THE NEW WORKER

The Weekly paper of the New Communist Party of Britain
Week commencing 7th December 2018

Lead story

May in office but not in power

by New Worker correspondent

THERESA May’s government is on the brink of collapse. Jeremy Corbyn says Mrs May was now “in office but not in power” following three defeats in parliament this week. Nigel Farage has resigned from UKIP in protest at the elevation, by the party he helped set up, of Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, a racist bigot who calls himself ‘Tommy Robinson’. And Labour will move a no confidence vote in the House of Commons next week if the Brexit deal is defeated in a bid to trigger a general election.

For the first time in modern parliamentary history ministers were held in contempt of parliamentary procedure for trying to withhold the full legal advice provided by the Attorney General regarding Prime Minister Theresa May’s Brexit deal. .

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Save our Post Offices!

by New Worker correspondent

BRISTOL Communication Workers Union (CWU) members took part in the national day of action to save the Crown Post Office network last weekend. The campaign was recently launched by the CWU in response to the bombshell announcement that 74 Crown offices are to be franchised (privatised) to high-street retailer WH Smith — a move that will impact some 800 jobs and drastically cut services to communities.

Read the full story here >> Save our Post Offices!

Uncharitable Bosses

by New Worker correspondent

THE HOUSING charity Shelter is facing three days of strike action next week after a vote by workers to reject a ‘derisory’ pay offer of a one per cent pay increase plus a non-consolidated (one off) one per cent payment. Their union, Unite, is seeking an increase of 3.5 per cent simply to meet the annual retail price index (RPI) increase or a flat rate of a £1,100 increase for all. If the situation is not resolved the strike will be repeated in the New Year.

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Editorial

Round one to the Yellow Vests

THE French government’s decision to call a moratorium on the draconian energy tax rises that provoked massive protests which went far beyond the capital has bought the Macron government some time for reflection over the Christmas break.

Emmanuel Macron has failed to pass off his tax rises as part of a ‘green’ agenda. But the hated president is clearly hoping that the Yellow Vests, a largely leaderless movement that took the protests to the streets last month, will fade away over the festive season to allow him to resume his anti-working class offensive next year.

Macron is a charlatan who posed as a social-democrat when he became the youngest president of the republic at the age of 39 last year. Once dubbed the “French Tony Blair”, he soon showed his true colours as a willing tool of the bourgeoisie by attacking union rights and stepping up the austerity regim

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What about the workers?

A LOT has been said recently about how the European Union (EU) supposedly protects workers from rogue employers. Unfortunately the opposite is the case. The EU was unable to stop the economic crisis causing havoc across Europe. The EU endorsed the bosses’ offensive to make their workers pay for the crisis through increased unemployment, reduced pay and loss of employment rights.

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