Socialist Party Australia - Workers need a political voice

The recent National Fightback Conference in Melbourne had a good turnout of about 300 people. This shows the thirst amongst the more politically advanced workers for explanation and strategies as to how to defend their class from the imminent attacks of the Coalition.
Editorial from July issue of 'The Socialist'

There were great responses to fighting speeches from likes of Craig Johnston and WA Maritime Union of Australia Secretary, Chris Cain. These more left wing, militant leaders are seen by class conscious workers as fighters who will use industrial action to fight the bosses if necessary.

The most obvious split in the unions is between the ACTU and generally pro-ALP or class compromising leaders on the one hand, and the class struggle leaders in the CFMEU, ETU, NSW NUW etc on the other.

The former, at best, want to wait until Labor wins again - at worst are preparing any rotten deal they can sell to Howard. But why would he make a deal now? In the face of such cowardice he is going in for the kill.

The militant unions have called various strikes or rallies on June 30th (on July 1st in NSW). They have a general uneasy relationship with State Labor governments and the Federal Opposition. However, they have no plans to create a new workers' party and, therefore, have to slide back to backing Labor in elections.

At the Fightback Conference, even Socialist Alliance (SA) member Craig Johnson called for unions to pressurise Labor. Of course in general this is correct. The ABC of politics tells us that Labor is a bosses' party with capitalist ideas, policies and leaders and has little left of its past working class rank and file. The D-Z of politics however is that they still have power, controlling every State. This side of a socialist revolution, unions must deal with every boss and every bosses' party that exists in order to get the best for their members. The trick is to see the ALP in this light, not as a wing of our movement. If you have illusions in them, rather than treat them as a party we have no choice but to deal with, you will be disappointed each time.

Johnston said the alternative to pressurising the ALP was to wait until the Greens or SA make an electoral breakthrough - this may never happen. It was unfortunately not pointed out at the Conference that SA got 0.1% in the WA State elections - despite have Chris Cain as a member there. Only the Socialist Party has been able to win an election for the socialist movement so far.

SP members pointed out that there is a third alternative to Greens/SA or ALP - that is the creation of a new workers' party using the millions given by militant unions to the ALP as seed money.

The strong militant unions have been able, in some industries, to force employers to sign early Enterprise Bargaining Agreements to nail down workers' wages and conditions before the post-July 1st changes. We support this tactic.

However with a mortgaged-up rank and file there will be pressure on the leftwing, pragmatic union leaders to buy out of the general fightback against Howard, or at least only get involved in the bigger rallies. This would be a big mistake.

Strong unions will not survive by putting their heads in the sand. In any event, the counter reforms of Howard will lower the standard of living of the working class (in terms of more expensive health and education, casualisation, user pays etc) - so whatever wages a building or metal worker gets will be eaten into by the rest of their family having bigger and bigger bills to survive.

There is no alternative but a generalised industrial response to Howard and the bosses through the strategy outlined elsewhere in this issue of The Socialist. If the ACTU and their rightwing mates won't support this, militant unions must strike out anyway. This will force the others to follow, as has occurred many times in Australian trade union history.

We also need to open up a real discussion in the class around the need for a new workers' party. The ALP is a wing of the enemy. The Greens are a middle class party that caves into the ruling class whenever they get into power (see Yarra City Council, New Zealand, Germany). The Socialist Alliance is an electoral failure, dominated by the increasingly aggressive Democratic Socialist Perspective faction.

We in the Socialist Party will raise these ideas in the movement. If you agree with them, join our party now!