Workers' Fight workplace bulletin editorials, 17 July 2007

Postal workers took 24-hour strike action for the second time, last Thursday/Friday. The national media might not have thought this worthy of much comment, but nobody got any mail delivered - so everyone knew about it anyway. And in fact, by all accounts, even more postal workers were out this time than last time.

This is not surprising. In the last decade - under the Labour government - attacks against postal jobs and conditions to prepare for privatisation have accelerated. The appointment by Brown and Blair of the likes of Alan Leighton and his "Board" to run Royal Mail - or rather run it down, so that the private sector could take advantage - said it all.

Today, opportunistic private sector bosses are to be found everywhere in the public sector, busy trying to rub out any trace of the idea that public service is socially necessary and therefore must be retained, valued and rewarded! How else would they justify the wholesale gift to private sharks of great chunks of London Underground, the NHS, schools and universities, etc., and the post?

No doubt it was also assumed that Leighton's thuggish reputation would help to "discipline" a workforce which was known to be combative - thanks to the frequent and effective wildcat strikes which have taken place over the past many years! Certainly these unofficial strikes forced the government to be a lot more cautious over their attacks against the workforce.

However, the fact is that Brown and Leighton now think they can get away with their destructive plans for the post office. So much so, that Leighton seems far more preoccupied with his future career as a private magnate - preparing for when his Postal contract ends next year - judging from his wheeling and dealing over BHS stores these last few weeks.

In other words, Brown and his Royal Mail gang do not seem to have got the message yet. So how can postal workers' voice be made louder? One way is obvious - by adding more voices. But at the end of the day, our successes can only be turned into victories if the bosses fear the possibility of a lot more real and determined fights to come!

Since Blair's departure, there has been much speculation in the media about a possible change of policy over Iraq. Not that journalists had much to go on - no more than the odd statement by some Labour heavyweight expressing timid reservations on London's support for Washington.

But even this tame dissent was too much for Brown to bear. Last weekend, he got Foreign Secretary David Milliband to put the record straight, once and for all. Said Milliband on the BBC: "Our commitment to work with the American government in general, and the Bush administration in particular, is resolute".

Of course, this is playing on words. Who would object to British ministers engaging the US administration, including under Bush? Failing to do so would be merely infantile. But so far, this "commitment to work" has meant, mainly, sending British troops against the populations wherever US governments sent US troops, whether in Afghanistan or in Iraq. This is not a "commitment to work", it is a "commitment to follow" the US administration in its military adventures - a very different ball-game!

In the same BBC programme, however, Milliband gave the government's game away, when he said: "We want to be serious players who make a difference in the world - and you do that with the United States, not against them".

What "difference" (implying positive difference) does this government, as Washington's junior (rather than "serious") partner make for the victims of the occupation in Iraq? None, of course!

But since when are the likes of Milliband more concerned about the needs of the populations than the interests of their masters in the City?

Brown's minister for profit, Hutton, was boasting that this government would be "aggressively pro-business". Well, how would Labour be able to serve the interests of British capitalists unless its ministers are able to help them to get a few war or reconstruction contracts here, one or two markets there, an oil concession somewhere else, etc..?

It is for this purpose only, that for the past four years and four months, British soldiers have been used as pawns in Iraq by this government, against the Iraqi people. Brown is telling us that, as far as he is concerned, there will be no change. Our reply is: TROOPS OUT, NOW!