescue them, for too long this boat has been at the port of big business and failed to represent the working class.

Only a new mass workers party that truly represents the working masses can offer an alternative to the three main parties slash and burn policies, a party that runs the country for the people and not for the minority. In the next election we need to see real Socialists and  independents standing that will stand up for public services.