{"id":6137,"date":"2015-10-06T14:16:16","date_gmt":"2015-10-06T13:16:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=6137"},"modified":"2015-10-07T13:44:06","modified_gmt":"2015-10-07T12:44:06","slug":"a-very-clear-message","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=6137","title":{"rendered":"A very clear message"},"content":{"rendered":"
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More than 60,000 people joined a TUC march on Sunday (October 4) during the Tory Party Conference in Manchester to demonstrate against government austerity and the trade union Bill.<\/p>\n

 
\nThe march was led by workers from the SSI steel plant in Redcar, which, after going into liquidation last week, resulted in 1,700 job losses. The Tory government has so far refused to step in and support the steel industry and a community that depends on it for their livelihoods.<\/p>\n

 
\nSingers and speakers at the rally included Charlotte Church, Billy Bragg, TUC general secretary Frances O\u00e2\u20ac\u2122Grady as well as Unite general secretary Len McCluskey, among others.<\/p>\n

 
\nMcCluskey railed against what the Tory government has done to working people.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are here to send a very clear message to the Tory government,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf they thought on May 7 that we were going to disappear then think again. Because we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re here to fight for everything that belongs to us,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 including, he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthe welfare state, the National Health Service, universal education, decent jobs, and secure jobs, and decent homes.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nMcCluskey also highlighted that the fight against the government extended beyond fighting austerity.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNo sooner was the ink dry on the election results than the first attack [the Tories] made was on trade unionism,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe trade union Bill is pernicious \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s designed to change trade unions into nothing more than advice agencies.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy message from Unite is clear \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we will stand by our members in the struggle,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey went on to say. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf that means taking us outside of the law, then so be it.<\/p>\n

 
\nHe noted that the Tory government has no mandate from the public to batter through its austerity cuts.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf they think a fluke victory in which 75 per cent of the electorate did not vote for them gave them a mandate to continue their cuts, then they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got another think coming,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf they think they are going to have a smooth ride over the next five years, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got another think coming.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere will be hundreds of thousands of people hounding them, snapping at them and resisting them.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nMcCluskey called on prime minister David Cameron to prove his claims that the Tories are the party of working people by intervening in Redcar to save the steel plant and support the steel industry.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exactly what the French government have done and that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s exactly what the Italian government have done. If it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s good enough for Italian steel workers, where\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s our government for our steel workers?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nHe called on the crowds to \u00e2\u20ac\u015bbuild an alliance\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and link up with direct action groups, community groups, faith organisations and the Labour party, which, he said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bfinally has a leader who will stand shoulder to shoulder with working people\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 in order to successfully fight back against Tory attacks.<\/p>\n

 
\nMcCluskey later met workers attending the rally, including father-of-two Martin Blane, who was one of the 1,700 Redcar steel workers whose livelihood is now on the line. Blane has worked at the Redcar plant since he was 20 for nearly two decades.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is our heritage,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Blane said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf this fails then when will the next one be? China Germany and Poland all have steel industries subsidised. Why can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we be the same?\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Watch Len’s full speech in the video below:<\/p>\n

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