THE LUMP' AND HOW TO FIGHT IT

It was hardly a surprise On Monday that the TUC's proposal for the establishment of a national register of building workers, similar to that existing in the docks, should be met with little response from Tory Ministers, Paul Channon and Robin ChichesterClark.

The Private Members' Bill drawn *up by Lagoor MP Eric Hetter, which says roughly the same thing, is not expected to survive the committee stage in parliament, even if the Tories let it get that far.

And the building employers who pumped thousands of pounds into the Tory party during their last financial year, have made clear that as far as they are concerned 'the lump', which the register is designed to eliminate, is here to stay.

'Lump' labour is one of the main weapons used by the building employers in their bid to undermine the confident, even aggressive trade union organization built up in many areas during the course of last year's building strike.

Labour-only subcontracting, 'the lump', now provides an estimated 25 per cent of the building labour force nationally.

Labour councils who have tried to ban the system in London have been given an ultimatum by big employers that they either lift their bans on 'the lump' or the firms refuse to tender for contracts.

Since in most cases major, and badly - needed housing programmes were involved many. of the councils concerned have had to back down.

Casuals: "a social evil' During Monday's meeting with Channon and ChichesterClark, respectively Minister of State for Housing and Construction and Minister of State at the Department of Empioyment, members of the TUC construction industry committee accurately described casual employment a social evil that must be eliminated'.

They pointed out that because of it job and wage security were virtually nonexistent in the building trade, firms commonly experienced rates of labour turnover of 200 to 300 per cent, high levels of dismissal were widespread and workers found it impossible to accumulate pension rights.

Moreover, they said, it hindered the improvement of safety and conditions of employment in the industry as a whole. The elimination of casual labour would both improve efficiency and make for more stable industrial The Ministers, of course, smiled sympathetically.

But their suggestion that the TUC go away, put 'more flesh' on their proposals and come back again when the Ministers have had a chance to talk to the building employers understandably sounds to most building workers like the kiss of death.

No one knows, of course, exactly what the Ministers said to the committee. But the claim of George Smith, the committee's chairman, that the issue is going to be 'the subject of continuing activity' by the government sounds a bit of an exaggeration.

Labour-only subcontracting is undoubtedly the biggest source of casual employment in the industry.

In its worst form, 'the lump' consists of mobile gangs of building workers who paid no Charter BUILDING ter Building workers marched with the backing of trade unionists from all over the country, in Shrewsbury, when a group arrested during last year's building strike were brought to trial. income or selective employment tax, who buy no insurance stamps and who hawk themselves round from site to site without a union card.

Employers will often pay a 'lump' bricklayer £20 a day as against the national union basic of £26 a week because he will rush around the site doing any job required, working any hours demanded and thus seriously weakening trade union organization.

Though the rates paid to these men seem relatively high, they are really a source of cheap labour.

A big. employer will fix a rate with a subcontractor for a gang of workers. Often this cuts out holiday pay, sickness pay, guaranteed time in bad weather, travel money and other fringe benefits.

After fixing an overall rate the subcontractor-a mere gobetween supplying labour— gets his cut by paying his 'lump' workers less and pocketing the difference.

It is estimated that an average employer might save as much as £8 or £9 per man per week by taking on lump' labour in this way. In bad weather his savings might top £30 a week.

Small wonder that figures released recently by the tax authorities reveal the issue of more than 460,000 tax exemption certificates as compared with 353,000 in October 1972 and 262,000 last May an increase which has paralleled a big rise in self-employment in the building industry Violation rule At the same time there has been a significant stepping-up of building industry activity by private employment agencies, some of whom work in total violation of the working rule agreement between the building unions and employer.

Writing in a recent issue 'Building Wo rkers' Charter, Birmingham sites' AL STONE Charte KILL LUMP leader Peter Carter reports an interview between a union investigator and one three agencies.

Any vacancies for layers?

Yes sir, plenty.

What are the wages?

It depends on what sort of bricklayer you are. We grade you into A, B and C. if you are in grade A and you bull on we pay £1.25 per hour. If graded B or C, you will get less. The agent on site will grade you. It is possible to be graded A this week and B next, but it all works out in the end.

What happens insurance cards?

We have these and put a full insurance stamp on.

What about my income tax?

We don't want your P45. Take it round to the tax office, and they will issue you with a tax exemption form right away. If you prove satislactory, we can explain how to avoid paying tax. We car work it so you only pay £100 on say, £3,000.

You will need to form yourself into a company, use your wife as secretary, and one can say you're in business. By the way if you have any trouble with the tax you can start Monday, but the firm will stop you 33t per cent.

Do I get any holiday pay?

No sir.

Do 1 get guaranteed time for inclement weather?

No guaranteed payments are made, but if you work in the rain you will get paid. We have no objection to your working in the rain. It's up to you.

What about travelling time and expenses?

This is your own responsibility, sir.

What are the hours?

You can work as many as you wish. We do not pay overtime rates.

What about termination of employments?

We can give you a notice—you can do the same.

This gives somethin atmosphere.

Moreover in London alone there are now over a dozen building labour subcontractors, one of which, London and Provincial Labour Hire, openly advertises with the slogans: *Payments to the men are our sole responsibilty' and No National Health insurance. No SET. No graduated pension or holiday stamps and no CITB [training board] levy' London and Provincial has about 100 self-employed men on its books and hires them out by the hour. Rates are: bricklayers 160p, labourers 105p—plus a 10 per cent surcharge on the total bill.

The company, which as a limited liability, company claims exemption from deducting 30 per cent from the pay of men not making tax returns, says it and other concerns like it have regularized 'lump' labour.

The TUC's main proposals for dealing with 'the lump' are a public inquiry into the problem of casual labour and the creation of a construction industry Manpower Board.

Registration, says the memorandum submitted to the Tory Ministers on Monday, is 'an essential precondition' of the move towards decasualization of the industry.

The committee also proposes moves towards countrywide framework agreements, a public procurement agency to ensure a steady flow of work and a •stable labour force for the industry, and insertion of clauses public contracts outlawing 'the lump'.

According to the To the Phelps-Brown report of showed that the problem of casual labour is most serious among large and medium-sized civil engineering and bullding companies and among some of the smaller specialist building concerns.

Decasualization *would improve both the efficiency of the industry and the working conditions in the industry and would contribute to the development of stable industrial relations', the memorandum Labour-only subcontracting is a 'corrupting influence' on the industry and, says the TUC it is clear that the new tax rules introduced in 1971 are doing nothing to eradicate it.

The ultimate aims of the proposed register of employers and workers would be to act as a job machine service, to control entry into the industry of both companies and workers, to provide tall-back pay for workers temporarily out of a job and 'perhaps' to facilitate the function of a quality licensing system for companies.

Although it is recognized, it would take some time for a register to build a comprehensive record of the industry, Itshould cover all companies, and all workers should be registered by skill. No call for The TUC says them teg and the Manpower as board could be financed out of the surplus of the Building and Civil Engineering Holidays with Pay Scheme.

A public inquiry is required 'with the specific task of proposing a firm programme for decasualizing the Construction Industry. But, says the TUC, such inquiries are of little use unless there is provision made to follow up the recommendations.

The government could do more to encourage decasualization by 'greater co-ordination and scheduling of government contracts in construction to and stable workforce Workload In addition, there should be clauses in public contracts to specify that labour employed by the main contractor and specialist subcontractors (not including labour - only subcontracting) should be not less than certain percentage employed on permanent basis. The TUC suggests a starting figure of 60 per cent, rising annually.

Nowhere in this reformist screed do the building union leaders call for the nationalization of the building industry under workers' control. Yet this is the only way to really end the employers' attacks on wages, conditions and organization--of which 'the lump' is merely the most concentrated expression.

And neither was nationalization anywhere mentioned in the policy statement agreed by the recent national conference organized by the Communist Party-backed 'Building Workers' Charter' in Birmingham.

This is the policy on which the CP would like building workers to fight their current campaign of industrial action and political pressure to end 'the lump', which is scheduled to culminate in a nationallysupported strike on June 7.

The policy statement of the 'Charter' conference agreed that: 'Conference must reflect the growing mood of workers throughout industry to campaign for an end to this Tory administration and a return to a Labour government pledge to socialist policies.

But how this achieved is left as how 'the lump' is rid of.

Clearly there 'campaign for an Tory government' not confront the tical issue: force call a General Sti the Tories resign.

And similarly for registration workers, without lization of the dustry under workers' control, can only foster dangerous reformist illusions.

General Strike to force the Tories to resign and replace them with a Labour government pledged to nationalization of the building industry under workers' control - that must be the policy for all building workers today is to be vague as to be got can be no end to this which does central polithe TUC to ike to make a campaign of building the nationabuilding inTHE LABOUR 'LEFTS' AND SPAIN

Michael Foot (left) and Will Paynter-two visitors _to Spain. Above:

Henry Ford Il with the Spanish Minister of Industry. Ford's are investing {2m in Spain to take advantage of cheap labour under the fascist state. BY JUAN GARCIA After the impassioned attack by Labour Party leader Harold Wilson against the Franco regime at the last party conference, protesting against repression in Spain has become very fashionable among certain radicals.

The Labour Party • Young Socialists have run a long protest campaign against political prisoners in Spain, sponsored by engineers' president Hugh Scanlon, transport union secretary Jack Jones, and , of course) Anthony Wedgwood Benn.

The Labour Party has established a 'Spanish Democrats' Defence Committee' The Socialist Labour League and Young Socialists have always been in the vanguard of the defence of the Spanish working class. But it has been a defence based on principle.

There has been firm recognition that the best way of fighting against the Franco regime is through the struggle against the Tory plans for corporatism in Britain.

This fight has always been united with the struggle to build the Trotskyist movement in Spain.

The protest of the Labour Party, on the other hand, has been anchored in the traditions of radicalism, particularly in the remnants of the Popular Front of the 1930s.

In this way, strong words against Franco are backed by complete collaboration with Tory corporatism.

The defence of the Carabanchel Ten — alleged members of the illegal workers' commissions who face 15 to 20-year jail sentences—has become a step on the road to the European parliament and the Common Market.

The British 'left' is at last doing what the New Left wanted it to do-become more European. The case of Camacho and his companions is an excellent opportunity to show friends in the Italian, French communist and social-democratic parties that they too are good European democrats.

It was in this spirit that those intrepid socialists, Michael Foot, MP, for Ebbw Presidand Will Pe: Nationai Union of Miners, ex-leading member of the Communist Party and one-time participant in the corporatist Commission of Industrial Relations, flew to Madrid on March 29 on a factfinding mission.

'We were surprised to get in so easily', Mr Foot and Mr Paynter told a Press conference at Transport House after their return on March 31. 'But we didn't announce that we were going beforehand..

Foot revealed that they had discovered that repression was on the increase in Spain, but there was tremendous courage and spirit in the opposition'some splendid fellows'.

Dissatisfaction had even reached the bishops who were circulating a petition for the release of the ten workers in the Carabanchel jail, Madrid.

With off-hand cynicism, he added: 'Statistics show that more illegal strikes took place in Spain last year than anywhere else in Europe although they tell me strikes are illegal here now.' That was Foot on April 1, when Phase Two became law.

Will Paynter enthused about the liberal industrialists' in Spain: "These men realize that if Spain is to join Europe, there must be some changes, more in the way of demoBut he was unable to give any indication of the whereabouts of these gentlemen. After all, the democratic capitalists who run the Seat car plant in Barcelona and Citröen in Vigo have never shown any dismay when workers in their factories have been shot by Indications of what could be done to fight Franco were nonexistent. Consultations are necessary with trade union and Labour Party leaders: 'We must not rush ahead. Anyway the people we saw in Spain were terribly pleased that we were taking an interest and want the facts to get known outside of Spain.' The fascists do not waste their time. Foot noted that the Spanish police had confiscated the passport of Camacho's wife shortly after she had addressed a mass solidarity rally in Paris.

Tom McNally of the international department of the Labour Party stepped in to explain why workers in Britain should be concerned about 'Ford's are going to invest £2m in Spain because there are no unions. That is being taken from Dagenham. If there was more democracy in Spain, then Ford's might keep their money here' The Labour Party 'lefts', like the Spanish Communist Party, are using the Carabanchel Ten as a cover-up for their own opportunism and capitulation to the requirements of European capital.

Thousands of workers, from Baker Perkins in Peterborough, to the Renault plant in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, have supported the demand for the release of the Carabanchel Ten and the end of the Franco regime.

But this cannot be separated from the struggle against the Heath and Pompidou governments, which want to destroy the rights of trade unionists in Britain and France.

The construction of a revolutionary, Trotskyist, leadership in the European working class against the collaboration of Stalinism and social democracy in the capitalist conspiracy of the Common Market is the only way to ensure that the labour and trade union organizations and their members are defended.

JD: VAN DALISM ЗY LAW The member-states shall (b) 4 kilograinmes of oint competent agen- and 1 kilogramme of Press, The recent admission by some Tory and Labour MPs that western European beef prices have been forced up by whole. sale slaughter of cows reveals only the tip of the iceberg as far as Common Market destruction of food is concerned.

An entire system of legalized vandalism is built into EEC agricultural laws which now apply to Britain.

Under this legislation each EEC country must set up organizations to control and supervise the 'denaturing' of any food alleged to be in surplus.

Denaturing is the system of deliberate contamination to make it unfit for human constance can then be sold only as animal feed or as raw material for some industrial ries 179TYA3 TITIAO process.

ine meinoas to be used in denaturing are also laid down by law. They are:

Treatment with an approved dye, tainting with fish oil or mixing with a recognized animal meal.' The process must be carried presence of an inspector. Farmers are paid a premium if they denature large enough quantities.

At the moment warehouse and farm premises up and down the country are being examined for suitability as denaturing premises. procedure and amounts The rules laving down dye, etc. to use are strict For example, the regula for sugar intended for livefe app to LU ensi :eds states that:

sinervise denaturing greek four' nATA ure that the denatured Ano NATA and sugar is only used for animal feed. 4. Denaturing shall be carried out in establishments which are approved by the memberstate in • which the denaturing is carried out. The memberstates shall only approve factories manufacturing sugar or compound feeding stuffs. or warehouses in which denaturing can be supervised efficiently. 3. The minimum quantity to be denatured in one place shall be 20 metric tons. (Article 19, Regulation 100/ 72/EEC January 14, 1972.

AAL LAIL severio In tha denaturino nracece each 100 kilogrammes of sugar must be mixed with 'either (a) 2.5 kilogrammes of fish meal and one kilogramme of high viscosity swelling star or chalk fenuDevvas severs If the sugar is to br used Ior Ieeaing Dees, unen serric oxide or a mixture of garlic powder ana charcoal may be used.

Fenugreek flour is described as a product 'with a characteristic smell'. The starch is added to prevent filtration. One of the reasons for strict of denaturing is that enterprising farmers may find ways of un-denaturing their product and then selling it as normal produce or presenting it again for a second denaturing payment.

Incidentally, the 'animal meal' mentioned above as a denaturing substance does not refer to its use for feeding animals, but to its content. The sugar regulation describes it as a product 'obtained by drying and grinding carcasses and parts of carcases of warmblooded land animals which have undergone high pressure steam treatment and which may then have been de-fatted wy extracuul.

In this way • the authorities 1.:11s.... .:aL .. KIll two Diras WItn one stone —contaminating sugar with a product which itself is a product of denaturing.

The supervising and controlling body for denaturing in Britain is the Agricultural Produce Intervention Board.

The board itself employs 400 staff centrally, but its operations in the. field are carried out by two other organizations--The Home Grown Cereals Authority (HGCA) and the Meat and Livestock Commission (MLC) acting as the Board's agents.

Since Februarv 1 this vear the Board has been a buyer in the market place for certain cereals, dairy products, beef and pigmeat. for wh aul f7.

cal pri ani pai ing it abl an anı dy gre tho tin gra

AW cmich ure ich ted ties oning iral oys its her rity and LC) nts. rear : in tain reef In Britain, the main subject for denaturing so far has been wheat.

Already regional cereals Officers have been appointed to supervise denaturing and to authorize payment of the £7.29 per ton subsidy.

Once wheat is denatured it can only be sold at the lower price of barley and other animal feeds. The subsidy is paid to make up this amount to the wheat price and also to cover the cost of denaturing.

The rules for wheat say that it must be of sound marketable quality, be weighed on an approved weighing machine and be of EEC origin. If dye is used, the mixture must be at the rate of 30 grammes of dye in 24 to 3 litres of water to each 500 kilogrammes of grain. This, in turn, is thoroughly admixed with four times its weight of untreated grain. The Rt Hondall Farmers who want to use the subsequent feed for their own animals rather than sell it can either register themselves as denaturers, send the grain away to a compounder or rely on mobile denaturing services —Feedmobiles-which are now being established.

So far this year 17,000 tons of wheat have been denatured in Britain, but according to a tarm trade paper, in tuture, 2m tons of a possible 4tm tons wheat harvest will go to human consumption: 'This leaves an estimated 2}m tons to be sold for animal feed. And, provided that it meets the quality criteria which make it acceptable for denaturing it is probable that most of the 2jm tons will be denatured.' (Farmers Weekly', August I1, 1972)

Already a variety of denaturing machines have been imported from Germany, though the moment the Germa: manufacturers can barely produce enough to satisfy home demand. Prices range between £400 and £6,000 each machine.

A dual-purpose German model-dye or fish oil admixer —sells at around £1,647 in Britain and converts 20 tons an hour. The travelling Feedmobiles charge between £1.50 and £3 a ton, leaving the balance of the £7.29 as payment to the farmer.

The law requires that the equipment can process at least 40 tons a day in order to justify the cost of an inspector being present.

The HGCA has published a list of firms making or handling denaturing equipment.

Denaturing is not the only method of 'intervention' in the EEC. Money is paid for fruit to be left to rot on trees or in heaps in the orchards, Pr Far left: Dumping onions-one means of 'intervention' by the EEC. Centre: Sicco Mansholt— forecasts 25-30 per cent increase in farm prices. Left: Joseph Godber, Tory Agriculture Minister-recently announced a payment of £200 an acre to growers who put grubs in their apple and pear orchards.

the trees being grubbed reduce future crops.

Cereals, meat ducts are bought up by the Intervention and 'stored'. Alternatively, some controlling body for a particular product to do this.

Eggs are into powder form so they be stored or used in industry. Grades fruit are manipulated to ensure that greater second grade jected for sale.

Subsidies are paid for manufacturers rice and tomato , also to sell abroad at the lower world Becomes being me de up the EEC prices beir the Boards.

Import levies ensure that cheaper produc the EEC cannot to undercut home produce, a situation which has brought new Conner which to truction of fruits and In the year 250,000 cows were tered as a step towards called The time farmers coW killed To date 1.4m Cows herd. No cows means no calves, so it surprising that beef shortage.

Grants for modernization benefit largest and cent rise for cereals ineasier on culture Joseph Godber repear-grubbing payment of suband in standard grubbing Some fruitgrowers were disappointed cultivation is has a on the market.

1972. is expected to On reared! But have been *in line with prices general in meat supplies are both stockpiled to keep them ket. At have the "food' surplus other EEC During o years butter in Britain by per cent and cheese 5 per cent.

In the recent price review, calf subsidies have been cut, a further discouragement for beef production. Also capital grants for modernization, FRUIT DESTRUCTION Cauliflowers 37,440 metric tons Tomatoes 2,010 metric tons Apples 296,190 metric tons Pears 490 metric tons Oranges 31,700 metric tons buildings and equipment have been reduced.

increases in butter, bacon and other due later certainly give lie to the Tory tale is pay inprices These are some of of any.

been a ban on all wage but prices Heath's proand Minister Agriculture over oF that t period of am absolutely certain'-were knowledge that entry.

cent a year for years' later with the cent increase in farm prices forecast by the EEC chairman of Briflour bakers in Britain, had ernment's of 15 per cent for the the price higher. not cent, he Common Policy is the plan. drive millions of production Under the 12g rural population by 1970 and 1980.

However, president Scottish National Union, a recent meeting of Common Market officials in Berlin discussed taking three times that land area out of agricultural use.

'France alone has a farming area of 35 million hectares (87 million acres) and the EEC believes that to • contain reasonable levels of production in the next ten years, they may have to take 11 million hectares out of farming,' he told the Scottish NFU's council meeting at Renfrew. (Farmers Weekly' report, March 30, 1973)

The EEC Common Agricultural Policy _ Is In a state of near ruin, built as it is upon a non-existent joint monetar system, the so-called 'units of account'.

At the same time, millions of peasants and small farmers are becoming increasingly angry at their enforced impoverishment on the one hand and their compulsory eviction from the land on the other.

The existence side by side of mass poverty and mass destruction of the prerequisites of life further confirms the entire bankruptcy of capitalism and the urgent need for the implementation of the social revolution to develop the Socialist United States of Europe to plan agriculture and food supply on the basis of the 'Community's' needs and not the profits and trade wal actics of the capitalist governments in and outside the EEC.

per cent total EEC crop. EEC 0.04 per cent total total EEC crop.

per cent EEC crop. 0.025 per cent total EEC crop.

per cent total EEC crop.

PAGE BY JOHN SPENCER The eight-year war in Gulf has entered a new phase with a frank admission by the