Workers Press no. 843

workers press

REJECT JONES TRAP

BY STEPHEN JOHNS

JACK JONES will launch his t strike today and isolate the m major ports. Yesterday dockers on picket lines throughout the country, who have been facing days of police brutality and provocation, condemned the manoeuvre. On Humberside scene of the most violent clashes - dockers charged Transport and General Workers' Union secretary ones with 'stampeding' the delegates into calling off the strike.

They pointed out that their representatives had been denied the opportunity of discussing the new proposals with the rank and file-as they did with the ori- ginal Jones-Aldington report.

Jones's haste is a clue to the real role of today's meeting.

The T&GWU leaders well know that the 18 delegates from unregistered the ports who abstained last time are almost certain to rejoin the right-wing block and give Jones the majority he needs. It is also clear that the so- called new concessions won from the employers will not satisfy the majority of registered men who work in London, Liverpool and Hull. have already Hull stewards declared that they will not lift their action until all the ports are registered and London dockers are insisting on the exclusive right to work in container bases.

The plan will be to use the delegates from over-represented, non-militant and unregistered to isolate the militant ports majority. This will create the most fav- ourable conditions for employers to divert cargo. More important, it will open the way for the Tories to use their emergency powers — a move that will be accompanied by the predictable press witch-hunt against the un- official strikers. This is Tones' desperate ploy to prevent another open clash between the dockers and the government - one that would clearly spark off another chain

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLE

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTR

ich his bid to split the dockers' • the most militant men in the reaction towards a General Strike. What is the basis for this treachery? The 'new deal' from employers offers nothing at all. On existing evidence it appears container bases will be allowed employing to go on non- registered labour and avoid the proposed levy at the ports.

This is a further erosion of the National Dock Labour Scheme. If Jones really wants to safeguard the right of dockers and depot workers why not insist all the bases are registered and treated exactly as port employ- ers. The answer is simple - the employers would not tolerate this. The Scheme is a basis of the dockers' militancy it since deprives the employers of the right to force dockers out of the smash industry. They want to the Scheme, not extend it, and Jones is co-operating. is being The trick same played over the issue of the un- registered ports. We are told Felixstowe will not need to be brought into the Scheme because wages and con- ditions there are as good as in the registered ports. In other words the employ- ers want to get formal sanction from the union to operate with unregistered labour — and Jones is offering just this. The dockers' rights and condi- tions cannot be defended by this kind of horse-trading. Concessions over jobs at con- tainer bases and even unregis- tered ports will not stop employ- ers cutting back the dock labour force. are an estimated 2,000 There jobs available in the depots-if this figure were doubled it would be less than half the 10,000 men employers say will be surplus within the next two years.

Even this estimate must be considered conservative-if trade was wholly containerized a total dock labour force of less than

• NEWSLETTER •

WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16, 1

CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SO

NORTH

Some of the 8,000 Mersey building work 10,000, compared with the pre- sent 40,000, would be needed.

A handful of jobs in the con- tainer bases cannot solve this problem. The only answer to this mas- sive offensive on jobs is nation- alization under workers' control without compensation. If employers are allowed once more to maintain their march forward it would mean the end of the docking industry. As Vic Turner, one of the Pen- tonville Five, told London dock- ers on Monday: one more deal and the docks might as well be concreted in. In his statement after meeting Aldington on Monday, Jones exposed the two choices facing the dock workers. TORY Minister Geoffrey Rip- pon had two hours of talks with General Idi Amin yester- day but the Uganda president said afterwards he still stood firm on his 90-day deadline for the expulsion of 50,000 Asians. After the meeting, Amin told •My decision still reporters: stands on the 90 days and I have explained it to the Minister.

Rippon flew back to London • 4p UST 16, 1972 • No 843

HE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

/ CHESTER

VORTH WALES

AND

Iding workers who marched-with dockers-thr He said: "The methods to be adopted will effectively deal with the "cowboys" in the con- tainer business and will move back much of this type of work into the docks. 'There will be a combined and concorities to get work back. This concentrated effort is the best alternative to legisla- tion to But the latest proposals are as useless as the first ones. They will not stop unemployment amongst the dock labour force.

So legislation is the only way dockers can secure their rights.

But this would mean a fight to force the Tories to resign.

Then dockers could advance their programme of nationaliza- last night to report to Edward Heath. Before he left he said: *The policy is a matter for the government of Uganda and the President has outlined that policy. "The British government accepts that it has a legal duty and moral responsibility towards those Asians who hold United Kingdom passports.' He said he had agreed with Amin 'to set up a working relationship to deal with matters practically' Meanwhile in neighbouring ckers-through Liverpool (story page 12) tion of the port transport and shipping industry under workers control. Today's meeting should reject this latest treacherous deal and keep the strike official.

• Throw out the deal, the strike must go on. Recall the biennial dele- gate conference of the T&GWU.

• All unions should mobilize with the dockers and the build- ing workers to force the Tories out. • Elect a Labour government with a programme of nationaliza- tion under workers' control, without compensation. • An immediate 35-hour week on the docks and the registra- tion of all container depots and ports. Kenya, President Kenyatta has warned the country's Asian com- munity that severe punishment will be meted out to anyone sheltering Ugandan Asians escap- ing across the border. Amin has declared that all Asians who cannot prove Ugandan citizenship must be out of the country by November 7.

He has warned that extreme measures — i.e. a pogrom, will Asians be taken against any found in Uganda after that date.

workers press

REJECT JONES TRAP

BY STEPHEN JOHNS

JACK JONES will launch his I strike today and isolate the m major ports. Yesterday dockers on picket lines throughout the country, who have been facing days of police brutality and provocation, condemned the manoeuvre. On Humbersidescene of the most violent clashes - dockers charged Transport and General Workers' Union secretary Jones with 'stampeding' the delegates into calling off the strike.

They pointed out that their representatives had been denied the opportunity of discussing the new proposals with the rank and file-as they did with the ori- ginal Jones-Aldington report.

Jones's haste is a clue to the real role of today's meeting.

The T&GWU leaders well know that the 18 delegates from unregistered ports who abstained last time are almost certain to rejoin the right-wing block and give Jones the majority he néeds. that the so- It is also clear called new concessions won from the employers will not satisfy the majority of registered men who work in London, Liverpool and Hull. Hull stewards have already declared that they will not lift their action until all the ports are registered and London dockers are insisting on the exclusive right to work in container bases.

The plan will be to use the delegates from over-represented, and unregistered non-militant to isolate the militant ports majority. This will create the most fav- ourable conditions for employers to divert cargo. More important, the way for the it will open Tories to use their emergency powers — a move that will be accompanied by the predictable press witch-hunt against the un- official strikers. This is Jones' desperate ploy prevent another open clash to and the between the dockers : that would government - one clearly spark off another chain

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLE

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTR

ich his bid to split the dockers' • the most militant men in the reaction towards a General Strike. What is the basis for this treachery? The 'new deal' from employers offers nothing at all. On existing evidence it appears container bases will be allowed employing to go on non- registered labour and avoid the proposed levy at the ports.

This is a further erosion of the National Dock Labour Scheme. If Jones really wants to safeguard the right of dockers and depot workers why not insist all the bases are registered and treated exactly as port employ- ers. The answer is simple - the would not tolerate employers this. The Scheme is a basis of the dockers' militancy since it deprives the employers of the right to force dockers out of the industry. They want to smash the Scheme, not extend it, and Jones is co-operating. is being trick The same played over the issue of the un- registered ports. We are told Felixstowe will not need to be brought into the Scheme because wages and con- ditions there are as good as in the registered ports. In other words the employ- ers want to get formal sanction from the union to operate with unregistered labour — and Jones is offering just this. The dockers' rights and condi- tions cannot be defended by this kind of horse-trading. Concessions over jobs at con- tainer bases and even unregis- tered ports will not stop employ- ers cutting back the dock labour force. There are an estimated 2,000 jobs available in the depots-if this figure were doubled it would be less than half the 10,000 men employers say will be surplus within the next two years.

Even this estimate must be considered conservative-if trade was wholly containerized a total dock labour force of less than

• NEWSLETTER • WEDNESDAY AUGUST 16, 1

CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SO

Some of the 8,000 Mersey building work 10,000, compared with the pre- sent 40,000, would be needed.

A handful of jobs in the con- tainer bases cannot solve this problem. The only answer to this mas- sive offensive on jobs is nation- alization under workers' control without compensation. If employers are allowed once more to maintain their march forward it would mean the end of the docking industry. As Vic Turner, one of the Pen- tonville Five, told London dock- ers on Monday: one more deal and the docks might as well be concreted in. In his statement after meeting Aldington Monday, Jones on exposed the two choices facing the dock workers. TORY Minister Geoffrey Rip- pon had two hours of talks with General Idi Amin yester- day but the Uganda president said afterwards he still stood firm on his 90-day deadline for the expulsion of 50,000 Asians. After the meeting, Amin told 'My decision still reporters: stands on the 90 days and I have explained it to the Minister' • flew back to London Rippon UST 16, 1972 • No 843 • 4p

HE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

AND

laing workers who marched-with dockers-thr He said: "The methods to be adopted will effectively deal in the con- with the "cowboys" tainer business and will move back much of this type of work into the docks. 'There will be a combined and concentrated effort by the authorities to get work back. This is the best alternative to legisla- dockers' tion the to secure demands.' But the latest proposals are as useless as the first ones. They will not stop unemployment amongst the dock labour force.

So legislation is the only way dockers can secure their rights.

But this would mean a fight to force the Tories to resign.

Then dockers could advance their programme of nationaliza- last night to report to Edward Heath. Before he left he said: 'The policy is a matter for the government of Uganda and the President has outlined that policy. The British government accepts that it has a legal duty and moral responsibility towards those Asians who hold United Kingdom passports.' He said he had agreed with Amin 'to set up working relationship to deal with matters practically.

Meanwhile in neighbouring ckers-through Liverpool (story page 12) tion of the port transport and shipping industry under workers control. Today's meeting should reject this latest treacherous deal and keep the strike official.

• Throw out the deal, the strike must go on. • Recall the biennial dele- gate conference of the T&GWU. All unions should mobilize with the dockers and the build- ing workers to force the Tories out. • Elect a Labour government with a programme of nationaliza- under workers' tion control, without compensation. • An immediate 35-hour week on the docks and the registra- tion of all container depots and ports. Kenya, President Kenyatta has warned the country's Asian com- munity that severe punishment will be meted out to anyone sheltering Ugandan Asians escap- ing across the border. Amin has declared that all Asians who cannot prove Ugandan citizenship must be out of the country by November 7.

He has warned that extreme measures — i.e. a pogrom, will against any Asians be taken found in Uganda after that date.

PAGE 2 Workers Press, Wednesday Augu

AROUND THE WORLD

BY JOHN SPENCER

ON THE first anniversary of sion to sever the link betwee American government spokesm mination to press ahead with Europe and Japan. The Council of Economic Advisers in Washington marked the anniversary with a policy document attacking the Common Market agri- cultural policy and demand- ing new trade concessions from the EEC. The Council report recom- A GROUP of American trade union leaders have come out against the policy of the AFL-CIO and formed a national committee to sup- port Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern.

Five of the unions have put up $125,000 to support Mc- Govern's campaign. The new committee claims to represent 5 million workers. America's The

AFL - CIO,

largest trade union confederation, has refused to back the Demo- because of McGovern's crats long record of hostility to the workers' movement. George Meany, the AFI-CIO president, has urged members not to vote for either of the two big business candidates but to back Congress candidates known to sympathize with the labour movement. In this way, Meany hopes to avoid the burning question of independent Labour Party an being built in the United States on the basis of the trade unions.

AFL-CIO

A section of the however, bureaucracy, is still trying to paint McGovern as a 'friend of labour'. Joseph Kannan, general sec- retary of the Brotherhood of Electrical Workers and chairman of the newly-formed McGovern

SECRET

talks in Paris between US envoy Henry Kissinger and North Viet- namese officials have given rise to speculation about new 'peace plans. Kissinger has remained in following his meeting Europe with Le Duc Tho, the North representative Vietnamese instead of flying back to Paris, the US as he normally does.

But the White House has re- fused to comment on his meet- ing with the Vietnamese rep- resentative. The two sides are believed to have discussed once again the possibility of separating the poli- which tical and military issues, North Vietnam has steadfastly refused to do. The Americans want a ceasefire before negotiations on a political are undertaken, but settlement in Paris at the weekend Mrs Nguyen Thi Binh, the National Liberation Front delegate, the US must make a political settlement leading to a new gov- ernment in Saigon to end the war. In an interview with the 'New York Times' she said repeatedly that the NLF was 'flexible' and 'realistic' and did not seek con- trol of a new government.

sday August 16, 1972 ary of President Nixon's deci- between the dollar and gold, pokesmen stressed their deter- id with the economic war on mends that in negotiations over questions trade and monetary next year the US should aim primarily to force the Common Market countries to open their markets to American food pro- duce by dismantling the common agricultural policy. In particular, the Council says that 'the trade agreement should place the real cost of domestic social programmes on McGovern said McGovern had committee, 'a record 93.4 per cent favour- able to labour'. If this is the case, it is the other 6.6 per cent that counts.

McGovern consistently has voted in the Senate against minimum wage proposals and against the of un- extension employment compensation. He has also been firm advocate of so-called 'right to work' laws which legalize the use of scabs in strikes. also on record as favouring the retention of section 14B of the infamous Taft-Hartley Act and voting against laws legalizing the closed shop for government employees. She said the NLF stood for 'A national democratic govern- ment, a broad democracy, with neutral foreign policy • Really free democratic elections are the central point of our poli- tical programme' Mrs Binh said the NLF's main target was the policy of Viet- namization, under which US troops have been withdrawn leav- ing South Vietnamese forces operating under a powerful air force umbrella. 'The purpose of Vietnamiza- tion, she said, 'is to reinforce the Saigon army to the point where A DETECTIVE thriller has appeared in Prague bookshops attacking Joseph Smrkovsky, a close associate of the former Communist Party secretary Alexandr Dubcek. The 'novel' does not mention Smrkovsky by name, but observ- ers say he is unmistakable as one of the main figures in the book which is called 'No Man's Land'. Smrkovsky was one of Dub- cek's most energetic supporters of the in 1968 as chairman Federal Assembly. He was purged in October 1969 and now lives in obscurity. country deciding to implement them'. other words, if the Euro- In peans want to protect their farm- ing, they must do so without in- fringing America's right to sell its goods anywhere it pleases without let or hindrance.

The logic of this demand is that the Common Market should disband altogether as its basic purpose is the protection and agricul- domestic industry ture against foreign competition.

The US is also demanding that any changes in the monetary system-due to be discussed on a new Committee of 20—must be linked to questions of trade and capital investment. The EEC has opposed this idea because it knows the main aim of American policy is to open new markets at the expense of Europe and Japan. In a separate statement issued by the Treasury department, the Nixon administration refused to consider restoring the convertibi- lity of the dollar with gold until it has increased its reserve hold- ings by running a series of bal- ance-of-payments surpluses.

The only way this situation can be brought about is by the total capitulation of the European and Japanese capitalists to American demands on trade and invest- ment. In fact the Commerce Depart- ment has already predicted that the US deficit this year will be around $4,000m, twice the 1971 figure. Department complains The that: 'Even measured in dollar terms, over the latest 12-month period an overwhelming majority of America's largest trading part- ners reduced the value of their imports from the United States while buying more from others.

"The US share thus fell sharply in each-in fact, declines are shown in • three-fourths of the listed markets.' In Germany, for example, the declined US share of imports from 10.3 per cent last year to 9 per cent, although total Ger- man imports had increased 18 per cent. it can hold alone, to smash the patriotic forces'. She mentioned the 'pacification as another very programme' important aspect of Vietnamiza- tion. It makes less noise than the other, she said, 'but it is the struggle of all the people to break out of this system of con- centration camps.' The current liberation offen- sive, she said, had demonstrated the 'disintegration and demorali- zation of the Saigon army.

Why did this army get demoralized so quickly? For lack of weapons?'

she asked sarcastically. ar on Following the trials of the last four weeks, in which 46 sup- Dubcek have been porters of jailed, there are fears that the next stage of the Stalinist purge may be action against the leaders of the reformist Dubcek ten- dency. The Czechoslovak is press carrying extensive attacks on the 'rightist' ousted leaders at the same time seeking to establish that their supporters carried out "actual activity aimed at the destruction of the state' (Prague Radio, August 12).

BY INDUSTRIAL CORRESPOND

THE NATIONAL docks dele meets today in London to vote from the Jones-Aldington con dock strike is wildly unreprese A full list of the delegates and where they come from is not available but it is com- knowledge to union mon officials, employers, and to large numbers of dockers that ports which have the majority of members do not have the majority of the votes. Perhaps the glaring most example of this is that the big four ports-London (15,000 men), Liverpool (10,500 men), Hull (2,700 men), and Southampton (2,400 men)- -which employ three of Britain's dockers quarters have about one quarter of the 98 votes at the conference.

It is not surprising that the more representative (though un- official) stewards, national shop ports committee is not always willing to accept the verdict of the delegate con- terence. talks go on ENGINEERING union officials, led by Hugh Scanlon and Jim Conway, were closeted back with the employers' federation bosses yesterday in talks on a new pay offer which falls far short of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions' demands. The offer of £5.50 spread over two years plus two extra days holiday is even worse than the recent shipbuilding settlement and unless improved upon would mean a severe cut in living stand- ards for the 2.5million men involved. The 8 per cent shipbuilding deal of £2.75 more per week for each of two years plus three extra days holiday was roundly condemned by AUEW leader Len Edmondson at the recent CSEU conference. 'fell far short' of CSEU It policy; it exceeded the 12- month maximum settlement period principle; it 'prejudiced the engineering pay fight'; it was worse than some factories were already on strike over after refus- ing; it 'will not set the level for the EEF talks', he promised.

Now the same union leaders are back at the EEF headquar- ters discussing £2.75 more per week for each of two years plus only two extra days holiday.

CSEU secretary Jack Service claims there been 'some movement' but so far the only movement has been backwards from the previously-scorned shipbuilding deal. The offer falls far short of the £700m claim cent for E6 in 12 en months plus an extra week's holiday •plus a five hour reduction in the working week to 35 hours. The talks mark the end of the abortive seven-month campaign to settle the pay claim by local bargaining which had dozens of factories out on piecemeal iso- lated strikes in different regions.

This avoidance of national industrial action has meant ave- rage settlements of 8 per cent- less than the rise in the cost of it has fragmented living. And the men's determination to fight.

In the Manchester area, these dangerous signs of union weak- ness have led to a rush of redun- dancies being announced. If the AUEW leaders now cave in to the EEF's hard line on pay, they will have much to answer for.

ESPONDENT

ks delegate conference which to vote on the latest proposals ton committee for ending the representative. The composition of the dele- gate conference is particularly important in the present crisis to the official leadership of the Transport and General Workers' Union, the major union on it.

For it is precisely in the major ports which come under the National Dock Labour Scheme that the employers are preparing the way for the greatest number of redundancies. Consequently, it is the three biggest ports- London, Liverpool, and Hull- which want industrial action to remove the threat of the dole.

But their delegates will be heavily outnumbered in the vote by dockers from the smaller ports where the pressure on jobs is not so great and from the non-scheme where the ports employers have to pay no levies at all. Far from the employers want- ing to move their cargo-handling to inland container depots or to small private wharves as is hap- pening in the big ports to escape the higher-priced dock labour, the employers are keen to get into non-scheme ports like Felix- stowe, Newhaven, and Shoreham.

Therefore the dockers there have an opportunist interest in ending the strike, not in keeping it going. Although • a number of these delegates did support the strike call at the last delegate con- ference (passed by 38 to 28 with 18 abstentions), and most of the ports have obeyed the strike instructions, they might now be receptive to suggestions that the terms' *improved good are enough. In fact, the jobs 'guarantees' that Jones-Aldington have come up with are not worth the paper they are written on. But the they most affect will not, men at the end of the day, be the ones to say 'yes' or 'no' to the proposals. This serious situation once underlines the need for again T&GWU members to raise the question immediately of recalling the union's biennial conference mobilize the whole member- to ship behind the dockers, to work a policy to meet the jobs out crisis including nationalization of the port transport industry, and in order to overcome the unrepresentative character of the docks delegate conference.

FOOTNOTE: To make sure that the unrepresentative conference stays unrepresentative, the officials have had at Transport House reinforced doors put into the conference room this week.

Last time, lobbying dockers broke the doors open to make sure their point of view had a proper hearing. No more of that if Jack Jones has his way.

Strings on computer pay rejected WORKERS from three Honey- well plants who have been on strike for a monti, rejected a new pay offer yesterday. More than 2,000 workers from Newhouse, Bellshill, and Udding- ston factories, Lanarkshire, voted to continue the strike. A series of conditions attached to the offer was the main reason why it was rejected. The agreement was to last 18 months and at the end the work- ers were to be paid £1.50 for every week in a lump sum.

But the men had to agree to attend work, to work any hours, whether overtime or shifts, and not to oppose new processes and machinery being introduced.

BY IAN YEATS

A MASS MEETING of Jaguar workers at Coven- try yesterday unanimous- ly rejected the company's latest paltry offer. They will continue their seven-week strike which has halted production of the luxury models produced by the British Leyland subsidiary.

The 1,900 production workers began their strike on June 21 after management rejected a pay claim until a 'different method of payment' could be agreed.

Jaguar's parent company, British Leyland, have been push- ing for some time to rationalize their costs through the intro- duction of measured day work at all their plants. The Coventry workers fear the 'new payments' method means MDW which they say destroys incentivés, maximizes labour mobility and leads to redun- dancies. Mick Richards T&GWU works convenor Mick Richards (41), told me: 'We'll anything with discuss manage- ment. We've never gone against a different method of payment but we want this rise first?

Mr Richards other and stewards on the 25-man strike believe that these committee rises are being deliberately with- new MDW rates held so that would come into operation based on present wage scales. Two months on strike with no hint of an offer from man- agreement and only cash from Security and Social the works hardship fund to live on has made the men more determined than ever not to give in.

Both the engineers' and trans- port workers' unions recognize the strike, but neither have made official to strike allow it benefit to be paid. The nub of their deeply felt grievance is that during February and March 3,000 indirect pro- duction workers and about 1,500 clerical and technical staff of £4.50 a all received rises week. The 1,900 direct assembly line workers were given nothing.

In May the Brown's Lane fac- tory was one of the first to reach

BOOKS • PERI

plant level agreement on the AUEW's pay claim, but this merely increased the basic time rate to which all other payments are related by £3. The time rate is the maximum any worker can earn and while most workers saw no difference in their take home pay, night, overtime and holiday payments were only marginally increased.

Said Mr Richards: 'All we are asking for is the same treat. The fac- ment as everyone else. tory couldn't work without us. We are the people who put the money in Jaguar's kitty and we think we're entitled to the same pay as everyone else.' This week for the first time since the strike began and despite the loss of f20m and 800 cars a week Jaguar made an offer. The strike committee thought it so derisory they rejected it out of hand and made a similar recommendation yesterday's mass meeting at the company sports field. Jaguar offered the direct work- ers the 'opportunity of earning' £44 for a 40-hour week, £25 lump sum in exchange for surrender- ing overrun fall-back time, a rais of 95 per cent of pay and concession on lay off pay. Said Mr Richards, "This was provided we accepted the prin- ciple of a new payments method, but all the opportunity to earn $44 really meant was that the men would work harder.' Another major snag was that at least half the 1,900 direct workers already earned £44 a week. The strike committee and majority • of the men were in fact thinking more in terms of £48 although no figure has ever been mentioned in negotiations.

Mr Richards commented: 'We need a rise something in the region of f4 a week just to keep on a par with increases in the cost of living. Indirect, clerical and technical staff at the factory have not asked to strike, been as Mr Richards because in the says, hirst place it hits Jaguar's pocket and in the second those in work help pay to keep the strike going. No new cars are coming off the assembly line" factory.

lorries in and out the are checked by pickets and even new Jaguars at a compound eight miles away at Coventry Airport have been blacked by T&GWU drivers of car transporters.

As the strike goes on other pressurize Jaguar may steps to be considered including action involving workers throughout the British Leyland empire-already paying in to the Coventry men's strike fund. Richards: British Said Mr Leyland want MDW. We believe we're not just taking on Jaguar but the entire group. The men believe it's become a direct fight them and between management to see who can survive. "That is what's keeping them going.

• PERIODICALS • NEWSPAPERS

Rows of Jaguar cars immobilized by the Few workers doubt Jaguar can afford their pay rise. They point to the recent increase in the price of the FGA6 and say the price of the new V12 tipped 1S to go up as many as three times in the next year.

What everybody forgets is that price increases reflect costs as well as profits. British Leyland desperately needs increased productivity which MDW means if it is to compete in the cut-throat inter- national competition. The only answer to the exploi- tation and greed of the big car combines is a political one. It is the nationalization of the entire motor industry under workers' control and without compensa- tion to the former owners.

After the vote Fred Palmer, an official of the Transport and General Workers' Union said: 'I am encouraged by the fantastic majority and the measure of support at today's meeting.

'We shall ask for another meet- ing with the company to try to explore further possibilities.

'The only way we shall get an early end to this long running dispute is for the company to come up with a better offer.

Today's meeting felt there were too many strings attached to the company offer.'

BY JACK GALE

'OUR present return on capital invested is un- satisfactory—in fact, it is far too low for comfort', declares IC I chairman Jack Callard in the current issue of his firm's 'Head Office News'.

Reports of ICI's staff con- ference held last month, serious fears of reveal redundancies and concern over the firm's poor showing

NOW OPEN

Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Fri 9 a.m.-7.30 p.m. Sat 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Workers Press, Wedn ed by the strike BRISTOL building workers have now brought out a site where they claimed schoolchildren were being employed. A flying picket arrived at the site to find young children driv- ing a dumper truck. The site agent got the children out of sight. of Slave But with chants labour, everybody out', the pick- ets forced the site to close.

An attempt has been made to pull out men on the Cubitts fire- station site. But UCATT officials intervened and said the men could stay at work provided the agent paid them £30 for 35 hours.

intervention The brought a hostile reaction from pickets who said it would isolate sites and prepare for a sell-out reminiscent of the engineers' pay claim.

Pickets have also been down to the local Social Security office.

One building worker married with two children has only just received 40p for his dependants after three weeks on strike.

in recent years. These fears seem to be well justified.

One delegate to the con- ference declared that the staff were 'very worried about the company's poor results for 1970- 1972'. Callard replied that, as far as large commodity tonnage products were concerned, the reason for our poor performance was largely over-investment by the chemical industry worldwide' The problem was that the time between deciding to build a plant and having it in operation was between three and five years.

fact Callard In expressed clearly the crisis facing all long- term capitalist investors due to uncertainty in the world market and currency systems: 'All manufacturers found while they were waiting for their ... that demand had plants materially changed. 'It was very easy to end up with a large surplus capacity ...

This , led to low profit margins and inadequate returns on in- vestment to finance new invest- ments. This was broadly what had happened in recent years.'

As Callard complained, ICI is extremely dependent on what national happened to the economy which had shown 'negligible growth over, recent The national plan to years. expand the economy by some- like 3 per cent had not thing materialized, he moaned. But ICI now hopes to recover from some of the blows inflicted by this failure (plus the recent miners' strike and the steps taken to keep ICI out of the American market) by producing more cheaply within the Common Market. plant, Callard told his New "would go where the staff, 088, Wadnasday August 16, 1972 PAGE 3 In the eastern region, stretch- ing Southend to King's from Lynn, pickets are also pulling out every possible site. In the Southend area, Sindall's Post Office site and a new library being built by Bates are the immediate targets. Pickets are also moving into and Tilbury Basildon to pull out housing sites.

Chadwick, ex-marine George and UCATT convenor at the Bovis site, Southend, told Work- ers Press it was the first time he had been on strike for 35 years. Nationalization of the build- ing industry, he said, was essen- tial to remove the great exploita- tion of workers and home buy- ers. It was the only way to get a guaranteed wage for all trades.

He was in favour of a Gen- eral Strike to force the Tories to resign. product could be made at mini- mum cost'. Britain was now joining he declared, Europe, and whereas in the past, decisions on the location plant were affected by the tariff situation in the Common Market countries, these barriers coming were down. this situation there would In be increasing flexibility about where plants could be located.'

This threat was underlined when Callard pointed out that comparisons over the years showed that ICI required more people to do a job than its com- petitors did: The number of people em- ployed by ICI had stayed pretty constant over the past 20 years industry but the chemical was not likely to be a large employer of people in the future.'

The future in areas such as Scotland and Teeside looks particularly bleak. When delegates expressed possible redun- concern over dancies in the research and development departments, Callard replied: 'It is no good just pur- suing bright ideas because they are tempting and spending more and more money on them.' ICI's research director, Dr A.

Spinks, added: 'About two- of the £60m spent on thirds research on salaries and went wages. 'Unless trade increased at the same rate as wages and salaries there would be heavy pressure to secure economies in so large a scale as this.! Even recent increases in staff pay carried a string. When a delegate asked if these could mean redundancies he was told: 'If we paid ourselves more money, costs went up unless it was paid to fewer people'

HUNGRY ART OF BANGLA DESH

PAGE & Workers Presa, Wednesday Augu While Bangla Desh Prime tra Minister Sheikh Mujibur Rahman convalesces at the London Clinic, a group of freelance jour- nalists are trying to give his trouble-torn economy a much needed-shot in the arm. The exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art Gallery in the Mall, London, is called pointedly 'Remember Bangla Desh'. Since the Awami League pinned its new country's colours firmly to the capitalist mast, the national begging bowls have been hawked around every exchequer in the world as virtually the sole means of feeding 75 million starving Bengalis. The danger of the world forgetting Bangla Desh is not one the Awami League can afford to run.

The exhibition presented by international freelance Simon Dring, who covered the Bangla- Pakistan war for the 'Daily Telegraph', 'The Times' and 'Newsweek', only hints at the problems. But a speech by Rahman, which one feels it might have been more prudent not to give away in the foyer, makes the position crystal- clear. The photographs, paintings and poems by a team of free- lance cameramen plus Bengali artists and children flow al- most exclusively from the new national consciousness created by the independence struggle.

A score or so of colourful and admittedly idealized paintings by one 'Abdul', a 26- year-old Bengali villager, con- aday Augual 16, 1972 trast the grace and gentleness of his people with the bloody rape of BanglaDesh by the warlike armies of Pakistan.

There are a large number of paintings by school- other showing the sort of children things they saw or imagined went on during the war and it is this which forms the subject matter for many of the poems as well. The combined effect is to create a picture of a people geared up for go-and deserv- ing it after a bloody and brutal war. The snag is that all of them are starving and their highly- responsible leaders wait open- handed like jilted brides for alms which alone can the turn the wheels of industry and commerce and which will never come.

THREE YEARS

That all sorts of people are not prepared to wait much longer behind men who have little more but the fancy dress and paraphernalia of office is plain from Rahman's speech, given on June 7 in Dacca.

Today He says: many "gentlemen" are delivering tall speeches and ridiculing the Awami League and the MCAs (Members of the Constituent Assembly): He turns on these critics, asking them where they were during the war when all Awami Leaguers were fighting for their country. Nevertheless, shortly afterwards he was forced to sack 23 MCAs from the Awami League. He has asked the Bengali people to wait three years before he can give them any- thing workers Unless he corrupt would dence has only allowed around. Rahman 'those occupied land of and design He will pass labour leaders corruption. dence that by covereil has sought economy obviously the threat sovereially aid. saying: country. A ship with starving peasants see hoarding and the turns on ments, his positio untenable. le does come the profiteers, hoarders, and Razakars? You a weak person. But • weak man. I have red you to play government ho have taken shops of others and who ods with the sinister raising prices' to ndered: In future be no forgiveness. I legislation essary order capital o would indulge in little, if any, evi- these brave words corruption start again has em still further. n of the bourgeoisie y concerned about Bangla Desh's posed by foreign takes them to task, issia is our friendly section of peopl to undo our friend the friendly countries. These elements are now resorting to a whispering campaign against our friendly countries. I will not stop if I start dealing with these ele- ments.' Help trom Russia wouldn't have been necessary, say the critics, if only India had been open-handed. But, says more Rahman: 'A section of people have been out to speak against May I ask where you were Gandhi gave food to l0 million people. Have you not seen that (help) for yourself when you were enjoying life in Delhi. In other words as massive foreign aid fails to materialize, some sections of the bourge- oisie blame corrupt Awami League leadership. Others say more help would have come from the West but for the turn to Russia, while still others 'Rahman's problem compound by giving up and feathering their own nests. uncertainty and But while confusion reigns among the ruling class, the workers and peasants won't wait much longer for the food, houses and clothes independence was sup- posed to have brought. They are pressing hard and Rahman said in his speech: 'I have told you in the first day that it would not be possible to give you anything in the coming three years. Have I not told you? It yes please raise hands.' (People raised your hands.) Despite this warning, he went on to tell them: 'I have given. Do you want to me narrate what I have given? In the last six months about 750 have been given in Taka relief.' The workers are not satisfied and mass pressure has forced Rahman not only to take up the profiteers, but to make the whole business community see that they bask in cannot riches while the workers and peasants rot. to Adressing himself Bengali businessmen he says: must understand that "You workers and labourers have been demanding nationaliz- ation of the industries, etc, which means they want liquid- ation of exploitation.' balancing Rahman is between conflicting ,and potentially explosive forces peppering his regime with criticism. He alternatively castigates and cajoles the business community and altern- atively and chastens then pleads with the workers.

HARDSHIP

Having warned them not to ask anything trom him he says: 'How shall I increase the wages of the labourers and workers if they would not increase pro- duction in the factories?

'My dear worker brothers.

For God's sake, please augment production. The doors of many mills are closed and half closed but 1 am regularly gıvıng salary to the statl. Why? Because I love them. I have increased 25 Taka before they demanded.

Because I love them. You will have to face hardships for two or three years, but then, if God wills, your hardship will be over.' Then comes the heavy ham- mer: •I have been criticized for banning strikes, but why was this measure taken?' His answer is unequivocal: 'The duty of the workers is to produce. But Rahman's near Bona- partist balancing act is a dangerous one and he realizes it. He said: 'I want to give Bangla Desh a constitution. l don't want to run a govern- ment on the pattern of Yahya Khan or Ayub Khan because I do not fear the people.' If the army was stronger, Bangla Desh might be approaching the day when it would be ripe for military rule.

But it is not and the people will not wait for his constitu- tion any more than they will wait for bread. Powerful peasant leader Mulana Bhashani, by whose courtesy the Awami League rules, down an has slapped ultimatum—a constitution by October or Bhashani will draw up and publish his own. A constitution would be a risky business with no guaran- tees that the Awami League power in the would retain event of elections. . is in a tight spot Rahman and it is significant that before he discovered he neded an which apparently operation, could only be performed. in London, he was defending him- self against critics who claimed he was about to flee a sinking ship and seek refuge in London.

Certainly his June speech ended on a note of near hysteria. "The profiteers, the hoarders, the smugglers, all of you must be careful. I will finish you all if prices go up in the future. I will not only clamp a curfew on certain areas, but will make legislation if to necessary shoot you. 'I will also make legislation to shoot persons carrying un- authorized arms. •My dear brothers in the government oftices. Stop taking bribes. I have informers. 1 am getting reports. You will lose your jobs and go to the jails.'

We understand Rahman will not be returning immediately to Bangla Desh, but will be taking up some of the many invitations from overseas Bengali communities to visit them.

BY JOHN SPENCER

Argentina's current stock a statement from the new president of the Central Bank: The country's economic situation is marvellous. Better than ever.' Only a few months ago, Treasury Minister Duan Alber- to Quilici declared that in the past year $8,000m had fled the country. In this light the words of Jorge Bermudez Amparanza, former president of the Bank of the Nation and the succes- sor of Carlos Brignone as the head of the central bank, sound like cruel satire. Brignone himself recently told a businessmen's banquet that Argentina is 'on the brink of calling off its payments'.

His latest remarks must sound doubly cruel to the l million Argentines who are currently out of work. Recent figures from the National Statistics and Census Institute (INDEC) revealed growing unemployment throughout the country. In greater Buenos Aires, with one-third of the total a tendency to increase. And greater Buenos Aires has the largest industrial con- centration in the country and one of the most important in Latin America. In the provinces the situa- tion is worse. In Cordoba, second industrial city, jobless- ness rose from 4.4 to 7.2 per while in Rosario, the cent, third national economic cen- tre, it went up from 3.5 to 6.2 per cent. However, bare figures do The American Justice Department's Internal Se- curity Division is 'look- ing' at statements against the Vietnam war made by actress Jane Fonda dur- ing her recent visit to Hanoi. The Department claims to be responding to 'heavy mail' demanding action against the actress for 'treason' Assistant Attorney-General A. William Olson, chief of the made the following division, contradictory • statement: 'We don't have any plans to her, but investigate we are looking at transcripts of her broadcasts where she is sup- posed to have said things like "Lay down your arms" to US troops. "Treason is not involved in the technical sense,' Olson added. He said the division's hand- ling of the matter was more an inquiry than an investiga- tion. The Sedition Act of 1940 makes it a crime punishable by a $10,000 fine or ten years' jail to try to impair or in- fluence the loyalty, morale or discipline of US military forces by means of advice or counsel or through written material. department plans to If the act, this is the law it will have to use. Treason under US law not indicate that in the pro- vinces consumption levels are going down and that hundreds of small businessmen are going broke. In the view of the Develop- mentist paper, "Clarin', the picture is gloomy: underestimating Without the activities of certain ex- tremist groups, it would be naive to ignore the presence of a factor so important as unemployment the among causes of the social dissastis- faction that at times gives rise to violence.' For the Conservative daily 'La Nacion': 'All this reveals a lamentable aspect of the country's economic and social situation.' The focus of most gravity is Tucuman, a northern province which has sugar-cane as its main crop. The militancy of the sugar workers has earned Tucuman the nickname 'the Cuba of Argentina' • In this unemployment is province higher than any where else: 14.2 per cent. In the southern province of Comodoro Rivadavia, where are the main wool and oil economic activities, the jobless are 10 per cent of the work- force. Unemployment is high in most economic In sectors. primary production it is 6.7 per cent; in industry it has gone up from 3.7 to o per cent. Unly in the service in- dustries has it not increased, a sign of growing bureaucra- tization. manufacturing the In hardest-hit sectors are wool and clothing, 8.3 per cent; and construction, 6.7 cent. per There are also new and seri- ous problems in metallurgy, the slaughterhouses and • the packing plants. Jane Fonda: a crime to influence the loya differs from sedition in that a person with allegiance to the United States must be proved to have made war against his 'aid and country and given comfort' to its enemies. The use of this law against the courageous Jane Fonda is difficult for the Nixon admini- The INDEC fi been criticized as some industry real unemploymen building, for thought to be nea cent. The INDEC fig worker even days a week. The to take account of l short-time w time, lay-offs. With all these 1 real per fallen by January 1970. Argentina, states of Latin feeling the wind blowing from States. The fall in administered hand the price imposed o ing crisis. General dictator where there unemployment, and recession from the Ul o the loyalty of US forces stration because nor any other declared actually North Vietnam. The campaign for f of Jane Fonda is b headed by the Society and rigal-wing sts. IDEC figures have cized as too low by sources. The ployment level in example, • be nearer 10 per figures count employed works only two ek. The figures fail count of loss of over- t-time working and I these factors inflation 12.1 per cent since like the other America, is • wind of recession the United real wages, with an iron military dictator lexandro Lanusse, is neither he President has war on aign for prosecution nda is being spear- John Birch other extreme Workers Press, Wedi Dr Andrei Sakharov, the leading Soviet nuclear physicist, has hammered another nail into the poli- tical coffin of revisionism by exposing the so-called 'liberalization' of Soviet society. In an open letter to Leonid Brezhnev published in the Paris magazine 'L'Express', he says there has been no funda- mental change in the basic social and ideological structure of Soviet society since Stalin's death. The Pabloite revisionists, contrary to Sakharov, maintain that Stalinism will reform Their itself. fellow anti- Marxists in the 'state capitalist' International Socialist group say that the Communist Party is no longer Stalinist but 'left reformist'. Sakharov is a liberal who 'convergence' believes in the the workers' states of and world capitalism. But his long struggle in defence of victims of the bureaucratic terror in the USSR enables him to speak with authority about Stalinist character the leadership. Sakharov's statement is a earlier postscript to an 'memoir' sent to Soviet Com- Party chief Brezhnev munist on March 5 last year. In it Sakharov says: "The Soviet leaders have not responded to the moral renaissance of the people and the intelligentsia, which began once the most extreme mani- Communist Party chlot Brezhnev Three miners died last Saturday in a rock fall at the Amelie potash mine at Wittelsheim, near the Franco-German border. a gallery The roof of collapsed as they were laying explosive to loosen more of the potash ore. Between them they left 13 orphans. Height doubled The mine-owners adopted a new method of mining at the pit two years ago. Instead of the old room and pillar method traditional in the mine, a new technique called the Wagner method was introduced under the height of the which galleries was virtually doubled.

This allowed the extraction of more ore in bigger lumps powerful with the aid of machinery. Naturally, this ress, Wednesday August 16, 1972 PAGE 5 festations of Stalin's blind terrorism were controlled.'

Describing "illusory', as Sakharov stresses the in- creased effort which restrains the freedom of ideas and information, which multiplies political and ideological per- which deliberately secution, exacerbates the problems of national minorities. Far from any improvement in these conditions, Sakharov says, 'the 15 months since I submitted my memoir have brought new and worrying proof of the aggravation of A these currents. wave of political arrests during the early months of 1972 seems particularly alarming. Many took place in the Ukraine, others in Moscow, Leningrad and elsewhere. Sakharov says that most of the Soviet Union's 'upper layer - the party and government administrative apparatus and the most-favoured portion of the intelligentsia-are obstin- ately hanging on to their privileges and show themselves deeply indifferent to to be violations of human rights and to the needs of progress and the safety of future humanity.

'For the country to hind its soul it is necessary to remove which push these conditions people to hypocrisy and con- formism, which make them dissatisfied, disenchanted and helpless,' the scientist urged.

"Total ideological freedom is essential as well as a radical reform of education and the abolition of all forms of ideo- logical persecution. "The of privileges system must be eliminated in all sectors' He urged radical reforms of the Soviet educational and health systems which reflected 'particularly pernicious in a way the hierarchic structure of our social classes and the privilege system'. Sakharov's exposure of the Stalinist intensification of persecution in the USSR and the bureaucracy's ruthless pursuit of privilege is a slap in the face for all those revisionist apologists who claim Stalinism died with Stalin. increased the danger of rock falls. November the the Wagner days against method, but the management insisted on its introduction and planned to extend it to other mines in the area. More dangerous According to trade unionists at the Amelie mine, the man- agement maintained the Wagner method was no more dangerous traditional mining the than technique. It has taken three deaths to convince the mine-owners otherwise. At a meeting with union representatives the day after the disaster, the owners agreed to return to the old system of mining. They even complained that this would cost them money because they will have to scrap Wagner machines and the bring back the machinery they took out two years ago. The unions said they would not have Wagner machines back in the potash field at any price.

818,1072

BY IAN YEATS

Photograph by Martin Mayer.

to look outside London, Liver- Felixstowe Dock, which Hull, Felixstowe pool and in 1955 employed nine dockers have had no qualms at men, now claims to be being the beneficiaries. A 1968 progress report by a one of the largest con- local journalist pointed out: tainer ports in Britain. 'When another port is having Last year 100,000 containers labour Mr (Ian) disputes and passed through in the Trelawny (the chief executive first six months of 1972 alone director) is prepared to send to a total of 1,115,385 tons were those whose goods are being handled-expected to top the delayed what he describes as 2} million mark by year end.

discreet letter pointing out The newest and most up-to- the joys of Felixstowe. Ports— date of the Haven Felixstowe, Harwich (Navyard) and Ipswich-is responsible

BOASTS

"greater for the part' of the Atlantic trom Liverpol, ful most snatched from even the equally-modern 'Like other well-equipped and Tilbury. unaffected by serious ports Apart from 1970, when disputes, Felixstowe coped Felixstowe's dockers' flow of 425 with staggering London during the reluctantly' gave in to pressure business and Liverpool dock from General strikes. Transport and Workers' officials and 'Excessive traffic nearly Union the threat of 2,000 pickets and jammed the new marshalling and the worked joined the stoppage, there has areas port wonders to get the cargo away been a strike. never, ever, The dockers, who and produced overtime are out- probably side the National Dock Labour that were ings regional record.' Scheme, are paid £1 an hour 'The with time-and-a-half for over- Management boasts: the On average they work of independent time. criterion of Felixstowe 60 hours a week, giving them a is fast, port standard damage-free handling of cargo of living second to and the rapid turn-round of none in the area. For almost a decade, Felix- and road transport shipping vehicles.' stowe — which was Britain's fulfil claim, first container port-(Hull To such a roll-off double-shift working is com- pioneered and dockers services) has been mon some say *a bed for hey have worked from 7 a.m test prototype equipment'. to 2 a.m next day to give a and ship a quick turn-round. Dockers management Workers have been share the belief that the work en- and couraged to have a personal system pay structures evolved interest in the port through the there exercised major influence on the 1967 practices of hammering

TWIN

Devlin report. out operating systems in of the Joint Con- The management management-union Committee Einstowe Dockend Railway.

sultative and by Company, Parker, owned promoting from the shop floor Gordon right up to the level of junior makes secret of the fact that the port management. has been built the The employers have cashed up on of Britain's older in on the fact that in an area corpses dominated by docks. agriculture and British except Lotdon, Bas sold itset, other light industry, every job is a new job with pay levels un- Felixstowe's and equalled within a radius of 60 on crap Parker has ensured that its miles. trouble-free' reputation has Until now, high and pay filtered constant expansion has bought through to every shipping man in Europe and on the men's acquiescence in the America's east coast. of work and use practices high port As strikes and mechanical-handling techniques charges have driven operators which in the older ports would and have caused now are causing savage unemployment. The 1968 progress report "Small ship-working noted: gangs have grown up with the • idea the latest using mechanical handling tech- niques. "These are unlikely to be regarded as threats to security, whereas dockers in the major ports regard them as destroy- ing the old pattern of liveli- hood! Jobs are unlikely to be an issue port-until at the recession knocks the bottom out of Felixstowe's growth prospects-but wages are. considerable There was difficulty over this year's pay agreement with the dockers' leaders threatening some form of industrial action unless the employer's offer was improved.

The basis of the trouble is that tonnage handled sky- And rocketed. with the increased use of containers, forced management was to scrap the system of piece rates to avoid paying astronomical wages and replace it with fixed hourly rates. the incentive of Without tonnage-related payments the dockers are beginning to feel that overtime can be too much of a good thing and they are pressing for rises in the basic rate over and above what the company would like to pay.

Although expansion at the port continues, profit last year was below £400,000 and port charges have been forced up into line with those at other ports wiping aside Felixstowe's edge over competitors. But if the port is in trouble, it is nothing compared with the problems facing employers older who at ports desperately need to slash their costs.

SPEED UP

There can be no doubt that they will push ahead with duplicating systems developed at Felixstowe at all Britain's major cargo-handling ports. huge rises productivity endowed by the use of containers and their associated work practices are their now only means relieving the pressure on profit margins. Containerization has been the biggest single influence in eliminating much of the work previously done by dockers.

But the handling of general cargo has also been mechanized and at Felixstowe the largest ship-working gang dealing with 'awkward' an cargo like dried fruit consists of only nine men.

Importers and exporters are encouraged to use palletiz- ation, pre-slinging, unit loads and all kinds of labour- and time-saving packaging methods.

Aided by 20 cranes with lifting capacities of between 30 and 32 tons these methods reduce the ship-working gang to just that number required to clamp or sling loads and then guide them onto lorries or trains. Felixstowe's labour force has been further kept down by the introduction of roll-on, roll-off At the services. moment they operate two terminals using double-deck, ship-to-shore bridges capable of carrying 350 tons at a time.

Another will be ready by 1973.

Where loads must be stowed in dockside warehouses, 250 trailers are available served by 45 tractors and tugs. In the warehouses 46 fork-lift trucks, with capacities up to 25 tons, equipped with pneumatic attachments for clamping, reduce stacking operations to a few hours work by a handful of men. All entering or cargoes leaving the dock by road, rail or sea are 'organized' by the dock brain—a £56,000 Honey- Model 110 well computer located on the top floor of the five-storey Trelawny House.

The logs computer every scrap of cargo data. Apart from virtually eliminating waiting time it allows the port to operate with minimum back-up staff in the offices.

The entire dock operation employs only 786 people, although 2,000 more work in like ancillary occupations haulage with other employers.

An ultra-high frequency radio link directs vehicles to report centres beamed in to the office of the wharf superin- tendent. Foreman, chargehands and shedmasters are equipped walkie-talkie radios to with speed up cargo-handling and turn-round. Containers arrive at the port by road and rail and can be loaded directly onto whatever form of transport is required.

Alternatively, large open 'container parks' are available for temporary transit storage.

There are almost no labour costs or overheads involved.

Later this month a new two- train freightliner terminal, each handling 180 containers a day, will be ready for use.

The freightliners will give a further boost to productivity and the additional traffic will be within the capacity of the two quayside 32-ton Paceco Vickers Portainer gantry cranes. They straddle four sets of railway lines and can turn a load of 600 containers round at the rate of 80 an hour.

whole shipworking The operation - at Felixstowe carried out at all states of the tides-requires just four men.

Two are on the shore and two on the ship to operate the loader clamps which pick up and drop the 30-foot long boxes. Another man drives the por- tainer itself and another the fifth wheel elevating tug unit or tractor, bringing the abso- lute maximum to six men. Quayside container 'marshal- ling' is done by a fleet of 12 conjacks, van carriers, travelifts and karricows.

The only stuffing and strip- ping which takes place at Felixstowe occurs where con- tainer must split. landa Then done by the wort warehoucemen not docterc depot will he denot will employ dockers but since there are no regis- tered dockers at Felixstowe it The mad tron •e ixstow Crun contain trinariantion ports incide down y Mocciva redundances and actual docks cincures ced at already Liverpool and London- Worters Prea workers are being asked price employers' the to pay ability to widen their profit- margins through huge produc- tivity increases. Current trends look set to dot the map of dockland with a handful of small but heavily- capitalized and highly-efficient port installations.

MATCHED

But even this last-ditch effort by the port employers to stave off disaster may be overtaken by recession and the working out of some of capitalism's contradictions expressed in the currency crisis. capital required for The container pike commensura is nothing commensurate with the sums needed to build traditional docks, but even so the £8.1m needed for a new northern extension at Felix- stowe was hard to come by.

The company put up £2.5m Tory and the government matched it pound for pound.

The remainder had to come from shareholders. And a 54-acre site still no Prose, Warneeday Augues 18, 1972 PAGE 7 Folixslowe: under nove quays. construction at Britain's frst port to be bullt for the contalner trade.

further north for four glant 300 bed warehouses and a 'Lotel' for lorry drivers will be financed entirely with US dollars. Dollar commitment increas- underpins port's ingly the development. All the Atlantic have a stake in the carriers port, including United States Lines, Sealand and Seatrain.

As the currency crisis inten- sifies and the dollar comes under mounting pressure, all of this could be wiped away- overnight. For the time being, Felix- stowe is a haven for specula- tors. Offices, hotels and ware- shooting up and houses are land values rising. New traffic puts itselt ost offer to the port every day. But costs even for the con- continue to tainer operators rise as recession takes its toll of trade and the quest for profit reaps its harvest of inflation. It can only be a question of time before even ports like Felixstowe slip back over the precipice.

AUSTRALIAN LEADERS

EVADE THE ISSUES

PAGE 8 Workers Press, Wednesday Aug Oil refinery maintenance workers, members of four metal unions, have voted to return to work pending the results of negotiations their wage claims on between the Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) and the oil em- ployers. The 33-day strike challenged . the policy of wage head on freeze and brought the country to the brink of a General situation. Throughout Strike the strike, as in previous wage the ACTU leader- disputes, was in headlong retreat, ship consistently attempting to the strikes and demoralize finally resorting to the crudest tactics. strikebreaking During the dispute the rank and file, under the leadership of their shop stewards, man- aged to attain a considerable degree of autonomy from the official leadership of Bob Hawke and Laurie Carmichael.

Even in the face of a con- tinuous barrage of hysterical propaganda in the bourgeois press and despite the vacilla- tions and open treachery of the leadership, the rank and file stayed out on a protracted strike. Because of this the Liberal (Tory) government was prepar- Emergency Powers, and ing had alerted the Eastern Com- mand of the army to move in and break the strike. Look- Bob Hawke: falled to mobilize support for asday August 16, 1972 ing beyond this show of force, the Liberals were also armed with the recently amended Conciliation and Arbitration Act; the 'Penal Powers' sec- tion of which has recently been given more teeth. As 'Labour Press' has con- sistently pointed out, the Lib- erals, spurred on by the eco- forced nomic crisis, are seek a major confrontation with the working class. They are desperate men and . know that in order to recapture the middle class vote which has swung behind the Australian Labour Party (ALP), they need to take on the labour move- ment and win. A victory at the polls in the Federal elections this Novem- ber would allow them to move ahead and crush the indepen- dence of the workers' move- ment. excuse of the ACTU The leadership in failing to mobilize the entire working class against the 'Lynch Laws' and the wage freeze is 'wait until the elec- tions. When the ALP comes to power, everything will be all right.' Under cover of this they per- petrate every treachery and consistently retreat in the face of the ruling class offensive.

strike they During the actively collaborated with the against the oil government workers. They refused to dispute, broaden the even though the question of poli- tical power was clearly posed at the centre of it. It is clear that the ruling class in this period will utilize collaborationist the class labour movement leadership to the very last ounce. When any degree independence is 7.18 upport for the striking ollmen.

achieved by sections of the rank and file, the government has shown that it will move in with the full force of the state.

As we have seen, the role of 'left' reformist the

ACTU

leadership was to collaborate with the government to get the oil workers back without any concessions. They refused to broaden the strike because quite clearly the question of political power was posed. The ALP reformists knew that a General Strike was inevitable if the dispute continue. A General Strike would lay the way open for the interven- tion of the revolutionary van- guard calling for the ALP to The last thing take power. these reformists wish is to be returned to power on a wave of victorious working class because this would struggle, pose a threat not only to the direct representatives of capi- tal, but to the class-collabora- tionist bureaucracy as well.

Throughout the strike the role of the Stalinists has been to cover up for the retreat of the reformists. Laurie Carmichael, Assist- ant Federal Secretary of the Metal Workers Australian Union, and the Communist Party's ace militant, not two months ago declared his in- tentions of fighting the wage freeze. Yet during the oil strike he was the author of a plan to supply fuel for 'essential services' by allowing Austra- lian-owned companies to sup- ply this. This plan, we were told, was designed to split the employers between local and foreign-owned companies.

It did nothing of the sort- the 'essential services' were in fact industry and private trans- port! The Stalinists have refused to raise the political questions.

They have consistently spread the illusion that apolitical mili- tancy is all that is required to secure concessions from the ruling class. But this is no way forward.

What is required is not the syn- dicalism pushed by these trait- ors. This strike-even in such a key industry as the oil indus- try-did not break the solid front of the employers and the Liberals. What is necessary are poli- cies flowing from an under- standing of the period entered by the capitalist world on August 15 last year, when US President Nixon declared trade war. The trade union movement must be mobilized in a General Strike against the Lynch Laws and against the wage freeze, to bring down the Liberal gov- ernment. Labour must be re- turned to power pledged to socialist policies. This has been sharply under- lined in the past few days by the 'package deal' offered to some 300,000 metal workers by the Metal Trades Industry Association. Apart from the fact that the offer, which in- cludes such things as stand down clauses, has to be Top: Philip Lynch, Liberal (Tory) Minister for Labour and National Service who has brought in vicious laws against the trade unions known as the 'Lynch laws'.

Above: Labour Party leader, Whitlam. accepted or rejected in toto (and the employers have indi- cated that they will not re- negotiate), it only offers a wage "increase' of $A6.00 a week more in a deal lasting 18 months. This shows that nothing has been resolved. The deep- ening economic crisis means that the class struggle can only intensify. What was glossed over yesterday will explode with greater force tomorrow.

The Labour bureaucracy will find it increasingly difficult to spoke the guns of a working class which wants to fight back to preserve its rights and con- ditions. To do so, the building of the revolutionary vanguard is of life and death importance.

Mercado 2nd Edition. By our Spanish correspondent The with seriousness which fascist Spain views its growing relations with the Soviet Union is clear from the painstaking research and attention to detail which has gone into this 300-page hand- book for Spanish businessmen looking towards Moscow for their next fat contracts. The author describes the history of the Soviet Union, the development of its 'social- ist planned economy' and the development of its relations with Spain. A key-note in the historical exposition is admiration for the methods of Joseph Stalin, who is portrayed as the legit- imate heir to Lenin. Despite the Spanish Civil War, which Franco and his cohorts dubbed crusade a against communism, Spanish fascists can see much that is worthy of praise in Stalin's career. Great industrial advances Stalin, it is claimed, was responsible for the great indus- trial advances made by the Soviet Union: 'Although the expected results were not always achieved, the planning of the economy was carried forward very energetically and a huge amount was achieved.

'The whole economy was brought under control. Stalin declared to his people in a famous speech (1928): 'Who- ever lags behind, is defeated ... the law of the jungle of capitalism forces the exploiters is weak to destroy all that and backward ... we are 50 or 100 years behind the times. We must overcome this gap in ten years. If we don't do this, we will be destroyed"?

The fascists can find com- mon ground with not only Stalin's massacre of thousands of peasants, but also with his concentration camps: 'Meanwhile by skilfully alternating punishment [forced labour camps] and incentives, Stalin trained qualified work- ers and technicians at every level.' Stalin may have sent a few guns to the Republic in 1936- 1939, but he certainly had the right idea about crushing the working class. Thirty-six years later we certainly ought to get Top: Stalin has admirers in Madrid bi all we can from that identity of interests! Anyway, if the conversation turns to history after the deal been concluded has over Spanish oranges or Soviet machinery, the Spanish businessman will not make faux pas when it comes to the role of comrade Joseph. Even if the subject might be the Civil War, he is reminded that 1938 was a peak year in commercial exchange between the two countries and 'the from Republic bought the Soviet Union all kinds of pro- ducts (and not only, as some people think, war materials) Having dealt with the his- tory of the Soviet Union, the author focuses his attention on perspectives for trade and for Spanish practical advice businessmen who intend to go to Russia. It is explained: 'Only in the last few years have the Soviets begun to get to know the development and real potenti- alities of Spanish industry, the quality and competitivity of many of its products.' Spanish businessmen • are urged to organize delegations to visit Moscow and begin the difficult task of winning con- tracts which will be of sur- prising volume'. Why not 'a Spanish week' or a 'Spanish Exhibition'?

The Spanish businessman will first need to change his passport, since the old ones specified that they were not valid for Russia and other communist countries. When he has overcome the Madrid business circles. Above: Franco ity hurdles, he will be able to enjoy a luxury hotel in Mos- cow, a visit to Bolshoi, as well "beef Stroganoff, succulent as , fam- "blini" and "blinchiki" ous Russian pastries .. Whilst strolling through the gardens of the 'old and beauti- ful imperial city of Leningrad' he can muse on the part he is playing in the construction of a new and peaceful Europe: 'According the Soviet to Foreign Trade Minister, Pato- lichev, in the immediate future great perspectives are opening up for trade with the western countries. That is due to the future of security and pacifica- tion which the European Secu- rity Conference [which Spain, in principle will attend] opens up before our continent.'

Pacification and concentration camps Such is the conclusion of the second edition of this pub- lication of the Chamber of Trade in Barcelona. The praise singled out for Stalin is a guide to the kind of 'pacification' which is involved-skilfull use of concentration camps and much besides. The book shows the correct- ness of the Workers Press in following in detail the devel- of trade between opment Soviet Russia and the fascist regime in Spain and the pre- paration of the Security Pact Conference as preparations of the European counter-revolu- tion. The Morning Star' still remains silent. Workers Press, Wedne:

GENERAL

JESUS

Have you heard of General Ralph Haines, commander of American army in the United States? He is one of the most powerful men in America. The thing about Haines is that he's a Jesus freak. TIl take directions from one he Jesus,' declared man, recently. Although this may be preferable to taking orders from Nixon, his statements are causing concern some quarters. Haines (58), is a convert to the Pentecostal faith. He found his way to Jesus in these amazing circumstances: 'All of a sudden the Holy Spirit started coming out of my ears and eyes and nose and I heard this voice coming in strange language and some then I realized it was my voice and I knew I was on a special wavelength up there! Some of his critics are a bit worried over the possible bad vibrations on this wavelength.

For example, the general has been rushing around the US spruading his gospel: I've been witnessing up a storm for Jesus on TV, radio, at the military academy and on military bases for thousands and thousands of troops. Some here advised me to slow down, say I'm a fanatic. You ain't seen nothing yet!' He believes that Washington is the centre of 'God's power' and fervently believes that America and its allies must do everything possible to keep God's hand on 'the helm of the free world, praise the Lord!' Generals and colonels under his command are called to attend a 6 a.m. prayer break- fast every Friday. When he's not yelling 'Praise the Lord' and praying to the spirits, Haines is, of course bombing the 'Commies' and other subversives in the colonial countries. Praise the Lord and pass the napalm.

It's the same the whole world over... Australian Social Services Minister William Wentworth unionists were said many 'dragooned' by left-wing mili- ss, Wednesday August 16, 1972 PAGE 9 tants into supporting strike action. He said most workers were opposed to strikes but had them forced upon them by 'stand-over tactics'. Addressing the Commercial Travellers' frightened to oppose strikes because of their fear of victimization. It is common knowledge that workers are many into strike action dragooned by the militant tactics of left- wing officials.' Ex-Labour leader Arthur Calwell described Wentworth as 'a complete eccentric'.

EUROPEAN FA

The new president of the European Football Associa- tion is Sandor Barcs. Heard of him? You probably haven't, but he's well-known in Hungary.

In 1949 he signed the death warrants for Lazlo Rajk and other Hungarian leaders in the notorious show trials. It was later proven beyond any doubt that Rajk was framed. The United Bible Societies have a lucrative contract- with Czechoslovakia. are being New testaments printed and produced in Czechoslovakia and sent to African countries. Printed in African languages the two latest consignments went from Prague to Sierra Leone and the Ivory Coast.

Is this the latest way to keep up the balance of pay- ments? Headline in the Irish 'Sunday Press': 'UDA to drop masks.'

The story goes on to say that the para-military extremists in the UDA will soon stop wear- ing face masks and dark sunglasses. The masks might be off the rank and file, but when will they come off the leaders? No one has satisfactorily explained who are the men bankrolling and controlling the UDA. Unmask the Ulster Unionists who are pulling the strings!

LEON TROTSKY:

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PAGE 10 Workers Press, Wednesday August 16, 1972

OBERTSON 4

Workers at F. J. Robertson's went on strike when the Pentonville Five were Jalled

PAY, JOBS

WEST FERRY ROAD in the heart of London's dockland has been sud- denly struck by a mini version of Britain's national industrial unrest.

Along a 100-yard stretch of this ramshackle street of and small fac- warehouses the tories curving round outer loop of the Isle of Dogs, there are no less than three disputes. Number one at 1S Sorown Ltd, producers of fabri- Lenox cated steel. There 60 engineering workers AT were sent nome last week for taking factory action over a claim for a f4 increase.

They have been persuaded to go back pending talks with man- agement but there will be more don't get trouble they money. The decision to go back General and Municipal Workers' was taken on the advice of two Union, warned that the men union officials. could be caught out by the Ted Industrial Relations Act.

One them, Burke, said that If you came to us and said done makers aciceale more pressure could be put on you wanted hardship money the management inside the fac- would have to say no-because outside. Since he also tory than giving it we would be backing of Dersuader unem WOrK a preach ContacT normally, it was not clear what outlawed by the kind of pressure he had in mind.

the men meeting 1liaou Ine otner, james Mills of tne Mulwau rak I would like information about

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VEST FERRY RD.

This defeatist attitude caused one angry worker to retort: 'Forget the Act. We don't have to bother about the Act; we can that, them, the dockers showed This disturbed Mr Mills. Dispute number two is part of the national dock strike.

Pickets are out at the F. J.

Despite Robertson warehouse. the national stoppage, containers, or stripping, ready for stuiing are using the depot. Reece Bros men are out for reinstatem

BY OUR OWN REPORTER

MEDWAY ports have become the focal point of a renewed picketing campaign following reports that sup- plies are being , loaded and unloaded there. A hysterical smear against the picketing has been launched by the capitalist press. This was demonstrated most clearly in the weekend articles about the dockers' action at Richborough Port. Ludicrous stories were published and broad- cast on radio and television that and had been stoned seamen their vessel cut adrift. Dixie Dean, leader of the dockers, told Workers Press that altogether 40-50 men from the 250-strong Medway • docks had been carrying out 24-hour picket- ing for more than a week.

BROWN LENOX & Co

-(LONDON) LTD

At Brown Lenox the Industrial Relations Act was used to force a return On Monday a convoy of five lorries marked Pekaes Transeuropa Transport broke the picket line. workers told me Depot Tne traffic was coming via British Rail at Bowden, Dover. emplov robertson's used labour at Burdett Thomas Street, in Bow. But pulled out two years ago to West Ferry Road. They employ about 25 ware- mainly with dealing housemen frozen bacon. Their basic rate is £27-£28, claim to earn to but they

WIDO

al C members of the Transport and General Workers' Union. strike when Thev all went on the dockers were jailed. Dis to obertson, symneet number three, next door the unity of dockers and drivers.

TEECE DROS

ON SPiKE Medway pickets step up campaign 'In fact,' he said, 'Richborough was

HOL

used a port until the strike There is nothing except a small wharf and a 11b1 snea. It is lust that al over Kent we have had excellent co-opera- tion and support from the whole Dover. movement. Thanet, and the Isle of Sheppey we have assurances that nothing will be and that a close watch will be kept Down nere there nas been no trouble either. It is just that this is the last place them, and we will keen it closed.'

Transport and General Workers' Union member and Labour Party activist, Dixie Dean I Relations Act was used to force About 20 drivers and ware- employed by Reece housemen Bros are in their third week of strike over the victimization of shop steward, Eddie their Reardon. Eddie, 15 years with the firm, told his men not to cross any dockers' picket-lines. Then, when the five dockers were jailed, he led the Reece Bros workers out on strike. This led to a row with man- agement, who sacked him. 'We back the dockers because they are trade unionists like us, driver Roy Patterson told me.

'We are not very happy with the way the union has reacted, Roy Bracken, another said driver. 'We have been trying to get it made official for some time but with no luck. The officials have been ducking and diving.'

EYX 760S

said: 'I myself am in favour of a 24-hour national strike. I would support one at any time. 'But I feel that the building workers' fight, combined with the engineers' will ours and become a General Strike that will force this government out. There is certainly no future while the Tories are in power.' He also stressed that even if the Jones-Aldington renort was implemented, dockers' jobs could not be safeguarded for more than a year or so. 'I am convinced that nation- alization of the docks, and under workers' control, if it could be forced through a Labour government, is the only answer!

ITV

11.30 Golf. 12.20 Women. 12.45 Freud on Food. 1.10 Bellbird.

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Man the House.

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THE

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10.30 TONY BENNETT. At the Part 7. Grand Strategy of Talk of the Town. World War II. 10.25 AN

ENGLISH

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STORY.

Stalls The of Barchester.

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DUSTY BLUEBELLS.

WRESTLING.

11.35 THE SKY AT NIGHT. The Andromeda Galaxy.

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NEWS.

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9.25 FILM: 'THE SNAKE PIT'.

6.05 Open University. Olivia de Havilland. Young woman realises she is in 7.30 NEWSROOM, Weather. mental home but can TIMES REMEMBERED by 8.00 remember nothing of five children from abroad. 8.10 MAN ALIVE. Plimpton. The preceding months. Man Flying on the 11.10 CRICKET: 5th Test. Trapeze. 11.40 NEWS, Weather.

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BY OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT

COACHLOADS of flying pickets are fighting in the Kent area this week for 100 per cent support for the builders' strike.

They will be concentrating future action could be expected.

Before particularly in the Medway the march meeting held Gillingham's was outside area. Black Lion sports centre site, over 200 Kent Last Saturday which had only been organized from the construction workers the day before but which is now Isle of Grain, Chatham Pentagon 100 union under per cent the and Eastchurch Costain's sites leadership of Jim Jamieson, for- scored some impressive victories merly of the Grain site. in the fight for union organiza- After urging all present to buy tion and a shorter working week.

Workers Press,

T&GWU

Marching through Gillingham, senior steward the on Grain site, Jim the workers closed down three Duffy, told the meeting: which had been working sites more than 40 hours. In each case 'We are not only fighting the new recruits were made for the employers, but the present gov- This is a fight not just union and undertakings were ernment. of the building in received that full solidarity workers but of the dockers and all other sec- tions. 'I hope and firmly believe that through united action of build- ing workers, dockers and the whole organized working class call from we will force the Tories to resign and return a Labour government pledged to socialist policies.'

technicians A mass meeting of all build- ing workers in the Kent area is due to be held today. LONDON School of Economics branch of the white-collar union ASTMS has called on the print grant special dispens- ation to Workers Press and the Communist Party paper 'Morning Star' the strike 1n rents vote action. The motion, which was passed at the last meeting of the branch, EDINBURGH town council yes- reads in full: terday decided by one vote to 'This branch the calls upon defy the government's new hous- NEC of ASTMS to urge the ECs ing legislation. of the printing unions to grant A special meeting voted not special dispensation allowing to implement the Housing Finan- Workers Press and the Morning cial Provisions (Scotland) | Act, printing in the Star to continue which would have involved rent further of newspaper event increases for the city's 50,000 strike action.' local authority tenants. The motion is to be taken The decision, by 25 votes to through the divisional council of 24. ASTMS at the earliest oppor- overturned a previous vote by the finance committee.

tunity. John Carson and Melissa Stribling in 'Ne

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These and other Kent bullding worker SEVENTY toolmakers at CAV, Acton, West London, who took action in support of laboratory strikers, are being penalized by the management.

The men gave over £100 to the laboratory workers and refused to release finished tools until the strike was settled satisfactorily. that the laboratory Now strike is over, the men are willing to return to the status quo. But the management has so far refused to restore their bonus.

are being No tools released, therefore. The terms of the new site agreement specify that any group undertaking industrial action will excluded from back pay. Under this clause the men are losing a £4.25 increase plus £8 bonus—a total loss of £12.25 per week. Militants claim that the man- agement has been encouraged by the attitude of the two site con- venors who have made no protest at the withdrawal of the men's bonus. It took them four weeks before they organized a collec- tion for the laboratory workers.

Chiswick No. 5 branch of the Amalgamated Union of Engineer- ing Workers recently passed a W ork ers re $8 ling in 'No Exit', BBC 1, 8.10 6.00 Channel News. 6.10 F Troop.

6.35 London. 10.30 Golf. 11.15 Wrestling. 11.45 News, weather in French. Epilogue. Weather.

WESTWARD. As Channel except: 3.55 Gus Honeybun. 4.20 News.

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ATV 4.40 Enchanted House. 4.55 Lon- don. 6.00 News. 6.10 Grampian Week. 6.20 Canadian View. 6.35 London. 8.00 Department S. 8.55 Police News. 9.00 London. 10.30 Wrestling. 4.25 Golf. 11.15 11.45 Scales of Justice. 10°. 35 3... ng workers will be holding a mass meeting resolution condemning the attitude of CAV's AUEW con- venor, John Paxman, in relation the laboratory strike and to called upon the union's North London district committee to withdraw his credentials.

ress, Wednesday August 16, 1972 PAGE 11 GRANADA: 11.30 Sports Special.

3.40 Year 2000. 4.10 News.

Peyton Place. 4.40 Sean. 4.55 London. 6.00 Northern News. 6.05 Barrow. 6.25 Jimmy Stewart.

7.00 London. 10.30 Golf. 11.15 Wrestling. 12.00 What the Papers Say. YORKSHIRE: 11.30 Sports. 4.10 Calendar. 4.15 Crossroads. 4.40 Sean. 4.55 London. 6.00 Calendar.

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London. 8.00 Jason King. 9.00 London. 10.30 Golf. 11.15 Wrestling. 11.45 Weather. HTV: 11.30 Sports. 3.30 Talking Hands. 3.45 Ugliest Girl. 4.15 Tinkertainment. 4.30 Crossroads.

4.55 London. 6.01 Report West. 6.15 Report Wales. 6.30 On the Buses. 1.00 London. 8.00 Jason King. 9.00 London. 12.15 Frighteners. 12.45 Weather.

HTV Wales as above except: 3.45 Hamdden. 4.15 Miri Mawr. 6.01 Y Dydd. HTV West as above except: 6.15 Report West. HTV Cymru/Wales as HTV Wales.

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11.45 Wrestling. ту - meeting today Arthur Mason, laboratory workers' shop steward, yester- day thanked the Workers Press for support and coverage of their recent sit-in at CAV which was recently concluded with a satis- factory agreement. Moscow Trials Anthology Paperback, 62½p

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PAGE 12 Workers Press, Wednesday Aus

BY PHILIP WADE

BUILDING trade union leader call all-out, national official st claim when they met in London Their decision to let indivi- dual regions mount a 'rapid intensification' flies in the face of overwhelming demands by the rank-and-file for a national strike. Instead, frightened of a con- frontation with the Tory gov- ernment, the national leaderships unions have of the run away from decisive action. meeting of the Yesterday's trade union side of the National Joint Council for the building industry also made clear they would not insist on a national agreement with employers. Company agreements would be 'no willing- signed if there was ness' the part of employers on for a national deal. George Smith, secretary of the Union of • Construction, • Allied and Trades and Technicians, chairman of the TUC General СИННИІЯМИ

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YESTERDAY'S post of £31.50 Our total was disappointing. stands at £562.29 with 15 days left to the end of the month.

We must not, under any cir- let our fund slip cumstances, back. More than ever before, our paper is needed to provide a lead to the thousands of dockers, bullding workers and those in the forefront of the fight against this government.

The continuous talks by Jones and the union leaders with Heath can only lead to thousands more jobs being lost. Workers Press must be used to show the way forward to defeat this ruthless govern- ment. We urge everyone of you- don't rest back now. Show your fight the determination Tories by an extra big effort for our August fund. Post all your donations immediately to: Workers Press August Appeal Fund, 186a Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UG

WEATHER

A RIDGE of high pressure covers most of the British Isies. Western and northern Scotland and Northern Ireland will be rather cloudy with a little drizzle at times. The rest of Scotland, England and Wales will be dry with sunny periods. Temperatures will be near normal in South-East England and North-West Scotland. Else- where it will be warm. Outlook for Thursday and Friday: Dry with sunny periods in Eng- land and Wales but rather cloudy in Scotland and Northern Ireland with a little drizzle or rain at times. Generally warm but tem- normal in the peratures near North-West. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Published by Workers Press, Office. 186a Clapham High Street, London,

SW4 7UG.

Printed by Plough Press Ltd. (TU), 180b Clapham High Street, London.

SWA 7UG.

esday August 16, 1972 n leaders yesterday refused to ficial strike action for the pay London. Council, said the decision against a national strike was 'realistic.

The trade union side had agreed 'it would take time to build up to a total stoppage because of geographical and com- munications difficulties'.

Yesterday's decision is a pre- paration for betrayal of the To give building workers. regional action committees almost complete autonomy does nothing to unite Britain's 850,000 build- ing workers involved in this claim. Only last week the UCATT was forced to retreat from recom- mending acceptance of a deal which would have only given an immediate basic rate of f23 and which also contained a no-strike clause. Now the leadership are trying to wash their hands of the fight and open the door to fragmenta- tion of the struggle.

BY IAN YEATS

EIGHT THOUSAND Mer- seyside building workers cheered wildly yesterday after union officials called for nationalization of the industry and vowed no man would return to work until their claim was met in full. Shouting above cheers and applause, UCATT regional sec- retary Bill Crighton told a packed meeting at Liverpool Stadium: 'We are the builders. 'We built this country for the community and it is time the the industry community took over and gave us a decent stand- ing of living from it. 'We are on the march. There is not a building trade operative at work in the Merseyside area.

It is now all-out strike.

'There is going to be no devia- tion at all from our claim for £30 for a 35-hour week. 'We are not going to win just by coming out on strike. It is going to be a long, hard struggle but the message that must go out Bristol pickets

AND

Liverpool bullders we determined yesterday Up to 100,000 building work- ers are now on strike and the figure could reach 300,000 by the end of next week. National leaders meet regional representatives in London on from this meeting is that we are not going back until we have won. Building employers have offered an increase of £3 on basic rates, said Mr Crighton. 'We have been asked why we did not accept this offer with open arms. 'Can we live on £19 a week?

Can anyone live on that amount?

That's why we have thrown the employers' offer back at their teeth.' During the morning, the work- ers marched with their banners through central Liverpool from Islington Square and up to 2,000 were forced to form an overflow choking meeting, the narrow streets outside the Stadium.

Men had travelled to the 'biggest Liverpool builders' march since 1926' from towns through- out the North West and North Wales. 150 Merseyside dockers turned out to back them. Nolan Docks steward Jimmy said they were supporting the builders in return for the help given them in their struggle for jobs. Mr Nolan commented: 'We will get nothing out of the Jones- Aldington proposals and with 53,000 unemployed on Mersey- tol pickets with a message for their union chiefs larmined there should be no retreat Thursday. The demand must go out to them to stop running away and call a national strike. If these 'leaders' insist on their retreat they should be made to resign. side we may have no choice but to go it alone. We are disgusted that the committee's proposals should even be put forward for consideration!' dockers will submit a resolution to tomorrow's meet- ing of Liverpool Trades Council calling for a conference of all Merseyside shop stewards and militants to plan joint action in support of the dockers and build- ers. While workers at the Stadium stamped their feet and meeting clapped, UCATT regional chair- Frank Foley, lashed the man unions' executive for trying to persuade officials to sell the em- ployers' latest offer to their men.

He said: 'We were not pared to sell and if the national executive had ratified the offer, there would have been an absolute rebellion against the EC' The building workers will not meet again for four weeks but Merseyside dockers meet at 1l at Liverpool Pier Head a.m. tomorrow to consider the out- come of today's docks delegates' conference.

ALL TRADES UNIONS

ALLIANCE MEETINGS

VICTORY TO THE BUILDERS

AND DOCKERS!

TUC MUST BREAK OFF ALL

TALKS WITH HEATH!

MAKE THE TORY GOVERN-

MENT RESIGN!

CENTRAL LONDON:

Wed, August 23, 7.30 p.m. The builders' fight.

Small Conway Hall, Red Lion Square, Holborn. GLASGOW: Wednesday August 23, 7.30 p.m. Partick Burgh Hall (nr Merkland St under- ground). UCS and the docks.

WEST LONDON: Wednesday 'Prince August 16, 8 p.m. Albert', Wharfdale Rd, Kings Cross. TOTTENHAM: Thursday August 17, 8 p.m. Railway Tavern, White Hart Lane. EAST LONDON: Thurs, August 17, 8 p.m. The crisis of capitalism and the docks struggle Festival Inn, Market Square, Chrisp St, E.14. NORTH LONDON: Thursday August 17, 8 p.m. Co-op Hall, Seven Sisters Road, N4. LUTON: Thursday August 17, 8 p.m. St. John Ambulance Hall, Lea Road. ACTON: Monday August 21, 8 p.m. Co-op Hall, Acton High St.

CROYDON: Monday August 21, 8 p.m. Ruskin House, Coombe Rd. Socialist Labour League

PUBLIC MEETINGS

End TUC talks with Heath!

Stop Jones-Aldington collaboration! Victory to the dockers I Nationalize the docks and transport Industries I Make the Torles resign I

LIVERPOOL

MONDAY AUGUST 14

7.30 p.m. Stork Hotel St John's Lane Speakers: LARRY CAVANAGH (Liverpool dock worker) ALAN STANLEY (Vauxhall Ellesmere Port shop steward) Both in a personal capacity Chairman: BILL HUNTER (SLL Central Committee

MANCHESTER

FRIDAY AUGUST 18

7.30 p.m. Milton Hall Deansgate Speakers: LARRY CAVANAGH (Liverpool dock worker) ALAN STANLEY (Vauxhall Ellesmere Port shop steward) a personal capacity Both in

HULL

MONDAY AUGUST 21

7.30 p.m. Co-op Hall, Kingston Square, opp New Theatre Speakers: LARRY CAVANAGH (Liverpool dock worker)

JOHN NOLAN

(T&GWU con- venor, Hollis Brothers) capacity Both • in a personal 01-622 7029 01-720 2000