Workers face unemployment and cuts to hours
SP Newsletter No.282
Capitalism determines the usefulness of a person to society by the amount of profits they make for their employer. On this basis a property speculator is more important than a nurse or a childcare worker. Under socialism this moral code would be turned on its head. But for now, there is no greater financial and psychological hit than losing one’s job.
A newly unemployed worker faces the cruel, bureaucratic walls of Centrelink, the challenge of surviving on the pittance of the unemployment benefit, and the social disgrace of unemployment.
Over the past 12 months since the start of the global financial crisis, thousands of Australians have lost their jobs. The official unemployment rate is currently 5.8% however 14% of workers, or 1.6 million people, are either underemployed or unemployed.
So-called labour flexibility means that it is easier for employers to force shorter working weeks onto employees and this has the effect of hiding the real unemployment rate. Those who work even one hour a week are deemed employed, according to government logic.
Internationally, the situation is even worse. Right now the unemployment rate is 8.5% in the OECD countries, the highest level since the Second World War. The OECD predicts 10% unemployment in the advanced capitalist world by next year, a quarter higher than during the last recession in the 1990s. This equates to 57 million people without work in the world’s richest countries.
There is a growing reserve army of the unemployed, to use the phrase of Karl Marx. Those remaining in work are driven harder leading to greater exploitation of their labour power. The fear of joining the ranks of the unemployed and weak or non-existent trade unions makes this process easier for the bosses.
It is no coincidence that it is exactly at this time the Federal government is introducing so-called harmonisation of occupational health and safety legislation, in effect driving down hard-won safety standards in most States.
Accepting unemployment, cuts to hours or a reduction in conditions is in effect accepting that it should be workers who pay the price for the economic crisis. Socialists reject the idea that ordinary people should pay for a crisis they didn’t create.
We campaign to defend every job and fight for the unions to do more than be advocates for decent redundancy packages. Unions must force employers to open their books to inspection every time they claim they have no choice but to lay off employees. Workers should have the right to see where the profits have gone.
If a company cannot survive in the crisis, they should be taken out of the hands of the bosses and nationalised under workers control and management. To force this along, workers should occupy offices and plants where closure is imminent. The Socialist Party also argues for a 35-hour week without loss of pay to share out available work. This would create thousands of jobs.
The fight to save every job and for a shorter working week needs to also be linked to the struggle to replace this capitalist system with a democratic socialist society. The real long term solution to stopping job losses is a democratically-planned economy driven by need not profit.
As long as capitalism remains we will have unemployment, underemployment and insecurity for workers.
SP National Conference public event – The crisis facing world capitalism
The Socialist Party will be holding its National Conference on October 2/3 at Trades Hall in Melbourne. At 7pm on Friday October 2 we will host a public meeting titled ‘The crisis facing world capitalism’.
The meeting will discuss the economic crisis and the effects it is having across the world. It will also outline a way forward to ensure that workers and young people are not forced to pay for a crisis they didn’t create. We encourage all of our supporters to come along and contribute to this important discussion.
Upcoming SP meetings
The Melbourne Branch of the Socialist Party meets every Wednesday 7pm at Trades Hall on the corner of Lygon & Victoria Streets Carlton South. Upcoming meetings include:
7/10/09 – The 1905 Russian Revolution – Lessons for today
14/10/09 – Ireland: The aftermath of the Lisbon Treaty
21/10/09 – Capitalism, women and the family
28/10/09 – Civil liberties – A socialist analysis
4/11/09 – The history of the Indonesian Communist Party
For more information or for details of meetings in other parts of Australia contact our National Office on 03 9639 9111.
News links:
Ireland: Socialists campaign against Lisbon Treaty
http://socialistworld.net/eng/2009/09/2901.html
Spain: Staring into the abyss
http://socialistworld.net/eng/2009/09/2601.html
Portugal: The radical left and the general election
http://socialistworld.net/eng/2009/09/2501.html
Join the Socialist Party
If you agree with what you have read in our newsletter or on our website you should consider joining SP. The Socialist Party has branches in Melbourne, Sydney, Newcastle and Perth as well as members and supporters in all other states.
We are involved in trade union work and student work. We also run community, anti-war and environmental campaigns. But most of all we want to build a party that will fight to get rid of the capitalist system, the system that is at the root of all of these problems. We fight for socialism - a system that will bring an end to wars, poverty and environmental destruction. To join SP contact our National Office on 03 9639 9111 and we will send you a membership application form.
Subscribe to ‘The Socialist’ newspaper!
Support the Socialist Party by subscribing to our monthly newspaper ‘The Socialist’. Subscription rates are only $10 per year or $20 solidarity price. You will receive 11 copies per year delivered to your door every month. You will also receive our email newsletter every week and you will know that you are supporting an organisation that is at the fore of fighting against the capitalist system. To subscribe to ‘The Socialist’ contact our National Office on 03 9639 9111 and we will send you a subscription form.
Socialist Party contact details
Melbourne: Phone Anthony on 0396399111.
Sydney: Phone Gary on 0297287727.
Newcastle: Phone Samantha on 0249681545.
Perth: Phone John on 0894020728.
Rest of Australia: Phone our National Office on 0396399111.
Rest of the world: Phone our International Office on ++ 44 20 8988 8760.
The Socialist Party is the Australian section of the Committee for a Workers’ International (CWI). The CWI is organised in over 40 countries across the world.
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