Socialist Press no. 51

PUBLIC SERVICE

AS LAW BACKS APARTHEID

ONLY STRIKE ACTION CAN STOP THE CUTS!

In a week of far-reaching betrayal by union leaders the green light has been given for yet another round of attacks the on Jobs, wages and conditions of public sector workers. ON TUESDAY, leaders of the Civil and Public Services Assoc- collapsed ignominiously in front of a threatened government lock-out and called off the union's ban on compiling statistics for the Department of Employment - move originally taken as part of the union's feeble programme against the cuts. ON WEDNESDAY night the miners' National Executive voted 14-11 to accept a complete by sell-out of their demand for early retirement lor all demand, though justified, had been dragged out to divert from a struggle on wages. But now even the diversion itself has been sold short. ON

FRIDAY,

leaders of Britain's biggest white collar union, NALGO, successfully held demands that the

NEC

withold support from "any agree- ment for the further extension of the Social Contract". And on SATURDAY, Postal Workers leader Tom Jackson grovelled before a Court of Appeal injunction and called off the union's token one week black- mail and telecommuni- 119 The ultra right-wing National Association for Freedom and the judges of the High Court have struck a blow against trade union rights in Britain and in favour of racist dictatorship and terror in South Africa. But the leaders of the British trade union movement have offered no effective resistance to this attack. Post Office workers' leader Tom Jackson has "sadly" cringed before the law and accep- ted the High Court injunction granted to the NAF. This not only puts a stop to the UPW's token plan to black all mail and telecommunications with South Africa for a week, but more important, throws into ques- tion whether the UPW can legally take industrial action whatever. Most of the other union leaders had already ensured in advance

SOCIALIST

PRESS *

cations to South Africa - aban- doning the basic right of his mem- bers to strike.

MOVING RIGHT

All these betrayals are indi- cators of the rapid pace at which every union leadership Is now most agat in order to avoid any confrontation with the Callaghan government's program- me of Tory policies. But it was in NALGO that the struggle to impose such a sell-out was waged most openly, at the union's Special Conference.

NALGO

NEC

tabled a motion for discussion which not only accepted the continuance of the Social Contract but which was worded to ensure that no national was initiated to halt the cuts which threaten the jobs of thousands of NALGO members.

The three amendments which called for a break with the Social Contract before it expires were all abandoned before the Conference

JACKSON CAVES IN

that the week of trade union action proposed against the South African racist regime would be a failure. Some unions such as the NUR, whose members in Southampton handle most of the goods traded between Britain and South Africa, have remained. completely silent on the boycott. T&GWU secretary Jack Jones has warned imposing a against boycott and asked his members "to impede and harass" but only not to stop South African trade.

No other union has called for more than token support for the week of action. The call for action is an inter- national one, from coming the anti-communist International Confederation of Free Trade Unions in Brussels. It makes no demand for serious action would threaten apartheid. It applies only for one week

IN CPSA & NALGO

SELL OUT!

even began. But even the flabby composite which was substituted foat the so wai Contract had beed simply claimed that the by policies broKen

GUYCLHEECHL

and opposed a renewal of it after NEC Was vico usly attacked by the who are clearly already calculating the terms for Phase Three of wage control. The NEC line was only narrow- ly carried by a 3-2 majority on a card vote, however, - 1 110162. tion of the unrest among delegates went on to overturn a series who of NEC recommendations. As a result they measures adopted including ban on overtime although which, inadequate to the stop. cuts, are a sign of a membership moving in the oppos- ite direction to their leaders.

ATTENTION

This was also shown by attention given by delegates to the speech by Dennis Reed of Middle- sex Polytechnic branch who and, partly because of energetic attempts by Len Murray and Jack Jones in Brussels to water it down still further, it makes no demand complete embargo with South cconomic relations Africa.

SABOTAGE

In other countries, Britain, the trade union bureau- cracies continue to sabotage any real action against apartheid.

The Communist Party led CGT in France has ignored the week of action altogether, as has the other main union federation the CFDT.

In Belgium will unions stick to propaganda. In Italy, the unions, including the CP-led GGC, plan only some token actions.

Only in the Netherlands, where the dockers in Rotterdam plan a total boycott of South African goods for a week, has proposed action gone further than tokenism

CONTAINING TROTSKYISM TODAY NO 11.

FORTNIGHTLY PAPER OF THE

WORKERS SOCIALIST LEAGUE

NO 51 * January 19th 1977 * 10p NALGO NEC spokesman Glyn Phillips: against even one-day strike action.

moved an amendment putting a question round. correct perspective for action "Does any of these people ever instructing the NEC: "to call a national strike of all is the only way to stop the

NALGO

cuts? It is high time the NEC went from March 1977, some branches and dragged

BELO

such time government Lne members, kicking and agrees to reverse its policy of cuts screaming, into the fight."

public expenditure and "On to picket line the

OUT

In restore public expenditure to the snow yesterday you could have levels prevailing in 1972, adjusted seen a number of the part-time

NEC

inflation should 50 year-old married ladies who are seek the support of other public supposed to be the reactionary sector unions for this action.

backbone of the union. "Localised actions cannot stop Reed outlined the experience the only be

CULL

uner of his branch in struggling for a picked off by the employers.

"Concerted, one day strike the previous day national strike action is the only way to change against the management policy of 'natural wastage' to create redun- the national policy of the govern- ment." dancies. Attacking those who claim that Though Reed's amendment "the members won't support such policies", Reed Continued Back Page Col. 5 turned the

WHAT!

INTERNATIONAL

?

SOLIDARITY

SORRY,

TIM

WRONG

NUMBER!

and propaganda. Africa - to be maintained not for Throughout Western Europe, a week, but until the racist dictat- even the trade union leaders who orship is overthrown support the "week of action' want We call upon the leaders of the it to be the end of action against labour movement to implement apartheid. such a boycott immediately.

The Workers Socialist League But it is clear from the events says that the call to action should of last week that the boycott will supported, but have to be fought for not only as a beginning to an all-out campaign racist organisations like of concrete solidarity with the the NAF and against the British black workers and peasants of laws which uphold racism, but South Africa. also against the Labour and TUC The demands of such a cam- bureaucrats who are not prepared paign should be for a complete their empty anti- Lamate economic and

DOYCOLI

racist words into any form of real financial relations with South action against South Africa.

WAGES STRUGGLE SPANS EUROPE

Page 2 Almost every day some new confirms the event that control of wages is a central plank in the anti-working class policies of virtually all the of Western governments Europe. In ITALY, the minority Christ- ian Democratic government of Andreotti is battling to force the unions to accept a curtailment of the so-called 'sliding scale' included in current wage contracts.

At present inadequate compen- sation. for price rises is added to wage packets every three months.

Andreotti wants to extend this to six months and period exclude from the price index used for compensation a whole range of products whose prices have been rising fastest. The • bureaucrats of the three trade union wish to overthrow the Andreotti government which is kept alive in the abstention of bv pallament the Communist and Socialist But they dare agree

HOL

Annreottis wage plan-as it stands since it would threaten their rapidly declining ability control anger of the working ciass at its falling living standards.

Last week, negotiations between Andreotti and the union leaders broke down, with the latter threat- General Videla's murderous right-wing dictatorship in Argentina continues to be helped and by local inter- national Stalinism. The small Argentine Communist Party, despite the murder of some of its own militants by the police, continues to give tacit support to the regime. The same applies to the official of Cuba and the press agencies Soviet Union. Both give material countries support to the Videla regime by being two of its most important trading partners. support a regime which, TheY through terror and repression, has wi working class living standards in INTERNATIONAL nEWS if Andreotti ening strike action not stop the growing move allis French workers to answer the cuts introduced his plan unilaterally.

wages with strike But far from demanding a real their real sliding scale of wages which would action. In WEST GERMANY as well, protect pay against inflation the week have offered of the last bureaucrats treacherously events brought major wage strikes closer.

Andreotti other methods of cutting labour costs including speed-up, contracts in the metal and engineer- sue endingonine nat mal mind of the abandoning of ing industries, covering four million movement labour agreements, the reduction of and a campaign redundancy involved, IG Metall, failed to reach against absenteeism. In FRANCE, too, it is the trade unions have been demand- leaders, most importantly those of the Communist Party trade ing an increase of 9.5% against the union federation the CGT, who are employers final offer of 5.5%. The refusing to lead any struggle against engineering deal is normally a pace- Prime Minister Barre's setting deal for other industries.

economic spending and programme of vuLD the way for growing confrontation savage wage cuts. Just as in Italy, the objective of the bureaucrats is to maintain the tottering right wing government in

DELICACY

power. They have been forced by grow- bouring NETHERLANDS deadlock ing working class militancy to call a strikes but number have wage talks In the metal and construction industries.

succeeded so far in keeping these within the bounds of tokenism.

these talks has been the question of

CGT

leader Georges Seguy, sharing his troubles in a speech last in limited form has week, said that 'rarely has the trade existed in the Netherlands for some faced moyelell obstacles. never spoke a truer word: 'acquired right' while the employers and the chief of the obstacles is himself. His abject collaboration These instances - together with with the government, however, can- he has lifted all order to prove It, of restrictions the sackIng Uli and and wage cutting virtually abolished the right to StrIke.

'READJUSTMENTS'

its treacherous form, True to the People's Party (the name used Communist Panamanian Party) accepts the measures, "tactical describing them Ie- adjustments the revolutionary 1n process'. Thousands of workers, however, have already come out on indefinite strike until the measures are reversed. These workers are endangered by the position of the leadership of the main trade union federation which restricts itself to protest and implicitly exhonerates Torrijos by of "the minister responsible" for the new measures.

PERU

Argentinian car workers demonstrate against Videla.

In PERU, the military dictator-

CP BACKS

ship has also been helped to stay.

power for eight years through the support of trade union leaders, the Cuban and Soviet governments and the local Communist Party.

The regime is now from its earlier

DICTATORS

extreme right wing line with the United States; and some of officers have now been forced to peasants' According to the government's atta figures, the cost of living in own 1976 rose 350% while wages only

'CONSTRUCTIVE'

went up 150%. Despite Videla's efforts to crush The regime has "relaxed" some have the trade workers of its recent repressive measures by continually fought back. magazines allowing seven banned The strike executives ot

TCCCILL

to re-appear, providing they restrict during which three executives themselves to 'constructive' journal- the. shot dead, condally 1ST Six of the magazines are explicit- produced a 100% wage increase.

ly right wing. The seventh is Unidad

PANAMA

(Unity), the weekly of the Com- which thus gets its "left" talking dictator of munist Party, The for collaborating with the

PANAMA,

General Torrijos, reward another of Fidel Castro's friends is forces of repression. learning fast from Videla and has Throughout Latin America, a dominated military anti- continent dictatorships, Stalinism is nothing working class measures. but an open apologist for the most It is, his Labour Minister said, glaring forms of reaction.

enterprise' 'the hour of free in the still unresolved conflict over wages policy which nearly destroy-

DANISH

government six weeks ago, and the growing threats.

to the fragile Stage Il of the British Labour government's wage cuts policy - all point to the decisive importance of wages in the capital- offensive against the working ist class. The problem of automatically preserving livug sandaras agalst inflation all these features in confrontations. Despite the limited compen- sation achieved in some European countries like Italy, Belgium and the Netherlands, the trade union the aacs every witle demand which really answers this problem - a sliding scale of wages, based on price indexes drawn up by elected committees of trade union- Ists and nousewives And they all shrink from the only weapon which can win this demand, unlimited strike action.

SPAIN

new CP betrayal While fascist police have been shooting at and beating workers in the streets around Bilbao, the leaders of the Spanish 'opposition' have been what they call having talks with the 'satisfactory government which orders the police brutality. one of the industrial assembled 1n amnesty or all political prisoned granted by King Juan Carlos last year, 200 political prisoners remain from Franco's rule in addition to all those who have been jailed by the of 15 was killed by the police. This murder has greatly reinforced the nature of the rulers of Spain had no on the Pattorm and Parties, various groups of One of these was Simon Sanchez Montero of the Communist Party who has now been replaced by the party's General Secretary Santiago Carrillo, fresh from a spell in Jal - which he refers to as if he was an honoured guest of his respected friends in the 'realistic' government.

When Prime Suarez with the CP refused to riegotiate. the committee of nine formed a sub-committee of four to conduct the talks, composed of two Christian Democrats, and two 'socialists' including Socialist Party Secretary Felipe Gonzalez The CP (let alone the parties to its left) was happy to be represent- The. govern- ed by the bourgeoisie. ment isn't talking to the CP; the CP is talking to the government. Two of socialism are Clerics happy. SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 19th January, 1977

IN BRIEF

CHILE

CHILEAN

ECONOMY

THE

Crisib ousands on small saceas Thousands crisis. small savers have been demonstrating, in the of outside the *antiago of small banks which have bankruptcies have policies of the military dictatorship following the advice of Nobel prize Friedman to cut the money supply already leading to the sacking oi thousands of workers. sordid deal with Pinochet) Chilean CP General Secretarv Corvalan has shown that his commitment to class collaboration, which paved the way he asserted, want to put an end to present 'eminently transitory' if the Popular Unity parties form a sufficiently strong alliance with the Christian Democratic Party (which He has welcomed the election of Carter Church (which also supported the coup) 'a source of inspiration to the

INDIA

THE PRO-MOSCOW Communist Party is reaping the fruits of class collaboration. It performed its role full support to the giving dictatorship, of the and it has now been discarded by launched Indira Gandhi scathing public attack on the party and arrested some of its members.

still The Moscow government supports the "progressive policies" of Mrs Gandhi.

POLAND

MEMBERS OF THE Workers Defence Committee, set up to aid workers on trial for their part in last year's general strike against the economic policies of Gierek's government, have suffered further repression, Members were beaten when try- attend workers' trials. And ing to -two leading members received letters threatening that they will be "sorted out' and hinting at depor- La LUll

CZECHOSLOVAKIA

bureaucracy

THE STALINIST

has launched a major attack on the 300 intellectuals and others who signed a manifesto called 'Charter "human rights" in 77' demanding Czechoslovakia. Several have been arrested; others have had their cut off and all have been phones daily vilified.

SOUTH AFRICA

TWO

POLITICAL

prisoners were found hanged in their •cells 17 the last week, bringing to number of political prisoners who since the this uprising against apartheid began last June. made the The authorities unbelievable claim that all of them committed suicide.

CHINA: TENG FOR FRESH COMEBACK?

Leaks from sources high in the the Peking regime at the end of last week indicated that Teng Hsiao-ping, the 'capitalist "right-wing' roader' ousted in April last year following the death of by Prime Minister Chou-En-lai, is Revolution. to be officially rehabilitated and restored to high office.

His restoration has been predic- table since the arrest last year, tance following the death of Mao, of the 'Shanghai Four', including Mao's of widow Ching Chiang. calling

DANGERS

Teng is an obvious candidate to as a whole. Hua Kuo-feng, Mao's succeed anointed in. Chou successor, demands En-lai's post as Premier, leaving Hua as Party Chairman. become clear, however have lids manipulated that the grass-roots Teng carries campaign restore Mien considerable dangers for within the bureaucracy that presently rules China. The alliance between Hua and

DEPORTATION

TIM

In addition to the pamphlets stabilised (25p), the Agee/Hosenball Defence Committee has now pub- lished two further pamphlets.

Covert Action: What Next? (25p) is a review of exposures so far made of the CIA and What Your Uncle Sam Wants to Know About You (20p) reprints excerpts from Kissinger's guide for intelligence work by American missions. All Agee/Hosenball Defence from NCCL, c/o 186, Kings Cross Road, WCI.

Socialist Press also renters WIll Richard Fletcher's The CIA and the Labour Party: Who Are They Travel ling With? This is now available in book form at 95p Books together with an essay by Fred Kirsch on the CIA and the labour movement in Latin America.

militiary chiefs which It was was these formed to oust the 'Shanghai left' which brought now wishes to consolidate itself by incorporating the leaders of the everybody layer within the state and Party apparatus personified reported also on Teng which under

AHO HAROS

vitriolic attack during the Cultural within the bureaucracy.

POSTERS

of all past Yet they still face massive resis- edifice of which broke into civil war in the majority Moscow Trials of China. And provinces in Peking itself, posters have appeared up to the for rehabilitation of craniali Teng, which go well beyond what is ruling group. politcally safe for the bureaucracy last week have included general "socialist democracy' for on W u and for the people to be allowed to choose their own leaders'.

Others impossible to demanded a 'proper inquiry' 'gang of four" into the clashes in Peking's Tien An Square last year, in APrI mittee, and when tens of thousands came out need to fight unauthorised demonstrations leading bodies of the Party.

following the death of Chou En- poster, being up.

PUT

movements among the masses.

Socialist documents lawyers have recently from the files of the CIA.

Their lawsuits movement, the Alliance, and Fourth

SWP

which the sympathy) in agencies of the US government.

The files gated from the individual members and leaders.

of SWP members while they

FBI

abroad (the charge of other left wing opened ations, CIA Briefing (20p) and Jamaica De- members, bugged and premises. early 1974 public undertaking these would not continue. Committee publications are available There can doubt that they be interested in the reprinting of day difficult by from Spokesman and labour CIA and their ill

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

demonstrations the removal Teng - with the full agreement, as knows, of the present leaders. Ande the connected calls some provincial - for the immediate trial of the 'Shanghai four' carried similar dangers for the ruling clique To make the four the scapegoats Crimes Ictime. falsification and 'confessions' on the scale of Stalin's - and the slightest crack in it would immediately open the récord of every one of the present One of the posters in Peking raised precisely this question. In the form of an attack Teh, Mayor of Peking, it attacked the theory that it was move against the earlier for fear of causing a split in the Central Com- quoted Mao on the "revisionism' in the This was why troops were sent into Tien An Mien Square last week to cover up this type of offending and to prevent new ones Teng, Hua and their opponents within the bureau- cracy may be split on many matters but they are united in their deter- mination to prevent the growth of independent political criticism and

SWP

EXPOSE

FILES

At a London press confer- ence last week the American Workers Party gave details of the large numbers of wing which their Party. prised directed are against the illegal harrassment and surveillance of the SWP, their youth Young Socialist redundancies by the bureaucracy.

the organisations of the so-called 'United Secretariat of International' (with political is In other countries by documents from

CIA

the - in most cases heavily expur- like those earlier released files of the FBI, reveal SWP of ilegal activity against the organisation when lobby MPs against the cuts.

BURGLARIES

the only The CIA carried out burglaries for the were evidently being At the. same time those on US soil), infiltrated it with informers, collab- orated widely with the intelligence is the services of other 'democratic' capit- alist states in receiving and supply- the political issues to workers ing information about the SWP and political organis- the mail of SWP Stalinists and right-wing.

their telephones Moreover it is clear that these illegal activities continued after - rebuild the Trotskyist Fourth International.

- the CIA gave a activities be no shadow of a and the present crisis continue to this but under conditions made political every legal blow struck by those in join our fight in the labour movement.

movement against the Page 3 Teng Hsiao-ping

THE WORKERS

SOCIALIST LEAGUE

The Workers Socialist League is a Trotskyist organisation fighting to build a revolutionary leadership in the working class in opposition to the betrayals of both "left" and right Labour and trade union leaders and the Communist In the daily struggle to take the demands and principles of Trotsky's Transitional Programme into the trade unions, the WSL has been at the forefront of the fight for the sliding scaie of wages, and work sharing on - demands which at the 1975 T&GWU Conference were the only alternative to Jones' 16 pay plan and the wholesale acceptance of In today's fight against the TÚC's 44% pay cutting deal with Healey this demand for a sliding scale of wages rising according to the rising cost of living as assessed by trade union committees) is the essential basis of consistent opposition.

In the Health Service WSL comrades have led the struggle for a sliding scale of NHS spending, for the start of workers control of the service (beginning with opening the books of the Health Authorities), along with the fight to end all private practice. Perhaps more important we have led the growing call for strike action to defend the NHS against the cuts and to implement these policies, fighting those like the ASTMS and NUPE leadership who substitute the words for the action.

In London this policy has already won a big response with the one- day action against the closure of the Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital 2,000 hospital workers in the area struck and 400 marched to • In local disputes also, WSL comrades have tested and developed the demands of the Transitional Programme, putting forward in every case real opposition to the Stalinists and the right-wing. Our struggle "open the books" demand in the motor industry and against all forms of "workers' participation" have won mass responses have put forward a policy fight unemployment, calling for unity of employed and unemployed through the fight to billise the trade movement that fights.

movement consistently transitional demands, going beyond mere trade union militancy to pose In doing this our comrades have been forced also to lead strugeles for trade union democracy against the bureaucratic manipulation of the But our struggle for the continuity of the principles of Trotskyism is in no way a task confined to Britain. It requires an attention and involve- ment in the international struggles of the working class and moves to So While many interventions in Britain have developed the League's grasp of Trotsky's Transitional Programme, there has been a consistent drive to deepen and enrich the movement's understanding of the history of the Trotskyist Fourth International, as an essential part of any serious initiative towards its reconstruction.

We urge all readers who agree on the need for revolutionary leadership and the demands we put forward to find out more about the WSL and

Page 4

UNION OFFICIALS

BETRAY LONDON

HOSPITAL STRIKE

Ancilliary staff at St. Barth- olomew's Hospital in the City of London voted to return to afternoon, work • on Friday following the decision of the Hospital management to re- three porters instate suspended earlier in the week.

including The porters, three Branch Secretary Maurice

NUPE

Kolander, were suspended at 12.30 on Wednesday morning after refus- ing to collect patients notes from medical records. This had never officially been part of their job, and with current cut backs the porters claim they staffed to insufficiently continue doing this favour for the hospital management. As soon as the three were sent stopped work and home, porters soon joined by theatre staff and kitchen staff.

INCENSED

The kitchen staff were incensed by management decision implement a new rota from January which because it cuts estab- 17th, would mean lished reshuction in mages of between so overtime, and £12 a week. Management initially refused to of the talk representatives supported strikers, by sym- now other local hos- pathy action pitals. Lee Brooks, One picket,

COHSE

told Socialist member, had Press that the management that insulting remark made the "when the little boys and girls go back to work then we'll talk Meanwhile the media mass with immediately went to town baseless accusations that patients lives being put at risk. White, com- Ray Another porter, plained bitterly about the coverage the strike nad Deen gively partic ularly in the Sun. afternoon, however, By Friday able officials

WETE

meeting of to a mass strikers that the hospital manage- ment had agreed to reinstate the

NHS HOSPITALS

hospital was des- Hackney "slum hospital" Cribed as by a new report which is to be submitted to the City and East Health Author- London Area ity. and The report on emergency treatment at Hackney long Hospital inadequate equipment, poor standards of main- tenance and old ward buildings.

that The report pointed amenities were important improperly serviced either missing, and maintained or of the wrong size and capacity. It said that there were no proper day rooms where patients who were bed bound could watch eat, not television or generally relax away from the bed area. Most wards were without proper became blinds that patients extremely uncomfortable in strong smtight. had Hackney Hospital also wheelchairs, insufficient trolleys, and cot-sides. Some ward kitchens still had old and unhygenic wooden draining boards and most wards had inade- quate night lighting The report added even where equipment and facilities were avail- zhie, we received many criticisms of he standard of maintenance and "eariness Even without these complaints, sometimes bitter, the evidence was clearly visible there taps. broken bulbs, crack- ed sets ad mori tops. dirty walis Di sideas especially fanlights and three porters uncon tota until withdraw the rota had taken place with discussions the unions". Arguing for an immediate return to work, COHSE full time official William McColl agreed that the of the cuts had not been problem nothing further solved, but that be done until "negotiations" could Even then, way. got under McColl stated: "I accept that there will be some very disagreeable decisions affecting all staff".

CONTINUE THE FIGHT

John Clarke, NUPE convenor at Queen Elizabeth's Hospital argued for continuation strongly strike action on the grounds tual the main question - the attack on overtime as a result of the cuts - had not been solved. to the Rather than return struggle in a week or so, he felt it better to continue the would be fight now. well His contribution was so received that McColl and the other union officials were forced to make lengthy speeches before the motion work could be put for a return to the In the event, the to motion to return was carried.

workers must be on Ancilliary their guard as the negotiations get under way. The suspension of the porters looks suspiciously as three if it was planned in order to gain a bargaining counter when the oppos- ition to the cuts flowed over into strike action.

NOTHING CONCEDED

despite The management, appearances, have not in fact really conceded anything permanent on the issue, that there must main redundancies. or a elinet drastic 400-hour reduction in over- time. And the strenuous efforts made by union officials to pursuade their members to return to work contrast sharply with their lack of leadership in the fight against the attacks on the health service in the area.

CRUMBLE

concluded that they In sum, Hospital was a dump Hackney in spite of the hard and competent of work of the staff. And this is, full weight of before the course, Healey's spending cuts makes itself felt in the hospital. of decline and This picture decay in the Health Service links completely with the report week in the Daily published last Pilger which Mirror by John exposed the situation in Northamp- ton General Hospital. Pilger exposed such details as a six-week delay for admitting cancer critically ill patients being patients, wheeled along a "dark underground passage" the operating to Wall theatre theatre an eye operating. dust is blown through into which the wall, and a lift too a hole in take dead patients on a small to be trolley requiring them dis- smuggled wheelchairs guised as living patients.

Under these conditions the complete inaction of union officials to fight the continuing rundown of the NHS, and simply "negotiations" cuts with seek is costing lives and management destroying the right to free health care, all in the name of supposedly "saving the Labour government".

*Dr John Reed, chief psychiatric consultant for the Hackney district Friday, blamed poor treating mentaly ey facilities in Hospital for treating mentally patients for two recent suicides.

200,000 the unit which serves than half the people. had fewer beds it needed and half the

PROGRAMME

FOR ACTION

AGAINST

WAGE CONTROL

We reprint below the statement of the Organising Committee of the Campaign for Digbeth Civic Hall, Birmingham from 10am to supporters to attend and fight for delegations to this important conference.

In October all the major issues confronting the working class - Labour Movement recalling the Conference on Wage Control and Union Democracy to be held at and the use of racialism to divide the rights and equal pay, were discussed at the first Conference called by working class the Campaign for Democracy in the Labour Movement.

We said then that none of these attacks on the working class can be separated from the increasing trend towards bureaucratic dictatorship by full-time officials within the unions as the TUC leaders move in with no real base of support to repress the slight- est opposition to the policies of the Labour government.

the role of wage The Conference stressed how central is control - in the form of the Social Contract - to every one of the steps taken by the Labour leaders to cut workers' living standards, slash the social services, and speed up production in their bid to preserve crisis-ridden British capitalism.

Since the October Conference, have broken out, wages struggles particularly in the car component Fleet Street. and these strikes have begun Although with small sections of workers, they reflect the feelings of the working class as a whole consulted by the leadership before wage limit, they agreed to the 5% and who clearly do not accept it.

The outbreak of wage struggles has been held back because most feel the actions workers that their and official leaders their own isolation in individual plants makes hard and industries challenge the Social Contract which only involves fighting not their own union employer Healey whole TUC bureaucracy but the NUM leaders have the prepared and the Labour government.

elaborate diversion of the legitimate

CONFLICT

demand for early smother any discussion on wages at Where struggles have broken out, workers have immediately tound themselves in the sharpest conflict

STEAMROLLER

with the trade union leaders. At And the T&GWU Biennial Dele- Owen, workers refused to Rubery officials attend their gate Conference - (the last one was allow the launching pad for Healey's £6 the officials meetings, knowing order them back to state pay laws) - is scheduled for would only their shop work. Eventually July. with the T&GWU threatened The intention in stewards disciplinary action at the hands of and in every other union leadership the AUEW want to steamroller is clear. They the pres- Despite these attacks, of through another round wages is growing in the for control (decorated by talk of flex- sure working class. The mini-budget and 'fringe benefits' and 'differ- ibility', increases have entials) and then to step up still the massive price created the conditions for contron- further the attacks on democracy.

within the unions - with threats to demand therefore, in The key withdraw stewards' cards or expel addition to substantial catching up from Workers who ine umon diy claims, must be for cost of living fight in opposition to these betray- provide increases clauses to als. match the Such causes should not full amount of Alongside these moves the Trade Union leaders are collaborating in inflation. be based on government figures but "participation' schemes aimed compiled elected on figures transforming the shop stewards committees within the unions.

of movement that the There is no management. majority of workers would support level bargaining is being Plant such a policy.

PHASE THREE

But far from responding to these the TUC have now made that they are preparing for it plain yet another stage - Phase Three of wage controls when the present 5% limit expires in the summer.

job- Jones response to the slashing, wage-cutting mini-budget call on workers to was simply to "unite around the Labour govern- ment" has made it And Murray clear that the TUC will even do 3 deal with a Tors government.

These moves show the urgency of preparing an all 03: sere to contrel a the toms owed wage SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 19th January, 1977 4.30pm on Sunday March 27th. We urge all readers and eroded and all negotiations placed in the hands of full time officials.

Where militants win a mass base of support, the full weight of bureau- cratic oppression attempt to crush them. one arena has official 111 opposition to government policy been voiced by the union bureau- the of public issue on spending cuts. But their oppos- been has everywhere ition' consciously restricted to the level and of protest one-day protest strikes.

SUSPENDED

NUT, teachers Indeed, in the who went beyond this verbal level bureaucratically have even suspended from the union by irate officials. These leaders all consistently refused to reject cuts on principle and fight on the service maintenance full or Lie demand for a sliding through the scale of public spending - rising to keep pace with inflation.

And they have avoided like the plague the only action which would actually stop the cuts - prolonged public sector strike unions have not even been mobil- ised in strike action in support of Änderson the Elizabeth Garrett Hospital where THIS CYCl is hospital work-in in Britain in progress It is for this reason that moves to bring together the public sector unions in joint action against cuts can only be of value if it is centred on joint strike action, going beyond mere protest. of public sector The position union leaders like Fisher who make it quite plain that they are not opposed to the wage contro Contract element ot the social workers wanting to means fight cuts and

NOW

confront a united block of Labour and trade union leaders. The 'left wing' Labour MPs have likewise failed at every point to seriously oppose the cuts, and least whether in the of all wage control, arena of the Party Conference, the Parliamentary Cabinet,

-LIE

Labour Party. Instead all they can offer is the old sterile talk of the National Enterprise Board and their reactionary, nationalist call Ior import controls.

HUGE RESPONSE

Yet despite all these obstacles, the working class is clearly going to fight. Every time workers have been opportunity express given their hostility to the policies of the

SOCLILST PRESS.

Labour government and inel effects there has been huge When the national demon- stration called November in was against the 80,000 workers cuts, poured into London from ail over And only four days the country. later 20,000 demonstrated against one of the side-effects of Labour's Icactionary policies when they responded to the Labour Party-

TUC

call to demonstrate against racialism, which feeds off the falling living trustiahon alla standards created by the Healey- Callaghan government. The policy itself has WagED heavy blows. The recared Sonne strike seamen's

VOLO

against the social contract, together with the tenacity Trico O1 Ine women's 19-week strike for equal toppling the verdict of the 'Equal Pay" wages within the the feeling on working class. PHOTO: Chris Davles. Report But what is clear now is that any serious struggle for wages is a threat Social not only the the Labour Contract to but government itself even if such struggles begin with relatively few workers. is not necessarily the case it that small scale struggles can easily be defeated. Precisely because such at the battles retect the class a the working as whole. danger for the Labour leaders that they could spread. the This was. why Rubery Owen and Salisbury Transmissions blacked strikes were consciously out for weeks on the mass media and why information UJ demands in Fleet Street is so hard to come by.

MASS ACTION

If this fact is lost on some within the labour movement it is not lost on the employers, who know that in today's conditions a clear lead from even a small section explode could into mass action against wage control. No working class party 1nd Ul was calling for the downfall of De Gaulle before May-June 1968. but a General Strike erupted which shook r. 197

GREEN

aaron W

CUTS

CAUSE

CASU

CASUALTIES

LIES

Part of the 80,000-strong anti-cuts demonstration on November 17th 1976 ment intends to press forward with British working cass todav make it possible to foresee such a develop- munist Party is attempting to divert from the issue of ment here in the coming period.

"differentials" or protests against development means to prepare a cracy therefore takes on a partic- ular importance as the only serious lor oI a mass movement. This means being It will discuss the perspectives put ready to take in this document and a leaders and programme of action on these key yucsons. the labour movemen NOW! For substantial catching up increases linked to the rising cost of delegate bodies through the local living through a sliding scale of trade union and labour movement wages on a price index worked out to lead the fight against the betray- by elected trade union committees.

als of the bureaucracy. the demand that the trade union leaders abandon the Social Contract strike action with demands that the and support and spread the action.

local labour movement rally round Police arrest pickets early on in the Trico strike. After 22 weeks the claim for equal pay was won.

At the are in fight within the Labour Party, the would must be for the full service to be need to be waged to force the "left' retained through a sliding scale of MPs both to support the action and to fight for the defeat of the Social as assessed bv trade union commit- Contract and the removal of the the nationalisation Callaghan-Healey leadership.

REDUNDANCIES!

SELL OUT

redundancies the demand must be Such a perspective will clearly Communist opposed by the Party line "no wage whose divided between the whole work- control after July" has been eagerly force with no loss of earnings.

taken up by the fight wing obtain acceptance of the 5% deal now, and whose leading position in including the youth, into the trade Leyland's Longbridge plant is used strike" to force through agreement and advance acceptance Company dictated manning levels on the new Mini. Meanwhile on the question of redundancies, the Communist Party UCS, far from giving a lead by unions to be established.

ПРА АШЮСПРAnAAO O1 «IRIT argue for indefinite suspensions for 1,000 shipyard workers rather than mount any struggle for jobs.

he

ONLY INITIATIVE

afford a wage increase of to sustain workforce. demand The must be to force the firm to open In the same way, while speeches from Healey and Callaghan its accounts and plans to an elected committee si made sionists. This announcements in the mini-budget ase is a

STOP

THE

CUTS

bluff, and spur on the fight for jobs and show that the wages, employer genuinely is bankrupt in which case the firm must be Murray nationalised, under the manage- ment of the elected committee, with no compensation to the old The problem of equal pay is above all a problem of low pay and not to be solved by legislation but in the context of the fight against wage and on the working ditions for women. From this flows son files. We call for setting up of sub-committees from trade union bodies to fight on this squads. Destroy the basis of racial- and inadequate social services - for a programme of public works under trade union management to provide

SEDUCS

of democratic procedures in every ly elected Dy lne mempersiup union official to be the average wage of the members he

CAMPAIGN FOR

DEMOCRACY IN THE

LABOUR MOVEMENT

Recall Conference

WAGE CONTROL AND

UNION DEMOCRACY

Sunday March 27th, at 10am Digbeth Civic Hall Birmingham Credentials (50p) and copies of this statement from: Kevin Lee, 44, Devonshire Road, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham 20. Page 5 1,000

BACK

AGEE

MARCH

On Sunday January 9th, marched past the Home Office and the ÜS Embassy to Hyde threatened journalists Agee and Mark Hosenball. disappointing turnout, mainly consisting of jour- nalists and left groups (including a Workers Revolutionary Farty) reflects the narrow base of trade won to Lis hearted action by NUJ officials.

"BRITISH SECURITY"

Home Secretary Merlyn Rees claims that Agee has acted against the interests of "British security" but he has consistently refused to give any particulars of the charges.

spent last week before Agee w independent" hand-picked tribunal, reading a lengthy state- ment in which he tried to account for the whole range of his activities since beginning work on the CIA

DOOK

Even under these circumstances the tribunal, resisted attempts to discover the charges.

Only by observing at what points the panel took notes could Agee and his lawyers infer that they were "getting warm" The now been hearings have suspended for three weeks in order allow Agee to bring witnesses from the United States. Meanwhile, the case of Mark Hosenball, reporter for the Evening Standard, written articles on the CIA, will be 19th heard January under similar circumstances. Neither the Home Office nor the CIA seem too interested in Hosen- ball (both must have known at the time he was charged that his fathe is General Counsel for NASA; He seems to be a "sprat to catch a mackerel", and is very likely to b "judicious" let off to show how and "impartial" Rees and company Hosenball has listened to bad counsel and refused to have any- thing to do with the campaign for his and Agee's defence, preferring the corridors through

WONK

power. The involved in the issues deportation are far wider than the There is, first of cases themselves. all, the matter of democratic rights: the status of Agee is expelled, every politically active foreigner in Britain will be in question.

FULL SUPPORT

And secondly the right of jour- nalists not under the thumb of the the report on capitalist Dress to disruptiye and reactionary activities of the CIA and other covert orga isations of imperialism must be defended The CIA devote large amounts of time and money to intervening in the labour movement. support- ing right wing trade union officizis and MPs and are behind the Union National for bashing Association Freedom whose latest escapade mas obtain an injunction against the UPW's week of blacking 0f 0017- munications with South Africa Every trade unionist should give full support to the and Hosenball, to tick save Agee

CIA

repeal the out the ana lo of Immigration Act, only pari which is being used in this case, but which provides a battery of attacks on non-British workers. Information and literature available from the Ager Hosenball Defence Committee.

NCCL

Kings 160. which donations and resolutions of support should alse e seat.

Page 6

CLYDESIDE: FIRST STEP

WORKERS' REPUBLIC!"

In these ringing nationalist Mole' (forerunner of today's

DELISII

pursuing the question of power.

dass avoid catastrophic defeat. It is the future of the The British bourgeoisie have no Scotland future same time they can t loierate ine loss of it. Its future must lie in the hands of the working class."

will notice that the English working class rates not a of mention in

TIES

Their task is at best to prospects. militants cheer the Scottish on engaged in the revolutionary over- throw capitalism north while they Berwick on Tweed languish under a Tory themselves government!

IMAGINATION

Of course such a picture bore no resemblance to reality. The concep- revolution tion of proletarian Sworland completely detached from throughout struggles British working $10r2 of fevered product middle class imagination.

But the IMG to this day remain determined to separate the political struggles in Scotland from those of the British working class as a whole.

Harsh experience has told them to moderate their demands a little, though. Instead of the call Workers Republic" we Scottish Labour lerts to a lołany manpu- by the Labour govern- setting up bourgeois devolved Assembly in Scotland.

"REAL" POWER

Not a glimmer of socialist per- spective breaks through the nation- aism Red Weekly's main Neil Scottish correspondent Wiltamson, who laments only that fake Assembly will not have "real" the White Paper means made in That no attemot can te Scuriand to hold of the real get oil the hands of the companies or banks for use in the „terests of working people."

(Red Weekly, 26/8/76) Of sourse even a "real" Assem- that workers' bly Casule hanuts were kept off the bankers' casti. inat is moat capitalism and it has the parliamentary system established is all about!

But this simple truth is a closed book to Milliznson. Fibo assures us

COIKETS

Despite IMG's "Highland Fling' nO "SCOTTISH"

ROAD TO

SOCIALISIN

Williamson tells us only apply in any country after a "Quite emphatically Scottish social revolution has swept away workers do not accept the claims of the power of the bourgeoisie, who, George Smith (or Michael Foot for backed by the machinery of the them. that matter) dictate to SpeaK lOI and its armed forces, state which the right, of government imposed have Tune y British labour movement has on the working class. to speak wholeheartedly support, for themselves.

IGNORANT

Williamson's Scottish Obviously has blinded him to the The

IMG

completely viewpoint seem ignorant of all this. They seem to fact that it is not only Scottish reject treacherous England workers who that workers 111 union leaders like Smith.

Indeed in want to be governed the way they are, and that the only resistance to the ballot called by Smith to back TUC's 4½% for the the pris resulted in November support November in wage limit nearly half resulted

VOTES

his despite against him Red Weekly making the ludicrous went abuse of the UCATT journal and a statement that: fraudulently worded ballot paper.

parliamentarism leads the - 1919: Lenin called on Scottish militants to join the British Commun

ENGLISH

lative attitude to democracy, favour of government imposed this opposition, Out of the Scottish from are thousands upon thousands people." English workers. (In Focus, 25/11/76) millions of English Perhaps the IMG could tell us Likewise workers agree wholeheartedly with on this planet bourgeois their Scottish brothers and sisters in "imposed not governments rejecting Foot's right to speak for above", where 'left" Irom them accepting wage cuts, practice reformists do 10 1 spending cuts and mass sackings.

bourgeois the entire supple The struggle against these reac- democratic system! Red Flag in Glasgow the IMG's Of whole tionary leaders is a common one, North and South of the border, and Scotlando 'self-determination for notion not one that can be sidestepped by reactionary, the independent tying a declaration of Scottish indepen- electively interests of Scottish workers to the dence a simple call that only nationalist demands of the middle Scottish, opposed British as I to the right to class and bourgeoisie. be

WORKER

This is obscured a little by their "speak for themselves". use of the abstract term "Scottish Despite decorative statements people" these together to lump denouncing nationalism, therefore, different class forces in the IMG by conceiving of the class

YCEY

general category. struggle in this segmented manner of "Scottish

REACTIONARY

and talking abstractly people" as do the SWP demagogues But Williamson goes give everything in advance to the much further than this brazen theoretical nationalists. The argument Williamson 203 puts make de forward for support to dangerous and 502: right aiLE is one of complete Attacking tha Icasures

STEWARD

Stalinist stewards with Wedgewood Benn protest against Tory closure of UCS to "left' petty IMG's orientation bourgeois groupings. "Ăny to sabotage that attempt democratic right by rejecting even modest and opportunist ine mosl proposals made by the Government to set up an elected Assembly will be disasterous for the unity of the British [!] working class.

present trickle of confid- The ence away from the labour move- as a vehicle for solving the problems of Scottish people will be flood, veritable turned

HALU

throwing workers in Scotland into the camp of the reactionary bourgeois SNP" [26/8/76)

BRITISH ISSUE

confidence" The "trickle of away from the labour movement 1s again not a Scottish phenomenon stemming from but a British the historic betrayals by Tone su and the Labour government, as by- election results have shown.

While in Scotland the SNP has this disillusion in cashed in Britain it has taken other forms Tory vote by former including Labour voters in Workington.

The answer to this of course is not to seek to sidestep the Labour traitors through the setting up of a Scottish Parliament (in which the SNP will in any event, according to win control) but the latest figures, a common political struggle North and South for the removal of the right wing leaders and the building of new leadership. The IMG however have rushed off in completely the other direction. Not only do they support a Scottish Parliament they have also fully backed the break away of "left' MPs Sillars and Robertson to form the Scottish Labour Party.

WHOLE STRUGGLE

This split, too, must be under- stood part of the political as struggle in Britam as a whole Just as Heffer and the Tribunites would sooner chop off their right serious fight for arms than wage a the removal of the Callaghan leader- ship. Sillars Roberison looked to the SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 19th January, 1977 against spending cuts. The SLP was created as an arena within which Sillars and Robertson could reign supreme and hope to militants disillus- counterparts now take other "foreign" capital. extended by Sillars and Robertson.

ing seemed too good a chance to of the forces that rallied behind the SLP, the IMG began to campaign mass party for the working class.

for and support forces the Dressures irom this soc into if Callachan is to te removed.

SYNDICALISM AND THE

BRITISH WORKING CLASS

Review of "British Syndicalism 1900-1914: Myths and Realities" by B. Holton, Published by Pluto Press at £2.95.

SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 19th January, 1977 devolution? Lenin tells us that: "To throw off the feudal yoke, and all al national oppression. privileges enjoyed by any particular nation or language, of the proletariat imperative duty democratic force, and of certainly the interests proletarian class struggle, which is obscured and retarded by bickering on the national question. But to go beyond these strictly limited and definite historical limits is helping bourgeois nationalism means betraying the proletariat and siding with the bourgeoisie. (Critical Remarks on the National

WRENEUTES.

"feudal yoke" The is not a serfdom was factor in Scotland abolished long "National ago. oppression"

IMF-

dependent england eges" enjoyed by British capital and the English language are the product of the historical developm- ment of both British and Scottish capitalism. And equality in Scotland • language is a simple reformist demand which, if it had any mass support at all could be conceded as easily as it has been in Wales. Foot In short there seems little or no the issues at stake reason Lo for workers in Scotland as greatly different from those at stake in West Newcastle, Liverpool, the Country, or any of the areas of Britain in which capitalism driven workers into mass unem- ployment and falling living standards. On the other hand to call as do the

IMG

workers in Scotland organisations such as the on

DUP

question' flies in the face of Lenin's warning: "Working class democracy counterposes to the nationalist wrangling of the various bourgeois parties over questions of language etc the demand for the uncondit- ional unity and complete amalgam- ation of workers of all national- all THeN WOrkIng - trade union, cooperative, ations consumers' 41101 others - in contradistinction to any kind of bourgeois nationalism. Only this type of unity and amalgama- tion can uphold democracy and defend the interests of the workers is already against which capital and international growing more If we were at the ?!: where choose ment favour 23:- but of a loca'.

BELLINKE

system of soviets si airiers within which east

IEE0E

would have equal voice. through which an integrated pier the British economy could be drawn up.

SECEDE

If under such conditions a clear majority of workers in Scotland oI Wales expressed a sectut. they would of course have the right to do so. But until such time as ine themselves are free to the express matter without the dominant influ- ence the bourgeois media and we can only capitalist exploitation, call on Scottish and Welsh workers alike to reject the fraudulent moves of the Labour government towards "Derolution", and join the to common struggle for revolutionary kadership in the Tahout mOve- Dent.

PART TWO

Syndicalism was a move- of the struggle ment born against ruling class violence and bureaucratic betrayal in the years before the outbreak of the First Imperialist War in 1914. In the last issue of Socialist Press we gave some details of these great battles in Britain, this we and in will say more on the guiding ideas of those who played a prominent part in them. Syndicalism defined by Holton as a movement that: Persected ined cite cred mot sustained or

CONCEDE OI

by revolutionary class struggle industrial means. reflected This movement and developed a particular phase in the of the history class struggle Britain and most of the other main industrialised countries.

Its great achievement from the point of view of the British working was that it represented the class first serious attempt through leadership couldly workers struggle and in opposition to the betrayals of the bureaucrats.

MILITANT

There had been militant class fighters in Britain before, and there had been people calling themselves 'social democrats', since 1881.

In the 1880's, Engels had tried small group of his to turn the supporters in Britain to program- matic questions like the legal Eight Hour Day and the building of a Labour Party But although they participated the building of the workers' movement, the revolutionaries were not yet in a position to assume the leadership. By cheery, yee main earin.

Marxist tieth main century, group, the Social Democratic Fed- cranon, cnaracterised as a sect by Engels, was unable to put forward policies for the workers other than fighting elections and exercising pressure for reforms. of these policies there were a number of splits from the SDF, one of which resulted in the setting up of a Socialist Labour Party. Inspired by the American Daniel De Leon, this aimed to defeat the by building incorrupt- bureauctacy able 'red' unions called the Indus- trial Workers of the World.

SECTARIAN

SCE SEVE

=====: Foxe: i mistate cust be etiting mas organisations, and ren small It was at the end of 1910 that the Industrial Syndicalist Education League was set up to make propa- ganda about the need to link indus- trial struggles with the replacement of capitalism. This first brought these ideas beyond the fringes of the working class movement, and included Tom Mann, well known as a militant leader since the days of the 1889 London dock strike, and Guy Bowman, imaginative an well acquainted with the French syndicalists.

MEDIUM

The ISEL went well beyond the unionist' notions of the old dual SLP. Howarth, who had formerly supported them now that the existing workers' organis- ations: *must be the medium through which to recruit

OUT

future members of the resolution- It force re rich to create ' leaders of the movement, argued for propaganda favour In OI general strike with the aim of the workers: "evolving that unity of action and sameness of inspiration which will make them think and act as a direct and forcible the expropriation of the capitalists."

ARISTOCRATIC

support from The

ISEL

to the who were opposed

ALHONE

methods of the "aristocratic' union •and wanted to divided organisations of building workers, engineers and railwaymen united in coets to bead down efforts break oron the support Their sectionalism many sections of workers, and they campaigns took up to set up industrial unions, to co- ordinate the trades councils, and in develop unity other ways to action. Syndicalists or those influenced by their ideas, played a leading role struggles many of the great described in the first part of this Jesh Ablett was with the I== Mann Syndicalists were sinays 2 :2= fore in developing the resistance o: working class, in attacking it?

the empicyers rapacity opposing the treachery of the u00= leaders.

STRENGTHS

Holton provides much information on these strengths and the achievements of syndicalist movement, and is well worth read- ing if only for its summary of the great class battles that brought the movement to birth. However, the fact that the book published by Pluto Press, assoc- International iated with the Socialist group, recently transmog- rified into the 'Socialist Workers Party should warn us about the political limitations of the approach of Holton. He is quite effective in arguing about the strengths and enduring influence of syndicalism and showing the positive qualities that into the shop stewards

*CIL

the First World Wai 257d the and Page 7 By John Dochert Labour Party and the SDF wante He is less than adequate in politics to be separated from indus setting weaknesses and failings of syndicalism, even in its- trial struggle, the syndicalist opposite and equall argued the own time. false idea that industrial struggle bi trying to dispose of alleged itself could replace politics.

'myths' perpetrated by Their opposition to state social writers on the subject, Holton goes ism' was more of a reaction to th a long way to constructing myths false notions of the reformists tha of his own. the capitalist state could be take He rejects the characterisation of over politely than a serious attemp syndicalism "atheoretica to formulate any alternative.

'neglectful of the politics of the his 192 As Trotsky put it in state'. article "The Errors in Principle o On these points, however Syndicalism', arguing against thos Holton, is tilting at windmills. Of theories the had maintained such syndicalists generation later: theory, but it was a one-sided and "The proletariat's historical ta inadequate of the develop- VieW is to this most powerfu wrest ment of workers' struggles.

instrument of oppression from th preached the They necessal y hands of the bourgeoisie.'

but thought that changing the form of the struggles The syndicalists were wrong t changing think industrial organisatio that organised workers, was sufficient to captur alone current! power from those who held it in the capitalist state. Their healthy but incomplet the problems involve reaction to class working 1n Ine power.

BOLSHEVIKS

in the Bitical ast industri link the political industri aspects of this problem to brir about proletarian victory.

In 1923 Lenin set out his poi embodied all th in a way which experience of the struggle for tl practice of these ideas in the worl ing class: "Only the political party of th Communi working class the Party, is capable of uniting, trainir and organising a vanguard of th of the whole ma proletarial alli of the working people that alor will be capable of withstanding tt inevitable petty-bourgeois vacilla ions of this mass and the inevitab traditions and relapses of narro craft unionism or craft prejudic among the proletariat, ie, of leadir politically, and through it th whole mass of the working people.

Without this the dictatorship the proletariat is impossible."

(Collected works Vol 32, p241 The strengths and achievemen of the syndicalists were immense : a particular stage in the history Tom Mann in 1889 the class struggle. could also change their content.

They had a theory of the stat They wrongly thought that more but false a practice struggle, but attacks on authority and militant class motent inadequate one. But their coura greater organisational unity were in themselves sufficient for complete puts them head and shoulde victory against capitalists and their above a hundred petty-bourgeo theorisers of today, even thous state. they lacked the instrumen

INCONSISTENT

for the victory of th working class. The best of them, like Mann an Murphy joined the Communi == Party. later to be distorted Isfigured by Stalinism. The other Purcell and Hicks becau radialis uncomprehending cogs in a tra being quite sompatible with more bureaucracy their trainit efficieni reformism™. them no capacity to unde gave That is true. yet the call for stand industrial unions was in practice the main ways in which one OI

TESTED

syndicalist influence was exercised.

Holton shows that when the When tried and tested in ti ISEL was set up, its: struggles of a later period they "immediate strategy centred...

unable to separate themselves fro the need for industrial union- a right wing leadership with ism". they had always preached unity He later points to the great These were fighters, but fig of the syndicalists in who went into battle with success arguing for the setting up of the eyes closed, and left the outco National Union of Railwaymen, to other generals who had alre terms of Amalgamated Engineering Union, and so on. This was a step with the enemy. Read book. Study forward for the working class, but did strengths and achievements of not in any - 1t way it directly to achieve state power.

syndicalists. But in rescuing The did and syndicalists certainly from unmerited obscurity have a theory of the state, but it representation, do not forget made these was a false one. They reacted to the their inadequacies treachery and ineffectiveness of the 'efficient 1s mel reformists first Labour MPs by arguing that failed revolutionaries Those the way to success rested on indus- trial organisation alone.

their traditions will fobos

EDEN: AN OLD-STYLE IMPERIALIST

ABORTION FIGHT NO SINGLE ISSUE

Page 8 As part of the campaign to Gend and extend the right to ortion a National Tribunal Abortion Rights is to be ad in Central Hall, London • January 29th, organised by National Abortion ampaign. The reason for the Tribunal is to pro-abortion facts the

CONTE

I COHSE

SAYS THE

REMANS

ON SITE

Eden Parliamentary Select Committee is ignoring -and to campaign for to the William opposition new Benyon Abortion (Amendment) Bill. The Select Committee is made up of anti-abortionists, as al tne pro-abortionists (who were in the minority) resigned when the wu all' mittee was reconvened. The Tribunal is hoping to expose the Select Committee by

CAMDE

TRADES

COUNCIL

WORKERS

NOTERS

CONRO.

NUEEZEETI

Perhaps the most interesting of British capitalism. aspect of the death on 14th Despite retrospective attempts January of Anthony Eden, to prove the contrary, Eden was not in any way opposed to fascism former Tory Prime Minister as such. and times Foreign many When Hitler invaded the Rhine- Secretary, was the reaction of land in 1936, Eden said there was the Tory press and media.

"no reason to suppose that the German action implies a The man who abandoned Was threat of hostilities" and reviled in 1957 after his disas- Suez adventure, for his

INVASION

failure serve the to interests of British imperialism in the modern When the infamous Hoare-Leval world, is at his death praised on a Pact acquiesced in the Italian rather slender basis of his "charm", invasion of Abyssinia, it "patriotism" his and his dubious Eden who put up the statements "record as an opponent of appease- in defence. ment" Together with Leon Blum the Lord Longford says that in the French Social Eden Democrat, annual processsions of the Knights constructed the so-called Non-Inter- of the Garter, it was Eden who got Policy in Spain, through vention the most cheers. which the capitalist powers facili- The applause of a crowd turning tated the victory of Franco.

out lor such occasions was less for Eden's famous resignation from Eden's personal qualities than for the Foreign Office in 1938 allowed him subsequently to bask in what glories of British imperialism.

A.J.P. Taylor has called a "mythical One Tory commentator consid- reputation" as a supporter of strong "no sense of ered that Eden had action against Fascism. history. Quite so! His was less of a stand on any sort of principle than a protest

NAVY

against Premier Chamberlain making agreements above his head, His was the diplomacy and the British and against British inability to have politics era when capitalism could impose the balance much effect in any case. "Tate wards, is not that he is a of power between European states with Hitler", he and. • deal forcibly with said afterwards, any who• Fascist at home the trouble is crossed the interests anywhere in British Navy that he will not stay at home".

imperialist the world. As Foreign Secretary from 1940- Eden 1945 and 1951-1955, Eden acted as failed to impose a mori- honest broker for imperialism by bund British power in a new world balance helping to impose the monarchy on international between Greece in 1944 and organising.

imperialism and Stalinism and the the Geneva Conference in 1954 which upsurge of the colonial revolution Eden was born in 1897 robbed the Indo-Chinese people of Anthony into an old land-owning family: He liberation for a generation.

educated in the most aristo- possible - at Eton and cratic way

APPROVED

Christchurch, Oxford and ended the First Imperialist War in 1918 as In between his periods of office the youngest Brigade Major in the the post of Foreign Secretary was held by British army. Ernest Bevin, formerly of Five e years later he became a T&GWU, of whom it was said "Eden thoroughly approved" Tory subsequently held and various senior offices Eden best junior remembered and affairs throughout the for hated today foreign his part in the 20's and 30's. joint Anglo-French-Zionist plot in Between the wars, the sapping 1956 against the Egyptian nation- alisation of the Suez Canal.

strength of British imperialism was not as obvious as it later became.

His policy and its failure has Eden's policies were not aimed in been Eden's gall- by explanee bladder, his intellectual weakness or any way at preventing the growth of fascism or "dictatorship" , but at in his own account, from a "lack of of the Israeli fore-knowledge" avoiding the ally conflict between European powers invasion of Egypt. which falled to serve the interests There seems little doubt that proposals of the "Benyon collecting evidence abortion Bill' which will restrict the number from a public platform and to start wider publicity of safe, legal abortions available to gave the contents of Benyon's Bill.

The exact details of the Bill are

INADEQUATE

not yet available, but it is believed that it will contain eight clauses.

These are admirable aims but Ine most restrictve proposal 1s left at that level are, in the present to reduce the number of pregnancy situation, completely inadequate.

weeks velore wilch an abortion can This epitomised

NAC'S

by be carried out from 28 to 20 weeks parliamentary orientation and the of pregnancy. isolation of the Campaign due to Because no date in pregnancy is its concentration on abortion and accurate, entirely doctors tend to only abortion. allow weeks for safety, The fight for abortion on the effective deadline would be demand on the NHS is automatic- only 18 weeks of pregnancy.

alv connected with the general and wider struggles for women's rights

NOT CONNECTED

and the fight against the cuts in the

NHS.

One of the other clauses expect- But NAC only mentions the cuts ed to be in the Bill restricts doctors' in their literature in relation to the rights as well as women's by saying way they restrict abortions and at lne two coctors wno aurnorse an do nol not be "connected Mime time abortion must around the closure of abortion with eachother", and that one of facilities at the Garrett them should have been registered Anderson Hospital for Women for at least five years. which at one stroke has brought This will hit the charity clinics about a drastic reduction in the hardest they the places as are number of abortions carried out in can't women often turn to if they the Camden area of London.

won't go to their GP for get or

DANGEROUS

support. It would be more time consum- of course, ing and difficult for a clinic doctor necessary publicise the role of the Parlia- find another doctor not Select Committee and the connected with them who and defines "connection" dangerous, backward and reaction- SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 19th January, 1977 when the archives covering these the "debonair events are opened English gentleman" will be revealed as an unsuccessful liar. However, the failures were less personal than the result of the fact that the reality of world politics was on a different scale from the days of the nineteenth century "send when Palmerston could a gunboat" The British Army even with the French and Israelis was not in a position to impose its will on the nationalist upsurge of the post-war years. That, Eisenhower, said Dulles and was the job of the USA. They could deal with the nationalists as they showed by getting the

CIA

kick out Musaddiq in Iraq. Israel was to be their pawn and not anybody else's.

It had been Eden's predecessor Balfour, who first gave credence to the scheme for a Zionist state, but it was only the Americans who could now patronise its aggressive expansion.

HUNGARY

On 1st November 1956, when the Israelis reached the Suez Canal and the RAF had already bombed Port Said, the Russians decided on their invasion of Hungary.

For imperialism, it was no longer a question of maintaining a balance .of power in Bad, but sEd as Eden's predecessors could, dealing with Stalinism on a world wide scale. On Sunday 4th Novem-.

ber Russian • tanks entered Budapest and the next day British.

paratroopers landed in the Suez Canal Zone. The US lost leverage in world affairs by the actions of its allies, and they soon put a stop to British and French action, though not to Israeli involvement. After this failure, the Tory Party spewed out Eden without mercy. He got new titles and praise for his "charm in later years and at his death. But the ruling class had no further use for him They needed politicians of the MacMillan type, able to come to terms with colonial revolution and those like Heath could ally with the other capitalist powers.

Eden will be remembered for his failure at Suez. But this was defeat not for himself alone, but for older imperialist system which died a good deal before he did.

The Bill will also affect counsell- ing agencies. police access records, and • for lines illegal abortion. But the most effective way of publicising these facts is by turning to the trade union and wider labour movement in a serious way.

BREAK

NAC must therefore break from their parliamentary orientation and with anyone (even Tories) who are pro-abortion. So while members of the WSL will attend the Tribunal they will fight for the National do Abortion Campaign to turn to the trade union and labour movement.

This means effective campaigns on issues like supporting the

EGA.

fight- occupation of the ing for the defence of the NHS as a rights allu through day struggles on every problems facing women - like pay, conditions and nursery facilities.

In this way the issue of the rights to abortion can be brought into its proper context in todays struggle not remain isolated as a single issue.

By Sue Lister

SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 19th January, 1977 The capitalist crisis has pre- labour dictably given the especially bureaucracy an intense craving for schemes of participation" "workers' in the management of capitalist firms. the capitalist This because 1s front of which in these system, bow scrape no and longer permits them to appear to for their win any real members. requires On the contrary. them to turn into strike breakers and agents cutters, of speed-up, redundancy and all the class measures other anti-working through which the capitalists hope to resolve their crisis. Participation schemes help them this tole in a variety of ways.

participation is a way of Workers' trade union organ- weakening the isation at the factory and company level where it is most difficult for to Inamtam control.

REPRESENTATION

"Participation" does this by set- ting up forms of "representation" which are designed to supercede the trade union institu- independent tions. "representatives" Workers' become directly insolved i takine decisions to sack workers, intensity work, and keep wages down.

These schemes have a particular appeal to the bureaucracy while their objective is to stifle the can be rented workers' independence movement, they were some real reform, as if they distract attention from bureaucrat's policeman's uniform.

Council is The

TUC

General demanding committed "representatives" make up wOrkers' a half of the Boards of Directors oi all large firms. "lefts" they and This is what "industrial demo- like call cracy" and 'a step towards workers' control" In fact, it is a more sophisticated collaboration for their daily with the capitalist class.

CAPITALIST ADVOCATES

The capitalists of the CBI have also for some years been enthusias- advocates such tic "workers' participation".

leaders (from Three their OI ICI, GKN, and Williams nad Glyn's Bank) have spent the last with Jack Jones, months "neutral" few Jenkins academics on a committee chaired by Bullock, and dominated Alan ex-Vice Chancellor of that haven of Oxford workers' democracy, University. about to This committee produce two reports. The majority report (by the TUC representatives and the recommends that there should be equal numbers "trade union of shareholders' and representatives" on the Boards of Directors of all large firms plus a appointed by third group "2x sides (the so-called plus formula). The minority report, by capitalist three explicit tatives, accepts the principle oI

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A BULLOCKING

SPOTLIGHT

such participation but wants it to be more restricted in operation.

fewer don't want it to apply to all firms, This last fact alone clear to any class conscious worker what the scheme involves - it is a long term employers' strategy for participation and fight in the destruction of the independent

DOLLE

TOlS member Derek Robinson, an even stronger illusion that partic- ipation is a reform in the interests of the working class for which they must fight against capitalist hostil- ity The fact is, however, On matters of principle there is no room for a razor blade between the positions of the CBI and the TUC The real purpose of participation working class Is snowu very Dear Comrades, ... £1 plus 20p p&p review of Livio Army ana masses ir .30p plus 10p p&p Workers

AND

TASKS.

• 15p plus 6½p p&p. before 1949 bureaucratisation

WORKERS FACE

REFORMISM

And even during the first year of representatives of staff unions and period - attacks upon the stewards force have been mounting steadily.

plan. And in the end the Company have reduced the work- unemployment; contracts are being

"COMMON INTEREST'

Banbury and stewards who oppose of their members have been blatant- to and adhered to by Robinson. It is a clear example of the whole way A key role in the introduction of in which participation sets out to democracy has been played by 'left' the working class into some kind of illusory 'common interest' with the felt is hotting up. Leyland manage- pressure on to their obliging assis- until Ryder had for 30 years been special joint meeting was called of his position as chairman to rule the General Secretary of the

ALREADY DECIDED

The reason for this was that the "already been decided. the point that the NEB would not Lee and unless this last further financial aid to Combine Committee meeting, was solved, and industrial action Company had convened a meeting

LETTER:

CHINA'S BUREAUCRACY

Leeds Chinese link and Comintern I have just read Paul Stein's struggle between Stalinism in the Chinese Party and Maitan's Party, China and Chinese students the welcome it as a model of comrade- Moscow. of this The story told in Wang Fan-hsi's brilliant and criticism of the book, which is that moving Memoirs insufficient emphasis to Revolutionary, to be published in English translation by Oxford Uni- "the origins of the modern, bureau- Chinese state in the areas versity Press disagree controlled by the Party and Army Finally that the far-left Sheng-wu- Stein lien group "overstepped the mark its branding "social bureaucracy" are only En-lai" a red capitalist. as to my mind essentially correct, and wu-lien's "eulogies" of Mao were a strategem unmentioned in the later chapers of immediate suppression. Livio's book, they are perhaps not Although it is true that Sheng- wu-lien's programme echoed some An equally important factor in of the "approved political rege 9 curbed. In this context the meeting weat of to discuss the sortines on "participation'. Trade union repres entatives were congratulated for the enthusiasm they had shown - but it was said that the set-up was not working at shop floor level.

NO SAY

The reason for this is clear. Shop floor workers have in very many BIvEl whether or not they accept partic- ipation - and it has never won their of workers which has to work the

MOISEDON

conditions discussed by the coltab- orators on the participation som mate Coventry have withdraw: from the the Leyland Body Plast i Couts; buld a ampaie ore the seIt fee Ints IS IN 07: #L30043 by elected stop sumess bead, must be sotti on i Idea of the snoo foot Iow management. But it can and must union committees to begin to asser This question comes to the for in a number of ways. Where speed the demand mut for a propor lay management, the demand must the rostrum argu- The continual arguments abor must be challenged bat bondir unio 1S compone for under cipation" are a bare-faced attack ‹ No participation in manageme but workers control over manag of bureaucracy, mates" hat political power early statement that still in the hands of the burezucr Trotskyism and and the seizure of power is onl explici superficial reform" tan to the official line, counter accounts for the cruel suppressi struggle is of the group. Sheng-wu-lien in fact becam Chinese symbol o1 an ourcauca for youth in China, and its id appear to have influence in the opposition curre Paul

DITA

that continue to exist in the und there, and also ame ground Chou revolutionary youth in the colo Sheng- of Hong Kong. From a Trotskyist point of vi avoid Sheng-wu-lien's main weakness to its acceptance of the Maoist idea "red capitalism". Yours fraterna Gregor Bent esti-

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

TEACHERS FACE MASS SACKINGS

If national action against unemployment and the cuts was called by the NUT Execu- "increase unem- tive it would ployment"! This lunatic proposition was put forward by Dick Boland, secretary of the Action Committee Enfield,

SOCLAI

discuss the implementation of the decision notco teach classes or over 35 children. Great amazement was expressed Enfield is one of only esree areas many teachers present that the others being Sutton and Stockport allowed by the Action Committee to express their hostil- ity to the government attacks on jobs and services. This deliberate isolation caused some people in to tnt meeing question the whole point of their action and their chances of success.

The Executive would no doubt be glad if action in these selected NUT President Wiltshire areas collapsed so that they could use the time-honoured excuse bureaucrats that they wanted to fight but their members "let them down", The chairman, against the wishes of the majority of the meeting even refused to accept a motion calling for national action.

"SECRET"

Teachers in Oxfordshire can, assured the meeting that take heart, Boland assured action will be taken in that area but yet it has remained a "secret" for tactical reasons! No doubt it will be designed to coincide nicely with the sacking teacher of the 500th who is Teachers heading for the dole queues in Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire can reflect bitterly on the mis- placed faith their union leaders had that Labour would prevent their schools being butchered. In Oxfordshire, NUT members are digesting the bitter orders that 464 jobs in the county are to be 250 of them in compulsory redundancies. Their neighbours in Buckinghamshire face the closure of every single nursery school in the county and the loss of 350 jobs Class sizes in both counties are to be dramatically increased.

The time has not run out for a fight by the teachers but it is clear now that no struggle is to be put up by the leaders of any of the teach- ing unions. Oxfordshire the size of the cuts has been known for more than 5,000 months and workers,

NUT MEMBERS HIT...

BY UNION LEADERS!

threatened by the local authority.

the and suspended employer And Boland didn't members from the union for taking naturally, exclude the possibility of strike no-cover action "without Executive permission" action in the (indefinite) future.

No-one the

NUT

"CHERISHED"

can accuse rxecutive inaction, however. it been contrary, has Dr. Walter Roy, newly dubbed extremely busy, attacking the Little

CBE

Year Ilford Honours for their teachers stand Executive and member for the and cuts; censuring analist Cambridge said he had wille Committee previously "cherished" the right of North for speaking to stone and people speak freely he now union members lobbying the Exec- considered the democratic utive in protest against these disci- that "destroy plinary taken by the process was bemg usea it measures Executive Committee. democracy called upon

11SCIT

ant "reasonable people" to support the

LOBBY

Executive's witch-hunt. North Wherever this letter is read out and Stone Executive branches must be urged to repud- members from Inner London and Outer London late it and put motions of support apparenty were for the Little Ilford teachers for both condemned not leaving the Council Chamber with the rest of and the EC members who backed the Executive on November 27, them 1976 when the meeting was broken Meanwhile Executive con- the after refusing to meet a lobby tinues with its connivance with the up against the suspension of the Little William Tyndale InEA against General Secretary Jarvis at the TUC Itford teachers. teachers, and has also prepared new Further the Executive majority attacks on the rights of members to condemned for playing presented to the next confer-

LICH

leading part in the meeting held ence; by the demonstrators. The

POSTAL BALLOT

was lead witch-hunt by NUT President, Alf Wiltshire, who Last the Executive year was, he said, motivated by the need proposed to the local associations "preserve the Union's demo- cratic procedures"! that they introduce postal ballots The real wreckers of democratic for elections and increase quorum of meetings. procedures in the union of course his allies Wiltshire and These recommendations are who were forced through the disciplinary thrown out by so many associations that they are being re-introduced procedures at last year's Annual Conference. by the Executive as mandatory.

They can see that They have since used them to making bureaucratic measures will be threaten any member needed to stifle the membership's moves towards action against the and as with the Little Ilford growing opposition to their reac- teachers have actually lined up with tionary policies. for a half day strike in September official of the Mr Ray on the day the county council met.

Fox, wrote to Shirley Williams, the Workers, some of whom had Education Secretary, their giving Lak ele

CHE DOTSIO

•ICA Tele seriously, found themselves on the "I feel you should know that the street demonstrating their refusal to controlling group on the allow the cuts of £3.25 millions in council lose no opportunity in their the education budget to go ahead.

public statements blaming the The surprised the government for these cuts.

"They say that what they are union officials as much as the *doing council. simply and solely ta

HESDUINC

Guan.

POSTPONED

The union believes this is untrue: nothing government Faced with such large numbers circulars would indicate cuts of this on the streets outside their debating order." hall, the council postponed its final "until after This month the full extent the rate the lunacy of this piece of wishful support grant known". This Is became The manoeuvre meant that the govern- thinking clear. rate would have to increase support grant has been cut. The the rate support grant instead of education cuts are to go through in full. Teachers will lose 464 jobs, cutting it, The only people to be taken in 250 of them in compulsory redun- were the union officials. Secretary dancies, of Oxfordshire

NUT,

Mr Jack Each school has now been issued Stedman, primarily a protest".

half day had seen the with a specific number of teachers strike as to sack.' The response in the schools

DUCALINI

HUMBER JOBS

With local unemployment 16,000, at now running further massive redundancies planned for workers in are North Humberside. At Hawker Siddley Brough lay- offs of 450 were announced last month, followed rapidly by 350 at Needlers in Hull and an expected 700 sackings through Council cut- backs. This comes on top of closures Drypool shipyards and Thorn Electrics, plus massive layoffs at Ideal Standard, Rosedown and in the fishing indus- the try, not mention major cut-backs in all the public services.

In the face of these closures, the local trade union leadership offer nothing.

MOBILISATION

The only defence of these and other jobs lies in a rejection of the employers plan for rationalisation and the mobilisation of the working class in defence of jobs and wages.

following The resolution was Hull passed at the

AUEW

13 Branch: This Branch places on record its disgust the impending redun- dancies forecast at the Hawker Siddley Aviation plant. Branch TUC guide lines upon recalls the which the 5% social contract was negotiated in order to redress the balance (ie, the fall living in of the Union standards Trade membership). The points agreed upon were: 1. A gradual lowering of unem- ployment levels. 3. Less cut ovo cia Services Reduction of the present inflation rate and the increase housing to solve the unemploy- ment in the building trades.

In breaking those points, Branch records that this contract now exists as nothing less than an illegal document of betrayal in which the rank and file had very little to say.

(DEA POORER FUTURE

SUFFER.

shock and anger. The cuts are so bad that some headmasters are refusing to carry Yet out the sackings themselves. what does Mr. Stedman say as his dream world collapses around him?

"It would appear the ment circulars have been misleading us all by stating that statting levels in schools had been provided for in the grant. feel support teachers have been badly let down.

We have had assurances over and over gam which now prove to be worthless." Meanwhile in HeARDOUTE Buckinghamshire, the axe will fall just as sharply. The council there is considering closing every single one of the county's nursery schools, making 350 teachers redundant.

The Buckinghamshire Division of the NUT has called for a half day strike on the day the Policy and Resources Committee month. They will get a massive response in Buckinghamshire just as

DEFEND ALL

With local unemployment figures at 16,000 and still rising, plus the fact of this Labour govern.

ment's refusal to grant area devel.

opment status, forecasts a bleak for unemployed and their families, and therefore Branch District Committee to calls implement a programme based on the following perspectives and put an end to the which has permeated this area for so long: a. A fight to reject all redundan- cies (even voluntary if possible) at Hawker Siddley Aviation, and demand for work sharing on full hours pay by among the whole workforce.

b. Any rejection of this demand then the Company should the books to a elected Trade Union Committee invoived. to case for nationalisation of the air- craft industry, with no compen- sation for the old owners (Workers' Management Control). c. Provision for Civilian aircraft contracts and a programme of use.

ful public works in the form of (ie. hospital and medical needs cardiac, radiology and lung the production machules, and also of cars for disabled persons should not be ruled out, especially where the skills of the membership cannot and must not be allowed to stagnate in unemployed decay.

Failure these meet demands must be met by the mobil- isation of all local AUEW member- ship in order to protect the jobs of all including factory

COLONICA

occupations led by the respective leadership of the unions involved, in support of Unity of Purpose.

Branch requests that copies of this forwarded to TeRPHLON District Committee for Divisional attention and national support and also Hull District copies to and Council Trades and for Branch representatives to request Council support by contacting the Joint Shop Stewards Committee Irom Hawker Siddley discuss all to pontes concernme oo protechion

ELESS EDUCATION

Oxford teachers demonstrate against cuts But what will the teachers be told? That a Tory council is over- reacting government circulars? Will a panel of national speakers from the public sector unions boast as they did in Oxfordshire of their close contact with government officials and how Shirley Williams will stamp on the Tory plans?

"NO COVER"

The betrayal by the union leaders goes as deep as that by the Labour Teachers government adopting a 'no cover' policy must But that course be supported. will prevent the going not cuts

LETOWAR

The evidence is that teachers and parents alike would support massive industrial action by the teachers to fight these cuts in the only possible way - by all out strike action.

Teachers Buckinghamshire beware. Look across the border to your neighbouring county there what the policies of the NUT

SOCIALIST PRESS. Wednesday 191k Jennery. 197: majority of Sheffield The engineering factories were shut down for half a day last Confed Wednesday by a District-wide strike. In the afternoon, 3,000 workers representing most major factories marched through the town in sup- port of the closure Capital Tool Works. This which 2,800 workers in 14 factories all part Balfour have strike in defence of 400 jobs.

tion, column inch coverage in the inside pages of the local press!

to force through these sackings that a virtual press blackout has been ordered to try to hide the strength of working class resistance.

The Engineering Employers Fed- planning to every with the Balfour move Forcing Darwin management. through these sackings is crucial to their plans for wholesale sackings throughout the Edgar Allan Balfour group and the rest of Sheffield engineering. Their attempts to play down the effects of the efforts of the local officials and Confed leadership to hold back a fight to defend jobs throughout the district. At each stage they have tried to keep the strikers isolated.

At first they called only for blacking of Balfour Darwins by other factories in the group. Then they postponed district- wide strike action. And now when forced to call strike action, restric- Cammell Laird shipyard in Birkenhead has been brought to a standstill by a pay dispute involving 450 platers and ship- wrights. The are demanding pay- ment of a £2 pay award which was at first agreed to by management and then withdrawn. The Company withdrew the £2 after having initially paid February 1976, arguing that it had been subiect to the acceptance bv the workforce of a productivity flexibility" deal involving amongst steelworkers and re- deployment of labour in the yard.

REJECTED

The workers rejected this deal.

Now the Company claim that they the it cannot pay money since would contravene the Social Contract. The local leadership of the union involved (the Amalgamated Society of Boilermakers) bases its case on the ascertion that the deal does not break the Social Contract and that this is beside the vomt in ant since the money had been event, paid once already, before it withdrawn. After months of negotiations on the issue had produced nothing the strike began on January Ath, and the following the by weekend whole of the 4,000 workforce in the yard had been laid off.

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

SHEFFIELD CONFED

PROTEST STRIKE

(left) George Caborn (above) the threatened factory.

fight at Balfour ting it to a four-hour protest.

threatened, the Darwins is part of a fight to defend and living standards irrespec- jobs tive of the employer's profits.

pack the last Confed stewards meet- Their jobs must be defended by ing to insist that a proposal for 24 implementing of work- a policy hour strike action be overturned in sharing on full pay where produc- favour of a four-hour strike - a tion is cut. sure way of minimising its effect on of Edgar Allan The claims Balfour's that they cannot avoid closure must be answered by the election of trade union committees people came out clearly at the rally to inspect their books and show the nationalisation nat "There is a much need for state managers, under appointed like at BSC, where jobs have been Capital Tool Works. This is an issue ruthlessly axed, but under workers' The employers must management. go through the procedure they have The national leadership of the and

AUEW

T&GWU,

like local press, is trying to pretend this Secretary of the AUEW and leading strike is not taking place.

and Scanlon Jones must be forced ing jobs, but verbally defending the cal national action 1n support while a full scale district- wide strike is called, not 4-hour protests. art wug to negotiale over leaun The employers are mobilising in class full strength: the working must do the same to win. Together with this must go the only mean they immediate the perfectly willing to collaborate with occupation Capital Tool Works to forestall any the employer in imposing management attempt to move out - provided they redundancies can machinery. have their say in how they are carried out. They have alternative to *The importance of a determin- management's plans to protect its ed fight against all redundancies in of jobs, protits extense because they accept that the viabil- by the sudden announce- ity and profitability of the firm be ment of the impending closure of put first. Milspaugh Ltd. The tens of thousands of who downed tools workers Group, employs. Wednesday to fight to defend jobs engineering must therefore come into conflict Confed is yen to take any position with the employers and the union on these sackings but clearly these officials who defend them.

For the workers on short-time Sheffield being put and the thousands whose jobs are

CAMMEL LAIRD PAY

The other side of the profits

FIGHT

drive is also reflected in a parallel which began dispute in the yard last Friday. 250 TASS members draughtsmen the mainly office walked out drawing Meanwhile, Boilermakers • when management issued redun- General Secretary John Chaimers dancy notices to 25 of the office has intervened - not to back the workforce. Wage strikers, but to urge them to return cuts alongside sackings: for work 'to pave the way this is the real face of the Social peace talks". Contract. Eric Ogden MP heading a lobby And Cammel Laird workers in along with Confed leaders to seek resisting these attacks are Ministry of Defence contracts for conflict with the Social Contract the yard, has a similar pul 1n whether their leaders admit it or reactionary call for a return "for not. the sake of the yard and their own

CORRECTION

future".

OUR LAST ISSUE WE

In the background to the whole IN dispute are two factors - continued stated that Tony Williamson, of the 5/60 T&GWU state control of wages through the Chairman Social Contract which Branch in Oxford was in charge of dramatically cutting workers living evicted

T&GWU

bailiffs who standards and increasing the strikers at the Linton Lodge hotel.

and the for find that this now parlous state of British shipbuild- based on wrong information.

We in The industry has orders of wily apologise for any misunderstand- ing this has created. 250,000 compared 1,300,000 tonnes last year,

WORKERS SOCIALIST

situation of worldwide recession in

LEAGUE

shipbuilding. Cammel Laird wOrkers, ane Birmingham lowest paid already among

PUBLIC MEETING

shipyard workers the world, 1n with basic rates for skilled workers "Wage Control and Union of little over £50 a week, are faced Democracy" of with the brunt management's Sunday 30th January at 7.30 drive for profitability through Labour Club, Bristol Road.

wage-cutting.

END IN SIGHT?

The stage has been set for a long quick end to running strikes in hotels at Sheffield and Oxford - but the final decisions still rest dangerously in the hands of key union officials. Pressure in both towns forced the respective District Com- mittees of the T&GWU to call for action against the multi-million pound Trust Houses Forte and their subsidiary canteen Gardner Merchant. If the carried decisions are through hundreds of canteens throughout the Midlands owned by Trust Houses Forte could find themselves without food, drink and profits.

T&GWU

In Sheffield, the District Committee has called for national blacking of Trust Houses Forte. In Oxford, an emergency of meeting a blacking Caned or Gardner Merchant and all subsid- iaries. So far the only action to have been taken in Oxford was a weak call for the be boy- canteens to cotted - a demand impossible to The demands from Sheffield - Finance and put by the General Purposes Committee of the District Committee and from Oxford national both the to committee of the trade group for hotels which includes represen- tatives from workers in food, drink and tobacco. TGWU Election The full list of those accep- ting nomination in the elec- tion for General Secretary of General the Transport and Workers Union was announced by Jack Jones 13th on January. As expected it contains Moss Evans, regarded as Jones personal choice an

SUU-

porter of the Social Contract and Alex Kitson, supported by the has kept his Broad Left, who firmly shut since wage mouth by control was muroduceu

TUC.

Both of these top bureaucrats, unheard of a month ago to the of T&G members, vast majority nave been clearly boosted by the capitalist press and television as the two "main contenders" giving the impression that a vote for anyone else would be a wasted vote Next in line for treatment by the media has been John Cousins who a T&GWU national resigned officer to become Director of Man- power Services. He has injected right-wing anti-political line into the cam-

T&GWU

the paign, arguing that in through Jones, is intertering government when in reality it is Massey's 136 assemblers at Massey Ferguson, Coventry, are still 'off the clock' following accus- ations of inadequate effort.

management Massey rerguson has been trying to force production up to 48 tractors a day on two new lines introduced last March.

The assemblers were taken off following a time and the clock moțion study. The 136 were immediately sup- ported by a strike of all the 900 assembly workers in the plant, soon joined by 170 night shift assemblers and charge hands. Management is insisting that the 136 can return to work if the 48 tractors a day production target is accepted. Assembly workers argue that this cannot be achieved at present manning levels.

HOTEL UNIONISATION STRUGGLES

the Grosvenor The strikes at House Sheffield and in the Randolph in Oxford have now been running for many weeks. In Oxford the dispute is running side by side with a strike at another hotel - the Linton Lodge. Although not owned by Trust Houses Forte, this hotel is running against the union in its campaign close wolaborahen win cne kan- dolph. The Oxford hotels are bein backed by the National Associa tion for Freedom fresh fron their successful court action agains South African workers. The of the unio: response officials has been so inadequate s far that doubts must be expresser about whether they intend to carr out the action now being presse on them. The Regional Committee ha its ability to duci already shown the issues. A call for strike action o Gardner Merchant workers in th Cowley Body Plant and Servia postponed at las canteens was week's meeting while nationa T&GWU checker officials of the the "legal position". Shop stewards from the canteer have already told workers strikers that they will strike as sool as they get the call. The question is whether the fiv star effort by the workers involver in the bitter dispute is going to ge the service it demands, ör whethe the union officials in whose hand their future have alread! rests checked out of these hotels.

names released the government through the TU who are imposing their policy o the trade unions. In addition to Cousins two fu time national officers are standing Walsi John Miller although Miller is labelled as a lef neither of them have been heard o the struggles against the right wing policies of Jones. and fil There rank candidates: Bennet, Dyos, Flaherts Moorhouse, Riley rulton, Thatcher and Thornett. Tommy Riley from Metal Box i Bolton is supported by the Right t Work Campaign and Alan Thornet from British Leyland in Oxford Campaign by the fo supported in the Labour Jones, against the Social Contrac bureaucratic abus He puts forward a programm which in our view is closest to th requirements of the working cla opportunity to and programme in the biggest an most influential union in Britain.

WORKERS SOCIALIST

LEAGUE

Oxford

PUBLIC MEETING

"Unionisation and Working Class Leadership" Thursday 27th January at 8.00 East Oxford Community Centre

FUND

WITH THE LATE ARRIVAL

of large donations, some December way over the £500 mark to close at a more encouraging £517.55.

the Meanwhile, January Fund now stands at f252 exactly. With to the end of twelve davs to go the month, every effort must b made to raise the full 1600 or time Donations should be sent to Socialist Press Monthly Fund 31, Dartmouth Park Hill London NWS 1HR

THROW OUT LEYLAND

PENALTY CLAUSES !

Page 12 Leyland convenors The scramble for fringe Meetings are now taking place.

and votes taken. benefits' by those who want avoid confronting accepted, the to the would represent. the biggest government and the

TUC

achievement of Leyland manage- over basic pay has produced since the introduction of proposals from the manag- Measured Day Work, a payment ment of British Leyland Cars system which has sent Leyland workers tumbling down the wages Division which cut across league. every existing agreement and contains "no strike"

MINIMAL

penalty clauses unprecedented in the These latest, slightly amended car industry in Britain. proposals offer minimal improve- meeting of convenors rep- sickness and accident resenting 100,000 manuat in return for a penalty clause Day the Cars Division. which would disqualify from all Derek by Robinson, the existing atlement convenor of the Long- lay off agreement any worker who idge plant who has supported was involved in "unconstituțion- proposals from the al" start, industrial action of more than oted half a recommend the shift of oI an agregate roposals back to the individual than eight hours in any three month period.

NO LESSONS IN

ANTI-SLANDER

MEETING

While no political lessons should be awarded to the repres- buld have been learned by entatives the various diverse * 800 people from numer- tendencies who sat on the same as groups and tendencies platform and diplomatically ho attended, a number of avoided serious reference to their deep-going differences ecial awards should be throughout the two-hour meeting.

ade to the cast which

OSCAR

ppeared the meeting in And an oscar for the portrayal.

Workers ror Democracy. of the role of the injured innocent gainst Frame Ups should go to Gerry Healy of the and anders" organised Workers Revolutionary Party, in whose floor ondon by the

IMG

last performance com- pletely dominated the proceedings cek • despite the fact that he spoke Some form of peace prize not a word.

SOCIALIST

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NAME.

ADDRESS.

Even these proposals are sub- ject to of strict a numoel conditions. These "improvements', say Ley- land, can only be afforded under: 'circumstances where work can without interup- tion" and when: "all trade union members will co-operate • in substantially reducing unauthorised absence and industrial unconstitutional action" In addition, Leyland require prior guarantees that agreement w1l be on common review date for all plants (which constitutes the de facto introduc- of tion corporation-wide WaLC bargaining), plus a procedure to deal with manpower (Which in essence accepts redun- dancy as and when management require it). Priat to redundancy Leyland want the right to deploy workers etween plants as required by the "reconstruction of Leyland cars One of the most sinister Mandel in full flight. which alleges that Joseph Hansen and George Novack, veteran mem- bers of the US Socialist Workers gent at the time of the ation of Trotsky in 1940 and have consciously covered up the role of the GPU in the Trotskyist move- put wem m the context the IMG decided to go bring together a showcase for the affiliated and of As a result, both Novack and the SWP's new NC member Tim Tane from Brussels, and his old enemy OCI (which is at present outside the club) was persuaded to make came to smother their differences form of the meeting. aspects of the proposals is the role.

designated to the convenors, who beginning" of 'partici have been the -most conservative force in the trade union movement within Leyland.

OVERTHROWN

Existing discipline procedures overthrown and joint management/convenor commit- tees established to deal with late- and As the absenteeisin. proposed agreement puts it: "While Committees may vary size and membership in different circumstances in plants, ideal committee is considered the to be one made up of six perman- - three Senior Shop ent members Stewards, and three management "The Committees would not be empowered to vary the terms/ rules of the main agreement, but would body exist as With uphold discipline within existing plant procedures, that the arie certire agreement was not being abused. This would done by review of absence individual levels, and where necessary ensuring that suitable counselling took place."

DOMINANCE

The aim is to establish the complete dominance of the heavy penalties for unofficial strikes and disciplinary procedures in their hands.

If such were concluded it would be the signal for the biggest management offen- sive yet seen in Leyland on agree- and manning levels. It is essential therefore that the implications of the •Proposis are tully explained on the shop floor and the document decisively I00, Healy's mental state? "this scoundrel" For each speaker to have to of the history of the movement their own dubious practice in the A welter of words and plenty seem to stave off these issues for an answer to any of the charges IC's allegations there was little that could not be found in circulated by the SWP and IMG But throughout the speeches SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 19th January, 1977 Continued from Front Page a suestante defeated, it won respectable support from Conference which was continuously urged against ally action by the NEC. And his points on the role of leadership were confirmed to the hilt when Glyn Phillips for the NEC got up to oppose a motion instructing Scottish members (threatened with 11,000 sackings) to take part in a one day on the. basis that

SLIIKE

you couldn't instruct members to lose a day's pay!

OVERWHELMING

This position was greeted with derision by militants the Conference, and the strike motion was passed overwhelmingly - the NEC rallying only a few staunch right wingers to their position.

There is doubt however. по that the NALGO leadership feel they got away from the Confer- ence lightly. They were clearly happy to exchange a paper com- mitment ban (which will be completely ineffective in preventing the cuts) while appearing to be a militant form of action) for preservation of the Social Contract and avoidance sustained strike action against the government.

And with statistics now show- ing that the wage the average worker has fallen by £10 a week since the implementation the to saContre contracte means to save Contract welcome to NALGO leader Drain and friends

TUC

on the General Council. The NALGO Special Confer- ence, coming on top of the week's betrayals indicates the vital impor- tance of a prepared and organised struggle in every union conference this year for an immediate break with the Social Contract, a return to free collective bargaining and defend jobs and living standards. Healy waves his notes asking to speak.

Healy's visual imitation honest quester for truth was He immaculate. laughed with Novack's jokes Mandel's and ridicule. He made no move to interrupt or disrupt Mandel finally weet in silenne Hea and Healy rose to his feet held up his In hand to request the right to speak one might almost have forgotten that the WRP has the unenviable reputation of running the least democratic public meetings the workers movement - barring opponents from evel attendance, and not hesitating to use force and police even where necessary to back this up.

RIGHTS

But after he had sat silently through two hours of personalised apolitical abuse there was however considerable feeling the hall 1n that Healy, despite this record, should be allowed to say a few words that the democratic rights the WRP deny every other tendency should be nevertheless extended to them. Chairman Tarig Ali strongly this opposed and eventually carried a vote that Healy be not allowed to speak. The meeting thus ended on a division - despite the craven efforts of the platform.

The WRP, crumbling in every succeeded area, stealing the 1n show from under the noses of the

USFI.

Nobody learned any political lessons, an entertaining evening was had by many.