CONGRATULATIONS to teachers across Scotland for a rock-solid day of strike action today and solidarity for your second day of action tomorrow.

Solidarity and greetings also to the ambulance staff who will be taking action across Britain tomorrow and to the PCS members striking at the Rural Payments Agency.

We can never tire of extending our solidarity to workers in struggle both in word and deed.

The number and diversity of workers taking action this January is a testament to both the breadth and depth of the class struggle taking place up and down the country at present.

There is a ruling class offensive under way: a class war.

Never has working-class solidarity and unity been more critical than at a time like this.

Bosses in both the private and public sectors are fighting hard to hold down wages and enforce real-terms pay cuts to shore up the rate of profit.

The Tories are leading the charge and trying to set an example in the public sector and backing private-sector bosses to the hilt.

The so-called “minimum service levels” legislation introduced into Parliament today is just the thin end of the wedge of the ruling-class attack on the right to strike and other hard-won democratic rights and civil liberties.

On the one hand, we’re told workers need to take the hit and accept “wage restraint.” Wage increases would just drive further inflation, they say.

This is demonstrably untrue. Wages have been decreasing in real terms for decades and inflation is skyrocketing. Current wage rises remain stagnant and still inflation is at historic highs.

Note well also, there is no similar call for profit restraint in the monopoly media or from the state, no call for bosses to take the hit and lower their rate of profit. There never will be.

On the other hand, we’re told that the money simply isn’t there to afford the wage rises unions are fighting for — and let’s be clear, these are modest wage claims, which by and large don’t even match the RPI rate of inflation.

At the same time, what do we see?

The Tories claim there isn’t the money for ambulance staff and other workers to get a decent wage, with the SNP saying the same of teachers.

Rail bosses and executives at Royal Mail pleading poverty while handing out bonuses and dividends.

The money is there. The reality is the Tories have will have spent over £318 million to indemnify train companies for the cost of strikes. They’ve found money to pay scabs and agency workers across the economy.

They’re happy to spend the money in their attempts to smash trade unions, but not to fund wage rises.

Just this week, we see that Rishi Sunak’s government is flirting with sending tanks to pour oil on the fire of the tragic war taking place in Ukraine. This is in addition to the billions already sent in arms and cash.

These Challenger 2 tanks cost well over £4m each when first manufactured. Just a few years ago they were upgraded to the cost of over £800m. Each shell no doubt costs many tens of thousands of taxpayer pounds.

There’s always treasure when the ruling class have a war to be fought, whether it’s against Britain’s workers or in a foreign field.

They’re happy to profit from our blood whether that’s ruthless exploitation at home or conflict abroad.

The class struggle taking place today isn’t just a battle over jobs, pay and conditions. It’s also a battle of ideas.

We can’t accept their ideas, their economic orthodoxies of protecting the rate of profit at all costs and guaranteeing money for war.

Maintaining solidarity, building working-class unity and winning the battle of ideas will be crucial in the months ahead.