> >New Worker Online Digest > >Week commencing 15th September, 2000. > >1) Editorial - Break the tax mode! > >2) Lead story - Fuel crisis deepens. > >3) Feature article - TUC 2000 - "Back in business". > >4) International story - French Iraq flight delay. > >5) British news item - Army must sack murderers. > > >1) Editorial > >Break the tax mode! > >THE hastily formed alliance of self-employed truckers, farmers, cabbies and >fishermen, currently interrupting the distribution of petrol across >Britain, is certainly not a militant arm of the organised working class. >Indeed many of these protestors for cheaper fuel would regard themselves as >Tory supporters and certainly some truckers have even acted as scabs in >past industrial disputes. > > We can also be certain that if the pickets and protests were being >organised by labour movement trade unionists the anti-union laws would have >been savagely used and the policing policy would be very different and far >more draconian. > > Yet it is also clear that the fuel protesters are not acting on behalf of >the capitalist ruling class and the majority of big businesses. The >protestors are angry because their businesses are medium to small-scale >enterprises which have to operate on very narrow cost margins. > > Ironically, though many of the truckers interviewed have targeted their >criticism at the Labour government, the practice of levying high taxes on >fuel was largely a policy of the previous Tory governments and was one of >the means of paying for the massive cuts in top level income tax introduced >after 1979 to the great benefit of the very rich. > > And this is where the protests of the self-employed meet with the >interests of the working class as a whole and it explains why there is, at >least for the time being, a mood of tolerance towards the protests despite >the growing inconvenience. > > It is a crisis which is fundamentally rooted in the decision of the Blair >leadership to keep the same economic boundaries for taxation and public >spending as the Tories had. > > This is why the Chancellor Gordon Brown and Secretary of State for >Scotland John Reid have argued that lower fuel taxes would mean less money >for health, education and other services. It's an argument that is only >true if the Government's overall limits on social spending and its ceiling >for direct income tax are regarded as rules written in stone. > > We say these limits should be changed. Tax policy should be reformed so >that the burden is lifted from the working class and income tax increased >on the wealthy. > > Blair and his Cabinet would prefer not to get drawn into a debate on this >bi-partisan aspect of their policy. They would like to pin the blame for >the crisis on the oil producing countries and claim the high prices at the >pumps are the fault of OPEC (Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries) >putting up the price of crude oil. > > Yet there is no shortage of oil deposits in the world. Furthermore, it is >scandalous to berate OPEC for trying to get the best deals it can when the >big powers, including Britain, do everything possible to fix the oil trade >in the West's favour. Not least of these measures are the sanctions imposed >on Iraq, a country which has plenty of oil but is forbidden to sell most of >it. > > It is also the case that prices in Europe have been affected by the fall >in the Euro in an oil market that always trades in dollars. > > Yet, even though the price of oil has gone up, the lion's share -- around >three quarters of what we pay at the pumps -- is tax. And excise duty, like >VAT and other indirect taxes, are always unfair because they are the same >for everyone regardless of income and ability to pay. As a proportion of >income the poor pay far more than the rich. > > Successive governments have sought to justify high levels of tax on fuel >by claiming it will help the environment by discouraging unnecessary >journeys by road. This surely can't be a serious policy for cutting vehicle >pollution and road congestion. Raising fuel prices simply hits hardest at >the least well-off road users and leads to increases in the price of all >goods that are transported by road. Ultimately the working class as a whole >pays the tax every time they shop. > > Of course the real incentive for governments to use these forms'of >taxation is that they produce lucrative revenues which are relatively easy >to collect. > > The very important environmental issues involved need measures that are >radical and equitable. These should include a significant cut in public >transport fares, a programme of public transport improvements to make >services safe, reliable, integrated and frequent, the re-nationalisation of >the railways and other transport services and the restoration of bus and >train services in rural areas. > > We say, break from the Tory straitjacket on taxation and spending, shift >the burden onto the shoulders of the rich, No to indirect taxes, smash the >anti-union laws, renationalise public transport and cut fares! > > ********************* > >2) Lead story > >Fuel crisis deepens. > >by Daphne Liddle > >PRIME Minister Tony Blair has put the army on standby as we go to press and >blockades in protest at petrol prices threaten to bring the country to a >standstill. > > Army petrol tankers are being moved around the country so they can supply >fuel from the considerable army stocks as soon as the Government asks. It >has described this as a precautionary measure. > > Meanwhile Health Secretary Alan Milburn has put the National Health >Service on red alert as the fuel crisis continues and called on hospitals >to practice their emergency procedures. > > The picket lines of truckers, farmers and other individuals have >throughout been good tempered about letting tankers of fuel through if they >are for emergency or other essential services. But, as public sector union >Unison spokesperson Geoff Martin pointed out, health and other essential >services still face crisis because their supplies of basic things like >food, laundry, detergents and of course employees are, in the long term, >just as necessary as ambulances and blood transfusions. > > Tony Blair rashly promised last Tuesday that "things will be back to >normal within 24 hours". This plainly has not happened but police have >moved in in force on some picket lines to clear a way for tankers to leave >refineries and other oil distribution depots. > > The representatives of the Road Haulage Association, which is a leading >organisation in the protest, have accused the police of heavy-handed tactics. > > But miners, Liverpool dockers and others who have been on trade >union-organised picket lines will have been amused by the amiable approach >taken by the police in this dispute. > > Peace campaigners who were arrested outside the gates of Faslane nuclear >submarine base earlier this year were cleared away forcibly within an hour >or two of forcing the gates closed and charged with obstruction simply for >sitting in the road. > > Police are saying that the truckers and farmers in this dispute are not >breaking any laws, yet the Criminal Justice Act, passed by the Tories in >the early 90s, has umpteen clauses coveting picket lines that have never >yet been used in anger. > > At a crisis meeting in Downing Street last Tuesday, Tony Blair and Deputy >Prime Minister John Prescott told the oil companies it was their >responsibility to ensure supplies reached the forecourts around Britain. > > Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers Association, said it was >right to ask why tankers were being kept in depots even when the police had >cleared almost all the blockades. > > He said: "It is reasonable to postulate that the oil companies have made a >collective decision not to send out their tankers. We have to establish >whether there is a real picket line and there is a danger to drivers, or if >it is just protesters. > > "And if there is no picket line, then you would be perfectly right to ask >why not." > > This seemingly nonchalant reply to the Government's accusation is an >illustration of the power relationship between the elected government and >the giant oil companies. > > The protest movement has mass public support -- and, unLike the miners, >Liverpool dockers and peace protesters, it has the full backing of most of >the press. > > The popular anger is justified because the high taxes on fuel, like all >indirect taxes, hit those on low incomes hardest. > > They lead to inflation in the cost of delivering goods and services around >the country and higher prices in the shops. > > The Government repeatedly claims the purpose of the high tax is to cut >traffic pollution yet that aim has clearly failed. > > Many people depend on the use of vehicles for their livelihood and cars >are vital for people living in rural areas with poor public transport. > > The aim of cutting unnecessary car journeys would be achieved much better >by improved public transport with big cuts in fares -- as the Greater >London Council proved in the early 80s. > > But this cannot happen as long as public transport remains in private >hands. All taxpayer subsidies to public transport just fall into the >bottomless pit that is the company owners' profits without making any >impact on services. > > As we go to press the Government line is beginning to harden and warnings >are being issued that if the shortage of petrol continues it will lead to >food shortages and more serious consequences. We may yet see troops >delivering petrol around the country. > > ********************** > >3) Feature article > >TUC 2000 - "Back in business". > >by Caroline Colebrook > >THE ANNUAL conference of the Trade Union Congress began in Glasgow last >Monday against a background of rising union membership. > > Much of this is due to new statutory recognition laws. Since 6 June trade >unions have been able to apply for recognition inn the knowledge that if an >employer is hostile, the union has the statutory recognition procedure to >fall back on. > > This has produced a dramatic rise in voluntary agreements. The TUC's most >recent Trade Union Trends survey found that unions had signed 75 new >recognition deals covering over 21,000 workers in the first ten months of >1999. > > Since then another 265 recognition deals have been signed. > > TUC general secretary John Monks said: "We are entering a new era of >industrial relations. It is becoming clear that both workers and employers >are turning back to trade unions. > > "And all the signs are that trade unions are achieving recognition >voluntarily. Most employers can see the real benefits that accrue from >having a positive relationship with a union... > > "From printing companies to internet banking, regional newspapers to ferry >operators, unions are winning the right to represent thousands more workers >across Britain... Trade unions are back in business." > > >Pay gap > > Britain's bosses came under severe criticism after a TUC report revealed >that they now pay themselves on average 20 times more than they pay their >workers and the gap is widening. > > The research showed that in 1994 the highest paid directors earned around >16 times more than their workers -- now that figure is 20.7, and it >excludes extra perks like share options and bonuses. > > In that period average pay for top directors rose by 72 per cent from >£239,000 to £419,000 while workers pay rose on average by 18 per cent from >£17,332 to £20,485. > > John Monks said: "Why should a director be worth 15 times as much as an >average employee one year and 20 times as much five years later? > > "Have directors really been improving their performance four times faster >than the people who work for them? The answer must be no. > > "And these figures do not include incentive schemes and share options. A >close look att he incentives show that directors can often get cash simply >if their company grows in line with the rest of the economy. That is hardly >a tough target. > > "Directors claim this has nothing to do with greed but simply the results >of international supply and demand. > > "Yet there hardly seems a queue of foreign companies waiting to snap up >British boardroom excellence." > > The TUC called for more action against corporate greed and for trade union >representatives to sit on remuneration boards. > > >Workers' rights > > Bosses also came under attack for whingeing over the limited restoration >of workers' rights. There were many calls for these to be extended and to >include the automatic right of reinstatement for workers who have been >unlawfully sacked. > > Tony Dubbins, general secretary of the GPMU print union reminded >conference that Britain still has the most restrictive anti-union laws in >the industrialised world. > > >Hours > > Long working hours were another big issue at conference. A report to the >conference showed that workers in Britain do more than £23 billion worth of >unpaid overtime every year -- averaging at £4,410 worth of work for every >employee who does unpaid overtime. > > These are official figures but a survey by the TUC suggests it may be an >underestimate. > > Four million regularly work more than five hours extra unpaid a week and >half of these regularly work on their days off. > > This is taking its toll and more than 12 million workers say that stress >at work has made them irritable and bad tempered at home. > > The TUC called on the Government to end the individual opt-out from the >48-hour limit on the average working week, introduce paid parental leave >and a right for new mothers to work part-time. > > >Pensions > > GMB general secretary John Edmonds, speaking just before the TUC >conference, said that the Government's record on pensions has become its >"biggest electoral liability". > > He promised his union would vote for restoration of the link between the >state pension and average earnings at the coming Labour Party conference. > > He warned that the stain of this year's 75p increase to the pension would >"take a lot of wiping away. > > And he said that suggestions of a £100 means tested minimum income >guarantee would not buy off the growing Labour movement revolt on this issue. > > "If Gordon Brown stood on a platform the week after next and said he would >restore the earnings Link, he would be cheered to the echo," said Mr >Edmonds. "He would do an enormous amount for party morale and he would be >honoured by a very large part of the public. > > >Europe > > Some divisions over Europe emerged just before the conference between the >TGWU and AEEU -- but the substance of the dispute was more over the timing >of Britain's entry into the single currency than whether it should happen. > > TGWU general secretary Bill Morris had warned that if the Government goes >for a referendum too early, it risks losing it while the AEEU insisted it >was necessary as soon as possible to rescue Britain's declining >manufacturing industrial base. > > AEEU general secretary Sir Ken Jackson quoted a list of big manufacturers >ready to cut jobs in Britain if it did not enter the single currency quickly. > > The list included Philips Electronics, Sony manufacturing, Perkins >Engines, Robert Bosch, Delta Engineering, Nissan and Dyson. > > Bill Morris responded: "Now we know who is driving the pro-euro stance. >The dubious multinationals are pulling the strings. > > "The TWGU is not a puppet of any multi-national and we are not prepared to >sacrifice our members' jobs on the altar of profit." > > The result was an anodyne compromise composite that the vast majority of >unions supported. > > >Manufacturing > > John Edmonds gave Chancellor Gordon Brown a roasting after his speech to >the conference for failing to take action over "the disaster" overtaking >British manufacturing. > > Gordon Brown had just called for a national productivity drive and more >effort from workers. > > Edmonds referred to "idiotic ideas" and "half-baked lectures about >effort". He said the Bank of England Committee "should spend less time >fretting about inflation and more time responding to the needs of producers >and exporters. > > "Why cannot we have at least one member who works in manufacturing >industry, or at least lives in a town that understands the importance of >manufacturing industry." > > He said that whoever thought up "these idiotic ideas" should go and see >women workers operating sewing machines on piece rate, who were desperate >to increase their productivity but who face the sack. > > ************************* > >4) International story > >French Iraq flight delay. > >by our Middle East Affairs Correspondent > >FRENCH campaigners planning to fly directly to Baghdad to challenge the >sanctions regime at the end of September have hit new snags following >objections from Air France. > > The "A Flight for Iraq" campaign is being backed by Claude Gayssot, >Communist Minister of Transport in the Socialist-led French government >coalition. > > The former French Foreign Minister, Claude Cheysson, has agreed to go on >the flight to Iraq along with anti-blockade MPs from Belgium, Britain, >France and Switzerland. > > But state-owned Air France is refusing to agree to them chartering one of >its fleet for the mission until its own technicians have cleared Baghdad's >recently reopened international airport for safety. This could delay the >trip for at least a month. The organisers are now sounding out commercial >airlines for an alternative carrier. > > Despite American objections the French government has said it will not >block the protest The Foreign Ministry said last month that the flight was >perfectly legal as the "UN Security Council never adopted a specific text >banning all flights to or from Iraq". > > While in Iraq the delegation intends to visit hospitals to see for >themselves the effects of the brutal blockade which forbids the import of >even basic medicines. > > "We are not going there to support Saddam Hussein," Claude Cheysson told >the Paris press on Monday. "We are going to denounce the embargo. > > What kind of world is this where children are killed in order to >punish the parents? The embargo is becoming a crime against humanity >against a population who is being condemned to death". > > ********************* > >5) British news item > >Army must sack murderers. > >JEREMY Corbyn last week joined a delegation to Downing Street to urge the >Prime Minister to order the army to discharge the killers of Peter McBride. > > The Labour MP said he found it "incomprehensible'' that, two years on from >their release on licence, two convicted murderers are continuing to serve >as soldiers in the British army. > > In 1998, Scots Guardsmen Mark Wright and James Fisher were freed after >serving less than six years of life imprisonment for the 1992 murder of >18-yearold Belfast man Peter McBride. > > A British army review board then re-instated these two convicted murderers >to resume their careers. > > Despite the grounds on which this decision was reached being ruled >unlawful by the Northern Ireland High Court, today these convicted >murderers remain in the army. > > The delegation, headed by Peter's mother Jean Mcbride, took place on >Wednesday 6 September, exactly one year on from the Belfast Court decision >that the Ministry of Defence must reconsider the case. > > Also on the delegation were Paul O'Connor of the Pat Finucane Centre and >newspaper columnist and broadcaster Jeremy Hardy. > > The delegation handed in a letter, demanding to know why the two convicted >murderers have been allowed to remain British soldiers. The letter was >printed specially on a large card. > > This is because a Downing Street spokesperson recently confirmed that a >letter handed in by the McBride family in April of this year had been >"lost". The delegation felt the larger letter was less likely to be lost. > > >worldwide support > > Jean McBride said: "Over the years our campaign has received messages of >support from throughout the world... By going to London I want to take a >simple message to Tony Blair. > > "This has gone on long enough. If the British Government has any self >respect they will not allow convicted murderers to stay in their army." > > Mr Corbyn added: "It's unbelievable that the army is allowing these >convicted killers to remain in its ranks. Wright and Fisher have never >shown the slightest remorse for their crime. > > "It cannot be right for the British armed forces to offer a haven for >convicted murderers when no other public service would even contemplate >their continuing employment. > > "The overwhelming public interest demands that Wright and Fisher are >discharged from the British army." > > The large letter reminded Downing Street that there had been no reply to >the letter delivered in April. > > It said: "The Irish government, Amnesty International, the Northern >Ireland Human Rights Commission, the Committee on the administration of >Justice and Dr Mo Mowlem have all expressed their opposition to the >decision to retain the two soldiers in the British Army.... > > "It is deeply hurtful and insulting that we should have to plead for >justice for our son and family. No democratic society should even consider >employing convicted murderers in the armed forces. > > "You are on record as having demanded the dismissal of members of the >armed forces guilty of football related hooliganism in France. > > "According to recent media reports, soldiers found to have taken illegal >drugs will be dismissed. > > "What crime can be judged more serious than the murder of another human >being? Can you justify the retention in the armed forces of the two men who >murdered our son?" > > After the presentation, the delegation went to the Ministry of Defence to >tty to get some answers and held an impromptu protest. > > * Police investigating the murder of Belfast solicitor Patrick Finucane 11 >years ago are planning to arrest and interview under caution more than 24 >former members of the Force Research Unit or FRU. > > The FRU is a secret intelligence outfit that ran army agents. > > Detectives are investigating allegations of collusion by the security >services in terrorist murders and decided to make the arrests after the >army granted its request for thousands of secret documents last month. > > Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir John Stevens is heading his third >inquiry into events surrounding the Ulster Defence Association's shooting >of Patrick Finucane in his north Belfast home in February 1989. > > ********************* > > >New Communist Party of Britain Homepage > >http://www.newcommunistparty.org.uk > >A news service for the Working Class! > >Workers of all countries Unite! > > > > > _______________________________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. 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