Those of us who had the misfortune to live through the Thatcher years should be well-acquainted with the fact that in order to consolidate wealth and power in the hands of the class that they represent, Tory governments will embark on measures to undermine and divide resistance to that strategy.

Throughout the '80s and '90s, this included the introduction of a plethora of anti-union laws to frustrate industrial action, divide union officials from the rank and file and threaten injunctions and sequestration of union funds and assets.

The Tories promoted individualism as opposed to collectivism, advancing the notion of working-class "upward mobility" involving a reliance on individual debt, principally through the extension of home ownership, which acted as a further barrier to collective industrial action as workers worried about falling behind on mortgage repayments.

The Tory strategy also involved the creation of mass unemployment, not only a product of capitalism but a tool to be used by capitalism, creating a reserve army of labour whose existence is then used to discipline those in work to limit their demands for increases in pay and improvements in terms and conditions.

This situation was reinforced and compounded by reductions in benefits, so-called "training schemes" involving poverty pay and job substitution and the forcing of the unemployed - under threat of benefit sanctions - into temporary and insecure forms of employment, with rates of pay that further undercut trade union negotiated rates.

Those of us tasked with negotiating for trade union members will be particularly familiar with the refrain "if you don't like it, there are three million outside who will do it for less."

In taking this approach, the Tories realised, perhaps more clearly than some in our own ranks, that trade unions can be a key component in derailing Tory objectives, particularly if the common benefits of trade unions uniting with the unemployed and others in our communities are understood by all.

And so, as we are once again experiencing a right-wing onslaught on our jobs, services and social security through so-called austerity measures, where the bulk of our people and our communities pay for an economic crisis that was not of their making, the Tories seek to weaken the potential for effective resistance by attempting to divide the working class.

We've seen division between those in work and those out of work, the false perception of the "deserving" and the "undeserving" poor, the blaming of "foreigners" and those of differing races and religions, the targeting of disabled people, young people, single parents and pensioners for benefits and service cuts and, of course, the reduction of employment rights and the demonising of the trade union movement.

My own union Unite has in recent weeks and months been a particular target for the alliance of big business, Tory central office and the right-wing press as they fill our media with attacks and misrepresentations of the union's political strategy, our organising and leverage strategies and our efforts to build our community membership, organising the unemployed, students and community activists.

The move to establish an inquiry into aspects of Unite's leverage strategy has the aim not only of exploring the design of another round of anti-union laws but the introduction of measures to limit the right to protest, affecting all groups and communities who are building resistance to the government's austerity measures.

However this resistance will be much more effective if we confirm the Tory fears, join together and co-ordinate and pool our resources into united action.

It is this objective that has prompted the creation of the People's Assembly, the Scottish launch of which will take place on Saturday January 25.

The event, as well as featuring speakers from trade unions, supportive politicians and community campaigns, will consider what actions are now required in Scotland to establish local People's Assemblies to organise activities and protests and link in to a Scottish-wide and Britain-wide, united organisation.

Unite's chief of staff Andrew Murray will open the event with an insight into the role and purpose of the People's Assembly and the type of successful activities already carried out by local People's Assemblies in other areas of Britain.

Ricky Tomlinson will speak on the shameful treatment experienced by the Shrewsbury 24, their ongoing fight for justice and the need for justice for today's construction workers denied employment or dismissed from employment through the use of blacklists.

STUC general secretary Grahame Smith will explain the links between the aims of the STUC's There is a Better Way campaign and the People's Assembly initiative, Janice Godrich of PCS and John Stevenson of Unison will highlight the impact of service cuts and austerity on public-sector workers.

The event will also feature supportive political speakers, including Katy Clark MP and the MSPs Christine McKelvie and Elaine Smith.

In the event's final section, Anita Wright of the Women's Assembly Against Austerity will focus on the attacks on women and equality through the government's austerity measures, Cat Boyd of the Coalition of Resistance will explain how uniting forces in common cause can maximise our effectiveness and Raymond Mennie, an activist with first-hand experience of establishing a local People's Assembly, will illustrate the benefits of local actions and the important role of trades councils in this.

Taking the People's Charter, supported by the STUC, as its core policy objective, the People's Assembly in Scotland will promote alternatives to austerity through action and not words alone.

It will be founded on a clear understanding that the attack upon trade unions and our communities is a class attack, which requires a class response based on the prevailing principle that unity is strength.

Attendance at the launch of the People's Assembly and participation in the actions that it will trigger must be a major priority for all trade union and community activists in Scotland.

Jackson Cullinane is political officer for Unite Scotland

The Scottish People's Assembly launch will be on Saturday January 25 at 11am in Renfield St Stephen's, Bath Street, Glasgow. For More information visit thepeoplesassembly.org.uk