TH SHIELDS Labour South Shields unionists plan rearguard rent action nlan raarmiard rent artil

have declared ment the Act house rents. Hebburn and Boldon, as well as Sunderland, which have applied to Tory Minister Julian Amery for a reduction in the size of the increase because of the economic position and high unemployment. In South Shields, however, THE HOUSING Committee of Aberdeen's Labour-controlled town council has voted — after 'a great deal of thought' and 'under protest'-to implement the Tory Housing Finance Act.

This follows a similar decision in Dundee, where the council also has a long history of Labour control.

These decisions are particularly mealyABERDEEN builders are picketing all scab sites in the city. The decision to step up their campaign was taken at a mass meeting in the city. The strikers cheered when their chairman, Ewen Sinclair, put this motion: 'If the TUC and CBI meeting on our claim were to negotiate a settlement on our behalf, we UCATT members reserve the right to accept or reject, on a vote, their decision, because of the fact that the they will impleand raise council The Labour Party won back control of the town council in May after their elecThese include Teesside, arrow, tion pledge not to implement the Act.

The Labour group, however, has ignored the housing committee's move not to take on extra staff to assist the Tory-appointed rents commissioner if he was sent in.

third of the group was on holiday, the group decided 13-12 not to hinder rentraising agents, but to continue its policy Edinburgh still stands alone mouthed in view of the Edinburgh council vate against implementation. Edinburgh has been under Tory control until this year, and Labour still does not have an absolute majority.

Fife County Council has voted on an amendment moved by Cllr Alan McLare of Glenrothes nut to implement the Act.

A meeting of the county council's landward members at Cupar voted 21 to 13 for the amendment to a motion of the county viceconvenor that the Act be implemented.

In Dundee the 10-6 vote of the Labour group on the council in favour of implementing the Act violated City Labour Party policy.

An average increase of 9lp a week is expected if the Act is enists are suspicious that the local Labour council will fall in line with other Labour councils soon. At their last meeting, called when oneof non-implementation. UCATT leadership were prepared to sell before? Immediately after the meeting between pickets and police at the Hilton contractor was working. The picket would until union officials had intervened and working.

A series which appeared in now available as a pamphlet in the Socialist Labour League PAPERBACKS CENTRE 28 Charlotte St This apparent climbdown has local tenants and trade unionists the action is hypocritical and an further somersaults.

The local trades council has tried to counter this with a rigorous crash programme to organize tenants' associations on the council estates to promote a rent strike and continue the struggle in the event of a complete climbdown by the Labour group.

Whitelease and Cleadan Park associations have voted unanimously for rent Three of the area's 2 estates have forced. Last week about 100 building trades shop stewards condemned the decision and called for the removal of the renegade Labourites | as workers' representatives.

A mass meeting has been called for Marryat Hall, Dundee on September 3 to discuss a policy of rent strikes to act backed by inoustrias action anyone evicted.

London W1 BOOKS @ PERIODICALS O NEWSPAPERS incensed who feel omen of Aberdeen builders reserve right on pay us down the river there was trouble site, where a small not leave the site stopped the scabs now been organized and a fourth ing is planned for tonight on the Hall estate.

Here the trades council hopes to chalk up its biggest success, especially after being snubbed by Labour councillors in the ward who refused to mount a joint National Union of Mineworkers delegate, Mike Peel, trades council assistant secretary, who has been involved in the campaign, told us:

'Following the unfortunate decision of the South Shields trades council to delay the discussion on the setting up of a 1 3 Tith meetBiddic campaign for the meeting.

Council of Action, the trades council itself has had to take on the role of sole organizers of local opposition to the Tory Rent Act.

'We are grossly undermanned and ill-equipped financially to ensure its success.

'A caucus of ten people have undertaken this mammoth task of organizing the tenants. While their efforts are commendable, a lack of a long-term view to bring down the Tory government will contain the struggle purely within the bounds of economics.

'Whilst I realize that much valuable experience will come out of this struggle, the narrow objectives of the trades council in confining this issue to rents, ensures that if the hoped for rent strike collapses, there is a danger that a lot of activists will be disillusioned because the much broader issues of all-round Tory attacks on the working class will have been neglected.' Mike Peel, assistant secretary South Shields Trades Council As unemployment in the north east rockets towards 100,000, the means test of the Tory Rent Act poses in a concrete way the road of the 1930s.

The rights of the working class, its standard of living and trade unions can only be defended today in the complete mobilization of the working class in a General Strike to remove the Tory government from office. The All Trades Unions Alliance demand for the building of a Council of Action in South Shields must be taken up as the only means of halting the craven retreat of Labour councils before the Tories' offensive.

This also means bringing together tenants' associations, trade unionists, unemployed and all working-class political organizations onto the Councils of Action.

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