A left cover for treachery

ONCE AGAIN it is vitally necessary warn 29aI0S the dangers of complacency in relation to the anti-union laws which the Tories Tene in the immediate future.

This is certainly brought out the papel Worker', organ of the International Socialists' group, willi takes the same line as the Stalinists Their leading article of last valuedy. calls turn-out December made on movemer me 11L0 general « strike the Tory government to resign.

The of the Socialist Labour por League is to the trade union ment make leaders organize their ten mint to deneat she a us.

The IS refrain from putting They put their petty alliances higher than the need or th class for action to defeat the class balance between imperialism class.

capitalism compromise with of Bolshevism - are both mortal enemies of the proletarian revolution —Leon Trotsky. MR HEATH'S and Sir Alec Douglas-Home's support for the Stalinist-inspired, fraud of European security, coming in the middle of the miner's strike and following the visit of Gromyko to Britain, must serve as a grave warning to the working class. As we explained in...ar McaL RAMnA yesterday's * Workers Press, the ruling group within the Tory Party have rejected deflation provisionally, but have not in any way altered their basic strategic aim.

That is to undermine, to split and demoralize the trade union movement by relying on the trade union bureaucracy which it hopes to terrify with the spectre of Enoch Powell.

In this way it hopes to secure an unhindered passage for its anti-union laws.

This Tory strategy, however, requires one indispensable precondition - the unstinted co-operation of the counter revolutionary Soviet bureau cracy and its agents in the leadership. of the British Communist Party and the 'Morning Star'.

If today they welcome Gromyko's plan for 'European security', it is because they have learnt the lessons of May-June 1968 in France and recognize the Soviet leadership and its agencies throughout the world as the biggest counter-revolutionary force within the working class-and the most consistent ally of imperialism.

The bourgeoisie by itself can never defeat the working class.

In its hour of crisis it needs-and demands imperatively - the assistance of Stalinismi and Social Democracy.

Without a grasp of the vital political lessons of the French events of 1968 no progress in the struggle against the Tory government is possible.

When de Gaulle first came to power in 1958 he did so only because the Stalinists, compromised by their support of the Algerian war, offered no resistance and asked workers to support the government of Premier Pflimlin who immediately made way for de Gaulle.

BETRAYAL

This conscious betrayal was carried further by the French CP which very soon adapted to Gaullist Bonapartism and changed its policy from that of formal opposition to constitution the Republic to a cristing an and ance of the constitution a platonic opposition to the 'personal power' General.

This policy was prompted and supported at every stage by the Kremlin leaders.

It was this subordination to the cynical diplomatic interests of the Soviet bureaucracy -as well defence the source its privileges within French imperialism -that led the French CP and CGT union leaders to stand aside from government's attacks against university education and the social services ultimately, slander the left-wing students.

When playing workers off against students failed, the Stalinists jumped on the antiGaulle bandwagon only in order to control it more effectively and steer it into reformist-constitutional channels.

Terrified by the scope of the movement and factory occupations, the Stalinists tried desnerately to divert the thrust of the workers from political' demands to immediate wage demands.

Skilfully éxolniting the absence of revolutinnary leadershin in the unions and the weakness of the revolntionary left. the Stalinists succeeded in clearing the fartories after settline the wage demands and persuaded the workers to accept de Gaulle's General Election. 'Even the army wnich helped him to power could not guarantee him their absolute fidelity. Only the Stalinists could.

Without the secret meetings with the Soviet ambassador and the tacit assurances of CP leaders Duclos, Seguy, Rochet and Frachon the conspiracy against the French workers would neither have been complete nor possible.

There is absolutely no essential difference between what happéned in France in 1968 and what the Stalinists and their right-wing allies are doing, and will continue to do in the future in Britain.

Just as the French CP policy was a post-war continuation in France of the prewar policies of 'social-fascism' Leaders of the limb makers (I. to r.) Jack Crisp, Frank Verschoyle, Tom White and Jack Biss -'We are not heartless. It's the management who are holding out'.

B-Leyland men against MDW A ROUND-the-clock p under way in support of on piecework in its car centred on the company's bid force through Measured-Day Work at it:

Motors factory at Cowley in Oxford, this campaign is now beginning to blatant distortion on Leyland's behalf.

Local union officials refused to comment on the campaign yesterday.

But shop stewards angrily denied claims-made in The Times' Business News - that Council UC 'retreat?

to defend the right to a job and the right to strike and to force the Tory government to resign.

It calls for the building of a new socialist leadership in the unions to fight for the nationalization of basic industries without compensation and under workers' control.

ROAD - TRANSPORT drivers in Liverpool-members of the Transport and General Workers' Unionhave decided overwhelm.ingly to strike on December 8. fight back ress campaign is now British-Leyland's attack assembly plants.

By an industrial correspondent the combine has achieved 'a significant breakthrough in its plans to end the piecework system at its car-manufacturing centres'.

Cautious

More cautiously, the 'Financial Times' adjudged 'a significant gain in its struggle with the unions over its controversial plan to pay employees on a new model at Cowley under a MDW system rather than piecework'.

Both reports purported to deal with the situation on the new assembly-line set aside for production of the forthcoming ADO 28 model.

Yet it was not only their emphasis that was different.

In "The Times', '100 "volunteers" •. became the first British-Leyland carworkers to be paid a flat rate of 18s 6d an hour under the new and controversial pay scheme which the management has introduced'.

Elimination

It then described what it claimed to be 'a vote by 1,200 men at the Cowley assembly works to accept the new pay plans and the elimination of piecework'.

'However, hedged the 'Financial Times', 'the managestill to raise

and 'popular frontism' which enabled Hitler to come to power and to plan his attack against the USSR, Stalinists' today the British policies regarding the Tories are but a continuation of French Stalinism's policy adapted to British conditions.

They facilitate the preparations of British imperialism not only to destroy the working-class movement at home, but also attack the conquests of the October Revolution abroad.

The continuity of this cornter-revolutionary tradition is personified not only by CP leaders like Gollan and Matthews, but, more significantly, by its lesser lights like McGahey, Hiles and Lew Lewis, who. have never led a single successful struggle against the employers.

OFFENSIVE

As the crisis worsens and the Tory offensive intensifies, these people seek to adapt themselves to the employing class through the fraud of protest politics in the same way as the French Stalinists adapted themselves to de Gaulle through the fraud of a general election.

The French Stalinists substituted wage demands for the slogan of workers' government and the overthrow of de Gaulle.

British Stalinists consciously and consistently oppose the demand for a general strike to force the Tories to resignand substitute protest strikes instead.

In this. of course, they have the wholehearted support of the Moscow and E European bureaucracy who. from the start. welcomed the return of the Tory government.

The other-and even more sinister - measure of their conciliation with Toryism is their campaign to cover up for the right-wing leaders in the unions.

This has led the CP and the 'Morning Star' not only to assist in apologize for the retreats in the docks and GKN, but now to lead the retreat in miners' wage claim in the shameful and despicable manner.

It is the most counterrevolutionary act in the counter-revolutionary history of British Stalinism and it proves most demonstrably that the CP leaders cannot and will not fight the right wing or the Tory government.

The miners' strike was political not only because it took place in a nationalized industry but because the winning of the miners' wage claim presupposed an enormous blow against the policies of the Tory government, which coming after dustmen's victory, would been tantamount to its defeat.

The Stalinists in the National Union Mine- workers know this of From the start they set out to restrict the struggle by SOGAT CASE ADJOURNED High Court judges yesterday further adjourned Mr John Lawrence's move to stop his explusion from the Society of Graphical and Allied Trades.

Mr Lawrence. Father of the Press Association SOGAT chapel, claiming that he was never consulted 1 officials about SOGAT Division ceased to exist and the Division had reverted back to the National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants.

Last week's High Court order restraining Division 1 officials including general secretary Mr Richard Briginshaw-from expelling Mr Lawrence was renewed.

PAPERS TOO CHEAP

Mr Larry " tarry the said westerer. that newspaper prices are ridiculously low' and forecast increases to level approaching 'economic sanity;

Advertising spending in national papers, which rose to £87 million in 1966, had been falling, at least in real terms, ever since, he said. Moscow ment is by no means out of the wood yet because assembly workers have agreed to accept. a new rate of 18s 6d an hour for working on the new car on an interim basis while negotiations continue on the company's pay proposals.' What "The Observer' described on Sunday as 'the unrivalled British-Leyland public relations machine' must have been working overtime!

No MDW scheme has been introduced at Oxford and no vote to eliminate piecework has ever been taken.

Hand in glove

Union chiefs, who have all along worked hand-in-glove with the company's attempts to break shop-floor resistance to MDW, want to start discussing its proposals at the highest level in the industry's disputes procedure - York conference.

This would allow the company to jump over almost the whole procedure, register a failure to agree at national level and then take any action locally it thought necessaryincluding a lockout-to push the deal through.

And they also propose to discuss similar proposals for Leyland's Birmingham Austin plant at local-conference level within the next few weeks.

But the Oxford stewards are insisting that the company's proposed deal must be tabled at a works conference, where it must take its place in a queue of other references.

Meanwhile interim agreement has been reached for an 18s 6d-an-hour payment to the the basis of the ADO 28-line labour force.

This agreement in no way involves Measured-Day. Work or anything like it, and when the new line starts, it will entitle Leyland to precisely two cars a week.

Press distortion and official treachery is a combination which will have to be combated by Leyland workers in their struggle to defeat company plans to reduce them to Ford-style wages and Fordstyle conditions.

THE fate of the Italian cent Democrats, Socialist Part Republicans hangs on the economic 'decree' now und The real issue is not the numerous amendments from the Socialist Party (PSIUP) on petrol prices and social security contributions Party whether the Socialist majority and a section of the Christian Democrat 'left wing' will continue to support Prime Minister Colombo's cabinet.

Despite severe warnings from Colombo and Social-Democratic leader Preti (a professional anti-communist of the worst hue) a majority of the socialist deputies are looking towards a loose