BMC MEN BETRAYED Unemployment will grow

the home and foreign markets. Allowing for a decrease in hire SYLVIA PICK purchase spending owing to the credit squeeze and high interests rates, the drop in exports is the most alarming. MANY BRITISH MOTOR CORPORATION shop stewards left angry and furious at the end of another source, that is, Massey a meeting in Coventry on Mon- Ferguson's the tractor manuday of their unofficial joint com- facturers. mittee. This meeting was called as a crisis conference following made for exports. Yet this last week's shock announcement week they have also announced by BC of short-time for short-time working on thousands of car workers, to be grounds that their overseas followed by sackings in a few weeks' time. sales have slumped.

No lead Ninety-four shop stewards present, representing 20 factories, had travelled from Birmingham, Oxtord, Liverpool, Llanelli and Scotland to attend the meeting.

Some felt that they had been given no real lead at all in the serious crisis threatening workers in the industry.

The meeting decided to resist redundancy to the full' and put forward an alternative of shorttime working until the situation improved or workers were in alternative jobs. It was also decided to lobby the Labour Party conference to 'bring pressure to change the present squeeze policy'.

Dick Etheridge, convenor of talks. shop stewards at the Austin works, Longbridge, and a promi- pondents suggestea nent member of the Communist hope' and Party, presided over the meeting and pleaded with the stewards that any action taken should be devised not to embarrass the Labour government!

Either . . . or Stewards were asking after the meeting how any effective action to defend the jobs of car workers could possibly be devised which would not prove embarrassing to the Labour government. Either the government must be embarrassed or the plans for widespread sackings would go forward.

It is understood that some stewards urged that industrial action should be taken. Among these was Mr. A. Harper of the Tractor and Transmissions factory, Birmingham.

While the stewards were meetfurther 8,000 of their workers. BMC announced that a at the Pressed Steel-Fisher facon short-time immediately going immediately.

BOOK NOW FOR And this is confirmed from one of the most up to date in the world.

The story being peddled about The bulk of their products are so-called left' and right-wing variety) that unemployment is necessary as a sort of clearance scheme to redeploy workers to other industries is a barefaced Their factory in Coventry is lie.

This state of affairs was also well known to the trade union leaders of the TUC when they voted for wage freezing. No doubt it was also known to one or two who voted against. The 'Morning Star', organ of the Communist Party, quoted a leaflet issued by its party members in Birmingham which said:

"The stewards expressed the view that collusion was entered into between the management and the Government, who, they are convinced, knew of the position —but kept quiet.' It this is true, and we are convinced that it is, why does the Communist Party hesitate to denounce these trade union leaders who knew that unemployment was on the way immediately the TUC was over.

Illusion

It does not seem credible that a man like Cousins who heads the largest trade union in Britain did not know about it, especially since he was a Cabinet member up to a few weeks before.

The Communist Party carefully divides the trade union leaders from the Labour governthey want to cong impression that somehow lying or other these leaders are going to act on behalf of their members.

They will do nothing of the Sort by Sidney reenes Opposition to struggle on the railwaymen's 3$ per cent. wage agreement. He capitulated completely to the government and sold the railwaymen down the line.

Already the National Union of Vehicle Builders has decided against strike action on the BMC dismissals.

The Communist Party knows all this, but it does not want to fight Labour government because it believes in the 'peaceful road' to socialism, the same reactionary theory which the Labour leaders utilise in order to justify their present attacks on the working class.

Backbone

The trade union leaders are the backbone of the Labour government. Without their support, it could not rule.

So when the Communist Party keeps quiet about their role, they are simply covering up for the people who are in fact behind the government.

The idea that the government was "in collusion' with the BMC employers over unemployment is not even halt the story. The trade union leaders were in collusion with both the employers and the government over unemployment.

They are just as guilty, if not more so, than Wilson.

Now we come to the real traitors in this most critical period.

THE LONDON Divisional Conference of the Union of Shop, Distributive and Allied Workers decided overwhelmingly last Sunday to fight the wage freeze.

Conference passed a motion condemning the wage freeze and congratulating the union's executive council in its opposition to this policy.

The motion called on the executive and those engaged in negotiations to immediately *pursue vigorously' their wage claims. It further called for an UBLIC MEETING Lecture Room, Watford Public Library Hempstead Road (near Town Hall)

Tuesday, September 27, 8 Speaker :

G. Healy, nat. secretary, Fazakerly, Liverpool, decided to back the demonstration, and to levy workers a shilling a week to send a contingent from the factory.

Last week shop stewards issued a statement repeating the decision of the meeting.

It declares: 'Since the meeting, everything that was said there has been justified.' It warns workers:

should be clear as how serious is the situation we are facing. Trade unions were built to fight for workers' wages and conditions. If we allow the control and union, which the Labour government is trying to introduce, then we are left defenceless. ...

'Mr. Wilson said at the TUC that we must have a wage freeze, otherwise we would have unemployment. " He knows very well we are getting both....

'Do we sit back and take it all? That would be a betrayal of all those who fought for trade union rights in the past...

'The campaign to protest at Brighton can. link together differen It will find out where youth. people stand, as it is already doing inside the factory. ...

It is a beginning to marshal forces in the unions and the factories.' CAV convenor Dave Coventry, and his deputy Ted Gilbertson, made a joint statement to The Newsletter about the factory decision.

'We think that out of the decisions of the TUC and the actions of the Labour government stewards in factories co might r different way.

'Stewards cannot fight the wage freeze except through actions which raise the political We face state control of he interests of big busines "Trade union and Labour leaders are siding with finance with a different type leadership? gues to manage the working clas or the employers * needs leaders that will o inise the working class to tak the power off them.

The fight for Brighton is par f the overall fight for suc a leadership. ender actories in Liverpool fo upport.

AT THE MASSEY FERGUSON tractor plant, Coventry, several stewards have agreed to fight for a large contingent on the October 2 demonstration. On Monday, the management announced that 500 workers involved on finishing work would begin a 32-hour, four-day week, starting on October 3. It claims that there is a slackening market.

immediate campaign throughout the union, including a special conference, to rally the membership in support of the executive's stand against the freeze.

Conference earlier agreed to press a claim for a trade union closed shop agreement and a 30s a week increase at Tesco's. A meeting of workers in this chain of supermarkets voted unanimously two days later to press this claim and to take all steps necessary, including industrial action, to win. YOUNG SOCIALISTS CALL TO ALL TRADE UNIONISTS AND YOUNG WORKERS All out against the threat of unemployment in the motor car industry DEMONSTRATE AT MONSTRATE HE LABOUR PART Brighton, Sunday, October 2nd Assemble: 1.30 p.m., seting: Ocean Restaurant, Ocean Restaurant, West Pier, 3 p.m.

All out on October 2nd!

Massey Ferguson stewards sent a delegation to the January 26 lobby of parliament against anti-union laws, and sent two delegates to this year's Morecambe conference of the Young Socialists.

THE DEMONSTRATION was raised at a meeting of the Brent Trades Council in Willesden, north London, last Monday, called to discuss short-time working and mass sackings.

Bro. Taylor of the north London district committee of the Amalgamated Engineering Union said • the whole question was political.

His point was reinforced by Mike Coolley, Draughtmen's and Allied Technicians' Association district council member:

'What we are seeing in Brent,' he said, 'is a local reflection of the disastrous Tory policies that have been carried on by the Labour government.' Calling for an alternative policy, Coolley received strong support when he said the ENV engineering factory-due for closure, according to the Us management-should be nationalized.

ENV shop steward Geoff Carlsson criticised AEU officials and local MPs for their failure to help the ENV workers' struggle.

In discussion, local trade unionists from the clerical, furniture trade and engineering unions called for support for October 2, and one praised the backing from ENV shop stewards.

Stalinists and supporters of the 'state capitalist' group at the meeting were opposed to any such struggle.

Les Burt of the Communist Party attacked people who, he said, were 'trying to bring down the Labour government. (He stood against the Labour candidate in West Willesden in the General Election!) Political issues which might confuse the 'ordinary worker' should be avoided, he added.

State capitalists argued for 'broad local committees' to fight Valley of dying special report frc the Rhondda -p. 4 LABOUR PA CONFERENCE Palace Pier West Pier, stewards committee this fight nationalize the engineering and car industry at once redundancies. These committees should 'keep in touch'.

CLYDESIDE SHOP STEWARDS' committee decided last Saturday (September 17) to lobby the Labour Party conference.

The meeting was attended by shop stewards and convenors from BMC (Bathgate" pressings (Clydebank), Rootes (Linwood), Rolls Royce (Hilling: ton) and many shipyards and factories.

There is no doubt about the anger and real hatred with which the policies of Wilson have been received. But there is very real doubt about the intentions of the Communist Party members who control the committee.

It was set up and conducted a very belated campaign to take a tiny deputation to the June 22 lobby of parliament. Activities were then 'suspended' during the summer months, it was announced.

SLL and YS members continued to campaign against the government's policies, and, when the committee met again in August, demanded that preparations be made to warn the working class of the consequences of Wilson's measures.

The committee was not called again for a month-until, in fact, CP officials can no longer pretend that Wilson pushed to the left, or that 'left' MPs can do the job.

Last Monday's 'Morning Star' featured the Scottish Committee of the CP. It had issued a statement on the crisis which is empty of socialist programme and ignores the fight against "left' fakery, which is responsible for much confusion.

Young Socialists welcome support from carworkers at Bathgate and Linwood and General and Municipal Workers' Union members at Singers, but they know that such support has not been won by the CP.

All other Clyde workers who want to lobby the Labour Party conference should travel with the Young Socialists to Brighton. Their bus leaves from the Suspension Bridge, Carlton Place, on Saturday, October 1, at 6 p.m.

The Communist Party appears to many motor car workers today to oppose capitalism and the BMC management-but it does nothing of the sort.

Communist Party convenor Etheridge of the Longbridge BMC works, started out with a lot of 'left' talk about a strike, but last Monday announced that the whole matter should be referred to the 'officials of the unions concerned'.

In other words, he is passing the buck.

He aoes not want to strike, so he passes it over to the people who are opposed to strikes under any circumstances. This is how he tries to maintain his 'left' cover.

When the present trade union leaders betray, he will once more re-appear • as the 'honest Communist Party member who was trying to 'do his job, as convenor.

If the Cominunist Party really wanted to fight the BMC management it would first of all expose the Labour and trade union leaders. Under these circumstances Etheridge would