Wobblies' Tankie smear shocker!

The forthcoming Employment Tribunal in Bristol where The Wobblies (IWW) will represent train driver Patrick Spackman (Blogger Passim), sacked from First Great Western for swearing, has now fallen victim to some good old-fashioned British leftist sectarianism.

Spackman has already upset elements in the RMT union bureaucracy and now, apparently, the Communist Party of Britain (CPB) who run the turgid Morning Star.

The CPB, a small cult of learning impaired Stalinists, exercises influence way beyond its membership – of probably around 500 – or the rationality of its ideas in both the union movement and the anti-war movement. This is largely due to CPB members Andrew Murray, who chairs the Stop the War Coalition and works for the T&G as a press officer, and Kate Hudson, the Iranian Mullah-loving chair of CND.

Unfortunately it seems Spackman may have done his swearing at an RMT activist. And by an extraordinary coincidence, since the Wobblies issued their press release to say they were representing Spackman, a typically Stalinist-style campaign to smear Spackman and prejudge his tribunal hearing has been waged across the internet. Dubious allegations regarding Spackman and his case have even appeared (and been removed) on The Bristol Blogger.

Even more extraordinarily these allegations have now surfaced in the pages of The Morning Star. The newspaper originally published the Wobblies’ press release about the case on 6 June, which pretty much resembled the material that appeared on The Bristol Blogger.

However this week the paper ran the following statement:

The article was based entirely on a press release and the Star, unfortunately, did not corroborate it’s contents before publishing it.
We have subsequently learned that the driver concerned was not dismissed simply for swearing but for violent harassment in the workplace against a respected senior lay union representative, who had also been a victim of a serious assault by the same person on a previous occasion.

We acknowledge that publication of the article has caused distress to the victim and apologise reservedly.

The serious allegations made in the statement – with the exception of the swearing – have been rejected in their entirety by the Wobblies, who are firmly stating Spackman was dismissed by First Great Western for gross misconduct as a result of swearing. At no time did the company activate its bullying and harrasment procedure and allegations of violence formed no part of Spackman’s disciplinary hearings with FGW.

This raises the questions of where did The Morning Star get these allegations from? Why are they publishing them prior to a tribunal hearing and what do they mean by the statement: “We… apologise reservedly”? Usually newspaper apologies are “unreservedly”. What is The Star holding back and why?

Meanwhile the Wobblies have told The Blogger, “We’re currently awaiting an apology and retraction from the Morning Star. If none is forthcoming the matter will be referred to the Press Complaints Commission.”

So unfortunately for Spackman and the Wobblies it’s not just First Great Western they’re now having to fight but the sad dregs of the communist left and their stupid smears.

If you’re sick of self-serving union bureaucrats and their Stalinist mates then click the link!