Dockers Must Unite to Me

‘THe need for all dockers is unity’ declares a recent Scheme which shamefully worsen dockers’ conditions. edition of the Merseyside News, organ of the Dock Their complete silence is significant. Section of the Transport and General Workers’ Union. “Qnce again the docker is the yictim of a package deal in _which the trade union leaders get him a sham concession and Certainly there is. a great need for dockers to unite in in return put a bigger stick in the hands of the employers. fighting the employers’ attack on the Dock Labour Scheme. ” ; -. Ehe Merseyside News, however, has. no mention in its four After 40 years-service the docker,will receive 40s. per week _ pages of the TGWU leaders’ acceptance jof amendments to the . (Continued on page 286, column 2) w — id Ww a a ae bo og ho:

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GHT WING POLICIES (Continued from front page)

The German workers, pr, strate and defeated by brutal nazi oppression and Allied chayvinism, needed above all help from ‘a Labour Britain. Insteqd they were literally kicked in the teeth and handed back to their old masters.

= ‘ALINISM It must b¢ said also that a large share of the responsibility for the swing to the right rests on the criminal policy of the Stalinists. :By their brutal policies in Hungary and Eastern Europe they provided a tremendous propaganda weapon for the Right to: discredit socialism all over Western Europe. i DE GAULLE The Tory victory at the election is the British reflexion of the gradual swing to the right which has been taking shape in Western Europe over the past twelve years. This came to its head with the victory of Charles de Gaulle (with the help jof the ‘socialists’) and it cannot be halted now without drajtic changes in policy and personnel in the leadership of the Labour, movement of Western Europe.

Bae leads to/defeat Fabianism is ‘bankrupt. The Fabian concept that parliamentary struggle caried dut gradually over a number of years would eventually bring socialism to Britain has been tried and found wanting. ;

Socialism is not 4 game of good government and bad government; of the Tories’ and Labour’s turn. It consists, above all, in the systematic preparation of the working class to take power. This preparation cannot be carried out on the basis of minor reformist concessions, but on the basis of a programme which aims to replace capitalism and institute a socialist society.

: .

It is perfectly true that such preparation would not have brought immediate electoral success in the period after the war. What it would have done would have been to educate and prepare the workers and the middle class for power by consistently demonstrating the contrast between a socialist programme and Toryism.

The swing to the right which has just taken place on the part of a substantial number of backward workers and middle-class voters could.only have been avoided by this type of education. Bevan and Gaitskell treat the voter as some sort of special idiot who has only to be promised a few carrots at election time to cast his vote for Labour.

By repudiating the class struggle they continually underestimate the powers of Toryism in this country. This power cannot be broken by a few slogans. What has now been revealed is that Fabianism and Social Democracy will never bring socialism to Britain and in the last instance will repeat the treachery of Guy Mollet, on perhaps a far greater scale.

‘ The rank and file of the Labour Party are not to blame for this defeat. They were never given an opportunity to endorse the policies of Bevan and Gaitskell. Each Conference since 1955. which has adopted policy statements had not the slightest chance of amendment by a constituency or a trade union.

gt LL ‘Forward along the socialist road by a united sttuggle of all left-wing momtbere-ol the Labour A new road:has now to be taken. The road to socialis Party and tradé wnions on the basis of a socialist policy. This road will be a bard one at first, but there is one thing we can rely upon the ‘Tpries to do now. They will proceed openly funder their tru colours for legislation against the trade t lines encourpging unemployment, raising rents and reducing tic the standard of living: in other words back to the thirties.

The campaignifor a socialist policy will be slo in t beginning, buf e defeat at the election is not P ‘defeat tor the! w rking class. It is a partial defeat which can be put right by: t the prosecution of the class struggle which will now be steppdd up on a vast scale. = “——"_~* Are of socialists in the Labour Party, therefore, .

The whole depends upon|recognizing this. class struggle and really campaigning. for \soctalist policies today. They must ‘break OcTOBER f0, 1959 - completely from reformism and class collaboration.

The Tories will not be victorious until they defeat the working class. in the factories and workshops. To win at a general election is one thing, to defeat the industrial working class is quite another.

A socialist policy for Labour is already to hand, it has been adopted by tens of thousands of workers throughout the country. Thts is the policy of the National Assembly of Labour which meets on November 15. + @ An end to the manufacture of the H-bomb;

@ The strengthening of the fight for the forty-hour week, higher wages, defence of jobs and defence of shop stewards, against rent increases; \ @ A fight for ‘the extension of nationalization;

\ @ A fight against oppression in the colonies and against 2?

racialism in Britain; @ A fight again\t the bans and proscriptions inside the Labour Party and the trade unions.

The National Ass bly of Labour will provide a great iscussion forum on the lessons of the general election.

The National Assembly of Labour will demand an im-mediate emergency national conference of the Labour Party, so that the old gang of Right-wing Tory fellow-travellers cam be removed and preparations laid for a new leadership and a ~ THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF LABOUR meets in St Pancras Town Hall on Sunday, November 15.

It is open to all those who are fighting against capitalism: in industrial struggles; against rent increases; . against the H-bomb; and in the Labour Party. Visitors’ tickets (price 2s.) may be applied for on the form below.

Name Meme mercer cence eee eerasr een reer nes eres e srs ease ees eseseeraeesessseeseses Address See ee ee ee ee ec eee ee emcee ar eres er seer eee saree seers ee en esas esses eseseesscsereresesserresen Pee mmr eee e reese ee eee were eer eee eee merase ees eesseeear es eesseeseserees Organization Samer eer eec ca cccc cress esecer snc eeerereseeessenesseesereseeeese® Postal orders should be made payable to the Socialist Labour League and sent with this form to its address at 186, Clapham High Street, London S.W.4.

DOCKERS MUST UNITE (Continued from front page)

(if he survives that long). In 40 years 40s. will probably be: worth about four bob.

To the older men immediately affected, the pension scheme: offers very, very little. A £100 bait is to be given to men: over 70. You can draw that on a good Yankee bet or a few weeks’ good wages, but in these days have it swallowed up very quickly. They will also get a measly 10s. a week, but that will disqualify the pensioner from drawing the usual supplementary grant given by the National Assistance Board.

What have the port employers got in return for this miserable pension scheme?

Union officials have accepted amendments to the Scheme. which mean that a docker can be denied benefit for 28 days. Merseyside dockers know only too well how freely maximum sentences are handed out for the most trivial offences. Militant dockers who have struggled on the job for better conditions have been particularly singled out for this discipline.

Is there any wonder that dockers are angry with trade union leaders who have agreed to men being subjected to this?

Now is the time to fight. We must get off our knees and kick out these vicious amendments before Parliament sets its formal, and what they hope wilt be final, seal on them.

and have made certain alterations to the engine.