As unions in more sectors vote to commence industrial action, word of a so-called "Summer of Discontent" reminiscent of 1978-9 is growing. While mainstream politics moves further and further away from workers interests, the public seems to be going the other way - could this be prove to be a watershed moment for British politics?
Ever since that fateful winter which saw thirty million working days fall to the strikes, workers rights have undergone assault after brutal assault, as Thatcher and subsequent leaders sought to break up the apparently too-bolshy unions and deregulate the economy. In those forty-odd years, union membership has declined by about half, and stripped-back employment rights and zero-hour contracts have pushed more and more people into precarious work. Over the same time, real wages have been stagnant, and economic inequality has grown at an unprecedented rate.
Recent high levels of inflation have served only to exacerbate a problem brewing since the 1980s - neoliberal capitalism's insatiable appetite for profit by any means necessary. If the profit produced for company shareholders are the ends, then pinning wages down and persistently eating away at workers rights are the means - the result of this being more and more money sucked out of the economy into the coffers of the wealthy. I mentioned in a previous article that over half of recent inflation is caused by this - not greedy unionised workers demanding extortionate wages as the political and journalistic right would have you believe. So on top of being subject to constant real terms pay cuts, disintegrating rights, and watching their bosses get rich off their backs, workers are also blamed for our economic problems for simply asking for a fair wage and secure work. Should they not be angry? Should they not demand better terms than the increasingly crap deal they've been stuck with for over four decades?
Well, not according to both main political parties. The Conservatives, naturally, have dismissed and demeaned the strikes, with both prospective leadership candidates agreeing in a concerningly blasé fashion that they would 'ban' strikes altogether in a recent debate. Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng has already signed legislation allowing for agency staff to replace striking workers, attempting to undermine ongoing industrial action entirely. Rest assured, Tories - if you try to ban strikes, riots will replace them, and peaceful 'Discontent' will quickly become violent 'Disobedience'. The Labour leadership, for their part, have disgracefully turned their backs on the strikes, with Keir Starmer ordering his MPs to stay away from picket lines - even sacking junior transport minister Sam Tarry yesterday for attending one and expressing support for strikers. We have reached a point, then, where even the party of the workers does not support those they profess to exist and advocate for, caught up in the wave of neoliberal sentiment which has washed economic thought further and further right for decades. Our political system, it seems, has completely abandoned them.
In the face of all this, rail and bus staff, barristers, and Post Office workers have already begun strike action, with firefighters, doctors and nurses, teachers, BT engineers, council workers, and civil servants all confirmed or expected to follow. Make no mistake - widespread, coordinated striking in even half of these crucial sectors would bring the country to its knees. In the cannibalistic scramble to suck the rich economic blood of the working people of this country, the parasitic elite have forgotten but one important thing - drain too much, and eventually the host will notice and swat you off.
The blind greed on show at the top of our economic system, and the corruption and cronyism of our politicians to enable it is not looked upon favourably. We already know faith in politicians is already below what we previously thought was rock bottom. In 2020, 64% of people agreed that 'ordinary people do not get their fair share of the nation's wealth'. Currently, a majority of people support the strikes (58%), including 72% of young people and even 38% of Conservative supporters. Despite the disruption and inconvenience caused by strikes which the media love to focus on, sentiment is undoubtedly changing. People are recognising that mainstream political opposition is not functioning, and therefore that organising themselves is the only way to genuinely challenge the rampant unfairness of our economic system.
In the meantime, the strikes will continue and continue to grow. As other sectors pile in and apply more pressure, a time will surely come when the Government is forced to step in and negotiate. When that does happen, workers must not forget the power they hold and settle for less than they deserve - any minimal concessions union leaders accept will only be gradually rolled back in the coming years. A general strike should, I believe, advocate for and demand broader economic change - more public ownership of key services, stronger employment and union protections, as well as pay guarantees and better regulations on unmitigated and uncontrolled company profits. Creating a better and fairer economy is not going to come about through the current political climate - strikers will have to make the change they want to see themselves. If Mick Lynch and other prominent union figures keep the public on side, win the battle of ideas, and most importantly hold their nerve - then the "Summer of Discontent" could yet provide a watershed moment for our politics. And maybe, just maybe then, those in charge will have to listen or face the consequences of the discontented, or even disobedient masses.
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