NATIONALISE TO SAVE JOBS, SAYS JERRY HICKS
1700 WORKERS THROWN ON SCRAP-HEAP AT REDCAR.
THERE HAS TO BE ANOTHER OPTION!
Steel giant Corus, owned by Indian multinational Tata, has decided to ‘downsize’ its operations in Britain, mothballing its Teesside plant in Redcar.
1, 700 workers will lose their jobs in what will have a devastating effect on them and their families and in turn will be a disaster for the local community. The effects will be similar to when the coal industry was subjected to wholesale pit closurers in the 1980s and 1990s
Jerry Hicks called on the Government to, “Stop this jobs massacre by nationalising the Redcar steel plant, making it a public utility to serve the public interest, and one that continues to provide employment across the community.”
He went on to say that if our tax payers money is used to bail out the banks to the tune of £10s billions then we absolutely must intervene now to save these jobs, livelihoods and families.
He also added, “It has never been more obvious that there is a profound need for ‘joined up thinking’. The steel from the Redcar plant could be used in many important projects, especially in the area of combating climate change.”
Massive investment in renewable energies, harnessing wind, sea and solar, would require all the steel that Redcar could possibly produce, for wind turbines, tidal barrages and countless other projects, not only saving the 1700 jobs but providing up to another million extra jobs in design, manufacture and construction.
The Labour Party has cried crocodile tears over the closure (just as it did with Vestas on the Isle of Wight), with business secretary Lord Peter Mandleson pathetically blaming the “unprecedented fall in demand in the global recession”.
Similarly, the leaders of the union Unite have been far too restrained in their response. In contrast Jerry Hicks said “Unite bankrolls the Labour Party, providing a significant chunk of it’s funding: we must ‘call in our cards’ to force the Labour government to intervene on behalf of the Redcar workers. It’s time for the country’s biggest union to not simply campaign but to fight for jobs, people and public ownership”.
Just sack ‘em.
Comment by Frank — 6 December, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
of course there is another option- and Jerry is right to articulate it
the question everyone , whatever their politics, will be asking is why are bankers bailed out while workers are thrown on the scrap heap ?just like why the public sector is about to suffer massive cuts and yet the military will be continually funded, here and the US, even more with money found for wars
this has to be answered so that racist arguments are not left unchallendged in evry way possible
the truth is that long term economic trends, the fundamental and historic weakness of the US economy and the global capitalist system and the fact that at present their is no serious class struggle forces in the West which are in a political position to provide alternatives-as Jerry says-far from it here-the Labour party in many areas is proposing the wrong things
Jerry and the Respect party are one small part of the response-which is occurring in many countries in Europe in slighty larger forms
however the left needs to be re-armed also intellectually as well as politically and a new generation educated as to the fundamental economic reasons for this and the economic alternatives-Jerry hints at them but their theoretial context based on the lessons of over a century of capitalist developments, underdevelopment and crises is best argued in a recent article entitled ‘No butter, just guns’ http://www.socialistaction.net/Editorial/No-butter-just-guns.html
workers and oppressed people across the world need butter not guns-but we are entering yet another phase of brutal social transformation and conflict where the reality will be different for very many
the left has to take the right position from a sound economic base-it can start with a discussion of the key issues above
lets have an open discussion-no name calling-just facts and concepts which best describe the reality we all face
Comment by sylvia ebberly — 6 December, 2009 @ 9:20 pm
A shame that the first response on this statement is a troll.
Otherwise, it’s a very good statement and I sincerely hope that Hicks gets elected.
Comment by Aaron Kiely — 6 December, 2009 @ 9:21 pm
Capitalists, in times of hardship will dig trenches, and with the demand for steel on the rapid decline globaly there are going to be casualties, and first in that line is the ever suffering wage slaves.It is apparent that the government is not going to intervene like has occured in america by their government, in responce to the car manafacturing plants.
Sadly the unions are reactionary rather than pro-active and on the decline, they are in survival mode hanging onto what is left of their membership.And once in that position are limited in how they respond to the issues that they face on a daily basis.
But the union should yank its financial support for the Labour Party, and direct in to those more favourable to the needs of their members.
Comment by jim mc donald — 6 December, 2009 @ 10:24 pm
Actually you’re wrong, steel production has been rising all year. It will probably be slightly up on last year.
http://www.worldsteel.org/?action=stats&type=steel&period=latest
We shouldn’t buy the argument this is “necessary” due to a “lack” of demand. There is plenty of demand, this is being done so that capitalists can maximise their profits and no other reason.
Comment by bill j — 6 December, 2009 @ 11:09 pm
#5
Bill
You have just provided figures showing an increase in steel production
What is at issue is whether there is sufficint demand to allow that increased product to be sold
I would be very very suprised if steel demand has increased over the last 12 months
i am at a loss to see how evidence of increading production contradicts the argument that there is over capacity
Comment by Andy Newman — 6 December, 2009 @ 11:16 pm
totally unrealistic
and yet another attack on Labour
I dont thin I have heard him attack the Tories in years
Obviously would prefer to deal with them
Comment by Sean — 7 December, 2009 @ 12:10 am
Excellent contribution from Jerry Hicks here.
While others are meekly urging “talks” and asking for “support,” as if they were launching some kind of charity appeal, Jerry gets right to the heart of the matter straight away.
Absolutely right to call for nationalisation and to draw comparisons with the banking bailouts - and exposing the transparent double standards of government.
But not only that, Jerry follows up with serious, common-sense and thoroughly practical suggestions as to where volume steel production is both urgently needed and socially necessary.
Comment by Karl Stewart — 7 December, 2009 @ 12:30 am
It is not so much about over production as an attempt to hive of productive capacity so limiting production and driving up prices. This is more a cornering the market move.
The Labour Partys pal Mital is busy tring to destroy all competition.
The is not even a pretence of a free market anymore just looting!
Labour that cringing gutless party of servants of the wealthy and its spineless members what else should we expect. But there will still be numpties telling us we must vote for Mandelson, Brown and the rest of the pimps.
No more blood, money or votes for Neo Liberal Labour
Comment by Red Bandits — 7 December, 2009 @ 2:10 am
# 9
i gree
overproduction is a myth as argued i article above
‘The myth of overproduction
The processes taking place in the economic field are as grotesque as the social consequences of the financial crisis. In a world where the majority of the population has a totally inadequate standard of living it is now ‘discovered’ that there is ‘overcapacity’ in a large series of industries and massive reductions in production, literally destruction of the productive forces, are taking place.
The capitalist economy is behaving as if the population of the world has an overabundance of refrigerators, cars, steel products etc so it is necessary to shut factories producing them. In reality the only actual ‘oversupply’ is in the gall of the capitalist class in shutting productive capacity, and throwing tens of millions of people into unemployment, in order to rebuild their profit rates.’
and yes the Labour Government is capitaluating to this
but what is nowconfronting Britain with the threat of Thatcherism Mark II under Cameron. Cameron, in turn, is naturally now increasingly dropping the liberal mask some were gullible enough to believe in.
let us not have to repeat the arguments about the attutude to Labour versus Tory-let us discuss the polices we are putting forward and analysis necessary-
Comment by sylvia ebberly — 7 December, 2009 @ 5:30 am
Yes but the reason steel production has increased is because steel demand has increased. They would not have increased production if they could not sell it. Dumb capitalists they may be but they still know how to make money, which means they have to actually sell their output once they have produced it.
This puts the Corus closure in a whole other light however. It is simply to maximise profits, to shift production to lower cost producers, not because there is no demand for steel - even on a capitalist basis.
Comment by bill j — 7 December, 2009 @ 9:43 am
#11
Well put like that Bill, you have a better argument. Clearly the driver is to shift to lower production cost centres, howeevr that is not unrelated to the recession, because while in a rising market even the leass profitable units will be making money, but as soon as there is either a drop in demand, or even a slowing down in the rate of expansion of demand then they look to shed the least profitable.
In any event, “demand” is itself a social constructm, becasue under caplitalism demand means a buyer with the money, it doesn’t have any relation to whether the steel is socially needed or not.
Based upon its interinsic usefulness to satisfy human need then there is not slackening for the demand for steel
Comment by Andy Newman — 7 December, 2009 @ 10:01 am
Why employ five people when you can make just two people work harder and longer?
Comment by Anonymous — 7 December, 2009 @ 10:57 am
Why employ two people when you can force kids to work for free?
Comment by Stupot — 7 December, 2009 @ 9:43 pm
Anyone know how to do things like this?
Comment by JamesDX — 15 February, 2010 @ 3:47 pm