NO CHANCE FOR SWANSEA DOLE YOUTH

class.

Earlier we went to Jarrow which was a great moment for us all. We reached the town at 2 p.m. after a factory gate meeting at Reyrolles in Hebburn (the workers there have donated £100). FROM IAN YEATS Walking along the Tyne was a grim reminder of the days when four out of every five AS S WALES Young Socialists lead to stagnation at the works Jarrow people WalC streets without a jeb. Today set out to march to London today from Swansea, the city faces its grimmest jobs crisis riverside looks derelict and cranes along the waterfront idle since the war. between 15 and 18 is extremely and rusty. And Swansea Corporation's grave. Three per cent, or 303 of The Palmer's dock closed principal careers officer, the city's youth, are on the dole recently. This is ironical because N. G. Proud, told Workers Press it was the closure of the Palmer's in a special interview that unshipyard that murdered the town skilled youth thrown on the jobs are ceasing to exist. A few in the early 1930s. dole today stood no chance of a years ago a boy could always But the response from the job in the foreseeable future. get a job labouring in the facJarrow people was magnificent. Nearly 6 per cent of the city's tories, on the railways or on Whenhi heard of une uRTCr labour force, 4,342 people, are the mayor quickly laid on a tea out of work this month with a for us and all the trades people further 1,200 redundancies forecame forward and gave food. pushing or carrying jobs. But cast by March 1.

We thank one butcher In the Swansea and Amman automation has swept this sort particular. He gave' enou Valleys the figure is even higher tonger as Boy is out of work, the sausages and liver to give at 7.3 per cent. Tne marchers a good breakfast B1g sackings at BP's Baglan next day. Bay site, from Gorseinon Press A two-hour collection in works and Swansea Vale works town raised £20 and we someone who hasn't worked for got have forced the figures upwards another £10 from South Shi six months or more because they elds, dramatically. plus a donation at our mee ting. Now the works council at the South Shields Trades Co uncil nearby Margam Abbey steel escorted us to their town.

tories and lengthening dole complex at Port Talbot has queues daily.

Eighty per cent of Welsh business employs under 50 and warned that steel prospects could those small firms which haven't shut down have led a ruthless with severe consequences for rationalization which has towns within a 20-mile radius. extended throughout Welsh inThe plight of young people dustry, jacking up productivity and sacking mostly unskilled labour.

Until recently new factories living on £3.60 a week. employed mainly women while Mr Proud said: Labouring more and more men lost their jobs. But Swansea unemployed youth are for the first time divided equally between the sexes. building sites. Support for today's Right-to"There were quite a lot of Work march has come from the Transport and General Workers' Union, National Union of Railof job away and for these boys waymen and Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers throughout the area. less chance he's got. The 40 marchers will be the 'Employers are suspicious of centre of a jobs rally in the city today before going on to University College where they will stay think his attitude to work will the night ready for the first full have deteriorated.' day's march to Neath, on Sunday Slump is being morning. Gerry Caughey, Christine Sn and Gerry Healy, (National S retary the Socialist Lab League)

LONDON YOUNG SOCIALIS Right-to-Work Meetings Tuesday February T&GWU Offices, 173, Clapham Road, SW9 Wednesday February Woolwich Town Hall (public hall)

Market St, SE 18 Thursday February Ruskin House, Coombe Rd, S Croydon Thursday February Recreation Centre, Old Bedford Rd, Luton.

ARC aged aged aged Rent 4 Workers Press, Saturday Fobruary 10, 1972 KE ' FRANI Employers who introduce measures which give workers no alternative but to take industrial action to defend rights and conditions, get powerful strike-breaking support from the state. laid down Directly in the Tory Industrial through the law as Relations Act. Indirectly, through vindictive bias and discrimination against strikers by the social security system.

WEAKEN The dispute may result entirely from deliberate provocation by the employer to weaken workplace organization and hold down pay, or to create opportunities for sacking workers and closing down factories, but the social security officials are not concerned with this side of the situation. Their job is to penalize the worker and help break the strike.

Workers involved in a trade dispute are disqualified from drawing unemployment benefit. They are also disqualified from receiving supplementary benefit for their own requirements, but can claim for a wife, children and other dependants.

The 1966 Social Security Act says that, 'his requirements for that period shall be disregarded for the purpose of benefit except so far as they include the requirement to provide for any other person'. . (Section 10.)

A man on strike with a wife not working and three children aged 14, Il, four, paying rent of £2.50 week is credited with the following, before deductions: For the husband nothing For the wife .... £4.60 (She is treated as a dependant non-householder, in this case over 21.)

For child 14 £3 11 £2.45 £1.70 £2.50 tatal 61425 Assistance grant wrai Since new legislation in November 1971, 'this benefit is cut by any amount over fl the striker receives from strike pay or tax refund.

The new Tory Social Security Act states that this shall be treated as income and taken into account as such: "tax deducted from his emoluments' and any payment he receives or is entitled to obtain [whether from a trade union or anu other sourcel by reason or deing wigout empyment for any period during stoppage of work due to a trade dispute at his place of employDeductions from benefit for the wife's earnings, savings, family allowances, etc. are made in the same way as for the sick and unemployed on supplementary benefit as previously.

If. in the above example the family had the following income —husband's strike pay f4 a week, family allowance £1.90 a week— then the resulting deductions from the supplementary benefit paid would be:

For husband's strike pay ... £3 (The amount of strike pay or tax refund over fl.)

For family allowance ... £1.90 Total deductions ...... £4.90 In the above case the actual supplementary benefit payment to the family would be £9.35 (£14.25 minus £4.90). Before the new law they would have received £12.35.

Family payments are made to the striker if he is the applicant, even though he himself is disqualified. Rent allowance is payable, but in general a tough line is taken with workers involved in a dispute.

Payments may be withheld or reduced during the first few weeks, on the basis that there should be enough money left from previous earnings. to cover this period—a ludicrous view, as in many cases the workers concerned are on strike precisely because wages do not provide enough, even to sustain a weekly budget, never mind saving.

MERITS Workers on strike also have more difficulty than most in discovering what their rights are. Official leaflets are available covering most reasons for claiming, but not for being involved La dispute. Un inquiry, one official explained: 'There is no special material of this kind published to explain what is due to strikers • • • every case 1s dealt with on its individual application: there is merits no general On the other hand, officialdom turns up all manner of regulations and conditions which bar strikers from benefit. But the 1966 Act does not entirely close the door to workers involved in a dispute, though use of undefined terms like payment in case of 'urgent requirement' leaves even wider 'powers of discretion' for officials to make or withhold payment.

Payments to strikers without dependants-by far the worst-off as they are totally without income-are technically available.

The Supplementary Benefits Handbook' states: 'Although a person involved in a trade dispute is disqualified from receiving supplementary benefit to meet his own requirements, the Commission are empowered under the Act [Section 13(1)] to benefit it it is urgently required. Denelil In making such a payment the Commission are not bound by the normal rules of assessment and any benefit that is paid is limited to what is strictly necessary ments meet urgent requireThe secret document which controls the operation of the social security system—the 'A' Code-makes the same point as follows:

'Section 9 (3) [of the 1966 Social Security Act) disqualifies a striker for assistance to meet his own needs. But notwithstanding the disqualification, Section I1 (1) permits the Board to grant assistance in an urgent case [which is not recoverable] •.. assistance must accordingly be granted if the need is urgent, but in the light of the disqualifying provision, it should be limited to the sum necessary to remove the urgent need.' (Clause 4879.)

Rent payments are said to be available to a striker with no dependants only where, without them, the claimant would come under a notice to quit, or where a landlord or landlady would face 'distinct hardship to await payment of arrears until the applicant resumes work'. (Clause 4880 'A' Code.)

The fact is that any single worker with no dependants who is on strike is immediately forced into straightened circumstances in which payment of a living allowance and rent is required from the first day.

For example, many telephonists involved in i in last year's postal strike round inemserves in just this desperate situation and there is tremendous anger among the mining communities about single men scraping an existence during is paid to alleviate hardship, no Howaver even where a sum STRARMATY permanent arrangement is made to cover the recurrence of the emergency. The 'A' Code states:

'Only a single. immediate payment should be issued on • any. application, the applicant being left to make further representation himself if he is again in nead of assistance. Where payment seems justified, the applicant should be told orally.

makes any complaint, Form B/O.3A, giving right of appeal should be issued.' ADDITION It should be stressed here that additions are continually being made to the 'A' and 'AX' Codes by means of special "circulars' containing new instructions. In. this way operation of the payment system and the means test can be tightened up drastically, without anyone outside the service knowing about it.

Workers laid off as a result of a dispute, but not directly involved in it, can claim unemployment or supplementary benefits for themselves and their families in the normal way. However, the Act expects them to prove that they are not participating in, financing or directly interested in the trade dispute and that they do not belong to the involved grade or class of workers in the company which is in dispute.

According to the 'A' Code, officials do check on the proof given. Clause 4832 states:

If there is a trade dispute, particulars of the classes of persons involved should be obtained from the local insurance office. The information will be passed to the receptionist [at the Social Security office], who will be given instructions, if necessary, in regard to any classes of persons who are unemployed in consequence of, but are not held to be involved in, the dispute.' Under the new Act, workers who are unable to prove that they are not participating in the dispute that has caused them to be laid ofi, will now lose benent when tax refund is paid, in the same way as the worker who is on strike.

On November 3, 1971, the new Tory strike-breaking Act came into force. Previously, a worker drawing benefit for wife and family had tax rebate and strike pay of up to £4.85 ignored when calculating benefit. This has been reduced to a maximum of fl. According to a report in the 'Financial Times' on October 26, 1971, had the provision been in force during the Ford strike early last year, the amount paid out at that time 'would have been- reduced by two-thirds'.

Social Security officials check with the Income Tax people on tax refunds. Under the heading 'Interview', Clause 4858 of the 'A' Code states:

'Particulars of the arrangemens Tor resanen tax and the possibility of the employers participating in the arrangements should be obtained from the Inland Revenue Office, the interviewing officer being advised accordingly.' The new Act is a blatant attempt to win strikes for employers by starving out women ind children of strikers. The use made by the lory government or ine social secunty systell lu manial annarmiter defeat workers must be fought by the unions, and full benefit paid to workers in dispute.

The fact that in most cases strikes remain unofficial and union leaders totally abdicate all responsibilities, precisely when their members are in the sharpest conflict with the employers and the state, shows the correctness of the All Trades Unions Alliance struggle for a totally new revolutionary socialist leadership in the trade union movement, one that is completely involved with aspects of the defence of workers' rights and conditions.

The remaining articles in this series will deal with pensioners'

working class, and I wanted see other factories on strike well.

Our factory joint shop stewards' committee and the union branch have supported the For the majority of workers there was now a vacuum in leadership throughout the labour movement. The hostility towards the Common Market and this Heath government was and is to stay in for its full term office despite the damage it doing. This situation shows need for revolutionary leaders posed by the Right-to-W. march.

February League, is important here.

Reading Workers Press every day is vital but people should be prepared to study Marxist theory in greater depth