The working class and the workplace

The Working Class and the Work Place The International Socialism Journal (181 Winter 2024)published the third of three articles on ‘lean production’. In this latest article there is an implication that workers should not support changes in workplace arrangements which improve profitability even if these changes improve the conditions for tthe workers. This I believe raises the question of contradictions within capitalism. Given that the basis of capitalism, and the ultimate cause of the class war, is that society is divided between those who own and control the means of production and those whose only means of living is to sell their labour, the aim of the working class, the latter group, is to replace capitalism with socialism/communism in which there is no dominant class and in which the needs of all individuals are met (From each according to ability: to each according to need). The debate on ‘lean production’ raises questions as to how workers respond to this class war. There is a sense, amongst some on the left, that we should not seek reforms that improve the lives of people if such reforms would benefit capitalism and enable it to adapt and survive. Under this view, we should do all that we can to ensure that the strains within capitalism are exacerbated even at the cost to the working class. This is not stated as such but is a consequence of certain arguments. What is set out in this article is not to present a case against strike action. It is clear that strike action is an extremely important aspect of the class struggle. Any action to defeat capitalism must involve action in the workplace which is the arena in which the working class has its greatest power. This is clear in the industrial world where strike action directly affects profitability. It is less clear in social services, education and health, but the argument relating to worker’s power is still relevant. There are two issues which I wish to consider. These issues are raised by the debate on ‘lean production’ but are separate from ‘lean production’. It is a fact that many workers take great pride in the work that they do. This despite the fact, of which they may or may not be aware, that they are being exploited and that their efforts are being used to profit their bosses. Most workers face a life of struggle and seek means of finding some purpose in life. This can come from the satisfaction of doing a good job. This is one way in which they can find personal satisfaction. What we hope is for people to go beyond this and recognise that life could provide much more real and greater purpose and satisfaction if the structure of life were different. What is true is that those workers who are held in highest regard by other workers are those who as well as being amongst the best of workers are also active in demanding changes in the conditions of work and life of all workers. Let me give you two examples of worker pride. Whilst working in the Coal Industry, I lodge with the family of a working miner. He worked on a transfer point, where coal transferred from one conveyor to another. This resulted in a lot of spillage. The miner responsible took great pride in the fact that he kept the roadway clear and clean of spillage. A minor part of the process of mining coal but it gave the man a sense of value. When a boy, my dad worked for a firm of coach builders. They were known in the industry as the builders of the best coach on the road. They demonstrated their coaches at the main Commercial Vehicle Show and would build two or three demonstration coaches to be shown. I would visit my dad, as he worked overtime on the Sunday, so that he could take me round and show me the coaches. He was proud of what they produced. He had no illusions about the company. From him I learnt of the class struggle, between workers and bosses, long before I read Marx. Incidentally, another lesson I learnt about capitalism, the company produced the best coach in the country but they went out of business, unable to compete with those companies which produced inferior but cheaper products. It was the skilled men who were disposed of first of all. The second issue is that of the relationship between workers and their working conditions. I was reminded of another circumstance that arose during my period in the Coal Industry. Part of the process of getting coal, particularly on hand filled faces, is the withdrawing the props holding up the roof of the seam as the face moved forward. This could often be a difficult process, occasionally a prop would prove awkward and refuse to come out in the expected way. The law (the Coal Mines Act) defined a way of extracting the prop. This was tedious and time consuming. A quicker and more effective way was to go into the waste and extract the prop using a big hammer. This was extremely dangerous but enabled work to proceed without the loss of time that the defined method entailed. The face workers were always under pressure to get the necessary work done by the end of the shift. On this occasion the under manager was on the face. He insisted that the laid down procedure be followed. This struck me as hypocritical. He knew that on any other occasion it would have been more likely that the dangerous procedure with the big hammer would have been adopted, thus enabling work to proceed and be completed. However he could not be seen to condone this. Here we see the contradictory situation in which workers can be placed. The correct procedure, the safe procedure, made the situation more difficult for the worker. They had a task to complete, their pay depended upon it. The Under Manager’s job was to get the job done. The safety requirements, which had largely come about because of years of agitation from the miners through their trade union, were aimed at making a very dangerous job somewhat safer. But they were in conflict with other requirements. This illustrates another factor about the work situation in that it is far more complicated and requires much detailed considerations. Another personal experience which came to my mind when reading the third article and caused me to question my actions, came in a very different context. My most successful period as a head of department in a school came when I was able to build a team of teachers within the department. It could be considered as a cell. My role was as enabler and facilitator. It was a good team of teachers who all pulled together and developed methods of teaching. We all faced the various pressures that came with teaching at that time but were able to use our abilities and each was able to make their contributions to the work of the department. As a result both teachers and pupils benefitted. Sadly, later the school went down because changes in local authority control meant that the school did not become a Comprehensive School as had been planned. Given all the contradictions within society in general and workplaces in particular, we have to look more deeply into these matters. As revolutionaries we believe that anything which leads to a collapse of the capitalist system is to be welcomed. But members of the working class, whether they are able to sell their labour power or are in a position in which, for whatever reason, they are unable to find work, have to exist and survive. They have to find the means by which they can make life bearable, day to day. This may involve a certain satisfaction at work, escapism into sport, music, reading or some other means. Sadly it can take the form of alcohol or drugs. Whatever form of consolation we each find to relieve the pressures that capitalism places upon us, these are only palliatives, the real answer is a revolution to get rid of capitalism. The task of revolutionaries is to show that they understand not only the cause of alienation but also recognise the symptoms in the lives of people. They must strive to show that they recognise the problems that people face and seek to unite people in combined efforts to improve the conditions under which people live by reforms in the short term but also seeking to convince people that the only way this can be successful is through revolution. We cannot wait for capitalism to collapse. Even if it does, it will be too late. We have to create an active, mass working class movement which recognises capitalism as the source of the stresses of modern life but that also recognises that there is an alternative which will come from a society in which all are free to fully express themselves without detracting from the freedom of other people. Only a socialist/communist society in which there is no class domination and all live in equality and freedom can provide such a society. Scribar 17.1.24