The following is a comment from a life long Glasgow activist, J. C. on the recent strike by PCS workers. If they expect solidarity from the people, they have to show solidarity with the people, and not forget that they themselves are WORKERS!!
To the Militant strikers of the PCS.Good Luck with your pension, pay and conditions by the way, ....But do you think you could stop fucking the unemployed about?Well it’s good to see that the PCS union members have the bottle to take strike action, - not unfortunately because they are no longer prepared to do the Government’s dirty work by implementing sanctions which means that claimants have no benefit to live on, not to prevent the needless deaths caused by Government contract killers ATOS, but to protect their own interests.
Many PCS members seem to have managed without any problem to go along with Ian Duncan Smith’s vicious campaign of annihilation of the sick, disabled and unemployed. There was nothing they could do about it you see - orders are orders, and if they didn’t cut people’s benefits their Managers could have them up on a disciplinary, - Well boo hoo hoo!Have they no idea what they are doing to people when they implement these sanctions?Have they forgotten they are dealing with human beings?Can they not see they are playing the Bosses game, and that by toeing the line they are ruining the lives of working class people – their class!When they implement these sanctions they are throwing people into abject poverty; how are these claimants supposed to get by? How are they supposed to survive?Let’s look at it another way: What if it was your son or daughter on the receiving end of sanctions? What if it was you? Do you think you might be a bit more caring then?It’s no good trying to blame the Government- “The bad Tories made me do it”, or “The Management made me do it”, it’s no use trying to avoid responsibility for your actions – we all have a responsibility;- we have a responsibility for our actions and a responsibility to our class. Your actions are the final link in the chain of despair for many working class people. Have you read about the suicides? Have you read about the hardship and misery your actions are causing?How to stop the misery? Organise with your workmates and fellow Trade unionists and refuse to implement sanctions. If you can go on strike for pay, pensions and conditions, you can surely organise a strike to protect any PCS workers threatened by disciplinary action.Isn’t it better to stand up to the bosses than participate in actions that may cause people harm or even to take their own life?The Government are waging war on working class people and wittingly or otherwise you are helping them. It’s time the PCS reassessed their situation, it’s time they extended the solidarity expressed in their strike for pay and conditions to the rest of their class.During the Miner’s strike in the 1980’s Arthur Scargill made the point that despite being a despicable human being, Margaret Thatcher was at least standing up for her class - unlike the Labour Party who betrayed their working class members.In 1931 a young girl Florence Reece - the daughter of a mine worker, wrote a song in support of striking miners in Harlan County, Kentucky. She went on to become a social activist and songwriter, and spent the rest of her life campaigning on social and Union issues.The extraordinarily powerful song she wrote at 12 years of age asks the question, “Which side are you on?”Well, which side are you on?
