OUR BEST YEI! December's Fund £1,600.48

OUR MANY, many thanks to you all. You not only com. pleted the target a week early but money has continued to flow in since Christmas giving US the grand total of £1,600.48 — £350.48 over the top!

It is our best monthly effort so far and we thank you again and again for this great response.

Immediately, we are holdIng meetings all over the country to meet you, our readers, and discuss how you would like to see the new 12. page tabloid.

Your enormous support throughout 1971 show8 that Workers Press has really become your paper. In return, we promise you a paper to be proud of.

Let's make a great start for 1972 and go from strength to strength. Begin the campaign early for January's Fund and start today. Post all your donations to :

186a Clapham High St London, Sw4.

Economic Bulletin.

Stop university economists, it shows that hundreds of thousands of workers have been driven onto the dole queues following the Wilson government's intensive production drive, since stepped up under the Tories.

overall output rose annual average of 2.3 per cent under the Labour government, while six workers n every thousand saw their jobs disappear each year.

has been going up rapidly while output 1965 than in earlier years Maulana's followers will accept his decision, but! Measured-Day Work, work think he has a stratégy. He study and productivity deals does not want to fight at this have destroyed hundreds of time, Mr Ashraf, said. thousands of jobs.

'It will be political murder the bulletin to go against the Awami drily, 'is certainly not overLeague at the moment. The stated by the official statis spirit of the people is very much behind them and old and young alike are deter- workers have 'disappeared' mined to build a new country. from the records in the past 'There is a section of the ix years — many becaus guerrillas who have not laid hey have given up lookin down their arms, but eventu- for work. ally they will.

'They feel that Pakistani being enforced much more civilians should be handed stringently, and some unover to the Mukti Bahini, and employment has been they are not prepared to give 'exported' to Ireland by the their guns until Sheikh return of jobless immigrants. Mujibur Rahman is back.

"The government h a s ECONOMIES roductivity up Edited by a panel of have had to rise faster not slower than in earlier years.' No such increase in output is contemplated.

Quite the reverse. • The growing international slump and worsening trade war sparked by the collapse of the post-war international monetary system are already taking their toll of production in every Their figures show that major capitalist country.

The report itself points out that 'there are widespread doubts whether reflationary measures undertaken by the government will be sufficient to achieve a substantial reduction in unemployment the coming year'. more slowly. since It adds that: 'Looking further ahead, there are crudely, fears that we shall be committed to an overvalued pound and that the economy will not be sufficiently competitive to take advan'The rise in unemploy. tage of the opportunities (and to meet the costs) of entry into the EEC' fought productivity deals At least 200,000 male and Measured-Day Work as the shortest route to the dole queue.

This report is a damning testimony to the, treachery of the Labour and trade Retirement ages are union leaders who collaborHated in the onslaught on jobs and paved the way for the Tories to create mass unemployment.

Under Wilson, the pro"Large economies in manend FROM IAN YEATS FIVE-DAY saturation bombing raids against targets in N Vietnam and Laos ended yesterday.

Three hundred US warplanes were thrown into the most prolonged attacks since 1968 in a bid to halt the tough dry-season offensive being waged by liberation forces on all fronts.

US command described the round-the-clock strikes 'insurance' to make sure of the orderly withdrawal of American troops later this year.

US President Nixon ordered the bombing of arms and goods dumps, airfields and supply routes with the twin aims of giving the liberation forces a sharp setback and convincing China of the wisdom of friendship with the US.

The attacks were precipitated by the crushing defeats inflicted on Laotian government forces in the Plain of Jars.

Resistance

B-52 bombers and F-4 Phantoms flew into stiff resistance from anti-aircraft fire, surface-to-air missiles and MiG 21 jets. Official sources say 22 US pilots are missing.

It seems certain that Nixon will try to repeat the Christmas bombings if it turns out they have failed to seriously deter the latest advances by liberation troops.

But as details of the raids hit America, there was a wave of protest led by Democratic Senator J. William Fullbright, ex-Defence Secretary Clark Clifford and anti-war Democratic Senator Frank Church.

Retaliation

says IRA THE OFFICIAL wing of the TRA clasponsibi Dublin esterday responsibility for explosion and fire at the Co Down home of Stormont's Speaker Ma) Ivan • O'Neil. They said the attack was in retaliation for the wrecking of homes of working-class families in the Newry and S Down area by the British army. Strike plans by miners MINERS' leaders met in London yesterday to discuss final plans for the national pit strike due to start on January 9. No moves on new talks have been made by the National Coal Board. The miners are claiming increases of up to f9 a week and have rejected a Board offer of £2 n line with the government's -per-cent 'norm' on pay rises.