Star date: 3rd May 2015

MAY DAY MARCH AND RALLY CENTRES ON FIGHT AGAINST AUSTERITY

"Let's remind ourselves what austerity really is – it's a programme of robbery of working people..." Matt Wrack, FBU

Salford's annual May Day march drew upwards of one hundred people, as it weaved from Bexley Square, through Manchester city centre to Piccadilly Gardens where a larger rally took place. Leaders of the Bakers' Union and Fire Brigades Union centred their speeches on the fight against austerity, and a rep from the Manchester Homeless Camp said the Council was embarking on a policy of social cleansing.

While the march and rally drew people from all political spectrums and campaigns, the Labour Party was completely absent from the May Day celebrations.

Full details here...

The annual Salford May Day march drew upwards of one hundred people from virtually all campaigns and political parties in the city; from Climate Change and the Green Party, to anti-cuts protesters and TUSC, to a group of `nuns' carrying a placard reading `Capitalism is a terrible habit'.

The march, led by the PCS drumming band, began at Bexley Square, before heading down Chapel Street and into Manchester city centre, up Market Street and into Piccadilly Gardens, where it joined with a larger May Day rally, with the focus firmly on the fight against austerity and the General Election...

"Whoever gets in it's going to be more or less another period of austerity" said Stephen Hall, President, Greater Manchester Association of Trades Union Councils (GMATUC) "We're going to have to carry on doing the job that we've been doing in resisting any attempts to make us ordinary folk pay for the cost of the system that doesn't work for all but for a very small minority of society."

His points were echoed by Matt Wrack, General Secretary of the Fire Brigades Union (FBU)...

"After the General Election we hope to see the back of this crowd who have been slaughtering our public services, attacking our trade union rights, forcing down our living standards and destroying our pensions for the last five years" he said "But it is alarming when you look at the policies of all the main political parties and their spending plans; they are all planning to make further cuts to public services

"What lies behind this is the story about so-called austerity" he added "Let's remind ourselves what austerity really is – it's a programme of robbery of working people here and across the world, to make workers pay for a crisis caused by the bankers and big business in defence of their profits. Austerity is a programme to attack us and our organisations, and to attack and destroy our public services to save this system and to protect their profits and retain them for the future. We say on Workers Day that we will stand strong together to defend working people, and for change and social justice here in the UK and across the world."

With the sounds of Matt Wrack's speech still ringing in people's ears, the living proof of the lack of `social justice' was brought home as Adam, a representative from the Manchester Homeless Camp addressed the crowd. The Camp lost a legal challenge to Manchester City Council's attempts to get a possession order on Friday and now faces eviction from St Peter's Square.

The contrast between the twenty tents of homeless people outside Central Library, and the £multi-million public money makeover of St Peter's Square - plus the obscene amount of private money spent on the new office development in the Square – couldn't be a greater statement of social justice 2015-style. But, as the Camp prepares to greet the bailiffs on Tuesday, Adam said the Council was now intent on social cleansing, banning the homeless protesters from even using public toilets...

"It is social cleansing now" he explained "They've banned anyone who has anything to do with the Camp from using any public services including the library and toilets. So when they evict us we will be moving, the Council will carry on lying in the media and we have got a few more high profile locations lined up, which will mean more work for the police and more work for the Council."

Adam got a rousing response from the rally and, later, the Bakers' Union donated sack loads of food to the Camp. Following the rally, there was a further march around the city centre, followed by a full May Day Festival at the Mechanics Institute with stalls, films, talks, music and theatre.

From Salford, the Irwell Valley Mining Project put on a huge exhibition of artefacts, posters and photos centring on the Miners Strike, the Salford Star gave a talk on its `war' with Salford Council at a NUJ event, and anti-Bedroom Tax campaigner, Maria Brabiner spoke of her Battle Against Welfare Reform and the Fight for a Fairer System...

"Over two years ago I started speaking out about the Bedroom Tax" she said "I wouldn't have done this if I didn't think it winnable. I never thought in a million years I'd be part of a national campaign to rid this country of the nastiest, most evil, vicious piece of legislation ever.

"I can't wait for the General Election when, hopefully, I can tear down the posters that have been collecting dust for the past two years in my kitchen window" she added "Labour will abolish it from day one...If the Tories don't get booted out next week, heaven forbid, the fight goes on..."

Disgracefully, there wasn't one single Labour Party banner on either the Salford or Manchester May Day marches. It was left to Ian Hodson, president of the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), to sound a note of optimism at Piccadilly Gardens, referencing the Fast Food Campaign's call for £10 an hour to pull people out of poverty...

"The trade union movement shows inspiration, leadership and it's part of our community" he said "If we come together we can change our society for the better..."

Photos by Steven Speed