Coalition shelves nationalization Ceylon workers murdered by police

3.00 p.m. Prince of Wales, Thorntor death Clock Tower. 22, 6 p.m. Labour and Trades Hail. Willesden High Road.

SOUTHALL: Tuesday, October 27, 8 p.m. Southall Community Centre. Bridge Road.

SW LONDON: Tuesday, October Bad. diam just. Falcon W LONDON: Wednesday, October 28, 8 p.m. Prince Albert Pub, Balfe Street, Kings Cross.

N LONDON: Wednesday. October 28, _p.m. Co-op Hall, Seven Sisters Road. importance of Marxist philosophy ir building of the revolutionary party. Three lectures by (National Secretary of the Socialist Labour League)

DAGENHAM

fonday October 19 fonday October 26 londay November 2 Kay's Restaurant 271 Ilford Lane Ilford. 8 p.m.

Three (Editor c ACTON Thursday October 29 Thursday November 5 Thursday November 12 'Kings Head' High Street Acton. 8 p.m.

Two lectures by G. HEALY in Glasgow Help the Young Socialists make their Stalinists and Mrs Sirimavo Bandaranaike's in the General Election of May 1970, has lost no time in PUBLIC LECTURES OXFORD Thursday October 22 Thursday October 29 Thursday November 5 Northgate Hall Oxford ectures BANDA BLACKERIARS Monday October 26 Monday November 2 Monday November 9 Friars Hall Blackfriars Road SEI. 8 p.m.

Sunday October 25 Sunday November 1 Partick Burgh Hall (nr Merkland St tube) class in Ceylon.

Two Indian estate workers were shot dead and one seriously wounded when an armed police party fired on striking workers in the Keenakalay tea plantation in the first week of September.

This is revealed in a belated report from Ceylon published in Not satisfied with murdering these unarme workers, the police then buried their victims without even the formality of an inquest.

T United it ne weich ment must bear full responsibility, immediately evoked massive movement sympathy amongst the pantatins. the tea Huge strike One hundred thousand through Colombo, Ceylon Trade Union Federa under the banner tion, demanding action against the pro-imperialis assassins in the coalition.

The RCL paper points out that the coalition, because a bourgeois government which does not seek to expropriate imperialist interests, must increase its repression of the working attack its demotrade unions. workers hootin the estan charging of textile workers in the Velona factory but Typifies the regimes attitude working case. the trade unions and chie taanteand working government from turning i Keenakalay ly trade union federations and coalition and lead developing resistance.

Answer

a ponte Berg be in cL, is the senting s The only effective answer fer marties unions. ticularly Brarish woors and tar study Popular Frontism in pra ice since the 'Morning Sta only few weeks before the shooting euphoric place carried an view (August 26) with Pieter Keuneman, Stalinisi Minister for Housing and Construction, who lyingly assured forcign supporters that the election of the United Front 'has created new possibilities for the further advance of the anti-imperialist and socialis forces of Ceylon' Pimenov trial starts SOVIET nuclear physicist Andrei Sakharov is among the five signatories letter demanding admission to the trial of of antibera accused fab. rications.

The trial of Revolt Pimenov opens in Kaluga Regional Court today. He was arrested in Leningrad four months ago. arrest and indictment of the seriously disturbed colleague, the more sO because of the practice severe sentences on such charges in recent years. SIR ARTHUR YOUNG, who returns from Belfast soon, where he has been / in command of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, may receive a £775-a-year pay increase.

The Court of . Common Council, the City of London's local authority, which is to consider upping his salary to £7,210 tomorrow, will also consider pay rises for the assistant commissioner and traffic wardens.

There has been little success, however, for the country's 109,000 policemen who launched a campaign recently for a 56 per cent wage rise.

Docks idle

Marseilles docks were idle yesterday because of a 24hour dockers' strike to back demands for higher unemployment pay and changes retirement age regulations. Surface workers and the miners' pay claim SURFACE workers have no adequate union representation. When officials come up for election to union jobs, the men on the list are just names to us.

We have no way of knowing whether they work down the pit or on the surface.

As far as we know, the men working on coal-handling and materials, those who in general comprise the main labour force on the top are represented by only one branch official.

When issues arise involving one man, or a group of men, usually there is no union man on the job to go into the grievance. By the time a report is made to the union the issue is cold, and as there are sometimes three officials managerial side, the scales are weighted heavily in favour of the employers.

This is the weak side of our union organization. We claim that every department, or section of work, should have its own direct representative as does the car industry and engineering.

Instead of having one man covering all jobs in general, there should be an elected shop steward on each job and on each shift.

The present one-sided arrangement allows for loose and indecisive interpretation of rules. Some jobs are covered by the required number of men, other jobs are under-manned, so that men an emerpower shortage.

This increases the risk of accidents and lowers the standard of efficiency on the job.

The men on the pit surface are never consulted with regard to pit organization. Decisions affecting labour relations and the whole range of coal operations are taken over their heads.

It is time there was a drastic overhaul of the outmoded times of starting and finishing shifts. With increased mechanization and speed-up, it is one-sided modernization, when men have to work eight-hour shifts, with the day shift starting at 6 a.m.

I consider that with the bad conditions most men have to work under, through profit fell from £17,500,000 But the big factor in the poor performance was the sharp rise in interest charges to over £91 million.

Mr T. Mervyn Jones, chairman of the Wales Gas Board — one of the three that made a loss-comments inclement weather, dust and fumes, the case for a six-hour day is firmly established.

And a day shift starting at 8 a.m. would improve efficiency and lower the incidence of sickness and absenteeism.

There is no incentive for the surface man to work harder.

His job is vital in getting the coal away from the pit head, yet with increased production the real value of his wages is continually reduced by the rise in the cost of living. surface mans agesand the miner's is too great.

Most pit top men rely on overtime working to boost their earnings. Yet with a labour force whose average age is well above 50, many of whom are incapacitated through injury or industrial disease, some men are not able to work overtime and, even if the £2 10s offer were accepted, many would still not exceed £14 10s-a-week take-home pay.

Yet why will some men vote to accept the £2 10s offer?

The real reason is that they see the present union set-up as a screen i for the NCB.

Most union leaders at pit and national level, are desirous of making a militant stand on the wages issue because they want it to appear Our wages fight is IN MY opinion employers and their Tory government are preparing to destroy all that the working class has built up in the past through struggle and sacrifice.

In view of this statement, I must cast a searchlight on the forthcoming wages struggle by the miners.

Look what Heath says on wages. The government would act as 'responsible employers' and • would expect private employers to do the same.

This means simply that the government intends to suppress wage demands in the public sector of industry, pay that they have identical interests with their members, but if strike action is decided upon, they will turn a complete somersault and after two weeks they will sell the men out.

I personally believe that if a strike were called in support of action to change the present leadership, the mood of the men would ensure that £5 a week would be won under new leadership.

Most men accept the inevitability of a wage increase with a resultant increase in the cost of living. I think that if we campaigned hard enough on the job to expose the evils of the prices and incomes policy, the rank and file would follow the lead.

A clear class viewpoint on this subject would be followed by concerted, solid class action to smash the Tory policies.

We would stand a better chance of winning the £20-aweek minimum if we called upon other unions for support, notably the railwaymen and the power station olitical fight thereby setting an example to the private sector.

And should private employer give way to a wage demand under threat of strike, the government would put pressure on the banks to restrict loans to that employer.

Look what Carr says industrial relations, or should I say anti-union • laws.

He is prepared to discuss the Bill, but the main content will remain the same. If the government is allowed to get because of se racherous because the treacherous reformist and Stalinist leadership in the trade unions and If the claims of these workers are met separately, without support from the others, then the old compromise solution will follow.

I believe the time has come for integration of the miners with the railwaymen and power workers. This could become the springboard of a new working-class offensive to defeat the employers and the government.

All Communists and Socialists should make it clear that as the capitalist class unites in its fight to lower the standards of the working class, and use elements of the trade union movement to undermine working class solidarity, then we will call upon all sections of the working class, middle class and professional workers to close ranks and oppose the manoeuvres of the employers' class in the intensified wages In fighting for better wages and conditions, it would be a mistake to isolate the intellectuals of the middle class because they too are exploited by the system.

It is only by carrying out a campaign on the broadest basis of the mass labour movement, that realistic advances can be made in the battle for a Socialist Britain.

S. H., Glasshoughton

Colliery, Yorks. labour movement, the working class would be driven back above half a century.

So the miners' wages fight must be seen in its true perspective. That is, a fight not only against Robens and the Coal Board, but a fight against the employing class and its Tory government.

We miners must insist that there is no retreat by the NEC on the basic minimum surface workers, £22 for underground bye-workers and wages demand of £20 for £30 minimum for face workers.

P.B., Glasshoughton Colliery, N Yorkshire