Unions try to split aircraft pay strike

THE STRUGGLE by the 43,000 workers of France's state aerospace industry (SNIAS) for a new wage contract is threatened by the two main unions' splitting tactics.

asylum dies Faced with widespread unofficial stoppages in plant. throughout France, SNIAS President Ziegler finally offered a national contract which gave only derisory wage increases and included anti-strike clauses.

Socialist 'Force Ouvrière' union leaders have now called on their members to decide either to accept the contract outright or go on immediate indefinite strike.

In their hands, this is clearly a manoeuvre to get the contract accepted whilst the Stalinist CGT leaders are still calling for 'pressure to improve the terms.

Division

There is here a clear division of labour. FO chiefs, faced with great militancy by their own members, especially in the Toulouse factory where Concorde is being built, can put on a 'left' mask.

The CGT,, with a policy of actions at plant level, provides the means to keep the struggle at the pace of the least militant sections.

In doing so they cover up the FO leaders' bluff. FO militants know that only a joint indefinite strike could win the day.

French dockers have been operating a ban on overtime and weekend and night shifts, in support of claims for improved tall-back pay, a lower retiring age and against the runningdown of the ports.

The CGT dockers' federation has appealed to other sections workers for solidarity in operating the ban.

Over 4,000 miners in the Merlebach coalfield (in Lorraine) are on strike following a call from the major unions last week.

The action has been called against management attempts to reorganize the shift system without offering any compensation whatsoever.

Occupying

In the Oise region over 800 Trefimetaux metal workers at Serifontaine are occupying the plant in a week-old strike for a pay increase and a sliding scale of wages.

Management has so far refused even to offer parity with workers in their other plants.

Background to the daily struggles on wages and jobs in France is the report just issued by the Centre Economic Studies of the CGT on unemployAbout 440,000 are now without a job-almost as many as the recorded figure shortly after the May-June 1968 general strike.

But now a high proportion of these are long-term unemployed and young people.

estimated 40 per cent of the jobless are less than 24 years old.

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