Workers Press no. 726

workers press

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTRAL COI

FROM STEPHEN JOHNS

THE Manchester engineering area has erupted into pitched battle as workers occupy one factory after another in defence of their claim for better pay and conditions.

Today further occupations are expected throughout the area as the employers continue their policy of systematically suspending workers as the work-to-rule and overtime ban take effect.

Over 3,500 workers have been occupying six plants after manage- 'well pleased he was with the ment attempts to lock them out.

£4 far for wate They joined late yesterday 35-hour week, longer increase. Were by 400 workers at English Steel, holidays and a move towards equal Openshaw. pay for women. An escalation of union action Convenor Norman White said: would depend, he said. the "The firm made us no offer at all course of events. Thev mumbled something about a big firms like Mirrlees and 'At but said that our recent Steel Bredbury the workers are strong enough to fight for them- no offer into account. They made selves. It is the smaller places like at all on hours or holidays.

Sharston men need where most *The lads were not prepared to help. accept this so we're sitting in.

The emplovers' strategy is to get workers in selected Manchester The latest device used against to deals which sit-in strikes is legal action.

factories to agree do involve hours not shorter or Twentv-two workers at Sharston longer holidays. A number of these Cheadle, Engineering, could face have already been signed.

forcible eviction from a court case by Union policy is to apply maximum brought against them manage- Hish pressure throughout the district to ment in the Preston Court get firms to agree to all points of today. (See p. 12) the claim. This is If the three a test case. So far one firm - Scragg's of Sharston directors get the necessary Macclesfield-have conceded on the police break sanction 11CP are in the other Manchester four points and the unions occupation negotiation with several others.

emplovers could follow suit.

The claim, estimated at 20 Yesterday. Iohn Tocher, Man- per would massive hole drive a chester Amster died Union of engine ne organizer cent. through the Tory pay policy and Workers, said that unions would the government and employers watching every move try to mount a mass picket around nationally are of the Manchester battle. if the workers face the featory attack of this kind. The local emplovers" association with the enthusiastic backing of A spokesman for the men inside

EEF

Sharston said their spirits the nationally- has formed were centres. itself into 16 'action high. These of about 20 are groups determined to stick this •We are companies each, which meet We not going on to one out. are for the plan common tactics the dole' he said. struggle. men barricaded themselves The Their first aim is always to split in after management replied to the with threats of their work forces decision to close the claim with a unemployment. If this fails, lock- factory permanently. outs

• SEE LATE NEWS

Mr Tocher said yesterday that INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • WEDNESDAY MARCH 29, 1972 • No. 726 • 4p DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

FIRM

Mirrlees Bredbury Steel

(GKN)

Laurence Scotts Davies and Metcalfe Peart Engineering Sharston Engineering English Steel (British Steel Corporation) re, are going on duty-sit-in duty at the occupied factory THEY ARE ONLY a small group of workers, but these men at Peart's Engineering, Hyde, Cheshire, symbolize everything the greater Man- chester engineers are strug- gling for and against. The occupation in this bleak and

COTTON

the men ga sered in a when a bunch i the end of the shop. They TOlO managemen tHey WerE working to rule and wanted their minimum rate of f25 The reply was a threat

WECK.

29, 1972• No. 726 • 4p

SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

NO OF WORKERS

TOWN/DISTRICT

OCCUPYING

2,000 Stockport Stockport 1,000 Openshaw 500 130 Stockport 110 Hyde 22 Cheadle Openshaw 400 oliday. These night-shift workers from Peart's Engineering, Hyde, Chesh- n duty at the occupied factory.

to slash their wage to f19 if and sleet swept the hills. In- continued. side the freezing plant, in total the action was darkness, the engineers began The began a sit-in. men their long battle for a decent Heat and lighting was turned off and eventually management wage. made Management has locked their employees inside no their 110 the factory. offer whatsoever to My first verbal contact with employees. When they met workers to tell them this, they them through bolted was the could also put 42 men on short time.

door workers •We will continue this neither get in nor out. Eventually it was opened at action until we win our just 10 p.m. to let the night shift the firm can't claim. They are pictured (above) afford to give decent in. us standard of living, we're better ready to camp out on a bitter off the dole. a workers' cold night. on Outside in Hyde the snow spokesman told me.

workers press

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTRAL COI

FROM STEPHEN JOHNS

THE Manchester engineering area has erupted into pitched battle as workers occupy one factory after another in defence of their claim for better pay and conditions Today further occupations are expected throughout the area as the employers continue their policy of systematically suspending workers as the work-to-rule and overtime ban take effect.

Over 3,500 workers have been occupying six plants after manage- 'well pleased' with the he was ment attempts to lock them out.

struggle so far for £4 wage They joined late yesterday 35-hour longer increase, week, 400 workers at English Steel, holidays and a move towards equal by Openshaw. pay for women. An escalation of union action Convenor Norman White said: would depend, he said, on the 'The firm made us no offer at all. course of events. They mumbled something about a 'At big firms like Mirrlees and but said that pay rise, our recent Bredbury Steel the workers are £2 domestic increase would be taken to fight for them- strong enouch into They made no offer

ACCOUNT.

It is the smaller places like selves. at all on hours or holidays. Sharston where men need most 'The lads were not prepared to help.' accept this so we're sitting in.

The employers' strategy is to get workers selected Manchester The latest device used against factories to agree deals which sit-in strikes is legal action.

to shorter do involve hours or Tineery-two Meadles workers at Sharston longer holidays. A number of these Engineering, could face have already been signed. forcible eviction from a court case Union policy is to apply maximum brought against them by manage- the Preston High pressure throughout the district to ment in Court today. (See p. 12) get firms to agree to all points of the claim. If the three This is a test case. "So Sharston directors get the necessary far one firm - Scragg's of Macclesfield-have conceded on the police to break sanction to 11cP four points and the unions are in Manchester the occupation other employers could follow suit.

negotiation with several others.

Tocher, The claim, estimated at 20 per Yesterday, John Man- of would drive a massive hole chester district the cent, organizer Amalgamated Union of Engineering through the policy and Dav the and employers Workers, said that unions would CovernmenT nationally are watching every move try to mount a mass picket around of the Manchester battle. the factory if the workers face an attack of this kind. The local employers' association for the men inside -with the enthusiastic backing of A spokesman

EEF

the nationally- -has formed Sharston their spirits were said itself into 16 'action centres. high. about 20 These are groups 'We are determined to stick this companies each, which meet to We are not going on to one out. plan tactics for the the dole' he said. common struggle barricaded themselves The men Their first aim is always to split in after management replied to the their work forces with threats of claim with a decision to close the If this fails, lock- unemployment. factory permanently. follow. outs

• SEE LATE NEWS

Mr Tocher said yesterday that LETTER • WEDNESDAY MARCH 29, 1972 • No. 726 • 4p

SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

RAL COMMITTEE OF THE

NO OF WORKERS

FIRM

TOWN/DISTRICT

OCCUPYING

Stockport Mirrlees 2,000 Bredbury Steel

(GKN)

1,000 Stockport Laurence Scotts 500 Openshaw Davies and Metcalfe Stockport 130 Peart Engineering 110 Hyde Sharston Engineering 22 Cheadle English Steel (British Steel 400 Openshaw Corporation) workers from Peart's Engineering, Hyde, Chesh- No they're not going on holiday. These night-shift ire, are going on duty-sit-in duty at the occupied factory.

and sleet swept the hills. In THEY ARE ONLY a small continued. the freezing plant, in total action was group of workers, but these began talking men at Peart's Engineering, Heat and lighting was turned thelr long Dallie lor a accent Hyde, symbolize Cheshire, off and eventually management wage. everything the greater Man- employees inside Management locked their has made their 110 chester engineers are strug- offer whatsoever to Line gling for and against. My first verbal contact with Wher Cento des The occupation in this bleak them was through bolted workers to tell them this, could also et 42 door the workers

COLON

manulactunn continue town began at 8.30 a.m. the gathered in a bunch Eventually it was opened at men WIt shop. They to let the night shift claim. If the firm can't end of the 10 p.m. the decent in. They are pictured (above) give

WCLE

standard of living, we're bette working to rule and wanted Trendy to camp out on a Dice their rate of f25 a cold night. Outside in Hyde the snow spokesman told me. was a threat week. the

'MORNING STAR' PLAYS DOWN NIRC

PAGE 2 Workors Press, Wednesday Mard THE BODY of Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, the millionaire left-wing publisher, found in a mysterious dynamite ex- plosion near Milan two weeks ago, was taken secretly to Milan cemetery early yester- day for burial. Police would not confirm that the body had left the mortuary until nearly three hours after its departure. It had been the object of an extensive post-mortem examina- tion to establish cause of death.

The hearse was escorted by four police cars and a car con- taining Feltrinelli's close relatives and friends. On Monday Milan magistrates refused permission for a funeral procession through Milan, claim- ing it would provoke incidents by political extremists. At the cemetery itself there was a large police cordon and only family, close friends and allowed journalists to were approach the graveside. Bigger role

FASCIST

Spain should have a bigger role in western defence, President Nixon told a White House gathering on Monday night. 'Spain is a European and Mediterranean power and has a role to play in the deliberations that have impact on those two ; Nixon said. areas, 'My administration continues to encourage closer Spanish rela- tions with the rest of W Europe increased role and supports an for Spain in western defence.'

which is not a mem- Spain, ber of NATO, has close military with US. Under ties bilateral alliance, US forces are stationed in Spain and the US gives considerable military aid to General Franco.

DEAL TO LONDON

1972

NO THE

RIGHT TO WORK

YOUNG SOCIALISTS 12th AN Saturday & Sunday April 8/9 Dance to 'BRAVE NEW WORLD also soe a star-stud Cost approximately £4.50. For tickets apply to Jot 186a Clapham High Street, Lon Please send me details/tickets of the I enclose

NAME

ADDRESS

day March 22, 1972 TODAY the trade union movement faces its firsi major challenge under the Tories' Industrial Relations Act, when a Lancashire road-transport firm seeks to have the Transport and General Workers' Union declared in contempt of court. If the union is found to be in contempt it could face an unlimited fine or its leaders could be sent to prison. The task of a socialist newspaper is to rouse, edu- cate and prepare the working class for the struggles ahead. It must at all times tell the truth about the situation facing the working class.

In reporting the challenge facing the T&GWU yester- day, the Communist Party's 'Morning Star' for the umpteenth time betrayed that responsibility. Readers were told-deep in the paper's last news page-that the union had been declared 'within its rights' in staying away from the National Industrial Relations Court. The words are those of Sir John Donaldson, NIRC president. They were uttered during his judge- Heaton's ment on applications from Transport (St Helens) Ltd and Bishop's Wharf Ltd, of Warrington.

But what the 'Star' did not report is the context in which they were said. As Workers Press told its readers in the first para-

BY A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

THE Rhodesian government has banned the African National Council (ANC) from issuing membership cards-only hours after the Council had announced a big recruitment campaign.

the President; Clifford Dupont, The ban could be a prelude had decided that membership Council, to outlawing the cards for the ANC, or any pub- which has campaigned against lication which purported to hea settlement the Smith-Home membership card, should be pro- terms and enjoys wide support hibited. among the country's 5 million of the The government was Africans. the membership opinion that said A government statement cards would become weanone intimidation' if issued now. The first batch of 60,000 cards were seized security police from the cil spokesman said. •I suppose they thought the of the cards would issuing trouble-I don't really now the lead ANC spokesman said. 'But I can only what repeat we said earlier that we intended to conduct this membership cam- paign peacefully.' The government statement issued on Monday night said since

YOUNG SOCIALISTS

date of the its inception, the

WE DEMAND

RIGHT TO WORK

THE

ANC had made extensive use of

WANSEA TO LONDON

well-known for their persons 1972 associations with organizations

PRUNG SOCIALISTS

for violence. banned terrorism. intimidation, subversion and riot- ing. the ANC A statement from condemned ban as later the cowardly act,' add. 'Barbaric and know- ing that it was common ledge that all members of the ruling Rhodesian Front carried membership cards. 'In of these obstacles spite we shall not placed in our way, waver from mobilizing our people to continue their just struggle for 12th ANNUAL CONFERENCE self-determination, the statement said. April 8/9 Grand Hall, The Spa V WORLD' Saturday night 8 pm star-studded show Spanish boycott ate apply to John Simmanco, National Secretary, Rot- ships entering *ho ports of ligh Street, London, SW4 7UG terdam or Amsterdam this week.

The solidarity boycott is in with the Brussels-based Interna- Confederation Free tional of kets of the Scarborough Conference.

which Unions

(ICFTU).

Trade has called for a one-week cam- Spanish paign against ships to against incidents protest EI the Spanish port of in Ferrol. Two people were killed in El month Ferrol earlier this in clashes with police after a ship- yard walkout. the Dutch Metal week Last Workers' Union decided to bov. Hol- any Spanish ships in note land for shipyard repairs in the course of this week. graph of a prominently-displayed article, Donaldson went on to warn of possible proceedings for con- tempt of court if the union continued to stay away.

Within a few hours of our going to press those proceedings had started. It is no accident that the 'Star' plays down the story. Neither can it be explained as a 'mistake', some slip-up in its news gathering or editing process.

There are good political reasons why the Stalinists of the CP misinform the working class about the threats which face it. Having helped the union leaders abandon the fight against the Industrial Relations Act last year, they must now seek to cover up the consequences of their actions. To continue peddling their vicious policy of the peaceful road to socialism, they must disarm workers in the face of the authoritarian threat.

To provide a cover for the reformist union leaders' current attempts to cuddle up to the Tories they must lie, lie and lie again. All this is entirely in line with the history of Stalinist betrayal in every country in the world. If allowed to continue its consequences will be equally bloody in Britain ... and in Ulster. The 'Morning Star' pursues reformist policies which can only lead to the defeat and political disarming of the working class.

BY JOHN SPENCER

A RETIRED army general was placed under close arrest in Santiago yesterday, accused of involvement in a frustrated right-wing plot to overthrow Chile's Popular Unity regime at the weekend.

The government announced in a brief communiqué late only be realized in country can Monday night the plot had the irreconcilable struggle against been foiled. the traditional of representalion the petty bourgeoisie. It said the attempt was 'In order to attract the peasant organized by the extreme right- Freedom' to the side of the workers, it is 'Fatherland and wing the organization coincide with a necessary to tear peasant away from the Radical politician, march by middle-class planned for Friday evening.

who subjects the The peasant to financial capital. march was banned by the govern- ment and did not take place.

'In contradistinction to this, Police raided number of the peopie's front, the conspiracy a between bureaucracy 'Fatherland and Freedom' organ- the labour and the worst political exploiters ization branches, uncovering arms of the middle classes, is capable caches. Its president and charged only of killmg the faith of the general secretary were masses in the revolutionary road with violating internal security and driving them into the laws. of the fascist. arms counter- Yesterday retired general revolution' Alberto Green was detained and The Allende regime is not a a warrant issued for the arrest of Major road to socialism but retired army Arturo Marshall. The government claims chamber to decisive class strug- Allende that officers rejected gles. tries to balance serving between the reactionary Stalinist approaches made to them by the and trade-union bureaucracy and but have only conspirators, we US their word for it' the of imperialism pressure The Popular Unity regime in and the Chilean bourgeoisie.

Chile- of Radicals, -a coalition Meanwhile, backed by the CIA Social-Democrats and Stalinists, and the big American companies headed by reformist parliamen- (US columnist Jack Anderson has Salvador Allende—-is the revealed that International Tele- chief source of the danger of a Telegraph phone and Corpora- right-wing coup. tion was plotting, even in 1970, It is a colossal political fraud to keep Allende out of office) the carried out at the expense of the Chilean have employers been Far trom Chilean masses. preparing to dispense with Allen- cally- forward the revolutionary Ing de's services. aspirations of the Chilean work- Faced with huge foreign debts the Popular ers and peasants, world and sharp decline in did its best, Unity regime to prices for the staple copper, break the copper miners' strike Allende's Popular Unity export, for higher wages, and turned its government is in deep crisis. His troops on peasants who occupied talk of the 'peaceful road' dis- land. the and lulls the working arms It Novem- came to power in masses at a time of danger.

But ber 1970 promising socialism by have the Chilean reactionaries Allende and still to defeat the decisive and entered a Party strongly organized sectors of the cynical government alliance with labour movement. wing of the the so-called 'left' Chilean exploiters, expressed poli- This will not be done by a middle-class tically through the Radical Party.

few thousand They this housewives marching through proclaimed an Santiago. Neither will the fascists alliance between the middle class be defeated the corrupt and and the workers. by compromised Front regime in bourgeois The state Fooler similar machine with police and pre-war France made its claims. Trotsky wrote in 'Whither armed forces. What will decide is France': the development of revolutionary axiom 'The of leadership to take the working elementary of Marxist reads that the class forward to the conquest strategy power and the of the alliance between the proletariat overthrow Popular Unity fraud and the little men of the city and

movement HUNDREDS of tenants from all over England lobbied MPs last night in protest against the Tory plans to double rents.

Among those organizing the tenants' lobby were national associations and the Greater London regional council of the Labour Party. The turn-out showed the anger that is building up against Tory plans to deliver a death-blow at council housing. If the Housing Finance Bill becomes law, rents will go un £l in October and rise steadily over the next few years until they double. Means tests will be imposed on a massive scale, taken every six months if necessary. But the great danger facing • tenants is that their movement against the Tories will be diverted into harmless protest channels. The London Labour Party has been calling for a massive pro- test... before it's too late. It is clear, however, that only the resignation of the Tories and the return of a Labour govern- ment pledged to socialism can the way forward for open tenants. GKN parity WORKERS at Guest Keen and Nettleford's Ayr subsidiary, the Scottish Stamping and Engineer- ing. Company, have given strike notice in support of an £8 parity claim. For the past fortnight the 1,500 men have been working-to- rule and operating an overtime ban following a breakdown of negotiations. ...***.:A4: The men out that, point although they constitute the biggest drop forging unit in Britain, they are the lowest paid six other engineering of the works in Ayrshire. Management has so far offered £3. More threats from US AMERICAN Treasury

THE

is considering plans to sell gold on the free market, in flagrant vio- lation of the March 1968 agree- ment which set up the 'two-tier' gold system. of News these plans was leaked by Treasury officials on the eve of talks in Paris on the monetary situation-. and the US balance of payments deficit.

It follows a tough weekend speech by Treasury Secretary John Connally demanding action by the rest of the capitalist world to restore America's trade bal- ance. Implications of Connally's speech were certain to be high on the agenda at the Paris meet- ing of the Organization for Eco- nomic Co-operation and Develop- ment which opened yesterday.

Connally's Volcker, Paul he will bring assistant, has said up at the meeting the question of a broader forum to negotiate international monetary questions, which have previously been the Group of Ten preserve of the top capitalist nations. * If the US were to sell gold on the free market, it would any remaining hopes in dash Europe and Japan that dollar convertibility would be restored in the future. The US gold stock is under $10,000m against an estimated $60,000m in the foreign central banks' vaults. Congress has just passed legis- lation raising the official gold price to $38 an ounce, but the US has no intention of actually selling to other central banks at that price. The 'free market' gold price is over $48 an ounce.

Workers Press, Wednosday March 29, 1972 PAGE 3 Direct Clamp on stewards rule an abortion: denied at Unionist

CHAIRMAN

of the Ulster Unionists Slough Robin Westminster Chichester-Clark, yester day described the Tories' din abortie proposals as direct-rule …ne terms ot the Nre- land Provi- Bill published yes sions) WORKERS AT Omes Faulkner's Ltd, teraay will de emecuve IoI one year. It provides Ior the sus- pension Stormont and and venor were sacked on Friday, yesterday all lamometino accused the management of clamping execuuve Dowers transferred to Westminster.

down on trade union activities.

Secretary oI slate liam Whitelaw Management denied the allegation.

Ilaet chief instead executive of A spokesman said: 'I don't think that Governor UISTer Lord Grey. is true.' But he declined to comment from calchester- cark. Unionist one of the leading said yes- forbidden to elect shop stewards in Ulster, families in place of two made redundant.

tercav ne • ••• OC beneve law adraciaitratine. ostracizing the White- Slough district committee of the AUEW decision of the factory shop stewards committee not to fight the redun- But he regarded the advisory commission tne most unnappy lomm or dancies or parliamentary abortion'. convenor. on the grounds that the majority of the men at the works were not prepared to put their jobs at risk in a struggle.

IPC Ulster dismantled maintenance ment, of which AUEW convenor Frank Tomany award been the centre of trade was steward, nas Si The Guardian nas union strength in the factory.

Guardian' Maintenance shop fitter Carl Shaw who was IPC Journalist Won of those lose his iob told the Year consisten tif award not one to 'Some of the things that have happened have £500 for high level of really choked me. ICDOrLNY in Uister. He claimed: "At a Carl Shaw: Sickened by sacking.

The judges said: 'In meeting of the main- tenance department on this difficult field, Slough

AUEW

dis- gossip. But if the shop could no longer have Winchester's Monday, trict stewards at the factory MukorCenCul and committee sec- steward

SHO•

qualities of courage, per- made it clear they will situ- that no one could be retary and Communist

LHOK

uneie isd sistence ana imparlalty not : put -HR :.with Party George there and they elected to fill the plac member have been conspicuous' militant trade union- then of sacked

EPTI

Currell said yesterday: report Recently a large group ism at the factory any the doubt the district was not at steward Sam. Roe of 'Guardian' will meeting where committee 111. Con- signed a petition deplor- But, said Mr Shaw: think they want sider it.' alleged the men were 'Everybody is entitled ino moe baders ectona where a situation told they could not condoning torture. to a certain right. If official

EPTU

area we say we don't like elect shop stewards. Shortlv afterwards, shop *If it, they will tell us to have Moss told me:

.VOU

Until somebody one of paper's lead- 1S the steward, management acquainted by go out of the gate' prepared to put state- d1ll ing can do what they like. reporLeIs members that the my Mr Shaw alleged the O'Callaghan, ments down on res ened paper you describe situation had been told 'We are all sick of because the paper's melk I cannot comment. exists, the matter will handling of the that what happened Irish I cannot work on be pursued.' the maintenance shop Frank Tomany' cucsulon WANDSWORTH: Thursday

ALL TRADES UNIONS

ALLIANCE

March 30, 8 p.m. Selkirk Hotel,

PAPERING OVER

Silkirk Rd, Tooting. 'Empire Pool and building the revolu- SOUTHALL: Wednesday, March tionary party.' Southall Communit

NATO'S CRACKS

Centre, Report ACTON: Tueaday April 4, 8 back from Wembley Pool. p.m. Mechanics Arms, Church- field Road. 'Empire Pool and March N LONDON: Thuraday Bricklayers Arms, p.M. building revolutionary

BY A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT

rottenham High N17 (off White Hart Lane). 'Report bach meeting -from WITH NATO allies Greece and Turkey at daggers weneey EAST LONDON: Tueaday April Scarborough conference' 4, 8 p.m. Aberfeldy Pub, Aber- drawn and Warsaw Pact forces at a new peak of Blackwall

8 SAST :

Thuraday, March 30, feldy Street, nr. strength, the organization is asking for more cash p.m. Deptford choineer• Tunnel. 'Building the revolu- Club, nr. Now Cross Station. to help paper over some of the cracks.

tionary party and the fight for 'Report Wembley back from docks jobs'.

BOOKS

NOWCYCI

Moscow Trials Anthology per cent ranernack her

MAX SHACHTMAN:

spokesman Moscow Trial Confederation, Behind The "Peace is the result of hard wuners announcing rejection of the gov.

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Saperiback 1.12m meet aggression with ¡laluli ends -cloth £2 Paperback June present Conan daequale lorce. midnight on April 2, and if the Death Agony of Capltalism

NATO

Dr Luns said was nite strike could start next day.

(The Transitional Programme) of de- concerned that the rale had declined amonC N fence expenditure Class Nature of the Soviet State Man-made prices 1965. since Pamphlet 20p In Defence of the October Between 1965 and 1970 spend- A PLEA for "sanity' in inter- Revolution Pamphlet 15p had decreased man-made ing real terms national pricing •ne sneory ana rracuce or although 3.6 the fibres was urged bv Revisionism Pamphlet 15p Der Celle CyIL COllon

NATO

British gross national chairman the Postage 10p per book, 3p per wealtn Nain- had increased by 26 made Fibres Federation, at the pamphle1

VC OM

meeting in London yester- annua

DCI

Colil.

NONNAKAUSLCAONA

day. 186a Clapham High Street, u dukcI Dr SPoykins nited of losing one of its greatest assets London SW4 Luns was periods of stable prices, lecture the Royal -long. Services Institute. he sald

PAGE & W

A three part series by DAVID Workers Press Industrial Corr Organized picketing of power stations and coal depots by the striking miners began in the early morning of Tues- day, January Il. And at 110 Peckham Road, SE London, the headquarters of the Amalgamated Union of Engineer- ing Workers, another of sort picket was in progress. Joined by shop stewards from throughout the Liverpool district, reinstate- ment strikers from the Kraft Foods plant at Kirkby were lobbying for official backing.

It was their second visit to London in eight days. But this time they had other things to say, too. After confronting union presi- dent Hugh Scanlon in the build- ing's underground car-park, Kraft shop steward Les Black told Workers Press angrily that the abandonment of the engineers' national pay claim was 'a silent victory for the Tory government'.

Commented Dave Martin, convenor of the CAV plant at Fazakerley: 'We have shown our weakness and let down the miners.' All over the country, tens of thousands engineers were having similar thoughts as they opened their newspapers to read the AUEW national com- mittee's 47 to four vote for an executive recommendation that they go for plant bargaining.

This decision had three main effects: I It was a stab in the back for the miners. 2 It destroyed any possibility of a united front of miners, en- gineers and power workers to force the Tory government to resign, and 3 It left hundreds of thousands of engineers in small, badly- organized firms to face produc- tivity dealing and the Industrial Relations Act alone. The executive decision had first been leaked to the press the previous Thursday night-twc days after it was made." Even at that stage it had been apparently possible for some case-hardened bureaucrats to see the approach of the miners' strike deadline as just an exercise in brinkmanship by the National Union of Mineworkers' leader- ship. But by Sunday there could have been no possible doubt. The miners were on strike.

As Workers Press had declared unequivocally the previous day, a national committee vote to drop the engineers' claim 'would be to stab the miners' fight...in the back' When the national committee made their fateful decision, the miners something like 40 were hours into their strike. Yet only four out of a pos- sible 52 votes were cast against the executive recommendation.

And it was the right wing who sponsored a motion calling for a ballot of all 1.5 million secret members on the proposition: accept the employers' offer or stage a national strike. This was defeated 42 to ten. How these votes be can explained — with the miners in need of urgent support - on a committee where the hard-core left muster is a claimed 21?

The national committee of the AUEW is perfectly entitled under soday March 20, 1972

DAVID MAUDE

al Correspondent rule to call or terminate a General Strike when in their opinion time would not allow the members to be balloted' Time was clearly of the essence on January 10. Yet not a single 'left" CPer proposed this which would certainly course, have met an immediate response from the membership. In yesterday's first article in this series, we touched on the role of AUEW executive coun- cillor Les Dixon, a CP member who voted for the plant- bargaining approach on January but apparently • informed no one in the industrial leadership of his Party of the decision.

The question arises: is Dixon another Will Paynter (the former NUM secretary described by anti- communist Lord Robens last week as 'one of the great men of this century')? He may well, of course, have informed CP secretary John Gollan, industrial organizer Bert Ramelson, or Mick Costello, the industrial correspondent of the 'Morning Star'. But if any of this tight-lipped trio knew, they did not inform the CP members on the national committee. Friends of Arthur Gibbard, the recognized leader of on the faction national com- mittee, claim in his defence that of the recalled national news committee came 'out of the blue' as far as he was concerned.

Arthur Gibbard: to have pressed forward with the clalm would have meant a break with Scanion The night before the policy- makers met, Gibbard finally managed to arrange a meeting between Scanion, Dixon, 'left' executive councilman Bob Wright and the broad left on the com- mittee. Some sharp words were said about the abandonment of the claim, but Scanlon remained adamant. He insisted that the alternative was only strike a ballot which the executive would lose. president The union was extremely short with advocates of continuing with the national claim, repeating testily that ballot would be lost and that such a move would only strengthen the employers' hand still further. Eventually the meeting broke up in bad odour and without a decision. The following day Gibbard, Sid Harraway-the former Ford convenors' chairman voted out for urging acceptance of the company's 1971 secret-ballot settlement-and the rest of the CP faction voted for the executive. January 11 : Kraft workers confront AUE No doubt could have existed in their minds that they were voting unprincipled a most retreat. The resolution read: 'The executive council are instructed to initiate negotiations through district committees and individual shop stewards with employers, on the understanding that settlement may be concluded on all or part of the claim which is acceptable to district commit- Sid Harraway: voted for the Executive along with the rest

RECONSIDE

front AUEW president Hugh Scanlon on the aba tees and the members concerned.'

One of the executive platform's chief arguments for this piece of treachery that there had was been no sign of activity on the claim by the membership in the districts. good Of course there was reason for that. None had been organized. Needless to say the 'Morning Star' Tuesday, January 11, of sought desperately to cover up what had really happened at the Congress meeting House with the headline 'Engineers Break Off Talks'. There is one precedent for this break-off. 1971, the AUEW In April technicians' section broke negotiations with the Engineer- ing Employers' Federation after it offered only f2-f3 on minimum rates in reply the union's to claim for £5.75-£8.25. Plant bargaining on this claim has not by any means proved an unequivocal success. union officials point to Top some sizeable successes, but even they are forced to admit that in they have been areas some 'hammered'. Here is a fairly representative selection of recent settlements: Dewrance's, in Wease, t-2.95 general

SIDER

on the abandonment of the national claim Churchill's, Altrincham, two-stage increases of £2.25-€3.75; S Wales Switchgear, Blackwood, £3.25- £5.90; Metal Box, nationally, £3 across-the-board. The section is a small, tightly- knit union but even bearing this in mind its experience amply point of bears the third out criticism made of the January 4 decision above. Early in February this year, the BEF monthly newsletter claimed that the technicians' strategy had produced 'many mutually-satisfactory agreements ...which are well short of the union's nationally - claimed increases'. The Federation stressed: 'Cer- tainly in the medium and smaller- sized firms settlements have been modest.' Yet this is the strategy the engineers' leaders say they are determined to pursue. And, despite its obvious dangers, within weeks of the national-committee decision being taken on January 10, Gibbard, the leader of the CP faction there, was arguing that to have pressed forward with the national claim would have meant a break with Scanlon. Oh horror of horrors!

CONTINUED TOMORROW

NEW

A new crisis has burst above the head of President Makarios of Cyprus with a demand by the renewed ishops of the Cypriot Ortho lox Church that he resigns Prime Minister, Papado. poulos gain (top) is eager to control of Cyprus. Above : Pre. sident Makarlos There is chance that no give Makarios will to the demand, but in digging in he is a major himself up setting as stumbling block to the policy intentions of the Greek govern- ment for Cyprus. Makarios has been able to keep the island's 650,000 Greeks Turks from each others' and throats and he wants to ensure that Cypriots go on deciding their own fate. But the Greek dictators are eager to control the island, even would though their action almost certainly bring about an and possible bloody immediate conflict with Turkey. For the past few weeks sup- port for the president has been mounting. Newspapers friendly to Makarios have mounted a cam- paign in his favour, but last week Greek Cypriot school- children chanting President Makarios's name, clashed with others in the streets of the capi- tal, Nicosia, who were demanding union with Greece-Enosis.

that bishops demanded The Makarios should resign earlier this month. They made their request to the Archibishop in the middle of crisis that followed the Greek demand that the Presi- dent surrender an arsenal of secretly-imported Czechoslovak arms and reshuffle his govern- ment to make it more acceptable to Athens. Since then the Archbishop has permitted the United Nations peace-keeping force on the is- land to inspect the communist- supplied arms and has pledged not to distribute them. The Kitium Bishopric at Limassol, where the bishops are discussing their reply to Presi- dent Makarios, has been under heavy police guard since their March 2 demand because of pub- lic anger against them. The bishops are commonly supposed by Greek Cypriots to be acting with Greek govern- ment support in their challenge to President Makarios. His first reply to the bishops warned them of the dangers ef an upheaval in the Cyprus Ortho- dox Church ranks and the pos- sibility of the partition of Cyprus between Greece and Turkey if he was forced to resign as head of state. Workers Press, Wed Nationwide essay supply services are causing American educators sleep- less nights and saving students much of the . the legendary midnight oil which th student of old was supposed to consume on his nocturnal studies. A student who is too busy with other things to write his quota of essays simply buys them, at the rate of about £l per page.

Several firms are in the businéss, using the most modern techniques and operating from a central office. Turnover is running at several million dollars a year.

Employment Secretary Robert Carr (above) hopes that the exist- ence of a reserve of unemployed workers in Britain will attract capital from Europe after entry to the Common Market. He made this point in the course of a four-day tour of W Germany, Holland and Bel- gium to study how these coun- tries handle labour relations. The bring Budget, he said, would down unemployment gradually, but he did not elaborate.

He said that in future there would be closer liaison between his department and its W Ger- man counterpart. He was appar- ently impressed by German re- ress, Wednesday March 29, 1972 PAGE 5 In New York a court action has begun to close down one of them, Termpapers Inc., on a charge of subverting the educational process. A teacher at the New York City University, Leonard Stavisky, who also sits in the State Assembly, is introduc- ing legislation to make the sale student of essays illegal and punishable by fines and jail.

In a system where practically everything else is for sale, tom prevent private enterprise taking advantage of a lucrative market? The next step, surely, is an agency which, for a suitable fee, will mark the papers for the students professors, grade the and issue them with their degrees.

training methods and also by the 'co-determination' system under which workers' representatives are given the illusion of partici- pating in managerial Hecisions.

If Carr has learned anything from his tour, it is most pro bably the need to integrate into the plant more workers firmly through the medium of the trade union bureaucracy.

This will, he hopes, provide an antidote to strikes. The resem- blance to the corporate state is, of course, not accidental. Entry • the Common Market will to bring it nearer to reality on the basis of co-ordination of 'labour policies' between the member countries. Jomo Kenyatta (left) addressed a severe warning to MPs when he opened a new session of the Kenyan parliament in 1 Nairobi last Tuesday. He toid them that 'the time when this House has passed could be regarded as a play- ground for the striking of political attitudes, or recruiting grounds for regional personalities'.

Turning to the effect on Kenya of the world economic slowdown, he said that measures had had to be taken to safeguard the foreign exchange position. He called for economy in the use of foreign exchange so that it was used for machinery and capital goods essential for development and not for luxury items. Kenyatta made it clear that if any member of his government disagreed with him, would have to resign and return to the back benches.

PAGE 6 Workors Press, Wednoaday March 29, 1972 In preparation for the Fourth Congress of the Inter- national Committee of the Fourth International, the Central Committee of the Socialist Labour League are publishing the four main documents of the Inter- Committee split national covering the with the French Organisation Communiste Internationaliste.

Statement —from the OCI (French section of the International Com- mittee for the reconstruction of the Fourth International) -from the POR (Bolivian section of the International Committee) —and from the Organizing Committee of the Communists (Trotskyists) from the E European countries.

THE DELEGATIONS of the and the pressing concretizing deepest aspiration of the whole of Political Bureau of the OCI, working class. international French of the Inter- section At the head of the Bolivian wor- national Committee for the re- kers was the POR. with armed construction of the Fourth Fourth the pregramme of the

POR,

International, of the International. steeped in dozens years of determined of the Inter- Bolivian section struggle national Committee and of the for the proletarian revolution Committee of Com. against nationalism, against Organizing Stalinism. Pabloite munists (Trotskyists) in the E against and against all forms visionism European countries, discussed of petty-bourgeois ideas, such as questions of common interest entrenched guerrilla-ism, deeply struggle carried! the raised by in the most combative section. of

POR,

the sig. the the Bolivian proletariat. Because out by nificance of which is outlined this Party prepared this struggle, it was prepared for it, and was as follows: able to seize the occasion and, at Generai Strike Since the France and the process of poli- each revolutionary process, tical revolution in Czechoslovakia, developed the conditions for the We working class to take power. of the work- the political power of ing class is posed at the centre of see, in the development can the Bolivian revolution, not only and of workers each struggle of the the workers youth throughout the world. In aspiration world for throughout the their face of decaying imperialism the government, but also mainly the which offers only misery, unem- lessons and experiences the barbarism and on ployment. fascist and methods to achieve of extermination, in the war The of the this. achievement face of the bureaucracy which unity of the class through the destroy the con- threatens to United Front, glorious Revolution workers' motive quests of the force of the anti-imperialist 1917, which of October puts United Front, materialized in the dislocates their brake on and Popular of Assembly, organ all the resistance and struggles, The POR of Bolivia, mem- demands of the workers, all their power. ber of the International Com- will to live requires direct mittee for the reconstruction of to take and immediate struggle the Fourth International, worked workers' to impose for this the in- government. unity lo dispensable conditions for the Never before has the conquest taking of power. of power by the proletariat been This experience of a struggle achievable and such clear, peasants' for workers' and urgent task! government, under the leadership The creation of the Soviet in of a Trotskyist party, a vital ex- Irbid by the oppressed Palestinian for international perience the masses, the committees and coun- brings life the cils formed by the Polish working working class, the 1917 lessons of the Bolivian Popular class, inversel October It the Revolution. Assembly concretize these strug- most worthy commemoration gles converging on this immedi- on the eve of its next anniversary.

although goal, proceeding, ate This is then the positive reply to different and through stages of the Hungarian revolution forms, towards the different councils, which 15 years workers' Universal Republic of Soviets.

ago, sought in vain for its organ- It is in Bolivia that this march ized political leadership.

Here is forward of the working class to- the Trotskyist demonstration of wards its power reached its high- centralized a struggle to give rich in experience. ex- est level, and organized strength to the!

struggle of the whole of the prolétariat marching towards power against the French Stalin- ists who betrayed and dislocated the 1968 General Strike, and fought the attempt of the OCI to achieve such an organized cen- tralization. Today the French CP carries out a slander campaign against the POR with the aim of turning the proletariat away from the carrying out of its revolutionary tasks. The international apparatus of the Kremlin finds in this work the greatest of support from the campaign of the obedient Pablo- (Ligue Communiste, - Lute ites in Ouvrière) against the POR struggle. No one can be mistaken. All the open and concealed enemies of the dictatorship of the prole-: tariat and its Party, today pour out mountains of lies and slan- ders against the POR of Bolivia..

The Stalinists who, at each point scale, and international on an fight the class independence real- in the Popular Assembly, ized which was firmly maintained by the POR, glorify the class cor laboration in Chile, condemn riot POR, but the Bolivian only the Communist Party which, in i the Popular Assembly, was forced to accept the United Front. All the petty-bourgeois cur- rents spit out their hatred of the Bolivian POR because it vigor- ously resisted sectarian adven- tures, firmly guiding the struggle of the popular masses towards workers' the government. Par. active. in ticularly the petty- bourgeois Front against the POR, the Pabloites find their place with all their 'Lutte nuances, the Ouvrière', ? the so-called Ligue 'Communiste' of the Unified Sec- retariat, the renegades of the Fourth International, those who glorified petty-bourgeois leaders -Stalinists like Gomulka as well as Yassir Arafat — who carried out an unprincipled agreement with representatives of the bour- geoisie in the Vietnam Com- mittee'. These same petty bour- geois attack the POR, who were able to express the revolutionary process in Bolivia. They capitulate in Latin America as in France everywhere in front of so- and called spontaneist currents of the petty bourgecisie to participate in the Stalinist attaek against the revolutionary upsurge of the masses who, in each country, the dictatorship of the pose proletariat, the democracy of workers' councils. is precisely because the It Bolivian events concentrate at their highest point the march to- wards power of the international working class, posing as the most important thing all the decisive questions in the conquest of power, as well as the activity of the Trotskyist Party at the heart of this world process in an epoch of upheavals and sharp turns, that the unresolved problems come out of the crisis of the Fourth International which in 1950 Pablo, Mandel, Frank, etc., wanted to destroy, finding their expression also in the heart of the International Committee.

Only the petty bourgeois find this surprising. The of the Fourth history International, since its foundation by Leen Trotsky in 1938, was difficult struggle for its mainten- immense forces against ance grouped together to destroy it. Fourth International, Only the its and through programme struggles, through its untiring has always fought for the class independence of the proletariat, for the world poletarian revolu- tion against imperialism and Stal- inist class collaboration. That is why it was, and is today the centre of sharp attacks by all the enemies of the proletariat. The Fourth International is decisive.

in the outcome of the world class struggle as it is in the continua- tion of Bolshevism, of the Octo- The Trotskyists ber Revolution. who. since 1950, resisted the policy of capitulation in front of the which the bureaucracy iS essence of Pabloism, the Trotsky- ist organizations which, in 1953, set up the International Commit- tee, they alone ensured the con- of the Fourth Inter- tinuity national and thus preserved the conditions for its reconstruction indispensable to the building in country of the leading Re- each volutionary Workers Party, national section of the Fourth International. What is more natural than that all the difficult problems of the international class struggle be re- flected and concentrated at its heart? What is more natural than the fact that the decisive factor in the outcome of the gigantic world struggle be reflected in the crisis of the Fourth International as it is in the crisis of all the organizations. of the working „class? Today, the leadership of cer-: tain organizations of the Inter- national Committee, like the Socialist Labour League and the Workers' League, lacking clarity precisely on the question of the strategy of the conquest of power and the reconstruction of the Fourth International, have given in pressure in to enormous attacking the POR. The three delegations, meeting in Paris, considering that the discussion is legitimate, as much between the sections adhering to the IC as inside each of its sec- tions, they condemn the method used by the Workers League and the SLL who publicly condemned the Bolivian section of the IC.

It is for this reason that the delegations of the OCI and of the Organizing Committee for the E with European countries agree the request made by comrade G. Lora, demanding that the IC be called to a plenary meeting in the most rapid delay to take a on the stand the on report Bolivian revolution and the tasks of the reconstruction the Fourth International which the leadership of the POR has pre- pared. Paris, October 12, 1971. Guillermo LORA, Secretary of the Bolivian POR, member of the IC for the reconstruc- tion of the Fourth Inter- national. Pierre LAMBERT, from the CC of the OCI, French sec- tion of the IC for the re- construction of the Fourth International. Balazs NAGY, leader of the Ligue of Socialist Revolu- tionaries of Hungary, mem- ber of the IC for the recon- struction of the Fourth International, leader of the Organizing Committee Communists (Trotskyists) of E Europe. Statement from International Committee of the Fourth International (Majority) October 24. 1971 period for the 1. A new Trotskyist movement The Fourth International, founded by Leon Trotsky in 1938, faces the greatest now and the greatest change chal- lenge in its history. Capitalism's international crisis economic entered a completely new stage August 15, 1971, when on President Nixon administered the death blow to all the economic and political relations imposed by the ruling class, assisted by Leon Trotsky founded the Fourth Interna Stalinist bur 1944-5045 Lire working class driven into the Trotskyis now nas revolution Class Teadersi, дІ СТА ї Іn whick was founded followed and of vedes oos-wal that the fight for th revolutionary arallsl ana coatinn ditions unfavourab development of Trotskyism visionist attempts Fourth Tn f since 1953 when split si vu. International aternaticoal has fof of continuity une interamona task of buildin the country every the struggle for por The leap in consc develonment meet this r practice, meet responsibi an ideological strugg IC itself. Hungarian French OCI, publish denuncing tion Labour ction, and the political so USA Gn IC) tor Bolivian

POR.

the signat One declaration is of the secretary not a sectien of the Committee. Its affiliation ICAl British, French saildll. together secucns. and Mexican admitted Lambert

(OCI)

do (Hungarv) and. this the reply by statement The calling varis adverusing Just, Stephen IC for the reconstru International TourLI the Oli nas arroga functions of the and IC, LuC c reta elected secretary. This is and its a minority. On Septembe de issued a public rth International In 1938 nist bureaucracy, in new conditions, the everywhere Trorskylies power, annovennenl unprecedented oppo sembling and trai evolutionary working- sune Coneltons which the movement the then long …oOo. means ght for the continunity Marxism was st Stalinist repressio a, lation and under con- nfavourable the im suffered from re- liquidat to intemnaronasa the only Inter- mmittee of the Fourth al has fought for the Now Irotskyism. comum tre@n las e tor power. in consciousness, the revolutionary practice, necessary to responsibility, involves cal struggle within the ber 12, 1971, a minor- two sections: and the I, published a declara- the Socialist British onaca sonoay wte or their criticisms of the signatories of the Lora

POR,

n of the International Hun- Carlon San diar and with the Irish the Mi sec iones pre-

(OCI)

and minority majority. of a meeting in Chairman to itself d nominated ••oosea litics. It is a split bs

Above and far left: the Essen youth ral 'enemies " nouncing of the as dictatorship of the proletariat, agents of counter-revolution and enemies, conscious or uncon- of the Fourth Inter- scious, all those who attack national, the POR (Bolivian)'. They refer SLL and the Workers to the League. is the International There Committee of the Fourth Inter- resting on the found- national, ation laid down by Trotsky in 1938, the first four Congresses of the Third International, and of the IC since the work particularly the decisions 1953, of the 1966 Conference. And there is the bogus IC for the of the Fourth reconstruction International', represented by Hungarian the

OCI

and the section, who want to regroup with centrists against the Fourth International. This split, and not the Bolivian revolution and the Bolivian POR, is the basic issue.

2. The split at Essen This became crystal-clear at the Essen Youth Rally in July 1971. There, representatives of the OCI, the Hungarian section and the Mexican LOM, voted along with centrists and even right-wing organizations against the amendment to the main resolution put by the represent- ative of the SLI and supported by representatives of a majority of the IC sections (Ceylon, Ireland, Canada, Greece, SLI).

The issue was clear: the OCI and its associates voted against amendments stating that the only international and revclutionary revolutionary parties are the Fourth International. In their opposition they naturally re- ceived the support of the POUM other centrists, as (Spain) and right-wing of the well as American National Students' Asscciaticn. NSA is a right-wing student organization directly tied to the bourgeois establishment, even to the extent, under a pre- vious leadership, of admittedly receiving funds from the CIA. Its spckesman used the Essen rally a platform for the as Stalinist - supported 'People's Peace Treaty in Vietnam' cam- paign. Such are the dangers involved in the OCI's movement to centrism and centrist methods.

youth rally in July 1971, where the Issues sur the The OCI and its associates opposed and voted down the following amendment (presented by the SLL and supported by the majority of the IC sections: Greece, Canada, Ceylon, Ireland): 'There can be no revolutionary without revolutionary party theory. Behind every opportunist development in the history of the workers' movement, and especially of Stalinism, has been the revision ot Marxist theory. The continuity of the struggle for revolutionary Marxist theory in the past, the struggle of the Fourth International and the International Committee, was the only basis for the initiatives which led to this rally and for the struggle to build the inter- national revolutionary youth movement. Revolutionary youth everywhere must devote them- selves above all to the task Marxist theory of developing through the struggle against bourgeois ideology in all the in the workers' forms it takes movement. This is the only basis for combating the dangers of adventurism, activism and "pure" militancy with which revisionists • the youth, and Maoists mislead only lead and which can to historic defeats for the working class' This was already a split, the real split. They do not want the FI built on the foundations of materialism and the dialectical politics of Lenin and Trotsky, but they want a centrist amal- gam of all those who want to disarm the masses by talk about revolutionary united fronts' and 'expressing will the masses'. Their 'IC for the recon- is their struction of the use the fraudulent attempt to revolutionary name of the IC of the FI for their own oppor- tunist aims. They will never succeed in doing this. The majority of the IC rejec- ted their unprincipled manoeuvre at Essen. Now they have chosen everything on the issue to stake of Bolivia, as a smokescreen for the real issues which they will not discuss. Running away from the real theoretical and practical ques- tions of building the FI, they propose to intimidate the move- with shouting about ment with the ‚solidarity

POR

of

TATO

Issues surrounding the split became crystal cle Bolivia. This was the old trick used by the SWP on Cuba. in 1963: no theoretical discussion and no criticism of Cuba; they involved a revolution. are Similarly, Pablo excluded political discussion with his theory of the imminent Third World War. And it must never be forgotten that the supression of discussion on Cuba and Ceylon, used to effect the 'unification' of 1963, had as its direct consequence the entry of the Lanka Sama Samaja Party

(LSSP),

section of while still a the Pabloite Secretariat, into the of Mrs bourgeois coalition Bandaranaike. The vote of the OCI and the Hungarian section Essen at against the IC majority was car- ried out in front of an observer of the American Spartacist group of Robertson. This an historical significance which can- not be overstated. At the Third Conference of the IC in 1966, the French and Hungarian sections voted with the rest of the IC delegations for resolutions affirming the revolutionary continuity of the Fourth International. Opposing this were two groups invited as Conference, observers Robertson's Spartacists and the Ouvrière' French 'Voix (now 'Lutte Ouvrière'). As opportunists they denounced and pragmatists the IC's struggle for continuity against revisionism. After the Conference, Robert- collaborated with Hansen son revisionist Socialist and the Workers Party (SWP) in whole- sale slander of the SLL and the IC. In its resolution at the 1966 Conference, the IC, including the OCI, unanimously stated: '.. The IC not only dis- sociates itself from the activities and publications of the Spar- tacists (Robertson) group but insists that aMarxist party can be built only in opposition to it.' Robertson's politics since then have been opportunist on every question, and his group has worked in complete oppo- sition to the International Com- mittee. To admit Robertson's group as observers at Essen at this stage is in effect to junk the whole struggle for principles upon which the IC is based.

The OCI will reply that the Workers P crystal clear. invitation issued in- was on dividual initiative by Comrade Berg, secretary of the AJS, and they have condemned that Essen, the On July 9, after

OCI

Political Bureau carried unanimously the following solution: •The Political Bureau regrets that the Robertson "Spartacist" group was invited as observer to Essen, without this decision be- taken • responsibly.. The PB considers this individual initiative to be wrong and condemns it.?

This leaves unanswered the point that the OCI leadership is itself politically responsible for the opportunist politics of Berg.

Is it accidental that the OCI at Essen returned to an alliance, against Trotskyism, with a ten- dency such as the POUM, hostile to the very foundation of the Fourth International, and pre- pared to collaborate with the OCI only on the basis of aban- struggle its doning the foundation and continuity? Pre- cisely at the point in the world crisis where everything depends creation, on the conscious on the basis of Marxist theory and revolutionary of programme, the struggle where parties, against liquidationism and against dialectical revision of materialism comes to a head, at The this point comes the split!

OCI runs clean away from this historic struggle and, in the name of 'expressing' spontaneous movements of the masses, joins. sworn opponents of the Fl, col- laborates with the centrist riff- the IC. raff against 3. The fight for dialectical materialism When the French delegation Essen

SLL

at the struggle for Marxist theory, they set the seal opposition to dialectical materialism which was not at all new. One year earlier, in June 1970, at the international pre- Conference of the IC, these dif- ferences became explicit. And for good reasons objectively very founded in the struggle. Anti- cipating the profound worsening of the economic crisis and the struggle provoked by it, the SLL delegates stressed the urgency

• 1072 PACEL

of the basic training of the youth in dialectical thinking. What was most essential in the preparation of the sections was to develop dialectical materialism in a struggle to understand and the consciousness to transform of the working the class changing objective conditions.

This means the understanding and development of dialectical materialism the theory of as knowledge of Marxism. Reflecting the attacks on dia- lectical materialism by the petty- bourgeois intelligentsia of the advanced capitalist countries, especially France and Germany, the OCI and and of E Europe, Hungarian delegations declared that dialectical materialism was not a theory of knowledge and took up the position that only programme was the basis of the building of parties. Here is the very essence of revisionism which prepares the way for liquidating the party into centrism. We insist once more, with all our force: only a basic struggle dialectical for materialism against all enemies of Marxism and carried forward in struggle against the spontaneous con- sciousness of the working class, the youth for the equip can building of the Fourth Interna- tional. In the polemic with Burnham and Shachtman (1939-1940), Trotsky wrote: 'In the United States where the bourgeoisie systema- instils vulgar empiricism tically in the workers, more than any- where else, is necessary to speed the elevation of the move- to a proper theoretical ment level.' The theoretical struggle at this basic level is essential for every section of the Fourth Interna- tional. And against those who refuse to 'acquire and develop dialectical materialism', Trotsky wrote: 'This is nothing else than a renunciation of Marxism, of scientific method in general, a wretched capitulation to empiri- cism.' Reprinted from Workers Press, November 5, 1971.

CONTINUED

TOMORROW

PAGE & Workers Press, Wednesday Marr Part two of a series by Jack Ga While the Social Democrats were rushing to the rescue of capitalism in all part of Austria, revolutionary events were developing in Germany.

On October 29, the German navy received orders to make a last desperate offensive. Dis- satisfaction was already rife be- discipline, cause of the strict bad food and officer privileges which existed on board ship.

When the fleet put to sea, the crews refused to obey orders and the fires were extinguished by the stokers. The red flag was run on many ships. The revolt spread to the shore where dockworkers as well as sailors joined in. At Kjel in Nov- workers" sailors' ember and dock- councils were set up. naval Sailors from the main bases of Kiel and Wilhelmshaven journeyed all over German de- manding an immediate end to the war and the overthrow of the capitalist government. Sailors' soviets sprang up at Hamburg, Bremen and Lubek. soldiers' and At Hannover, workers' councils were estab- lished November 6. At on Cologne, the mayor—one Konrad Adenauer-hastened to put the town hall at the disposal of the soldiers' and workers' councils. In Munich, the councils sent armed groups of workers and soldiers all public to occupy buildings and issued a proclama- workers' tion declaring that a council soldiers' peasants' and governed the whole of Bavaria.

Berlin the Revolutionary. In Shop Stewards planned up- rising for November 11, 1918, on the but William II abdicated 9th and handed over power to the leader of the Social Demo- crats, Friedrich Ebert. Through- downed Berlin workers out tools and marched to the city centre, where they were joined by armed soldiers. Friedrich Ebert: Soclak Demo- cratic leader Karl Liebknecht demanded that all power should be vested workers' and soldiers' in the councils, but that was the last Social Democrats thing the wanted to see. Instead a Council of People's Representatives was formed con- sisting of three Social Democrats (Ebert, Landsberg and Scheide- mann) and three Independent Social Democrats (Haase, Ditt- mann and Barth). Barth was also one of the Revolutionary Shop aday March 29, 1972 Jack Gale Stewards. Liebknecht refused to join the council. Ebert, in fact, rushed to form this council because the follow- ing day, November 10, workers' and soldiers' councils were be elected in all Berlin factories and barracks. The councils were then to assemble and elect a pro- visional government. Ebert was able to present this assembly representative council with and persaude the workers and soldiers to confirm it. By the next day, a situation close to dual power had emerged.

The Berlin workers' and soldiers' elected Executive councils an consisting Committee of 14 soldiers and 14 workers. The meeting which elected this Executive sent fraternal greet- ings to the Russian government "admiration its for expressing the Russian workers and soldiers who have opened the path to revolution, and its pride that the and soldiers German workers have followed them ... as the Inter- of the protagonists national." The same meeting proclaimed republic. Germany socialist a But on November I1, the Execu- tive Committee appointed a new Prussian government consisting -not of revolutionary workers and soldiers-but of an equal number of representatives of the two Social Democratic parties.

government permitted This most of the civil servants of the old regime to keep their posts and even some of the old poli- ticians--such as General Scheuch, the Prussian Minister of War.

similar In SW Germany, were taking place. In events Karlsruhe, the capital of Baden, soldiers and sailors armed the town hall and an- seized soldiers' council nounced that a had taken power. This council then demanded -and got-the release of all political prisoners, complete free- dom of speech and press, aboli- tion of censorship, an amnesty for all army and navy mutineers and power to veto any military orders. Considering that it had, in fact, the power in its hands extremely these demands were moderate. indeed, existed The council, alongside a 'Welfare Committee' of Social Democrats who con- tinued to co-operate with the old the bourgeois authorities and parties. Throughout Baden what really took place was that a potentially revolutionary movement - sol- sailors' and workers' diers, because of lack councils-was, of conscious revolutionary lead- nose by the ership, led by the Democrats, including the Social 'left' Independents. The old authorities were help- less—in Mannheim even the chief of police declared that he would the instructions of the follow workers' soldiers' councils and -but the Social Democrats were able to preserve the old institu- tions, simply replacing the direct rule of the right-wing bourgeois parties with a broad coalition the Independent ranging from Social Democrats on the left to National Liberals on the the right. 4F• October 30, 1918 Wilhelmshaven : crews sallors join with soldiers and dockers ir A similar pattern took shape in Württemberg. Again soldiers' councils imposed their demands upon the officers. On November soldiers' the councils, the trade unions and representatives of both Social Democratic Par- ties met at Stuttgart and again a provisional government was set up led by the two breeds of Social Democrats. The Spartacists • offered were one seat, but refused to join the Lieb- exactly as government, knecht had done in Berlin. The Social Democrats were then able to persuade • a joint soldiers' session sorters of the and councils-against the opposition of the Spartacists— to agree to a coalition with the bourgeois parties. The key role in persuading the councils was played by the 'left' Crispien of the Independent Social Demo- crats. ministers Three bourgeois which joined the government that all immediately declared was vested in itself and power not in the councils. Workers and soldiers were instructed to re- turn to their duties and to avoid 'disturbance of the economy'.

Things were more difficult to industrial Saxony. contain Mass demonstrations took place in the first days of November in Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz.

joint worker- Leipzig soldier council was formed. Armed troops occupied the public buildings, officers and police were disarmed. Dresden and Chemnitz followed suit one day later-November 9. On November 14, the workers' soldiers' councils of these and three cities issued a joint state- that the revo- ment announcing lutionary proletariat had taken over power. in Private property land, mines, transport, banks and raw materials was to be exj ropriated. Bourgeois courts were abolished.

In November 1919, the Ger- en: crews of the German navy refuse to sall, n dockers in demonstrations against the war and workers and soldiers went man to the very limits that a spon- reach. taneous movement can Then, because of the lack of a conscious revolutionary leader- ship with roots in broad layers of the working class (the Spar- tacists were not strong enough), the Social Democrats were able to rescue capitalism at its last gasp. great deal has been written A about the treacherous role of the Social Democratic leaders Ebert and Scheidemann. But the so- called 'lefts'-the Independent Social Democrats co-operated willingly with them. Throughout Germany the two breeds Social Democrats combined to and soldiers from the workers' steal power councils and pre- serve the old order. Wherever possible they pre- served the higher civil servants -conservatives and monarchists to a man. Prussian government In the they preserved not only General Scheuch (mentioned above), but the bourgeois secretaries to the finance, ministries of justice, labour, posts and telegraphs, the navy and the foreign office.

The leaders of the Indepen- dents - Haase and Dittman - were in fact moderates who were the Social not separated from Democrats by any differences of principle. Carsten quotes one leading Social Democrat as saying: 'We cannot govern because we have never wanted to and hence we have never learnt it.' In Germany and Austria, in decisive months the two of October and November 1918, the with power workers their handed it over to their grasp, old leaders. in turn the Social Demo- handed it crats, who back to the bourgeoisie. Nowhere is this better illus- trated than at Kiel, the kernel the revolution. When sailors revolted and established to sail, many ralse the red flag and the e war and the capitallst government they their council, telegraphed Berlin to invite the leader of the Independent Social Democrats- Hugo Haase-to come to Kiel. Haase promptly handed the mess- age over to the imperial govern- ment, although the sailors had turned to him believing that his party stood for an immediate peace without annexations.

The government then sent two Reichstag deputies to Kiel — a liberal and the Social Democrat Pustav Noske. The liberal, of course, could achieve nothing.

but Noske was able to persuade the sailors to elect a central council with himself as chairman -in fact, the sailors allowed Noske to select the members of the council! The first order is- sued by this council was then an instruction to all civilians to hand in their arms to the old (i.e. imperial) military authori- ties. Noske was able to keep the Kiev revolt-which had over- thrown the officers and defied the might of the German Im- perial military machine-within the limits of capitalist 'law and order', and even, indeed, to use the authority of the sailors' council to protect bourgeois pro- perty in Kiel. This tribute not was a to Noske's individual talents (which were very slight), but to the revolutionary loyalty of the sailors to those whom they re- garded as their political leaders.

Without a conscious revolu- tionary leadership, painstakingly constructed and developed, the working class can go to the very threshold of revolution • without being able to break from its old leaders. That, above all, is the lesson of October-November 1918.

" F. L. Carsten 'Revolution in Central Europé' p. 40.

CONTINUED TOMORROW

Students in the US colony of Puerto Rico are engaged in a grim struggle with a sinister police agency which operates inside the university campus itself. The students-members of the Pro-Independence University Federation, or FUPI-staged a week of action earlier this month on the anniversary of serious clashes in which one of them died last year. Recently, FUPI leader Hector Meléndez spoke to the Prensa Latina news agency about the struggle for independence.

Puerto Rico is an island of 3,400 square miles in the W Indies which is primarily depen- dent on its trade with the US, whose colony it became in 1898.

Its 2.7 million people are ruled by an elected governor. On there is the American pattern an elected Senate and House of Representatives. On September 12 last year the FUPI mounted a march of pro- test against governor Luis Ferré.

Meléndez. who is 19, says that Puerto Rican students have always been known for their 'combativity, militancy and efficiency, but that recently they have begun to be even more active in the struggle for national independence'. He told Prensa Latina reporter Miguel Ribot: 'Our struggle is the contribution students are making to the struggle of the Puerto Rican people to free themselves of the imperialist yoke' The repressive activities of the regime have become more blatant and brutal of late, he claims.

"The regime,' he went on, 'has created a repressive agency, a unit of the Criminal Investiga- tion Corps, placing it on the Rio Piedra campus itself. 4 "This means total repression of any policy of liberal appearance on the part of the university authorities." On March 4 last year, police entered the university from out- side and killed a woman student,

BY ALEX MITCHELL

The cash crisis in Pan Ameri- can World Airways is proving so critical that the Nixon administration may have to subsidize the company to ensure its survival. The chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, Mr Secor Browne, has already been in touch with President Nixon to explain the company's financial plight. The crisis situation in Pan Am was highlighted last week by the resignation of its chairman, Najeeb E. Halaby, following an ultimatum from board to resign or be dismissed. board declared Halaby The responsible for the personally state of the company's fortunes.

Since the former Federal Aviation Administration Chair- man became President in May 1968, the airline has lost more than $120m. The losses have in- creased this year, at a time when other airlines have reversed their profit tailspin of the past three years. Replacing Halaby as chairman Top: Willlam Tapla, membor of the the pollce. Bottom: student meeting o (the Puerto Rican capital).

Antonia Martinez, who was member of the pro-independence movement. When they came back again on March 11, 1970, two of their number were shot after first firing on the students. One of those shot, the chief of the police shock forces, sub- sequently died. FUPI member Humberto Pagan was arrested and accused of his murder.

is retired General William T.

Seawell, who has been President of Pan Am since December 1, when he relieved Halaby. He will retain the presidency along with chairmanship. the former American Airlines vice president, General Seawell was President of the American subsidiary of Rolls- Royce Ltd, when latter's the parent went into company receivership following huge cost jet engine produc- overruns on tion for the Lockheed 1011 TriStar jet airbus. Although Pan Am has im- proved passenger traffic by 13.5 per cent over the last few weeks, costs have soared at an even faster rate. During Halaby's tenure, Pan Am suffered net losses of $26.4m, $48.4m and $45.5m in 1969, 1970 and 1971 respectively. Among Pan Am's basic prob- lems has been competition from low-cost charter flights on N Atlantic routes between America and Europe. Also, Pan Am con- tinues servicing low-traffic, un- cities profitable, out-of-the-way in Europe, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

FUPI,

or of tho unjustly accused by neeting organized by FUPI In San Juan The students are now cam- pagining for Pagan's release, and for the release of FUPI member William Tapia, also charged on what Meléndez describes as 'trumped-up accusations' Now students the have declared 'open war' on the CIC, Meléndez says. 'We will continue our struggle for independence and socialism.

And we are certain of victory.'

Halaby's efforts , to abandon some of these routes have been rejected by governmental agen- cies, as well as the International Transport Association. Halaby has also sought to merge Pan Am with airlines whose routes overlap those of Pan Am, but the US government has rejected these efforts, as well as requests from Pan Am to be permitted to fly domestically in the US. Halaby had sought unsuccess- fully to merge with TWA, which not only overlaps Pan Am over- but has many profitable seas, between domestic routes New York, Chicago and California. An effort Eastern, to merge with America's most profitable domes- tic line, which also boasts profit- able routes to Mexico and the Caribbean, was also rejected.

Exactly how General Seawell will reverse the airline's financial nosedive has not been disclosed.

But it seems certain he will cut sharply, by costs paring the number of flights Pan Am offers each day and by cutting back on personnel. Workers Press, Wednoeday March 22, 1972 PAGE 9 Commons last week to gain some much-needed support for their long fight for better Once upon a time Rupert wages. Murdoch, of the 'Sun' owner They decided to see • Stan and the 'News of the World' Orme, the senior engineering and large shareholder in Lon- union MP in parliament. Orme Weekend Television, don made the brilliant suggestion regarded himself as a 'radical'.

that the strikers should see The young publisher gobbled Lord Beswick, Labour's chief up several newspapers in his whip in the Lords. and declared native Australia It emerged that Bes- 'campaigning he for was wick is a public relations con- journalism'. sultant to—yes you've guessed One of his reforming young The former

-BAC.

Aviation Ron writers was Saw, Minister in the Wilson govern- columnist. Saw, now with the ment 'Daily "Telegraph', Sir Frank pathetically to the men who Packer's reactionary daily in were starting to feel a bit un- Sydney, has been commenting comfortable about the whole on the Ulster situation. situation. Referring to the recent bomb They were even more incidents Aldershot and at flabbergasted when, through Donegal St and the execution 'surprise' the door came a Saw said: of army spies, If visitor executive — a leading that's fighting, I'm Cassius from BAC Clay. If that's Irish, God save When the delegation Ireland. returned Preston to it is 'Once I used to think, God believed they expressed some knows why, that the Irish were about the role consternation the greatest fighters on earth.

played by Orme. Saw spoke of several things which happened in the past that Ireland could be proud of, but said that had now been lost. Australia's relations with her I don't care if they burn Asian neighbours have never down each other's churches, been good and I rather hope that while Now relations with Malaysia they're about it, they barbecue particular in have taken those bullies those two nosedive. typical fighting Irish — Paisley This follows the statement and Devlin,' he said. parliament that Australian in So much for Mr Saw, the intelligence bugged the Malay- crusading journalist of the left.

sian delegation's suite during a defence conference in 1969.

member Labour William Morrison said in parliament: The Seamus O'Kane story must 'This great government in a be rounded off. You will recall very clumsy and hamfisted way that O'Kane was snatched planted bug in the a room from his temporary address in occupied by the Malaysian N London, taken to Aldershot delegation.' and then held by Scotland Yard for Morrison should know. At three days without the time he was a senior mem- charges being preferred against ber of the Australian Foreign him. Office staff and was deputy Eventually Royal Ulster High Commissioner in Kuala Constabulary plainclothes men Lumpur. flew him back to Belfast.

He appeared on false cheque charges. The court was told full restitution of the money had already been made. offence How's about this for a quick, Because the was SO O'Kane trivial, received only easy way of ensuring that your eight-month suspended post gets to its destination on an sentence. time? Which prompts one to ask 'A client chartered a Boeing 707 jet to fly mail from Britain -what was all the fuss about?

For one thing the Tories have to the Caribbean yesterday to established in the O'Kane case secure a "first-class" delivery.

that the law will be bent to 'The Donaldson International detain and harass Irish mili- Airways jet with just two tants. foolscap envelopes, plus courier, left Britain posthaste three hours after onlv the booking was made. Strikers from the British Air- "The to the client? A cost cool €12,500? craft Corporation at Preston, Lancs, visited the House of (Press Association)

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LONG EASTER 'HOLIDA Y'

Temporary lecturer 'deprived of security PAGE 10 Workers Press, Wednesday Mar -

THE MUCH-CHASTENED

Coal Board chairman Derek Ezra has begun a series of speeches up and down the country trying to rehabilitate coal as Britain's best buy in fuel. Yesterday the Board's travel- ling salesmen had two engage- ments-lunch at the Yorkshire Coal Exchange at Harrogate and dinner in Sheffield at the Yorkshire section of the Insti- tute of Fuel. At both functions Ezra appealed for industry to make of Britain's coal the cornerstone fuel policy. At Harrogate he admitted: "There could be no doubt the strike proved a major setback in coal's industrial and domestic selling campaign. 'In spite of recent difficulties [!] customers can rely on solid fuel for the future as an important part of Britain's indigenous fuel policy.' At Sheffield he elaborated on this theme: 'Nuclear power will have to play an important role in the future, but no nuclear operating station can compete with coal on price at the moment and is no immediate prospect there of this happening. 'We have reserves of coal to last more than 100 years at the present rate of mining and it is exploit this great sensible to natural wealth. "The Yorkshire coalfield will play an important part in deter- EZRA: Praising coal mining whether or not we are in achieving successful our objectives.' What's important about the two speeches—apart from the fact that Ezra has clearly changed speechwriter — is the his is being camouflage which deliberately created behind which fresh attacks are planned against the miners. Ezra, showed himself who during the strike to be one of the most ruthless of the nation- alized bosses, now appears as the man wanting to build, with the miners, a great new era for coal.

It looks good, it sounds good but it's a long way from the of the crisis in British reality capitalism and the determination building up in the Tory Party to working class more attack the vehemently. A LETTER has been sent to Sir Derman Christopherson, Durham university vice-Chan- cellor, condemning the failure to reappoint a lecturer in the Department of Sociology. The university's Association of Technical and Scientific, Mana- gerial Staffs' group says that in 1970 Martin Shaw June was appointed temporary lecturer in years from sociology for two September 1, 1970. He was told by Department chief Prof Abrams that there were excellent prospects of the post being made permanent.

Now, however, another person has been given the permanent post. The protest letter says: 'ASTMS, to which Mr Shaw belongs, in with most common other members of staff in Socio logy, demands Mr Shaw's _те-

FOR SCHOOL-LEVERS

THIS YEAR'S

Easter been waiting for them, chance entering definite upward trend as do not exist apprenticeships. far anymore. holidays could be the At the last cont' girls Those longest ever for thou- fortunate alivl. was » › u vouto uncer • enough get cennee sands of school-levers to canipioy- were the •We have always been list. wno cull une eaucallon forced keep able place girls establishment to join 38,000

LACIC

WCLC

jobs this betore but the dole queues. about tne same time • oroQuCuOn. . vear 1s alnerent. This year's school- About 100,000 youth overall we face the same But there little will all be leavers lifficulties we have faced are expected doubt that for the Lo icave of 15. around the Esster and majority the next week anotdet In luc lal lw veds. They are the last ones to 450,000 a little later at marks the beginning leave before the school- considerable num- the the term. end of seh of last yhar he raised to of youth who left leaving age a urustane ano dumess existence in the dole then still a minimum of 16 years.

MOST

unesn queue. begin an endless period But the problems they New

OUT

WOTK

either the Brenda Calderwood, ols toe, w hic has acita.

face careers officer officially- the Rationalization principa ana cul- calilalscs registered, jobless under- streets. mean Newcastle. Jobs, watco backs In acrones salu ago would have they no longer stand any yesterday there was 18s. years

STATE STEEL JOBS

DROPPED IN HIVE-OFF

BY DAVID MAUDE OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT

SHOP STEWARDS at the River Don steelworks in Sheffield have dropped a demand for job safeguards hefore further hiving off from the nationalized factory to private industry. steward By what one described as a 'disappointingly Grim-faced BSC workers during the early days of thelr opposition to small', majority, a mass meet- the Sheffleld closures ing was persuaded agree of employ- further transfers from the British Steel Firth Corporation Brown Ltd. by the The resolution put unashamedly revised stewards from earlier mas metine decision merely that close

BSC

chiefs decide ine cown te ihrenene• e o• "ustify their findings openiy: River they should hre at Cae t ander River Don on June 28 last year.

when Minister 11 on Industry announced the a vies Icoulls year's secret plotting,

WILT

to hive off sec- private steel. of state

LIOIS

A total of 4.500 out of 7.200 jobs threat at the Sheffield plant. the Workers intouznoul immediately swung into. action behind and was floated. loe o a sl-n surke for threatened shop Cammını r v ezers ee the first round of hive-ofi, the

WEIC

haniner omnit in the area. agreed. acceptance of three-shitt work- desperately nowever, in the machine shop C ane Early this month, however, redundancy for 400 men over Sollt ine movement ane curu drop-forge began workers away from occupation. This split receiving letters from the com- inree yeals. provided the for the conditions that agree- pany informing them Under questioning from the great cave-n ment reached in Behind the floor bec. D tlla slogan they ai savina unalte ciple for the sale of their section jobs. the entered dis- River Don melting shop could to Firth Brown. still But with

BSC

executives. face closure. The sale, they were informed, the workers une result ol tuese lalks WaS understoo® woald take place in two stages.

that meati in, they iboo 1.000 end of the meeting that no hive- off would be allowed take First the drop-forge workers on January ousiness proposals would be transferred early next place until recommended implementation of cu.c.c this responsibility, and yet play has the union in other appointment. As in ine carren! no part in the appointment pro- conflict university, universities. Lancaster cess, is plainly ridiculous..

that AM nere cirondiv sisis aai •eneve r lial! of this particular the iniquitous which tem- aspects of this acse the mentoned terms being letter, raise issue case of Martin Shaw, we feel that porary lectureships are put disgracefully treated he has been control by stafi

ONUSI

UnIVErSILICS ucludall he has, by this university, in that should be ended. Boards reoresented *Jobs which really Studies, over courses offered, the in ettect been dnsnsse on a has held for their content, and who job he two years, being adyertised nature of alc without any grounds for that dis- as sucn • sonnatnne univers des Teaches Inen. and the can deprive their of the suggested occupants "InGAr mussa belle evcil Durham University, the Board of Studies security. Academic we teel that the decision or ine ally Appointments Committee ought formally responsible for these.

Stafs Groud of ASIMS has con- to be reversed.' tinually protested at this policy, For the Board of Studies to have

CUT-BACK IN SCOTTISH UNIVERSITY POSTS

eres majorit post-he duate Professor Drewer blamed ments. university

DUNNH

has tounel salc. post-graduate inflation for the situation.

itself in deficit and is having to numbers cut back substantially students and orners wno appled Dundee, however, is not unique informed that they had mente dants we oruclar rol among scottish universites unlucky and only been James Drewer has reported. the original Stirling university recently were uracuon

DSLS

money had advertised large numbers of advertised had, fact, been but In urgently needed filled. appointments in various depart- been available Tor oniy loui, de THE STRIKE threat to Scottish three Rolls- Royce factories, which produce 20 per cent of the vital components for the RB-211 aero-engine, ended when workers voted to accept a new Measured-Day Work deal. Plant meetings at Hilling- ton, Blantyre and E Kilbride decided, on a show of hands, to accept the management's offer of rises ranging from about £3.25 to £4.75 for skilled men. The deal also gives new workers improvements in holiday pay, shift and overtime allow- ances. convenor George Hillington McCormack claimed the offer- back-dated to January 1-could mean 'bonuses' of up to £50 for skilled men. Bill McCollum, Rolls Scottish group industrial relations man- ager was elated: •Measured-Day Working means scrapping the old payment-by- results system which has operated in Rolls-Royce for 30 years.'

About 4,000 men are employed at Hillington and another 1,500 at Blantyre and E Kilbride.

experience of MDW The at other plants has usually meant an eventual rationalization, job-cuts and loss of union control over shop floor pay and conditions.

A second and larger E Kilbride 1,400—does factory-employing not come under the new agree- ment. month to River Don Stampings Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the BSC. Then all the shares of would be the new company transferred to Firth Brown.

Terms and conditions of em- ployment of the workers involved would not be altered, there would just be less of them. the shop On March 17, stewards' negotiating team reported to the full joint shop stewards' committee about the latest proposals for the hive-off.

A leading shop steward from the S machine-shop attacked the proposals and called for resignation of the negotiating team. The team threatened to resign, but were given a massive vote of confidence. With this under their belt, the CP Stalinists went to last Friday's mass meeting with the following arguments: The BSC's chief executive, Dr H. M. 'Monty' Finniston, had given assurances of a long-term future for the steelworks.

This was backed up by the necessary investment. • 'More active consideration' was being given to schemes for saving River Don than was the case last year. Workers had a choice, they said, of either provoking a con- frontation with the corporation— through sanctions designed to win more safeguards-or accept BSC's existing promises at face value. This fantastic, non - class approach indicates the degenera- of the jobs fight presided tion ovgr by Sheffield's Stalinists.

... "..

BY OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT DAVID MAUDE

KENNETH BAKER, national industrial officer of the Workers' Union, wants the engineering employers to re to turn down the unions' national pay claim.

He also thinks the Tory new experience for some mem- government should put all bers, while others will have been four yards in the former Upper Clyde Shipbuilders consortium back on their gets round to suggesting any feet'. action at all. And that is action by Both pieces of earth- 'In view, 'the my says, shattering advice are contained

EEF

should reconsider its in the of. the attitude latest issue the claim, to 'G&MWU Journal, always a source of great wisdom. And will both be equally con- temptuously ignored. Baker's article on the engineer- ing claim is headlined 'After Breakdown with

EEF,

discussion of 'what happens after the unions' rejection of a derisory offer from employers'. However, what stands out startlingly from the most piece that with common most SHIPYARD workers on the u other union leaders the writer has absolutely idea what day looking suspiciously at a happens. government has appointed or When the of all executives affiliated the Con- unions to leading They include federation of Shipbuilding and shipping of Greek Engineering Unions met associate to dis- February magnate Aristotle Onassis, Baker the

G&MWU

from the writes, speed-up expert stated: power industry and two direc- of Upper 'We would naturally prefer the former LOrS negotiated national Clyde Shipbuilders consortium.

minimals time rate, but would insist that hard A particularly look was it realistic: the derisory being taken by the workers at [£1.50] offer made by the first two Tory appointments.

the employers added the present G. to Andrew Spyrou (52) has time rate is unaccept- minimum been technical director of Olym- able.' SA, Onassis Maritime pic He organization, since goes on to say that plant shipping barzaining will perhaps. be 194 The dally paper that •ada the fight against the Torles. £20.28 for 12 months (312 lasues) £10.14 for 6 months (156 Issues) £5.07 for 3 months (78 Issues) If you want to take Workers Press twice a wook the rates are: £1.56 far 3 months (24 issues).

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Name Address of the General and Municipal 's to reconsider their decision including its offer on minimum time rate . . 'The present basic rates are a disgrace.' We are sure the EEF, which is currently locking out Baker's members all over the Manchester district, will read his comments the with interest. Then ike Tory Ministers responsible for UCS they will laugh like drains.

on the upper Clyde were yester- sly at a list of new bosses the nted over them. He graduated from Strathclyde University, in 1945 Glasgow, with an honours degree in naval architecture. Married to a Glasgow-born woman, he claims to have a friendly feeling for the city. - But Govan Shipbuilders describe him as 'one of the world's foremost authorities on shipbuilding and the needs of shipowners', and it is the last few words of that description which have caught the shipyard workers' eyes. They well remember Onassis's of boiler- and dining wining makers' leader Danny McGarvey during their discussions about the Harland and Wolff shipyard, Belfast, in December 1970.

After that session the union chief described the millionaire employers—one of the main sup- colonels' porters of the Greek regime as 'not anti-union'.

The talks were a prelude to union concessions on wages and working conditions at Harland's.

And who better to advise on the carrying-through of such concessions than Alexander I.

Farningham (48), the other new appointee to the Tory-sponsored Govan Board? Farningham is head of pro ductivity services at the Elec- tricity Council, which rules an industry from which thousands of jobs have been slashed over the past few years.

ANOTHER

V&G INQUIRY

THE DEPARTMENT of Trade and Industry is now preparing an internal report on the Vehicle and General Insurance scandal.

This follows the publication of the findings Tory- appointed tribunal several weeks ago. This report laid most of the blame with department officials.

However, the department's own inquiry is expected to 'redress the balance' • An official of the department told Workers Press that there was a great deal of unhappiness about the gov- ernment inquiry. Civil servants thought its terms of reference were too narrow and its findings unfair. A tape containing the names and addresses of thousands of V&G policyholders has been sold to London and Edinburgh General Insurance. Nicholas Ridley, under secre- tary for Trade and Industry, admitted that the sale had taken place and went on to criticize the sale of 'highly-confidential and personal information' of the lists The acquisition and Edinburgh enabled London Insurance to send out quotations to 340,000 former V&G policy- holders. Workers Pross, Wednosday March 29, 1972 PAGE 11

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I152 Weather. Epilogue. Women. 4.55 4.40 Paulus. Get this. 5.20 Tieht-

SOUTHERN:

1.45 Racing. 3.35 Tea 5.50 News. rope. Calendar. 4.05 Houseparty. break. Weather. 6.30 University challenge. Enchanted house 4.30 Crossroads 7.00 London. 8.00 Cade's Colnty this. 5.20 Tay. 6.30 S.- 5 50 4.55 i1.0o Wresong. 1i:45 Meltzer.

london. Alexander. 6.00 Dav by day News. versity challenge. Dick Van Wrest-

TYNE

TEES:

1.45 3.15 Racing News Weather. 11.45 News. House ling. dancion 345 Women. Discovery. 4.15 Crossroads 4.40 Paulus. 4.55 Get Tight- this. 2.15 Katie

HTV:

Racing 3.50 5.50 6.00 Nawe Today. 6.30

TONA

415 Tinkertain Stewart University challenge. 7.00 London 4.30 Crossroads, 54 4.55 Get ment. 8.00 Cade's county. 9.00 London 5.20 Tightrope. News. 10.30 this. Costa i Del Coal 6.15 Report West. Wrestling. 12 00 6.01 News. Epi- Manort Tommy Wales. 6.30 logue. 9.00 London. 8.00 Cade's county. 10 30 Alexander 11.45 greatest «Wractling.

SCOTTISH: 1.45

Sandown Racing Weather. Pinky Date ine Perky. 3.45 Cross 4.55 roads. Get this. above except: 6.15-

HTV

West 5.20 5.50 Tightrope. News. 6.00 6.30 Report West. Dateline. 6.20 6.30 Plus above except: 3.50

HTV

Wales tam. London. Cade's Mawr. Hamdden. County. ( 0.00 10.30 London. 10 TImi. Dydd. versity challen challenge a Sport. Cymru/Wales as HTV Wales.

HTV

11.30 Wrestling. Racing. 3.38 News. 4. amily. 4.10 Be- Be- 5.20 Tightrope. 4.40 em Get Anglia. News. About 1.55 5.20 honica rant 10.30 7.00 550 Crossroads. Tandon rone. London 6.00 New: Wrestling. Alexander. 11.00 6.10 Grampian week: London. 8.00 show. 8.30 Shari's 3.35

MIDLANDS:

1.45 Racing. 8.55 Police news. 9.00 torrel Women. rass- 3 45 4,10 10.30 Horoscope. London "the Ghost and Muir. 4.40 Wrestling, 11.45 Highlanders. 12.00 Epilorue.

island. 4.55 Secret service. hopper

NOT A PENNY MORE

PAGE 12 Workers Prose, Wednosday March 28, 1972

BY PHILIP WADE

BRITISH RAIL told the three railway unions yester- day they would not add anything to the y-per-cent offer on basic rates they made last week.

All that came from British Rail was a rejigging of the global sum of £30.8m.

Late yesterday afternoon, the talks were adjourned until this morning after the unions had demanded more cash on the basic rate. expecting them to find more money and we still want the £20 basic wage,' commented Sir Sidney Greene, general secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen. We are not anywhere near industrial action yet.'

At the end of the morning session disconsolate union

ASLEF

discussions. general officials broke for separate secretary Ray Buckton said: 'There isn't sufficient for us on the basic rate I can tell you. There has just been a bit of juggling of figures. Apparently ASLEF had been

NUR

assistant general secretary 40p Sid Weighall said. offered another on the But 38p of

ASLEF

the drivers' basic rate. The

NUR,

and this came from consolidation of Salaried Staffs Transport and demanding the Association are bonus payments leaving of up to 16 per cent drivers with a net gain of 2p increases on basic rates. a week. The British Rail offer to date The unions then met together amounts to about 9 per cent BR board before telling the consolidation of discounting they wanted more money. bonus earnings. Feeling is growing at branch After 90 minutes of the after- level that action must be noon session, the board left the

SOON

initiated to secure the demands.

unions once mure. Southern Railways drivers have 'There's still f9m between us.

if will take action warned they there satisfactory settle- 1S no 10. ment by April the NW district council And of the NUR has called the executive not to accept anything less than a f25 a week minimum £5 a week more than the pre- no comment sent demand. on NIRC union

TRANSPORT

leaders yesterday were not saying afternoon whether they will proceedings attend today's alleging them against con- tempt of the National Indus- trial Relations Court. (St Heaton's Transport Helens) Ltd claim that union members are still stopping its Liverpool container lorries at docks in defiance of a court order. If the court decides this is true, it could find the T&GWU Penalties contempt. would in of the discretion be at the judicial member, pre- court's sident Sir John Donaldson.

• SEE What We Think p. 2.

WEATHER

LATENEWS

ALL DISTRICTS will have sunny BACKING for the sit-ins at three will and showers which Manchester engineering area locally heavy with thunder -- Mirlees. Sharston's factories and will fall as snow on northern and Davies and Metcalfe s came hills. It will be cold generally.

yesterday from the executive of Fri- Union Outlook for Thursday and Amalgamated the with Workers. day: Scattered showers Engineering N. Sunny afternoon, occasional snow in I ate yesterday Perhaps general

AUEW

councilman periods. more executive Bob Wright told Workers Press rain in S later. Cold. fac- that these were the only tories from which he had so far received specific satisfied 'wherever we are wor- kers have exhausted negotiations their employers we will with support them The council had heard a repor!

from union solicitors on the legal being against the taken action Sharston workers, which comes Preston. High Court at said he would be Mr Wright keeping in close touch with the situation there at the Post Clapham street.

ASLEF

secretary Ray Bucklon, at yesterday's talks. management of Sharston The _ one of seven Tool Services NW engineering plants now occupled—are to take action In High Court today to Preston clear their factory. Men are seen above at the doorway to one of the factory's shops. For occupa- tion league, see p.1. consider two claims' SHOP STEWARDS at Joseph Lucas's CAV subsidiary at Acton, W London, suspect that a wage- freezing pay deal for the site may be under discussion behind their backs. Management turned down the national engineering claim when it was submitted at plant level.

on the grounds that they could not entertain two claims at once.

Yet this is the only claim discussed by which has been the shop stewards committee.

factory's engineering- The union convenor has been sum- to. his union's district moned office to discuss progress, on the national claim.

BY A POLITICAL REPORTER

RETIRING Ulster premier shouted down on several occ a massive 30,000 strong Prot chant: 'We want Craig' The demonstration in Bel- was larger than fast on Monday, the first day of the General Strike call two-day by Craig's Vanguard Party.

In a speech from a balcony Faulkner said: 'We feel that our endeavours to provide a government for Ulster just have been betrayed from Lon- don. Let us in silence express our determination today that we will have nothing less than standards of full British democracy and justice.' For the second day Ulster was without public transport, postal facilities and some newspapers.

There severe power cuts were throughout the province. William Blease, head of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said: 'There is every indication

THREE DAYS

TO GO:

£281.87

STILL TO RAISE

AT LAST-a great post yester- day of £173.88 pushed our Fund up to £968.13. Keep up this mag nificent effort and you will cer- tainly raise our Fund without a doubt. As a crisis situation develops between the engineers and em- ployers in Manchester, thous- ands more engineers and rall- waymen follow sult. Everywhere sections of the working class are fight taking up the actively against the Tory government.

Workers Press is more decis- Ive than ever in preparing the a battle. leadership for such Help therefore in these last vital days. Keep up this great last minute effort. Make sure we ralse our Fund. If possible, push the figure over the top. Rush all last minute donations to: Workers Press March Appeal Fund 186a Clapham High Street London, SW4 7UG

NEWS DESK

01-720 2000

CIRCULATION

01-622 7029 remier Brian Faulkner was ral occasions yesterday when g Protestant rally began to there will be a resumption of work tomorrow?

ARMAGH

Council County yesterday passed a resolution calling the suspension of Stor- mont 'a surrender to violence.'

IN LONDON, the new Ulster William overlord, Whitelaw, gave Edward Heath and the Tory Cabinet a briefing on his 'first impressions' of the Ulster situa- tion. PORTADOWN in Co Armagh was simmering yesterday after the town's worst rioting in 40 years. At the height of the riot, 300 supporters of the Ulster Party rampaged Vanguard through Catholic areas smashing windows, looting and burning.

Yesterday troops patrolled the streets and asked Protestants and Catholics to remove make- shift barricades. A NEW TUC" initiative to extend unionization at Kodak, US-owned the photographic firm, is expected next month.

A meeting of all the unions interested in winning members firm's plants is to be in' the called. The TUC estimates that this will take place sometime in mid-April. Kodak has a long history of discouraging union organization and is allegedly assisting attempts of Kodak to set up a Union. registered which Workers, under the Industrial Relations Act. Urgent talks on Shepperton

—ACTT

closure- LEADERS of the film- technicians' union ACTT say they are willing to consider every sug- gestion for fighting the threat- ened closure of Shepperton film studios. 'We will be having very urgent and very early meetings with all the branches, sectors and shops concerned, union president George Elvin told Workers Press.

A resolution proposing a sit- in strike if necessary to save the hundreds of jobs which are threatened was ruled out of order at the ACTT conference last weekend. Elvin claimed this was neces- sary to allow prior discussion both inside the union and with the other unions concerned.