The Newsletter, vol. 6 no. 277

B have rushed to maintain Britain's hold over the tiny oil protectorate of Brunci. British ATTLESHIPS, commandos, Ghurkhas from Singapore and the Queens Own Highlanders imperialism reacts strongly and swiftly when its financial interests are threatened, but in spite of the savage onslaught of troops, the rising of the North Borneo National Army under the leadership of Sheikh A. M. Azahari, President of the Brunei Peoples' Party, is still far from crushed.

The rising began last Saturday when units of the North Borneo National Army seized control of oil installations and took over the administration of a number of towns in the puppet Sultanate of Brunei.

The authorities were taken by surprise and the revolutionaries, supported by the majority of the local population, won some immediate successes.

After days of fighting, the red and white flag of the National Army still flies over towns, villages and oil stations.

The Sultanate of Brunei has been under British protection since 1888. The Sultan receives annual royalties from the oil wells, which belong to Shell, of more than £10 million.

PRIVATE PURSE

All of this money goes into the Sultan's private purse, but he has used some of it to finance a 'Shellfare' state.

There is free medical service, pensions at 60 and free primary education for Brunei's 85,000 population. There are also luxury palaces, Cadillacs and fat fees for the Sultan and his family.

But one thing is completely absent from Brunei, that is any form of democracy. Autocratic Azahari: AWOL?

untrol remains in the hands of the local representatives of imperialism.

Although the People's Party won all the elective seats in the last election and have more than 26,000 members, the nominees of the Sultan still wield power.

The British have been trying to carry out another of their phased withdrawals from the local scene, while leaving the power firmly in BRINAI "JESSELTON /SARAWAK SINGAPORE: KÜCHING.

BORNEO the hands of those who are willing to co-operate with imperialism. It seems they have made serious miscalculations in Borneo.

Sheikh Azahari, who left for the Philippines before the revolt began, has placed himself at the head of the Revolutionary government and has called for the support of all the Afro-Asian powers.

He is said to be on his way to New York to seek UN recognition for the United States of North Borneo, which would include Sarawak and Brunei.

AGAINST FEDERATION His movement is not a socialist one, but is restricted to opposition to the plans for a reactionary Malaysian Federation, combined with aspirations to control the oil-wells. The US government has been strangely silent over the affair.

The British imperialists with the puppet Sultan may succeed temporarily in holding back the the forces of revolution in North Borneo. But the situation in Brunei will never again return to "normality".

The workers have tasted power. They will want to enjoy its fruits. tr THE general secretary of Aden's TUC is standing trial this week on a charge of publishing a seditious pamphlet. He is Abdulla Alasnag who was, until recently, the president of the Aden People's Socialist Party.

Standing trial with him are Idris Hanbala, who is a ieading member of the PSP and of the TUC, and Abdulla Obeid, a newsvendor.

The In order to do so they will have to create a working class party.

The British labour movement must demand the evacuation of all foreign troops from Brunei and the holding of elections for a representative national assembly. NDON CONFERENCE

FOR MEN 2,000 workers from Remington Rand staged a half-day stoppage and a march through Glasgow last week to protest against the sacking of 300 men from their factory. The sackings, which included some shop stewards, are part of the plans of the engineering employers to streamline their production to meet heavy competition.

At the meeting held at the end of their march most speakers stressed the need to campaign for a mass lobby from the Clyde to Parliament.

A fraternal delegate from the Pressed Steel factory said that whilst his factory would take part in any such action they did not consider that it would be effective in defeating the employers.

The shop stewards at Pressed Steel were preparing to campaign for the putting into effect throughout the Clyde of a ban on overtime and for the 40-hour week.

in Aden events which took place on September 24 this year in Aden. A general strike called by the TUC led to a state of emergency being declared by the British authorities, the death of three workers and many injuries.

Many are still in prison serving sentences in connection with this movement.

The British labour movement must call for the immediate re lease of all the imprisoned workers in Aden and for the dismissal of the sedition charges.

PEAKING in Glas• gow and Falkirk on Sunday, December 9, Gerry Healy, secretary of the Socialist Labour League, stressed the great danger which the trade union movement was being placed in by growing unemployment. This was the result, he said, of speedup and rationalisation which threatened young people in particular.

If the adult labour movement ignored the evil effects of unemployment amongst youth it would do so at great peril to itself.

There were, unfortunately, examples where shop stewards refused to take up the struggle of young workers. Such an attitude could only engender bitterness.

Fascist

At the worst it could make unemployed youth susceptible to fascist propaganda.

Healy attacked the conception that a mass lobby of Parliament could solve the unemployment question. There had been many such lobbies in the past and nothing substantial had ever been achieved.

The right-wing trade union leaders on Merseyside boasted that Fords decided to come to that area after the lobby in 1958.

At that time there were 25,000 unemployed in the area; now that Fords had arrived the number was 36,000. • The fight against unemployment could not be left to the unemployed. It is above all, Gerry Healy said, the responsibility of the worker who is enjoying full employment.

There is an urgent need to estabiish unity in action between employed and unemployed. This meant that the employed worker must cut out overtime and make room for those who are out of work as a first step towards establishing this unity.

Trades and Labour Councils every locality should ask back page, col. I for

THE fight to build the Socialist Labour League and prepare it to take the lead in the struggles of the working class was the predominant theme of an area conference held in London last week-end.

In opening the conference, Gerry Healy, the Nationai Secretary, outlined the main features of the class struggle at the present time. He warned against the tendency to underestimate the offensive of the Tories.

Exposed

• The actions of Hennessy and the Ford Motor Company exposed the real face of Toryism,' he said. "They expect working people to live and work like dogs, to accept back-breaking toil, filthy conditions, speed-ups and three-shift systems and to go home to sleep in appalling housing conditions?

Gerry Healy went on to show the real crisis of capitalism in Britain was most clearly reflected in the figures for youth unemployment.

'The Tories hate and fear working-class youth. The unemployed school-leavers and young workers stomping the streets looking for work with a few miserable shillings in their pockets have no illusions about capitalism.

'They will provide the main source of strength in the struggle against capitalism.' Encouraged Reports from branches of progress made in developing unity of militant left-wingers in the trade unions and of increasing Newsletter sales over the past month encouraged the conference to unanimously adopt targets for increasing membership by 50 per cent in the coming four months and to double the sales of The Newsletter in the London area.

A new Area Committee was elected and charged with the responsibility of building the League and planning a campaign of meetings on unemployment.

NINE ELMS FIGHT ON The strike against the sacking of constructional engineering workers at the Nine Elms Gas Works in Battersea is in its third week.

Support has begun to come in from other sites and the strikers have been greatly encouraged by the refusal to handle the work by building workers at Nine Elms.

The strikers are planning to lobby the meeting of the Constructional Engineering Union's executive this Friday, where they expect to get official backing. • All donations to the strike fund should be addressed to Mr. K. Ives, 3 Longley Court, Lansdowne Way, Stockwell, S.W.8.

materialism times the and leadership Khrushchev, of Marxism. to the right, nding but in a vastly different methods They longed for pressures it at world situation from the political policy man' who could do wrong. period. period which existed during and were not, as the They hated and feared those Impressionists lack who Stalin's lifetime.

Khrushchevites argue, who patiently explained that the understanding Marxism, of Stalin is dead, role is 'played statement that come of vidual'. 'cult cult was of the indi- strong man had feet of clay. Since of them had by the left face of Stalinism. were, of course, easily confused ism lives on. syster grown the shadow When the pressure of world This reason why American elder Stalin-but not only of the petty - bourgeois imperialism was at its height Khrushchev rants on about the statesman no doubt blurted out Others in the Labour and trade union against the Soviet Union in the 'cult of the individual'. It is what is the prevailing opinion like Khrushchev bureaucracies in Britain and middle and late 1930s, Stalin his way of dismissing the poliin the Kennedy administration.

Being out of office, he perhaps included. in fact, done their dirty other countries and had, the p moved licies of sharply to the the right in Popular continues with Stalin's policies. tical role of Stalin while he forgot that while it is the This cult not a personal work, they were automatic- Front. The 'anti-Stalinism' of the practice of diplomacy to deceive matter but one which helped ally attracted to Stalinism This was period the Khrushchev bureaucracy today your 'allies' as well as your the political preservation of which was the ideology of consolidation of fascism in has been devised into a method enemies, the whole game is the bureaucracy. of defending the bureaucracy in spoiled if say so public. in Having abandoned Marxism a world situation where it finds American capitalism is the dominant seg ment of the capital- and destroyed the Bolshevik itself greatly weakened by the ist world today. After 1945 it had Party, Stalin resorted to revolutionary pressure of the to shore up the weakened states crudest idealism as a means international working class and of Europe, Britain included, with justifying the bureaucracy. the growing strength of the heavy slabs of economic and mili- the language of the Stalinists Soviet working class within this. tary aid. their apologists, he was The Khrushchev bureaucracy It still lays down strategy constantly depicted the 'wise has been forced more and more through NATO and supplies the one'. the petty-bourgeois bureau- Western Europe and the into the middle of the road modern military its forces require. equipment which The new Soviet constit cracy in the Soviet Union. Bureaucracy, whether in the tion of the Soviet Union. The politics of Stalin-just as between the international class launched in 1936, which Soviet Union or in the British the policy of Khrushchev today forces and shows signs of deRIVALS claimed that socialism had labour movement, is a deforma- —veered at times sharply to the composition, just as the do other capital achieved in the Soviet Union, tion forced upon the movement right and at other times sharply Labour and trade union bur as well as being trading partners, was hailed a great victory by the pressure of imperialism. to the left. cracies in this country. investment fields and military for the glorious Stalin. It is a parasitic caste which The mistake which The dilemma revealed his allies, are also rivals. Yet it was during this wants to preserve privileges frequently made today is to recent speech at the economic to surrender important In particular, Britain has had that the bloodiest crimes were committed. To divert attention to the policies and in doing SO of imperialism. has tied itself imagine that Stalinism as a system of ideas died with Stalin. mittee in Moscow indica- plenum of the central comto Us capitalism in American support. So far, Britain has been from these brutalities, the legend of Stalin was expanded existence' is a Khrushchev's continuation 'peaceful co- of Most of the Stalinist ideology was borrowed by Stalin from tion of this. This crisis bureaumost favoured ally, but the grow- godlike prc Stalin's theory of 'peaceful co- the arsenal of Social Democracy. cracy opens up not only ing power of de Gaulle's France He was the god and the existence' The fact that it It had roots not only in the opportunities for the Marxist and Adenauer's Germany and the Trotskyists were the d :vil. The opposes class struggle and Soviet Union, but in the Social movement 1 destroy the expansion of the Common Market faithful disciples all over the preaches the policy of peace Democratic parties and centrist bureaucracy, but opportunihas led to a shift in American world worshipped, as ardently with the capitalists helps the movements throughout the ties for the servants of the policy towards the continental as Catholics, at the altar of imperialists because disarms world. It evoked response bureaucracy great powers. Stalin and condemnec Trotsky the working class. even Liberal circles, which saw confusion.

Given the over-riding threat from the Soviet Union, the just as loudly the Catholics The politics of bureaucracy in the 'strong man' the personiAmerican government tries to did their devil. the labour movement cannot fication of what they wanted. work out a policy which enables Such a policy recruited petty- openly justify the policies of The Trotskyist movement the it to keep the initiative in dealing bourgeois opponents of Marx- imperialism because the bureau- never ought Stalin as an indiwith its allies. Seeing the deep ism in of thousands. These cracy occupies a role in between vidual, it always fought the opposition to Britain's 'special ladies gentlemen, such as the capitalist class and the politics of the bureaucracy. relationship' from France and Beatrice and Sidney Webb, hated working It therefore Germany, it uses it the philosophy of dialectical adopts STRENGTHEN The aim of the Kennedy ministration is to strengthen conventional forces and range ballistic missile Europe. defea and betrayals dampen Whatever the military value their spirits nor are they weighed this shift in strategic planning, down by a mass of hire purchase provides more bargaining counters down. insist overtime worked that debts which would make them in deals with the Soviet bureau- That ening when orders expand, that their keen to keep their low-paid jobs. cracv of the kind which took place the moment. the pace of work be increased But equally important are the over Cuba. In response to this when demand rises and that labour legal restrictions which apply to It also reduces the value of now. ployers have embarked upon a be switched from job to job as the employment of young people. Britain in American calculations. The cial figures tend to concerted policy designed the needs of the employer vary. In the case of apprentices, parAll this takes place in a world underplay the seriousness of the this fall. The capitalists are now trying ticularly in a well-organised shop, context in over from the pound sterling and which the dollar takes situation. These figures based upon those who actually are ciously aimed at cutting Part of their strategy wages— is ob- to employ their capital much more intensively than in the past. they are not allowed to undertake many categories of work until American lish its superiority. The Tories, at least the capital strives to estab- respons- ment Exchanges. use the services of the Employ- the pay pause, NEDC attacks upon shop part of this. inisation and the lie idle, being used only for about It has been noted that for a large part of the day many machines in addition, provision has often to be made for their release from they have served their time and, ible ones, are too clever to bleat Many young don't Ounce eight hours in every day. work for at least one day about 'independence'. They bother with thes they are also trying The obvious answer is to week for technical training. learned at the time of Suez just are not entitled to unemploy- to wring every ounce of benefit employ a system of shift working. Young workers are clearly of what sort of support they can ment pay and, in any case, there out of their capital investments. Thus in the cotton industry the less value to the t from Washington. is little point in registering if In a period where such invest- last few years have seen the wide- adult workers. there jobs to be had. ments can very soon become spread introduction of 3-shift UNDERWROTE obsolete and where costs are working. Rapid Increase In the recent Cuba crisis Decline extremely high, plant and mach- These methods are being widely The :hanging needs and strategy calmly underwrote every Ameri- The few years wit- have inery has to be employed in the introduce id in engineering and in of the employers in this crisis can move. This is not exactly nessed a marked decline the in most efficient way possible. motors. In this way the em- period explain the rapid increase subservience but realistic assess- rate f profit upon invested The employers need ployers substantial in the number of voung peoble ment of Britain's possibilities. capital. This is true not only of more tame and flexible savings. who are now walking the streets.

Macmillan has made a nominal Britain but of the United States class. How does With the new school leavers protest about the Acheson indis- and the European economies, In- Mommanam The past period has seen a background? entering the labour market after cretion-but probably he is glad cluding Western Germany. marked expansion of the In the first place, young people Christmas th s number will grow. to see that it confirms his own Since 1945, capital investment without a rise in employment— are obviously less easily disci- The labour movement must help thinking. has taken place on a massive mainly of a rise in pro- plined and turned into the herd these jobless youngsters, who, if It makes him see the futility of scale, particularly in the fields of ductivity. of passive sheep which manage- left to drift aimlessly, could fall breaking with the US and more steel, motors, oil and chemicals. In others words, employers are ment requires. prey to the tascists. 11determined to show that . his coun- In modern technical conditions, now tending to increase output Thrown into the industrial In the programme of action try can be more relied upon than piant tor inese inuustries fan thann indrantain mary narr may now when required by using their world from schools where they outlined by The Newsletter must France or Germany. cost many millions of pounds. existing labour force rather than have received little education, be included the demand for full Patriotism, national interests, Unless surplus value can be by taking on fresh labour which they in reconciled no way unemployment benefit for young the Commonwealth, 'independence' realised upon the necess ary mas- they might have to get rid of to, nor do understand, they people until they find work-and —they are just useful catchwords sive scale, the rate of profit very quickly. capitalism their pledge to join the deceive the innocent. these huge investments will This means They priate unions

December 15,: 1962 Th

By JOH R. ADENAUER's announcement of his intention retire next October is just one of a number of tr played in the desperate effort to rebuild his coalit government. But behind this political pantomime lies sinister reality of the German monopolies' preparation for 'new Europe.

The coalition between Adenauer's Christian Democrats the Free Democrats was shattered by the outcry against attempt to silence the magazine Der Spiegel. Adenauer: desperate efforts falsification' is defined in a paragraph of the Criminal Code, which was taken over intact from to gag of the radical Party organisation has been a punishable offence since 1956.

Spiegel affair is the rivalry between two of West Germany's many spy organisations.

Service, is responsible to Ădenauer through State Secretary, Gehlen organisation, after its chief, former Nazi intelligence man, Reinhart Gehlen.

MAD, Military Counter-Intelligence. This comes under the PLANT Colonel Wicht, the first of the officers arrested for giving • information to Der Spiegel, is rumoured to have been a BND plant inside MAD.

The struggle in the Christian Democrat party for a successor to Adenauer reflects the divisions between sections of the German capitalist class.

Some groups look towards US imperialists for support.

Others put their money on an independent role for German capital and look forward to a Common Market dominated by the Bonn-Paris axis, with Germany as the senior partner.

SPEED-UP

Fear of rivalry from West Germany is one of the factors behind Washington's desire to speed-up Britain's entry into the Common Market.

The Americans want the Tories to act as a counter-weight to German capitalism.

They are also busily plugging the need for a 'European Hbomb', which they would control, in preference to Germany, the future military leader of the continent, having her own independent nuclear weapons.

Whatever the outcome of this tussle, the economic conflicts building up in Europe make shifts towards right-wing dictatorships and attacks on the working class movement increasingly likely.

ARGENTINE COMMUNISTS ARRESTED Buenos Aires— Cordoba police announced the arrest of various 'communist elements'. They announce in particular that Norberto de Oro, leader of the metal-workers' union, has been arrested.

The police have proceeded to seize books dealing with the Cuban regime, as well as titles published by the Communist Party and copies of 'Nuestra Palabra'. the organ of the Communist Party. N CRAWFORD to cks ion the the and the The offence of treasonable the Nazis.

The bid Der Spiegel is only part attack on leftwing and critics in West Germany.

Membership of any Communist Tied up somewhere in the BND, the Federal Intelligence Hans Globbe.

It is better known as the Bitterly opposed to this body is defence ministry.

HE Kennedy brothers have managed to do what Truman, McCarthy and Eisenhower failed to do—put the United States Communist Party on trial.

'ithout the hysteria and spotlights of the McCarthy erabut carefully nursing that fine legacy—the new 'liberal' administration has brought leading members of the party to trial for refusing to register under the McCarran Act as agents of a foreign power.

le trial begins during the week designated as 'Human Rights Week' by Kennedy. The House Un-American Activities Committee is also investigating the Women's Strike for Peace movement to see if it has been infiltrated by communists.

found guilty, the CP members each stand to pay crippling fines. If they had registered under the McCarran Act, they could have been brought to trial under the even more infamous Smith Act for advocating the violent overthrow of the government.

This is part of Kennedy's plans to ruthlessly crush working-class opposition.

When the American ruing class is out to get you, they go about it very thoroughly. To those not well versed in the methods of Communist parties, it may seem incredible that the American CP refused to stand candidates at the last presidential election and called for support for Kennedy.

he British labour movement must stand four-square behind the American CP and demand the immediate ending of the McCarthyite witch-hunt.

CHRISTMAS BRE AK

There will be no isst le of The Newsletter for week ending December 29. content to rely upon the vagaries of a market economy, unemployment will continue to grow. The fact of the matter is that capital faces many uncertainties at the moment.

Most of the largest 100 companies have unutilised productive capacity. Why risk further capital on new investment when not even entry into the Common Market is certain?

In Europe itself, capital is beginning to face similar problems of excess capacity, so that joining will not automatically create buoyant trading conditions.

Add to this the general decline in shipbuilding and mining, and it seems clear that the present crisis has a different complexion from earlier post-war recessions.

The Tories say that they cannot force businessmen to provide work. But a Labour government prepared to nationalise the basic industries, both new and old, would not be dependent on the co-operation of big business, and only then could the scourge of unemployment be cured.

Our Labour Correspondent NoW we know what role Neddy's younger brother will play. Nick-the government's National Incomes Commission-swings into action this week against the 40-hour week without loss of pay victory for Scots building workers.

Chancellor of the Exchequer Maudling is clearly worried that this victory will be followed by similar demands throughout industry. The agreement was signed on November 16 between union and employers' representatives. The working week will be cut from 42 hours to 40 from November 1963.

The Plumbing Trades Union signed a similar agreement which was effective from last October.

NIC, under the chairmanship of Mr. Geoffrey Lawrence QC, held its first meeting on Wednesday to conduct a 'retrospective inquiry' into the agreement.

Mr. Maudling on Tuesday night showed his concern by saying that *labour costs account for a large proportion of total costs' in the building industry and that 'the agreement may have repercussions in other employments'.

This is clearly the shape of things to come. Unless the labour movement reacts swiftly and surely, there will be many flagrant attempts by the Tories to shoulder-in on wage and hour agreements and try to reverse decisions in order to hold down the cost of production.

Opposition to such action must come through moves to curb the efforts of George Woodcock and company to 'streamline' the trade unions and tie them to the coat-tails of the state.

The labour movement must prepare to dernonstrate with all its industrial might that it will not let the employers and their government interfere in their hard-won rights for bargaining power.

Railways

No fight from

By TOM THE Algerian after a short period of legality under the new regime, has been banned.

Although the party gave fulsome support to Ben Bella and has declared that it will continue 'to support his progressive measures, he is obviously in no mind to tolerate a party which may become a mouthpiece for the growing popular discontent in the country.

Such a step will also help to re-assure foreign, and particularly American, capital, upon which the government depends. Without continued French financial support there would, in any case, be complete chaos.

Division

With the economy dislocated, factories closed and crops ungathered, the division between the government and the mass of the people is becoming wider.

It is as a result of its waning popularity that it has to strike at the CP and to extend its repression to the Socialist Party of the Revolution which calls for basic social change.

No wonder that former FLN leader Mohammed Boudiaf can declare that the revolution has not yet begun, that the FLN has died and that a new revolutionary movement has to be built.

CONDEMNED Heinz Brandt, trade unionist and communist militant who broke with the Ulbricht regime and was later kidnapped in West Berlin has been sentenced to 13 years forced labour. The trial was in secret and little information about it has been published.

According to a report in the Belgian paper 'La Gauche', the latest edition of a book, 'Wichstand in Auschwitz', which described Brandt's heroism as a concentration camp prisoner in the notorious Auschwitz death camp, has been revised to remove all mention of his name.

GEORGE WOODCOCK, Secretary of the TUC, led a deputation of its Economic Committee last week to find out what crumbs of comfort on unemployment could be obtained from the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

After the meeting he was quoted as saying that one way out of the crisis was for industrialists to have 'expectations of profitable investment' This is the type of thinking that permeates the Labour leadership, both political and industrial.

They do not recognise that Keynesian economics have had their day. Those easy post-war years of so-called full employment have ended, and the Labour leaders are very worried men.

They fear that reasonable attitudes' are not going to solve the present unemployment crisis, and that they will not be able to contain militancy amongst the rank and file.

Maudling has released £40 million in post-war credits, has announced additional public investment projects totalling some £70 million and has drastically reduced purchased tax on motor cars at a cost to the Exchequer of f60 million in a full year.

16-YEAR-OLD boy has been sent for trial at the Old Bailey accused of the murder of Mr. George Brinham, the 46-year-old former chairman of the Labour Party.

Mr. Brinham was found dead in his f15 a week South Kensington flat. The boy pleaded not guilty and reserved his defence. The boy said he was picked up by Brinham in The Strand on Saturday, November 17. They spent the afternoon together, visiting cafes, going to the cinema and then to a public house and finally finished up at the deceased's flat.

There Brinham made an improper suggestion to the youth. He put his arms round him and asked for a kiss.

The youth was not the kind Brinham took him for. He took the nearest weapon, a decanter, and hit him over the head.

A Home Office pathologist said that Brinham's skull was abormally thin. During his examination he found features which indicated the practice of homosexuality or of a perversion. It appeared that the practices had been going on over a long period.

George Brinham was chairman of the party at the time of the famous Scarborough conference. He was chairman of the NEC's youth sub-committee for a number of years.

SNUB FOR GREENWOOD The Labour Party NEC's youth sub-committee met this week to elect a new chairman to replace Mr. George Brinham. Anthony Greenwood has been vice-chairman for a number of years and it was expected that he would be elected.

However, Mr. Gaitskell and Mr. Brown paid an unexpected visit to the committee in their ex-officio capacity and helped swell the vote in favour of Mrs. Bessie Braddock.

He has announced new investment allowances to encourage businessmen to buy additional plant and machinery and has released the last of the special deposits of the banks, so that since October an additional £160 million has been available to those capitalists who are prepared to expand their undertakings.

George Woodcock and company say that this is not enough, that there should be a general reduction in purchase tax to encourage people to buy so that businessmen can have 'expectations of profitable investment' But like the reduction in purchase tax on cars, this panacea will have little effect on the overall economic situation Whilst the Labour lea AMERICAN CP ON TRIAL

Aid pours in for tie unemployed workers in given a cynical boost by the employers this announcement that 1,400 men on Clydeside of a takeover bid.

The shipyard firm Alex- plans for the will MHE strike t Davy United ander Stephen Minthouse has 50,000 workers on the dole, are part of the preparations .. (Sheffield), involving over bought up the Simons-Lobnitz of British capitalism entry into the Common Market. 600 members of the AEU, yard at Renfrew and will promptly close it down. The Tories aim to make railways provide the most efficient ETU and Boilermakers reA statement issued on Monday and cheap service for private industry at the expense of railway mains 100 per cent solid, in by the chairman of the parent workers and to save the drain the Exchequer of money which the face of the attempt made Pickets been on duty have company of Simons-Lobnitz and they intend to employ by local and national leaders stop the attempt by Vaux- latest the chairman of the Minthouse profitably of the AEU to defeat it. hall's management to break their yard made it plain that the run- The strike occurred five-week old strike at the new £30,000,000 car factory at Hooton, down of yard will begin the as economy. The de ›ate on the British weeks ago because the of Merseyside. soon as existing contracts are Transport Commission report sacking of 44 workers, many of The dispute involves 30 pipe- finished. Total close-down which took place in Parliament on them leading shop stewards and fitters, riggers and mates employed expected by mid-summer. The move is clearly designed November 29 showed clearly that militants. by sub-contractors Stewart and Lloyds on construction work. arrest the plumetting profits in the the Labour leaders have quarrel with the aims of the no declared official The strike by th has = ETU now They are fighting • to maintain shipbuilding industry. The Ren- Tories. have 25 members on strike rates of pay established by trade frew yard was badiy equipped by Railway workers from tford the Boilermakers have yet to union agreement in the Merseyside modern standards. " In the world shipbuilding workshops in East London, who from their leaders. area. The strike is receiving official industry, where production listened to bitterly c isappointed the debate, Hall At last week the District a meeting held in the City Secsupport from the PTU and the capacity far exceeds the demand illusioned. retary read out a letter trom the 1 - 14 - 11. HDEU. for new construction, some Executive Council of the AEU form of rationalisation among Stewarts and Lloyds are paying instructing the men to return to on average 1/6 per hour less than the various home yards was desirable, the employers' hours they listened work so that talks could proceed. other contractors doing similar ment said. to a series of insipid speeches by This was angrily rejected by work the site. the six Labour MPs who spoke the strikers who realised that the 44 men will have been put on the Shop steward T. Radcliffe told Undermine The Renfrew yard produced MORE CLOSURES? to a motion accepting the BTC report but expressing concern street by negotiat have been completed. the time me that it was the opinion of mainly specialised craft like the closures.

deliberate attempt to undermine many workers that there was a dredgers. Workers in the industry now fear that 'desirable rationali- claims Not one of of them challenged the the Tories that the ort rates already won in this area. sation' will mean the closure of "losses' of the nationalised rail- Financial support has poured . The so-called 'soft' management many more of the smaller and ways are due to inefficient work- in from far and near. Many local of Vauxhalls have shown on several occasions just how 'soft' specialised yards. There are already some 9,000 shops, over-staffing and under- utilisation of existing lines. particular strike has received militants in the area say that this they are. jobless shipbuilding and marine Not one of them pointed WHILE millions choked last one which they can remember. greater support than any recent First they insisted with main- engineering workers in Scotland; that of the £130 million losses week's smog, workers the tenance men directly employed by on Clydeside alone more than 500 claimed for last year, f113 million plastics section at Projectiles' fac- Workers at John them that they do work blacked welders are unemployed. were interest repayments for tory in South London were win- (Shotton), the giant steel concern, by contract workers. On Monday It will be a bleak winter money loaned at extortionate ning a battle with their bosses have agreed to a 5/- levy per head they gave strike-bound work to hundreds of thousands of jobless interest rates to buy the dilapi- against air-poliution of a different until the strike is successful, other contractors, but men on the workers. dated railways from the ex- kind. whether the AEU declare site have seen through this mano- The new see the shareholders in 1947. Two polishers were working official or not. euvre and rejected the work. intensification of campaign under extremely dirty and un- This guarantees the strike Once again it is clear that the amongst the rank and file of the healthy conditions. Dust extractors enormous show of class solidarity. mittee £500 per week and is an employers' tactics of sub-dividing Scottish unions to win support for in use proved completely inade- Many firms in Sheffield have contracts (at Fords there are over concrete industrial and political quate. Shop stewards on behalf held collections and levies of 3/100 sub-contractors) can only be action a gainst the Tories in place of the men complained to the defeated by united action and of the disastrous policies being management, demanding 'dirty per head have been agreed to. organisation at site level. by the STUC. money' pending the installa tion of In addition money has come in effective dust extractors. from the Paint, Trim and Assembly shop at Dagenham, from Mr. Ray Gunter, NEC member the Port of London Authority and of the Labour Party, who started from George Manns (Leeds) and 'a little dazed by the kindly things management refusec many other firms outside Shefaffiliated trade unions ployers and their government. said by Tory MPs about the concede the men's demands field.

number of unemployed supply information of employed and the unemployed was If unity in action between railways, , expressed himself being more 'hopeful about as in No. 31 shop, where on Thursday mid-day all 40 Bill Walker Donations should AEU be sent to Mr. Club, Stanley the vacant register. achieved then the next stage would future'. polishers worked, downed tools. Street, Sheffi ild, 1.

Steps should then be to fight for the nationalization His only the report criticism of The stewards then informed the to see to it that no of the basic industries and the was that 'the commission is des- management that if their demands tries where there was worked in tho introduction of a system of workers' control. perately in need of one or two men who have a deep and kindly were not met by 3 the men would walk out. COVENTRY UNEMPLOYemployed. If capitalism could not give knowledge of what is involved' At 2.30 the 25 another The unions must decent standard of living to those and the government is 'driving plastics shop stopped work in the employment of who worked in its industries, then decent, reasonable, intelligent support and at 3 o'clock the men The annual meeting employed members. the industries concerned should trade union leaders to the wall'. in both shops, all AEU members, Coventry District AEU shop unionists who are should, he stressed, energetically. The problem of Whilst it was constitutionally unemployed be tackled non-trade closure in 1963. said, of the nationalised workshops which were be taken over at once. This was particularly true, he due for railway intend to ruthless their railway workers It now be the Tories clearer to through that if no agreement was reached fitting section had met and decided by Friday morning they, walked out. In the meantime the men in the too, the unemployment and short-time stewards on December 5 discussed working position and noted that 2,500 were out of work in the area, with 11,000 on short-time, not possible to enrol them directly These should be placed under would strike in sympathy. unemployed their trades and they should be into the unions, steps should be taken to compile a register of workers' control of producing ba sumer goods. diy needed con- for the purpose neither railway union chiefs like It also be quite clear that The men's militant soon Results upon A resolution was carried calling the district committee to asked to give undertakings that immediately they found work they would join a trade union. Socialist Labour League was only organisation in the labour Gerry Healy said that the the leaders of the Labour Party have Sidney Greene nor the present any intention of opposing these 31 and 32 shops were told by the on Friday morning the men in produced results. At a meeting press tion waging a campaign on meeting stewards of Confedera- to discuss unemployThey should then receive the movement with a programme plans and forcing their with- works' convenor that the manage- ment. same preference as those who which offered an alternative to drawal. ment had agreed to meet the This campaign should be based in unions when it came to the scourge of unemployment. Yet railwaymen have already stewards and it was decided to on the fight for the 40-hour week, work or full maintenance at union question of filling vacant All those who talked about shown the way to defeat the return to work pending a success- rates for those unemployed, a ban posts. lobbying Parliament were simplý Beeching plan. ful settlement.

It was wrong to create the diverting the struggle from the Given the full support the At 9.30 men's negotiating on overtime and the removal of impression that the employers real enemy. TUC and the whole labour move- committee the management the Tory government and its replacement by a Labour could solv : the p roblem since it ment, a national railway strike who agreed to meet their demands sponsible was their system for it, which was re- Gerry Healy upon Clyde to could force the downfall of the Tory government in full. The 3d. an hour polishers are to get dirty money until ment committed to policies. went on. to fore suitable dust extractors are in- Rogistered at the G.P.O. as a newspapor The threat of unemployment Council stalled. Published by The Newsletter, would only be defi eated by uniting against By Friday evening installation 1864 Clapham High Street, London, S.W.4 working cl against the em- work had alre Idy been started. Printed by Plough Press Lid. (TU), r.o. 180 Clapham High Street. London, S.W.4