A State of Struggle - Couverture souple

McInally, John

 
9781907464843: A State of Struggle

À propos de l?auteur

John McInally was born in Glasgow in 1954 and grew up in the Easterhouse housing scheme. In 1977 he joined the Militant Tendency, forerunner of the Socialist Party, was active in the Labour Party Young Socialists, and organised campaigns with Unemployed Workers' groups.In 1981 he was employed in the Unemployment Benefit Service (UBS), a forerunner of the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Within three months he was elected as a union representative for the Civil and Public Services Association (CPSA) at Easterhouse Benefit Office, going on to lead several campaigns and strikes on various issues. In 1988 he led the successful three-month Easterhouse staffing dispute and was a main organiser of the campaign in the West of Scotland against the introduction of the Youth Training Scheme (YTS) into the civil service.Moving to Bristol in 1989, he was a founder of the Bristol Anti-Poll Tax Federation, playing an important role in organising protests and the non-payment campaign, led the Bristol health and safety dispute. He played an important role in the Bedminster Jobcentre dispute and in the subsequent anti-victimisation campaign against both management and the right-wing 'Moderate' leadership. As a member of the CPSA Group Executive Committee he organised strikes during the 1995-96 Employment Service pay dispute in Cardiff and Merthyr Tydfil. Subjected to years of harassment and victimisation, he fought off five serious attempts to have him sacked.A long-term member of the CPSA Broad Left National Committee, he was a founder member of its successor, Left Unity, and, with the exception of one year, served on its National Committee until retirement in 2019.McInally was elected to the Public and Commercial Services' (PCS) National Executive Committee (NEC) in 2002 and became vice-president from 2007 until 2017, playing a key organising role inthe successful annual re-election of the left. He worked closely with general secretary Mark Serwotka and presidents Janice Godrich and Fran Heathcote, playing a significant role in the development of policy and strategy, especially on welfare, privatisation, organising campaigns, industrial action, and speaking at innumerable meetings throughout the United Kingdom. He served at various times as liaison officer for each of the devolved areas of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, ensuring the voices of members in these areas were always heard. He played a very significant role in developing and delivering the union's highly regarded work in the Scottish independence referendum.In 2018, along with other leading rank-and-file PCS activists, he was expelled from the Socialist Party for opposing its 'descent into sectarianism, opportunism and the embrace of prestige politics' and its abandonment of core principles, most particularly the United Front strategy. He joined the Labour Party under the Corbyn leadership but was expelled under Starmer.He writes and speaks on political and cultural issues for socialist publications and organisations, principally the Morning Star.He lives in Croydon with his wife and comrade, Helen O'Connor, a union organiser and political activist.

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