WAGES AND HOURS: CARRON AND CO. BURY THESE DECISIONS

WE MUST NOT LET ‘THE employers are not going to concede a wage increase and a shorter working week simultaneously.’ So said Amalgamated Engineering Union President Carron at the recent meeting of the union’s national He was opposing the demand that the AEU press for a wage increase, and arguing that the 40-hour week should have precedence.

But any shop steward could have told Bro. Carron that the employers will not concede anything—either higher wages or the 40-hour week—unless they are forced to do so.

The argument that the 40 hours must have priority is a phony one. The executive has no intention of fighting for the 40-hour week, and merely used the issue as an attempt to get out of fighting for wages.

Employers show new toughness Here was the AEU national committee meeting against a background of increasing attacks on conditions, jobs and trade union organization.

Two weeks previously Handley Page had provoked a strike of 4,000 workers by sacking a militant convener.

Before that, Aircraft Steel Structures had been forced only by the workers’ militant action to retreat in their attack on agreed union conditions.

In the disputes over non-unionists at Fords and in Birmingham the employers have shown a new _ toughness—a determination to break down 100 per cent. trade unionism as a prelude to a general attack on wages and conditions.

In every case the rank and file have shown their ability to stick together and fight back. And in some cases, as at Harland and Wolffs and Aircraft Steel Structures, they have been able to defeat the employers despite the AEU executive.

In his opening address to the national committee the president might have had a word of encouragement for the shop stewards and rank and file who are putting up a fight to defend trade unionism.

Workers pay his salary But no! To Carron, whose salary is paid out of these workers’ contributions, these are ‘unnecessary and completely unauthorized strikes . . . wilful rejection of instructions issued by the executive council’ and so forth.

NOT A WORD of criticism of the employers’ actions.

NOT A WHISPER against the victimization of Bro. Knight.

The attempts of Fords and Morris’s to break down trade unionism might never have taken place.

NOT A SENTENCE to prepare engineering workers for the inevitable struggles to defend jobs and conditions against an employers’ federation which has openly boasted that it wants to take on and smash the unions.

NOT A WORD to inspire the near-million members of the AEU with confidence in their ability to defeat all attacks and go on to win the 40 hours and higher wages.

Militants welcome the fact that the national committee rejected Carron’s advice and decided to press for both, the 40hour week and a 15 per cent. wage increase.

Decisions remain dead letters Whether we get these or not now depends on one thing: are we prepared to take action—if necessary national strike action —to back these demands? _ Past experience has shown that many good decisions taken by the national committee remain dead letters and are ignored by the executive.

Again the executive will do its best to bury the decisions on the 40-hour week and wages in a web of procedure and procrastination.

But the rank and file can prevent this. If district committees and shop stewards in every area take the initiative and begin a campaign based on the national committee decisions, such a powerful rank-and-file upsurge can be created as will make it impossible for anyone to side-step these decisions.

District committees should be urged to convene mass meetings of shop stewards to plan a campaign of factory meetings.

The issue must be put fairly and squarely to every engineering worker in every factory:

‘Do you want the 40-hour week? Do you want to prevent sackings? Do you need higher wages to make up for lost Overtime? If you do, are you prepared to fight for these ‘TIMMO’ NEVER