The pendulum is starting to swing back to the Left. Of course, this will not be a straight continuous line, and there will be setbacks. The defeat of Mick Rix in the ASLEF general secretary election was certainly a blow. Nevertheless, the tide has still continued to shift in a leftward direction. In one union after another, more radical union officials have ousted right-wing supporters of Tony Blair. Even those candidates identified as Blairites, such as Jack Dromey of the TGWU, attempted to reposition themselves as critics of the government ahead of union elections – though to no avail. “No candidate for office now says they support the Blair project – it would be the kiss of death”, stated Billy Hayes, general secretary of the CWU. “That really tells you about the mood in the unions.”

Paradoxically, the reason for this spate of union elections was the anti-union laws introduced by Thatcher in 1984, which forced all trade unions to conduct secret leadership ballots every five years. The declared aim of this measure was “to return the unions to their members”, to keep out the “militants” and ensure the election of “moderates” – that is, right-wingers – helped along by support from the capitalist press. This has now backfired massively. Workers have had enough of “New Realism”. However, to the dismay of the ruling class, and despite the raft of anti-union laws, it has not been possible to legislate away the impact of discontent in the mass organisations of the working class.

Originally, this trend to the left – spread over the last five years – was confined to smaller or medium-sized unions. First Mick Rix defeated Lew Adams to become general secretary of the train drivers’ union ASLEF. This was followed by the election of Andy Gilchrist in the Fire Brigades Union, Billy Hayes in the Communications Union, Jeremy Dear in the journalists’ union, Mark Serwotka in the civil service union PCS, Bob Crow in the RMT, and Paul Mackney in the college lecturers’ union Natfhe. Now this process has affected all unions, including the giants such as Amicus, GMB and TGWU. This has begun to transform the whole balance of forces in the trade union and Labour movement in Britain.

The election of Kevin Curran in the GMB, a powerful industrial union, has further reinforced this shift to the left. In his election campaign, Curran came out for return of the closed shop, repeal of all anti-union legislation and support of the firefighters. More importantly, he also wanted to reclaim the Labour Party from the Blairites and spoke at a left-wing Campaign Group conference on the subject. Left-winger Tony Woodley was elected as the assistant general secretary of the powerful Transport and General Union, Britain’s third biggest union. He went on to win the election for general secretary of the union. In the process, Jack Dromey, the candidate favoured by Downing Street and husband of the solicitor general, Harriet Harman, was trounced. This continuing swing to the left in the unions is a clear indication of the mounting discontent within the union rank and file with right-wing trade union leaders and the policies of the Blair government.

Woodley gave notice that the TGWU would be “spelling out to ministers that our loyalty to Labour does not mean the abandonment of our socialist ideals or a willingness to acquiesce in policies that damage the interests of working people”. He also announced that “we are putting employers on notice that the days of phoney partnership are over – of thousands of jobs being exported, and of British workers having the fewest rights in Europe”. Woodley intends to create a central office “disputes team” to help co-ordinate strikes, a clear pointer of what lies ahead. Together with the other left unions, the TGWU can set the agenda for both the TUC and the Labour Party, as was already shown at their respective conferences in 2003, and poses a nightmare scenario for Blair and his supporters. This success cannot be overestimated, as it will serve to reinforce and help consolidate the left gains made in the other unions.

The victory of Billy Hayes in the 300,000-strong CWU over the right-wing candidate John Keggie was a further shock result for the Establishment and Downing Street. Again, it seemed to be a bolt from the blue. In reality, it was a reflection of the radicalisation amongst postal workers, deeply affected by the widespread unofficial and illegal strike action of the previous decade. In fact, Keggie, who was CWU deputy general secretary, also lost this position to left-winger Dave Ward in the summer of 2003. “The result is a further setback for Downing Street, which is losing its grip on the TUC and Labour Party machinery”, states The Guardian newspaper.[3]

This left victory was achieved against a backdrop of an unofficial poll of London postal workers, which produced a 99 per cent majority in favour of industrial action over a £4,000 annual London weighting. Dave Ward stated his victory was

“a mandate for change in the union and a mandate for the way we deal with the Labour Party. It is a mandate for us to represent the views of members when we deal with the Labour Party – rather than represent the Labour Party when we deal with our members.”

Soon after Ward’s victory, negotiations on London weighting broke down, leading to industrial action.

The election of Mark Serwotka in the PCS was another dramatic advance for the Left. The PCS (civil service union), and before that the CPSA, was on the extreme right of the union movement under the general secretaryship of Barry Reamsbottom. Some activists became so despondent about defeating Reamsbottom that the Broad Left organisation, Left Unity, believed the only way forward was to support the “centrist” candidate Hugh Lanning. The supporters of Socialist Appeal opposed this position, but were in a minority. Then, when Mark Serwotka put his name forward as an independent socialist candidate, he was attacked by Broad Left leaders for splitting Lanning’s support. In the end, to the utter surprise of the Broad Left, Reamsbottom failed even to get sufficient branch nominations to stand, let alone win the election. Eventually, Left Unity was forced to switch its allegiance to Serwotka, who came top of the poll. The victory showed not only the massive change in the union, but also how the Left in the union can even sometimes lose touch with the real mood in the rank and file and underestimate the degree of militancy that exists in the workplaces.

Reamsbottom, as with Sir Ken Jackson (another great moderate “democrat”) refused to leave his union position despite the ballot result. He attempted to impose himself on the 280,000-strong PCS through the right-wing control of its executive committee. Serwotka had no other choice but to go to the High Court to confirm the ballot result and claim his rightful position as general secretary. So much for internal democracy! Of course, the Tories and the Blairites were stony silent over this violation of democracy – a far cry from their hysteria over a ballot in the miners’ strike! This victory was underpinned by the tremendous success of Left Unity in the PCS executive elections, which swept the board.

All this is no accident but reflects the experience of civil servants, who have been engaged in a whole series of disputes and battles over the last decade, involving the Ministry of Defence, the Home Office, Passport Office, Benefit Agency and Inland Revenue. The attacks by the government have caused a radical shift in the white-collar public sector unions, pushing them to the forefront of struggle. This indicates a colossal change in the balance of forces within society in favour of the working class.

  1. The Guardian, 23 May 2003

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