IN THE middle of 2020 — its centenary year — the Communist Party was adapting its tactics and creating new arenas for analysis and discussion as the country alternated between partial and full lockdown.

In the months following the declaration of a pandemic, it became clear that the pre-existing capitalist crisis was about to get much worse.

As some of the biggest names names on the high street collapsed it became clear that Britain would face a wave of unemployment not seen for more than a generation. 2021 would also be another centenary, that of the communist-inspired and led National Unemployed Workers Movement, with the lessons and legacy the NUWM brought with it.

During 2020-21 millions were not working at all or working from home in difficult circumstances and millions more were forced to work as front-line workers, in dangerous and uncertain conditions.

Early on unions everywhere came into their own, negotiating collectively with government to secure furlough payments and with — often reluctant — employers over PPE. Unions took on new levels of responsibility, helping to reshape workplaces and work-practices to ensure safety.

The news media suddenly discovered that the workforce they often pilloried were essential and the bravery and professionalism of the workers in our health and support services, who battled to serve the people of the country, was grudgingly recognised. But those workers often had to do this, with insufficient and inadequate protective equipment. Many paid the ultimate sacrifice and we will not forget these comrades.

While many stopped meeting and organising the Communist Party doubled its efforts and was rewarded with a significant growth in membership, especially among young trade unionists. The Young Communist League has grown at a faster rate.

In our centenary celebration calendar the party’s trade union co-ordinating committee hosted a centenary event to analyse the communist contribution to the development of our modern labour movement bringing together hundreds of activists.

In December we drew up to 3,000 to a major conference which was opened by the president of the TUC and looked at Marxism, technology and Artificial Intelligence.

Then followed two working groups, one focused on the Future of Work and the other on developing the fightback against unemployment. Each had an internationalist dimension and we have been working with leading activists from Spain on new laws enacted there to combat precarious working and bogus employment practices.

We worked with others to explore how to draw in those who understood the need to join an Unemployment Fightback and our activities included:

• We published a new digital and print Unemployment Fightback pamphlet

• We explored the idea of “people’s marches” for jobs, both, physical and virtual

• We worked with those involved across the movement on Unemployed Workers Centres or rather Workers Solidarity Centres to bring together the employed who are under threat, the part unemployed and the unemployed

• We conducted local public meetings across the country bringing in speakers from the wider trade union movement and anti-austerity campaigns.

More recently the Communist Party held two linked events under the heading Unemployment Fightback, a webinar with 12 high-profile speakers followed a week later by a meeting with workshops to develop the ideas raised.

These were CPB events, not organised by wider campaigns or organisations, and the prominent speakers from across the movement and a large audience were keen to join us.

There was an exciting range of outputs, from immediate actions to the elements of a strategy for the movement to fight back. Some will be new initiatives and some a re-focusing of ongoing campaigns and activities. Examples include:

• Extending organisations like Sheffield Needs A Pay Rise to major towns and cities across the country

• Exploring the options for Workers Solidarity Centres linked to Trades Councils

• Supporting the existing campaigns to keep the £20 top up to Universal Credit and to stop Fire and Rehire

• Drawing up local economic plans to challenge decline, especially in town centres

• Supporting the establishment of a National Council of Recovery with union involvement that puts green jobs at the heart of its work

• Further Future of Work events as this has a longer-term relevance to trade unions wishing to plan ahead

Today’s Peoples Assembly demonstration brings together many issues of protest against the Tory government and, above that, the monopolies it acts on behalf of.

Whether it is to do with decent housing for all, a public health service, climate emergency, fire and rehire, ending racism or the bill to stop us protesting, the majority can be united for a different and better future with decent jobs and homes for all.

If you want to get involved, if you have ideas to fight unemployment, then we want to hear from you and work alongside you — get in touch via [email protected], marking your email “unemployment fightback.”

Andy Bain is the trade union organiser for the Communist Party of Britain.