INS Theadailynpaper workers press

THE DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE Forward to Alexandra Palace anti-Tory rally Feb 14! Feb Return a Labour government Prospects we for 1971 1970 WILL BE remembered as a year of great class conflict and shameful retreat by the traditional social democratic and Stalinist leaderships of the working class and colonial peoples.

It showed how imperialism relies on stalinism, social democracy and • bourgeois nationalism as the only way - in the present period - to sustain itself against the hammer blows of the working class and colonial peoples.

Without these ancillary supports the death-rattle of imperialism would have been heard in every corner of the imperialist world in 1970.

Instead of this we saw the defeat of the third round of the PALESTINIAN revolution, extension of the INDOCHINA war and the resumpi tion the bombing of VIETNAM.

Thical and in de case ic.

political and—in CAMBODIA — even military support of Stalinism, US imperialism is able to continue and enlarge its genocidal war against the Vietnamese people.

In the same way • the isolation and defeat of the Pales. tinian uprising was ensured no less by Soviet diplomacy than by the reactionary Al Fatah leadership.

Recovery

In FRANCE and ITALY counter-revolutionary Stalinism enabled the ruling classes of those countries not only to stay in power, but also recover much of what they had been forced to concede to the workers in an earlier period.

French which in 1968, was lich was reeling in 1968, to attack imprison left-wing militants because of political complicity Stalinism in 1970.

In W GERMANY the failure — or rather refusal - of the Democratic Brandt, regime to attack monopoly capitalism has greatly couraged the extreme rightwing around Strauss to make a political come-back.

In SPAIN and GREECE the capitalist dictatorship was — economic, technical and dip- and is - maintained lomatic support of virtually Stalinist regime Europe, and the Soviet Union of course.

EUROPE, and SOVIET UNION the last year was one of intensive persecuanti-Stalinist opposition, which began with the persecution of Grigorenko and culminated in the brutal suppression of the GDANSK uprising.

'Socialism in a single country' means increasingly, living standards, high prices, greater reliance on imperialist finance capital. virtual abandonment of planning and the massive use of state force keep bureaucratic parasites in power.

But it was in BRITAIN that imperialism-relying on the labour bureaucracy— make its bigest return da. Tory gerprame:t 1970."

Having failed to drive back the mounting offensive of the working class in 1969-1970, and scared of its potential, Wilson and company deliberately opened the door to the Tories by the policies 'freeze and squeeze'. INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • FRIDAY JANUARY 1, 1971 • NUMBER 341 PRICE 6d (210)

DECIMALISATION IS THE NEW FISKEAL POLICY HEADS YOU LOSE RACKETEER Merger threat to paperworkers' jobs in is oBser mill are breat Reed and Bowater groups who produce 86 per cent of Britain's newsprint.

operation man st ise water Paper Code ation manufacture to meet increased foreign competition.

"The government has made rad reprieve for 'hi-iackers' to hear the appeals being made—a concession which reveals the force of his Last June, Sakharov secured the release of the arrested geneticist Zhoves Medvedev, who was being detained 'without charges in a psychiatric clinic.

The reprieve, however welcome, does nothing to answer the charge that the Soviet bureaucracy is following Stalin's tradition of using anti-Semitism to THE ED ASK FOR IT it clear that it is now a question of the survival of the fittest, commented Ritchie, 'we think this is right?

For Reed, chairman Don Ryder said that the two giants should not compete among themselves since the main threat was now from overseas.

Sectors for rationalization are thought to be pulp, newsprint, coated papers, packaging products and papers for wallpaper conversion.

With joint sales of £600m Reed-Bowater would dominate the UK industry. divert attention from economic, social and political problems.

Other trials of Jews are reportedly scheduled for the near future.

Presumably the 'struggle against Zionism' will again serve as the legal and political pretext for more repressions against Soviet Jewry.

This happens despite Kremlin pressure in the Middle East to ensure the Arab regimes accept a deal with Meir and Dayan based upon a permanent Zionist occupation of Palestinian territory!

Miners

want Jan 12 strike A SPECIAL S Wales coalfield delegate conference of the National Union of Mineworkers in Cardiff yesterday backed their leaders' call on the TUC to lead a national one-day strike against the Industrial Relations Bill on January 12.

Delegates also demanded an earlier recall of the ‚special TUC meeting arranged for March 18, and an Immedlate speclal national delegate conference of the NUM to organize Industrial action.

A special meeting of Wales trade unionists Is to be held at Swansea on January 12.

A mass rally will also take place In Cardiff on January 23, at which T&GWU secretary Jack Jones and Labour MP Michael Foot will speak.

GOOD FOR YOU PROFITEER LOOT NLF steps up activities NATIONAL Liberation Front guerrillas wiped out a hamlet defence post 24 miles NW of Saigon early yesterday.

The outpost stands beside Highway one, the main road from Saigon to Phnom Penh.

About 20 guerrillas threaded traps that surrounded the outpost and blasted the square sandbag bunker complex with satchel charges, grenades and small arms fire.

Guerrilla units in the area around Saigon have been carrying out an extensive lewish In its statement on the Leningrad trial, the British Communist Party claimed that anti-Semitism did not arise.

Will Gollan then explain why it is that thousands of Jews apparently want to emigrate to Israel?

The Leningrad trial, like every pogrom, makes thousands of new recruits for Zionism, cannon and factory fodder for Dayan and Meir, who are nothing but the hirelings of US imperialism in the Middle East.

That is why, despite its chauvinist Jew-baiting, Stalinism has always been able to co-exist with Zionism. They both represent the forces of counterrevolution.

Another Leyland on MDW BRITISH-LEYLAND has had to beat retreat from its attempt to force Measured-Day Work at one fell swoop out its Cowley car complex.

With eight days to go before resumed talks on its proposals with national unior officials at York, the compans yesterday sent out a letter to all employees at the Morris YOUVi •iC PEK AIKCKE CK TWê DCyS KUVE aCT TO PIck A FCC.:T cià Ter. C: training programme in sapper tactics.

The United States command yesterday reported the loss of two helicopters with a casualty toll of five Americans wounded.

One helicopter was brought down by ground fire and rashed near the city of Dala n the central highlands. A second craft was hit in Northern Quand Ngai province earlier this week.

The losses bring the total number of US helicopters shot down in S Vietnam in ten years of war to 1,838.

But the total number of helicopters lost through operational and non-operational causes, is now 4,17l a US spokesman said.

Despite the slow-down over Christmas and the three-day New Year truce the guerrillas have dealt strong and effective blows against US forces and the Kremlin-backed regime of Step-up Last week, which marked the tenth anniversary of the NLF's formation, was distinguished by a major step-up in guérrilla activities.

Forty-one Americans were killed in combat in S Vietnam last week. The puppet regime Workers' confidence In their united strength-a strength that can be mobilized to force the Torles to resign— was nowhere better expressi In 1970 than In the council workers' strike. It gained the support of many other worke throughout the country, like these Swindon youth on a solldarity march through the town.

retreat La partial through throughMotors assembly plant.

This conceded that the proposals would apply only to workers in the plant's new South side development at this stage.

After the adjournment of negotiations at York last month, the company submitted proposals which would apply to the whole plant for discussion with senior shop These talks were then broken off when the stewards insisted that the proposals went beyond the terms of reference agreed at York.

At the Pressed-Steel Fisher body plant, Leyland has had to replace whole-plant terms of reference for a separate set of MDW proposals with terms making clear that only workers on the new ADO 28 model will be involved.

TEMPORARY

But the company has made clear in both plants that these are temporary expedients to get negotiations going.

Their aim remains MeasuredDay Work throughout the Cowley complex.

At P-SF, they have already submitted a separate MDW reference to cover workers producing bodies for the Maxi model.

Stewards feel that a similar move at Morris's cannot be long delayed.

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING

Saturday January 2, 1971 at 2.30 p.m.

East India Dock Rd, London E14 National Speaking Contest to 'the Uptights' in the evening Apply to: 186a, Clapham High Streol, London SW4. DEVEY AFFAIR WHITEWASH hand weapon SHEFFIELD branches of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering and Foundryworkers are being circulated with an offer to discuss the £3,000 pay-off which ended a key reinstatement strike at the city's Batchelor's Foods plant.

The offer comes from members of the committee which led the seven-week strike for reinstatement of dismissed convenor Terry Devey.

Shop stewards at Batchelor's have sent a resolution to the AEF district committee condemning the handling the dispute by paid official George Caborn, leading Communist Party member.

Our own investigations prove that responsibility this now notorious affair rests squarely with the so-called Communist Party of Great Britain.

If it has been belatedly seized on by Tory spokesmen and the mass media, it is because they recognize that the CP's conduct over Batchelor's has provided them with a useful weapon in their campaign for legislation against the trade unions.

Recognized In a statement published during afternoon of December 22, the CP's Yorkshire district committee laid claim to recognizing this danger.

It condemned the settlement as 'a retreat before the same forces which are behind the Industrial Relations Bill'.

On Wednesdav night of this week,CP district. secretary Howard Hill took advantage of a Yorkshire television interview to single out Devey— now resigned from the CPand attack him for accepting the £3,000 pay-off.

As reported both in yesterday's Workers •Press and in our original exposure of the Devey affair eight days ago, Stalinists both inside and outside the Sheffield AEF district committee tempting to whitewash the men really responsible for this retreat.

To single out Devey as solely responsible for what happened at Batchelor's is simply the old Stalinist cover-up technique as employed in the disastrous Electrical Trades Union ballot-rigging case.

Two points Our continuing inquiries into the Devey affair have established two points beyond question:

When AEF district secretary Caborn reported the proposed terms of settlement to the union's Sheffield committee on December 15, no Celebrate East India Hall Special Photo Competition Jennings, Editor of Keep Left TICKETS 7s 6d

Relief tempered led to reported that 301 government soldiers were killed.

In a year-end review the New China News agency yesterday warned the US against the 'bastion of iron' formed by the Indo-Chinese people.

The agency referred to the latest call by Hanoi to the N Vietnamese to prepare for any American attack on the country and said: 'The Laotian and Cambodian people firmly stand with the Vietnamese people in determination to defeat US imperialism thoroughly and drive it out of Indo-China.

Reckless 'Should US imperialism dare to run into reckless acts against the bastion of iron formed by the more than 40 Under the Stalin-Hitler million valiant Indo-Chinese pact, at that time Soviet oil people, it will inevitably meet was being supplied in large with even more ignominious quantities to fascist Germany.

defeat and accelerate its own Chamberlain told Reynaud doom.' at a war council meeting at US and S Vietnamese forces the end o March 1940 that were scheduled to halt off all air raids o: the Caucasus oil- operations tor 24 hours starthelds wouri not only deny ing yesterday evening. Hitler muci-needed oil supRussia's eci omic sparture and effectively prevent her from carrying out military operations outside her own territories'.

UNION officials are to make a fresh attempt next week to persuade 600 Scotland bakery van drivers to end in the Caucasus'. their seven-week strike for a £4 rise and accept the employers' pay offer of rises from £2 4s 6d to £2 9s 6d.

tion showing iat the soil in Scottish Commercial Motor- the oilfields wl 5 so soaked in men's assistant general secretary Peter Talbot said: 'We could result 1 a fire extending will be strongly recommending the formula'.

He will address a mass British gor'rnment earmarked meeting in Glasgow next Wed48 Blenheim aircraft to carry nesday and expects a favourout the planned attack, but able reaction. finally decided it could not afford so many planes.

the Blenls, ims to bomb the Soviet t hion, there were detailed discussions on the chiefs a staffs committee of of the a Sea THREATS Reynaud apparently con- attempt was made by the sidered such an attack might committee to stop a mass cause 'one vast conflagration meeting of strikers the following day accepting them. SOIL SHAKED Yet CP members and their supporters had a clear majority He claimed «* have informa- at that meeting and could have moved for a recommendation to the strikers that they should reject the pay-off oil that one incendiary raid and continue their fight for reinstatement. • The AEF district comAfter t-ais meeting the mittee did not come out against the Batchelor's settlement until its meeting on the evening of December 22, after publication of the Yorkshire CP's condemnation.

Apart from the plan to send Yet as Hill freely admitted in his television interview, the CP district committee and he personally were in touch with the strike throughout.

Devey is said by CP members in Sheffield to have telephoned Hill for advice about whether he should accept the £3,000 during the evening of December 14.

This plan envisaged in- To claim that acceptance was simply Devey's responsibility begs the question asked in yesterday's Workers Press: if Hill was opposed to The Mediterranean fleet was the why did he not issue an settlement immediate instruction to his members on the AEF district committee to oppose it?

Evidence There is already evidence that besides fuelling the Tory propaganda campaign in supof the Industrial Relations Bill the Devey affair has helped to weaken fight against it at shop-floor level in the Sheffield area, and may well have similar effects elseWorkers at a number of Sheffield factories are reported locally to have refused strike action for a whole day on January 12 against the Tory No doubt many more workers will be disgusted by the spectacle of leading members of the Stalinist-dominated Liaison Committee for Defence of Trade Unions in full retreat before the UnileverBatchelor's-Bird's Eye monopoly before legislation is even halfway through the House of Commons.

It is urgent that serious rank-and-file CP members force their leaders to answer for the Devey affair and break from the cowardly and opportunist politics this reflects.