WAGE CUT

out by Morgan Phillips.

Against full-time officialdom There is every chance that this kind of discussion will create an atmosphere in the party favourable for policy changes in a socialist direction.

Active Labour Party members in the localities are seeing the need to struggle against full-time officialdom, who are a law unto themselves when it comes to expelling socialists.

It has not gone unnoticed that despite the fact that the NEC has never declared for the expulsion of a single member of The Newsletter’s Editorial Board, leaving the matter entirely to the judgment of the local parties concerned, officials such as Len Williams, the national agent, are trying to interpret the proscription decision as meaning the immediate expulsion of Editorial Board members.

There is absolntely ne constitutional basis for this, nor any precedent whatever to justify it.

On the contrary, many organizations have been proscribed in the past without any of their supporters being expelled automatically. -The Norwood and Streatham parties haye recently refused to allow active and loyal members to be expelled by decree.

An appeal is being made to Labour Party members who have political differences with the Socialist Labour League and The Newsletter to join in the May 27 lobby nevertheless, with the aim of halting the witch-hunt. OFFICIALS of the National Union of Hosiery Workers are trying to put across another wage cut—this time for the seamless hose section of the trade.

Last Sunday 150 seamless knitters from eight firms in the Mansfield and Ilkeston district met in Langley Mill and were harangued for two and a half hours by the general secretary of the union, C. G. Groocock, and Ashton, the district secretary. These officials had a rough time.

Groocock attacked ‘outside political influences’ who were busy stirring up trouble in the Mansfield area. They were ‘worse than the communists’—but he refused to identify them by name.

Had to be ‘realistic’

What he seemed to be referring to was the article in The Newsletter of April 25 giving the views of the fully fashioned hose knitters whose wages were cut, with Groocock’s blessing, a month ago.

Groocock said the seamless hose section of the trade was heading for boom conditions. But there was competition from abroad, and the employers wanted the workers to take a wage cut and also work a greater number of machines.

They had to be realistic. They had to negotiate from a (Continued overleaf, col. 2)

180 Clapham High Street, London, S.W.4 Telephone Macaulay 7029 SATURDAY, May 9, 1959 W HY has Carron won? And why has Birch’s vote HOSIERY WORKERS (Continued from front page)

position of strength. They had to be statesmanlike and get control of the position. They had to face up to an increase in the work load.

This speech was received in silence. Then a brother from Mansfield told Groocock they were not satisfied with his assurances.