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?
ann arky's home.