HEATH'S government has started well- prepared mass media campaign to condition workers to accept wage-cutting, unemployment and anti-union laws as their only salvation.

This is the meaning of the dire warnings of and the Confederation of British Industry at the National Economic Development Council meeting on Wednesday about Britain being on a 'suicidal course' unless wage inflation' was checked.

Coincidentally, the statement of Lord Stokes on British - Leyland's profits — down from £40m in 1969 to £3,932,000 in 1970—was also designed to whip up anti-union hysteria amongst the middle class and persuade less class-conscious workers that profits, not wages, are of paramount importance.

The employers' representatives at the NEDC went Lord Stokes further than even the Chancellor dared to by evoking the spectre of 800,000 unemployed and gigantic bankruptcies in 1971.

This was a bit too much even for the government.

According to Peter Jay of 'The Times' :

The government seemed to think that the CBI's fears about mass bankruptcies and resulting unemployment were a little exaggerated.

Insidious

Exaggerated or not, the fact is that this insidious campaign to make workers 'profit conscious' is being helped along the class collaboration policies of Stalinism and the trade union bureaucracy and is meeting with certain measure of success in industry.

The acceptance of £3,000 by ex-Stalinist convenor Devey in Sheffield and the decision of British-Leyland's Bathgate workers to delay a £3-a-week pay claim for six months in return for a guaranteed working week, are ominous precursors of a sinister trend which must be combated uncompro misingly.

The foregoing of a wage increase will not save the 5,000 jobs being chopped in the Austin-Morris division.

Nor will the £3,000 to Devey prevent the government from introducing their anti-union Bill nor the employers from resenteorganization in the floor organization future.

On the contrary, these 'concessions' will encourage every reactionary scheme of big business to atomize the working. class.

Wages and salaries never were, and are not, cause of the economic crisis.

Even the NEDC was reluctantly forced to this conclusion.

There was general agreement that wages and salaries had not originally begun the pay and price expiosion which has occurred over the past 15 months.

Devaluation was seen on all sides as the trigger mechanism, working through effect on import prices, higher indirect taxes, restraint of real income increases and higher unit labour costs spread over stagnant production.' (The Times', January 7, 1970.)

Stunted To these factors must be added the extremely high interest rates which stunted economic growth in 1968 and 1969.

Profit-reaping based on private property main cause of the crisis and this accumulation is irreconcilably opposed to any wage rises.

Even the TUC says pay— despite the so-called 'wages explosion' has fallen far short of expected levels.

• 1969 Britain had the lowest of wage creases in Europe, It is obvious that a tolerableleave alone a high standard of living-is either impossible under capitalism or is a very short-lived exception.

The TUC demand for a cost-of-living clause in wage agreements itself shows the extremely serious position the working class menaced by the disintegrating tendencies of capitalism.

The employers' and government's rejection of this demand is even more eloquent proof of this trend within capitalism.

Perish

All talk of halting inflation voluntary wage-freezing, sacrifice in the 'national interest' and 'monetary stabilization', is a monumental deception of the working class Stand firm on rights-garment workers LEEDS clothing workers O Conference Believes bie have issued a call for their all members have basic union to stand firm in de rights. fending its members' basic 1) Full employment is not rights against the Tory a privilege, but a basic attack. necessity of life, an elemenThe call was contained in tary right. To support this a resolution passed unani- no Measured-Day Work, no mously at the Leeds No. 1 intensification of working branch of the National conditions, full support for Union of Tailors and Gar- any section of workers enment Workers. gaged in a wages struggle.

It will be submitted No sackings, any firm which to the Union's national con- cannot give security to its ference later this year. workers must be nationalOil strike snowballs THE OIL tanker drivers' strike snowballed yesterday when 500 Esso men and 50 Mobil drivers walked out over the use of 'cheap labour' by outside distributors.

Scottish

breadmen SCOTTISH breadvan drivers voted to call off their bitter eight-week strike yesterday after union officials persuaded them to accept the employers' original offer.

They returned with a wage increase of between £2 4s 6d and £2 9s 6d pending negotiations on their original £4 claim.

At yesterday's meeting over a quarter of the men voted against the officials' recommendation.

The Scottish Commercial Motormens' Union assistant general secretary Peter Talbot said the Scottish TUC would re-open negotiations with employers on working hours, overtime rates and productivity deals.

The men earn basic £15 wage.

our ized without compensation under workers' control.

2) The right to strike and 3) The right of the working class to retain the gains they have made.

4) The right to fair prices for our necessities.

5) The right to high welfare benefits and decent housing at reasonable rents.

The action - taken against union advicehas affected petrol supplies to 2,000 garages in London and the Home Counties.

At Heathrow and Gatwick, aircraft refuelling is threatened.

Talks

Pickets at depots throughout the London area were very suspicious of press handling of their dispute, following the bitter experience of the power They stressed that hospitals, old peoples' homes, fire and ambulance stations were all being supplied.

The strike flared on Wednesday. after five months' of talks aimed at closing the gap between the wages of drivers employed by the major oil companies and those working for outside distributors.

Pickets at Shell's Fulham depot told us: "We want them up to the same basic money as us'-£28 5s.

Tanker drivers fear their work may be transferred to distributors paying lower wages.

So far, 19 distributors have paid the extra money to bring their T&GWU drivers up to the level paid by the oil companies. Seven are still holding out.

About 1,500 drivers are involved in the strike, which affects all major oil companies.

Shell Mex-BP drivers at two terminals—Walton-on-Thames and Northfleet-voted yesterday afternoon to return to work.

Coventry

A 250-STRONG meeting of programme, which involves a re-vamped wages structure,

which leads to unemployment and the pit of pauperism.

As the Transitional Programme of the Fourth International states unequivocally:

The question is not one of a "normal" collision between opposing material interests. The question is one of guarding the proletariat from decay, demoralization and ruin.

The question is one of life and death of the only creative and progressive class, and by that token of the future of mankind.

If capitalism is incapable of satisfying the demands inevitably arising from the calamities generated by itself, then let it perish.' We have nothing to add to this prognosis except to demand and fight for the return of a socialist government in 1971.

The All Trades Unions Alliance conference on Deeember 19 showed through the Charter of Basic Rights that the SLI is the only tendency which fights istransigently for class com sciousness to fight monopoly capitalism and azainst 'profit consciousness which serves capital in its hour of crisis.

Now we appeal to all sections of the trade union and labour movement to take another huge step forward in the struggle to expropriaté monopoly capital by supporting the Young Socialists Alexandra Palace anti-Tory rally.

This is our answer to the threat of inflation, unemployment and capitalist dictatorship.

Forward to February 14 Alexaadra Palace Rally.