Workers Press no. 887

workers press

WILSON ACCEPTS

TORY PAY PLAN

-Two union chiefs demand General Election

BY DAVID MAUDE

TOP LEADERS of Britain's b at the Labour Party conferenc warned: 'Your talks with the the trade union movement?

They and the Party's National E backed a resolution which 'rejects a a £2 limit on wage increases... bi talks to go on. Like the TUC, they accept the plan for regulation of state wages in principle while haggling secondary issues. At over Preston on Wednesday the only thing separating the union chiefs from Heath seemed to be just £1.38 the amount they think should rise over and wages above Heath's E2. At the end of yesterday's lengthy conference debate on economic policy in Blackpool the unions and Labour leaders en- dorsed a series of demands which leave the working class absolutely defenceless against the greatest crisis it has ever • (for report of the debate, faced see below). This is the situation facing Britain's trade unionists and Labour Party members: HARD-CORE unemployment last month stood at 817,000 3.6 per cent of the working population. This month it will be up again. With investment at its lowest level since the Tory government office, the long-term came to prospect is much grimmer even excluding a major collapse in the prior to Common economy Market entry. This will certainly send the jobless figures leaping upwards.

The Tories have already opened the door to a massive export of capital into Europe. And a shock report out today from the Federation says that even though 370,000 jobs were axed from the industry between January 1971 and June 1972, the industry is still in decline (see page four story, Job cuts fail to tame workers'). PRICES are again rocketing upwards at an increasing rate.

Big employers like British- Leyland have told the Confedera- tion of British Industry that they cannot withhold their price increases any further. So when the CBI price- restraint policy ends next month, the rate of price increases will speed up sharply from the 6.6- rate it had per-cent-per-year reached in August. Common Market entry-with its 10 percent increase in prices as a result of Value-Added Tax alone will send them leaping up even further. Despite the cowardice of its leaders on both the prices front and in the struggle against this week's brutal increase in rents, the working class is fighting back with increasing vigour.

Yesterday's EEF report bemoans the fact that although

INCORPORATING THE NEWS

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTR

itain's big unions sat impassive nference yesterday as they were ith the Tories are a noose for ational Executive Committee piously rejects absolutely' the Tory plan for ses... but which allows the 'noose' 30 unemployed engineers are now chasing each available job in the industry, wages are still rising at an annual rate of 10 per cent. And on housing estates throughout the country the courageous struggle of house- wives' flying squads against the Tories' Housing Finance Act testifies to the continued deter- mination to struggle. But the Labour and trade union chiefs leave this deter- mination leaderless and try to break it. Wednesday's TUC proposal at Preston that Heath's £2 offer should be increased to £3.38 is a sham and a betrayal. It says clearly to the Tories: *We are prepared to negotiate.' And the Tories know that if union leaders are prepared to negotiate they are prepared to cut their demands, perhaps to 75p. At the same time the fall in

TURN TO BACK PAGE

DENIS HEALEY, Labour's Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, yesterday urged the TUC to continue at all costs its talks with the Tory govern- ment. *We've got him [Heath] on the run, now let's keep him on the run. We've got to keep on trying to make him reverse his policies.

Speaking behalf of the on National Executive Committee, Healey was replying to a three- hour debate economic on questions. He made clear that a future Labour government would intro- duce a prices and incomes policy, but attempted to convince con- ference that the policy would operate in a more socialist en- vironment. the debate two trade During union leaders, Clive Jenkins, general secretary of the white- collar ASTMS, and Ray Buckton the general secretary of the rail locomen's union ASLEF Tories both attacked talks with the and called for a General Election.

Their remarks were in sharp contrast to Healey's statement that 'we don't want to be un- fair to these proposals. On a card vote conference narrowly passed a resolution from the Transport Salaried Staffs Association calling on the NEC to collaborate with the TUC to formulate a prices and incomes policy.

HE NEWSLETTER • FRIDAY OCTOBER 6,

CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SO

Mancheste Manchester 'flying squads', , made up ma rents office set up to 'safeguard' rent c see page 12.

FROM ALEX MITCHELL I

Voting was 3,398,000 for the resolûtion and 2,633,000 against. The resolution moved by the TSSA's general • Percy secretary Coldrick was backed by the NEC.

But on a show of hands con- ference also passed a resolution moved by the National Union of Public Employees which stated that 'it is not possible to have an incomes policy even in a mixed market economy which does not have harmful effects on the work- ing class'. Clive Jenkins said he wanted to challenge the whole concept of the Heath plan. *I want to think the unthink- able and say the unsayable. A policy of prices and incomes in capitalist society is a mythical beast.' He also urged delegates to beware of a future Labour government being committed to this kind of economic illiteracy'.

The ASTMS resolution asked conference to 'reject absolutely' the £2 wage curb because the effect of this will be to penalize the workers in order to benefit those who get their living with- out working for it'. It called on Heath to withdraw his proposal 'and if not with- drawn should be strongly opposed by the party. Jenkins said the Party must not BER 6, 1972 • No 887 • 4p

HE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

nester tenants to picket ade up mainly of housewives, are to extend the rd' rent collectors. For full story from Stephen

ITCHELL IN BLACKPOOL

associate itself with the proposals.

•We should have no deals to bail out this government.

Why should we throw them a lifeline?

Any lifeline thrown to them would be a noose for us. We need now General Election. No deal with the Tories.

Let's get them out and put our programme in.' Brian Stanley moved a Post Office Engineering Union resolu- tion deploring the government's policy of discriminating against workers in the public sector.

Seconding the POEU resolu- tion Buckton said that it was the conference's duty to 'make very Heath that we very clear to Mr have had enough. ' He described inflation as a in society and said that cancer 'Doctor' Feather had been brought in 'but to remove the cancer we must bring in the surgeons-have a General Election. •We are very suspicious that the Tories will rat on any agree- ment that they'll make with our.

colleagues on the TUC.' For this reason Buckton said he had written to Feather last Friday calling on him to with- draw from the talks before they sell us down the river'. Norman Stagg of the Union of Post Office Workers was the only cket centre extend their picketing to a corporation 1 Stephen Johns, our man on the spot, delegate in the morning-long debate who discussed the ASTMS resolution. He said his union felt bound to express some reservations. He attacked the resolution it rejected absolutely because talks which were currently in progress. *No trade union can refuse to discuss or negotiate with the government of the day on matters important as this. It is a SO i self-denial of the right to state our alternatives.' Both the POEU and ASTMS resolutions were passed on a show of hands. Conference also approved the following resolu- tions: • An engineers' union call for a code of practice on multi-national companies. • The introduction of a wealth tax. • The introduction of legislation to end speculation and asset stripping. • A resolution from the clerical APEX to campaign union nationally for full employment through the lowering of the retirement age, more holidays and reduction in the working week. • A Swansea West CLP resolu- tion demanding that a future Labour government repeal Value- Added Tax.

workers press

WILSON ACCEPTS

TORY PAY PLAN

-Two union chiefs demand General Election

BY DAVID MAUDE

TOP LEADERS of Britain's b at the Labour Party conferenc warned: 'Your talks with the the trade union movement?

They and the Party's National E backed a resolution which 'rejects a a f2 limit on wage increases... bi talks to go on. Like the TUC, they accept the plan for regulation state wages in principle while haggling secondary issues. over At Preston on Wednesday the only thing separating the union chiefs from Heath seemed to be just £1.38wche amount they think should rise over and wages above Heath's f2. At the end of yesterday's lengthy conference debate on economic policy in Blackpool the unions and Labour leaders en- demands dorsed aseries of which leave the working class against absolutely defenceless the greatest crisis it has ever faced (for report of the debate, see below). This is the situation facing Britain's trade unionists and Labour Party members: HARD-CORE unemployment last month stood at 817,000 of the working 3.6 per cent This month it will population. be up again. With investment at its lowest level since the Tory government office, the long-term came to prospect is much grimmer even excluding a major collapse in the prior to Common economy Market entry. This will certainly send the jobless figures leaping upwards.

The Tories have already opened the door to a massive export of capital into Europe. And a shock report out today from the Federation says that • though 370,000 jobs were even axed from the industry between January !7l and June 1972, the industry is still in decline (see page four story, 'Job cuts fail to tame workers'). • PRICES are again rocketing upwards at an increasing rate.

Big. employers like British- Leyland have told the Confedera- tion of British Industry that they cannot withhold their price increases any further. when the CBI price- So restraint policy ends next month, the rate of price increases will speed up sharply from the 6.6- per-cent-per-year rate it had reached in August. Common Market entry-with its 10 per cent increase in prices as a result of Value-Added Tax alone-will send them leaping up even further. Despite the cowardice of its leaders on both the prices front and in the struggle against this week's brutal increase in rents, class is fighting the working • back with increasing vigour.

Yesterday's EEF report bemoans the fact that although

INCORPORATING THE NEW.

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTR

itain's big unions sat impassive nference yesterday as they were ith the Tories are a noose for ational Executive Committee piously "rejects absolutely' the Tory plan for ses... but which allows the 'noose' 30 unemployed engineers are now chasing each available job in the industry, wages are still rising at an annual rate of 10 per cent. And" on housing estates throughout the country the courageous struggle of "house- wives' flying squads against the Tories Housing Finance Act testifies to the continued deter- mination to struggle. But the Labour and trade union chiefs leave this deter- mination leaderless and try to break it. Wednesday's TUC proposal at Preston that Heath's £2 offer should be increased to £3.38 is a sham and a betrayal. It says clearly to the Tories: 'We are prepared to negotiate' And the Tories know that if union leaders are prepared to negotiate they prepared to their are cut demands, perhaps to 75p. At the same time the fall in

TURN TO BACK PAGE

DENIS HEALEY, Labour's Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, yesterday urged the TUC to continue at all costs its talks with the Tory govern- ment. 'We've got him [Heath] on the run, now let's keep him on the run. We've got to keep on trying to make him reverse his policies.

Speaking behalf on National Executive Committee, Healey was replying to a three- hour debate economic questions. He made clear that a future Labour government would intro- duce a prices and incomes policy, but attempted to convince con- ference that the policy would a more socialist en- operate in vironment. the debate two trade During union leaders, Clive Jenkins, general secretary of the white- collar ASTMS, and Ray Buckton the general secretary of the rail locomen's union both attacked • talks with the and called for a General Election.

Their remarks were in sharp contrast to Healey's statement that 'we don't want to be un- fair to these proposals'.

On a card vote conference narrowly passed a resolution from Transport Salaried Staffs the Association calling on the NEC to collaborate with the TUC to formulate a prices and incomes policy. INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • FRIDAY OCTOBER 6, 1972 • No 887 DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE rents office see page 12.

FROM ALEX MITCHELL IN BLACKPOOL

Voting was 3,398,000 for the resolûtion and 2,633,000 against.

The resolution moved by the TSSA's secretary Percy Coldrick was backed by the NEC But on a show of hands con- ference also passed a resolution moved by the National Union of Public which stated employees that it is not possible to have an incomes policy even in a mixed economy which does not have harmful effects on the work- ine class. Clive Jenkins wanted sald he to challenge the whole concept of the Heath plan. 'I want to think the unthink- unsayable. able and policy of prices and incomes in capitalist society is a mythical Dcast. He also urged delegates beware of being committed future Labour *to government this kind of economic illiteracy'.

The ASTMS resolution asked conference to 'reject absolutely' the £2 wage 'because the effect of this will be to penalize the workers lo orcer to nenent those who get their living with- out working for it'. it called on Heath to withdraw his Droposal ano lI

BOT

drawn should be strongly opposed by the , party Jenkins said the Party must not BER 6, 1972 • No 887 • 4p

HE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

lester tenants to picket ‹ ade up mainly of housewives, are to extend the rd' rent collectors. For full story from Stephen

ITCHELL IN BLACKPOOL

associate itself with the proposals.

'We should have no deals to bail out this government. Why should we throw them a lifeline?

Any lifeline thrown to them would be a noose for us. 'We need General noW Election. No deal with the Tories.

Let's get them out and put our programme in.' Brian Stanley moved a Post Office Engineering Union resolu- tion deploring the government's policy of discriminating against in the public sector. workers Seconding the POEU resolu- tion Buckton said that it was the conference's duty to 'make very Heath that we very clear to Mr have had enough' He described inflation as a in society and said that cancer 'Doctor' Feather had been brought in 'but to remove the cancer we must bring in the General surgeons-have Election. •We are very suspicious that the Tories will rat on any agree- ment that they'll make with our.

colleagues on the TUC For this reason Buckton said he had written to Feather last Friday calling on him to with- draw from the talks 'before they sell us down the river'. Norman Stagg of the Union of not Post Office Workers was the only cket centre extend their picketing to a corporation 1 Stephen Johns, our man on the spot, delegate in the morning-long debate who discussed the ASTMS He said his union resolution. felt bound to express . some reservations. He attacked the resolution because it rejected absolutely talks which were currently in progress. •'No trade union can refuse to discuss or negotiate with the government of the day on matters important as this. It is a SO self-denial of the right to state our alternatives.' Both the POEU and ASTMS resolutions were passed ona show of hands. Conference also approved the following resolu- tions: • An engineers' union call for a code of practice on multi-national companies. • The introduction of a wealth tax. • The introduction of legislation to end speculation and asset stripping. • A resolution from the clerical union APEX to m campaign nationally for full employment the lowering through of the more holidays and reduction week. • A Swansea West CLP resolu- tion demanding that a future Labour government repeal Value- Added Tax.

PAGE 2 Workers Press, Friday October

BY JOHN SPENCER

OFFICIALS of the Internation reportedly raising objections : Group of 20, the committee es detail the reform of the world m They claim that the committee is to be efficient and fear that it will issues before next year's annual meet The Group of 20 was formed on the insistence of the United States to replace the Group of 10, which consisted of dele- gates from the main industrial countries of the capitalist world. The old committee was deeply and repeated meetings divided failed to resolve the basic dis- agreements between the United States and the other main capi- talist countries. At last month's IMF meeting there was a sharp clash between Market countries the Common and the United States over who should chair the Group of 20.

The post went to the Bank of England's Jeremy Morse. The United States hopes IMF committee they will be able to dilute the votes of the Com- countries with mon Market those of their client states in Latin America and Asia. This, they hope, will enable them to push through the pro- posals for a new world monetary system which were outlined by US: Treasury Secretary George Schultz at last month's Washing- ton meeting. The primary of purpose Schultz's proposals is to force Europe and Japan to shoulder the burden of the economic crisis by opening their markets to American goods and at the same time cutting their own exports. proposed international He sanctions against countries run- ning balance-of-payments sur- pluses to force them to rectify their balance of trade. Since America is the main debtor country in the capitalist world the system proposed by enable it to Schultz would liquidate its debts at the expense of its creditors. Peter Jay, "The Times' econo- mics editor, yesterday described Washington annual meeting the as exceptionally successful and constructive' though 'super- ficially marred by some silly scrapping over personalities'—-a reference to the Group of 20 chairmanship and the US insistence that director-general Pierre-Paul Schweitzer must go.

Jay listed 14 general points on which he claims there is a But degree of agreement. an examination of his 14 points shows that the disagreements be- tween the US and its major creditors retain all their force.

And even Jay is forced to conclude that 'some fierce dis- agreements as well as the obvious conflicts of national interest' remain. In fact, the disputes over 'silly "personalities" are not scrapping', but part of the jockeying for position on the international stage before the real fights begin. SHAH of Iran is to pay an official visit to the Soviet Union this month-his fourth since he first visited Moscow in 1956. Empress Farah, who has just returned from a ten-day official visit to Peking, will him. accompany the visit, to start on During October 10 to last ten days, the Shah will discuss with Soviet expansion of leaders further technical trade, economic and regional and co-operation, and international affairs. 1 October 6, 1972 MICHAEL FOOT MP, who topped the poll in this year's election for Labour's National Executive Committee, has built himself the reputation of being on the far 'left' of the party. But few right-wingers lose any sleep over him. And neither do the more thought- ful Tories. ernational Monetary Fund are about the size of the At the annual 'Tribune' meeting at the Party conference, Foot made clear that for ittee established to discuss in him the age of tolerance has dawned world monetary system. Party, he said, had lost great The nittee is too large and cumbersome opportunity of driving the Tories out over t it will not be able to decide any the Common Market issue. 'We had a set- nual meeting in Nairobi. October 28 for some 60 Labour back on MPs voted in the Tory lobby.

Added Foot: 'Some people said to me "Why drive them of the But the first result would have been that any chance of defeating the of Commons would Tories in House the• have disappeared. said Foot, such action Apart from this, of would have violated the principle tolerance. This version of events is something less than accurate. Last year's five-to-one Party conference decision against Market entry on Tory terms took place more than three weeks before the parliamentary vote on October 28. There was ample opportunity AMERICAN copper firm, for Foot and his friends to campaign for Braden Kennecott has won constituencies to make clear to their MPs France order in that a vote for the Tories would mean the for the temporary seizure end of their political careers.

Chilean a cargo of copper due to arrive in They did nothing of the sort. In fact it Le Havre later this week.

was Foot himself who coined the phrase Kennecott's assets in Chile 'No witch-hunts', behind which all the 'left' have been nationalized by the allowed MPs took cover and the pro- Salvador Allende realite. Market faction let the Tories stay in office.

Although as the result of the court order, the ship bringing "Foot then went to last year's 'Tribune' the now may not meeting and cynically asked: 'Who says we cubber ouL Le havre, can't have an election on the Common decision more ram sim et Market?' The real answer, of course, was hold than more gold which the Allende govern- ... Michael Foot. ment moved from the United The 'left' of course offers tolerance to States to a French bank

THE

United been Viet- Defence Department States used over ernment has dropped more figures nam. ano show that ove forced to st Laos between the last 74 years the bombs on Indo-China defences September US dropped and has nine over the last ••LI 1972. capital. comnated With average million tons months than did only 763,160 tons in the bombs year over South over the whole of last whole of last year. Indo-China roughly command year. increase reflects three and a half times moved bombard. the tonnage dropped close stepped-up Pentagon figures give ment of both North and allies in the Nixon's 21i TOP War II. South Vietnam and has tions boasted 'Vietnamiza- been Since 1971 particularly more than tion and lui dillac the 1,554,000 tons attacks in t narked since the latec show that IS hamhard liberation offensive dropped Germany liberation tr between 1939-1945 have ment has intensified in began in April. At the sal direct proportion But US released over the withdrawal of GIs. American intel- naAn ligence reports show Indo-China. the North Vietnamese still the Ameri- According to the that But Defence on areas Denartmeni routes the cans' allies are under over 800,000 tons of south have not been pressure on the ground. tion *air have ammunition' to be conce The Saigon nunnet gov. CuT. Communist

THE SPANISH

that the fascist the know that would no regime Party has failed to condemn greatest obstacle to Spain's 'But they ought t entry into the Common Market, Soviet-Spanish certain limits which the trade nolitical necessitu if there are speculation by a r Paris agreement signed in going to be 'democratic' changes Whatever September 15. It argues on the country. on the eve of bein that the deal is no altern- Finally, the CP makes The Spanish CP' pathetic attempt to respond to ative to Spain's into the EEC is, in itself, entry the anger in party ranzo and the the Common Market. instrument in Spanish working class at the working-class milita trade deal: '$40m worth of trade with the concentrated

USSR

does not solve the necessary to recognize factories and problems of the commercial and that these deals do not help the by Euronear who economic development of Spain,' those make Barcelona, Citröen it says. them among democratic, working- the north coast shi class forces in Spain. first half of the CP's 'And On Tuesday, statement is an attempt to water distresced vAry down the impression given by the about this indeed. It is not that director of security are opposed to the 'shipyard workers' existence we fascist nress that the deal was a €1,500 for triumph for Franco's regime. between commarrial This triumph', the CP socialist and Spain, strike in defence of says, is even with the present regime.

workers. a cmo escreen to hide •The fant the pro-Market faction around Roy Jenkins, while denying the working class-totally opposed to the Market and the Tory gov- ernment-any means of expression.

In Foot's own words he admitted that it had been the MPs around the discredited 'Tribune' group that had kept the right wing in the fold. 'It has been the left of this Party who held it together over the last 12 months', he said. The real aim of Foot's speech was to offer a deal to the right wing.

He said: They ought now to demonstrate their loyalty to conference decisions.

Foot and his acolytes are now very con- scious of their key role in the Party. As he himself said over the Common Market: 'If you seek to impose this on a turbulent society we have today when respect for law and order is breaking down because the institutions of law and order are unjust, there will be violence and explosion.

'The democratic institutions could be blown to smithereens and we are the only people who can stop it.' He also told the 'Tribune' meeting, which took place in Blackpool on Thurs- day night, that: 'We don't want any more from newspapers' [about the lectures need to conciliate Jenkins and the pro- Marketeers]. Foot complained: ' 'The Times" and "The Guardian" never raised any voice to protect Aneurin Bevan when he was sub- ject to right-wing tyranny.'

Again Foot's own record is not pretty.

Bevan was barely scratched. But when the Young Socialists were being systematic- ally slandered and witch-hunted out of the Labour Party by the creatures of the right wing at Transport House in 1964, Foot and his friends never raised a squeak of protest. In every way this week, Michael Foot has proved himself to be the man who may yet save the Tories' bacon.

has been ced to strengthen its fences around the Vietnamese social- WEST GERMANY's Vietnamese democratic has government mmanders have given a further twist to its forces their anti-Arab witch-hunt by se to the capital to banning the General Union of installa- major the area, fol- Palestinian Students and the series of General Union of Palestinian a acks in the south by Workers. They threaten vio- eration troops. lence in the country, it At the same time the claims. command ordered Arabs in Germany have been • stepping up of B52 subjected to constant harassment bomber attacks the Munich Olympics areas where libera- since shoot-out n forces are believed on September in which 11 five be concentrated. Israelis and Palestinian guerrillas were killed.

Chancellor Willy Brandt's Minister of the Interior, Hans Dietrich 'Well Genscher says, inder 100 Arabs' have been ex pelled from Germany since the : would not be realistic.

of having killings suspicion on y ought to keep within links Palestinian with the its which prevent any guerrilla movement. which 1 by a regine, future awaits Spain, In the same period 1,990 Arab is e of being changed.' travellers have been turned back from West German frontiers anish CP's support for either for lack of proper papers , in itself, a very useful or suspicion having on down breaking 'undesirable? connections. ass militancy which is 50,000 Arabs live and ed precisely in those work owned legally in West Germany Labour Most concerns capital--Seat in are brought in as cheap Citröen in Vigo and for German factories under the coast shipyards. Common Market immigration schemes. the general f security fined a Vigo Police claim to have found bomb detonators at the home of representative leading a sympathy students' leader Abdullah union Jefence of striking car- Hassan el-Frangi (30), but they did not bring him to trial.

How Harold Wilson neutralized Jack Jones The Market fix See no col A

SERIES

of squalid manoeuvres be- tween Harold Wilson and trade union leaders lies behind the decision to give the Labour Party leader a free hand on the Common Market. With that free hand, Wilson will continue to his coalition poli- pursue tics with the Tories and ensure the safe entry of Britain - under crippling Tory terms. seriously be- No one lieves that he will re- negotiate when re-elected -even if re-negotiation is feasible once Heath signs the Treaty of Rome. When the bureaucrats were wheeling and dealing, they were playing with the future of the British work- ing class. By refusing to call for an all-out fight against the Market they are aiding the big monopolies which see the extension of the Six as a means of increasing their power over the Euro- pean working class. For the British working class, entry spells soaring prices and higher unem- ployment. We have in- vestigated the deals made in the smokerooms at Blackpool which opened the door to this. We publish our findings to expose the utter bank- ruptcy of the Labourites and their unwillingness to fight on behalf of the Labour and trade union against the movement Tory government.

THE TORY PRESS

tumbling began into Blackpool on Friday, September 29, three days before the start of the 71st annual confer- ence. They made for the Im- perial Hotel, on the sea- front, where the National Executive Committee was in pre-conference session.

These are private gather- ings at which conference policy is framed and the stage-management of dele- gates arranged. On this occasion there was one outstanding issue intriguing every pressman —the Common Market. They were to be disap- pointed. When the NEC broke, publicity director Percy Clark announced

IN AND OUT

See no conference. Hear no conference. Speak no conference that there had been no •ecson on varker boree That was to be postponed Sunday conlereice aanrenenl. committee concluded the compositing resolutions Market DoCIl ol une acerod AT 2 p.m. on Sun-

NEC

day the resumed talks, with the field LaI® rowed down three

EEC

Clackmannan and East pro-Market •trimesaire s The boilermakers, which called for ecoranon or uie terns oi entry and significantly in- cluded 'abandonment' the ol une commo donca policy and Value-Added Tax

(VAT);

and 1 ne gineers' resolu- the agenda opposition entry principle called uture

ITO.O

Market. The

NEC

could handle the

LWO

reso utons without much difficulty. would both ••post Clackmannan and AUEW dent confi- But having of victory. setuico uien …TO- wards both the big question remained: what to do with boilermakers? THe The

NEC

decided the boilermakers' motion was far too strong. It bound the Party to CuCEULaLol SoCCIN binding Items. nece rectives were anamena co Wilson. decided, there- WaS fore, to draw up an NEC filled with double-talk «oolI Te. Tory negotiating the terms. this state. was the acceptance

LICHE

Market of entry prin And it chole. aso lem vm son completely free to deal with the terms what- ever way he pleased. In a movement seething wiln dad. vaker reene it was a bold attempt to con the conference. By ALEX | conference. Speak no conference Wllson's attack on Spain: "T THE ACTION then transferred to the trade unions. The biggest obstacle to the NEC's strategy was the giant Transport and General Workers' Union, which controls a decisive block of 1 million votes.

Wilson desperately needed Jones's support to give his statement a re- sounding victory. At 2 p.m.

Tuesday, on one Jones's henchmen phoned his leader from the foyer of the Imperial: 'Harold wants to see you here at 3.30 p.m. Can you make it?' It was the afternoon of the poorly-attended private session, so the two men could quietly get together without creating a fuss in the press. At this the stage, T&GWU delegation had decided to support both the AUEW and the boiler- makers' resolutions. In other words, Jones was voting to oppose Market entry in principle. In all honesty, he was obliged to oppose the NEC with his. 1 million votes.

certainly the That was. understanding in his dele- gation. The meeting with Wil- son was inconclusive. When asked on Tuesday night how he was casting his vote, Jones replied: I haven't made up my mind yet? •EX MITCHELL in Spain: 'That's for Jack!'

... And J the crucial vote. AT 9 a.m. on Wed- nesday, 30 minutes be- fore the start of the Market debate, the union's delegation held a hurried meeting in the conference hall. Wilson's speech to con- ference was a masterpiece of brinkmanship. Unless he made some 'left' concessions, he faced a complete polarization be- tween two positions: the outright anti- pledge of the

NEC

AUEW and the statement, which had be- come identified as at best misleading and at worst a sell-out to Roy Jenkins. Suddenly, during his speech, Wilson introduced the subject of Spain. Delegates looked be- wildered as their leader, who hasn't spoken on Spain for years, launched a tirade against the pro- posed entry of Spain into the EEC. 'No Labour government will have any truck with a European Common Market Franco's which accepts Spain as a member or even associate.' (Ap- as an plause). He went on with a heartrending plea in de- fence of those struggling against 'the rusty shackles of oppression'. Jack Jones, sitting in his aisle seat directly in front of the platform, looked mightily stirred. Few people knew that Jones is chairman of the Spanish Workers Prose, Friday Oclober 6, 1872 PAGE 3 Blackpool LIVERPOOL MPs are expected to hold an emergency meeting over the jobs threat to 1,000 workers at the Lucas combine's CAV factory in Fazakerly. Shop stewards from the plant, which produces pumps for the heavy-vehicle industry, lobbied the Labour Party conference at Blackpool to raise support. They saw Walton MP Eric Heffer, who arranged to meet them in the city on Saturday and has promised to organize a meeting of local Labour MPs on the issue next week. The stewards told Workers Press that the men are prepared to take any action neces- sary, including a sit-in strike, to stop the closure.

Transport and General Workers' Union steward Nick Chute said: 'We are facing the action of a big monopoly who are ration- ready for their alizing into the Common entry Market' Deputy John convenor Howe said that the par- Lucas, has ent company, • monopoly of the product, but was phasing out the Fazakerly operation because it losing was orders in Europe. 'There is plant in Barcelona, Spain, and dur- ing the big strike which hit Lucas factories Birm- In found ingham, the we was importing company headlamps from a plant it controls in Germany. This is a big and we carve-up are the victims', he said.

The found out men about closure earlier the week after stewards this fact-finding had made a to Simm's Motors, visit Lucas subsidiary in Edgware, London. They found that produc- tion there being was stepped up and key per- trans- sonnel were being ..And Jack stayed silent on ferred south to produce another kind of pump. Social - Democratic Com- T&GWU steward Franny still romances Martin emphasized mittee that about against this was not a squabble Franco in the Civil War. jobs with the over Edgware workers. One Labour Party bureaucrat knew the 'The Lucas combine is scene: rationalizing all round. We 'The Spanish stuff was think workers throughout for Tack. But if purely the combine should unite Wilson the to resist these attempts.'

was to get T&GWU vote he had to - he saw the do one more thing The men also Amalgamated Union of had to give vocal support in his speech to the middle Engineering Workers' Hugh the boiler- Scanlon, and Jack Jones resolution makers'! In the event Wilson had none of it. In his rambling speech he declined to give endorsement to the boiler- makers and argued for a big vote for the NEC state- ment in the interests unity. Immediately he sat down Anthony Wedg- chairman wood Benn called a vote. 'Those in favour of the

NEC

please statement. Hetfer: Arranged meeting show. of the T&GWU. Both men Jack Tones kept his advised them hands firmly in his lap. to go through official channels.

'When Tones we saw wasn't voting with the NEC Eddie Loyden, president we thought had lost,' we of Liverpool Trades the an NEC member told us. Council and a delegate to the conference, said his Then Benn said: Those

NEC

organization would back against the please the men. show, and again Jones kept his hands down. 'We record for are on of the The neutralizing complete opposition to

T&GWU

ensured vote closures and mergers which beyond doubt that the lead to unemployment. At

NEC

Wilson and Roy the next executive meeting Jenkins had won the day. of the • Trades Council

FINAL

VOTE: 3,407,000

shall be raising the ques- tion of mobilization to sup- for the NEC. port the CAV men: 1,802,000 against.

PAGE 4 Workers Press, Friday October

BY DAVID MAUDE INDUSTRIAL (

Tough government action to curb shop-floor militancy is urgently needed, says the power- ful Engineering Employ. ers' Federation in a report* out today. Workers have continued to forward determinedly press for wage increases despite a shake-out of labour Savage from the industry. almost Although the incredible total of 370,000 jobs were axed from engineer- ing during 1971 and the first six months of this year, nigures for the period January-June 1972 showed average gross wage and salary earnings in the industry to be rising at an annual rate of over 10 per cent. The report threatens that unless the government acts firmly to stop rising costs and halt the disastrous slump in the rate of profit the shake- out will continue, become per- manent and make engineering a relatively minor section of the British economy. It is sharply critical of the Tories for giving the impres- sion they will not allow unem- ployment to rise to very high levels.

IMMEDIATE

ACTION

Immediate government action is called for in the report to: • Stop wages rising faster than productivity, and • Prevent money supply — growing of late at annaul rates to 20-30 per cent- of up expanding faster than the real level of production in the eco- nomy as a whole. In the longer terms, says the EEF, ways must be found to:

HELP

employers bear the financial strain of resisting militant action by trade union- ists, who feel themselves cushioned by Social Security and other state benefits even if they strike. CURB workers' confidence by changing the law or the estab- lished institutions of industrial relations. CHANGE the entire method of determining wages in such a way as to avoid the instability which appears built into the present set-up. Exactly what the authors of the report mean by these pro- posals is not made clear.

In their last report, issued in September last year follow- ing the far-reaching US deci- sion in August to stop exchang- ing dollars for gold, the EEF Research Department declared that 'doubt has been cast on the viability of a full employ- ment economy. And even more fundamental issues are clearly under close consideration in October 1972 by this influential section of the British capitalist class.

menacing Hence the little / October 6, 1972

STRIAL CORRESPONDENT

quotation - strange thing to find in an economic report— which occurs on the second title page: There still l so many are intelligent and informed people who in most respects will defend freedom and yet are immediate induced by the effects of expansionist policy to support what, in the long run, must destroy the founda- tion of a free society' (F. A.

'The Constitution of Hayek. Liberty, 1960.) quotation is not only The menacing, it is extremely apt.

For what runs through the report is the extreme pessi- mism, not to say desperation, of the engineering employers.

And, like desperate men, des- perate classes turn to desperate solutions. The report begins by stress- ing the 'critical' nature of the national economic situation.

This it puts down to a series of so-called imbalances in the economy, the foremost of which it says is the 'imbalance between trade union bargain- ing power and labour produc- tivity improvement'. The EEF researchers admit that their conclusions-drawn from a survey of 950 member firms uf different sizes and in different sectors of the indus- try —are pessimistic. So were their conclusions in previous But the years. researchers insist: Nor has in, previous pessimism our years been at all groundless.'

Rather wearily, they over their previous explanation of the failure of unemploy- ment and the drastic decline in the number of unfilled vacan- cies per jobless worker to curb wage demands. 'In addition to the upsurge in union miltancy itself, which was a political phenomenon,' they say, 'there were a num- ber of economic factors which increased to the the cost individual firms of any pos- sible strike, and this in itself would have an influence on the amount of money they would be willing to give away in order to avoid strikes.'

problems were still present.

DECLINING

PRODUCTION

The report draws attention to the fact that during the first quarter of 1972 the declining production trend seen last year became accentuated.

'In addition,' it says, "the order book figures for the engineering group of indus- and even more so the tries machine-tool industry indicate the likelihood of further decline during the remainder of 1972. Export orders parti- cularly have shown a dramatic downturn.' Figures for June 1972 showed the engineering labour force down 5.8 per cent on the same month last year.

The only bright spot in the The only success the engineer.

Ing employers can claim in that report is the alleged failure of the strategy on lange strategy on wages. engineering workers—like these north-west sit-in strikers at the Mirrlees factory—have remained undeterred by the massive job loss from the Industry. Tra entire picture was that 'some measure of success has been demonstrated by federated engineering firms in resisting the Confederation of Shipbuild- ing and Engineering Unions "plant bargaining" strategy'.

Claims the report: 'By con- centrated resistance federated firms were able to limit them- 196 selves to granting increases in 196 earnings that were on the 19€ whole not greater than the average increases being con- 196 ceded elsewhere.' 196 In other words, the only success the employers can 196 claim was handed to them on 196 a plate by the union leaders.

But, of course, this does not 196 serve to conciliate the employ- 196 ers. It merely encourages their 196 demands. In what is presum- ably a reference to the TUC- 197 Heath-Confederation of British Industry talks, the report says: 'Mere verbal agreement on "moderation" in the pursuit of and salary claims has wage been shown in the past to offer no lasting solution to the Not inflationary problem? The employers may be pessi- mistic, but they are by no means giving up the fight. The EEF report is a warning to trade unionists of fresh, care- fully-planned attacks. * 'The Engineering Industry in Sou an Inflationary Environment'.

EEF Research Department, October 1972. €1.50." - 14- Trading profits in engineering and allied industries) 1960-70 Annual Net (3) Capital change in Real Net goods Real Net Profit (4) Profits Profits Price Index Profit (%) Em Em 1900 = 100 1960 = 100 812 582 100 100 760 102 - 20 4% 0 784 488 105 80

NIL

890• 521 107 84 * S 1057 632 110 99 + 18 1054 570 114 86 - 13 981 609 118 89 +4 958 614 119 88 1116 738 123 103 $ 17 1119 682 128 92 - 11 1143 610 138 76 - 17 (profits of engineering compantes (excluding ship- Notes: building) operating in the UK (2) Before providing for depreciation and stock appre- ciation (3) Gross profits less statutory depreciation allowances 4 Net profits deflated by increase in capital goods prices over same period Sources: National Income and Bxpenditure 1972 National Institute Economic Review

Support given by Italian capital to Portugal's imperialist wars in Angola, Mozambique and Guinea reveals the threat of fascism in Europe. Portugal spends 58 per cent of its annual budget on the wars, at a rate of $600,000 a day to maintain a 130,000- strong army in Africa. To shore up the war effort, US President Nixon recently granted a $436m loan to Portuguese premier Caetano.

secretary-general of The NATO, Joseph Luns, has given glowing praise to this imperial- ist venture: 'Portugal • has been re- sponsible for notable cultural progress in its overseas terri- tories . . . Salazar led the country very wisely... NATO has more need of Portugal than Portugal has of NATO ... Portugal is sacrificing its own blood for our free- dom... One enthusiastic backer for Caetano's mission cultural national against the African liberation struggle the Italian capitalist class, which is intent on a large slice of the profits from mining and farm- ing when the Cabora Bassa and Cunene dams are finally built. Despite public statements by the Italian government that it is no longer participating in the Cabora Bassa project and that Italy is not strengthening the Portuguese armies, Italy is US in second only to the supplying war equipment to Caetano. munitions factories Italian have supplied Beretta light automatic rifles and Breda machine guns. Fiat have obliged with 40 G91 fighter bombers, specially equipped for anti-guerrilla warfare.

The G91 is a real symbol of co-operation: the European frame is built by Fiat, the en- gine by an English company, the landing equipment by a French company and the elec- tronics by a Dutch firm! Agusta supply helicopters, armoured and OTO-Melara for cars and guns. The AER Tap: Portugueze soldiers in Angola.

Macchi company has a factory in South Africa which builds aircraft for Portugal and South Africa. Italian capital is already well represented in the Portuguese colonies. Pirelli and the Naval construction firm in Venice are part of a consortium control- ling the main iron ore mines in Angola. Italian capital . is also in- volved in the Cassinga project, which will enable the iron ore be transported to more rapidly. Perhaps the most sinister venture, however, is the steps establish an' made to being Italian settlement in Angola and Mozambique to realize old colonial ambitions of the Italian fascist movement.

The first Italians arrived in Luanda (Angola) at the be- ginning of October 1971. The Portuguese planned for arrival of more than a million soldier settlers• in order to finish off the liberation armies.

Until now, only 500,000 arrived, 350,000 in have Angola and 150,000 in Mozam- bique. To speed up the pro- cess, Portugal has now decided Above left to right: Salazar, Caot ex-colonialists to appeal east and north Africa, from driven back Europe, noW to and has offered them vast ex- panses of fertile land in the Bassa Cunene and Cabora valleys. The pree realready dee director way. the Portuguese Information Centre Mesquitela, Alvaro in •kome has made with Contact and Christian Democrat in difficulty farmer with the Giovanni Somali government, Capassa. result of this friendly As a get-together, an agreement was concluded to send to Angola 100 Italian families ex-

OVCI

pelled from Libya, or pre- occupied with the threat of other Somali ratige for Mussolinis nationalizations men! The Christian Democrat in- volved in the transaction is thought to be Bettiol, of the openly pro-fascist: wing of the Venice. Bettiol party was the head of a delegation Italian parliamentarians Caeta- which, after talks with no, declared that the liberation movements did not exist and 318 Press, Friday October 6, 1972 PAGE 5 nolano, Joseph Luns of NATO that 'Portugal was an import- reality which the world ant should take into account.'

This development from sell- ing arms or profiteering from colonial plunder could lead to the establishment of an old frontier-type occupation force ready to defend illegitimate gains against the native popu- which is starving lation to death. The project has the backing of the Italian Mercantile Com- pany, which controls 30 per of Angolan exports cent to Italy, the manager of which, Silvano Fantoni, hopes to ex- pand the business of banana ex- _ exports from Angola.

The latest possibility is that apart from ex-colonialists from Libya and Somalia, recruits of a different kind could be made in poverty - stricken south- ern Italy, a stronghold of the fascists. Perhaps shipments of poor peasants or unemployed to Portuguese Africa to fight on behalf of imperialism in this new land of opportunity?

This 'answer' to the unem- ployment problem is a good indication of the 'new Europe' that capital wishes to forge.

PAGE 6 Workers Press, Friday October 6, 1972

BY DAVID MAUDE

The five charges which the with The Strasbourg • based full riot gear came in announced hailer and British government will, even- loud European Human Rights tually, be called upon to that everyone was to go out Commission has agreed into the yard. 1 The Special Powers Act This done. When to consider charges of was places Britain in breach of reached the door of the hut we degrading torture, pun- Article One of the convention.

were made to run a gauntlet of ishment and political dis- 300 Article about soldiers and She member wielding batons and crimination laid against states to 'secure to everyone wardens within their jurisdiction' the kicking wildly. the British government rights and freedoms set out We were then made to kneel by the Republic of Ire. elsewhere the convention. against the perimeter wire of 1N The Irish claim the Act land. the compound. Here everyone breaches this both in letter attacked and was savagely No Irish worker, of course, and in spirit. beaten. any illusions on should have 2 Interrogation methods used This went on for approxi- the role of the commission. against interned and mately half an hour, then we This bureaucratic body no 18 the British tained men by back were made to run more concerned with the Ulster government in are huts through another our rights of the working class of the breach of Article Three gauntlet of British troops and than any other organ of capi- convention, which forbids tor- wardens. rule. and degrading punish- No one escaped injury, some

LUIC

In fact the case is clearly ment. men were bleeding badly from the hire Some evidence is cited from seen evenest head and face wounds. There of Jack Lynch a means of as the Tories' own Compton Re- of suffering men. diplomatic the were a lot discounting pressure on Although from previous illnesses, but no Tories. charges of brutality, on was exempt from these will not commission Sune grounds that have been widely beatings. even begin its detailed exami- questioned, Compton admitted About ten minutes later we nation charges until tene treat- were subiect lo were offered hospital February. Meanwhile next se the corner ment but a lot of injured men British imperialism will con- does lay convention because of fear of refused tinue to reveal its hideous, down grounds which another This was beating. brutal face daily to the Irish countries can pull out of its proved to be the case when working class. own stated ban on internment some badly injured men were The two most serious of the without trial. Eire brought to the camp hospital original charges But Eire argues that Britain There they were refused treat- will, in fact, not be heard at 'required went further than and ther ment by the doctors Strasbourg. One was convent. by the exigencies of the situa- beaten back to their huts.

ently withdrawn under pres- tion'-the phrase used We call all representa- the Tory govern- sure from Article 15 of the convention.

of the minority in Bel- tives ment Westminster, the at (Article 15, Clause Two fast to protest against these declared allows internment when there savage and brutal attacks on by the commission itself.

is a public emergency threat- prisoners of Cage Six. the The the le of the nation'. We call for inde- brought Article Seven also The Lynch government argues pendent inquiry into these of the Convention of Human that this is not the Case local MPs Rights which the attacks by and commission Ulster.) for Legal Justice Association is supposed to administer.

4 Internment breaches Article Article Seven forbids retro- and independent medical an Six the convention, examination by our family doc- spective criminal legislation. which the right of Eire claimed that provisions of cal allers the Inter- arrested persons to a fair trial national Red Cross. the Northern Ireland Act 1972 breach of this. were in operation intern- (The Act legalized the arrest ment and detention with-

INFORMANTS

policy already being pursued out trial in Ulster breaches British by troops, although Article 14 of the convention. they had previously had 11C Article 14 bans discrimina- strict legal authority for this political The AL]'s tion on grounds of informants under the Special Powers Act.)

opinion. Eire argues that in- append a list of 55 named vic- The charge was withdrawn of ternment is founded on pre- the alleged after Cuis allacKs. assurances to the head cisely this principle. whose injuries include severe of the Irish legal team, quite plain from the bruising of the legs, arms, ribs Attorney-General Colm Con class character of the com- and genitals; bad cuts to don, from his British opposite mission, the vague wording of arms requiring number Sir Peter Rawlinson.

the charges and the cynical stitches; bites to legs and arms Condon and the 'Green attitude ot the lnch govern.

from wardens' dogs Tory' of government Lynch ment itself that Strasbourg is A 60-year-old from man also heaved sighs relief to be an extended black farce.

Belfast, Bernard Morgan when their second charge was Meanwhile in Ulster itself- received said to have badly declared inadmissible by the bruised ribs, plus injuries to as more and more wen-cock• commission. mented case histories show- his legs, back and head. Ed Campbell (55), also from the military, police and vigi- lante thuggery of imperialist heads rend reportedly received

BLOODY SUNDAY

rule goes on. head requiring ten For instance there is this stitches, plus bad bruising of given to the Associa his back, arms and legs. tion for Legal of This referred to the mas- tion Justice, Belfast's J. Wilson, although sacre of 13 people in London- alleged brutality last month only 14 years old, is claimed 'Bloody Sunday' against prisoners awaiting trial to have suffered a badly swol- derry on right arm, (January 30, 1972), the killing in Cage Six of the Long Kesh len badly bruised internet is on Seamus Cusack and right leg and bruising of his Des mond Beatty Derry in This report the head and genitals. in 1971 and of Fr Mullen in Bel- Kevin savage attacks on prisoners From Armagh, is said in August 1971. Cage Six, Long Kesh, Trainer fast in by to have The commission found there troops and prison cess and his tem on bites on both his British was no evidence these killings legs and it is warders. But Sep- were 'an administrative prac- tember 22mi At 9 on Friday, claimed that he was refused 1972, a hot water tice', or that there was official treatment by a doctor. tolerance of them. The charge boiler was brought to Hut 61.

Evidence of military bru- of of 'unlawful killing' under were tality outside the internment Article Two of the convention queueing outside the door of camps is cited in a statement therefore disallowed. this hut for hot water to make the

ALJ

collected on Was Since Condon and Lynch Suddenly the doors of all August 30 from the father of tea. boys. had bid taped techne Belfast the huts were slammed closed young militant and locked by the Although his name and address appease prison criticism of them in Catholic are withheld by the association wanders. About ten minutes later the in case of further reprisals, the the north, they were not at all doors opened and a soldier in unhappy at this turn of events.

statement is witnessed by O'Boyle and is in the hands of ALJ solicitor P. J. McCrory. (On the night of August 29, 1972, I was moving some furniture from my house to the house of an old age pen- sioner. I was in fact this furniture to him as I was installing a new In the suite. moving I was helped bs my two sons, Eamonn and Kieran.

The reception of the furniture was also being helped by some local lads. Our house is facing the mili- St Geneviere's School, post al while and we were moving the furniture we had remarked that would not surprise us if we had a visit from the troops. operation When une Was complete we did in fact have a visit from them. We were all arrested, that is, the helpers at both houses. We arrested 11 at were o'clock and brought to the military post at St Genevieve's and then to Black's Road mili- We were all inter- tary post. We went through the rogated. formalities usual and were but eventually released, my son Eamonn (17) was kept be- hind. Kieran told me that he saw Hamonn's shirt torn from hi back and that he had been crying. While I was there wait- Top: Londonderry, January 30, 1972—'Bloody Sunday'. Men are ing to be called for interroga- European Human Rights Commission will not even begin to consider, by paratroopers on 'Bloody Sunday', the Commission refused to take tion former Hong 1 saw Kong policeman (who was now apparently in the army as their intimidat- hatchetman') PIIze ing the boys and striking them about the legs with his baton, at the time issuing same threats as to what he would do with them, such as 'Would you like to have your throat slit, and that he knew karate, and 'Would you like to have your face changed?' The information about his Chinese background was con- veyed by to boys this Lne particular of the army star himself in a boastful attitude.

He also asked them to sing 'The Queen'. At 3 a.m. August 30, when Kieran told me what had hap- pened, inquired about Eámonn from the military post St Genevieve's. They at in Road turn rang Black's posi and they told them that he had been released. This was repeated. after was most anxious this and I again went back but without any success. I then went to Andersonstown, and they told me that he was in fact Castlereagh holding at centre. Eamonn at released had been treated 72. He ill-treated 'hat- unday'. Men are marched off for interrogation under tachniques the army post sala On the massacre of 13 people n begin to consider, until next February.

Chinese policeman, hetman' ion refused to take evidence. Above: one of the dead. member of Royal Regi- now Workers Press, Frida ment of Fusiliers. He was ver- bally intimidated and struck on ankles with baton, pulled back by the hair of the head and made to drink cold coffee.

His shirt was pulled open and he was made to stand out in the cold 15-20 minutes. He reported his in treatment Castlereagh to a military policeman. Aemonn had been interro- gated at Castlereagh holding centre from 6 a.m. until he was released at 9 p.m. He was iso- lated all this time and there had been different Special Branch personnel questioning him, i.e. queries about his opinions on present situation in the town and his views with regard to the poli- tical situation.

SPECIAL BRANCH

Since the publication of the Compton Report, the activities of the Special Branch of the Royal Ulster Constabulary referred to in this last state- ment, have come in for more and more attention. A recent 'World in Action' programme (Granada TV, Sep- tember 25) detailed at least eight cases of alleged severe brutality at the Special Branch interrogation centres at Gird- Workers Press, Friday October 6, 1972 PAGE 7 wood and Hollywood. from Assaults ranging re- peated kickings in the legs to the forcing of a metal chair leg up a man's anus were said to have taken place. In each signed doctors' state- case testifying ments were given that the examined injuries were consistent with what the person in question said had happened to them. There were also accounts of the of severe electric use shock torture during interro- gations at these centres.

But the programme was also interspersed with pious plati- tudes from Tory MP William Deedes Labour's Roy an Hattersley. Hattersley's part- ing shot was: 'I suspect what's said in Strasbourg will result in a new definition of torture' Maybe it will. But it will do so only to ensure that the pro- cess goes on and the system of class rule which produces it remains unchallenged. Those like the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Associa- tion, which it taking a case Strasbourg to next month, who sow illusions in bodies like the Human Rights Com- mission cannot challenge the system of class rule. The Lynch government's manoeuvres at Strasbourg demonstrate the sickening bankruptcy of these politics.

STALIN 'BOLSHEVIZES'

THE GERMAN CP

PAGE 8 Workers Press, Friday October Part eight of a series by Tom 1 Until March 1924 the Communist German Party (KPD) remained illegal. Even after that date warrants were still out for many of the leaders. Its Seventh Con- gress was held in secret in Frankfurt in April 1924 to coincide with an international exhibition which brought many tourists to the city. This congress consecrated the Fischer-Maslow-Thaelmann leadership and its left line with a strong worker-base in Berlin and the Ruhr. It took as one of its aims 'the complete liquidation of the Social Democratic Party' (SPD) and rejected the united- front tactic and all transitional slogans related to democratic institutions. The Congress resolution foreshadowed the later 'social fascism' policy. It said: "The Social Democratic Party, which has shifted to the right on a narrower base, has, as a frac- tion of fascism, from being an ally become a support for the bourgeoisie and has definitely lost, in the course of the past decisive influence its year, over the worker-masses.' Not only the left, but dele- gates from the centre, spoke optimistically of the revolu- tionary wave rising again in the near future. The Congress roclaimed that preparatior the main or revolution was immediate task and demanded a break with the tactic of the united front. faction which The left dominated the Frankfurt Con- gress showed its independence by electing its own list to the central leadership rather than one with a more even repre- sentation of factions supported by the Moscow-based Com- munist International (Comin- tern). It would not be long before an open clash took place. After the Congress the left further extended its influence at the expense of the centre.

In May Maslow was arrested suspected pickpocketing for and later charged with high treason and kept in prison.

Like other political parties, the KPD set up a para-military organization, the Roter Kamp- ferbund — the Union of Red Front Fighters — with Ernst Thaelmann as its chief. Its activities at this time fighting aimed mainly at the were Social Democratic workers organized in their 'Reichs- banner' movement. In the Reichstag elections of May 1924 the KPD campaigned on an intransigent left pro- of proletarian dic- gramme tatorship and complete social- ization. The Party also strongly attacked the Dawes Plan, set up with US support for the financing of reparations pay- ments. The election result was a considerable success. The Party polled over 12 per cent of the votes and won 62 seats. In some working-class areas it was the biggest party. The confidence which the working class showed in the Party, despite its performance in October 1923 and its period of clandestinity, might have been the beginning of a deter- October 6, 1972 y Tom Kemp on the history of the G Above: SPD supporters of Wllhem Ma mined attempt to win the masses away from the SPD.

However, the ultra-left course had the opposite effect. When elections were again held in December it lost near a million votes, polling 9 per cent and getting only 45 seats.

CONTROL

In June 1924 the Fifth Con- gress of the Comintern met in Moscow with a strong German delegation dominated by the left. The call of the Congress was for the 'Bolshevization' of member-parties. This the slogan concealed the desire of Stalin and Zinovier to control the national sections and im- pose Comintern decisions on them which meant now, to an increasing extent, the will of Soviet leadership and the Stalin himself. At first the path of 'Bol- shevization' did not run too smoothly in the KPD. This was not because there was any sympathy for Trotsky or any real understanding of the danger which Stalin repre- sented to the international movement. It was simply that the left leadership in Germany had opened the way for ultra- trends and increasing left criticism of Comintern policy, which made a clash with Mos- cow inevitable. Ruth • Fischer allied herself factionally with Zinoviev against the ultra-lefts as well the Brandlerites, which as entirely suited Stalin's book.

The Congress was interpreted of the German Communist Party Nonn Illhem Marx the SPD candidate in 1925. Right: as having been a victory for the lefts because the slogan of the united front was played down and the main blows were struck against right ten- dencies. Discussion trade on the union question which con- tinued after the Congress showed that there was a deep division between the

KPD

leadership and the Comintern.

The former opposed unity with the reformist unions unless it was carried out on lines pro- posed by the Red International of Trade Unions. For that body Lozowsky made it clear that it rejected such a policy.

Many German communists saw the turn towards the reformist unions as a turn away from revolution. An instruction to join the reform- ist unions was ignored by many members and hundreds of expulsions took place. The dis- this question and on array division • within the Party no doubt help account for the poor showing at the December 1924 elections. The electoral debacle helped to undermine the position of the Fischer-Maslow leadership.

Maslow, jail, had from criticized Lozowsky. Fischer and Thaelmann were now on This gave bad terms. the Comintern the opportunity to push the pliable Thaelmann forward and to undermine the influence of unreliable the Maslow and Ruth Fischer. Stalin, still not definitely committed to any group in the 25. Right: Ernst Thaelmann KPD, was looking for sup- porters. In February 1925 he gave an interview in which he said that it was not 'Bolshev- ization' to drive all who think differently out of the Party.

This came at a time when the KPD leaders were advocating the expulsion of the Brand- 'then still resident in lerites, Moscow, on Comintern orders.

Maslow, from his prison cell, intervened to criticize Stalin for compromising with the right. Stalin came back with a firm but guarded reply; but he obviously noted Maslow's the idea of temerity with getting revenge. As for Mas- low, he tried to make amends proposing a united front, not only with the SPD, but also with the Centre (Catholic) Party. This question was bound up with the presidential election which took place in March 1925. On the first ballot Thael- mann pulled in only 1.8 million votes. The second ballot saw the SPD candidate standing down in favour of the Centre Party candidate (whose name was Marx) against Hindenburg, who offered himself as the representative of the right. The marshall stood for everything which was most reactionary in Germany and was a challenge to the republic itself. The KPD, atter considerable debate, decided to offer sup- port to the SPD candidate on the second ballot, but when he withdrew in favour of Marx to fight Hindenburg, Thaelmann's maintained. candidature was His vote rose slightly, but was decisive in the election of Hindenburg. Under pressure from Mos- cow the KPD leadership moved to the right. Ruth Fischer did likewise, not for principled reasons, but in order to pre- serve her Party position.

Fischer and Maslow noW came under crossfire from right and left. The former saw an opportunity for a united front against reaction which • had been missed, the latter denounced a rotten … com- promise in the initial willing- to support an SPD ness candidate.

CONTINUED TOMORROW

Minamata Is a fishing town on Japan's west facing the coast China Sea. Bizarre things began to happen there in the summer of 1953. The cats in the town and the nearby villages up and down the coast began to stagger, go mad and die. By the end of that year the first human victims began to symptoms show the of the baffling paralytic disorder. It was the start of an eight-year epi- demic in which 43 people out of a coastal population of 10,000 were to die and a further. 68, of them infants and many children, were to be permanently and grotesquely disabled.

They were victims of polsoning by organic mercury compounds which attack the • cells of the brain and cause permanent dam- age and eventually death. The the fish they mercury was in caught and ate. It came from the sewage cutlets of the Chisso Fer- tlilzer Company. which was pour- Ing metallic mercury into the sea.

It took years of inquiry to pin down the sources of the pollu- tion, largely nobody because

METALS'.

THE

TOXIC

By Anthony Tucker. Pan/Ballantine 50p. Heavy metal pollution is one of the most insidious and least understood by. products of many modern industrial processes, as Tucker points out in the introduction to this book.

Some of these metals are to life essential in small but others amounts, are so highly poisonous that even in tiny doses quite they can cripple or kill. Tucker's thesis is that vast amounts of these poisons (vast, that is, by com- parison with their availability in nature) are being poured into the environment without any serious attempt to study their fate and effects. He has amassed compelling evidence to back up this view from the appalling Japanese story of Minamata and Itai- Itai 'diseases'—in reality out- breaks of mercury and cad- mium poisoning due to indus- trial effluent - to the steady realized that met could be extremely into the alcatn alte. another Nilgata on the notee killed were similar state Minamata is reveale from became Ill on J numbness tips and with diffic June •abillty to wall Impaired, tremor markeri accompanied volent Involuntary movements By able other movements; convulsions became vith outbursts of f ng and crying. Aft rise of lead blood of British ch His* facts irrefutable: there i of poisonous meta we breathe, and the water we will poison many Inousana go on building up By material, Tucker's fies to the capitali surplus value thing else is Again and again in is the failure of fac to , take the tions which leads which people ai He has also doc wilful 'blindness health authorities levels' сате .out Val1! specific pollution action only when is done. The author bel liberal anti-polluti authorities over only he clude, Hienz Kiosk, that guilty. . regards it He reflection on humanity that, for hygienist industrial for years supporte trial vlew... to viewpoint work is ported by the poll try'. It would seem t reflection on capitalism than that humanity should be able to ists to tell people activities ecc (neir Since Tucker nature rather society for the ri poisonous heavy n inflicted on the wor that surprising converted xtremely toxic organic ile, close to the outlet chemical factory at coast Sea of the Colee •ooora by mes ra. victims is revealed by the fol- reproduced the records M.F.). and difficulty in hear- 16 speech and vere markedly she hands sometimes involuntary s Decame more severe rsts of frenled shout- rylng. After developing levels in the British children. and figures us metals in the air the food we eat aler we arınk wnich n many hundreds of of people they Iding up at the pre- together this book testi- capitalists' lust for to which every- subordinated, again in his book it ure of factory-owners simplest precau- ih leads to tragedies peopie are Dolsonea documented the wh public of fix yet basic checks on hake y when the damage thor belongs to the ati-pollution school. ımenting the criminal between big the heavy metal can con- Peter Simple's Dr sk, that 'we are all it as 'sad the of lalulc that, for example, an hygienist 'who has supported an indus- will defend his the last, especi- work is largely sup- the polluting indus- 1 seem to be more a nature the of of than on EnaT industrialists able to hire scient- 1 people how harm- activities are. blames human than capitalist of tide the rising metals being a the world, it is not should he * high fever she was admitted • a to hospital on August 30.

She was found to be severely emaciated and, suffering from involuntary seizures, unable to respond to normal stimuli, but shouting and screaming at in- tervals of about one minute. Her condition deteriorated rapidly. After a brief period of coma she died on September 2. The official cause of death was pneumonia.

Chisso's victims have been try.

ing ever since to get the com- pany to disgorge adequate com- pensation for the injurles they have suffered. Chisso had dragged the wrangle over com- pensation through the courts for • than ten years, offering more contemptible ex gratia handouts to avoid taking responsibility for the victims. When they protested outside the factory on December 18 last year, the Minamata victims were brutally beaten Chisso up • by employees mobilized by the man- agement. Later the Minamata victims occupied the company's head office In Tokyo as shown in our photograph. adhere to the pessimistic view advance that technological must be stopped. He describes the reactionary 'club of Rome' which pro- duced the Malthusian Man- sholt Report last year as 'an informal group of industrial- ists and humanists who really care about the future; those who contrast to advocate 'the wilful insanity of blind technological "expansion" with its phoney rosy futures'.

Tucker believes that pollu- tion is inseparable from tech- nology, basing his opinion on the obvious but trite point that the levels of, for example, metal production, are indica- tors of the rate which at resources are being used up.

His vision of the future is one in which the 'overriding aim should be stability through birth control, resources con- trol and genuine control'.

He hopes that the facts about the increase of poisonous metals in water, food and air will spur governments to overwhelming recognize the case for ensuring that the complex basis of life on this planet remains as intact and as healthy as possible. This is reactionary non- sense. In a society based on.

private property and the pur- suit of surplus value through exploitation there can be no 'genuine control' over that property and the use it is put to. Urging capitalist govern- to recognize the over- ments whelming case against pollu- tion is likely to be about as fruitful as urging them to recognize the overwhelming case against war. This is not to say there is "ecological' crisis, for no Tucker convincingly shows that there is. But this crisis, in reality, is only one aspect of the death- agony of imperialism and will be solved only when the work- ing class expropriates the exploiters and builds a plan- ned economy in which . the profit motive is eliminated.

Workers Press, Friday October 6, 1972 PAGE 9

COMFORT

First-year from There was hardly a dry eye in accounts £100 company known as Rail- the audience when chairman way Finance Ltd have brought Dr E. J. Popham told the to light a breathtaking and annual meeting of the Black- of entirely legal system of tax burn and district Council by of of Social Service that the accountancy means leading British which voluntary social work they for years been organize is panies have really a modern raking in large sums of govern- equivalent of the work of the ment money. medievel monasteries and con- vents which served the poor, Railway Finance was formed last year to lease rolling spock Councils to British Rail. Its shareholders (CSS), he declared, are really Williams are Barclays Bank, ecumenical organizations and Glyn's

GEC,

Bank, Dis- which serve their fellow men tillers and Great Universal for love. Stores. This is in stark contrast, he Three of the four have pointed out, to the actions stakes of £22.50 in the com- dockers and other workers pany, Williams and Glyn's only 'clamouring for high who are £10. But in return they shared wages'. While 'industrial unrest tax of about £300,000. cuts spreads hatred and bitterness, And next year they will start

CSS

and the spread peace picking up sums of £lm be- goodwill'. tween them. Unrest, he claimed, breeds The scheme started out as violence and industrial strikes a means of British Rail getting suffering, bring 'sorrow and its rolling stock more cheaply but the CSS brings peace, than would otherwise be comfort and joy. possible. Rolling stock is bought by Railway Finance Ltd, which of course has no money of its In the 1840s when cotton was own to do so, with cash lent king, opium was widely used to it. by British Rail. In the in some working-class districts first year the sum was £21.6m.

of Manchester. Then the stock is leased In the form of a mixture black to British Rail. Cordial' called 'Godfrey's it As a by-product, however, was given to babies to keep them quiet while their mothers bought the stock counts as worked in the mills. Sometimes capital expendituré and thus their mothers administered it, qualifies for government invest- but more often it was given by allowances (by ment which old women who earned a few companies can offset cost of coppers looking after equipment against their tax as many children as they could bills). But politically British Rail is get. 'Godfrey's Cordial' not allowed to make enough wasa of aniseed, profit to gain from the offset, mixture treacle, — the water and laudanum Railway Finance the SO gets alcoholic tincture of opium.

allowances and spreads them The effect produced around its shareholding com- suffusion on the brain and a panies. host of glandular and mesen- The involved companies teric disorders. agreed in advance to buy the A contemporary description allowances at an undisclosed of a victim "The child runs: discount, probably 10 per cent.

sinks into a low torpid state, first-year The allowances and wastes away to a skeleton, amounted to about £3m, SO the stomach alone preserving the companies would have paid its protuberance. If it survives, about £2.5m, for the right to it is more or less weakly and their bills cut tax that for life - the stunted com- The £2.5m goes back amount. plexion never assumes to British Rail as an interest- healthy hue. free loan. The rate in Man- death Similar wide- practices are chester at that time was one spread both in the nationalized in 30, compared with one in industries and the private sec- 45 in the English average But you tor. just try pulling town. Out of every 100 deaths a similar stroke on the tax- nearly half were in the city, those of children. man...

LEON TROTSKY:

Germany 1931/1932 Paperback £1.25—cloth £1.87½ Where Is Britain Going? Paperback 37½p Revolution Betrayed Paperback 624p—cloth £1.05 Problems of the Chinese Revolution Paperback £1.124—Cloth {1.87} Permanent Revolution : Results and Prospects Paperback 75p In Defence of Marxism Paperback 75p Lessons of October Paperback 60p Postage 10p per book, 3p per pamphlet. Order from:

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PAGE 10 Workers Presa, Friday October Centre. conference.' COVENTRY: Monday October 9, 8 p.m. 'Market Tavern', , Junction Street (off the Butts). ATUA conference'. BIRMINGHAM: Monday October 9, 8 p.m. Lecture Room 3, Digbeth Civic Hall. 'ATUA conference'.

SOUTH WEST LONDON: Tuesday _8 p.m. Clapham October 10, Clapham Manor Street, SW4. ence. WEALDSTONE: Tuesday Octo Wealdstone ber p.m. Labour Road. 'ATUA Station confer- ence'. WANDSWORTH: Tuesday October Selkirk Hotel, Selkirk 10, 8 p.m. Road, SW17. 'ATUA conference'.

WILLESDEN: Tuesday October 10, 8 p.m. Trades and Labour Road, NW10. 'ATUA Hall, High conference'. CLAPHAM: Tuesday October 10, 8 p.m. Clapham Baths, Clapham Manor Street, SW4. 'ATUA con- ference'. MANCHESTER: Wednesday October 11, 7.30 p.m. Mil- ton Hall, Deansgate. 'Fight the rent Act! Build Councils of Action!' SOUTH EAST LONDON: Thursday October 12, 8 p.m. Deptford En- gineers' gross Station. The ATUA con Now opposite terence'. LEICESTER: Thursday October 'Queen's Hotel'. Rut- 2, 8 p.m. land Street. 'ATUA conference Socialist Labour League

LECTURES

THE THEORY AND

PRACTICE OF MARXISM

Given by G. Healy (SLL national secretary) in London; Cliff Slaughter (SLL Central Committee member) in Leeds.

Historical materialism today Sunday October 8

EAST HAM TOWN HALL

Lister Room Barking Road, 7 p.m. The Marxist theory of knowledge Monday October 9

GUILDFORD HOTEL

Headrow, 8 p.m. The nature of capitalism Monday October 16

PEEL HOTEL

Boar Lane, 8 p.m. Historical materialism today Monday October 23

PEEL HOTEL

Boar Lane, 8 p.m. Bullding the revolutionary party Monday October 30

PEEL HOTEL

Boar Lane, 8 p.m. Public Meeting Nottingham Vednesday October 11, 8 p.m.

Thurland Hall. Pelham Street.

Roger Stenson (Secretary Bilborough Tenants' Association), Jim Butler (T&GWU branch chairman). Both in personal capacity.

John Eden (YS Nationaly Committee). Robert Vaughn uses his UNCLE experiences 1o play Protector Harry TV on all independent channels, Later on London Tv at 7.00 D.m Brigit Forsyth is in the final part of the thriller 'Holly'•

BBC 1

ITV

9.38-11.53 12.00 Let's 9.30 Schools. 12.00 Happy house.

Schools. 12.55 News: 1500 Pelle Mill t 12.15 Labour conterence

BBC 2

Pebble Mill 1.00 Dunlop masters golf. 2.05 News. Good 1.45 Castle 2.30 after- The one. JOe. Coles Havell 2.05 Schools. 3.00 Dunlop Masters men. noon. golf. 9.30 Labour Party conference 4.10 Play school 3.25 Marcus 4.20 from 11.00 Play school. 4.35 Adventures of Parsley.

of 4.50 4.40 Adventures Labour Party conference. Chael Men Tig 5.20 Nanny and Jackanory. dawg. the 4.50 Maoe

OPEN UNIVERSITY.

4.55 Help. 5.15 Michael professor. 5.50 News. 6.05 and weather. time News

6.00 TODAY.

6.35 IRELAND. Remember 1690!

NAHUNWIDE.

6.35 CROSSROADS.

UNIVERSITY.

TOM

7.05

OPEN

6.45 JERRY. Nea-

7.00 THE PROTECTORS.

politan Mouse. 7.30

NEWSROOM

CONFER-

PANTHER

6.55

THE

PINK

7.30 HAWAII FIVE-O. Pig in a

ENCE

REPORT.

Weather. 8.05

MONEY

AT

WORK.

The 7.15

THE

VIRGINIAN.

Holo- 8.30 DORA. Dear Little Agatha Conservative Economy. caust 9.00 HOLLY. Final episode.

8.30 DAD'S ARMY. Asleep in

WORLD.

9.00

GARDENERS'

the DeeP CLOCK NEWS. 9.25 THE MAYA. DO To

LOST

WORLD

NINE

10.00 NEWS AT TEN.

POLICE

FIVE.

South Horse ste 9.25

VILLAINS.

Grass. Bryan

NCANATONAL

10.40 America explore

JUMPING.

Maya's lost world. Marshit. Show year

DUNLOP MASTERS GOLF.

10.30

FRIDAY

TALK-IN.

Robin NEWS ON 2. Weather. Experiments 12.25

MISCELLANY.

DATE NIGHT NEWS.

Extra-Sensory Per-

SPORT

TWO.

Colin Wel- Will

T8.SU

CALLED

ception. land and lan Wooldridge.

IRON-

DEPARTMENTR

S. The 12.30 Seeing is Believing.

11.15 LATE NIGHT LINE-UP.

Soup of the Day. Weather. 12.10 Strikers' 36-mile trip for Social Security Knitwear HUNDREDS of the 3,500 knitwear workers on strike in the border town of Hawick are angr • at having to face a 36-mile trip if they want to apply for Social Security supplementary benefits workers The two-week-old strike by 5,000 workers which has halted 29 mills in border towns as far apart as Arbroath, Berwick-on-Tweed, Cumberland, Annan and Hawick, is in support of their claim for a £6 across-the-board increase, a 35-hour week and an extra week's reject holiday a year. arbitration The Scottish Social Security Ministry's decision to handle benefits at Galashiels- inquiries -36 miles Hawick has Subscribe! trom by described unusual The dally strikers since 700 of the total paper that. 900 possible applicants actually aads the workers press live in Hawick fight against by the Manufac Attempis the Torles. Turneral and Maticipal Association Workers the 220.28 tor 12 monins (31z Issues) {10.14 for 6 months (156 issues) settlement have been met with a £5.07 for 3 months (78 issues) flat Alex Whillans, Hawick Knit If you want to take Workers Press twice a week the rates are: told branch secretary, wear {1 3 months (24 issues) Workers Press: £6.24 for 12 months (96 issues) 'We had have too many poor examples of arbitration. Our Fill in the form below NOW and send to: last increase was for f3. The employers us £1 gave 186a Clapham High St., Circulation Dept., Workers Pre London, SWa 7UG first, the but when Callle Jast f2 we had to fight for it.

'As far as con- the union is I would like to take out a subscription to Workers Press.

cerned. we have done evervthing calm way.

THURSDAY

in a cool.

MONDAY

Days required is to heroly ther decent

TUESDAY

FRIDAY

of (Please tick) agreement whereby cost

WEDNESDAY

SATURDAY

Is taken InCO considera tion. At press conference earlier Or Association chairman this week Full subscription (six days) for William Kyle said: wear allon business toke e Name a profit. make not or we nave to kees Address money, but how long can that go on? any firm, up funder these or circumstances but the tragedy Amount enclosed f the people on strike will is that not believe this.

REGIONAL TV

CHANNEL: 9.30-12.00 London.

1.00 London. 3.53 Puffin. 3.55 Jimmy Stewart. 4.25 Pebbles and Bamm Bamm. 4.50 London. 5.20 Alexander the greatest. 5.50 Lon- don. 6.00 News, weather. 6.10 Report. 6.35 London. 7.30 FBI.

8.30 London. 10.30 Golf. 11.15 Film: 'House of Frankenstein'. 12.25 News, weather. WESTWARD. As Channel except: 12.15 Gus Honeybun. 12.25 Labour Party conference. 3.53 News. 6.00 Diary. 6.25 Sports desk. 11.12 News. 12.25 Faith for life. SOUTHERN: 9.30 London. 12.05 1.00 Labour Party conference. News. 1.05 Golf. 4.10 House- party. 4.25 Funky phantom. 4.50 London. 5.20 Cartoon. 5.25 Cross- roads. 5.50 London. 6.00 Scene SE. 6.35 Out of town. 7.05 Sky's the limit. 7.35 FBI. 8.30 London.

10.30 Golf. 11.15 Weekena. 11.20 the Film: "Invasion of Body Snatchers'. 12.30 News. 12.40 Weather. Guideline. HARLECH: 9.30 London. 2.30 Women only. 3.00 London. 4.10 Tinkertainment. 4.25 Rovers. 4.50 London. 5.20 Gustavus. 5.25 Crossroads. 5.50 London. 6.01 Report West. 6.18 Report Wales.

6.35 Bonanza. 7.30 Film: 'Gorilla at Large'. 9.00 London. 10.30 Golf. 11.15 Now it's your say.

11.45 Dora. 12.15 Weather.

HTV Cymru/Wales 7 and 41 as above except: 4.10-4.25 Cantamil.

6.01-6.18 Y dydd. 10.30 Outlook 11.00 Sports arena. 11.30-12.15 Golf. HTV WEST as above except: 6.18-6.35 Report West. ANGLIA: 9.30 London. Romper room. 4.20 News. 4.25 Skippy. 4.50 London. 5.20 Primus.

5.50 London. 6.00 About Anglia.

6.35 London. 7.00 Sale of the century. 7.30 O'Hara. 8.30 Lon- don. 10.30 Probe. 11.00 Film: 'Kisses for My President'. " ATV MIDLANDS: 9.30 London.

2.20 Horoscope. 2.30 London. 4.25 Forest rangers. 4.50 London.

Nel- 5.20 Flintstones. 5.50 London. London. 7.00 dge. 6.00 Today. 6.35 Sky's the limit. 7.30 Protectors.

8.30 London. 8.00 Adventurer. 10.30 Golf. 11.15 Film: 'Alexander the Great. 1.30 ULSTER: 11.00 London. News. 1.32 Cartoon. 1.40 Schools.

2.40 Golf. 4.00 Romper room.

4.50 4.20 News. 4.25 Rovers. Shirley's world. London. 5.20 5.50 London. 6.00 Reports. 6.35 7.00 Sky's the limit. London. 7.30 UFO. 8.30 London. 10.30 Golf. 11.15 Epilogue. YORKSHIRE: 9.30 London. 4.25 Merrie melodies. 4.50 London.

5.20 Elephant boy. 5.50 London.

weather. 6.35 London. 7.00 7.30 Cade's county. 8.30 London.

10.30 Golf. 11.15 Film: 'The Secret Four'. 12.50 Weather.

GRANADA: 9.30 London. 4.20 4.50 News. Funky phantom. London. 5.15 Crossroads. 5.45 Felix the cat. 5.50 London. 6.00 6.20 Speedy gonzales. News. 6.35 Kick off. 7.00 Riptide. 8.00 Protectors. 8.30 London. 10.30 11.15 Film: "The Captive Golf. City'. TYNE TEES: 9.30 London. 12.00 Make a wish. 12.15 London. 2.30 Yoga. 2.59 News. 3.00 London.

4.25 Merrie melodies. 4.50 Lon- boy. 5.50 don. 5.20 Elephant London. 6.00 Today. 6.35 London.

7.00 Sky's the limit. 7.30 Cade's county. 8.30 London. 10.30 Golf.

11.15 Film: "The Wind of Change'.

12.25 News. 12.50 Epilogue.

SCOTTISH: 9.30

• London. 2.30 4.25 Dateline. 3.00 London. Skippy. 4.50 London. 5.20 Cross- 5.50 London. 6.00 Today. roads. 6.30 Shirley's world. 7.00 Sky's the limit. 7.30 London. 10.30 Golf. 11.15 Friday night. 11.45 Late call. 11.50 Theatre of stars.

GRAMPIAN: 10.58 London. 1.38 Schools. 2.40 Cartoon. 2.57 News.

3.00 London. 4.20 Funky phan- tom. 4.50 London. 5.50 London.

6.00 News. 6.10 Thompson at teatime. 6.35 London. 7.00 Sky's 7.30 Hogan's heroes. limit. 8.00 McCue's music. 8.30 Lon- don. 10.30 Golf. 11.15 Job look.

11.20 Film: "The Mad Magician'.

12.45 Epilogue.

IAN YEATS EXAMINES

THE WORK-IN at Briant Colour Printers, Peckham, London, has reached a crucial stage. Shop stewards at factory, which has been occupied for 14 weeks, have tur all offers from up to a dozen potential buyers because been linked to demands to slash the workforce.

As far as the liquidator P. Granville White is con- cerned, the workers can stay where they are and sweat it out until they are forced on their knees to accept a negotiated settlement. Liquidator's spokesman H. B.. Blandford Baker said yesterday there were still po- tential buyers available, but only on condition the size of the workforce was cut. The work-in has been un- able to build up the plant's turnover to commercial levels and Blandford Baker told me owner would that new want fewer workers during the period trade was being panded. with A formula fitting in this sort of requirement was Communist Party signed by Clyde- leaders Glasgow's at bank shipyard with this week's disastrous results. So Briant shop far the and without any marked pro- stewards' led by committee, Bill Freeman, has stuck to its gress, demoralization among some rank and filers may force guns and turned down all sug- the committee's hand. gestions not only that any of should be Little has been heard of the 150 workers dismissed, but that they should for nearly a month work-in when the liquidator announced be asked to accept voluntary that the workers would have Severance Blandford Baker told to foot their own bills-which me that negotiations with the aim they have done. But deadlock has now been of inducing workers to accept wants the were the only reached. buyer severance pay factory with the existing work- foreseeable the solution to and the workers won't problem of finding a buyer. force buyer won't A number of workers at the entertain who employ all of them. plant appeared to be coming If the situation remains as it round to acceptance of this be is, the question to he said, although the only vIeW, will the work-in committee was stand- answered is when be forced work-in committee ing firm. what the liquidator's plainly hope in There was open office calls 'reasonable' negoti- the liquidator's office that after without ations. three months wages

FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT

TRIM-SHOP workers at the Coventry-Jaguar factory were yesterday forced by their national union officials into working the settlement terms of the recent 11-week strike. with the Dissatisfaction terms led to a refusal on Wed- nesday by 260 trim-workers to from the agree to proposals national officials to return to normal working. Jaguar has accused the men of going slow and of breaking the agreement reached in August after the strike. This established a rate of £44 for 40 hours and gave workers earning more than £20 to this sums varying from over three months £105 spread while talks on a new Measured- Day Work system take place.

Trim-men told Workers Press yesterday that the firm had them ultimatum that given an they either adhere strictly to the LONDON dock shop or resian- or they Vic Turner's letter letter of the agreement resign- before will would be suspended. ation be put of the joint meeting today At yesterday morning's meet- the transport committee of convenors and national ing with stevedores' and union union union officials the men were told which covers the Royal Group that if they struck work they of docks. national or to a porn om the Turner, chairman of the or local officials union stewards' London port shop or even their own shop stewards committee and of the because of the of the Ulte jailed Five, Pentonville agreement. announced earlier this week he The upshot was that the men intended resigning as a shop took a decision to work to the steward. agreement. No forth- comment was But trim workers commented: from Turner at the coming 'This is not over by a long shot.

Royals yesterday story There is too much feeling in the that he was reconsidering his shop. Our weeks' strike decision. But if he does go, it should have had support from is believed a number of other Leading follow the whole of British-Leyland stewards will workers.' him. Workers Press, Fri kham, south-east ards at the print ave turned down ecause they have Locked gates at Bryant work- aid the Difficult though it may seem, just printers — can save the 150 Briant the only way to men and women by fighting their for the jobs for which the print- of have fought mobilization the class to workers SO force the Tory government to gallantly long lies in SO ex- and and elect Labour the right wingers resign posing 'lefts' in the print unions and government pledged to socialist insisting fight policies of nationalization- on real trade throughout the industry. including the printing and 15 workers' control since the In the weeks under the began, of without compensation to work-in thousands old owners and creditors.

other workers have lost their in south east London- 1OnS 2,000 from Sainsbury's alone.

BRITAIN'S

into the entry The fight at Briant's cannot Common Market will expose be it has not been the printing industry to the separat- competition it intensive workers most ing Lord Robens, has known, single plant from the in told Vickers, general fight for the right to chairman of organized by the employers work the conference against Master British Federation of and the Tory government. Printers yesterday. The working class-and not POLISH Communist Party chief Edward Gierek, on an official visit to France for talks with President Georges Pompidou, has called for closer ties between and Comecon, the Soviet- Market the Common dominated trading bloc. At a dinner given in his honour by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Gierek said the reality of the the EEC of and existence Comecon, based on different social systems, could not be ignored. I think that at the right time necessary to establish it will be between these systems indispens- able in accordance with the character of the systems.

This will come about all the fas- ter as the Common Market aban- dons its discriminatory principles the Comecon against countries puts forward new proposals and on these issues.' The ties closer economic Gierek is advocating were spot- Wednesday when the lighted on Polish leader visited the Berliet truck factory outside Lyon. Last August Berliet signed Polish ten-year contract with the POL-MOT to set up a plant at Wroclaw.

POL-MOT

Berliet is supplying with models and on equipment build 5.000 licence buses The worth agreement is year. according million 400 francs Berliet management, which I would like infor with also hoping ties open China for production of similar vehicles.

WEATHER

SOUTH-WEST England, Wales and Northern Ireland will start cloudy with outbreaks of mostly Fill in the form below becoming brighter later.

SOCIALIST

North-east, and central

SECRETARY,

east districts of England will be dry

186A CLAPHAM HIGH ST, L

with prolonged periods. sunny England and western North-west Scotland will Name bright, but start become generally cloudy with perhaps some rain later. Address Eastern Scotland will have some fog patches early followed by a dry day with sunny spells.

Temperatures near or a little above normal. Press, Friday Octobor 6, 1972 PAGE 11

EMINI

1//L pant work-in WORKERS at Marriott and Scott's lift manufacturing plant in Hounslow, west London, have returned to work after a two-day strike which won them a two-stage £5.60 pay rise. The 22 storemen and drivers, who have been organized in the engineers' union for less than months, five struck work Monday after four months' nego- tiations on their claim. Last week management had again offered them a £2-a-week increase on their £22 basic. The men insisted, however, that they should have parity with staff in the firm's Basingstoke factory, who were getting £28 for 40 3 local TAEW morning with official, management offered a £2.50 rise to the storemen and £3.60 to the drivers. This was turned down. Shop steward at Marriott's, Muhammed Raza, told Workers Press: 'In the meeting the AUEW official and another shop steward said they would , recommend a £3.60 rise for all the members with a further £2 to come on November 1' Management discussed this and a proposal for with came up £3.60 for all, with £2 on Decem- ber 1. Said Mr Raza: 'They also wanted a pay freeze for 12 months and to do away with our two tea breaks a day. We were furious at this and told were not prepared to them we accept it.' On Wednesday morning after further negotiations in which a six months pay freeze was agreed, acceeded to the management demand for £3.60, £2 more in November with the tea breaks retained. information about low and send to NATIONAL

ALIST LABOUR LEAGUE,

H ST, LONDON, SW4 7UG.

—Tenants storm South Shields council- PAGE 12 Workers Press, Friday Octob

ENGLAND AND WALES

still Those Labour councils refusing to implement the 'fair rents' Act are: Barrow-in-Furness, Carlisle, Salford, Walsall, Doncaster, Eccles, Conis- Clay Cross, borough, Halstead, Skelmers- dale, Bedworth, Slough and the London Borough of Camden.

Individual councillors face the possibility of being sur- charged by the Tories. Housing subsidies can be withdrawn and Housing eventually a Com- missioner can be sent in to take over the housing affairs of the council.

SCOTLAND

Twenty-five Labour-controlled authorities are defying the rent- Scottish Housing increasing Act. They are the counties of: Midlothian. Fife, Lanark_ and And the following burghs: Clydebank, Dunfermline, Fal- kirk, Kilmarnock, Kirkcaldy, Rutherglen, Alloa, Barrhead, Buckhaven, Cowdenbeath, Cumbernauld, Dalkeith, Denny and Dunipace, Lochgelly, May- bole, Renfrew,. Stewarton, Tranent and Whitburn. Between them they have over 400,000 council tenants.

FROM PAGE ONE

investment proves that the union leaders' demands for a 6-per- cent-per-year growth rate in the are an absolute and economy conscious fraud. How can there be b-per-cent growth in an economy in which first six for the investment months of 1972 fell 7 per cent from its level in the last half of 1971? The EEF spells out the real situation very clearly today. The jobs shakeout has been so severe, they say, that even if there is a upturn in the temporary eco- nomy, there will be no invest- ment worth speaking of. Employers will simply pick up some of the huge spare capacity they have created in their war on the unions. most convincing Perhaps the demonstration of the fraudulent yesterday's Labour of nature Party decisions is the fact that the resolution condemning the £2 plan backed whole- was heartedly by the Party executive.

This week, by a series of squalid manoeuvres (full story, page three), the executive has guaranteed Heath a smooth sail into the Common Market con- spiracy on January 1 next year.

him absolutely on They back Ireland. The only thing preventing these traitors from forming an immediate coalition with Heath against the working class is that the Tories for the moment do not need them.

OCTOBER

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Raise extra money wherever you can and keep our paper out in Front. We have many plans to and im- expand our circulation prove our news coverage, but we know that it is only your magnificent support that enables us to carry them through.

Only Workers Press has ex- posed the treachery of the re- formist Labour leaders at Black- pool during this week. We have not a moment to lose in the campaign for our October Fund. Help us collect a record amount by the end of this month.

Our target is £1,750. Let's press ahead now and raise It. Post all donations immediately to : Workers Press October Appea. Fund 186a Clapham High Street London SW4 7UG. 111111 day October 6, 1972. POLICE were rushed to South Shields Town Hall on Wednes- day night to restrain 800 angry unionists tenants and trade lobbying the Labour-controlled council over the Tory Rent Act.

Two hundred were forcibly evicted by police from the public gallery on instructions of mayor Vincent Fitzpatrick, local convenor of Reyrolle. He adjourned the meeting because of angry scenes as some lemonstrators tried to climb the barrier to reach Labour members who declared they would use heir 'free' vote to vote with the Screams of 'traitor and 'scab'

FROM STEPHEN JOHNS

IN MANCHESTER

MANCHESTER corporation is opening local rent centres to deal with the new Housing Finance Act. From Monday, council tenants will have to go to the centres to pay their new increased rents or to arrange rebates under the scheme. An important result of this drive, is that decentralization collectors will be many rent withdrawn from the estates where tenants are resisting the increases. corporation spokesman A said yesterday that one aim was to reduce the 'security risk' rent collection. associated with He claimed there would be no redundancies and that the col- lectors would be 'redeployed'.

Tenants' leaders suspect, how- ever, that the move is designed to avoid any confrontation be- tween the rent man and working- class families. point out that They also tenants will have to pay in- to the creased fares to get centres to enjoy the privilege of paying a higher rent. Joe Potts, Manchester tenants' leader, told me yesterday that at the centres pickets were planned. They are not going to smuggle increases these in behind our backs,' he said. 'We must get out and tell people on the estates about this Act and show them how they can resist the Tory plans. These next few days will be vital.' Militant tenants in the Man- area were trying to chester spread the campaign against the increases yesterday. Manchester town hall and then went onster picketed in Wythenshawe and estates Stretford. Mr Potts claimed some tenants were being intimidated when the rent man circled their names in his book-if they did not pay the increase. He said that some old age pensioners in the Ardwick area found themselves paying 7p to 10p extra a week despite Tory claims that they would not be penalized under the legislation.

In some other areas the agent week telling tenants last was that by refusing to pay the in- crease they faced a fine of £20 Manchester tenants are dis- gusted at Labour's performance Blackpool when housing in spokesman Frank Allaun said the would not back people Party victimized under the Act.

And they have had little or no support from local trade unions. This is despite the fact that in the Ardwick area alone the best working-class part of 9,500 people face a direct 92p wage cut if the increase stays. Registered as a newspaper at the Posi Workers Press Office. Published by High 186a Clapham _ Street, London,

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FROM OUR OWN CORI

were hurled as the police tried for 35 minutes to evict local housewives. Hundreds of leaflets were thrown-across the chamber at the councillors as the public gallery was cleared. A further attempt to rush the main entrance foiled police called in was as reinforcements. In the chamber ten Labour group members voted with the Tories to defeat the Management Committee's recommendation not to implement. The decision to implement was then carried by 31 votes to 22 with three absten- cab' tions on a motion by the Tories.

HUNDREDS of Hackney cou rent for the next two weeks fo mass meeting of 500 in the t confusion as to what action w Many called for a total rent strike, but the platform said from the beginning it would refuse to accept any amendments to its proposed resolution. Eventually the meeting agreed to withhold all rent for a two- week period and then to stay in permanent arrears. No decision was taken on what action was to follow. A mass demonstration and lobby will be held outside the October 25 meeting of the Labour-controlled Hackney coun- cil—which in August decided to implement the 'fair rents' Act— to try and force a policy reversal.

To enable the Tories to get with their increases away Hackney, some 33 Labourites joined three Tories in voting down 27 Labour councillors seek- ing non-implementation. The size of the turn-out and Wednesday meeting's angry res- any mention ponse to of the Tories or the local Labour traitors showed Hackney tenants' deter- mination to fight the increases, the Housing Finance Act and the government. On the other hand, however, the platform of Hackney the United Tenants' Federation appeared to be trying all the time to restrict the movement's scope after which tenants would be test, to a mere two-week in the lurch without leadership.

It was not as if the platform was composed of non-political elements. There was at least one Communist Party member, several Labour Party members and an executive committee member of the local trades council.

Federation secretary Al Fenton told the meeting: 'I say these councillors who voted for imple- mentation are not representative of the people because they voted with three Tory councillors.'

But he made no call for their resignation. From Hackney trades council Lew Smith told tenants the fight had to be 'intensified like the struggle of the building workers.

By the time that finished there were 400,000 out on strike and we partially won our demands.

And that was done by organiza- tion. The trade union movement has time and time again defeated the Industrial Relations Act and you must defeat the Housing Finance Act,' he said. When Labour councillor Bob Masters rose to speak he was quick to turn the heat off those who had voted for implementa-

WN CORRESPONDENT

Wakeford, a Clir John Robert local JP, and Cllr Jim Davison.

The news of the decision was Among those who had walked brought to the lobbyists as eight out Clir Malcolm Campbell said: Labour members resigned the "These people are worse than the Party whip and walked out.

They Tories. traitors and AIKe They announced to a cheering must be expelled crowd that 'they now considered Davison secretary of Brennan, themselves official the Labour the Federation of the Tenants in group' and appealed trade to South Shields, announced to the unionists a special to ‹emand angry crowd: Management Committee General of the Party 'By their actions meeting local to tonight. the expel those who have voted to council of this town have forfeited their right to act on implement. our behalf. Two We Labour councillors have The fight is just beginning, not only resigned the Party whip than must be determined more but have quit the council and ever strike:* carry out our rent the Party altogether. They

BY PHILIP WADE

ney council tenants in London's East End are refusing to pay veeks following a call by the local tenants' association. At a in the town hall on Wednesday, however, there was some ction would follow at the end of the fortnight.

tion. 'Don't divide ourselves in this end was to be achieved.

bitter internal fighting, he told The present perspective of the the meeting. Significantly there was little applause for his state- in the result movement 1tcul. isolated and hounded by the Tory government. It was left to Stalinist Monty Goldman to restrict the scope of Unless the fight is turned to- the tenants' fight. He said if the wards the trade union movement tenants reflected the militancy in a struggle to force the Tories by the Labour and elect Labour expressed Party to resign rank-and-file Blackpool government pledged could get the council to rescind socialist policies, including the repeal of their decision'. the Act, Hackney will tenants eventually be left with a massive The formula forced through bill to pay and nothing by the tenants' federation execu- else to show for their fight. tive committee is recipe for The question facing urgent disaster defeat. Simply to and all tenants and workers the as to refuse all urge tenants rent rent strike movement develops for weeks and then leave two throughout Britain is the forma- protest it at that amounts to of Councils of Action tion in politics at their most dangerous.

each unite the entire area to Tenants working class around a campaign at the meeting were to make the TUC call a General rightly confused about the sug- Strike the Tories 'stay in arrears until to force to gestion to resign. It is the only way forward Finance Act the Housing was for all those facing the massive defeated' the leadership when indication how rent increases. gave no as to The way Send for delegates' and observers' cre- dentials from: Conference Secretary, R. Goldstein, 103 Lewis Flats, Dalston Lane, London E8 SPECIAL TRAM PROM EUSTON, LONDON, 21.50. COACHES FROM OTHER AREAS Union. Branch Names, addresses and No of delegates/observers as delegates fees Signature of secretary I enclose €