POWERS FOR VITAL SUPPLIES

Part of series on Picketi In 1920, following the British army massacre at Amritsar, angry demonstrations by unemployed ex-servicemen, a spate of strikes including two by the police, and the be ginnings of a Communist Party in Britain, the Emergency Powers Act was passed.

This was aimed at enabling the government to declare 'state of emergency' and to break up any large strike said to be 'interferring with the supply and distribution of food, water, fuel or light, or with means of locomotion'.

The Act also gave powers to make regulations 'for any other purpose essential to the public safety and the the community.

The Act contains the stipulation that no such regulation shall make an offence to strike, or peaceful persuasion of others to strike. However, the General Strike showed that the rest of the Act was construed by the authorities as negating this clause. Pickets were batoned, ridden down and beaten-up by police, troops and assorted middle-class blacklegs.

Sweeping powers to search for and confiscate documents were given to the police by the Home Secretary.

The government seized land, buildings, foods vehicles and other essentials, issued licences to take over docks and railways and to control electricity, gas and water. The scabs' Organization for the Maintenance of Supplies (OMS) told volunteers to 'hit hard'—to 'hit to kill' according to one version.

A provocative statement issued by the government said: 'All ranks of the armed forces of the Crown are hereby notified that any action which they may find it necessary to take in an honest endeavour to aid the civil power will receive, both now and afterwards, full support of His Majesty's government.' As a result of the strike 3,149 prosecutions for incitement to sedition and for violence were made.

During the action the picketing began take on forms, even in the short period of nine days that the strike lasted. In areas where violence by police and blacklegs occurred, workers' defence squads began to be formed by Councils of Action.

Not just the space outside a factory or building but the streets of entire areas became controlled by the strikers. Blacklegs were visited by workers and the situation ex. plained to them. This was only reluctantly allowed local leaders and totally abhorred by the TUC.

Capitalist property itself was touched and the strike ; by Bernard Franks leaders did not advocate its expropriation and occupation. The Communist Party's subordination of the needs of the revolutionary movement to that of the General Council of the TUC ensured that the Minority Movement acted as no more than a 'ginger group' in the trade unions, instead of constructing an alternative leadership. Even so, increasing control of supplies and transport were being taken by the strikers when the action was called off by the TUC leaders.

The defeat of the General Strike was followed by vicious legislation which in many ways stands as a forerunner of the Industrial Relations Act. The 1927 Trades Unions and Trades Disputes Act made general strikes and political strikes illegal and made it illegal to picket for, finance, incite, or in any other way further an illegal strike on pain of imprisonment for up to two Blacklegs received protection and compensation from any union which expelled them. Other picketing was restricted to one or more persons if "calculated to intimidate.

Intimidation was defined as to cause in the mind of a person reasonable apprehension of injury to him or to any member of his family or to any of his dependants, or of violence or damage to any person or property' Most sympathy strikes were banned by the Act and Civil Servants were forbidden organizations affiliated to the TUC, Labour Party, or connected with any other organizations outside the Service. Local authorities were prohibited from operating a closed shop and 'contracting out of paying the political levy paid to the Labour Party by the unions was replaced by 'contracting in' (meaning a worker now had to actually apply to pay it whereas previously it was deducted from his contribution unless he stated otherwise.)

During the period of mass unemployment and poverty of the 1930s, this and other repressive laws were used against any workers who sought to defend rights and improve conditions.

Altogether, 1,432 workers were prosecuted between October 1931 and February 1933 because of their fight against the government. Of these, 480 were jailed, 734 fined and 130 bound over.

One 'law' of this time was the 'Trenchard Ban' which was an order made personally by the Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, Lord Trenchard in November 1931 prohibiting public meetings near labour exchanges. Workers were arrested for this offence even though it existed nowhere in the Statutes as an illegal act. Trenchard's word was literally the law and was no redress.

Generally, during this period the police mobilized in a more military style and used increasing violence against demonstrators. Major battles occurred, for example, when strikers and unemployed miners and their families fought scab labour and police, to defend their jobs, wages and union against the onslaught of the mine owners.

Two major anti-working-class laws of this period were the Incitement to Disaffection Act (1934) and the Public Order Act (1936). The former Known generally as the Sedition Bill, countless protests and meetings were held against this insidious attack on freedom of printing and speech. It still applies today.

The Public Order . Act, allegedly aimed at the fascists, gave police wide powers to restrict and prohibit demonstrations. From the way the police protected the fascists' meetings and repeatedly attacked and batoned anti-fascist demonstrators, it was not difficult to see that here was yet another anti-socialist ind anti-trade union lavi. This is also still on the Statutes though with far stronger penalties. Workers called it the 'Slave Labour' law. The Act outlawed the closed shop, allowed the government to impose a 20-day 'cooling' period on strikes and protected scabs' jobs against union attempts to get them out.

It arranged I for mass picketing to be outlawed, made strikes against the government punishable by immediate sacking, outlawed "blacking' and most sympathy strikes and allowed damages suits against union assets for losses incurred through actions illegal under the Act.

Growing effects of the world crisis have eventuaily brought capitalism to similar legislation