Omar protesting against the Rogernomics (neo-liberal) attacks on welfare in the 80s and 90s did not work. Neither did strikes, days of action etc on the part of the unions. This was because the leaders of both protests and union actions sowed illusions that governments would defend the welfare state. That is, they were popular fronts that limited themselves to reforming the bosses' system. They believe that bad people or bad bosses have too much power and working people must have their day.

The most notable 'protests' of the time were those led by the Auckland peoples' centre run by Sue and Bill Bradford. Their members got arrested and beaten up regularly by the cops while protesting APEC or some other event. After years of this Sue realised that the MPs werent listening so she may as well become one herself.

But you cannot sway capitalist governments by public opinion or moral majorities. All that does it give the bosses time to organise against you. What you can do is mobilise workers around united front actions so that they can then come up against the system and realise the need to overthrow it.

United fronts are actions that advance the interests of workers. That means actions aimed at empowering workers as opposed to the bosses. In the case of health that means health workers taking over the health system, and then demanding that it be fully funded.

In the early 90s we tried unsuccessfully to organise a united front inside the health unions in Auckland. This was when Nurses were striking for the first time. The object was to fight for jobs and wages against underfunding by raising the demand for Free Health. The fact that no capitalist government would pay for Free Health we hoped would lead to the most advanced workers realising that it would be necessary to be 'anti-capitalist' i.e. expropriate the banks and to pay for free health.

We failed, and the health system still suffers from deliberate underfunding. So it is just as necessary today to in protesting against the tail end of Rogernomics, to be anti-capitalist i.e. against the capital-labour relation, by fighting for what workers need and demanding the bosses pay up or else get expropriated without compensation.

Dave Brown