Workers Press no. 757

workers press

CONTAINERS

STRIKE CALL

INCORPORA

DAILY ORGAN OF 1

WHEN LORD DEVLIN published his inquiry report on the port industry seven years ago, there were 62,000 registered dock workers.

Today there are just over 40,000.

This murderous attack on jobs-a 30-per-cent cut In the labour force-has been accompanied by a spectacular rise in individual productivity.

For instance, In Liverpool, the storm-centre of the present containers row, close on 30 million tons of cargo passed in and out of the port last year com- pared to 27 million the previous year.

This 12-per- cent increase occurred despite a 6-per-cent drop in the labour force. Now the world trade combined with the slump, impact of productivity deals, containerization and other cargo-handling methods, threatens to decimate new the dockers' ranks again... several times over.

Speaking in early 1970, ports modernization com- mittee chairman George Cattell estimated that by 1975 the docks labour force would be 'considerably below 35,000'. But this estimate must now be revised down- wards. The port employers talk openly about 3,000 more redundancies this year. And a report by the US man- agement consultants McKinsey Co and that says containerization will allow a 1,000-per-cent increase in productivity per man. So far, dockers have seen only the tip of the iceberg as far as containerization is concerned.

In July 1968, 13 Tilbury dockers unloaded 4,000 tons of cargo from the containership 'American Lancer' in less than 12 hours. The would have same tonnage taken 130 men five days from a conventional vessel.

The news was a bombshell.

When it comes, the impact of containerization is rapid. And behind the current toing-and-froing be- tween employers, union leaders and Ministers is the knowledge that a really severe jobs crisis is building up for this autumn, when many conventional contracts are due to change over. Road hauliers and warehousemen are not going to grant dockers the right to stuff and strip containers, because the high capital cost of the new methods requires the lowest rates of wages. And the port employers-many of whom are themselves hauliers- know this. So do the union leaders- despite all their optimistic talks of 'sympathetic' hearings from Tory Ministers.

Socialist Labour League and Young Socialists

ALL OUT

DEMONSTRATE ON

Sunday May 7

HANDS OFF THE UNIONS

Defend democratic rights! Defend the right to work!

Withdraw troops from Ulster! Release all internees!

Victory to the Vietnamese workers and peasants!

MAKE THE TORY GOVERNMENT RESIGN !

ASSEMBLE: 1.30 p.m. The Embankment, Charing Cross MARCH: via Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly.

Regent Street, Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road, Euston Road MEETING: 4 p.m. St Pancras Town Hall G. Healy (Socialist Labour League National Secretary) J. Simmance (Young Socialists National Secretary) M. Banda (Socialist Labour League Central Committee) (In a personal capacity) Frank McCabe (NUM) Roy Battersby (ACT) A. Thornett (Deputy Senior Steward Morris Motors)

CHAIRMAN •

C. Slaughter (Socialist Labour League Central Committee) INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • FRIDAY MAY 5, 1972 • No 757 • 4p

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE

SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

28 DAYS AND WE COME OUT!

BY OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT DAVID MAUDE

An extra week's holiday; DOCKERS' leaders yesterday escalated the • A big improvement in fall-back pay, bringing it up to the average earnings level for each port; ports row with the threat of a national The right to all work normally done by dockers, strike to start in a month's time.

including the stuffing stripping of cargo-con- A two-and-a-half hour delegate meeting tamners. Transport called Meanwhile an emergency meeting of the Cabinet the and General was called to discuss the docks crisis.

Workers' Union expressed complete dis- Presided over by Tory premier Edward Heath, it satisfaction' with the employers' attitude on was attended by non-Cabinet Ministers including three key Solicitor-General Sir Geoffrey Howe, the Issues. man Whe obtained the coling-off period against the railway- The 98 T&GWU dock delegatesrepresenting men. 55,000 dockers in all Britain's ports- gave the NAPE leaders went to meet Employment Secretary National Association of Port Employers (NAPE) Maurice Macmillan yesterday afternoon 28 days' strike notice demanding: The

T&GWU

delegates decision Only one vote was unanimous. cast against. Rogers seeks Heath I've them see militant, A anangish. secretar of the Liverpool told me afterwards. committee, It's been touch and go whether there'll be • a strike on Mersevside support for bombing? whole of the last week

TOT THE

The full-time officials put the pressure on us again here today. but not naving i Both Liverpool and Londor stewards said after the meeting that they ignore instruction from Tim ULCal. call

LOU COCKS

secrenary. to off their blacking action against road-haulage and warehousing firms Ron Findlay, a delegate from said he thought A Deraeen docks the strike would definitely take place. 'We're not accepting cooling-off periods'. he said wher of the emergency Cabinet Told meeting. "We've been trying to get settlément of this issue for three employers have just years. laughed at us. However, many delegates were also extremely suspicious of their umon cagers intenuons cowards the strike threat. Jones not there Jack Jones, the

T&GWU

genera secretary. was in his union headquarters during the meeting but did not attend it. And docks secretary O'Leary made clear that almost anv con employers on Rogers entering No. 10 Downing St yesterday cession TrOm The the dockers claim and strip containers would AMERICAN Secretary of State They also sufficient discussed Nixon's no recal toe William Rogers conference. yesterday held forthcoming visit to celerate the Soviet The delegates talks on the Vietnam war at No.

Union. will be recalled in any case before the strike 10 Downing Last Rogers St with Edward night flew to starts Heath. Brussels to have dinner with Said O'Leary: N..TO secretary Dr Joseph Luns.

'As a result of the complete Although the agenda was Before returning to Washington dissatisfaction of delegates with secret, it is known that the Nixon on May 10, he will also hold talks the employers' replies, have administration is seeking with Common Market leaders as been instructed to sup- tender notice of port for a big bombing campaign well as visiting Bonn, Rome, maustral dispute on Hanoi and Haiphong. Paris and Madrid.

• SEE PAGE 12

workers press

CONTAINERS

STRIKE CALL

INCORPORA

DAILY ORGAN OF 1

WHEN LORD DEVLIN published his inquiry report on the port industry seven years ago, there were 62,000 registered dock workers.

Today there are just over 40,000.

This murderous attack on jobs-a 30-per-cent cut in the labour force-has been accompanied by a spectacular rise in Individual productivity.

For Instance, In Liverpool, the storm-centre of the present containers row, close on 30 million tons of cargo passed in and out of the port last year com- pared to 27 million the previous year. This 12-per- cent Increase occurred despite a 6-per-cent drop in the labour force. Now the world trade slump, combined with the impact of productivity deals, contalnerization and other new cargo-handling methods, threatens to decimate the dockers' ranks agaln ... several times over. Speaking In early 1970, ports modernization com- mittee charman George Cattell estimated that by 1975 the docks labour force would be 'considerably below 35,000'. But this estimate must now be revised down- wards. The port employers talk openly about 3,000 more redundancles this year. And a report by the US man- McKinsey says that agement consultants and Co containerization will allow a 1,000-per-cent Increase In productivity per man. So far, dockers have seen only the tip of the Iceberg as far as contalnerization Is concerned.

In July 1968, 13 Tilbury unloaded 4,000 • ‹ockers i tons of cargo from the containership 'American Lancer' In less than 12 hours. The same tonnage would have taken 130 men five days from a conventional vessel.

The news was a bombshell.

When it comes, the impact of containerization is rapid. And behind the current toing-and-froing be- tween employers, union leaders and Ministers Is the knowledge that a really severe jobs crisis Is building up for this autumn, when many conventional contracts are due to change over. Road-haullers and warehousemen are not going to grant dockers the right to stuft and strip contalners, because the high capital cost of the new methods requires the lowest rates of wages. And the port employers—many of whom are themselves haullers.

know this. So do the union leaders desolte all thelr ontimistie talks of 'sympathetic' hearings from Tory Ministers.

Socialist Labour League and Young Socialists

ALL OUT

DEMONSTRATE ON

Sunday May 7

HANDS OFF THE UNIONS

Defend democratic rights ! Defend the right to work !

Withdraw troops from Ulster! Release all internees!

Victory to the Vietnamese workers and peasants !

MAKE THE TORY GOVERNMENT RESIGN !

ASSEMBLE : 1.30 p.m. The Embankment, Charing Cross MARCH: vla Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly, Regent Street, Oxford Street, Tottenham Court Road, Euston Road MEETING : 4 p.m. St Pancras Town Hall G. Healy (Socialist Labour League National Secretary) J. Simmance (Y.oung Socialists National Secretary) M. Banda (Socialist Labour League Central Committee) (In a personal capacitv) Frank McCabe (NUM) Roy Battersby (ACTT) A. Thornett (Deputy Senior Steward Morris Motors)

CHAIRMAN :

C. Slaughter (Socialist Labour Leaque Central Committee) INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • FRIDAY MAY 5, 1972 • No 757 • 4p DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

28 DAYS AND WE COME OUT!

BY OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT DAVID MAUDE

• An extra week's holiday; • A big improvement in fall-back pay, DOCKERS' leaders yesterday escalated the bringing it up to the average earnings level for each port; ports row with the threat of a national The right to all work normally done by dockers, strike to start in a month's time.

including the stuffing and stripping of cargo-con- A two-and-a-half hour delegate meeting talkers Meanwhile an meeting of the Cabinet emergency was called to discuss the docks crisis. Workers' expressed 'complete dis- by Tory Presided over Edward Heath, it premier satisfaction' with the employers' attitude on was attended by non-Cabinet Ministers Including Solicitor-General Sir Geoffrey Howe, the man who obtained the cooling-off period against the railway.

The 98

T&GWU

dock delegates-representing men 55,000 dockers in al Britain's portsgave the NAPE leaders went to meet Employment Secretary National Association of Port Employers (NAPE) Maurice Macmillan yesterday afternoon.

28 days' strike notice demanding: The

T&GWU

delegates decision almost Only one vote was unculous. cast against. Rogers seeks Heath I've them sect Alan English, secretary the port committee, told me afterwards. It's been touch and go whether there'll be • a sunke on Merseysioe support for bombing? for the week. whole of the last The full-time officials put the us again here Loudy. were not daving Both liverpool and stewards said after the meeting that they ignore instruction Tim tron secretary. to cal off their blacking road-haulage and warehousing firms. Ron Findlay, a delegate from Aberdeen docks, said he thought the strike would definitely take place. not accepting we're cooling-of periods'. he said wher told of the emergency Cabinet meeting. 'We've been trying to get settlement of this issue for three years. employers have just laughed at us. However, many delegates also extremely suspicious of then Union leaders murendons towaros the strike threat. Jones not there Jack Jones, the

T&GWU

general secretary, was in his union headquarters the meeting but did not attend it. And docks secretary O'Leary made clear that almost anv con from the employers Rogers entering No. 10 Downing St yesterday cession the dockers' . claim to stuf and strip containers would AMERICAN Secretary of State They also discussed Nixon's sufficient for him to recall the William delegate conference. Rogers yesterday held forthcoming visit to the Sovlet Union. The delegates will be recalled talks on the Vietnam war at No.

any case before the strike 10 Downing St with Edward Last night Rogers flew to starts. Heath. Brussels to have dinner with Said O'Leary: N. TO secretary Dr Joseph Luns.

'As Although a result _of the comolete the agenda was Before returning to Washington dissatistaction of delegates with secret, it is known that the Nixon on May 10, he will also hold talks the employers' replies, have we administration seeking with Common Market leaders as been instructed to sup- tender notice 18 of port for a big bombing campaign industrial dispute-which well visiting Bonn, Rome, on Hanol and Halphong. Paris and Madrid.

• SEE PAGE 12

PAGE 2 Workers Press, Friday May 5, 1972 Vorster uses armed choppers

HEAVILY

police, Mabaso demand for independence between armed British-made supported and Tembu tribesmen in anner wanted 'estland helicopters of the the Msinga reserve. Only vessels sea from the pest of alvis African force, The police arrested 42 burst into us week men and women and were near Pietermaritz- struck for bisher fishermen had reserve yesterday hunting others quell pay. had fled into the they

WAU

dishing Almosi the entire surrounang Dusa outbreak of inter-tribal About

TOTCA

a tended violence. In Namibia (South West meeting which mass of fish companies said African Africa) new wave the until constable and two other stakes ra

LOOKS

ther had been killed in connection with the demands. men

AROUND THE WORLD

Hue next nail in Nixon due to see Gromyko again Moscow Nixon coffin

LIBERATION

forces peace talks yes- At the Paris were probing around the terday, the North Vietnam dele- deaf turned ear Tall. that the American demands South Vietnamese town offensive be called off as a first The North Vietnamese

BY JOHN SPENCER

priority. of Hue yesterday and US demanded the deleranon officers on the spot said President Thieu and the the inhabitants and fighting in action to hold off the liberation formation 'government of national concord in Saigne they expected a full-scale the streets.

TOODS.

On Wednesday deserters from Watching another nail assault in the next few The Saigon regime is becoming Third Division routed at driven into the coffin his Viet- the days. more and more nervous as the President Iri set fire to Hué market policy. Halization offensive gets closer There officers unconfirmed in protest because their were

NIXON

1s thougnt to be consider- According the them to face the ing even more intensive bombing reports that Firebase King, the North. Hanoi 'New York Times' both American liberation troops alone. eight key defence position South and Vietnamese officials Hué already only Haiphong been soldiers nave miles south west of Hué had 'deeply are now pessimistic- for defend the bombed several times giant abandoned following been are units of the South Viet- B52 aircraft since the the first time in vears ›fensive about unc two-hour barrage of mortar prospects pulling began. Countrys Marines wao nave ocen through'. and artillery shells. involved in several cacher WITh intensicator or the the thousands est res. Hundreds air war is unlikely to impede the shere were ruinous vesteroa airbase. the liberation armies. that Nixon's roving from thousands refugees advance of have Henry Kissinger, is holding secret strike in June assaull on tool, In cars and •upones Take beast six weeks to reach South Vietnam from the on the city is expected in their buses and by sea. North Vietnamese lalk.

WILL

area. the Saigon northern ports, and the victorious politburo member Le Due Tho.

The two men had a Law and order in Hué has army that Hué will Giap series General ol micals Have broken 1969 a attel complete y WILl almost impossio e to detena ane Commuree mountain aDam arultiess sneerines maurauding groups South the best, the South Vietnamese doned US and South Vietnamese President Johnson had suspended pillaging rearguard the bombing of North Vietnam.

ietnamese deserters hope for supplies. Meir:

'CIA

Heavy jail Mid- didn't sentences as East back Turks hold plane peace rebels? trip? THIRTEEN people were years _sentenced to g THE United States Central bombing charges before given totalling 196 the trial began interence AReNCY WaS years

ISRAELI

premier Mrs involved Wednesday not The et- Istanbul The charge of conspiring Meir revolt workers Golda arrived the constitu- night for allegedly to overthrow Bucharest yesterday for peasants and students tion doubly ironic talks spiring overturow

SWEDI

Levo dic- Turkey's the leaders on the Middle-East constitutional because present For pratement in Colomba Prime Minister, tatorial regime came form of government and Sirimavo Bandaranaike Situation. military coup on power by set up a dictatorship It is the first time and March last ycal premier has visited vestered. Israeli Seventy others also promptly abrogated large an East European country before a military court in sections of the constitution.

This claim had been the nine-month-long trial The government is itself made vinaster «overnmen and renerade revisionist were called. There widespread Perera but Mrs The had that president crisis. •rosecutor said originally demanded death Danualallaike LuIS Urguplu, Ceausescu mav Hayri his S1121 was only: personal sentences between Israel by President nearndles opinion. The indictment and the Arabs. accused. Cevdet and He invited Mrs Meir allegations that to hended Investigations th30

TOTT

the 83 had taken part in Bucharest after Mrs Meir had shown ary parlia- OLLy days clandestine meetings Arab capitals touring foreign power was involved.

Africa, During his tour he

OSCUSS

not say thougn. sne could the held talks The • army. with president heaviest sentences what future investigations has ratified Anwar Sadat of Egypt. would reveal. were on four death three

WEST

GERMAN Chan- on Sadat himself is currently officers accused armed left-wing 'urban guerrillas' The US beginning five days of talks cellor Willy Brandt and robbery and taking part in government the bombing of a general's Ceylon's with opposition leader Dr Yusuf Aslan backed coalition other North African Inan. Barzel agreed government aralnsu une Arao leaders CO-Orol. nome. rebellion and, along with ating action against. Israel.

yesterday to debate rati- One of the other chief Supporters of the three Soviet Union, Egypt, Herwill betelling unisian, on Bonn's defendants, Ruhi Koc, the hold- yesterday men were Pakistan and Algerian Tunisian troversial treaties with Yugoslavia, of Dev-Genc. Turkish Iansom gave military aid to crush the results and left-wing move- airliner hijacked to Sofia, leaders moviet youth the rebels. recent visit to Moscow. Poland next week. ment, already been Bulgaria.

DON'

THEY'RE

AFRAID

MY

QUITE

ANIMALS

HARMLESS!

UNEMPLOY

DR. DO

LITTLE

THE

TOTAL

number of aluminium workers who have in been made redundant South Wales in the past 18 months has now reached 2,200. The huge redundancies reflect recession in the the world aluminium industry. latest jobs losses The announced this week are at Star Wrought Products, Neath, where 430 workers are to be sacked.

The company has decided to close its sheet rolling mill.

The directors said the men would be dismissed during the next three months. statement said: 'Due A to world-wide depressed market conditions for aluminium and the continuing price-erosion for these products, it has been shown that Wern Works is no longer viable.' Aluminium has been rolled there since 1942. Before that it plate works. Two was a tin directors broke the news on Wednesday afternoon to the Neath deputy town clerk, John Edwards, and the council's in- dustrial development committee chairman, Frank Evans. told the press: "They Evans were courteous enough to come and tell us what is going to happen. They said the works had become completely unviable.'

Four hundred men were given redundancy notices at Alcoa's Waunarlwydd plant in Swansea early last year. At the same time 550 redundancies were announced by Alcan at Rogerstone, Newport.

The other Neath area plant affected by the world slump in aluminium is the Rheola works of the British Aluminium Com- pany who, last November an- nounced the redundancy of 550 That employees. later was reduced by 40, and on Tuesday they announced that 110 jobs are to be saved. British Aluminium also an- nounced 400 redundancies at their Newport plant in January this year.

CORRECTION

YESTERDAY'S Workers Press incorrectly stated ('What we think' ', page 2) that an industrial tribunal had granted recruiting rights to the Telecommunications Staff Association at London's Electra House overseas cable headquarters. In fact three TSA officials have been given recruiting facili- ties at_Norwich, Guildford and some London exchanges. The importance of the decision, how- ever, is unaffected. It remains- said—'a dan- as our headline gerous precedent'. SOME 182 coalminers are sitting- n at a pit near Oviedo in the Spanish Asturias coalfield againsi the threat of unemployment.

They plan to stay underground until a closure notice posted earlier this week by the manage- ment is lifted. Management claim the pit is to be closed on financial grounds.

The Asturias coalfield was the scene of a bitter strike last year, broken eventually with the aid of Polish coal imports. Mining experts from Warsaw are assisting the fascist manage- ment in plans for the coalfield's rationalization. DUFFell

FROM STEPHEN JOHNS IN GLASGOW

POSTMEN in Glasgow have b to break picket lines after be Industrial Relations Act.

The instruction came from John of the Union of Post Office London headquarters. The events leading up to the new ruling which breaks past practice within the trade movement began union on Tuesday when a postman driver from Glasgow's Udding- ton depot turned back from a picket line at Caterpillar En- gineering. Engineers are on strike there over a wage claim.

The action was reported by the firm to the Glasgow post office authorities and supervisor John Black warned the men that what doing they were was illegal. To support the allegation he read out the revelant clauses of the Industrial Relations Act on sympathetic action by workers not directly involved in a dispute, and the Post Offices Act.

At a meeting the next day it was hinted that the union could big fines if the men con- face tinued to respect the picket line.

The issue was reported to Madden who contacted

UPW

national organizer Mr A. Nash in London. Marsh is understood to have contacted the Amalgam- ated Union of Engineering Workers in London and in the west of Scotland. Eventually the drivers were told to go through the picket lines and they began deliveries to the factory yesterday.

Militant postmen in Glasgow are very disturbed by the deci- sion which they say establishes a precedent. Feeling is intensified by the fact that the Caterpillar workers supported the postmen in their own strike last year.

It is believed to be the first time that mail vans have been instructed by the union to break the picket line. For example, at the recent BRS strike at East Kilbride van drivers turned back from the picket line and left mail at their depot for the firm to collect.

ALL TRADES UNIONS

ALLIANCE MEETINGS

SLOUGH: Thursday May 11, 8 p.m. Slough Community Centre, Farnam Rd. Speakers, ex-convenor Omes Faulkner. AUEW (in a personal capa- city). The Industrial Relations Act. Recall the TUC Expel the traitors Make the Tories resign SW LONDON: Tuesday May 9, 8 p.m. Clapham Manor Baths, Clapham Manor St, SW4. N KENT: Tuesday May 9, 8 p.m.

SOGAT

House, Essex Rd, Dart- ford. DAGENHAM: Tuesday May 8 p.m. Co-op Hall, Fanshawe Ave, Barking. CROYDON: Thursday May 11, 8 p.m. Ruskin House, Coombe Rd.

LUTON: Thursday May 11, 8 p.m.

St John's Ambulance Hall, Lea Rd. N LONDON: Thursday May 11, 8 p.m. Bricklayers Arms, Totten- ham High Rd (nr White Hart Lane). SE LONDON: Thursday May 11, 8 p.m. Deptford Engineers' Club.

New Cross Rd (opp New Cross station). have been told by their union after being threatened by the com John Madden, district organizer Workers, on advice from his BARNSTABLE Trades Coun- recall of the TUC to fight the Industrial Relations Act.

The passing of this militant resolution at Barnstable reveals the country-wide hatred of the Tory government and the deter- mination of the working class to fight. Barnstable is the parliamentary constituency of Liberal leader Jeremy Thorpe, who has un- equivocally backed all of Heath's policies on the Common Market, industrial relations and un- employment. The resolution declares: "The Barnstable Trades Council condemns the retreat of the TUC leaders before the threat of the Industrial Relations Act.

The Tories are attempting to deprive the working class of its basic democratic rights. The today are in a trade unions position where a struggle to working conditions on behalf wo their improve wages members places them outside of the law. 'We support the decision of the AUEW to call for an im- mediate recall of the TUC to Industrial Relations fight the Act. The trade union movement must now prepare for a General Strike to bring down this re- pressive government.' KING'S COLLEGE (London) branch of the Association of Man- Scientific, Technical and agerial Staffs has passed an emergency motion to be sent to the Association's annual con- ference 'condemning the capi- tulation of the TUC to the Industrial Relations Act'.

It says this is in contravention of last September's conference decision, and adds: 'We demand that Congress be reconvened to reaffirm its decision to oppose and that it should the Act mobilize the strength of the working class to force the Tory government to resign.' When In A BOUTIQUE proprie- tor in Leeds has been asked the £20 for wilfully Mrs fined Collins, exposing obscene an realized that print to view. Police Insp Alan obscene pri play, she re Stoneley said a T-shirt displayed in the in was window. It showed a It's 1972, y Mr Malc four-letter word; there were dots between the for Mrs ( letters. that on ma 'Workers Pr REDUNDANCY fears can that at a factory where the threat of redundancy was make workers accident- hanging over workers, prone, an industrial safety minor accidents trebled in expert says. two weeks. Ronald Hearn has told Although there were the Royal Society for the about 20 million employed Prevention of Accidents people in Britain, he MANUAL workers at Rolls- Royce Ansty, Coventry, meet today to vote on the com- latest proposals to pany's Measured-Day introduce a Work-type productivity deal in the factory. forced and penal contained in Ansty workers were clauses submitted off a fixed day the document by piecework onto last September. payment wanted for If the new proposals are They mandan. demands could the the accepted, many workers £5 a week engineers' be less by national wage claim earning 1972 than be taken insteadf6 September they were to up September 1971. week increase, shorter hours and earning in The shop stewards' committee strings. The the has voted against making document contains

MDW

recommendation on the deal.

usual proposals with Fourteen new danger-a 2tp an hour co- stewards backed operation bonus clause. This will defeated amendment for rejec- tion of the deal on the basis of only be payable to those whom consider opposition the productivity management are co- to Docks delegates from all over Britain converged on Lon- don yesterday to make their momentous decision (reported on page 1). Above some of the delegates outside the Transport and General Workers Union headquarters-part of the union's £22m assets—near Westminster PS: Scot- When Insp Stoneley his client had seen far Two senior in land Yard commission- the proprietor, worse things worn Elizabeth ers have just completed Jane London. mis whether she Mr R. Middleton, an inquiry into behaviour of a number alized that she had an chairman of the magis- of the members fining Mrs of print on dis- trates, in she replied: 'What, Collins: said: 'It may be Leeds police force. The age? inquiry, set up by the day that these matters are and fol- common in central Lon- Home Secretary you know! of com- Malcolm Tinger, don, but like to lowed a wave we Leeds is a little plaints about police mis.

Mrs Collins, said think different' conduct. at on many occasions forkers Press, Friday May 5, 1972 PAGE 3 estimated there were fewer than 2,000 safety officers- 'a pitifully small number.

In industry, including farms and 1,000 mines, people were killed last year and 270,000 workers were injured in accidents.

operating with the introduction of these proposals. This is felt by the opponents of the deal to open the door for the introduction of further disciplinary actions and maybe even fines against workers in the future. There is a fair body of opinion in the factory against the deal, but workers who oppose it feel he non-recommendation vote by he shop stewards' committee is a stab in the back for all those who oppose the deal. PRODUCTION resumed at Triumph Motors' Radford plant, Coventry, yesterday when 73 rear-axle assemblers returned to work after their two-week strike. The men have accepted a management offer which includes a slight increase in earnings and a promise that it will be 'coupled with a full investigation into their claims after a return to work'. They originally demanded an approximate increase of £2.50 to bring their pay in line with average assembly bonuses paid at the main Canley factory.

Shop stewards reported the . prepared company was to negotiate a pay increase if the men were prepared to incréase output by 15 axles a day.

All that was offered, however, they said was 4 per cent of the bonus-an increase of only 27p a week— which was not accept- able. During the strike about 8,000 men were laid off in Coventry and 1,500 in Liverpool. Car assembly in Coventry and Liver- pool was virtually at a standstill and £l2m car production lost.

THE

Conservative - controlled High Wycombe council has been criticized for offering a • council house for sale at £7,500five months after offering its twin for £4,800. Ronald Fletcher, a tenant of 24 Woodside Road, applied to buy his home last November and was quoted £4,800 — less £480 under the council's tenancy discount scheme. from the blue THE Ministry of Defence is to four-year research pay for a programme into the elects o.

ightning bolts on aircraft. The £250,000 contract has been given to the Culham laboratory of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Berks. Authority, at Abingdon, data and test criteria so that flight safety can be improved.

PAGE 4 Workers Press, Friday May 5, 1972

FLOATS TO

LEAD

MAY DAY

MARCH

highlight Seven floats will the Socialist Labour League Socialists' Young and the May Day march this Sunday.

They will form the colourful vanguard of demonstration to be expected thousand strong from all parts Scotland England, and Wales. will Coaches and trains delegates bring from out OI London to the assembly point Charing The Embankment, Cross, at 1.30 p.m. floats have been The designed and constructed as an extension of the themes of last year's displays. At the demonstration last portrayed the floats vedi chapters of the history of the the working class-trom Peasants' Revolt in 1381, to Revolution, the Cromwellian Chartist movement, the to the founding of the labour move- This year the floats have a thus direct theme, more reflecting the intensification of the class struggle over the past 12 months of Heath rule. A committee of SLL and YS engaged in members has been the discussion on the design of the floats since the culmination of the Right-to-Work marches Empire Pool, Wembley, at the of March 12. on series prepared and drawings were they have formed the basis of considerable discussion. Instead of the pageant-style adopted last year, the com- decided introduce mittee clear, sharp political messages.

It was agreea, terelore, unal each float would represent an aspect of the Draft Manifesto Charter of Basic the and Rights adopted at the All Alliance Unions in Trades Birmingham last November 6.

'It meant studying the Draft Manifesto and trying to what points could be extracted graphic political expression,' said Sean Hudson, head of construction. "The main points of the be brought Manifesto had to to life visually and hammered home.' In campaigns like this, how- the question of finances ever, raises its uglv head. The construction of seven floats timber,

COSTS

money. paint, nails, screws and all the other carpentry

LOOTS

trade necessary to make their construction a thoroughly pro- fessional job. At this point let me explain a little more about Sean Hudson. Apart from being all director, assistant film photo- cook, grapher, carpenter and he has the uncanny knack of being able to 'arrange things'.

Thus while working on a film May 5, 1972 ght • set he can produce an elephant or a sword swallower or a giant birthday cake within an hour if the director so desires.

Therefore, when it came to obtaining the timber and the equipment for the big con- struction job, he came good.

Truckloads of pine wood and plywood mysteriously appeared. It was obtained free of charge from sympathizers of the YS and SLL. Labour at this time is not difficult. But it necessarily varies in quality. What I mean . is this: some of the actors who give their time unstintingly to the move- ment on the stage are very good thespians. But few great shakes with a saw. So they are given paint brushes. Many YS members with time on their hands because they are unemployed also gave a hand. The rest of the construction from made up team was professionals who came in their spare time to help out.. During the past ten days work has been going on all day and half the night to finish all seven floats on time.

Workers Press When went to report on progress on Wed- standing nesday, Sean was the debris of wood amid shavings and half-painted dis- plays: I always start off saying we'll never finish in time. But I've been proved wrong again.

We're going to make it?' The floats in order of pro- cession will be: • Defeat the anti-trade union laws, demand the right to work and defend the right to strike.

• Victory to the Vietnamese peasants and workers, with- draw troops from Ulster. • A history of the working class depicting the rise of trade unions. • One. million unemployed with standard of living down and cost of living up. • Defend the basic rights of the health, housing and wel- fare service. • No return to the 1930s.

Kick the Tories out. • Build the revolutionary party in 1972. At 7 a.m. on Sunday Sean and his helpers will erect the floats and lash them to the back of seven huge lorries.

When they reach The Em- of bankinent they deserve to see the biggest May Day demon- stration we've ever staged ready to go into action. They shan't be disappointed. Top: working Defend on the float with the theme the basic rights of the health, housing and service'. Below Sean welfare Hudson and co-workers discuss plans.

BY TOM KEMP

General support for Sheikh Mujibur Rahman's Bangla Desh regime and his Awami League government is indi- cated in three articles in last week's 'Morning Star. by Jack Woddis, head of the national Department. A theoretical defence of this position attempted in the was final article where it was claimed no that bourgeoisie' strong exists in Bangla Desh because the economy was controlled by W Pakistan business interests when it was part of Pakistan. While pointing out that 'a new bourgeoisie, or a petty with intentions of bourgeoisie, rapidly enriching itself soon arises unless prompt and ade- quate measures are taken to pre- vent this', Woddis does not draw the necessary political con- clusions. It is precisely in the Awami League that tendencies these express themselves. It is not enough to talk about the organization and leadership of the working class to oppose the rise of such a bourgeoisie. It is necessary to have the correct programme. of Much what Woddis describes of his visit to Bangla Desh shows that the bourgeoisie is re-constituting itself and that the Soviet Union is aiding this process. Instead of putting forward a policy to lead the working class to power with the support of the mass of the peasantry, the Communist Party of Bangla Desh is pursuing a policy of 'national unity' Woddis approvingly quotes Sheikh Mujib's speech during his visit to Moscow in which he thanked the Soviet Union for its support and protested hypocriti- . cally that he would carry on the struggle against imperialism.

Mujib has no intention of fight- ing against imperialism. He depends upon it for support. As for the Bangla Desh Communist Party, Woddis reports it stands 'a clear constructive policy by the _government', i.e. Awami League government. Its leaders simply talk about mobil- izing the people to press "for improvements where necessary'.

Woddis' visit was presumably the British Communist Party's endorsement of the 'national unity' policy. He certainly has no criticism of the Trade Union Kendra's reformist and class- collaborationist position. This body is largely led by National Awami Party and Communist Party members. The trade unions call on their members to 'help industrialize the country' and warn against those (?) who are trying to take advantage of the present hard- 'to embroil the working ships in anti-national activities.

class • . . •By raising demands which cannot be fulfilled at this stage they are trying to dissuade the working class from their task of national reconstruction. This will hinder national development and will ultimately harm the work- ing class itself. This is familiar tune. It a was sung by CP general secre- taries Maurice Thorez in France and Palmiro Togliatti in Italy when they helped to restore capitalism and strengthen the bourgeois World state after War II. In Bangla Desh it can only mean the same thing: the consoli- dation of the local bourgéoisie, weak as it now is, along lines only too familiar in neighbour- ing India. Jack Woddis What Woddis pretends to warn about in a pseudo-Marxist way is bound to be the outcome of the policies which he supports when carried out by the BanglaDesh CP and the trade unions under its influence. The same basic principles arise in connection with the peasant question. Woddis does not like Maullna Bashani, whose land policy he probably regards as too radical. He supports the pro- Moscow breakaway from Basha- Awami Party, National headed by Moni Singh. Singh stands for a policy of compara- tively mild agrarian reform in line with the general CP pro- gramme. The CP policy is the road of betrayal and defeat and designed to kill the revolution- ary upsurge of the Bangla Desh it plays right into masses. And the hands of Sheikh Mujib, the darling the Soviet bureau- cracy and the Indian bourgeoisie.

Workers Press, Friday May 5, 1972 PAGE 5 Faced with a shortfall in the the winter, the Soviet Union grain harvest this year owing is to increase sowing on the to climatic conditions during virgin lands. 'Pravda' says that millions of acres of land in Western Siberia, Kazakhstan and the Altai territory will be sown with spring wheat. The cam- paign is to be waged on a 'grandiose' scale. Extensive farming on the begun by virgin lands was Nikita Khrushchev the 1950s with results which disappointing. often were Thousands of young people encouraged were to go to these areas where conditions of life were very hard. Dust storms, drought and soil erosion reduced the yield from the area and brought the virgin lands programme into some disrepute. • Khan hohov Honecker: Communist Party chlet of East Germany The remaining private and semi-private businesses in the Ger- man Democratic Republic are to be taken over by the state this summer according to Communist Party daily Neues Deutschland'. It said that 73 per cent of the private capitalist and 94 per cent of the semi-private firms had agreed to the take-over.

About 3,000 private firms are concerned.

The present owners will receive compensation. Honecker's government also intends to fix a maximum income of about £220 per month. A boost to pensions and social security bene- fits has been announced. These changes reflect growing pressure from the working class in the DDR for an improvement in living standards and an end to privilege. It links up with the revival of the working class movement in Western Germany and the issues raised by the treaties between Bonn and Moscow.

тась, Friday May 5, 1972

BY ANNA TATE

has espoused for years. roW of dominoes. Eisenhower Fisenhower (as used the analogy some days later, the was ne ana not Ever since a sune n nited is generally believed), who coined on April 7, 1954. This cry of of Presidency the which 'domino-theory'. anti-communist hysteria, Richard Dien States of America, April, 1954, wher covered was ane been bent upon Bien Phu was under siege, it was slogan oas aset 'fight for the Nixon has sweet Nixon who claimed: 'It should be world entirely was selling himself to his nation, tree Indo-China em onasızed unar world as the and the went communist, red pressures Asian markets and resources ultimate peace-maker. Malaya, Thai- During the would increase on American оссира- world will other imade s re Tane comesa. ana mon ol post-war japan tnal poncy buy at its peril, for his Asian nations. The main target began to implemented. „ lam doctrine its of the in Indo- May, 1946, the US occupiers had with communists China, down "Vietnamization' programme in Korea. begun to crack Was Tapanese working-class movement sinister vides smokescreen Tapan. Conquest of areas so vital behind which lurk the contradic- to Tapan's economy would reduce in bid re-launch Nippon US capital in crisis. economic satellite of industry. The successful Chinese tions of aal lu all The merely 1949 (÷112m «octrine ine sovlet UnIOR Revouton ane Tae Nixon spells the eclipse the same who, Korean War of 1950 accelerated temporary Il Was favour of the GI Vice-President, this determined drive to establisn the Asia promoted the noticn that the 'oss' of capitalist develop- oDauris ıne ogrca •ucone or on veda a baston a political doctrine which Nixon would set motion falling ment in Asia. As Eisenhower put it: 'One of Japan's greatest opportunities for increased trade lies in a free and developing SE Asia . . The great need in one country is for in the other materials, raw country for manufactured goods.

The complement two regions markedly. By each other strengthening of Vietnam and helping insure the safety of the S Pacific and SE Asia, •Ne gradually develop the great trade potential between this region .

and highly industrialized Tapan to the benefit of both. In this way freedom in the W Pacific will be greatly strengthened.

RESISTANCE

Any nation in Asia which, by own experience, repudiated its participation in this capitalist club; any nation which engaged in a war of resistance against charac- colonial oppression was 'Russian' terized as al 'Chinese' aggressor. The Chinese revolution itself was character- ized as a purely Russian product by Dean Acheson, who likened it to a "Slavic Manchuko' on a gigantic scale! Having done everything in his power to impede the Geneva Conference of 1954, the US Secretary of State, John Foster Dulles, walked out on it com- pletely and declared war on peace by categorically denouncing neutrality in Asia as 'dangerous and immoral' Laos, Cambodia and S Vietnam were, nevertheless, designated as neutral by Geneva states the Accords. In direct opposition to these Accords, Dulles, the most fervent pioneer of reactionary strategic planning, proceeded to Asia Treaty set up Organization (SEATO) in Septem- ber 1954. SEATO was expressly designed as an aggressive weapon against people's war. Its only Asian adherents were the Philippines, Thailand and Pakistan. Cambodia, under its then Chief State, of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, refused to join SEATO.

It was a refusal which was to lead, after many such attempts

CIA,

initiated by the to the toppling of Sihanouk from power on March 18, 1970, the installa- tion of an ultra-right wing, military, pro-US group in govern- and the ment, launching of Cambodia into the front line of the Indo-China war. The Cambodian coup d'état of 1970 is perhaps the most serious miscalculation in a long series of miscalculations which State Department foreign policy makers The ultra-right have indulged in. group of Lon Nol, Sirik Matak and Son Ngoc Thanh which now rules, represents only the interests of an élite number of supporters foreign-dominated (i.e. US) of comprador capitalism. They have ranged against them the minute but militant working class of Cambodia, largely represented by workers. the rubber-plantation These workers have a tradition of political resistance which goes back to 1947, when in the fight for independence, they set up armed units and organized under the very noses of the French.

this day, the Lon Nol government is unable to crush the fighting will of these the most men, determined of whom hold the Chup plantations in the province of Kompong Cham, near the Vietnamese border. Also ranged against the gov- ernment are the vast mass of the peasantry. The speed and tenacity with which the seemingly "apathetic' peasants of Cambodia have mobilized into the Libera- tion Front in the last two years is proof enough of the disastrous 'quotient pain' strategy of of implemented by the

USA

in aerial bombardment, of terms chemical warfare ground terrorization. The mass of peasants in Cam- bodia, until March did, indeed, 1970, remain outside the political arena. The reason for this lies in the feudal nature of the economy, sub- with the dominance of agriculture. This sistence was reflected culturally by a profound and undisturbed religiosity which dominated life, and peasant cemented a strong relationship with the king, who represents for the people the incarnation of Vishnu, Lord of the Universe.

EXILE

Sihanouk, king of Cambodia / from 1941 until his abdication in 1955, is regarded by the The peasantry as semi-divine.

fact that he has aligned himself with the resistance and is lead- ing the government in exile, has contributed massively to the strength of the Liberation Front.

The savage bombardment of the carried out indiscriminately, the adherence to the Liberation Front Buddhist of the very monks whom Lon Nol had hoped to make the bastion of his Left: Cambodia's ultra-right Head Penh olymplc stadlum, but the people stayed the Cambodian Liberation Front, Inltlated coup. Below: Sirlk Matak, present Pri power base among the people. As pagodas are demolished by air attack and desecrated by demoralized government soldiers, the influx of monks to the vast rebel-controlled zones grows daily. The government has also added to its unpopularity by the enor- mous corruption within its own ranks and more especially within the ranks of the military leaders.

While in capital, colonels the Phnom Penh, have acquired villas and in two years, their cars soldiers in battle find themselves unpaid for months. Recently a group of such soldiers set off from the battlefield to march on Phnom Penh, for their wages.

They were arrested on arrival.

There is also a tendency on the part of the colonels to con- ceal deaths on the field of battle so as not to lose income, and it fortune-hunting is this at the expense of human lives which is causing profound demoralization in the ranks of Lon Nol's troops.

Inflation which until 1970 had maintained itself at a moderate level began, in 1971, to sky- rocket. Basic food prices have trebled, causing immense suffer- ing not only for the poor majority but also for the civil service and functionary class who are on a fixed income. Only those who are in a position to profit directly from the war, i.e. the govern- Workers Proce, Friday | Nol arranged of State, Lon "liberty march stayed away. Above: Prince Sihanouk, the patern 'tilling the soil' with his peasants before Matak, present Prime Minister (left) with Lon Not (centre).

ment, the military and the specu- lators, are cushioned from these harsh realities of economic catastrophe. There is almost no section of Cambodian population which is not affected by the growing con- tempt for, and struggle against the American-supported Lon Nol- Sirik Matak government. Students the have been rioting for weeks. The Law Faculty-not known in the past for a radical stance-has been occupied by armed students demanding the resignation of the Sirik Matak. Many students have left the capital and are working and in liberated zones. US.

CONTROL

The Popular Armed Forces for National Liberation (FAPLN) and political leadership, the National United Front of Cam- bodia

(FUNC)

claimed have military and administrative con- trol over four-fifths of all Cam- bodian 5 territory, and over million of Cambodia's population of 7 million people. Reports from well-known French journalists, Jacques orkers Proce, Friday May 5, 1972 PAGE 7 of the people at Phnom Sihanouk, the paternalist, and leader of he was deposed by the

CIA-

Decornoy and Serge Thion of 'Le Monde seem to bear out these claims. Thion has just spent three weeks with the guerrillas who control an area just ten miles outside the capital. In that region, armed rebel guerrillas circulate freely during the day, for such is their support among the people that they have little to fear from espionage agents.

The National Liberation Front Vietnam at this moment is massive offensive for waging a the towns of S Vietnam, for a guerrilla war needs the people their people have been bombed into the towns by the In Cambodia, the Cambodian Liberation Front has an easier task, for it already controls several provincial towns and is within striking distance of the capital. Its fighters have also shown amazing ability an to mount strikes in the very heart of Phnom Penh and to withdraw without much damage to them- selves. What US policy has succeeded in doing is to ally the three Vietnam, liberation fronts of Laos and Cambodia. It is an alliance which spells doom for American intent in Indo-China.

It is also an inverted vindication of the domind theory. • The US pushed so hard that the dominoes began to fall.

PAGE 8 Workers Press, Friday May 5, 1 By Gerry Healy, National Sect Socialist Labour League Trade unions in Britain are the form through which the working class, as a class, has emerged in its struggle with capitalism. Past relations between the employers and the unions have been regulated by a voluntais negotiating procedure. This now replaced by the compulsory legal powers of the Industrial Relations Act. A Tory High Court has powers to enforce its will on the trade unions whenever it thinks this is necessary. Every important wages dispute is theréby transformed into a political issue. Under circumstances like these, unity on the basis of a com- mon wages policy, such as we saw between the three railway unions, is totally inadequate. Once the government invoked the such Court, unity, no matter how effective it might have been in the past, was unable to chal- lenge the political implications of the government's action. The working class derives its knowledge from the different class-struggle experiences which throughout its history reflect the actual relations between the employers and their trade unions.

During the reformist era of voluntary negotiation, the work- ers relied on the unions to act their behalf and the con- on sciousness of the militant van- guard within them rarely rose above a spontaneous leftist trade union level. Although the advent of the National Industrial Relations Court has drastically changed this relationship, the working class cannot immediately break from its old form of thinking.

Their consciousness lags behind objective developments. While it . true that within the present crisis there is a leftward move- ment of hostility to the govern- ment and to those trade union y May 5, 1972 nal Secretary of the leaders who have capitulated to it-by itself this is not enough.

What we see is a centrist type of development which, as Trot- sky said, 'reflects the progress of evolution of the working class, its political growth as well as its revolutionary setback'. Since all consciousness develops from practice, the work- ing class can be broken only from the old forms of trade union practice by a new form of practice. The essence of this new practice is outlined by the Tran- sitional Programme Fourth International on pages 14, 15 and 16, New Park Publica- tions edition.* The Socialist Labour League refuses to tail-end even the most left expressions of trade union conscioasness. This would be nothing more than a capitulation to the present spontaneous cen- trist evolution of the working class. The struggle for minimum demands is inseparable wage from the struggle to make the Tory government resign. This will greatly strengthen the working class and open the door to the election of a Labour government, in which the right- . wing leadership would be more and more exposed. This would be undertaken through the struggle to force them to apply a programme of transitional demands which would lead towards the con- quest of power and the emerg- ence of the mass revolutionary party. The Socialist Labour League campaigns continuously along these lines to provide the leader- ship which will enable the work- ing class, through its practical experiences, to break from the old forms of trade union con- sciousness. Now let us look at the role of our middle-class political opponents, such as the group which that there is state capitalism the USSR, the International Socialists (IS).

confine They themselves to purely left forms of trade union militancy and solidarity actions.

The one-day strike is a favourite....

here. Each deliberately group avoids like the plague campaign- the working class to utilize its strength to force the government to resign. One of the best examples of this middle-class tail-ending of the working class is contained printed a programme in 'Socialist Worker', weekly paper of the IS group, on April 15.

Titled 'A Policy To Win', it says: The USE of the courts to beaten by: 1. Maintenance of the black- ing and continued boycott of the Industrial Relations Court. Keep blacking Heatons in reprisal for its use of the law. 2. Non-payment of the fine.

The T&GWU should call official strikes if its funds are seized.

3. Solidarity action from the TUC. Break off talks with the Tory government. 4. Continued total non-co- operation with the Act by the

• TUC.

Massive official suport for 5. a one-day strike May 1. on Every demand here is deliber- ately tailored to fit within the framework of trade union con- sciousness. They are designed to keep trade unionists confined to industrial issues and sidetrack mobilizing their them from forces from the political struggle against the Tory government.

The IS talks about a revolu- tionary party, but in effect it has something mind. 'Socialist Worker' April 22; it explains what something that else is. are living in a highly 'We unstable situation. Unless, in the distant future, too the not employers offensive is decisively beaten, the British working class faces whole series of defeats. a And the offensive will not be beaten unless a powerful grass roots organization of militants can be built.' So there it is. We need a left reformist trade union programme organization of 'grass- an roots militants' to carry it out. Here we see the professional centrism of these middle-class revisionists. Sensing that - the workers moving are from reformism to the left, they step in to wall off their development from the revolutionary road.

Although they will verbally criticize the right wing, they in fact have no confidence in the possibility of the working class establishing its political inde- pendence from the right wing and reformist politics. They just provide a left centrist cover to keep it where it is. The cynical contempt with : which they treat the working class knows no bounds. Elsé- where in these two issues they advertise a meeting at which Tory Cliff and Paul Foot are to speak under the title 'Bring down the Tory government'. But this is on May Day when presumably it is the 'in' thing for centrists to let their hair down in a spate of left speechmaking. Just as the IS use the slogan of 'Bring down the Tory govern- ment' for holiday occasions, they use the term 'revolutionary party' in the same way. That is why it becomes so easily interchangeable in their press with syndicalist such as 'grass-roots terminology organization'. One does not have to adhere to Marxist principles to join such an organization; it is sufficient to support whatever group protest and trade union demands which are in vogue at the moment. *The Minimum Programme and the Transitional Programme The strategic task of the next period pre-revolutionary - a period of agitation, propaganda and organization — consists in overcoming the contradiction between the maturity of the objective revolutionary condi- tions and the immaturity of the proletariat and its vanguard (the confusion and disappointment of older generation, the inex- perience of the younger genera- tion). It is necessary to help the masses in the process of the daily struggle to find the bridge between present demands and the socialist programme of the revolution. This bridge should include a system of transitional demands, stemming from today's conditions and from today's con- sciousness of wide layers of the working class and unalterably leading to one final conclusion: the conquest of power by the proletariat. Classical Social Democracy, functioning in an epoch of pro- capitalism, divided gressive its programme into two parts inde- pendent of each other: the mini- mum programme which limited itself to reforms within the framework of bourgeois society, the maximum programme and which promised substitution of socialism for capitalism in the indefinite future. Between the minimum and the maximum pro- gramme no bridge existed. And indeed Social Democracy has no Advent of the National Industral Relations Court • drastically has changed workers' relatlonship to their unions. Above : Heatons brothers who took out the In- Junctlon against the T&GWU leave the Court. need of such a bridge, since the word socialism is used only for holiday speechifying. The Com- intern [Stalinist] has set out to follow the path of Social Democ- racu in an epoch of decaying when, capitalism: in there can be no discussion of systematic social reforms and the raising of the masses' living standards; when every serous demand of the petty bourgeoisie inevitably reaches beyond the limits of capitalist property rela- tions and of the bourgeois state.

The strategic task the Fourth International lies not in reforming capitalism but in its overthrow. Its political aim is the conquest of power by the pro.

letariat for the purpose of expro- priating the bourgeoisie. How- the achievement ever, of this strategic task is unthinkable «without the most considered attention to all, even small and partial, questions of tactics.

All sections of the proletariat, all its layers, occupations and groups, should be drawn into the revo- lutionary movement. The present epoch is distinguished not for the fact that it frees the revo- lutionary party from day-to-day work but because it permits this indis- work to be carried on solubly with the actual tasks of the revolution. The Fourth International does not discard the programme of the old 'minimal' demands to the degree to which these have pre- served at least part of their vital forcefulness, Indefatigably, it de- fends the democratic rights and social conquests of the workers.

But it this carries on day - to - day work within the framework of the cor- rect actual, that is, revolution. ary perspective. Insofar as the old, partial, 'minimal' demands of the masses clash with the destructive and degrading tend- encies of decadent capitalism- and this occurs at each step-the Fourth International advances a system of transitional demands, the essence of which is contained in the fact that ever more openly and decisively they will be directed against the very bases of the bourgeois regime. The old 'minimal programme' is super- seded by the transitional pro- gramme, the task of which lies in systematic mobilization of the masses for the proletarian revo- lution. (Pages 14-16, Transitional Programme of the Fourth Inter- national.)

BY TOM KEMP

'LET HISTORY

JUDOE: THE

ORIGINS AND CONSEQUENCES

OF STALINISM'. By Roy A. Medvedev. Edited with an Intro- by David duction Joravsky. Macmillan. £5.75. The contrast between the propaganda image of Stalin which they were brought up to believe in and the terrible truth about his crimes came as a great shock to many Soviet people of Medveder's generation. At the same time, after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, sur- vivors of the purges and repres- sion emerged from the camps and had lived prisons. Those who through the terror began to speak more freely. Public discus- sion in the official press gave only a small impression of the ferment which was taking place below the surface in Soviet society.

Medvedev's book comes from this bitter experience. It repre- sents the first independent at- tempt in the Soviet Union to understand the Stalin era.

'We must' writes Medvedev, a child of the October Revolu- tion, 'respect the memory of our fallen fathers and brothers, the hundreds of thousands and mil- lions of people who were the of Stalin's lawlessness. victims For if we are unable to learn all the necessary lessons from this tragedy, then the destruc- tion of entire generation of an revolutionaries and millions of other innocent people | will remain nothing more than a senseless catastrophe' Medvedev writes within limits imposed by the legacy of Stalin- ism in the Soviet Union. The archives are not open to inspec- incriminating documents tion, destroyed and many have been works such as those of Trotsky, are not available. On the other hand, had the benefit of unpublished memoirs and per- sonal statements from many people who lived through the Stalin era. What is more, he writes under the conditions of extreme ten- sion generated by the contradic- tion between the heritage of the October Revolution and the bureaucratic degeneration result- ing from the Stalin era. It is clear, from the way in which Medvedev writes, that the con- quests of that Revolution are still very much alive. The great significance of his book derives from the fact that it was written in a bureaucrati- cally-degenerated workers' state.

In its main lines Medvedev's book confirms the analysis which Trotsky made of the Soviet Union in The Revolution Betrayed' and other writings. He elaborates and adds further detail to that picture yet, at the time, he misunderstands same and distorts the history of the struggles of the Left Opposition the period Lenin's in after death. Rightly Medvedev insists that the Stalinist course not was inevitable. As he says, it would not have happened if Lenin had remained alive - or he would have had to be removed. His forcefully book rebuts those theories which claim that Stalin- ism was a continuation of Lenin- ism. In fact, Stalin had to destroy Bolshevik Party, discard Lenin's teaching while canonizing bimself Lenin and . only kept around a few survivors of the past to substantiate his claim to continuator of Lenin's be the work. although Medvedev But, believes that Stalinism was not inevitable, he fails to see that the only revolutionary alterna- tive to the policy of Stalin and his allies after Lenin's death was that put forward by Trotsky and His treat- the Left Opposition. ment of this period, in fact, is one of the weakest parts of the book. of 1920g In The •vents the Russia: (top to bottom) the death of Lenin, the rise of Stalin and Medvedev's ver- Trotsky's exile. sion depends too much on the official histories and appears unaware of the struggle of the Left Opposition. Author Roy Medvedev with significance in the fact that this book Party member in a degenerated workers Medvedev's version of events in the 1920s depends too much upon the official histories of this period. He seems to be unaware 'Platform of the of the Left Opposition' and he seriously importance underestimates the of the international context in which the Stalinist degeneration was possible. While it is right to say that the effect of Stalinism on the international communist move- ment prevented the revolutionary overthrow of capitalism during the great slump of the 1930s, the harm had already been done in the previous decade. The events in China, Germany and Britain, productive of defeats for the class, working made possible Stalin's climb to power. A work- ing-class victory in one of the major capitalist countries would have been a sentence of death on Stalinism in the Soviet Union.

In the same way, to explain how Stalin was able to rise to power and impose his will on the Communist Party and the Soviet state, much more weight has to be attributed to social forces than Medveder generally gives.

Often the impression is given that it was the 'cult of person- ality' which was responsible for Stalin's crimes. Thus, Medvedev's account in some ways becomes a more extended and truthful version of the 'de-Stalinization campaign' begun under Khrush- chev at the 20th and 22nd Con- gresses of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. Medvedev conceives of the degeneration in too narrow involving the terms, not as creation of a whole parasitic ruling stratum of which Stalin the dominating figure, was becoming more and more des- potic as time went on. It is true that in places he moves towards such a conception. He shows how the apparatus men had petty-bourgeois out- thoroughly socialist look behind their phrases and that "Time-serving and complete submission to those above was their defence He rightly that 'Stalin says was not simply a dictator, he stood at the peak of a whole system of smaller dictators; he was the head bureaucrat over hundreds and thousands of smaller bureaucrats'. But it is not true that no scientific analysis of this phenomenon has been made; Trotsky discerned it in its very stages and provided the early theoretical analysis for a struggle against it. book presents Medvedev's mass of material and much food for study and thought to which a short review cannot do justice.

As an arraignment of Stalin and the Stalinists before the court of history, the it is all more remarkable in coming from the Soviet Union and having been Workers Pri h his brother Zhores: there Is great this book was written by a Communist ed workers' state. written by a Communist Party member. Why, then, was his book not by the censor? There is passed no doubt that the decision not to permit its publication came from the highest level. What makes Medyedev's book objec- tionable is that he does not sub- scribe to the 'orthodox' view that despite Stalin's 'excesses' the 'building of socialism' went on virtually unaffected. He shows with chapter and verse just how Stalinism imposed heavy and burdens unnecessary on the Soviet people, as well as calling for the full truth to be shed on the mass purges and repressions of the Stalin era and the rehabili- tation of all the victims.

He allows no way of escape for those who by their silence and complicity assisted Stalin's rise and benefited to power from it in their careers. And present-day leaders owe their position to their fidelity to Stalin and continue to rule as a privileged and parasitic layer. They are unable to give a true account of their past and want to draw a veil over the many uncomfortable facts with which Medvedev's book is studded.

In fact, since 1964 there has been a definite tendency to admit a certain rehabilitation of Stalin or, at least, to stop the investiga- tion into the past which began 1956. The publication Medvedev's book in the Soviet Union today would, therefore, be an embarrassment to the bureau- cracy. On the other hand, they may have tolerated its appearance abroad and not taken repressive action against author political reasons. After all, there is not very much in the book which cannot be found out by reading works available outside the Soviet Union for many years.

Medvedev's book does not come as a shattering revelation, but only as a valuable confirmation of the Trotskyist analysis. The bureaucracy is perhaps not unwilling for it to be known that such books can be written by Soviet intellectuals, even if they be published. Also, the cannot part of the truth-notably about the struggle of the Left Opposi- tion, which Medvedey is unable to see-together with • the fact that he does not specify the social monstrosity produced by Stalinism, the bureaucracy itself, or point to any way of removing makes his work apparently harmless for circulation outside Russia. has to be critically re- It worked in order to derive the full lessons from it and to reveal his inadequacies and their source. With the aim of pursuing the struggle against Stalinism to its end we will be publishing series of articles in Workers Press in the coming weeks. Porkera Preas, Friday May 5, 1872 PAQE 9 Just how secular is the Awami League government of Bangla Desh? Secularism is supposed to be one of the foundation stones of the new state. . • • But as the following item from 'Bangla Desh Newsletter' demonstrates this is not all it seems: • Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen, At the beginning there was nothing and God created everything. So let me start in the name of God Almighty, the Creator of Universe, and with all praises for Him, for it is from Him that emanates all Iruth, Goodness and Beauty and it is He that bestowed inherent creativeness on human beings and sustained their endless efforts for survival and growth in their journey from the ages of darkness to the With of light. age these humble feelings of thankfulness and praises to the Supreme Being and prayers for the success of our new enterprise, I extend to all our distin- guished guests my heartiest welcome to this inaugural ceremony. We invite the readers to guess what this inaugural cere- mony was about! Opening of church? Raising of a mosque? Or offering a sacri- ficial goat before goddess Kali?

No! You are absolutely mis- taken. The was sermon delivered as an introduction to the inauguration ceremony of the first foreign branch of the Eastern Mercantile Bank of Bangla Desh. It took place in the banquet room of a plush hotel in the City of London.

The sermon was addressed to a gathering of about 100 guests, most of whom were hard-headed English business- men. Eastern Mercantile Bank is a nationalized enterprise. And Bangla Desh, as the Awami League keeps saying, is a secu- lar state. ... No one should be too upset that actor Brian McDermott failed to become the new MP for Southwark in the by-elec- tion. His anti-Heath Alterna- tive Party carries this state- ment: 'The Alternative Party will fight for a fair deal for actors. They've shown what actors can do in America.

Witness Ronald Reagan and Jane Fonda.' Reagan, it will be remem- bered, is calling for the death penalty for Angela Davis.

Angela Davis

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Name Additora NEARLY 1,000 men at C. A. Parsons' Newcastle turbine generator plant are to be sacked-under their present leadership the only question is when and under what pro- cedure. Parsons say the slump in industrial growth at home and overseas has led to a severe fall in the expansion of demand for electricity and a 'very small intake of orders since the autumn of 1970'.

Orders for seven to nine large turbine generator sets worth £90m from the Central Electricity Generating Board failed to materialize after the Tory election victory on June 18, 1970. Major new power stations at in Sizewell and Ince Cheshire were put into cold storage.

In 1971 Parsons made a des- perate lunge at the US market to be via a new company known as North American Rock- well, only to have their face slapped by the American turbine themselves the feeling giants, pinch of recession. Technical staff recruited and for this project now trained languish with scores of other surplus technical personnel in the the Heaton Works, offices at Newcastle. Prospects of a to return boom conditions in the near future, say Parsons, are remote, with home demand expected to be at a 'low level for a signifi- cant number of years ahead'.

Edward Parsons Judge, announced of £8.26m in his end of year statement earlier this group was speaking month. While he on April 28, a shock ran through the Stock Exchange and Parsons' shares plunged 25kp rallying to close 94p lower on the day at 881 p. Putting aside a new account- ing procedure, which includes estimated losses on Parsons' £200m order_book up to 1977, the loss in 1971 was £978,000 with a profit compared £2.08m in 1970. Judge told shareholders they would get a token l per cent dividend in 1971 compared with 134 per cent in 1970. And he said: 'One immediate and vital consequence is the of tailoring the necessity resources in line with the work load which regrettably means reduced employment.' And the company went on to warn in a prepared statement: of the long design- •Because manufacture cycle of turbine- any order received generators, from home or overseas in the immediate future will not greatly increase the work load for many months. 'To remain competitive, the company has decided must ruthlessly • all expendi- examine ture, eliminating all that is not essential for immediate needs or to ensure its technical compe- tence over the next decade.'

Recognizing the deepening noted the company recession, that the position which it 1n found itself was 'common to most British heavy industry at the present time' It added: "The steps proposed by the company are common business practice and the level of employment and the • daily announcement of redundancies are evidence of the extent to which other manufacturers have had to cut their work forces in line with their work loads.'

Tory stand-on- Obedient to

ON-THE-SPOT REPORT BY IAN YEAT.

your-own-feet doctrine and the logic of capital, recession forcing Parsons to trim their sails drastically. They freely admit it. But the revisionist Interna- tional Socialist (IS) reformist leaders of Broup and the men threatened with redundancy do Nor do their Stalinist not. advisers. So they have spent the last four months either , trying to • wring blood from the Parsons stone or reaching agreements to postpone the inevitable until 1973. Company statements leave no shadow of doubt that without an upturn in trade not only are the present 950 sackings unavoid- able, but they may be followed Ken Ternant, TASS works negotiator by even more substantial redun- dancies later on among the manual workers. Without orders there is noth- ing for technical and planning staff to do-quite apart from the effect of the collapse of the American operation. But because of the length of time needed to make a generator, manual work- be kept busy on work ers can in the pipeline for some time.

This explains why, when the company, announced its redun- dancy plans on December 16, 1971, the 950 were divided-300 from the manual workers and the 'indirect' 650 from work force. So not only are the current 950 sackings inevitable, but hopes will not be more in that there 1973 are likely to prove entirely false. Union response to the redun- dancy announcement was initially sharp. Sections of their membership struck day week, the one a 'indirect' staff refused to use telephones and a general go-slow was called. But almost immediately the reformist leaders of the clerical unions and manual

- ASIMS,

ACTSS, G&MWU, EPIU, AUEW

-threw in the sponge. They agreed to call off their fight in return for a manage- ment promise that there would be no enforced sackings during 1972 - postponing redundancies for nine months. The drawing office in Erith, Kent, which Parsons had also intended to axe this june, was

IN YEATS

to be kept open until the end of the year as well. important the union Most accepted the company's view that the interval should be used to bring about voluntary redun- dancy and early retirement—in other words they accepted the very redundancies they had begun by fighting. 'Generous' redundancy pay- ments up to ?5 per cent more than workers' formal entitle- ment were promised to sweeten the pill-which was duly swal- lowed. Not only were there to be sackings but Parsons made it clear there would be short time working as well where this was 'necessary and practicable?

All the men • covered by this agreement will be faced with the same redundancy fight all over again in 1973—only then, by Parsons own admission, with less work in the pipeline the sack- ings could be even heavier.

The 1,400 members of the technical section of the AUEW

(TASS),

many of whom were most affected by the proposed sackings, were left to fight on alone. To date Parsons have sacked 600 TASS members for continu- ing to work-to-rule and notified 250 that they are permanently redundant-the two groups over- lapping. Communist Party local off- cials of TASS would accept the same terms as the other unions for calling off the work-to-rule if they were offered-in other words voluntary as opposed to enforced redundancy-but so far the deal has not been offered.

But there it are signs that might be and that large numbers of the technical staff will accept it rather than see Parsons go on to sack the entire work force.

A Parsons spokesman told me: "The company can't work with- out a skilled work force and these men would be difficult to replace' As one of the technical staff told 'We caught me: are • between the management's deter- mination to sack and the us Industrial Relations Act. The situation is one over which we have very little control' Many of TASS's members are new to trade unionism. In 1968 TASS (then DATA) had only

Stalinists in deadly combination Technical staff walk to the plant past an empty vacancies board Since February 28 the sanc- tions applied by TASS have been as much in defence of the closed 450 members, but as a result of a shop as against redundancies.

closed-shop signed agreement Parsons in with 1970 (excluding Last week and again on May United Kingdom the 39-member 2 the National Industrial Rela- Association of Professional tions Court ordered end to an UKAPE) membership Engineers, the work-to-rule. has risen to 1,400. Though the TASS annual con- Arthur Scott, this year's Stalin- Scarborough ference at passed ist president of TASS. told me a resolution on Tuesday pledging at Scarborough where the union defiance of the Act and refusing holding its conference, what to order their members many of the men at Newcastle resume normal working, the had already expressed: "The union's Stalinist leadership troops', he said. 'were getting known to feel they could do battle wearied.' nothing if the men decided to And they have been encour- comply of their own accord.

aged to become battle weary If it is true, this amounts to the suicidal so-called sanc- with clear-cut back-door acceptance tions campaign backed by the of the Tory Industrial Relations Stalinists and IS members.

which CPer Having Arthur won the closed-shop

OVAT

Scott was only saying on Tues- agreement from Parsons in 1970 day he would be prepared to go the

TASS

leadership in the to jail. plant now refuses relinquish it even though the fight for 100- If, as there is good reason to believe, per-cent bargaining rights is large numbers of the illegal under the Industrial technicians show they want to Relations Act. abandon the closed-shop dispute

ITV

BBC 1

9.20-9.35 Andy Pandy. 9.38-11.55 11.00-12.15 Schools. 1.10 Time Schools. 12.55 1.25 Canu'r to remember. 1.40 Schools. 2.30 bobol. 1.30 Mary, Mungo Good and afternoon! 3.00 House- Midge. 1.45-1.53 News 3.15 This and party. week. 3.45 weather. 2.05 Schools. 2.25 Drive-in. 4.15 Clapperboard. 4.40 Racing from Kempton Park. 4.15 Zingalong. 4.55 of Land the Play school. 4.40 5.50 News. Jackanory. giants. 4.55 Screen test. 5.20 Hope and 6.00

TODAY.

Keen's crazy bus. 5.44 Hector's 6.30 F TROOP. Did vour father 5.50 News and weather. house. come from Ireland? 7.00

THE SKY'S

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6.00 LONDON THIS

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7.30

HIS AND HERS.

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Chest 8.00

THE FBI.

control for attackers. 9.00

BUDGIE.

Louie the Ring

6.30 THE VIRGINIAN.

dead buried Night- and in Kensal Green mare. cemetery. 10.00

NEWS AT TEN.

7.40

THE LIVER BIRDS.

10.30

WHO'LL

WIN

THE

CUP?

8.10 THE BROTHERS. A worm 11.00

FILM:

'NIGHT

MUST

in the bud.

FALL'.

Albert Finney,

NINE

Susan Hampshire. 9.00

O'CLOCK NEWS

Classic murder and and weather. suspense thriller. 9.20 SPORT. Amateur boxing's 1235|

THE GEORDIE BIBLE

night of the year... CuD Final special.

10.45 24 HOURS.

11.15 FILM: 'A NIGHT AT THE

OPERA'

The Marx Brothers. 12.45 Weather.

BBC 2

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6.05-6.30 OPEN UNIVERSITY.

6.35 CRIME

AND

THE

CRIMINAL. The Ages of Crime.

7.05 OPEN UNIVERSITY.

7.30 NEWSROOM and weathor.

8.00 THE

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GRAMME.

9.00 GARDENERS' WORLD.

9.20 REVIEW.

Short Story; Seven learn to veare to Annette paint an egg; Peacock.

10.10 BEYOND A JOKE.

Manchoster Unted'& Georcile Beat 10.40 NEWS ON 2 and weather. shows his skills on BBC-1 at

10.45 LATE NIGHT LINE-UP.

6.20 p.m. after the next give in to Stalinist. to do it onlyway the work-to-rule. There Stalinists favour package. TASS divi Alex _baxter member-told accept an agreement rcaundan cies we redundancies ment. IS members 1 1c In a no-sack •cal Ken Ternant manual recundances just have problem

REGIONA

WESTWARD: 11.00-

Gus along. 4.18 News 4.50 London His and Hers. 11.00 News For A Hanging Day for life.

SOUTHERN:

Kate 355 Weekend party. 4.15 Paulus 4.55 Out of town His ana News Voyage to discovery

ANGLIA:

Survival. 3.45 4.15 Cartoons room. 4.50 Voyage 5.20 the sea About Anglia 7.00 London. 10.30 London. Who'll win the Cup? "Crime 3.10 Yoga 3.45 Women Julia. 4.40 Zingalon 5.50 space Crossroad 6.3! day. 7.30 •on. world. 9.00 London Evll, So Young' •So mass meeting and to do it is to doubt that suicidal 1972 - also a CP me: would agreement based on no 1972 brovided negotiate voluntary and early retire- members of the TASS are The Worka short-sighted a no-sackings in 1972 works negotiator told me: 'The dancies hane agreed leaders want the work-

IONAL TV

ID: 11.00-2.30 4.05 Flintstones. 5.20 50 London. 6.00 Diary 6.35 7.30 0 London Sa14.05 Fi235 Paid Film: 11.00 London. 3.00 Weekend. 4.00 House- Paulus. 4.30 Voyage 6.40 London London. discovery. London. 3.15 4.10 News. Romper to the bottom 2035 Crossi 8.00 Combat. Cup? 11.35 Film 1.10 Epi. 3.35 4.10 Zingalong. Workers Pre to-rule to go on against the scrapping of their closed-shop agreement and against the redun- dancies—in defiance of two rul- ings by the NIRC. Mr Ternant said: 'There will have to be a settlement and it can only be the reinstatement of our men. I think they will have to give in on this one otherwise they will have no company.'

On the contrary, the fight, as far as Parsons is concerned, may well be approaching close. They have postponed the sack- ing of 300 manual workers and dismissed 660 technical staff— accounting for ten than more the 950 redundancies originally announced. With the names of the re- dundant men known, the risk split in their ranks is of a substantially increased. If, as it is expected, such a division emerges at the next mass meeting, it will also be on the of whether to continue issue sanctions in favour of the closed shop. In the shadow of further Thunderbirds. 5.50 London. 6.00 Reports. 6.35 Crossroads. 7.00 London. 7.30 Jason King. 8.30 His and hers. 9.00 London. lose. 11.00 Heads you 11.30 Comedians. GRANADA: 11.00 London. 2.30 Corwin. 2.35 Yoga. 3.55 Camera in action. 4.05 News. Peyton Place. 4.40 Zingalong. 4.50 Land of the giants. 5.50 London. 6.00 News. 6.20 Guns of Will Sonnett.

6.50 Kick off. 7.00 Simon. Locke.

7.25 London. 8.00 Hawaii five-o.

9.00 London. 11.00 Film: 'Reach for Glory'. TYNE TEES: 11.00 London. 2.30 Yoga. 3.00 Kate. 4.00 Sound of ... 4.10 News. 4.15 Crossroads.

don. 4.40 Make a wish. 4.55 Flaxton her. boys. 5.20 Flintstones. 5.50 Lon- don 6.00 Today. 6.30 Partners.

8.00 Calling 7.00 London. 9.00 London. 11.00 Gannon. Film: 'The Snorkel'. 12.45 News.

1.00 Epilogue. SCOTTISH: 11.00-2.17 London.

3.30 Kirk. 3.45 Crossroads. 4.10 Dateline. 4.55 Skippy. 5.20 Car- cavalcade. 5.50 London. toon 1.05 6.00 Dateline. 6.20 Cartoon. 6.30 ilm: His and hers. 7.00 London. 7.30 Andy. 8.00 Hawaii five-o. 9.00 London. 10.30 In camera. 11.00 call. 11.05 Film: 'The Late System'. 1.10 GRAMPIAN: 11.00-2.55 London.

3.38 News. 3.45 Women today.

4.40 Zing- along. 4.55 Rainbow country. 5.20 Ivanhoe. 5.50 London. 6.00 News, weather. 6.05 Mr and Mrs.

6.35 Crossroads. 7.00 London. thief. 8.25 7.35 It takes a Melody inn. 9.00 London. 10.30 Points North. 11.00 Film: 'Ghost 4.55 of Frankenstein'. 12.15 Epilogue.

orkers Prese; Friday May 5;, 1972, PAQE 11 sackings and the anti-union law, those still with jobs may • not want to risk such a policy.

The trouble, Ternant Ken explained, is that 'people accept redundancy and the handouts they get from the state. 'There needs to be massive to show the working education class that the system is com- pletely unworkable. We can't even get an overtime ban. This is the depths to which people have sunk. This is precisely the line of the Communist Party leaders in the area who stress over and over again the utter hopelessness of asking workers to fight for their rights. Said Ternant: I would not say it is an impossible task, but there is a lot of educating to be done. The solution is very hard to see. Workers still don't see the lessons.' The sackings at Parsons, the freeze on new power stations and the consequent cut-back a direct generator orders are outcome of Tory policies.

What about an occupation? What about extending the fight for the right to work at Parsons outside the factory? What about raising the foundation issue of the absolute necessity of bring- ing down the Tory government and return a Labour government pledged to nationalization with- compensation and under aut workers' control? How else can the Industrial Relations Act be dealt with? 'It's virtually an occupation now, Ternant explained, 'but the go home every night. men 'You see if we brought down the Tory government and re- placed it with a Labour govern- ment, it would just take us through another period of administering the capitalist system. 'It was Labour that introduced "In Place of Strife", allowed unemployment to go up to 600,000 and brought in the first cuts in the social services.'

The International Socialists' that argument Tories and Labourites are the same, leads them logically to their position on the Industrial Relations Act set out in a leaflet distributed to Parsons workers. "The only to kill this way vicious law is to break it. No fines must be paid.' Not only has IS abandoned any real struggle at the factory on the grounds that mass education is needed • beforehand, but its members refuse to raise political demands on the basis of the fight for jobs on the grounds that Labour and Tories are exactly the same. flowing from that, their And answer to the Industrial Relations Act is to urge their members, simply, to break the law-a on their knees from position which they could never hope to rise. The IS share with the CP a deep and irreversible pessim- ism about the working class. It is this total lack of confidence in the class which leads them to substitute abstract education for the future for a policy of immediate struggle. The working class learns in the white heat of battle and the first step in educating them and developing consciousness is to make this Tory government resign. there is a wait-and-see If attitude to talk round-the- of clock occupation, it is because, basically, the IS leaders genuinely they can, at least, win believe the jobs battle. They believe it because they do not recognize there is Tory recession nor the govern- ment's role in helping firms like Parsons to survive it. Ternant told me: 'A few more orders But the management them- selves say the prospect of sub- stantial new orders is remote. And the prospect of the Tories making Parsons an exception their union law and allowing TASS to keep its sole bargaining rights are equally remote.

Unless the fight for jobs at Parsons is linked to a demand to force the Tories to resign in favour of a Labour government pledged to. socialist policies, which alone can safeguard the right of every man to work, not a job will be saved. The treacherous no-sacking-in- 1972 formula approved by the Stalinists and the bare-faced abdication of leadership by the IS are a certain recipe for disaster.

PAGE 12 Workera Proza, Friday May 5, 1

FROM PHILIP WADE

IN LIVERPOOL

ELECTRICIANS on strike for more than a year at the Bootle Inland Revenue site, Liverpool, have been promised support by a civil servants' union. The Society of Civil Servants has told them that if the £20m site is completed without the 17 then they will electricians instruct their members not to work in the building. The men, all members of the electricians' union, the EPTU, are demanding £l an hour as a minimum the right. to wage, negotiate at site level, an end to blacklisting and the withdrawal of the penal clauses contained in the Joint Industry Board agree- ment. In fact in March strike leader John Byrne was disciplined under JIB rule No. 21. The penalty was suspension of all JIB benefits for six months on his return to work.

The strike began in February 1971 and initially lasted for 25 weeks, the men returning in July on the basis of talks on the pay claim. In the following September they were all sacked. But after a three-week total stoppage on the site they were reinstated.

The struck again on men October 25 last year after their employers, contractors James Scott Lee Beesley, refused to listen to their claim. 'The JIB is a wage-freezing body? Mr Byrne told me. 'But they'll never complete this site without us. 'There are no scabs working there and the site is blacked by electricians throughout Mersey- side. 'We insist on our rights to negotiate at plant level like the building workers. 'At the moment their [building workers] bonus often amounts to more than our basic wage,' he added. 'Although the government is backing the employers in trying to intimidate us with the penal clauses it hasn't worked.'

The strike committee has called a demonstration in Bootle in support of the struggle on June 9. It is being backed by Liverpool Trades Council.

COLIN WELLAND, the award- winning playwright and former 'Z Cars' actor, is to host a new BBC 2 weekly sports programme -'Sport Two'. The programme will go out every Friday from June 2 and will aim at a reflective and in- depth approach to major sport topics, film profiles on sports events and personalities and big- name interviews. Welland (37), is a former rugby league professional and Lancashire league cricketer.

LATENEWS

ay May 5, 1972

CORRESPONDENT

BY OUR OWN

LORD PEARCE'S report on the acceptability of the Toty terms for a settlement in Rhodesia is described as a 'fence-sitter'. Although he finds that the settlement terms are not Docks officer Tim O'Leary announcing ye DELEGATES at the National Union of Seamen's con- ference in Folkestone yester- day accepted a new pay offer by 54 votes to 23. The new rates give foreign- going able-bodied seamen an extra £8.70 a month bringing average monthly earnings to

WEATHER

EASTERN England and South East Scotland will be mostly cloudy with thundery showers or periods of rain. North and West Scotland will be dry with sunny spells. The remainder of Scot- land, Northern Ireland, Wales • West England will have and thundery showers and sunny spells. Outlook for Saturday and Sun- day: Some rain at times. Sunny periods. Dry in North Scotland.

Temperatures normal or rather above. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Published by Workers Press. 186a Clapham High Street, London. +

SW4 7UG.

Printed by Plough Press Ltd. (TU).

Street, London, 180b Clapham High

SW4 7UG.

acceptable to the people of Rhodesia as a whole, he leaves the door open for a sell-out by references to 'intimidation' of the African population. It will be for Foreign Secretary, Sir Alec Douglas Home, to decide whether ouncing yesterday's strike decision £93.90, including overtime, for a 66-hour week. The basic weekly wage, after five years' service will now be £21.98 for a seven-day week, without overtime. Recommending acceptance of the increase,

NUS

general Hogarth secretary William warned against strike action: 'Do we want to bring ourselves down, as I say the miners did, to the gutter to hold the whole country to ransom? I will be the last to want to take that action.

I would rather resign first.?

Seamen's wage demands for 1973-1974 ranged from 'sub- stantial increases' to a demand for a minimum of £120 a month.

More annual leave and a shorter working week also were demanded. Key debate today will be on the union's decision to register under the Industrial Relations Act. Opening the conference on Wednesday, NUS chairman Bill Brankley asked delegates not to allow the argument 'to sink' to a level where shallow prejudice replaces considered and sober opinion. MANY customers of the British Steel Corporation are likely to when BSC adopts pay more Common Market pricing system from January 1 next year, the Corporation stated yesterday.

From January 1, 1973,

BSC

adopts the European Coal and Steel Community system, which differs substantially from the this qualification enables him to recommend to parliament that Rhodesia should be given legal independence.

The report was handed to Home yesterday and a state- is in parliament ment expected before the Whitsun recess.

• FROM PAGE 1

means strike action-to the em- ployers in 28 days' time' Alt day noticed on strike seven notice strike action, they wanted to make that sure they would not be accused of irregular practice, and so were giving 28 days' notice.

The strike decision referred to all dock workers, both inside and outside the 1947 dock labour scheme. The employers had offered to raise fall-back pay—the mini- mum a man can receive when he reports for work when none is available-from £20 a week to £22. But the men wanted it raised to average earnings. This could be in the region of £40, O'Leary claimed. At the moment some 1,000 dockers depend on fall-back, but the figures would be on the way to 2,000 shortly. The employers had said they were unable to take any decision containerization issue the on because it was not within their competence. O'Leary said he had told dele- gates to work in accordance with agreements in normal operation until the strike. leaders would 'talk to Union anyone', he said, in an attempt a settlement before the to get strike. 'We will bring moral per- suasion to bear'. THE THREE rail unions are to meet together again today following yesterday's break- pay talks with down of British Rail. The unions said they were prepared to accept the Jarratt award of a 124 per cent pay increase, including a £20 mini- mum, but they • wanted it back- dated to May l. The employers said they would not the increase before pay June 5. Sidney Earlier Sir Greene, secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen said he had been "pessimistic' about the outcome of the talks. All three unions were originally demanding a 16-per-cent rise. They were forced back into the talks by a National Industrial Court cooling-off order, which expires in four days' time.

TWO HUNDRED and forty en- gineering union members at Rowntree Mackintosh's factory in York have given notice that they will strike from today. They say it will affect the whole pro- duction side involving up to 6,000 workers. They are seeking wage parity for fitters with those at the company's Halifax works. This would mean a rise from £25 a week to £29.09. British one. With the British system an average transport cost is added to steel product price whether the customer is 100 or 1,000 miles from a BSC plant. Under the Common Market system, transport charges depend on how far the customer is from base point of production. DAWSON and Barfos Manu- facturing Ltd agreed to with- draw their case against Clive Jenkins' technical union the National (ASTMS) at Industrial Relations Court yes- terday after the union agreed to call-ofi an occupation at the firm's Thetford, Norfolk, factory. And afterwards ASTMS and the company earned Donaldson's praise for their 'good sense' and he added that the agreement allowed the court to exercise its primary function — promoting good industrial relations!

Ninety men have been work- at the dairy equipment ing-in plant since Monday in protest against the terms on which 32 staff were to be made redundant with effect from today. The company were suing union official Roger Spiller and ASTMS for an unfair industrial practice.

Union negotiators were demanding two weeks' notice and double the payment to ASTMS secretary Jenkins: Second day 'working' the Industrial Rela- tions Act. which they were entitled under the 1965 Redundancy Act.

ASTMS

were legally repre- sented at the court yesterday and.

president Sir John Donaldson cut short the company's lawyer after ten minutes and asked him to see if there a possibility of was further discussion between the two sides in rooms nearby.

As result the company agreed to postpone the sackings for one week until May 12 in exchange for a promise from the men to resume normal working.

Further negotiations on the terms of the redundancies will take place on Tuesday and it is believed a formula has already been agreed by a representative Engineering of the Employers' Federation and ASTMS.

MAY FUND

STANDS AT

£111.25 YOU HAVE made a good start this month—now let's do our best to keep up the pace.

There certainly is no time to relax with this Tory government.

Each day the Industrial Relations Court hits out In all directlons against the trade unlon move- ment. But the more they lash out, the more the working class fights back. Today, Workers Press plays Its most Important role. Our paper must campaign everywhere to bulld a revolutionary leadership to lead the mass movement against the Tories. So help us this month with another special effort for our Appeal Fund. We need to raise our target plus an extra £500 to cover our greatly increased expenditure.

We are confident that you will do everything possible to collect this amount. So go Into action now.

Post all donations Immedlately to: Workers Press May Appeal Fund 186a Clapham High St London, SW4 7UG.