Race relations man reluctant about CP

Asquith Gibbes looks at the Front a lack on his position women 1.ED lord press wome London EEC:Commonwealth fears sharp elbow SSEB scheme means sack FIVE fitters' mates working for the S of Scotland Electricity Board in Edinburgh face redundancy or redeployment as a result of a new productivity scheme, soon to be introduced.

The men's section is expected to vote against acceptance of the scheme-particularly as other jobs will also be lost. But it can be forced through regardless because foremen have several votes each.

In the background of job threats lies the recent ing of two leading militants.

The sackings, which carried out after the two organized solidarity action the striking miners, have br these SSEB ought

LEWISHAM'S W Indian

Community Relations Officer - the man the National Front says must be sacked because he is a communist—has denied that he allows his politics to influence his work.

Mr Asquith Gibbes (38); a member of the Communist Party's national executive told me at his Deptford office: 'Every bit of me is community relations. It is my civic right to hold political views, but I am careful to do everywork, to keep them out of my Mr Gibbes was elected to the CP's national executive on November 16 last year and he received 318 votes bar one less George Matthews.

National Front has issued 11,000 leaflets in Lewisham headed •Asquith Gibbes - communist and liar'.

The leaflets say: 'Is it the policy of the community relations industry to employ communists and liars in a supposedly nonpolitical organization or will they now ask for the resignation of this man?' cause, following British he stressed that conentry, the system of tinental, ideological or Commonwealth prefer- economic groupings in ences will switch from the world must be an exclusively - British avoided at all costs. arrangement to a W Just at 'a time when European basis. recession is driving all No final decision has the capitalist powers to be taken by Com- into a frenzied commonwealth countries at petition for shrinking this stage. Negotiations markets, the last thing are due to start on any of them wants is August 1, 1973, and the the appearance of pronew agreement comes tected groupings. into effect on January Whatever Smith's as1. 1975. surances, the hard fact At a special two-day is that this competition conference which began will inevitably work to in London on Wed- the disadvantage of the nesday, Commonwealth underdeveloped world Secretary - General as it has done for almost Arnold Smith tried to a decade. allay tears by stressing The social and polithat the Commonwealth tical upheavals in Bangla must remain 'strong' Desh, India and Latin after Britain joins the America all reflect this acC. process at work.

But more significantly - The needs of protests from local MPs. town councillors and trade union branches.

Ron Brown, an Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers' member, who was chairman of the works' committee. was sacked on March 1 for allegedly 'inducing staff to break their contract of employment.

Rab Jeffery: of the Electrical and Plumbing Tade ud ot was dismissed the end February for 'unauthorized absenteeism'.

Yet full-time officials of neither union have as yet registered a protest to management about its alleged breach of its own dismissals procedure in failing first to establish the facts of the cases.

As chairman of the works' comm.ttee, Ron Brown camMr Gibbes admits that he did once deny that he was a communist at a meeting organized jointly by the Party and the Labour Party.

He told me: *I self as a socialist one off my back.' He added: 'I am very careful. I never attend marches or anything like that and I don't actually campaign for the Communist Party. When I do attend meetings or accept speaking engagements it is purely as a specialist in community relations.

*I am first and foremost a community relations officer, but because of my political convictions I may work harder.

'I work very long hours. Yesterday I was in the office from nine in the morning to eight at night and I did not have the time to stop for lunch.

"This post is not a political post. I was chosen from a number of applicants because I believe I may very well have been the best.' Mr Gibbes, who lives in Croydon, said: 'I have been very dormant in the Communist Party, although I have been a member since 1963, because of the feeling that people at large will disown you.

I have always in race relations, one is able to I The black person paigned continually against the voting practices which could soon lose five Edinburgh mates their jobs.

But he received no support whatsoever from either the AUEW district committee or local officials. They argue that this voting system is allowed under agreements for the electricity supply industry.

When the SSEB's chief personnel officer complained about Brown organizing solidarity action with the miners the district committee called on the national executive to expel him from the union.

That decision was ruled out of order by the executive. The committee then invited Brown to state his case on March 8 and recommended his expulsion again.

described myto get somehad an interest but as far as feel integrated. has a different advanced capitalist economies - diminished by cessionowinge wess red less for primary products. As foreign exchange holdings in the underdeveloped world fall, the possibility of these countries buying manufactured goods declines correspondingly.

In conditions of slump aid to the underdeveloped nations either aggravates balance - of -payments deficits or ultimately turns into a challenge to the products of the metropolitan countries.

The future of the poorer Commonwealth countries even as associate members of the EEC-itself plagued by the consequences of recession-is grim. pigmentation, but we suff r from else aster the same as anyone I asked Mr Gibbes a CP member.

'When I came to England in 1960, like many others I met progressives who talked about Marxism and Leninism and who were looking round for a party closest to their ideals. It was one of the fashionable things.

I believe in parliamentary democracy, not revolution or anything like that.

'As a communist I believe in bringing black and white together—in the unity of the working class.' Why had the National Front attacked a man who was by his own admission reluctant to campaign for the principles and policies he professed?

Said Mr Gibbes: 'I would say it is the usual attempt at red-baiting. The National Front are against any form on integration.

'To have a black man and a communist is too much for them I suppose.' Lewisham's community relations council and its executive responsible for Mr Gibbes' appointment include all political parties, church and voluntary organizations and the police.

Said Mr Gibbes: 'Can you imagine getting up to anything sinister with all those people on the council and the executive?'