“IF WE DON’T DEFEAT THE GOVERNMENT, WE WILL BEAR THE CONSEQUENCES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME”
Mark Serwotka, General Secretary of the PCS, was the key note speaker at a well attended anti-austerity rally last night in Newcastle, which launched the north-east’s mobilization for the TUC’s potentially historic anti-austerity demonstration happening on 20 October.
Over a 120 people turned up to listen to his fiery and focused speech, where he first tore into the government’s life-wrecking austerity measures, noting that; “we are already the generation whose kids will be worse off than their parents…“the slogan “No Cuts” has to be at the heart of what we argue for because cuts make the situation worse”
He then moved onto to talk about the political policies and the necessary mass, coordinated strike action needed to defeat the government’s austerity policies:
“at a time of austerity, of neo-liberal collaboration across the whole of Europe, we have never needed more a radical opposition that stands up against the government”
“All the economists of note; people like Paul Krugman …[they] are making the case that at times like this, you need to spend, to increase growth in the economy, to shrink the deficit…If people are out of work claiming benefits the economy contracts. If they are in work doing something useful like building houses and schools and transport networks, not only do we all benefit, but people pay tax and insurance and the economy grows”
His public address came amidst the ongoing pensions dispute, which will see civil servants, teachers and lecturers across the country take part in a 24 hour walk out on the 30 June in opposition to the governments plan’s to cut their pension schemes and a week into his unions month-long period of rolling strike action against proposed cuts to the Department of Transport’s budget. The action has already seen Coastguards, Driving-instructors and office-staff walk-out.
Joining him on the platform was Craig Johnson, local RMT organizer, who spoke passionately on behalf of Tyne and Wear’s metro ‘ cleaners and transport workers who in the last 7 days have participated in 72 hours worth of strike action in an ongoing dispute over pay, conditions and victimisation: “I want to thank everybody who turned up to our picket lines in support of our cleaners, that campaign will run-and-run till we win. It is as simple as that…The RMT doesn’t believe theres any necessity for any cuts, we’re for public services, make the bankers pay, and start collecting the taxes.”
Romayne Phoenix, Green Party activist and the national chair of Coalition of Resistance, was another of the speakers. After talking about her eye-opening experiences on the Trade Union Solidarity Delegation to Greece, “the suicide rate is 15 a day on average”, she explained that the TUC demonstration on the 20 October; “will be a visual and physical advertisement of our objection to the neo-liberal ideological warfare policies of this coalition government. We will be out there in huge numbers to show them that we are rejecting these policies which are directly causing this rotten disintegration of our society”
Other speakers included, Cath Hepburn, the secretary of Sunderland College UCU whose members recently participated in a 24hour strike action against proposed pay cuts, Meriem Evans, Gateshead College student activist, Paul Noble, anti-academy campaigner and the secretary of Newcastle’s National Union of Teachers and Romayne Phoenix, Green Party activist and the national chair of Coalition of Resistance
This anti-cuts rally was supported by PCS Northern Region, Unite North East and Yorkshire and Unison Newcastle City Branch.
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Whilst this Regime is in Office Things are Likely to Get Worse
Resistance to Every Single Destructive Cut wherever it be to Welfare
the National Health Service and Coastguard Stations Need to be Mobilised
and the Many Not the Few Need to Wake Up