Harland & Wolff: THE POWER OF WORKERS!

At the end of July, the iconic Harland and Wolff Belfast shipyard was declared dead by politicians and 

management alike. The 123 workers and their unions (Unite and GMB) seized the initiative, seized hold 

of the yard, and demanded “Save Our Shipyard – Renationalise Now!”.

Their courageous, decisive action and clear-cut battle-cry has mustered the active support of workers 

all over Ireland, north and south, as well the UK, USA, South Africa, and across Europe. Daily solidarity 

visits, collections for the hardship fund, and solidarity rallies and marches, have given a glimpse of the 

latent power of a united working class determined and willing to take action.

Occupied - Renationalise Now!

When the politicians – particularly the DUP, who ‘represent’ the shipyard area of East Belfast – refused 

to take meaningful action to pound the minority regime of Boris Johnson into saving the yard, its jobs 

and skills, the workers declared they will stand trade union-backed candidates against them in a 

general election.

This determined stance and collective action has not only inspired thousands of trade unionists, but 

brought the local DUP politicians to heel, and won extensions (by the administrators) of the ‘unpaid 

temporary layoff’ period to 30 September, buying time to either achieve renationalisation or get a 

serious buyer, with every existing job guaranteed.

Four weeks after the yard’s obituaries were being written, five credible bids are now being 

negotiated. That’s the potential power of collective union action, which needs to be deployed 

far more generally.

Two Futures

This battle provides a glimpse of two stark choices for the future. 

One where the government is prepared to let the whole community, jobs and skills sink to the 

bottom of the Irish Sea, because, in Johnson’s words, “this is a commercial decision.” 

Or one where the collective strength and action of workers through their unions secures 

public ownership and a whole new green industrialisation, with quality jobs for the future.

The entire trade union movement – including those gathering at the TUC in Brighton, should 

pile in with solidarity until victory for the Harland and Wolff workers – and apply its lessons 

across the board.

Joe Passmore (on right), UNITE shop steward, with Paul Beattie (GMB)

I spoke to JOE PASSMORE, Unite shop steward in Harland & Wolff, about their heroic       showdown with those who would leave an industrial desert in Belfast and call it progress!

Richie: YOU'VE TAKEN ACTION TO STOP CLOSURE OF THE SHIPYARD. WHAT WOULD 

THE IMPACT OF CLOSURE HAVE BEEN, PERSONALLY OR GENERALLY?

Joe: “The impact would have been on the wider community. Yes, it was about our 123 jobs, but 

the number of jobs generated when we get a  contract goes into the hundreds, and a few years 

back we had 1,500 working here. A lot of them local people, living in Belfast, feeding into the local 

economy. 

It would have been a catastrophic loss, and also a lot of industries feed off us. In fact a lot of jobs 

have been lost in other companies since we went into administration.

But it’s not only about jobs, Harland and Wolff is iconic in Belfast. The idea that those giant cranes 

would become a monument to the past would be heart-breaking. And aside from the emotional part, 

an economic disaster.”

RV: WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO OCCUPY THE YARD?

Joe: “We occupied because this was a set-up. The more we learn, the more we think plans to close 

this place go back years, with key players including politicians and government departments.

They sold us a dream about refitting cruise liners and gave an exclusivity clause to the company 

promising this, MJM Marine, of Newry. Two weeks before they were meant to finalise the deal, 

MJM withdrew the bid, cut it from £9m to £2m, and didn't include the workforce in their plans!

Their plan was to bring people in from abroad, on slave wages, and then get rid of them. That's

 what this company has done elsewhere.

Pulling the plug was blatant profiteering at the expense of working people.

There was intense anger at this. The union held meetings at board level with the owners, and took 

over the running of the meetings! We called in the politicians. But we also set up our very own

 "Cobra Committee", a Council of War.

We made it plain we are not going to lie down. We planned to take control and that's exactly 

what we've done, blocking off all entrances bar one. And our motto is that we only let people 

in who have our future at heart; we will not accept the vultures.

Five or six companies are starting to finalise bids this week. Why were they never in the loop before?

They were excluded because of the agenda to close the shipyard. Now they are falling over themselves 

because of the stand we've taken and the publicity it's gained. We've scared off the vultures and scared 

the living hell out of the politicians.

The DUP has the ear of the government but wasn't prepared to do anything. We were butting heads 

with them. It's only very recently they've shown any willingness to help, because we had them on the 

ropes. 

We focused their minds by announcing we would oppose them in East Belfast in a general election, 

taking away workers' votes, which would lose the seat for the DUP.”

RV: YOUR CALL FOR RENATIONALISATION HAS BEEN DYNAMITE IN LIFTING THE 

SIGHTS OF WORKERS HERE. WHY DO YOU DEMAND THAT?

Joe: “Renationalisation is the easy way to solve this. We have plenty of work we could bring in right 

now.

Before they pulled the plug, BAe packages for submarines worth about £3m were lined up to come 

to us, with all the technical stuff sorted.

Even since going into administration, enquiries about use of our docks for ship-repair work, worth 

about £1m-£1.5m, have come in. So we could already have enough work to keep us going up to 

Christmas. But we couldn’t take the work because we don’t have an owner.

The government are aware of all this, and the work it could bring in, but seem reluctant to go near 

the word nationalisation. I don't care what they call it, but it's the obvious solution.

We need to force industrial leaders to recognise the advantages of long term planning and

investment in people over short-term financial gain. the consequence for continuing on the 

present trend will be catastrophic to British industry. 

Looking at Ferguson's in Scotland, even the DUP parliamentary leader has recently said there's no 

reason why if the devolved Scottish government can nationalise, that the UK national government 

can't do so.

Now it looks like we need to rely on the big hitters to buy us.”

RV: ANOTHER SOURCE OF INSPIRATION TO MANY OF US IS YOUR CALL FOR RENEWABLE 

ENERGY PRODUCTION AT H&W. WHY?

Joe: “That has to be a big consideration. At least two of the five bidders are concentrating on 

renewable energy. The last ship we built was 2004, it's been mostly green energy production 

since. We have a history of it, and have all the prototypes. It's what we are capable of.”

Previous article in Scottish Socialist Voice 

RV: WHAT ARE YOUR MAIN MESSAGES TO TRADE UNIONISTS HERE?

Joe: “We have hit a nerve with our stance. We've found a way of fighting. We will not let anyone 

destroy our communities for short-term financial gain. 

My biggest wish of all is that other people, other workers, see something unfair, morally corrupt, 

and that they stand together, refuse to accept it. If we don't take charge, say we're not moving 

until these things are put right, the whole of industry will be destroyed.

My main message to other trade unionists: this is what you can do if you stand together.

We are 100% unionized, but it's not enough to get a membership, this is what the unions should 

be doing. Get over the defeat of the miners and other issues. We are stronger and smarter. We 

shouldn't underestimate what we can do. Several other disputes in Northern Ireland are drawing 

on this example, beginning to see the potential.”

………...

Send union donations to either Unite or GMB offices in Belfast - help sustain this very 

important struggle. 

Unite, 26-34 Antrim Rd, Belfast BT15 2AA

GMB, 1A Victoria Rd, Holywood  BT18 9BA 

NAIL LABOUR'S LIES TO WORKERS

The working class holds the key to the Referendum vote. And the outcome of the Referendum is key to the prospects of better lives for the working class majority population.
So as 18 September looms, all of us who favour the democratic right to self government for the Scottish people, as opposed to Tory dictatorship from Westminster governments effectively elected by the middle class 'swing voters' of so-called Middle England, need to demolish the mountain of lies pouring down from the No camp and mainstream media.
And the most dangerous liars of all are Labour politicians; who in the Scottish working class listens to the Tories and their Mini Me LibDems, after all?

 

LIE: voting No means the security and stability of the status quo
Their central lie is that we have a choice between the stability and security of the status quo by voting No, and the scary insecurities - nay Armageddon - of independence.
Leave the scaremongering to Better Together, Alistair Darling, Gordon Brown, Johann Lamont and their likes: the harsh truth of life under Westminster rule already for working class people smashes their lies to smithereens. And a glance of what a No vote will lead to should be enough to scare the living daylights out of anyone who is not a banker, billionaire or over-paid Labour MP.
LIE: pensions safe with Westminster
They tell us workers' pensions are threatened by independence. But a string of No politicians - Labour's Ian Davidson, Coalition Pensions Minister Steven Webb included - have previously blurted out in parliamnet that state pensions would be perfectly safe and secure after independence. So too has the DWP, as far back as January 2013. Which hasn't stopped the lies from pairing out since, of course.
Many public sector workers are in pension schemes totally unconnected to the UK anyway. Strathclyde Pensions is a large example. 

And in other countries affected by independence, such as Ireland, private sector company pensions have been protected by agreement between governments.
So a Yes vote is absolutely no threat to workers' pensions. On the contrary, a No vote is a dire threat to us all: Westminster is rapidly raising retirement age to 70 for men and women, imposing increased contributions from workers, and slashing back the value of the state pension for those who manage to live long enough to receive it.
A No vote would leave a devolved government with absolutely no say over the criminal poverty level of the UK state pension. On average across 25 European countries, the state pension is worth 57 per cent of the average wage; the UK is the worst in the EU, with a state pension only worth 17 per cent of the average UK wage!
A Yes vote would give powers to Holyrood to banish that abominable treatment of older people, and the SSP will be at the fore of a battle to base state pensions on the level of a decent living minimum wage (at least £9 an hour in current figures), with voluntary retirement at 60. 

LIE: get more powers for Scotland by voting No to all powers!
The Labour liars tell us they and their Tory allies will concede more powers if we vote No to winning all powers of government to Scotland! You couldn't make it up. Nor can you afford to believe it. These promises are from parties that have a track record of serialized broken promises. On top of which Boris Johnson, arch Tory rightwing reactionary masquerading as a lovable buffoon, has entered the ring as future contender for Tory Prime Minister, telling the press "we don't need to give extra powers to Scotland".
But imagine these untrustworthy bunch DID grant a few extra powers in the wake of a No vote, under threat of a growing clamour for self-rule; what would these powers amount to? In essence, the power to choose which public services in Scotland are slashed, which privatized, which jobs cut, which set of workers to suffer a pay freeze, as Westmister still holds the purse strings and cuts Scotland's pocket money.

 

 

LIE: Scotland's NHS is safe under Westminster
Take the case of the NHS. Devolution up to now has shielded the Scottish health service from the worst excesses of its demolition in England. But the wrecking ball is swinging faster every day down south. 

The last Labour government doubled the amount of NHS privatisation in its last four years in office. 

The Tories' 2012 Health and Social Care Act has literally abolished government responsibity for health provision!  It transferred £80billion of NHS assets from public health bodies to 'Clinical Commissioning Groups' who then advertise services for privateers to take over. Right now £5.8billion of England's NHS is being advertised to the private sector, on top of the £10bn sold off last year.
As night follows day, a No vote would mean the privatisations and cutbacks in England's NHS spreading the same cancer to Scotland's devolved NHS. Why? The Scottish budget from Westminster is calculated as a percentage of government spending in England. Right now England's £100bn NHS budget triggers £10.2bn payment to Scotland through the Barnett Formula. That's £10.2bn compared to a total Scottish NHS budget of £12bn, and a total Scottish government budget of £30bn. 

 

A No vote is bad for your health

These cold figures merely back up the horrendous prospects of cutbacks and NHS privatsiations, here in Scotland, that a No vote would lead to. And that hellish future is made more sure after the deal struck between the US and EU countries, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, whereby US corporations can sue any government or health authority that blocks their takeover of the NHS (and other services) through privatisation!
A Yes vote would give Scotland not only power over NHS decisions, but over the funding and budgets that underpin those decisions. And the SSP will be at the forefront of a battle to build and invest in a modern, publicly owned NHS - including integration of pharmaceutical supplies to a public NHS - funded by taxation of big business and the stinking rich minority who today can afford the private health care unavailable to the rest of us.

 

LIE: independence threatens shipyard and defence workers' jobs

Another Labour lie is that independence equals job insecurity, particularly for shipyard and defence industry workers. Just glance at how secure these workers are under Westminster rule! After 111 years in business, Port Glasgow's Ferguson shipyard has been shut. The last remaining commercial yard on the Clyde has shed it's 77 workers - under the glorious advantages of the UK! 

One of the reasons is the chronic dependency of Britain's remaining shipyards on warships, aircraft carriers (with no aircrafts affordable!) and the entire war machine, rather than a well planned commercial and socially useful plan of production in areas like new ferries to replace Scotland's aging fleet, or the potential Klondike of research, development and construction of marine engineering equipment for the offshore energy industry. 

 

Jobs not bombs 

A Yes vote would give us the powers to implement - and the SSP would have the political will to demand - public ownership of the shipyards, to secure and expand jobs, diversifying these workers' skills into such socially useful, peaceful production. 

Likewise with those dependent on Trident weapons of mass destruction for an income: leaving aside the £100bn cost of Trident replacement, just the upkeep of the current monster will cost Scotland £1bn for the next decade, which independent research (by the Holyrood search unit) has shown could instead pay for 2,700 teachers, or 3,300 nurses, or 125 new primary schools, or 40 secondaries, or 40 community hospitals! And Trident only accounts for 520 jobs anyway, which could easily be protected doing other work.

 

TRUTH: vote Yes or suffer the consequences 

The choices are stark. The horrible insecurities and cataclysmic assaults on the working class that a No vote would usher in. Or the unique opportunity for radical and socialist change that a Yes vote would empower the working class with. 

Life never offers guarantees. But provided working people - including those engaged in political campaigning for the first time in their lives through the Yes campaign - get and stay organised to battle for decent jobs, a living minimum wage, increased pensions and benefits, expansion of the NHS and other public services, and demand the public ownership and taxation of the rich to fund these, then Scotland can become a beacon, a model of equality that workers in other countries will aspire to imitate.

That's the real choices - not the serialized lies of Labour and their Tory allies. 

And the SSP will continue to build for an independent socialist Scotland where these dreams become reality.

 

 

Statement re: BAE shipyard joblosses and closures

I sent this to comrades via text and posted it to Facebook and Twitter