HEATH DECLARES WAR ON UNIONS

WHEN PRIME • MINISTER Edward MINISTER Edward s 'no-surrender' speech government to surHeath's 'no-surrender speech at the weekend was a major weekend was a major salvo in the class war that will progressively engulf the country during the coming weeks.

Using language vividly reminiscent of the 1926 General Strike period, the Tory premier made it clear that the question of who should rule Britain was at stake in the big confrontations on the railways and docks. The most dramatic moment of his speech, made to Luton Hoo supporters, came when he warned: 'But let no one ask this government to surrender. If there is anyone who still imagines that they can, for political purposes, pick an easy fight with us, I must warn them: You've come to the wrong place. You're wasting your time' The government is now ready to back these words of war with action. Heath will be back in London tomorrow waiting for the decisive result of the rail ballot. All his Tory lieutenants are standing by for an emergency meeting.

This will be to work out the detailed he cata of workers on outra The railway workers Shoulle Inclustna unrest break out.

As we warned in last Monday's Workers Press this will involve a State of Emergency and the use of troops to break 'But let no one ask this 'But let no one ask this government to render. If there is any. one who still imagines that they can, for political tical purposes, pick an easy fight with us, I must must warn them:

You've come to the wrong place. You're wasting your time?

News came yesterday that army have already been earmarked for ing essential supplies around the try.

The government is also urging British Rail to suspend employees who do not work normally. This will lead to local strikes, but the Tories are prepared to face this escalation to win what they hope will be a stunning victory over the working class.

In his Luton Hoo declaration Heath hinted at another essential part of the Tory plan. The government, he said, would resist attack from the unions because it had—'a duty and a responsibility to the consumer, to the housewife, to the community as a whole. And that responsibility we intend to discharge.' surunits movcounContempt threat at rail ballot USING the Industrial Relations Act to the full, the Commission on Industrial Relations has thrown a tight security web around the count on the railmen's ballot.

After predictions that the railmen had balloted heavily in fayour of 'yes' for further industrial action on their pay claim, the CIR warned on Saturday:

'The reports are irresponsible speculation. It is quite impossible at this stage for anyone to tell you how the vote is going because the ballot papers are still inside sealed envelopes which are being put into metal ballot boxes. Anyone who can tell you what is on those ballot powers, must have supernatural And yesterday, Workers Press reporters were threatened with contempt of the National Industrial Relations Court by the presiding officer.

Almost as soon as we began to inquire about the position of the The community Heath referred to, of course is not the working class. These are the 200,000 rail workers, the 50,000 dockers and their families the government is seeking to intimidate and impoverish with emergency powers and the army.

Heath's talk of 'the consumer" is the familiar Tory appeal to sections of the middle class-the 'brolly brigade' who vented their frenzied hatred of the railwaymen when they occupied Waterloo station and demanded the arrest of train drivers.

Part of the strategy is to whip up hysteria among these groups to give the government a base for its arbitrary offensive against the working class.

Finally Heath couples his sabre-waving FROM PHILIP WADE ballot he said any attempt to take a photograph or talk to any of the staff would lead to a report being made to the NIRC.

The press officer was not present and we would have to wait outside on the pavement for him, we were told.

Eventually the apologized for this The poll is thought to been a very heavy one, with 140,000 railmen filling in returning ballot papers.

Yesterday some 200 temporary workers-recruited through the THERE is a 50-50 chance of the threatened national docks strike being called off, T&GWU general secretary Jack Jones said on BBC radio yesterday.

It depends on the response of port employers. We want to find a general solution—we don't press officer abrupt treathave some and 'Great understanding with an appeal to the, trade union with an appeal to the trade unic bureaucrats. He said some unions had crats. He said some unions ha reached treasonable' settlements. 'For 'reasonable' settlements. •For heavens sake, let us end the bickering sake, let us end the bickering and get on with the job.' on with the job.' Reasonable settlements include those Reasonable settlements incl made by leaders of the electricity workers made by leaders of the electricit and the postmen which, with the current and the postmen which, with tl 17.2 per 17.2 per cent rate of price increases, amounted to a real cut in their members' living standards.

The Tories want to terrify union leaders on the docks and railways into total submission. This will clear the decks for a frontal assault on the rank and file. This is the real meaning of those few soothing words of reconciliation at the end of the speech.

The timetable to crisis will start tomorrow with the result of the rail ballot.

It will lead up through two more 'blacking' cases faced by the Transport and General Workers' Union in the National Industrial Relations Court - culminating on Friday with the threatened national dock strike.

As these events unfold, the Tories will activate their plans to go to war with the workers.

This is the political reality facing all workers as this crucial week begins.

All sections of the labour movement must meet this challenge and begin an immediate mobilization.

The centre of this offensive must be the Councils of Action.

These will organize the massive resistance and consist of all workers' organizations and political groups and parties in the labour movement.

But they must fight under the political banner of making the Tory government resign and replacing them with a Labour government pledged to socialist policies. Heath has now staked the survival of his government on his bid to beat the railworkers and the dockers. The working class must make sure he fails.

labour exchanges for £11 a day-. were still checking the validity of each vote.

Some 30 observers, including those from the three rail unions, were present along with CIR officials supervising the count. It is expected that the actual counting of the vote will begin tomorrow morning and will take about eight hours.

The National Union of Railwaymen's senior assistant general secretary said over the weekend that from reports from branches up and down the country he confidently expected a 10-1 majority in favour of continuing industrial action.

want a strike if we can help it. I have found a great deal of sympathy from certainly the port authorities, yes, and members of the government who at certain times have indicated deep understanding of the problem in dockland,' he added.