Threat of Emergency Powers to be Invoked against Striking Tanker Drivers
I have said all I can on the issue of the 42 days vote in the Commons in an article today on the Guardian's website "Comment is Free." I can't get much angrier at the behaviour of the Prime Minister and the Labour MPs who supported this attack on human rights. But just after the vote on 42 days detention when you thought the assault on people's civil liberties couldn't get worse the Government has briefed the press that it is threatening to invoke emergency powers in the oil tanker drivers' dispute to draft in soldiers to drive the tankers and break the strike. The drivers are members of UNITE.
When the Government introduced the Civil Contingencies Act many of us warned that it would be used against trade unionists and this latest threat from Downing Street confirms the role emergency powers can be used to undermine trade union rights.
Just at a time when there are attempts to achieve a negotiated settlement to the tanker drivers' dispute this inflammatory threat will exacerbate the situation and undermine the potential for resolving the dispute.
If the troops are brought in by the Government the leadership of UNITE will need to consider seriously whether now is the time to call for solidarity action from other union members and other unions no matter what the current law says about the illegality of solidarity action.
When the Government introduced the Civil Contingencies Act many of us warned that it would be used against trade unionists and this latest threat from Downing Street confirms the role emergency powers can be used to undermine trade union rights.
Just at a time when there are attempts to achieve a negotiated settlement to the tanker drivers' dispute this inflammatory threat will exacerbate the situation and undermine the potential for resolving the dispute.
If the troops are brought in by the Government the leadership of UNITE will need to consider seriously whether now is the time to call for solidarity action from other union members and other unions no matter what the current law says about the illegality of solidarity action.
posted by John at 11:22 PM
16 Comments:
With regard to the 42 days vote I ended my blog post with this:
"Day by day we see our civil liberties slowly but surely slipping away."
I think slowly was the wrong word to use!
John,
You see that whatever goes into the parliament with any shade and flavour, during Labour (read Tory-Labour) or during pure-Tory governing periods comes out approved, as they desired. Yes, there are instances of gimmicks, say an overheated discussions regarding changing the name of a street, when it is allowed that all tamed folks to rebel and return the bill to be passed few months later when everybody is busy of some other engagement. We noticed that when you applied for leadership of the party how everything was arranged in rush to prevent a new genre of thought even find the opportunity to name himself in the public. I am watching your society and notice that some strange machinery working here that beheads any attempt to extend freedom of public in favour to further the empowerment of conservative and backward institutions. For example, your parliament asks expert groups come and give their ideas or even commit such a consulting group to officially investigate and study and propose materials for creating a piece of law. But if these groups go a little further than some ornamental suggestions those suggestions will not be considered. That happens also when people create a moderating group or are invited to create such a go-between group as a symbol of public intervention to give their voice about their concerning bill in the parliament. At the end none of their concerns would be met. Or they will be used as some pressure-relieves and time wasting mechanisms usually led by temperature reducing conforming personalities who mostly seek patience of their employers to a non-existing promised future (any future opportunity would be similar to the situation at hands) rather than become engaged in their requested mission.
Now, I have noticed that they are discussing The Bill of Rights that should supposedly be a historical document similar to Magna Charta. This nation is forbearer of many articles of liberty for the whole human race and has brought a galaxy of intellectuals and freedom fighters to the world. How is it possible that such an important document among such an important nation to be created in a parliament and ratified by a group of politicians who has come with any conceivable agenda in that place (When it was the last day of Tony Blair, a lady in the street was asked by a TV reporter that what was her idea about him. The lady who had a toddler in the pram and an older child accompanying her, looking as a housewife, said, “ah, I voted to a man with a hidden agenda. I believed he wanted to improve health and education…”) Yes, even a very busy housewife could recognise that there was a hidden agenda. A bill of rights, or better, a Constitution should be created by an Assembly of Constitution dedicated only to such an enterprise. Members should be selected by direct non-partisan and democratic votes of people and great intellectuals of nation and under-voted groups such as workers and women should be encouraged and paid to join the Assembly to sit in comfort with no other commitments for two or three years to deliberate all aspects of such a bill. Fund raising by businesses to set members of the Assembly during their election campaign should be prohibited. They should consider what machineries are possible to use in future that freedom might be curbed in favour of applying the authorisation to counter-measure those machineries. They should create new foundations for new era of science and technology and realities of present world for a modern and all-the-time changing and thriving nation.
John
I support you on some things but you quite wrong to effectively encourage and endorse law breaking by endorsing secondary actions.
You are in a responsible position as a LAW MAKER and you should not be stating things like you have posted on here.
As for 42 days, instead of attacking the government, which is trying to defend us from religious nutters who want to kill each and everyone of us (oh for the day when people who called themselves left wing were against what purveyors of religious mumbo jumbo stood for), you would be better placed attacking the right wing libertarian claptrap being spouted by the Tories.
The person who is blown off a pavement or blown out of tube train by a bunch of Islamic crazies has civil liberties too and those are the right to life.
42 days does not defend us from terrorism. Jaw jaw usually works best for this.
42 days could be only a couple of steps away from a Guantanamo - which is already declared illegal.
42 days, in the wrong hands, or on the wrong information, can destroy a person's life - maybe evn one of your own family one day.
42 days is 40 more days than the US are allowed on their own turf.
Anonymous. In the words of the late (sic) John Reid MP.
You just dont get it!!
"You just dont get it!!"
Yawn, I notice all the so called left are jumping on the libertarian shami ;im a tory stooge' chakrabarti bandwagon.
Lets not forget that democracy died after the 2001 elections. 3 million can march on parliament to no effect. We can all be against 42 days detention but what does that matter? Ireland can vote against the EU Treaty, and Brown is on the phone to Paris saying we will ignore Ireland and press ahead with ratification. Ireland held a referendum which we were promised but eventually denied. Yet Ireland and now kept isolated because it doesn't fit what Big Brother wants.
England is dead. UK is dead. Europe is dead. Its only zombies left walking blind.
Oh, and anonymous with the Labour (read Tory) comments - its only a Tory MP who has had the guts to go public with his views and resign his seat. Courage and conviction, yet you spit out Tory like its a dirty word. Where is courage with dissenting Labour MPs who sign a petition and then crumble under the weight of Brown and vote with their party loyalty rather than their gut feeling?
UK politics sicken me now. John McDonnell is perhaps the only labour MP alongside Diane Abbott who has some conviction. The rest... well they are just lining their pockets and frittering away the remaining emblems of being British.
Diane Abbott is a quasi Tory who slobbers over Portillo and would be happy on the Tory backbenches.
of course I agree with John's principled stand about the Compass conference as I've said but don't forget that supporters give up their time and money to travel to these things in order to pass on our message thorough fringe meetings and it would help if the leader of the left would be there to meet the people his movement wants to inspire.
I've some ideas that we need to do to do -break various taboos such as peole not talking about thier salaries whihc helps perpetuate income gaps in this country and there are moves afoot to stop all everything in parenting being directed at the Mum rather than the Dads - for instance Dads should be able to do the course on weaning and other newborn baby issues just as they do ante-natal issues before the birth.
You might like to listen to Obama's speech on Father's Day through the Obama for America website. I am listenin gto it now and there is a lot about extending tax credits/maternity/paternity leave in America which we need to hear an dshould eb read in conjunction with his book (The Audacity of Hope) - I think he wants to copy our Sure Start adn tax credot systemn and things liek the free NHS postnnatal class I went to (though I don't qualify for Surestart and now I live in an area without it, - inequality ...) I was cross to see that the anti-Bush protestors today were kept out of Downing Street so that George Bush couldn't see them; hope he is watching the telly. I was also disgusted to see Gordon and Sarah Brwon cosying up to them and waving-things have gone too far haven't they....
also watch Michael Moore's "Sicko" which features Tony Benn. Makes the point that our NHS is still free at teh point of delivery (despite bad things happening such as privatisatin within it0 and shows jus thow bad teh US systemn is - .... and how HIllary Clinton etc were bought off by rich lobbyosts to stay silent on universal health care.
are you going to record a speech on here John?
from - you know where I am!
Stop press Obama to prob visit UK next month see tommorrow's Guardian I think and it's already on Guardian World website, Also loads of vids on him intertwing with Martin Luther King's " Ihave a dream" on You Tube. As you said he's gonna walk it.
Guardian article hasn't picked up that Obama DOES have relations here when htey were talking about whehter he had n ancestral home to visit while here in Britian or Ireland a las President Kennedy in Wexford adn all candidates/Presidents would want to do- his stepmother's family are in Bracknell - it was in my local paper that he attened a wedding there not so long ago and there was picture! He woudl have to meet G Brown who he's met in the US of course but can't have tea withthe Queen as not yet elected. They reckon he might visit a pub as did Bill Clinton tho apparently he's not a beer drinker much. I'm sure we could find him a suitable "people's pub" to vist and talk to some real British socialists to whom Brownites are anathema!
Right this is the last time I don't go to bed at 10pm on A Sunday as I'll have to get up quite early. However I couldn't sleep that early as I wanted to do the washing up so as not ot have a mess tommorrow but it took took AN HOUR and then I came in to log off the computer and this happened! If I was paid a wage for all the housework/childcare I do at home I understand it would be £30,000 a year - bring it on!
I don' tthink Obam has any scruples about family issues/childcare etc not being "hard" enough issues for him to talk about as w esometimes get here - eh just gets stuck rightin- not just in his Father's day speech I think - so hopefully he can help drag Britian into the twenty-first centruy on this - he goes on about family support so that kids (and adults ) can them go on to achieve their highest aspirations too. The troubel withthe Brownites is tha tdon't conect aspirations with family support enough. - I couldn't have got good A levels if my Mum hadn't cooked my tea to save time for all my homework ( I did later cook at university!)
To the second anonymous, if a law is an unjust law then we should welcome the fact principled MPs like John are willing to stick their neck out.
of course principled MPs should make a stand over unjust laws making it clear that civil disobedience does not condone violence of course.
Boycotts are also worth doing and yo don't have to be an MP. See www.babymilkaction.org for the latest on the Nestle boycott which I hope you all do and is supported by the NCT. Nestle also own many other brands such as Danone an dPurina (pet food)and are in breach of international law over pushing their baby milk im place of breastfeeding in the third world and also even here which is causing a lot of baby deaths from gastroenertis etc as mother then stop breastfeeding yet they can't make up the formuala in sanitary conditions without sterilisers, clean water etc...
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