Cabinet staying in touch

EDWARD HEATH yesterday called senior ministers to 10 Downing Street to discuss emergency powers. the emergency situation facing the government.

The meeting heard reports from the Employment Secretary Maurice Macmillan on the docks strike and from Ulster Secretary William Whitelaw, who arrived back from Belfast after his meetings with army chiefs, the Social blackmailers' chorus. Democratic and Labour Party and the Rev lan Paisley.

Also present were the Home Secretary, Robert Carr, Defence 'copper-bottomed' guarantees.

port transport industry.

Macmillan precisely this prospect.

Secretary Lord Carrington, Privy Seal Lord Jellicoe, and the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Terence Higgins.

On its front page yesterday things a stage further. 'The Guardian' carried this headline: "Triple crisis has Cabinet on standby.' The paper's political correspondent, Ian Aitken, said: 'Senior ments. ministers directly involved in three major political crises-the dock strike, Northern Ireland uncle. and Uganda's threatened expulsion of 40,000 Asians-were last night virtually placed on emergency standby as parliament rose for the long summer recess.

Many were advised to remain within call for the time being' The main consideration yesterday was when to use troops on Under the Emergency Powers Act which parliament approved on Tuesday, the Tories have but its whole philosophy. sweeping powers to wield through the Privy Council. ployers play the T&GWU leaders along on the Jones-Aldington committee, the government is starting to use its armed forces to break Troops and police have already been alerted for action by the Cabinet, which The military-style operations of police against the dockers' pickets form part of a blackmail strategy. The Tories hope to frighten those docks delegates who abstained on the Jones-Aldington interim report to vote in favour when it is put to them again. Screams from the Tory press for more pickets to get a 'bloody nose' form part of the In this way the Tories think they can isolate the dockers, get their official backing removed and then move in to ruthlessly crush a continuing unofficial strike.

Such a situation would be a serious defeat for the whole trade union movement. Every trade unionist, therefore, must demand that the TUC leaders stop their servile crawling mobilize action to force it out of office.

Some docks shop stewards have demanded that what they call 'promises' in the JonesAldington report transformed into But Jack Jones and Lord Aldington can produce no solution to the jobs crisis in the They never could. The purpose of containerization under capitalism is to get rid of dockers, smashing in the process the rights they have won over years of bitter struggle. Employers have invested heavily in For a union secretary like Jones to even suggest this situation can be resolved by amicable agreement with these same employers is bad enough, but the JonesAldington interim report has already taken In it the committee's union members accept the employers' claim that up were arrested. essential commodities to the northern islands over the weekend without the large load-carrying capacity prothorpe a total of 40 dockers were tried at a special magistrates' court and fined up to a total of £1,000.

Roy Garmston, deputy chairAUGUST FUN £443.16—A Street sophy delegat to ado • No docks, in the At the last T&GWU conference in July 1971, Jones s poke of union pressure on the TU C for a "mighty campaign' agair st unemployment.

The conference passed resolutions calling for urgent government action to cut the jobless figures and demanding that a future Labour government nationalize the docks and transport industries.

With 900,000 workers out of a job the Tories have shown they have no intention of heeding the first call.• Jones' responsibility, therefore, is to act immediately to get the Heath blackmailers removed from office. Only then can his members' constitutionallydecided demands be implemented Every moment the T&GWU secretary spends in further timewasting on the Jones-Aldington committee is a step nearer the use of troops on the docks. Every time the TUC leaders cross the threshold of 10 Downing trade union rights come further threat. docks delegates must the Jones-Aldington philoand the T&GWU biennial te conference be recalled pt the following policy: redundancies either on the in the container depots or road-transport industry. shorter working week. of workers Maintenance OI all workers whose jobs are threatened on full pay until the industries can be nationalized and planned on socialist lines. • Full rates of pay for dockers. Work-sharing no loss of earnings where insufficient work. • Mobilize the strength of the union, in united action with the rest of the trade union movement, to force the Tory government to resign. Demand that the TUC call a General Strike. • Elect a Labour government which will immediately nationalize the ports and road transport without compensation and under workers' control.