CWU Strike Today - Smash Brown's Pay Freeze!

[Geri]

Does make it hard to have any sympathy with postal workers tho,as from my experience they are the laziest group of workers. The old joke abouit how many people work in the Post Office, answer about half, is based on truth ime!

My dad is a postman, and has got up at 4am for the last 35 years to deliver people's mail for them. He has been off sick twice in that time, once when he had flu and another time he had shingles.

That's not what I would call lazy.

 

[lewislewis]

People used the same attack against the firefighters if I remember correctly.

 

[llantwit]

People have used the same 'argument' to attack every industrial action I can remember. It's a good way of not trying to look into the specifics of a dispute, imo.

 

[llantwit]

[snip]
While some on "the left" masturbate over the Plaid-Labour capitalist administration...[snip][/QUOTE]
That's a bit rich Udo! Especially as you went on from this to spank yer own revolutionary monkey with spectacularly fervent vigour in the OP!:D;)

 

[Udo Erasmus]

I wouldn't describe it thus. I would say more that I gave a description of what our gang is up to.

Concretely what I meant by that phrase is this:

Certain people on these boards seem to think that the Plaid/Labour Wales government is the best thing since sliced bread.

As I see it, basically what has happened is that we have an administration marginally to the left of the UK New Labour government delivering a few welcome reforms such as abolition of prescription charges and possible dropping of PFI in the health sector. These things are welcome, but don't fundamentally alter the fact that Wales contains some of the poorest sections of the UK or that across the UK people here work the longest hours for the worst pay in Europe. And rather than using these rather minor reforms as a base for which to fight for more reform across the UK, Plaid seem more intent on selling this as socialism.

In short, Labour and Plaid in the Welsh Assembly don't offer any fundamental break with the neoliberal consensus that has infested society since the 70s Nor are they going to lead any fightback against the neoliberal trajectory in society. Nor, ultimately can they defend working people from the effects of neoliberalism. Plaid can't take on the multinationals because their economic programme modelled on the Irish "celtic tiger" is predicated on getting multinationals to invest in Wales. As multinationals will goto wherever workers have least rights and lowest taxes this signals a race to the bottom.

In my opinion, if there is anyway to shift things in this country it will come from rebuilding trade union militancy and linking this up with a broad based anticapitalist movement. If the different trade unions get their shit together and succesfully beat back Gordon Brown's movement this will kickstart this process.

To Lewislewis: Out of interest will Ieuan "New Nukes for Wales" Jones be pushing for the Welsh Assembly to have a debate on calling for the troops home to Iraq? Probably not, as he has never ever made any memorable anti-war statement.

 

[lewislewis]

I wouldn't describe it thus. I would say more that I gave a description of what our gang is up to.

Concretely what I meant by that phrase is this:

Certain people on these boards seem to think that the Plaid/Labour Wales government is the best thing since sliced bread.

Nobody on this board thinks that?

Some of us welcomed it as a good-sounding centre-left government. None of us are pretending it's going to solve all of Wales' problems or that it's going to work miracles.

You just used your post to try and divide the left and to have a snide dig at some other leftists who happen to be getting somewhere. You should work with us and co-operate with us instead of having these snide digs. I could easily (and sometimes I do stoop that low, i'm sorry) have a dig at you because you represent a pitiful organisation with a pathetic track record, but i'd rather co-operate with you, if you could just give us credit for our modest successes and steps in the right (left) direction.

You're SWP aren't you, or ex-SWP? Members of that sect have a history of attacking other people if they aren't part of your gang. I would welcome a deviation by you from that behaviour.

 

[Udo Erasmus]

With due respect, my attack is not on specific Plaid members. Like the Labour Party, their are some decent people in Plaid. I am just questioning whether they offer any alternative to Labour, as a whole.

I should also note, that I have actually worked fruitfully with members of your party in several campaigns and events, so no need for tantrums