Brighton SolFed

The Labour leadership have been itching for an opportunity to outdo Thatcher in the union-bashing stakes. Finally, these opportunist chinless wonders have their chance; in the form of the fire-fighters dispute. Their public school background combined with New Labour grooming seems to bring out their innate hostility towards working class organisation.

However, this hostility is media-checked and is dressed up in the modern jargon of New Labour speak. Thus, the Fire Service is portrayed as a bunch of macho thugs determined to keep women and racial minorities out of the service. We are asked to believe that this is a struggle between old and new; the outdated, conservative, reactionary working class against the slick, modern, progressive and politically correct New Labour ‘individual stakeholder' mythical citizen. It could be that Catalyst is missing something, but surely it is management who hire and fire, so the fact there are so few women and ethnic minorities within the Fire Service is down to them, not the workers. Unless that is, the Fire Service has seamlessly come under workers' control without any of us noticing.

Reality is stark; the strike was brewing all year, and the Government have been waiting for the showdown as a chance to prove their metal to the City and big business. They are desperate to defeat one of the few remaining organised sections of the working class. The aim is to casualise the entire Fire Service. Behind the New Labour rhetoric, their clear intention is to force fire-fighters to work overtime, while bringing in increased part-time working to cover peak periods. This is a classic case of union-breaking in order to smash working conditions across a whole industry in one fell swoop.

The plan is to follow defeat of the professional fire fighters with a rapid implementation of ever-increasing flexibility, along with expansion of the ‘Dad's Army' spare time crews, who love to play out their fantasies at being Firemen (sic). Despite the smooth message, there are many unanswered questions. For example, how will longer shifts ensure that more women will want to join the Fire Service? Do those of us from the racial minorities prefer to work longer hours? We and our women colleagues can't wait to start putting in the unpaid overtime.

Workers' rights are indeed in a sorry state, but this only underlines the need to organise on the job, in our own workplaces. What rights we do have, mainly in the area of health and safety, aren't properly enforced, so it's clear that the state has little interest in our welfare over and above the level necessary to keep the economy's cogs turning. Many situations at work fall outside the law and so it is down to workers themselves to ‘negotiate'. Often, this is done only in staff meetings where the agenda is controlled by the bosses, or where workers can only voice concerns individually. Clearly this is far from ideal. The employer retains absolute control as no effective threat is posed. Only by organising can workers force their boss to sit up and pay attention.

But how can we organise? There isn't a union in my workplace.

Just because workers belong to a union doesn't exclude them from poor pay and conditions, harassment, dismissal etc. It is the strength of the workers' organisation in the workplace that matters most. Belonging to a union may help in certain situations (they have sizeable resources and enjoy some legal protection) but it can also be restrictive. Most unions have tried to ignore the fact that conflict between workers and bosses is inevitable, preferring instead to try and get the best deal possible out of a bad situation. Encouraging your workmates to join a union might provide a focal point for organising, but it's certainly not the be all and end all. The important thing is to encourage people to draw together and stand up for each other.

Won't I get identified as the ringleader though, and get sacked?

Don't be the ringleader then. Workers can make decisions and draw together without the necessity for bossy characters telling them what they should do. When you reach the stage of pressurising the boss to improve your collective lot, there are ways and means that you can get your message across without placing individual workers at risk. Such methods include sending demands by post, electing ten people to go into the boss's office together and painting demands on the boss's garage door.

What sort of action can we take to improve our working lives?

Whatever you think necessary and appropriate at the time. Some bosses quickly change their tune when faced only with a potential threat, so organising and submitting requests / issuing demands alone often does the trick when negotiating on many issues. Sometimes though, firmer tactics need to be employed. Industrial action can include working to rule, go-slows, strikes, walkouts, sickies, doing your job more thoroughly using better materials, making deliberate mistakes, etc. The important think is to gauge the bosses' reaction (including legal repercussions) in the context of your own situation. Skilled workers or those working in times / areas of low unemployment have more power than other workers might. Timing can also be an important factor. All bosses have periods when a smooth running ship is absolutely vital to the success of the business / service. In other words, assess the situation and pick your moments.

What can we expect to improve?

Well, what do you want? Better holidays? More pay? A generous maternity or paternity policy? Nothing is impossible. A situation to aim at is one where all workers feel protected by their workmates and where the bosses' main concern when introducing change is not ‘how quick can we get this implemented and how much will it save us?' But ‘oh Christ, I hope we get this one past the workers'. Such a state of affairs puts the bosses on the back foot and allows workers to go on the offensive.

Well, how can I get things moving? No-one seems interested at the moment.

That's often how it appears but what worker isn't interested in improving their lot? A good starting point is to find an issue that affects lots of you, or a situation that is particularly bad at the moment. Arrange an informal meeting in the pub or café after work and talk it through, discuss what you think could be done about it, and plan how to get others involved. It's often best to first pick a battle that's easily winnable so as to give you all confidence to move on and up the ante. You also need to be careful who you can trust in the initial stages. It's sad but true that some low-lives will inform on their own at a moment's notice to further their own position.

But I've no experience?

Doesn't matter. There are lots of helpful resources available, and if you've some industrial fight in you, then that's enough. Trade unions, libraries and the internet are good starting points when looking for material. For advice and support, your nearest Solidarity Federation Local will be more than happy to help. Contact SolFed at the address below.

As Catalyst goes to press, the Bush-Blair war machine is cranking up. Such time can only bring more misery for millions of Iraqi's and others around the world. The Iraqi people have already suffered for years, from sanctions imposed by the west, adding to the terror they have endured under Saddam Hussain. It is worth remembering that the said dictator had the full support of the west, even when he was openly gassing Iraqi civilians in the 1980s. The truth is, it is all about oil, and the US throwing its weight around in the region.

War will no doubt result in US/UK ‘victory', and the subsequent installation of a military-dominated puppet regime which will guarantee cheap oil exports to the west in the future. How can Catalyst make such a bold prediction?! We need look no further than the last 150 years of western imperialism, and the tried and tested tactics of state terrorism that are the UK and US standard practice. As anarcho-syndicalists, we at Catalyst do not only oppose the war on humanitarian grounds, but also oppose it as part of our rejection of western imperialism, which has only ever had one winner – the boss class, and one loser – us, the working class.