Respect - Message of support from Respect & George Galloway to striking Shell tanker drivers

Message of support from Respect & George Galloway to striking Shell tanker drivers

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Message of support from Respect & George Galloway to striking Shell tanker drivers

Respect MP George Galloway has today offered full support to the Shell tanker drivers, members of the Unite union, who have begun a four day strike.

"No one takes the decision to strike lightly," he said. "Anyone who's ever lost a day's pay by taking industrial action will know what the tanker drivers have gone through to reach this point.

"Their strike deserves the support of working people across Britain, whose pay is being held down below the true rate of inflation. Instead of macho posturing, as he's doing over our civil liberties, Gordon Brown would be better off ensuring fair pay for the tanker drivers, who after all work in an industry that is making record profits from the price of oil."

Galloway has written to the Unite union and to tanker drivers offering support from Respect.

Message of support:

The billionaire-owned press and politicians from all the establishment parties seem to think that workers who transport fuel don't have to pay for it at the pump or through soaring prices for food and domestic heating.

Of course you do. And like the rest of us you are fleeced by the robber barons of the oil industry, only for you it's twice over.

I and Respect know you have not decided to strike lightly. You are fully justified in taking action to achieve long overdue pay increases - which are needed now to keep pace with inflation. The Bank of England has acknowledged that it is not the pay of working people that is driving inflation. Rather it is the greed of companies such as Shell who are profiteering from the price of oil.

In any sane society you would have decent pay, pensioners would not be frightened to turn the heating on in winter for fear of the bills, and our scarce natural resources would be husbanded carefully to meet the needs of everyone on the planet and future generations.

Instead, we've got obscene profits alongside rising prices, repossessions, job insecurity and stress.

It's not only the whole trade union movement who should back you. It is everyone who is hit by the rising cost of a loaf of bread or a packet of rice; the majority of people in Britain who spend most of their income on food and fuel. The lorry owners have something to fall back on. Those who work for a living have nothing except their ability to stand together for the common good.

In pursuing this entirely justified action for decent pay you are not only helping yourselves and your families; you are providing an example for everyone else. If you win, the teachers in your children's schools might feel emboldened to take further action for decent pay and proper funding for education; others might fight for the pay & resources that will stop vital staff from leaving our public services.

The zealots of failed free market economics say that this will lead to a wage-price spiral. Well it won't do if the government stepped in to control prices, to prevent profiteering, just as we did in previous national emergencies, just as we did during the Second World War.

This government says we should lock people up for 42 days on the grounds of national security. If they were sincere about that, they'd be banging up the saboteurs who run the oil and gas companies. But all the establishment parties are happy for us to be held hostage by the corporations.

Respect doesn't agree. And we support you 100 percent.

In solidarity,

George Galloway MP

News and articles of interest

Here are some articles and news reports we think are worth looking at

Poll of polls shows Labour at its most unpopular since 1935 by Nigel Morris
Gordon Brown is leading Labour to its worst electoral defeat since the 1930s, according to a new "poll of polls" for The Independent. On current levels of support, Labour would lose almost half its MPs at the next election and David Cameron would become Prime Minister with an overwhelming majority. The backlash against Labour has left the party with the support of just 27 per cent of voters, the weighted average of last month's polls for The Independent shows.

Unmanned spy planes to police Britain by Kim Sengupta
The Government is drawing up plans to use unmanned "drone" aircraft currently deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan to counter terrorism and aid police operations in Britain. The MoD is carrying out research and development to enable the spy planes, which are equipped with highly sophisticated monitoring equipment that allows them to secretly track and photograph suspects without their knowledge, to be deployed within three years.

The Camp for Climate Action, at Kingsnorth, Kent, 3rd to 11th August - full details
Wednesday 10 am update. Local MP Bob Marshall-Andrews condems police action at climate camp (see BBC article), saying "I find the use of police in riot gear incomprehensible and I think it was a mistake." He also described the actions of the police as "provocation."

Diego Garcia: the UK's shame by Andy Worthington
The ancient Greek dramatist Aeschylus wrote: "In war, truth is the first casualty." These words are particularly apt in relation to the British Overseas Territory of Diego Garcia, leased to the United States in 1971, where the truth – that a secret "War on Terror" prison existed from 2002 until as recently as 2006 – has been persistently denied by both the British and American governments.

The Horror Of Israeli Occupation - documentary developed by Chaim Yavin West Bank Checkpoints
A video clip that dramatically portrays the meeting of Israeli solders and Palestinians at controversial West Bank security checkpoints. This clip is the second of a series taken from "Land of the Settlers", the acclaimed documentary developed by Chaim Yavin, Israel's premier news anchor.

Anger at police raid on green camp ahead of coal protest by Matthew Taylor
Environmental campaigners and politicians criticised the police last night after around 200 officers raided a climate camp, seizing hundreds of items that they claimed could be used to break the law. Activists at the camp, which starts today with a series of workshops on sustainable energy and social justice, said the raid aimed to disrupt legitimate protest.

Morning Star Back on Track After Office Fire by Tomasz Pierscionek
In the early hours of Monday morning (last week), an electrical fire broke out at William Rust House, the East London office of the socialist newspaper the Morning Star. The fire, believed to have been caused by a malfunctioning air-conditioner, broke out at approximately 3am and caused considerable structural damage to both the interior of the Morning Star's newsroom and the equipment within, knocking out both electrical power and phone lines.

Venezuela Bridges Diplomatic Fissures and Polishes Alliances in European Tour by James Suggett
Rounding off a diplomatic tour of Europe that began with Tuesday's controversial visit in Russia, Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez mended relations with the Spanish government, set up a bi-national commerce commission with Portugal, and eliminated visa requirements to facilitate bilateral accords with Belarus this week.

Why David Cameron Blames the Poor by Peter Taylor-Gooby
David Cameron's 'blaming the poor' speech in Glasgow may be more than just an attempt to placate the unreconstructed right of the Conservative party. It is not often recognised how far British public opinion has shifted towards a liberal individualist stance on social issues in recent years. In some ways we are more Thatcherite under New Labour than we ever were under the Conservatives.

Star names set to top the bill at Carnegie Festival - Dunfermline Press
TWO of the best-known faces on television will be making personal appearances in Dunfermline next month as part of the inaugural Carnegie Festival, from 21st August to 7th September. Evan Davis will be in dialogue with fiesty MP George Galloway in a conversation on Saturday, 23rd August, at 7.30pm in the Carnegie Hall. Tickets, priced £5, are available from the Carnegie Hall box office.

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