MILITANT ACTIONS were taken by car workers last month to vent their anger against the attacks on their interests involved in the arrangements which are being made by the monopoly groups.

Thousands of car workers at GM-owned Vauxhall walked out in sympathy in support of 2,000 fellow workers. The solidarity action brought Ellesmere Port, Cheshire, to a standstill after 1,500 staff went home. Employees at Vauxhall’s Luton warehouse have also walked out after hearing the town factory will close within 15 months.

The actions reflect that the workers are rejecting the ideas of “social partnership” and are rejecting the notion of staying passive and handing over their fate to others, whether it be to New Labour or their union leaderships.

Unions have warned that up to 10,000 jobs could go throughout Britain because of the effect on the supply firms. A Bilston firm, in the heart of the Black Country, West Midlands, has been hit by the Vauxhall bombshell. At least 61 workers at Thompson Chassis in Ettingshall, are to lose their jobs as result of the Luton crisis.

After the siege by workers on the company’s head office, where angry scenes were seen by millions on television, the feelings of outrage amongst the working class has escalated quantitatively. The police, playing their physical state role, were called to the Bedfordshire plant to protect the company’s property and their representatives at the headquarters. Protestors bombarded the main doors with eggs, pushed past security guards and shouted, “Judas” to Managing Director Reilly, demanding his resignation, which he promptly agreed to do. When trying to address workers, the director was drowned out by chanting.

The situation moved so rapidly that Bill Morris, General Secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union, pledged a strong campaign to try and reverse the decision and has called on the government to do more, saying that he was “not overly impressed” by the action announced so far.

The government, in the person of Trade and Industry spokesperson, Stephen Byers, refused, as at Rover, to support the workers, offering only a pittance which is supposed to help workers find new jobs. It appears that the government is only interested in servicing the rich despite the billions they have put aside in the Gordon Brown’s “war chest”.

The crisis has caused concern for the government, which is already pursuing the stance that workers should not expect much. They are warning the workers against rocking the boat, particularly in the run-up to the election.

However, workers should not stand by and be sidelined, and are giving voice to their concerns. The government, on the other hand, is intent on supporting the GM global operator and its plans. Workers cannot continue to accept the logic that New Labour is the lesser of the evils between them and the Conservatives. By sending the police against the workers, the bourgeoisie is indicating that it is only too prepared to turn just grievances into law and order issues. The logic of the government is that anyone who opposes the unity of nation and party for the greater good of Britain is part of the “forces of conservatism”. This must not deter the workers and their unions from fighting for their interests as is their right. This is not the pursuit of sectional interests but is a matter of human dignity, as well as being a struggle in favour of the general interests of society.