APOLLO-14 DELAYED UNTIL DECEMBER

TONIGHT

'Hands off Palmers-Fight for Socialist Nationalization!' Thursday, May 14, 8 p.m.

GLASGOW

'Against shipyard sackings!

Keep the Tories out!' Saturday, May 16 10.30 a.m.

SE LONDON

ight the Tories in th unions! Build a socalist alternative!' Sunday, May 17, 3 p.m.

The Kerfield Tavern Grove Lane Camberwell Green, S.E.5 PETERHEAD (near Aberdeen) 'he Crosse and Blackwell rike — Fight the Tories' Monday, May 18, 8 p.m.

Rescue Hall BEGINNING NEXT WEDNESDAY Productivity deals-a complete up-to-date NEXT Wednesday Workers Press will begin an 11-part study covering every aspect of productivity deals and their associated systems of exploitation. As the resolution of the 200 engineering workers at February's All Trades Unions Alliance engineering conference stated ' "Productivity" Is a political question'.

It is political because It Is a major feature of the attack on the working class planned and executed by the Labour government through agencles of the state, and because it seeks to prepare the way for the total Integration of the trade : unions into the state. machine.

But as well as the danger from the government and employers, all manner of groupings, like the Communist tries for a fee, leaving ownership in local hands. Cornfeld and IOS provided the finance for this developReliance Between 1966 and 1968, King Resources relied heavily upon IOS.

It increasingly depended upon the sale of leases and services on King oil and gas drilling funds. -Not only this but King Resources in these years acquired a big financial backer in many of its operations which reached the status of a • virtual partner. That investor was IOS.

No one knows how much IOS money was poured into King Resources. No doubt Rothschild, Hill Samuel and the other merchant bankers have been making their calculations.

But last year King Resources reported that IOS Fund of Funds (the second largest Cornfeld mutual fund) invested $60 million in King enterprises.

Overall, more than

quarter of Fund of Fund's investments were connected in one way or another with King activities.

The link-up was reinforced through King's role as adviser to IOS's Natural Resources Fund. As recently as last autumn a • King Resources subsidiary had plans Party and International Socialism, under the pretext of opposing these schemes, are calling for their acceptance on the basis of 'mutual agreement' with the employers.

Over the past five years, in fact since before the Prices and Incomes Board got down to recommending these systems for every section of industry, the Workers Press and Its forerunner 'The Newsletter" have been the only organization to systematically expose and attack every aspect of productivity bargaining as well as the trade union leaders /hile raising illusions about the reforms by national government the CP is campaigning for egional elections on June 7. Above: Berlinguer speaks at a Milan CP election meeting.

Speed-up men try 'psychological approach' 'BEHAVIOURAL SCIENCE' is the latest gimmick to be promoted by consultants and managements.

Its aim is to link psychology and anthropology (the study of man as an animal) with business methods to bring about the worker's own involvement in speeding himself up and preparing for his own redundancy.

A member of ICI's central personnel department, writing in the current issue of the British Productivity Council bulletin, explains that this examination and 'lefts' who have alded Its Introduction.

We now propose to bring this examination completely up to date with the addition of a great deal of new material on the latest systems either in use or being planned.

Just a few of the subjects covered will be Measured-Day Work, Job evaluation, work study, MTM, MTM-2, productive and non-productive working, equal pay, Joint industry boards and disciplining clauses.

Article one will examine the background and the basis of productivity deals. remaining staff.

The group has decided to close the casualty departments at Bolingbroke and Battersea General hospitals which deal with 12,870 patients a year.

Own judgement

The secretary, Mr B. G. Cracknell, said that night staff 'will have to use their own judgement as regards Italian strikes overshadow reform talks AS TRADE UNION leaders sat down at the negotia: table with Prime Minister Rumor yesterday, Italy paralysed by a 24-hour railway strike which finis last night. Widespread strikes among BY DAVID BARNES Italy's 500,000 local authority employees started yesterday, with the Communist-Socialist (CGIL) and Social-Democratic (VIL) trade unions calling Stoppages in Milan, Turin and most of northern Italy, to be followed by strikes today in the central areas and Sardinia and on Thursday in the South and Sicily, while the Catholic union (CISL) calls separate stoppages at local level.

Hundreds of thousands of state agency workers in the whole of Italy also started a three-day strike today for an improved agreement.

Claims

Strikes for social reforms have been resumed, with stopsystem lies behind the Weekly Staff Agreement and the Staff Development Programme put forward by the company.

Consultants with behavioural science training have been called in . ... to solve problems of the allocation of human resources' i.e. to work out ways of getting more work from less workers.

The 'theory' behind this is that by examining the behaviour and motivation of workers at work it is possible to find ways of putting forward new measures which will win the workers' total acceptance of what is being introduced.

Microbe

This examination of the worker — like some sort of microbe under a microscope —is regarded by the 'experts' as a big step forward from ordinary time - and - motion study which simply looks at the worker as a machine.

The amount of money being poured into various university departments which profess to be developing this system suggests that this is to be the government's latest "cure all' for the ills of capitalism.

However the amount of direct wage demands now being put forward and fought for with strike action by the working class suggests that a few friendly words from the managements' tame headshrinkers are unlikely to be seen as a substitute for a decent standard of living. from October 1 until December 3. Pressure from scientists and senior government officials for this has been considerable following the abortive Apollo-13 mission last month.

Now there is to be a two month delay while modifications are made to Apollo-14's oxygen tanks to eliminate the possibility of a repeat of the near-fatal explosion last month.

The US space agency (NASA) has also confirmed that Alan Shepard, who made the first American suborbital flight in Mercury-Redstone 3 in May 1961, will be leading the Apollo-14 crew in the attempt to reach Fra Mauro, Apollo-13's target. pages yesterday in Turin and Emilia, today in Liguria and on Friday in Milan and the surrounding area.

The determination to struggle on the trade union demands for reforms is clear. Among the most important claims advanced are: • An immediate end to income tax all earning 115,000 lire (about £77) a month or less.

A three-year freeze on • Controls, at local and national level, of the prices of food and manufactured goods.

Massive state intervension to have housing, transport and medicine run as a public service.

In face of this, the government is obliged to temporize.

The trade union leaders have laid stress, which can only be misleading and dangerous, on the apparent 'divisions' among the ministers concerned in the negotiations.

On the one hand they welcome the 'progressive' attitudes of Christian Democrat Minister of Labour Donat Cattin and even the professed willingness of Budget Minister Giolitti (reported in Tuesday's their demands, and condemn, by way of contrast, the intransigence of the right-wing Treasury Minister Colombo, who most directly speaks for international banking and financial circles.

Illusions

While raising illusions that the national government may show 'good will' and grant important parts of the reforms, the CP is conducting a massive campaign for the June 7 regional elections on the basis that big gains can be made through left-wing control at regional level.

The perspective put forward is intended to recommend all possible avénues except that power: if one peaceful road of a revolutionary struggle for Following the Apollo-14 mission, it is probable only one manned flight will be taking place next front the further reduction from two originally planned after Nixon's cuts.

The $2.5 billion recommended for research and development, which is being debated by the House Representatives this week, is $106 million below Nixon's budget proposals.

House's appropriations committee not intend to limit the number of moon landings, but wants to defer some of them until the Apollo-13 'malfunction' is cleared up.

A progress report from the review board investigating the explosion • states that a short circuited wire to a fan probably sparked the oxygen tank explosion.

The United States Information Service writes:

'Modifying the oxygen tank to prevent a short circuit is a minor task. It would involve straightening or shortening leads (to prevent bent or broken wires) to all electricityusing components in the tank SIMILARITY Again, the similarities between the latest incident and the 1967 fire which killed Grissom, Chaffee and White are striking.

This is what the 'Sunday Times' reporters said about the fire in their book on the US space programme:

'According to the Review: Board, six conditions contributed to the disaster ... 3. Vulnerable electric wiring ... Of these the first three are by far the most important, for they caused the fire (Journey to Tranquillity, p.226.)

And further: 'Bad workmanship in the wiring was particularly serious. Among other examples of carelessness, the Board found wiring routed through narrow channels with many right-angle bends, where pressure from the corners could have damsey up against pas isessed (p.231.)

NEGLIGENCE The present board's progress report would therefore indicate that once again the negligence of North American Rockwell-the main contractor for equipment-is responsible for a serious accident.

However, the board's final report is yet to come.

If it follows in the tradition of its 1967 predecessor, it will confine itself to the purely technical causes of the 'mishap' and keep any criticism of the giant North American corporation well out of the public eye.

London area, SE and central southern England, E and W Midlands, NW and central northern England, Glasgow area, N Ireland: Sunny periods, scattered thundery showers. Winds variable or light, easterly. Warm. Max. 20C (68F).

Channel Islands, SW England: Rather cloudy with occasional rain. Winds easterly, light or moderate. Near normal. Max. 16C (61F).

Edinburgh: Early morning mist with coastal fog will clear to give a bright day. Winds north easterly, light. Rather cool. Max. 10C (50F).

Outlook for Friday and Saturday: Sunny spells and showers in many places, but some general rain in the South. Temperatures near or above normal in many areas.

Election