No to national unity! Only the working-class class can stop the pandemic!
“Protect the economy, and if that means some pensioners die, too bad”
Dominic Cummings
On Easter Sunday, 12th of April, the UK reached the sombre milestone of 10 000 people reported dead due to COVID-19. The real number is much higher and the reports of 80 000 confirmed as infected are a wildly underestimated due prolonged lack of mass testing. With at least 44 healthcare workers dead of the disease, and the number of frontline workers dying increasing everyday, the rich are still given priority- including Prince Charles and Boris Johnson, but excluding all the NHS and key workers that are at higher risk and keeping us alive through this crisis.
Prior to the pandemic, the UK was already in crisis, with deep fractures in the ruling-class exposed by the Brexit referendum and the 2008 crisis.
The social turmoil brought about by the pandemic and the necessary social and economic measures to deal with it were always going to cripple a capitalist economy. But in an economy in which growth has been meagre, and that the net job creation has relied solely on precarious jobs, it is having a devastating impact in the working-class, with hundreds of thousands either laid-off or facing loss of income for months.
The NHS, already cut to the bone,is having to contend with a big wave of Covid patients and a drastic reduction in the workforce due to infections- it was estimated that 20% of the workforce would be out at any-time due to infection of or risk to themselves or family members, but some hospitals have already exceeded this. The lack of resources, including adequate PPE and testing, was already being felt even before the start of the main stage of the pandemic, and it has led to dozens, if not hundreds or thousands, of unnecessary deaths. ICU nurses are already pleading with the public for masks and face shields, and many frontline NHS workers are working without basic PPE- being effectively treated as cannon fodder.
The ruling class, as always, is protecting first and foremost their own. Whilst working class people of their age (Prince Charles is 71) are being told by the government that they will not be tested or have access to ventilators, the royals are given more than privileged and preferential treatment. The infamous case of Boris Johnson, whose ill with coronavirus and had to spend 4 nights in intensive care, is another example- almost no one bar the prime minister will have the round-the-clock personalised care he reported, as NHS staff is having to double, triple or quintuple the safe patient ratio.
After months of delay in acting against this pandemic, the first measure by the government was to protect businesses- a package of 350 billion pounds was quickly put together and offered to the private companies to safeguard their precious profits.
Ruling class strategy- protect profits at all costs
It is not true, as alleged by the liberal media and honest working class activists, that the Tory government had no strategy to deal with the pandemic.Their strategy was, and still is, to keep companies profiting at all costs and avoid profit-loss, at the expense of working-class lives and health. Their “herd immunity” strategy, based on junk science, which has been blasted by the director of The Lancet and even caused the PM falling ill, was an attempt to keep the economy running whilst letting the working-class and vulnerable groups take the toll- to get sick and die. In effect, the Sunday Times (which cannot be confused with a friend of the workers) reported allegations that, in a government meeting, Dominic Cummings, special advisor to Boris Johnson and widely regarded as the person who pulls the strings in the cabinet, stated a view that can be summarised as “herd immunity, protect the economy and if that means some pensioners die, too bad”.
Social pressure and staving off rebellion
But what really changed the government strategy was not the change of “scientific advice” or situation. The ruling class was well aware of the progression of the virus in other countries, and did not change its strategy out of the kindness of their heart- it changed strategy to avoid an uprising, and under pressure from working-class action. In effect, even before the pandemic arose, we were seeing an increase in strike and industrial action in various working-class and proletarianised sectors- with strike action by nurses in Northern Ireland, university workers all across the UK, transport workers in London and all across England, various local strikes of refuse workers in Birmingham and a well publicised strike by the postal workers union which was broken by the courts. Even with the discourse of “national unity” propagated by the worlds’ capitalist class, these actions continued and forced concessions from the government. Lewisham hospital workers, the first hospital in London to be affected by the coronavirus crisis, have taken strike action, and won, over pay, Health and Safety, and outsourcing issues. Refuse workers in Bexley, which were involved in a long running dispute with their employer, also won after threatening strike action, with a number of frontline workers, such as refuse collectors and hospital staff threatening to strike to win adequate PPE and pay- this has led to various promises from government, local authorities and even private companies, to try to stave off a full scale upheaval at a time of extreme fragility for the ruling class.
But an even more telling sign that the government's strategy had succumbed to the pressure of working-class communities was the closure of schools and big meetings. Since the beginning of March, worried parents were keeping children of school and many school were forced to close early due to the lack of teachers.Only after the devolved governments of Wales and Scotland announced school closures- without informing school staff and leaders first- was the UK government forced to announce school closure, a mere 2 days after saying that the measure would be premature. At the same time, football and rugby matches were cancelled with less than 24 hours notice.
This does not mean that the devolved governments of Wales and Scotland were being more proactive or progressive than the UK government- but due to a series of characteristics in their class and historical development it means that although controlled by corporate interests, they were more permeable to working class pressure.
Rescue package- for workers or for business?
As soon as the government realised that its “herd immunity strategy” would be unworkable and bring about rebellion, they announced a mammoth rescue package from businesses- 350 billion pounds to save companies. Only days after, giving precious time for companies to announce lay-offs, did the government offered even more benefits for the ruling class disguised as crumbs to the workers- offering to cover the wages of furloughed workers (workers whose jobs the company put on standby), with a 20% wage cut for the workers- so companies can both hoard their profits and open the way for wage cuts in the devastating economic crisis ahead. Only on the 27th of March, after immense pressure, did the government offer a rescue package for self-employed workers- which includes gig economy workers- although far below what is needed.
At the same time, Boris gave a mortgage holiday to homeowners, but backtracked on banning evictions and refused to freeze rents.
Meanwhile, workers in construction, non-essential retail warehouses such as ASOS, Amazon,phone companies, etc., continue at work, with no PPE or physical distancing- like other ruling leaders, the Tories are also reluctant to close the multimillion pound and privatisation prone construction industry and the big multinationals.
As insufficient as they are, these measures were only conceded due to the pressure of working-class communities.
It is telling that even some of the most ultraexploitative big companies in the UK- including Sports Direct and Wetherspoons which refused to comply with public health measures and close their businesses by claiming that sportswear and pubs are key workplaces, have been forced to concede to the demands of their workers, by closing all stores and agree to furlough workers (keeping them “in standby” with 80% pay)
Some of the smartest bosses got ahead of the wave, proactively closing, furloughing staff and offering freebies to frontline staff and key workers- not out of the goodness of their hearts, but trying to earn some goodwill for the convulsions ahead.
However, the catastrophic crisis of capitalism, hitting a particularly fragile UK economy, has already forced bosses to put forward a concerted campaign in the government and the media to re-open non essential business as soon as possible, despite the risk to workers’ health. The Guardian reported that 10 cabinet ministers are calling for lockdown measures to be eased, whilst business and government representatives, including the children’s commissioner, are urging for schools to reopen before it is safe to do so.
The crisis of labour leadership and the myth of the new Churchill
In a past period of crisis, Trotstky underlined that “the world political situation as a whole is chiefly characterized by a historical crisis of the leadership of the proletariat.”. This is apt in this crisis. Like in other countries, the British trade union and labours leaders have swallowed and regurgitated the discourse of “national unity” with some honourable exceptions. Keir Starmer, the new centre-right leader of the Labour Party, as well as the leaders of the Trade Union Congress have dutifully stood behind the bosses, with Frances O’Grady tweeting that Rishi Sunak (chancellor of the exchequer, equivalent to minister of finance) has shown “great leadership”, and Starmer . Amongst some correct calls, brought about by the pressure of the base, the TUC also called to “bring together a taskforce of unions and employers to help coordinate the national effort”, a clear abandonment of class struggle, stopping short of swearing “social peace” in a period when only class struggle and solidarity will save us.
This call has unfortunately been backed by some in the so-called Labour left, including shadow deputy minister John McDonnell. Moreover, the recent explosive report about the extent of sabotage by the Labour Party apparatus- including “Sir” Starmer-during the 2017 general election shows that the labour bureaucracy prefers to condemn thousands to death than to disturb the “social peace”.
Following this lead, some of the unions that should be putting up a particular fight, including the Royal College of Nurses- the nurses union, have completely surrendered.
In effect, the RCN gave complete cover to the government when they stated the intention of bringing student nurses early into the workforce. These student nurses are already paying 9000 pounds a year in tuition fee for the “privilege” of working in an underfunded NHS, but they are now being strong-armed into joining the ranks early during the health crisis, blackmailed with a threat of further debt and years of training if they refuse. To add insult to injury, they are being told that “they will still have to complete all written assessments” after the pandemic abates. And all this with the assent of the union leaderships!
At the same time, the TU leaderships are feeding the concerted effort to whitewash this as an inevitable catastrophe, of pure natural and unavoidable causes, and not the health and social catastrophe that it really is. All the talk of “national unity” has allowed a section of the ruling class to portray Boris Johnson as “the new Churchill”, trying to reinvent the same myth weaved around Churchill after the war. But the dire truth is that Johnson resembles much more the real racist, misogynistic, working-class hater and shilly-shally real Churchill than the myth invented by the ruling class. As the real Churchill, Boris Johnson is throwing the working class to the wolves, whilst desperately trying to appease a fractured ruling class contending with one of the biggest crises of its history.
But, unfortunately for the ruling class and the TU leadership, the working-class in Britain is organising a response. Although a small layer will be won by the national unity propaganda, we can already see immense efforts by the working class to support and organise their, as well as lifting the veil of ruling class lies. The meagre and unstable support won by the Tories in the elections is quickly vanishing, and being replaced by class anger.
And the Tories know this, as they quickly passed emergency legislation that, as well as necessary health measures such as quarantining and physical distancing, included explicit anti-worker measures such as end of safe teacher:pupil ratios in schools and a validity of two years for increased police powers-well after the pandemic will likely have abated. This 2 year expiration date is geared to contain the social upheavals that will come after the pandemics.
Furthermore, the necessary social and health measures should have been organised and coordinated by a democraticworking-class council including elected and accountable workers committees at every workplace and community, representatives of the rank and file of trade unions, frontline medical staff and experts and community members, not in a top-down and confused way, which lead to a delay of effective measures.
Demands and the organisation of workers
But amongst all the attacks and propaganda from the ruling class, the working-class is organising and winning victories. Wildcat strikes, walkouts and threatened walkouts are spreading like wildfire throughout the UK, from London to other parts of the islands. At the same time, faced with the delays and uselessness of the administrations, workers have developed mutual aid networks to assist and protect the elderly and the vulnerable. These are also being extended and some are taking an embryo form as political action groups, although oficial bodies like Councils are trying to co opt them, a telling development during this crisis. At the same time, more than 750000 people have volunteered to assist the NHS. And although this volunteering will come with its own problems- especially in how the bosses will attempt to use it to prop the NHS without adequate funding or pay and support for NHS workers- it shows the extent of working-class solidarity and the potential to build a socialist alternative for society.
In spite of the inadequate leadership and the limitations imposed by lockdown and physical distance, the working-class is organising and in need of a clear programme and demands.
Some key demands for this time, that can be achieved by workers organisation and control are:
- No lay-offs and full pay for all workers subsidised by the profits from companies, not by the taxpayers- let the capitalists pay for the crisis.
- Reverse all cuts, properly fund and end top-down management in the NHS. Bring all private hospitals and medical companies into public ownership. For the democratic control of the NHS by staff, patients and communities!
- Unions, committees, delegates and factory assemblies must ensure adequate protective equipment, and end non-essential productive activity. A wage increase must be approved immediately for all essential workers: NHS, supermarkets, teachers, etc., including a risk payment of 200% as the beginning of the reversal of all cuts and attacks on working conditions.
- Adequate housing for all: Ban evictions and house the homeless! In a fell swoop, councils across the country have housed all homeless and vulnerable people in their areas- not out of the kindness of their hearts but to stop the spread to the well-off. This shows that the housing crisis and homelessness are not natural consequences, but a political choice of the ruling class. End it now!
- An end to the undemocratic emergency laws- the 2 year validity, as well as some key powers such as suspending safe teacher:pupil ratios in schools, are a clear attack on working-class organisation and conditions, such as the right to organise and strike. All public health measures, such as lockdown and physical distancing, need to be agreed and coordinated by workers’ councils, not by the ruling class.We are not paying for this crisis with our lives!
- For public and democratic control of essential goods- do not let the profiteers profit from this crisis. Democratic control and distribution of essential supplies organised by working-class and communities, not by private interests.
- Nationalise all banks and key companies- reverse PFIs, nationalise all medical and pharmaceutical companies, all high tech big companies- under democratic workers control, so they can be geared towards solving this crisis and for the needs of society.
