'Morning Star' excuses Gomulka More towns join revolt

Gdynia Sopot cIn riin ) Poznan Katowice thinkR significant milestone THE WORKERS PRESS proudly salutes the second annual cone ence of the All Trades Unions Alliance as the most decisive step forward of the British working class in tone presen At a time sis. when the trade leaders and the stainists are in lull retrea from the Tory onslaught, ATUA, with the Socialist Labour League and the Young Socialists alone fight realize the programme of socialist revoandhold alott banner of uncompromising struggle against loryism The Workers Press in narticu Kind of conditioned a iberation in the WITH Prime Minister Heath in Nixon's Camp David mountain retreat, the 'New York Times' yesterday published an editorial supporting the Tory anti-union legislation.

It shrewdly commented that until recently reliance on community sentiment and pressure have long enabled the British to conduct industrial relations with only the sketchiest legal framework .. The non-system worked be cause British Labour leaders were cautious, conservative types who could represent workers for a lifetime and rarely called an official strike' The "Times' correctly observed that this long estab. lished relationship between the bureaucracy and the working class is being disrupted.

Doing job

Hence the need for anti. union laws, which will have to do the job the 'cautious, conservative types' undertook in quieter times.

Most revealing of all is the judgement made on the trade Heath union 'lefts', an opinion no doubt shared by Heath him• 'Two major unions [the AEF and the T&GWU] have produced weak, radical leadership-radical in rhetoric and weak in deeds.' The editorial also puts Wilson and company in their place with the comment:

Indispensable 'The Labour Party know as well as Mr Heath that a sound labour law, although it is certainly not a panacea, is now an indispensable prerequisite for a coherent national economic policy.' However, Heath will need more than words of sympathy when he returns to face the growing workers' movement against his Bill. STRIKING turbine-blade polishers in Derby heard yesterday that solidarity action by shop stewards at a Devon engineering plant had strengthened their position.

The 170 who striking against the effects of Measured-Day Work Rolls-Royce has introduced into its Derby group of factories, voted by a substantial majority to continue their action and meet again in a forthnight's time.

Derby Metal Mechanics' Society official Harold Brown said after yesterday's mass meeting that there were signs of weakening by the firmmainly caused by a severe shortage of blades.

Rolls approached the Devon engineering firm Centrax to produce blades for them, but stewards there had refused to handle the work, he said. could lose ty to en a weeken Derby men they accept the Rolls scheme.

The NSMM has made their six-week struggle official.

Members of the Amalgamated Engineers and Foundryworkers involved strike had received no backing and no strike pay, however.

three-man delegation from the mechanics' union will discuss the dispute with the Trades Union Congress's finance and general purposes 'inner cabinet' on January 4.

INCREASED gas charges for 900,000 consumers were recommended by the Eastern Gas Board yesterday. An average household will pay between 7d and Is a week more if the increases are approved. Families using central heating face an increase of 2s 6d a week. The primary charge to domestic consumers will double-to 13s.

Soviet oil SOVIET oil tankers of the Novorossiysk fleet are now shipping oil to Barcelona.

The first tanker left for Spain on 1 December 12, in the middle of the 'trial' of 16 Basque nationalists being was completely sealed off by Copenhagen during tanks, soldiers and police and Second World War'. in the central area thousands of people gathered to discuss endless columns of police the news. cars and military vehicles Within hours, many thous- with wailing sirens rushed ands were demonstrating on into the city to deal with the streets. the barricades set up in the The Communist Party head- centre by demonstrators. quarters were burned out.

Tanks stationed outside public militia swept into the buildings were surrounded by crowds, flinging tear-gas young workers who insisted bombs and flailing with their on discussing with the sol- batons at anyone within diers, in scenes reminiscent of reach.

Hungary 1956 and Czechoslovakia 1968. opinion that 'there were hooligans among the demonSlogans strators, but the great majority on the streets were comTanks and walls in the city pletely innocent spectators were covered with slogans like : distinction ... They threw 'We are workers, not hooli- themselves ruthlessly on gans' and 'We want higher anyone who aroused their wages and the right of anger'. expression'.

On Thursday morning third of the town's shipyard workers did not go to work, and those who did arrive did no work.

Police and troops prevented many from leaving their workplaces and joining the midday demonstrations.

Eye-witness reports published in Warsaw estimate the earlier Gdansk demonstrations as numbering 30,000 and being 'well-organized'.

Thursday a broadcast appeal by vice-premier islaw Kociolek included following sentences:

'Troops militia called into the streets Gdansk) Unfortunately there were also shipyard workers who took part in and announce big financial losses even instigated the riots. You in its Austin-Morris division this very well. next month, Leyland has atbroadcast, and the military precautions taken tempted to press forward by the authorities above all rapidly with its strategy for pushing up profits at Cowley. have have now been submitted to in the assembly plant there senior stewards.

eaucracy. of hooligans and anarchists Wider compass fensory: the riots wider compass than was intimated to national union he took lens and. officials at York last week— extending to all pieceworkers in the plant. Disarmed terms of reference allowed only for proposals to be made took special ed shares to dis covering workers in the plant's new South-side develarm and remove all equip- opment. training ment from officer adding up to a vicious Fordthese style fixed-pay-and-discipline pro- scheme, it is understood—-have now been broken off while local union officials investigate the procedural problems is trate fightine for is tie created by Leyland's haste.

sults, which will cover the year ending in September, are expected to throw some light on this nervousness.

for Spain aged by the fascist Fran the company still staking all ime in Burge its hopes on producing a highly-profitable new car at Cowley.

and Italy. in • the last year, and profits have lost £15 to £l6 million 18.

Shots and tear-gas grenYOU HAVE not replied to my Labour League.

new revolutionary leadership.

It will be the greatest blow to Stalinism and reformism in Europe.

Impelled by the crisis of imperialism and Stalinism, guided by Trotskyism and inspired by the example of the October Revolution, this leadership will not betray or capitulate, but will overcome all obstacles and lead the British workers to their greatest historical triumph.

this we are absolutely convinced.

he Newsletter', forerunner of the Workers Press, was adopted as the official paper of the ATUA at its first conference. Workers Press will do everything possible to defend and advance the Charter of the ATUA • in the coming struggles in Britain.

That is our pledge to the second annual conference.

We urge all delegates to endorse the Charter.

Forward from December 19 to the defeat of Toryism and the return of a socialist government pledged to fight for the ATUA Charter of Rights in 1971! personal capacity'.

BY A BY A WORKERS PRESS CORRESPONDENT THE MURDEROUS role of the Ulster B-Specials in last year's Armagh fighting has been fully exposed in evidence to the Scarman Tribunal.

A former sergeant of the Tynan platoon told the tribunal how 11 B-Specials deliberately lied to cover their part in the death of John Gallagher, who was shot against the working class. He warned:

'These excesses cannot be justified by anything. Everyone must differentiate between difficult problems of our economy and the material standard of the working class, which can, should, and will be discussed, and solved, and the basic interests of the state and nation which nobody has ever any right to. endanger.' In other words, the whole system the bureaucracy's power is being called in question by the struggle of the workers, and this cannot be allowed.

Hence the news yesterday that an 'unspecified number' of arrests has been made, and the government's announcement that the 'guilty' will be severely punished.

Ultimatum

his spect said: Kociolek in 'Many decisions and Forward, mands were i want to say in all trator.

are in bie or turidemands incapable decisions It is this insoluble crisis for that explains press and 'Morning Star' alik hat the price increases wer 'clumsily statement also yet again that the not one of 'pro'hooligans' s, act terized by political and eco.

by deringrations, by trike. demands, truggle in the streets t combinatior in the factories reflects the dvanced stage reached 1 the processes eading political revolution There is no dou revolution and the Czechoslovak struggles, youth are to the fore.

The bureaucracy is broadcasting appeals to parents to Keep is trying to convince off the streets, older workers that they are being led astray by the irres-