THE NEW WORKER

The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 1st June 2018


Lead story

TRUMP CAUSES MASSIVE CONFUSION OVER SUMMIT

by our Korean Affairs special correspondent

WARMONGERING US president Donald Trump has caused massive confusion over the proposed summit with the supreme leader of People’s Korea (DPRK), respected Marshal Kim Jong Un. This is scheduled for the 12th of June. In the space of one week, Trump claimed that the summit might be delayed, then he cancelled it but he is now saying that it is going ahead! If the summit goes ahead it will be the first ever meeting between DPRK and US supreme leaders. It is hoped the summit would see the formal ending of the Korean War which wrecked havoc on the peninsula. Trump’s sudden and abrupt cancellation of the summit on the 23 of May was apparently a response to a statement by DPRK Vice Foreign Minister, Ms Choe Son Hui, who had raised doubts and reservations from the DPRK side as to whether they should proceed with the summit. Ms Choe took aim at neo-conservative Vice President Mike Pence saying that “As a person involved in the US affairs, I cannot suppress my surprise at such ignorant and stupid remarks gushing out from the mouth of the US vice-president”.

Read the full story here >> TRUMP CAUSES MASSIVE CONFUSION OVER SUMMIT

Workers in Struggle

Across Britain workers in the public and private sectors are always engaged in numerous disputes with their employers. Here are just a few examples of current battles.

Builders

Hundreds of Unite members in the construction industry took part in a protest against exploitation at Park Adfer in Deeside on Wednesday morning in protest against a “race to the bottom”. At the energy from waste site their French contractor employer refuses to adhere to recognised construction sector agreements. As a result the workforce is paid as little as £8.75 an hour, potentially 63 per cent below the agreed standard construction rate of £17.39 for this type of mechanical engineering construction work.

Read the full story here >> Workers in Struggle

Editorial

Trade Unions in Britain Today

THIS WEEK we report on a number of small industrial disputes involving a variety of workers ranging from museum warders, cleaners and telecommunication workers. These struggles give us pause to reflect on the state of trade unionism in the year which marks 150 years since the inaugural meeting of the Trades Union Congress at the Mechanics’ Institute in Manchester held between the 2nd and 6th June 1868. At present the TUC claims to represent 5.5 million workers in 49 trade unions. After a century and a half this is not a very impressive achievement in a country with a workforce of 32.34 million. At its peak in 1979 the TUC had more than double number of members with 13.2 million members

Read the full editorial here >> Trade Unions in Britain Today