By Alex Callinicos
Millions of people belong to trade unions and they remain the best form of defence for working people. But can we fully realise that strength?
The national leadership of the NLC called off the national general strike planned for 28th September 2020 at the last minute. It also suspended the general strike in Kaduna, on 19th May 2021, after three days of good protests – due to an invitation from the Ministry of Labour to attend a meeting.
In contrast, JUSUN and PASAN continued their strikes though-out their negotiations with the same ministry and even after signing an agreement on 20th May 2021. This has again clearly exposed the role of the trade union bureaucracy.
We need to learn from the experience of how socialists have successfully worked in the trade unions. We need to work and campaign to make the trade unions more democratic. We need to try and ensure that the trade union leadership is under pressure from its members not to call off strikes before victory is assured.
This book looks at how rank and file workers can use the power of trade unions.
It discusses the role of trade union leaders, the state and political organisation. It reveals how socialist politics and organisation remain central to trade union strength.
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