Workers Press no. 727

workers press

T&GWU FINED

INCOIN TH

DAILY ORGAN OF TH

NO CYCLING ALLOWED

WOMEN workers at the engineering plants in the British Steel Corpora- Manchester area who are continuing their tion's works, Openshaw, factory occupation in support of Manchester usi are pictured above after the engineering pay claim.

on voting to sit-in. They will They engaged in are do their stint - apart pitched battle with the local employers for better from night shift in wages and holidays. occupying the factory. The Openshaw workers Men at a tenth factory, the nine Joseph Robinsons, of Sal- are among TALKS affecting

BY PHILIP WADE

-PAY

200,000 railway workers broke down yesterday National Union of when the three unions the Railwaymen will not dis- of negotia- walked out cuss the situation until the tions with British Rail. middle of next week. There was no increase in BR's "final' offer, which The made unions no the rejected at yesterday's unions on request for British Rail Tuesday. With the trans- meeting fer of bonus chairman Richard Marsh to payments, it would give railmen a basic intervene in the talks. £19.50 a week and drivers At the same time an official failure to agree' has £30. The ASLEF, footplate- not yet been registered. *It doesn't look so good men's executive met yester- said Ray Buckton, and split all.' day afternoon at

ASLEF

action while general secretary, cn industrial

ATING THE NEWSLETTER • THURSDA

I OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTE

the ford, did not оссиру after management post- poned a decision to lock them out for working to im. rule in support of their claim. Meanwhile 3,500 work- ers at Ferranti's two factories Manchester went on a one-day strike yesterday as part of the campaign. yesterday's break- after down. I'm very disappointed we've reached this impasse in the negotiations. But I'm still hoping. It was up to the executive to plan the next move, he added. NUR general secretary Sir Sidney Greene said: 'An extra 50 [on railmen's basic] would make it a good settlement. But there was no ques- tion of industrial action at as the negotia- this stage tions hadn't yet been com- pleted. THURSDAY MARCH 30, 1972• No. 727 •

MMITTEE OF THE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEA

IF BRITAIN'S biggest union fails to p all its funds may be seized. This wa National Industrial Relations Court Transport and General Workers' Uni stop "blacking' action on Liverpool doc Should the union decide not to pay the fine in a fortnight's time, it will have just three more weeks grace before all its assets, both 'protected" and unprotected, are taken over.

Yesterday's orders were made on application by Heaton's Transport (St Helens) Ltd, who alleged that despite an order made last Thursday two of their lorries had been refused entry to the docks. The drivers of the two lorries and their T&GWU branch secretary appeared before summonses issued the court on witness late on Tuesday night. instructed by After hearing counsel Heaton's, affidavits from the firm's joint managing directors and the evidence of the three St Helens men, the court ruled that there had been deliberate action by union officials to breach its orders.

In giving the verdict of the five-man court, president Sir John Donaldson said that the NIRC existed not just to protect one particular law, but the whole system of law. Failure to comply with an order of the court demonstrated a contempt for all law and for freedom under the law, he said. Therein lies the seriousness of the present proceedings.' He cited three occasions on which the

T&GWU

opportunity had had the to appear before the court, but had chosen not to do so. The union had been strictly within its rights in taking this course of action, he said. It might, however, have been wiser to take a different course.

Sir John read a letter to the court from Jack Jones, T&GWU general secretary.

It said: In accordance with the TUC advice, we will not be participating in the proceedings and will therefore not be in attendance on March 29.' The court president commented sharply that in the context of contempt of court reply must be almost without such a precedent'. He hinted that while on this occasion the decision to attend or not attend had been lett to the alleged contemnor's good may see fit', he said. Sir John continued: 'On the evidence, no attempt whatsoever was made by the union to prevent this breach of the court's order. "Their contempt in that respect has, if been anything, aggravated by their failure to be represented on the occasion

UR LEAGUE

DAVID MAUDE

ails to pay a £5,000 fine within 14 days Chis was the shock judgement of the Court yesterday after it found the rs' Union in contempt of an order to ool docks. any explanation of this hearing and offer whatsoever in mitigation.'

The court had given full consideration to the union's obvious misapprehension of the position. •We have decided that as this is the first occasion and I trust it will be the last-upon which an order of this court has been disobeyed, it will suffice if we impose a fine of €5,000.'

Sir John said that, under the Industrial Relations Act, orders for compensation against a registered union were limited to El a member, and against an unregistered union limited to those of its assets avail- able for support of industrial action. But there was no limit on fines for contempt.

The £5,000 fine would be suspended for 14 days to enable the union to attend court and offer some explanation. But the court also made an order that if it failed to attend and if the fine was not paid, a writ of sequestration-seizure of the union's whole assets would be issued after a further three weeks.

Earlier, Sir John had issued a sharp warning to Henry Hull, secretary of the T&GWU 6/364 branch, who gave evidence on a witness summons issued in St Helens at 11.30 p.m. the previous night.

Asked for advice by Heaton's drivers Austin French and Terence Dowling, he had told them not to talk to the firm's solicitors about the case until he had taken union advice. The court president told him: 'Anybody who tries to deter a witness from giving evidence is guilty of one of the more serious forms of contempt it is possible to commit, and any court will punish anybody who does that.'

All three men had given evidence that they did not know exactly what Heaton's wanted them to talk to solicitors for at that stage. Sir John later told the court he was the branch not criticizing secretary's actions in the situation as he had seen it. Andrew Abdela, counsel for Heaton's, told the court that conciliation in the dispute had already begun. From a com- mercial point of view the company did not wish to cause more industrial unrest than it possibly could, he said.

The court president pointed out, how- ever, that whether or not the dispute was settled did not affect the issue of con- tempt. Full hearings of both the Heaton's order and a similar one granted to Bishop's Wharf Ltd, of Warrington, on Monday will take place on April 12. It is in that action that the issue of unfair industrial practice under the Industrial Relations Act will be decided.

workers press

T&GWU FINED

INCORPORATING TH

DAILY ORGAN OF TH

NO CYCLING ALLOWED

BY ORDER

WOMEN workers at the engineering plants in the ' for British Steel Corpora- Manchester area who are tion's works, Openshaw, their factory continuing Manchester, are pictured occupation in support of Tuesday after above on the engineering pay claim.

voting to sit-in. They will They are engaged in a do their stint — apart pitched battle with the from night shift - in local employers for better occupying the factory. wages and holidays. The Openshaw workers Men at a tenth factory, the nine Tosenh Robinsons. of Sal- are among

BY PHILIP WADE

TALKS affecting

-PAY

200,000 railway workers yesterday broke down of when the three unions National Union the dis- Railwavmen will not walked out of negotia- cuss the situation until the tions with British Rail. middle of next week. There was no increase in which BR's 'final' offer, The made unions no reiected the request at yesterday's unions on for British Rail Tuesday. With the trans- meeting fer bonus chairman Richard Marsh to of payments, it would give railmen a basic intervene in the talks. £19.50 a week and drivers At the time an same €30. official 'failure to agree' has footplate- The ASLEF, not yet been registered. men's executive met yester- doesn't look so good •I+ and solit at all' said Ray Buckton, day afternoon

ASLEF

while general cn industrial action secretary.

ATING THE NEWSLETTER • THURSD

• OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTE

the ford, did not occupy after management post- poned a decision to lock them out for working to rule in support of their claim. Meanwhile 3,500 work- ers at Ferranti's two factories Manchester went on a one-day strike yesterday as part of the campaign. after yesterday's break- down. 'I'm very disappointed we've reached this impasse in the negotiations. But I'm still hoping. It was up to the executive to plan , he added. the next move' NUR general secretary Sir Sidney Greene said: 'An extra 50 [on railmen's basic] would make it a good settlement. But there was no ques- tion of industrial action at this stage as the negotia- tions hadn't yet been com- pleted. THURSDAY MARCH 30, 1972 @ No. 727 • 4p

IMMITTEE OF THE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

BY OUR INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT DAVID MAUDE

IF BRITAIN'S biggest union fails to pay a £5,000 fine within 14 days all its funds may be seized. This was the shock judgement of the National Industrial Relations Court yesterday after it found the Transport and General Workers' Union in contempt of an order to stop 'blacking' action on Liverpool docks.

Should the union deeide not to pays- of this hearing and offer any explanation whatsoever mitigation.' the fine in a fortnight's time, it will in have just three weeks grace The court had given full consideration before all its assets, both 'protected' Tone union s oovious musapprenens on of the position. and unprotected, are taken over.

'We have decided that as this is the Yesterday's orders were made on hrst occasion- arast r wu be unc application by Heaton's Transport (St last- -upon which an order of this court will suffice if Helens) Ltd, who alleged that despite has been disobeyed, impose a fine of €5,000.'

an order made last Thursday two of their lorries had been refused entry Sir John said that, under the Industrial Relations to the docks. Act, orders comensation aralst a redsereo don wene oeo o The drivers of the two lorries and their £l a member, and against an unregistered T&GWU branch secretary appeared before limited to those ot its assets avall- wildess sunoses late on Tuesday night. limit on fines for contempt.

The £5,000 fine would be suspended for Heaton's, affidavits from enaoe managing directors and the evidence court and offer some explanation the three St Helens men, the court ruled court also made an order that if it failed that there had been deliberate action by to attend and if the fine was not union officials to breach its orders.

sequestration-seizure unol s CeR-vole verdict of the five-man after a further three weeks.

president Sir John Donaldson said that the NIRC existed not just to 'protect o Henry Huld had issued a shar one particular law, but the whole system T&GWU 6/364 branch, who gave evidence on a witness summons issued in Failure to comply with an order of the at 11.30 p.m. the previous night.

all Asked for advice by Heaton's drivers law and for freedom 'Therein lies the seriousness had told them not to takk to present procecalngs. solicitors the case until he taken union advice He cited three occasions on which the The court president told him: appear before the court, but had chosen 'Anybody who tries to deter a witness not to do so. giving evidence is guilty The union had been strictly within its bocnous lonuso contemor ırız in taking this course possible to punish anyaca mito des at comt and any said. It might, however, have been wiser to take a diffèrent course.

three men had given evidence that they did not know exactly what Heaton's rones, egw ge teral secoeta wanted them to talk to solicitors for at zer o roe corre l Jack Jones, participating in the criticizing and will therefore not be in actions in the situation as he had seen attendance on March 29.' The court president commented sharply counsel for Heaton's, that in the context of contemot of court must be dispute had already begun.

precedent'. colusany. He hinted that while on this occasion cause more industrial unrest not wisn to the decision to attend or not attend had than it possibly could, he said.

been left to ift mi the al bed co the tutuse He contemnor's good court president pointed out, how- whether or not the dispute was ever. may be required to attend as 'the court did not affect the issue may see fit', he said. Sir John continued: 'On the evidence, Full hearings of both the Heaton's order no attempt whatsoever was made by the union to prevent this breach of the court's will take place on April 02. It is in hat- Thenr contempt in that respect has, if Relations Sinenstral failure to be represented on the occasion Act will be decided.

PAGE & Workars Press, Thuradary March:

AROUND THE WORLD

BY JOHN SPENCER

PAUL VOLCKER, US Treas matum to the rest of the cap on Tuesday. While the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development heard Volcker's statement, Nixon's govern- ment announced its second steepest balance of payments deficit in history, and the Commerce Department re- showing a leased figures deepening trend towards recession in the US. dele- Volcker told the Paris representing ten of the gates, nations, that they top capitalist had better get their 'philosophy' straight on a new monetary set- up to replace the shattered post- based on converti- war system bility between, the dollar and gold. He did not think such a settlement could be reached by by which time many autumn, bankers fear another currency crisis with possibility of a the dollar devaluation. He made it clear that America will not restore convertibility at other countries least until the had made sufficient concessions to bring the US balance of pay- ments back into surplus. the US trade Last month, deficit widened to $587m from January's and total of $318m December's $273m. This is the since the worst set of figures all-time record of $82lm last October. To overcome this massive deficit, and the European Japanese employers would have to sacrifice exports to the US and open their markets to US goods and capital investment. they The sacrifices made in the December 18 currency re- alignment simulated have only the American monopolists' appe- tite for further concessions.

Volcker demanded to know who would take over the US role now there were multiple of economic centres power rather than a single dominating country. Who would provide the match- ing deficits to sustain other countries' trade surpluses .and maintain the International Mone- tary Fund as the world police- man, he asked. Paper schemes like the Special Drawing Rights system envisaged by Tory Chancellor Anthony Barber were useless if the other would not capitalist countries to finance a 'substantial agree period of US balance of payment surpluses. Volcker said. The European governments and central banks were ignoring the underlying issues in favour of a preoccupation with "surface mechanics', , he • added. The underlying issue behind Volcker's tough talk is the grow- ing . recession throughout the capitalist world pushing every state into an intensified struggle for markets. The Commerce Department's industrial index, released yester- day, shows the smallest rise for five months, indicating that pro- duction and investment in the US are falling rapidly. KU KLUX KLAN activity is on the increase in Florida, the Jew- ish community services organiza- tion B'nai B'rith said The Anti- League Defamation said there were 22 simultaneous cross burn- ings on Saturday night, most of them in the S Florida area.

The chairman of the League's Florida board, Jack Kassewitz, refused to speculate whether the Klan activity was inspired by pro- segregationist. Alabama governor George Wallace's resounding suc- cess in the Florida presidential primary two weeks ago. ay March 30, 1972 S Treasury undersecretary, deliver the capitalist world at a Paris meet A 25 PER CENT increase in United States military aid to Jordan is almost certain to fol- low King Hussein's Washington visit. I talks with the White House In and States Department on Tues- day, Hussein asked for an addi- tional $15m in military aid.

He also explained to president Nixon's advisers his treacherous plan for a Jordanian take-over of Palestinian lands on the Jordan West Bank. The US is reluctant to sup- port this plan openly because its Israeli allies have already pub- licly rejected it. Behind the however, scenes, it is the subject of intensive diplomatic manoeuvring aimed at TROOPS could be replaced ir mated battlefield, relying on mines and silent button bom Information on the horri Americans are preparing is journalist Alain Jaubert, scier cherche' ', Paris, in yesterday's i • Jaubert says that sensors will be to detect people dropped by air-those like people sniffer, which is the infinitesimal sensitive to quantities of ammonia and can detect human perspira- tion at considerable dist- ances. Other devices include: • MAGID, which can pick up minute changes in the earth's field caused by a magnetic man carrying a rifle or a spade.

Signals from i these and other sensors are picked up by pilot- less aircraft and processed by two computers in Thailand.

in- The computers then send formation to field commanders anti-personnel who call on weapons delivered by aircraft.

The computers can communicate direct to mines on the battlefield.

SPIDER mine, hardly bigger than shoots ping-pong ball, out eight nylon threads and anyone who touches a thread explodes the mine. SHRIKE missiles explode near the ground and fire 10,000 four steel cubes which millimeter penetrate deeply and are diffi- cult to detect by X-rays.

BUTTON bomblets are filled white phosphorous which with can kill by poisoning as well as by burning. delivered another sharp ulti- is meeting of financial experts finally settling the Palestinian question by delivering . the Arab inhabitants of the Israeli-occupied into the hands West Bank their chief Arab enemy, Hussein.

America's military aid to Jor- already totals about $45m and the additional sum demanded by Hussein will strengthen his army against the Palestinians and enable US imperialism to take an even firmer grip in the Middle East. laced in Vietnam by an 'auto- ing on people sniffers, spider n bomblets. • horrific new weapons the ring is revealed by French rt, scientific editor of 'La Re- rday's issue of 'New Scientist'.

GRAVEL mines, which look like leaves or pieces of cloth, but can blow a foot off. CANNON shells explode to re- lease shrapnel balls, each of then ex- which bounces and plodes releasing 600 small' frag- ments at the height to. hit the chest or head of an average Vietnamese. At the other end of the scale is a giant 15,000-pound bomb, filled with a new explosive whose shock waves can annihilate all animal, plant and human lite in than a mile an area more across.

SEVENTY-THREE

special tri- bunals have been set up in Bangla Desh to try thousands of people accused of collaborating with the Pakistan occupation forces last year. The tribunals set up under the (special tribunal) collaborators order, issued recently, will pro- fair trials. vide 'expeditious and be headed by They will sessions judges and will sit in parts of the country various including Dacca where there will be 11. The exact number of people THE KIDNAPPING of three British military hostages in Turkey is a desperate attempt to save Deniz Gezmis and his three comrades awaiting death in the military regime's prison. But it is no substitute for mobilizing the masses in action to save the lives of these three young guerrilla fighters.

The regime's premier, Nihat Erim, has announced that he will not give in to 'blackmail' and his govern- ment 'will never compromise' with the guerrillas. In other words the three men will hang, even if it costs the lives of the auxiliaries of British imperialism in Turkey. With so much blood already on its hands, the Turkish military regime will not baulk at the death of three British technicians in order to crush the resistance of the youth and the working class.

Marxists are opposed to individual terror and kidnapping not out of moral scruple, but because it cuts across the basic task of mobilizing the mass of workers and oppressed people against their oppressors. Trotsky wrote that: 'Individual terrorism in our eyes is impermissible-precisely for the reason that it lowers the masses in their own consciousness, recon- ciles them to impotence, and directs their glances and hopes towards the great avenger and emancipator who will someday come and accomplish this mission.'

The revolutionary overthrow of the military regime remains the only way to stem the tide of blood which the dictators are shedding in Turkey. The revolutionary of the masses cannot be substituted by action individual terrorist actions, however heroic, born out of frustration and despair.

The young guerrilla fighters have been betrayed into these desperate actions by the counter- revolutionary treachery of Stalinism, which collabor- " ates with the Turkish military regime. Podgorny, the Soviet President is due to pay a 'goodwill visit' to the dictatorship in a fortnight's time.

compounded by the Pabloite This betrayal is revisionists, like the parlour pink 'heroes' of 'Red who advocate individual terror in Ireland, Mole', Turkey and Quebec. These Argentina, people are aiding the Stalinists to strangle the Turkish working class with their anti-Trotskyist and reactionary terrorist theories. against 1,977 people opened.

military

THE

TURKISH

com- Faik 292 of Istanbul Gen At the moment people, mander including 13 women, were being Turun has announced new people he held in prison either under arrest calls clamp 'anarchists and communists'.

convicted prisoners. or as Searches had during the year of 2,663 Earlier the Istanbul martial law led to the seizure three million command revealed that since weapons. about of ammunition and large martial law had been proclaimed rounds ago 3,214 cases quantities of explosives and other year a prohibited 'anarchists' had been weapons, the against announcement said. investigated and prosecutions defended the 1969

POLICE

in Chicago kill vigorously more police massacre of demonstrators people than police departments US the other largest in the city. in according. two-year cities Marshall Patner who headed survey published yesterday.

the of police kill- investigation ings said: I would say they are Chicago's first citizen is Mayor a trigger-happy society of police- Daley, who Richard the man they are clearly un- men disciplined from the toD.'

During 1969 and 1970 Chicago reported have were to killed 79 civilians, 59 of whom- 75 per cent-were black. The figures were contained in of Chicago Law the report Enforcement Study Group arrested as collaborators after the of North ioint research proiect surrender of the Pakistani troops Western University's Centre for to the i Indian Decem- army last Urban Affairs, and 12 civic ber is known but about not organizations. 10,000 people are believed to be The group charged that in 28 They include in Dacca jails alone. Urdu-speaking of the police killings there was Bengalis and 'substantial evidence' of police Biharis. and ministrative violations administrative The Bangladesh also announced that will standards. has violation of criminal statutes.

try about 15,000 of the Pakistani of these cases there is prisoners of war now being held ten that substantial evidence the India on charges of commit- in policeman involved should have various crimes during last ting year's military crackdown on the been criminally liable in connec No date tion with the death! Patner told Bengalis. East or pro- cedure has been announced.

a press conference.

"Moonshine' says boss MORE THAN 400 members of Actors' Equity have signed a petition summoning a special general meeting on.

April 23 to demand the union's deregistration under the Industrial Relations Act.

The decision to register came a surprise as announcement earlier this month. It was a reversal of a previous decision of Equity's and general council TUC's non- the contravenes registration. policy. Within a week of the about- face by the general council a number of actors prepared a petition within the union's rank and file to call for a special con- ference. The resolution for discussion at the emergency meeting quick- ly accumulated 428 signatures from employed and unemployed actors. It reads as follows: 'We the membership of Equity the un- deplore and condemn principled action taken. by the Equity Council to register our union under the Tory govern- ment's Industrial Relations Act. This is an abject betrayal of their declared policy of total opposition to this legislation which we, the membership, overwhelmingly sup- recognizing that portea, any state interference in our demo- cratic rights as an independent must be opposed, union especially the state interference by a government which always been, and declares itself to be, the government of em- ployers. 'We are engaged in a struggle to live and work under conditions industry is in total when our and livelihood crisis our threatened by mass unemploy- ment. All our voices, our strength, are needed to fight these conditions. Registration _ robs us leaves us of our strength and prostrate in the hands of the and their represent- employers atives in parliament. 'At the Blackpool conference of the TUC the decision was • by delegates representing taken millions of workers and profes- sional people to defeat the gov- ernment's intentions by coming off the register. Thousands of us petitioned, in Equity have marched, demonstrated in to the council's policy response of total opposition. therefore instruct the 'We Council to deregister immedi- ately and to demand of the TUC leaders that they carry out their task to mobilize all unions to the Industrial Relations defeat Act in its entirety' The first result of this resolu- tion is that it has seriously dis- rupted an attempt by the union leadership to seek registration by referring the decision to a 'yes' or 'no' referendum. Such a vote would not allow the widest discussion on the implications of the breach in union solidarity and the trade implications of registration.

One actor told Workers Press: 'The fact that the National Union of Seamen has been sus- pended by the TUC does not seem to worry Equity. Until now our union has gone through the with the motions of alliance policies of the TUC, the Con- of federation Entertainment and the Federation of Unions Film Unions, while at the same "special time trying to get case" deal with the Tories.'

The special conference has been called for April 23 at the Adelphi theatre, Strand. rules state the Association "meeting must be convened with- in four weeks of the request being made; this is in fact with- in FIVE weeks. Apparently the delay is because Equity general secretary Gerald Croasdell has to attend the International Fed- Actors in Latin eration of the main topic America, where discussion will be the grow- for poverty and unemployment ing amongst Latin American theatre workers, the interference by governments through the free expression of ideas and of the right to organize by trade unionists to protect their rights.

INDUSTRIAL CORRESPONDENT

WITH BANKRUPTCY

tool manufacturer, the firm has just announced losses for staring it in the face, the the year totalling £4.24m.

But Richard the chairman, Alfred Herbert machine- Young, told the financial press tool group is trying to that mutterings bank- about ruptcy 'are just moonshine'.

explain away its huge He said the company is 'very losses. relaxed about liquidity Britain's largest machine- He agreed, however, that we

BY DAVID MAUDE

NATIONALIZATION

under workers' control must be an immediate and not long-term objective of Britain's port- workers following the con- tainers row which has blown Liverpool docks. up on Whatever the original inten- tions of either party to the row, the state, in the shape of National Industrial Rela- the tions Court, has now entered decisively into the argument.

and rolentrae action workers ers road-transport workers Merseyside has been transformed tense confrontation be- into a tween the state and the biggest union in the country. In the background of this issue port employers' plans their labour force by more than 7 this and per cent year two of employer-government years dockers' planning to attack rights. It is no accident that all these issues should be sparked together through the growing world sup- ply of some big, expensive, re- inforced-metal boxes for carrying cargo-containers. Containerization allows increase in the potentially vast tonnage handled by a port. A contalner being US Figures comp led loaded at Liverpool docks W Coast before the niesent • de indi dual and takes an absolute minimum slump showed each 13 to 18 of labour to load or unload.

docker shifting times The rate of job-loss resulting more cargo per hour under the from and other with conventional containerization system than new cargo-handling methods over manhandling methods. the last the New To give just one example: a years on. ten. York waterfront alone is estim- fully-loaded container shio carry- ated by the men's union at 1,000 ing 296 truck bodies below and And it 140 on deck-a total weight in year. is not just dockers' jobs which suffer. their containers of 6,500 tons— Sir Andrew

OCL-

turned round in 40 hours com- Crichton's ACT consortium claimed at the five-and-a-half pared with days the same loads would have state that nine container ships would replace 40 conventional taken previously. The comparison in man-hours vessels. 850 as against 11,088. This trend, repeated in other was The capital costs of servicing branches of transport, and a container berth are in the the current trade slump means those for rising unemployment among sea- region of ten times. In conventional cargo ships. men. The slump has turned every- order to realize this investment, the employers have to push ruth- head- thing -driving on its lessly for more rapid turn.- employers forward internation- round times and drastic cuts in ally into war against dockers and the wik for 20-foot seamen. is this which provides the single container It alone costs about £1,000, but it for the motive-power present carries 15 to 20 tons at a time dispute.

IMPERIAL

CHEMICALS'

for the US coming into Britain ForEe Arst Co Months of 19925 from Japan and elsewhere.

have been considerably below Callard said ICI suffered a expectations' Tack chairman permanent loss of business as a Callard said in London vesterday.

result of the miners' strike and would further depress warned that if the this the And he company's profits. ICt's profits for the first quarter of 1972 recover, much were rec depended Chancellor expand de. Barber's Budget to

THE MICKLEOVER

Transport of the products mand for the Park plant in Royal, London. chemical industry. announced has it is to close. ICt's had Owned by Unigate, the firm He said exports employs 300 men. It is been hit sharoly by US moves believed it still has orders for 650 field which had not to protectionism, only restricted that market, ambulances-150 will be but more made at the plant and 500 sub- led to large quantities of: low- contracted. priced goods previously destined Workers Press, Th can't go on at the current level until kingdom come' How long to kingdom come can't be long. Sales last year were 20 per cent lower at £37.72m and the trading loss was £2.24m against a profit of flm in the year to October 1970. The group also made a £1.28m provision against the possibility of having to write-off its 44 per cent stake in Herbert-Ingersoll,

ALL TRADES UNIONS

ALLIANCE

MEETINGS

N LONDON: Thursday March 30, 8 p.m. Bricklayers Arms, Tottenham High Rd., N17 (off White Hart Lane). 'Report back meeting from Wembley. The Scarborough conference' S EAST: Thursday, March 30, 8 p.m. Deptford Engineers' Club, nr. New Cross Station.

'Report back from Wembley Pool'. Workers Press, Thursday March 30, 1972 PAGE 3 up. Ive yeais with US-owned Inger. soll Milling Machine Company In his annual Young says there will be no let-up the closing down of unprofitable the group. Company sites have already and been. cut by 15 to reduced by 3,190 8,279 Another 1,000 jobs are at risk the company's Churchill Machine Tool Hill cham, near Manchester. decision how soon, to-transfer the chill production to Coventry will Young said the rigorous slim- the group ming an healthier hard core to business'. "The And he added: best course for the company is being kept under constant review.' WANDSWORTH: Thursday March 30, 8 p.m. Selkirk Hotel, Silkirk Rd, Tooting. 'Empire Pool and building the revolu- tionary party' ACTON: Tuesday Aprll 4, 8 p.m. Mechanics Arms, Church- field Road. 'Empire Pool and building revolutionary Ine party'. EAST LONDON: Tuesday April 4, 8 p.m. Aberfeldy Pub, Aber- Street, feldy nr. Biackwall Tunnel. 'Building the revolu- tionary party and the fight for docks jobs'. Moscow Trials Anthology Paperback 62½p

MAX SHACHTMAN:

Behind The Moscow Trial Paperback 75g

ROBERT BLACK :

-cloth £2 Paperback £1.12%-

LEON TROTSKY:

of Capitalism Death Agony (The Transitional Proaramme) Pamphlet 5p Class Nature of the Soviet State Pamphlet 200 In Defence of the October Revolution Pamphlet 15p The Theory and Practice Revisionism Pamphlet 15p rostage tup per dook, sp per pamphlet. Order from :

NEW PARK PUBLICATIONS

186a Clapham High Street, London w4 (0G.

AGE

A three part series by DAVID Workers Press Industrial Corre Militancy ran high at the Saltley coke depot as 20,000 Birmingham engineering joined workers picketing miners from all over the country to force its closure.

'This will go down in British history,' Arthur trade union Scargill, a leader of the York- shire miners, told the cheering crowd as police shut and pad- locked the depot gates. Later that day the Tories ordered the Wilberforce inquiry. History will also record, how- ever, that just four days earlier the trade union leaders had knifed even more powerful solid- arity action. By the casting vote of Elec- trical and Plumbing Trades Union secretary Frank Chapple, negotiators for Britain's 115,000 power workers had accepted a pay settlement of 77 per cent.

The two representatives of the Amalgamated Union of Engineer- Workers at the talks - the 'left' Bob Wright and the Com- munist Party member John Foster-were careful to let it be known that they had voted against in the six-six tie.

Voting with the engineers had been one electrician, plus the representatives three of the Transport and General Workers' Union. The accusing finger was pointed at Chapple's two faithful EPTU sidekicks and the four men from the General and Muni- cipal Workers' Union. This line-up, however, was only the last act of the tragedy: had Wright and the other AUEW 'lefts' fought the abandonment of their national pay claim a month earlier, the power climb- down would not have been possible. That such voting figures- normally a closely-guarded secret —should come out at all was in itself significant. It was clearly felt. by the en- gineers that something dramatic was needed to stem the mounting criticism of their January deci- sion seen at Saltley and else- where. Meanwhile a second current of also rapidly opposition was building up inside the AUEW.

A decision to institute postal Frank Chapple of the ETU (right) with AU ay March 30,1072

DAVID MAUDE

al Correspondent balloting for general officers' which had been pushed jobs, through by the national commit- tee against executive advice, was becoming increasingly un- unpopular. Militants felt it threatened the key role of branches in the union structure. They pointed out that 71 branches had already been closed down in 1971-the biggest figure for any year since 1939. The trend, it was felt by more rank-and-filers, was and more clear. A desperate right wing was to hold their trying on to shrinking power-base by bringing the AUEW into line with Chapple's EPTU, with which merger talks were in progress.

In place of the present 2,000 factory-based or local branches the right wanted 1,000 regional branches with elected, but full- time branch secretaries. In a postal all the ballot, pressure of the mass media would be brought to bear on the union member as an individual. The specific weight the trade union activist would be drastic.

ally reduced. Another change in rules means that any general officer who has held down his job for two terms and is over 60 does not have to seek election. Thus AUEW president Hugh Scanlon, executive member Reg Birch and others are already in for life. So is the right-winger Jim Conway if he wins the forth- coming contest for the general secretaryship. One decision taken by the January 5-7 executive meeting of all four AUEW sections, which also ratifies abandonment of the national claim, was the pay drawing-up of a common set of rules. The Communist Party faction in the technical and supervisory section is known to favour the replacement of its rank-and-file executive with a leadership which works full time. Militants fear they could form a powerful axis with Scanlon for changing the face of the technicians' and con- structional sections. All these issues raise the ques- tion of democratization. But, as Leon Trotsky insisted in the uncompleted article 'Trade Unions the Epoch of Im. perialist Decay', drafted shortly before his murder in 1940, the struggle for trade union demo- 1) with AUEW 'lott Bob Wright Saltley coke depot, February 10: engin cracy 'presupposes for its realiza- tion the complete freedom of the trade unions from the imperialist or colonial state'. These words have the sharpest possible relevance to the struggles around the issue of engineering pay, which this week open up in earnest in the key Manchester district. On the one side are ranged the Tory government and the en- gineering employers, who, despite a 7.4-per-cent increase in profits last year, now face a disastrous slump in overseas orders of 21 per cent. On the other-albeit timidly— stand Scanlon and the same AUEW executive which in Jan- abandoned the national uary claim. Despite increasingly rapacious statements from his opponents, Scanlon has been talking recently about reducing the 'abrasiveness' between government and unions.

We have already touched briefly on the exports position of the engineering industry. Let us look at a few more of the statis- which stiffening the are employers' resistance. The 7.4 per cent profits rise last year was itself only half the increase over the previous 12 months. But in 1971 shareholders still received f76m, the return on capital was still 14 per cent and exceeded £2,000m. assets still Now home orders, too, are down.

In the first quarter of this year. pa they dropped by a profit- threatening 6 per cent. industry's already- The shrunken labour s force operating at between 15 and 20 per cent below capacity. On Tuesday, February 15, as miners thousands of striking lobbied their MPs at West- minster, leaders of the Engineer- ing Employers' Federation held a hush-hush meeting with senior Ministers on the power crisis.

As Workers Press was sub- sequently able to reveal, they demanded government per- I0: engineers joln picketing miners in action th mission to dismiss millions of workers, deprive them of lay-off pay and slash their redundancy entitlements. The Tories hedged. Within two days, Lord Wilberforce's inquiry had . offered the miners £4.50-f6.

But as the miners balloted on the offer,

EEF

president Denby Bamford insisted that member- firms still had 'no alternative but to resist extravagant claims - especially at this time. With Tory premier Edward Heath applauding in the audience at the Federation's annual dinner, Bamford declared that the unions had not "sidestepped' this resist- ance by their plant-bargaining strategy. The following day he was at it again. 'If the unions are out to test the fibre of our unity, Bamford told a meeting of the EEF general council, 'we should leave doubt as to its them durability: "° So what now in engineering?

The Labour 'lefts' the on AUEW executive-and their sup- in the ranks of the porters union-are now seriously worried by the of the consequences January 4 decision. Under pressure from a group of senior shop stewards in the motor in- dustry recently even Scanlon was prepared to concede it 'might have been a miscalculation'.

Like Party, the Communist however, the 'lefts' are not pre- pared to take an iota of respon- sibility for the confusion caused in the ranks of the engineering unions by their actions. This is not to ignore the differences that have serious been opened up in the CP by decision to the January 24 abandon the national claim.

One leading left-wing official of the AUEW claims on the issue. In the Manchester district, prominent CP members of the union have expressed keen dis- appointment with the plant- i actlon that forced the gates to close bargaining strategy. committee Both ex-national and member Bernard Panter district secretary John Tocher are understood to be opposed to it, but feel that their job is now to swing the area "over to the offensive. In Sheffield a fortnight ago the CP-dominated AUEW district committee split 50-50 on a pro- posal to back the greater Man- chester action which began on.

Monday. The casting vote against came

AUEW

from CP veteran and national-committee member Herbert Howarth. Officially the CP policy is to 'make the best of a bad decision'.

But it maintains bitter hostility to the struggle for a principled, revolutionary leadership in the unions, preferring to blame en- gineering workers for alleged apathy. Taking their line from Reg Birch, the Maoists have swung into enthusiastic support for the January 4 vote. Perhaps the clearest expression of this came at a recent stewards' meeting convened by the N Lon- don district committee of the AUEW. There Ted Roycraft, one of the assistant district organ- izers, described it as 'the best democratic decisions and most ever taken' by the union.

Mike Cooley, the Maoist presi- dent of the AUEW technicians' section, says he is aware of the dangers of plant bargaining but made only marginal criticisms at the key combined-section execu- tive at Selsdon when it was dis- cussed. Socialist Labour League The alone has consistently opposed this strategy from the left.

Yet when the AUEW national committee meets again on April 17, there is every chance of a new claim being drawn up which will bury that drawn up last year.

The next three weeks will be crucial.

CONCLUDED

February 28, 1982, may be the day that the last car comes off a US-owned pro- duction line in Britain, sug- gests an article in the latest issue of 'Car' magazine. The article suggests that over the next decade the three Ameri- can car firms with plants here Chrysler and General Ford,: Motors—will gradually decide that this country is just not the place to build cars. It goes on to argue that they unequalled will recognize its for the building of amenities trucks, vans and buses. Written by Nicholas Faith, business expert of the 'Sunday Times', from , the article suffers all the weaknesses to be ex- pected of an empirical, manage- ment-oriented observer picking out trends for what appear to be his. own amusement. of Workers Every reader Press will join with this reporter in hoping the last time a car capitalist-owned off comes production line is far sooner than ten years away-for different reasons than Faith's. His piece should, nevertheless, carefully considered, be particularly by those who think that the • threat of redundancy, which last week reared its head in earnest inside Ford's, can be fought with a mixture of patriot- ism, parliamentarism and protest.

We refer specifically to the Joint United Action Ford Campaign Movement, set up following the announcement that operations are to be tooling transferred by Dagenham to W Germany with a loss of 200 jobs.

The campaign-enthusiastically supported by Communist Party shop stewards-proposes a one- day stoppage and a lobby of MPs. But Faith's extrapolation of current trends in the three US companies highlights the ineffec- tiveness of such action against the massive movements of capital which are now possible. 'The first major. warning note to me came from the late Henry Ford II in 197l', the journalist writes. 'Then on a visit to this country, he condemned us out of hand. The press, by and large, did not blame him and the Prime Minister, Edward Heath, promptly had him to lunch) Even before the strike of that year there had been a growing integration between Ford's Ger- man, Belgian and English plants, itself, however, with the being supplied increasingly from the continent. Faith draws attention to the gradual ending through the 1960s of the practice of supplying Euro- pean markets from Britain, and to the decision just before Henry visit that Asian Ford II's 1971 markets would not be supplied from here either. But the cases of Vauxhall and Chrysler even more were dramatic, he says. 'All through the 1960s, Vaux- hall had been virtually a one- product company, relying heavily.

on the little Viva. Its management was rather dozy, its other products unin- spired. Meanwhile Opel had gone from strength to strength as the only American-owned company in Europe with the design flair of the European opposition. 'When new wholly-American General Motors management took of Vauxhall in 1971 charge following severe financial losses, Faith writes, 'the firm looked towards its German - based opposite number. 'Increasing numbers of Opels imported; and by 1973 were Vauxhall was making only the Viva, already using one assembly line at Ellesmere Port to assemble kits of Opels.' Vauxhall stewards take note! 'The next year the now-failing Vauxhall dealer network was Opel's amalgamated with pros- perous, if narrow, selection of outlets and by 1976 the marque had ceased to exist-just 50. years after it had been taken over by the American group.' By 1975, the article says, the Chrysler plants were also up for sale — Linwood going to Japanese and Coventry to British- Leyland. of course,' 'With hindsight, Faith writes ironically, it is easy now to say that the British should have been warned by 1972. "The signs were all there of a coming retreat by the Americans -the abandonment of the big Chrysler model, the increasing imports of Opels, the remorse- less integration of Ford. But these were pooh-poohed at the signs time' It would be easy to pooh-pooh the 'Car' article as a journalistic flight of fancy, which, strictly speaking, it is. This, however, would be to ignore • the serious core of its observation of current trends in the car industry. It is for this it must be considered. Workers Press, Thi The W German bourgeoisie is becoming increasingly worried about the growing lack of discipline among in the young conscripts Bundeswehr. The whole matter has been taken up by Fritz-Rudolf Schultz, parliamentary Ombudsman of the W German armed forces. In his annual report he openly and consciously makes the whole question a central political issue.

Herr Schultz's report lays the blame for falling discipline on Social Democratic govern- ' the ment's policy of seeking friendlier relations with the Warsaw Pact countries and the disappearance of the traditional picture of the 'enemy in the E'. •.. disillusionment and frustration among key personnel of the armed forces ... must not be underestimated by the Federal Defence Minister, warns the report. The number of conscientious among W German objectors youth has been rising steadily year by year. From 1956 until 1971, 107,000 W Germans made formal applications to be recog- nized as objectors. But the rate rose most sharply over the last two years. In 1970 the number 19,363 and was jumped to 27,657 'in 1971.

The discipline report says among the Bundeswehr's 465.000 soldiers worsened throughout last year, affecting the whole climate of the armed forces.

Statistically registered offences, without leave, notably absence disobedience, desertion, assault on superiors, larceny and theft of arms and military equipment, increased considerably. There was also much worry about the sharp leap in Writing in the bourgeois daily 'Le Monde', Henri Krasucki' secretary of the Communist Party controlled CGT union and a member of the Political Bureau of the French CP, comes near to suggesting that recent leftist agitation was timed to pre- .

pare the way for the referen- dum on the Common Market which President Pompidou announced last week. Krasucki claims that the strategy of the ruling class is 'to isolate the working class'. It is difficult to know, even in a coun- try which still has a substantial peasantry and a large middle class, how the working class car be 'isolated'. Perhaps Krasucki confuses the working class with the Communist Party. He claims that the leftist action, groups oppose mass divide the working class and act as provocateurs. As the Communist Party is striving to cement an alliance with bourgeois parties, anyone who opposes that is claimed to be 'isolating the working class'.

What is more, it is/ clearly a 'provocation' instigated by the Pompidou government, which is only too ready to use 'leftist' Press, Thursday March 30, 1972 PAGE 5 number of soldiers reporting sick before difficult exercises.

There were more and more incidents in which W° German soldiers deliberately violated standing orders not to wear uni- forms at political rallies.

What clearly emerges from the report is that the danger signs are there and that the ruling class had better take note.

Referring to Bonn's "Ostpoli- tik' , the report continues: "The obvious question arises as to why in this political situa- tion compulsory military service should be maintained. Others go so far as to raise doubts whether the W German armed forces as such are still necessary.

'Hints that the Warsaw Pact countries are continuing their undiminished effort for military superiority over the W are hardly seriously,' taken adds Herr Schultz, a former Free Demo cratic MP. Then, in a very conscious way, he declares the situation must be halted and the position reversed.

Many W German instructors commanders 'stub- bornly resisting Bonn's "Ostpoli- tik"! This was resulting in tensions between officers and men, he said. 'Decisive improvements and changes ... are not yet in sight.

There are, on the contrary, plain signs that the present strains and will further increase pressures and face the armed forces with growing difficulties. Finally, the Ombudsman pleads for a return to the 'old days' of discipline, 'if only to keep the working class in check. 'So far, the Bundeswehr has coped • with the problems from outside. The armed forces have succeeded better in dealing with young peoples' unrest than other institutions of our society,' Herr Schultz claims. Pompidou agitation as a pretext for re- pression. Armed with this reasoning, which goes back to the May- June events of 1968, Krasucki explains to the readers of Le Monde' that the CGT and the Communist Party are against adventurism or anything which would disturb the peace. At the same time he accuses the youth supporters of the left gruups, who have been out in force demonstrate against the murder of René-Pierre Overney by a Renault security guard, of being petty-bourgeois and bourgeois by origin. Speaking of the danger of re- by the ruling class, pression Krasucki goes on to say: 'By preserving the working class, our class, from such a tragedy, we also preserve your own children, despite you, and even when some of them cry "CGT mur- derers"' Addressing the bourgeoisie through the columns of Le Monde', the Stalinist bureaucrat it deserves that even says thanks for its efforts to cool the temperature following the Over- ney shooting. After that, . the ritual phrases about the CGT supporting ihe demands of the workinz class and desiring social changes car be seen at their true worth.

In preparation for the Fourth national Committee of the For Central Committee of the So are publishing the four main d national Committee covering French Organisation Commur Statement from International Fourth Committee - of the (Majority) International October 24. 1971

CONTINUED

4. The OCI and the French working class This opposition to the basic theoretical struggle for the revo- lutionary youth has roots in the orientation of the OCI towards the French At nc • proletariat. time has the OCI been able con- sistently to put forward a policy and programme to bring it close French the the mass workers who vote for the Stalin- ists and are organized around the Stalinist-led CGT. Instead they have orientated towards those sections still supporting the social-democrats, primarily in the older industries. They sought support outside of the orbit of the - Stalinists , for policies instead of fighting which would break the main body of workers from their mass party. One of the consequences is that the rapidly accumulating crisis find effects of the world the CCI paralysed in its political work in the French working class. Their hysterical outbursts on Bolivia, their frantic desire to find an issue to separate from the SLL and the IC--these are the reactions to the deepening crisis of a petty-bourgeois group which falls back on revolutionary shouting, not of a party which goes deeper into the masses to fight for a development of theory.

This characteristic resort to radical phrase-mongering is, again, connected with the failure of the OCI to struggle on every level for dialectical materialism against the dominant forms of bourgeois philosophy, in this case French rationalism and its twin, pseudo-revolutionary rhetoric.

The Essen rally itself was con- ceived and carried through by lao, OCI as a diversion from the unresolved problems of ther work in the French workin class. An artificial formula was constructed which made W Germany the focal point of the workers' struggle in Europe, and then the OCI led their youth movement to a rally where less than 200 German youth partici.

pated, and real political work to Fourth Congress of the Inter- the Fourth International, the the Socialist Labour League main documents of the Inter- covering the split with the Communiste Internationaliste.

build sections of the FI was replaced by demagogy and show- manship. It could not and did not have the slightest effect on the work- ¿or of Germany: ars of France The SLL participated reluctantly, and only on the understanding that we received the preparatory document time. It was received untranslated, only a few hours before our delegation left for Essen. The SLL and the majority of the IC sections, having moved their amendment, voted for the general resolution despite differences, only in order to preserve public unity of the IC during the period of prepa- of the International ration Fourth Conference, at which the disputed questions would be discussed. May-June 1968, with the French workers Genera! on Strike, themselves striving for ar.

alternative government, was the greatest testing time for the OCI.

But what did the strike reveal?

It revealed the theoretical bankruptcy and political impo- tence of the OCI whose leader- ship - guided by a superficial impressionist analysis of de Gaulle's coup in 1958 - had exaggerated the strength and viability of the Fifth Republic, abandoned its revolutionary per- spective and written off the revo- lutionary of the capacities French working class. This defeatist conception, which extended the even to Vietnam was summed up war, in the rationalization of Lambert working that the French class was 'decisively defeated in 1958'.

This pessimistic and essentially outlook expressed middle-class itself in all the organizational and agitational work of the OCI and the AJS before and after 1968. It is an undeniable fact that time during the at no General Strike did the

OCI

leadership socialist advance a programme. Nor did it attempt to undermine the political credi- bility of the Stalinist leadership by critically supporting demand of the Renault workers for a 'popular government' by advancing the demand of a CP.

Instead, the

CGT

government. OCI leaders tail-ended the work- ing class and restricted tbe poli- tical strike by scope of the demanding a central strike com- mittee. This was a complete evasion of the political responsi- bilities of revolutionary leader- ship. Is it necessary OCI leaders that on for the casull. the Pabloites refusal to demands to.. the büreaucracy and fe not abst tionists •onuca odesuons trists and syndicalist Socialist The had warned the of the dangers befor May 15, 1967: 'N calization or the Europe resuls mier. return to the of the Republic, Fourth sunike surueoes. emergency powers place a premium aly bicbalaliul. canoer development that a 1 responds working cla: revolutionary wav.b tation to the level c which the workers a Luel ow1l the naeadershins nevitable initial con of the neevenocu Transitional Progr usually dressed of getting WORKNd Class those in struggle, not matums ay to done g (Reply to the

CLC.

Even he messons ence learned. tenOes General Strike tinued into the presi tions of 1969 the referendur of the same year correctly, ne doste onIsI ites. However, correct turn presidential the characte the Cass ignored by themselves LaCULy Front', the

OCI

failure of the Party to agree a pretext didate as CP norting the los, against Pompido The task ot revolu raise the Stalinist rank supporti that call pointing out was Pompido эпету should have throughout the labou demand that be pledged policy asalliol To monopolies. this while massive best wav to ists their ano alternative leadership. leaves the Stalinist C Ally turbed. It was the SP expose e sesed do balle parthe second rted Poner The OCI leaders these voted Deferre (SP) and conace What ing dared to stand a mae eecuons desoic the Stalinists presidential elections not do and Mu terae a vouizer policy front' cass ana workers' front' for disoriențir means ers and strengthening •ine braileisk geois nationalists ov movement. The sect J1 ally bolly lowad ists in rrance opportunism, writes now Ouvrières' about struggle in criticism of its steward leaders ISSue LuCH Socialist Labour the Workers League counter-revelatien as pontaneit the Just definitive split Pabloites their •was address union for a y and neht rnment in the rike of 1953? Revolu- basic abstain on •nv cen syndicalists do. Labour League French gers belore 1900 1967: 'Now the radi- ol the workers in rapidly, France. elec- the threat polltical ruling mongt ing the takininese on revolution- There is always

SUCT

State rking class

I1UU

•ul ov acao• ne level of struggle to workers are restricted experience under i.e. to • sucr fight party and Programme are up in the dis- closer with unity uggle, not posing ult logmatisr o the ÖCI This 1900 experi were not fact the abstentionist the con- rike period were the presidential elec- referendum in March the OC hai ampaigned for a vote contrast of the Pablo the 2a105 IrON were lost which Was

OCI.

Basing fraudulent OCT leaders sec socials on a single can- Pompidou. of revolutionaries was criti Duclos and the The OC! campaigned that the forward Cany calling

TOT

e for Duclos was the exposing the Stalin programmt democracy' and fight ernative revolutionary other Coulse Stalinist control undis was also necessary SP candidate whose ed to vote for Duclos ond ballot and sup leaders did none of some members others for

OCI

worse. The le Stalinists for hav- o stand a candidate in the fact that the instead supported ded orccan the OCI did not even 'united ana become disorienting the work- engthening the grip of DeLLy-DOul naists over the mas The sectarian absence cy towards the Stalin- Luns

OCI

so that 'Informations Clyde Stalinist shot the same denunciation as agents. itulation to difference over materialism the IC's pre-Conferen rome do oe impending revolutic Essen was the open split which t wolle produce tional Committee. effected at Essen, lined up with anti- toile of najority the away from the tions raised at Esse the unprincipled middle-class allies accept this runnins trists, and he end the OČI a the ~ SLL wrote Lambert of the 1971, in reference 1 'We have not lives ngnting denly decide the of eve struggles in historv Isnecessary other major pronounced cally oul gress ticn and due the end of the events at Esser ditions where day boration with impossible, paration the arrange only way differences. These d now prepared. But the Hungarian split terence. the avoided the the con Can the Patec At the very attacks of revision the attempt to liqui into spontaneous 'objective' processes expression method which deni revolutionary the ITse T uncer Thus Pablo changed world une Dost-wa rea ity existed SOCa and the petty-bours ists in 'rough way revolution We now developed We

OCI.

are revolutionarv this 'process of an overall 'concretize like the Popu thing Terent Torms toware Republic sal 'express these proce This is nothing idealism in the rationalism gone ma Lenin said: always concrete.' detailed and specifi the actual struggle conditions begin we the strategy in the consciousnes This workers. conscious ceve opent tical materialism as the vithin struggle struggle to independent Pallic and Stalinism only such parties They revolution or suedes arailsl revolutionary Stalini democratic betrayer Within OCt's class front' of comes liquidation subordination ano coca cemocra tactic and not a tionship -Conference was the essential theoretical •vercome in toe , revolutionary crisis anticipation of the which these problems on the intema_ split was tal Cdy when the with anti-Trotskyists the Ic. Ther the They ran principlec ques- aane TaIS principled way in order around them their . We will neve s mue wal o hes en. will oppose TASe ecreary wrote comrade

OCI

July 14, all ive nor soent sud- capitulate to greatest class in history? o make one the while a Con held ear- before Even though at Esser created con colla- nevertheless was proceed with the bre- Gocuiments and th dealing ared. But the OCI and sections have , before the Con- e SWP, .. tht Which in Conference 'unifica- effected its the Pabloites. heart of the revisionism has beer ot to liquidate the party and so-callec This the processes. anti onecc hich denies the role o consciousness Illalalidl

SL UNIC

specinc Concitons that f Yen balance forces period new whereby The process' would Parties the nocratic bureaucracies etty-bourgeois national- ough way' to make the this find method by the dadil. told we are 'imminent revolution'. period there process Partie correspona even overall sonle the konular assemsi proceeds which towards the Univer of Soviets'. party's task is to ese processes' than nothing more form French gone mad. We repeat 'The truth •Only. through na specnic anlalysi: development the crisis Iclalt changes acila isciousness and life requires rialism as we struggle workers' movement. gle is at all times Trotskvist construct parties lead the Cale bitterest s against the Cullas v ra ınısı „ne cc betrayers. framework the 'united „Tle cemocranc bardes ane front th strategy as They saw it as a rela- mass workers' character a leolal he communist Party

OCI

into class achieved present front' Class their Theorizing takes over the role o tionary party itself. In October we find re reference to of the uniti ment through The Front, motive force United imperialist Carmes e ou step further dissolvi workers' broader 'anti-imperi enou bourge broad include the its petty-bour east sentarves. In the 1950s, the an ¡centical policy in Algeria. nationalist MNA was elevaltu lo d party not oniy in Al France itself. one wing portea aIST bourgeois e supported the

OCI

the

MNA.

critical MNA, but broce sul g1ven Ilau with their Britain when approached the for intervention in 1 The OCI Messali tions with until . the open ¡essali with M OCI's united Posass front imperialist' front, Bolivia, cereal 'correction' of their adventure has and that rOOTS remain the OCI. Related to this h OCt's . positior that the F and national does not re sees the national tional party from ralsen view of the Marxist theory. eve of the 1968 events, ( TO post Lulaliol oped. yn mie ouesuon c in the colonial an‹ countries method of th obvious results, and Algeria. The OCI in National because of its ship, and called 'victory of the Vietna ano peasants. situation on the eve Tet offensive Dere overy state• a st position on Vietn And determination, take the side of the • tion the he Irbid 'Soviet' as TACtaTIOn towards Workers' to fight against the Si etty-bourgeois natio eal fight fo ship the struggle, and at the sa abstract demagogy victory of the and peasants striving for Soviets. 6. The Bolivian Revolution Bolivia is being Smokescredi International Com bloc with this not in proceeding in this turns against fundamental on movement timerinope polltical same covers sort of worst Latin America take We back criticisms

OUI

role in the deteat o vian working • hav proceeded we with an than roaa to coaltion go Ceylon was time art of the Pabloite transformed this 'unity' of on without tion in the united 'united party. more and practice the role of the revolu- October 12 statement erence to 'the achieve- Class WOrKerS force po the anti-- Front the liquidation one dissolving even the into nti-imperialist' Ulla doubt. " to bourgeoisie or at etty-bourgeois repre- the OCI made mistake revolutionaly 7. The Pabloat The Pabloites sup-. nation- the the

FLN,

and other, upported the Britain,

SLL

ritical support •roke • au readon. Ageria. its rela- Gaulle. even after shows that ction' of the Algerian purely its n firmly implanted ir that not that the Fourth Inter- es not really exist. It and interna- quantitative terms the

DOEL

development This in turn the May-June aryen te secretar its 1, so far had th capi- spontanelty devel- restion of the struggle nial and ex-colonial anti-Marxist the OCI has had the ults, and not only on • victory for Liberation Stalinist leader- alled instead for the he Vietnamese work- sants: tnis lea to : 1968 comrade stater de dostenuon. on Vietnam. apport the struggle of ian people for self- and inability e of the Arab revolu- sonne man. world process Universal Republic Inability Councils! nst tne stalinists and nationalists in a independent leader- l at the same time an about • the workers Intenarona is being used as a COVer against the Committee. As if not criminal enough, g in this fashion, the against the most of question the the the ior opportunism in defeat of the Boli- class. How could proceeded otherwise open attack? The mon coveromerr paved by sucl and again on th manoire leadership

May-June 1968, the French workers on How could we draw the lessons we do from their, betrayal in Ceylon and practise the same politics in relation. to someone on the periphery of the Inter- national Committee? We cover nothing. We build the over • 4 Fourth International on the basis of political principle and complete honesty. It was in fact the OCI which first publicly criticized the poli- tics of Lora and the POR. The October 1970 issue of 'La Verité' carried a lengthy criticism of the thesis passed at the April 1970 Craner sion federati oliviais This trade thesis was the product of the joint collaboration of the POR and the Stalinist Bolivian CP. It was voted for by both parties and the Popular Assembly was later to base itself politically on this document. The OCI wrote: We are dealing with a •.. which after having made text certain concessions to the idea of constructing socialism in Boli- via alone, takes on the one hand, of the a Stalinist type view Ovando regime, and introduces in the chapter_ on proletarian internationalism, Stalinist analysis. We have found in the COB thesis on the one hand passages of direct Stalinist inspi- ration, and on the other a seri- ous omission concerning Czecho- slovakia' The OCI concludes: 'Comrades, we tell you with- out evasion, moved by a pro- found and even anguished con- viction, that it this really became the charter of the Bolivian workers' movement and repre- sented its orientation and if the POR was to adopt it (or even for a long time keep silent on the fact that it is the result of a compromise and only has a very circumstantial value) then the thesis of the COB can constitute a noose aruund the neck of the Bolivian proletariat for it encloses it within the framework of Bolivia.' Was the OCI at that time giving in 'to enormous pressures' as the OCI now says of the Sas and the Woman league?

Was the OCI in making criticisms identifying itself 'as enemies of the dictatorship of the proletariat and placing itself 'on the side of imperialism and Stalinism'? rkers on General Strike: at no time did the Ol The truth is that in 1967 the OCI held the position that revo- lutions could not be made in the underdeveloped until countries such time as mass revolutionary parties created the were advanced countries. So distant was the struggle in the under- developed countries from the thinking and perspectives of the

OCI

leadership until very recently that the basic resolu- tion around which it wished the Fourth Conference to be organ- ized For the Reconstruction of the Fourth International' hardly mentions Latin America and does not mention Bolivia at all. And yet the Bolivian question is now made the pretext for a split from the International Committee.

We cannot educate a new. generation of cadres as revolu- with such factional tionaries and dishonest methods. We can- not allow the question of Bolivia to be used rather than assessed for the of actually purpose developing theoretically a new leadership in the underdeveloped countries. We restate what we said about the history of the Lora group.

Lora was the major supporter America in of Pablo in Latin '1952. With Pablo's help he gave critical support to the bourgeois MR Paz government. Here is member his how a party position in reported the POR's the Fourth International at the time. "The POR began by justifiably granting critical support to the That • is, it MNR government. desisted from issuing the slogan "down with the government"; it gave the government critical sup- port against attacks of imperial- ism and reaction, and it sup- ported all progressive measures.'

This is just the way the LSSP began its move towards openly joining the Ceylonese coalition government. The POR broke with Pablo, but it turned its back on the International Committee for the refus- ing to take up a fight in Latin America though IC urged to do so. Lora from then played only a national role.

This is the history as we printed it in the Workers Press and 'Bulletin'. The OCI does not deny this. We can add to this some more. Understanding the past did the OCI leadership advance a socialist prog background of Lora, a back- ground of Pabloism, nationalism opportunism, the • Socialist Labour League refused to put up any money towards his fare collaboration in bringing and him to the 1966 International Conference as the OCI had pro- posed. When he appeared Europe in 1970, the Socialist Labour League made it quite plain it would not favour his admission into the IC unless a full discussion was held on his whole history and under- an standing reached on this basis.

We do not have one policy for the LSSP and the Pabloites and another for Lora. In our public statement we made this fundamental assess- ment of Lora's role in the Boli- vian events: 'Lora, in collaboration with the Bolivian Stalinists and. with agreement of the Bolivian the and international Pabloites, failed to fight at any point for overthrow of the Torres military regime. Thus he, along with the Assembly, rest of the Popular as a left cover for Torres acted while the right-wing elements in Torres' own army prepared and finally executed their coup' Then, after writing this, we received Lora's own account of the Bolivian events which we published in the Workers Press and in the 'Bulletin'. The OCI has yet to publish this account.

in this account Lora himself states: 'At the same time everybody thought-including we Marxists.

-that the arms would be given by the governing military team, which would consider that only through resting on the masses and giving them adequate fire- power could they at least neutra- lize the gorila right.' Lora thus admits to what we • had accused him of. Never really fighting to overthrow Torres, he had, along with the Stalinists, counted on one sec- tion of the bourgeoisie to arm the working class for the over- throw of the bourgeoisie as a was carrying whole! Lora thus out the very policy he same carried out with Pablo in 1952.

point did he raise the At no slogan 'Down with Torres' • This of course, Lenin's policy in and the 'old stands with Stalin Bolsheviks'. lalist programme. Even after the defeat, Lora is lessons at unable to draw any defends his all. He openly reformist position in the pages of the OCI's 'Informations Ouvrières': 'The ultra-lefts and the Pablo- ites forget the teachings of Lenin and Trotsky: they draw up their "documents" in simple- a minded way and place Torres and Ovando-Banzer on the same level. These people refuse to. understand the various shades that bourgeois-nationalism can take in underdeveloped• coun- tries. 'Since they are removed from the class struggle they do not understand the difference be- tween bourgeois-democratic de- mands of Torres and the methods of the fascists; that is the difference between going to prison legally or getting killed by a bullet in the back of the neck. 'Revolutionary tactics must supporting not a ment.' Revolutionary strategy does not begin with the differences between left and right wings of the military, but from the per- spective of the overthrow of the whole bourgeois order. It does not base its policy on a bloc with the left bourgeoisie against the fascist threat, but on the under- standing that there is no way fascism without taking to stop , the independent struggle for up socialism. Thus lessons which Trotsky thousands of times, repeated particularly in regard to Spain, are once again borne out in the paralysis and complicity of Torres in the right-wing military takeover and in the prostration of the working class before this takeover because of the mislead- the workers" ership of ally parties, but especially the POR which claimed to be Trotskyist.

end the workers In the Bolivia got both the bullet in the head and the jail. The policy of the POR was consistently opportunist from beginning to end. Under condi- • revolutionary tions of a mass situation it acted as the left cover for Stalinism and bour- , Thursday March 30, 1972 PAGE 7 geois-nationalism. Nowhere did it decisively break from the CP.

In fact it put forward a com- mon candidate for the presi- dency of the Popular Assembly with the CP. The policy of Lora had nothing whatsover to do with the policy of Bolshevism, or Trotskyism. The construction of the Trotskyist movement. in as elsewhere, Latin America, requires a decisive break with the narrow national outlook and a return to internationalism and the struggle to develop Marxist theory. The

POR

and Lora repeat the policies of the POUM in Spain in 1935-1938 and are in no fundamental different way from them. Their relations with Torres and the COB parallels those of the POUM with the Republican Government and the CNT. The OCI's support. for the POR now makes clear the political meaning of their bloc with the POUM at Essen. 7. The way forward The essence of the struggle of the International Committee the con- since 1953, has been scious construction of independ- ent revolutionary parties of the Fourth International. Revision- ists have always attacked this fundamental conception, Pablo with his 'new reality, 'mass and the revolution in pressure' all its forms', the LSSP with its 'united left front'. Now the OCt, using the formulá, imminence of revolu- schema of tion', elaborating a natural stages through which the working class passes on the road to power, distorting the tactic of united front of the working has taken the road of class, liquidationism laid down by these revisionists. The split comes now, when the stand at the point of tran- sition from one phase of the class struggle to a higher one, the stage in which Trotskyist are called upon to win parties leadership in the struggle for working-class In this power. transition it is inevitable that a split, decisive clash, and a becomes necessary with all those like the OCI who rejected the struggle for dialectical material- ism and refused to break from propagandist concep- the old tions. This hostility to theoty always leads to centrism and - opportunism. The record shows clearly that all the disputed questions, - and above all on the importance of theoretical development and training, the Socialist Labour and the IC majority League tried patiently to correct the course of the OCI, and never proceeded precipitately or in such way as to provoke a split.

The decision of the OCI to join 'the centrists at Essen against the International Committee and their manoeuvring and demagogy on Bolivia, constitute a decision to reject and oppose the struggle independent revolu- to build parties of the Fourth tionary International. We call upon all Trotskyists in every country to reject completely the OCI line and to fight on the principled positions of the International Committee. The Fourth Conference of the International Committee will meet in the first weeks of 1972.

There it will be necessary to make a_balance-sheet of the struggle against revisionism and the fight to establish the Trot- skyist cadre throughout the period since 1938. A new period in which the opens up, a period Fourth International is called upon to lead struggles for work- The perspectives of power. this struggle in the advanced capitalist countries, in the col- onial countries, and in the fight for the political revolution in E Europe, the Soviet Union and China, will be discussed and decided. The draft resolution for this Conterence is now complete, and the discussion now begins in all sections of the International • Committee.

WORKERS' LEAGUE, USA

Sympathetic to the IC of the FI).

REVOLUTIONARY

COM-

MUNIST

LEAGUE OF

CEYLON.

WORKERS INTERNATION-

ALIST

LEAGUE

OF

GREECE.

LEAGUE FOR A WORKERS'

VANGUARD

OF

IRE-

LAND.

SOCIALIST LABOUR

LEAGUE, BRITAIN.

October 24, 1971. Reprinted from Workers Press, November 5, 1971.

PAGE & Workers Press, Thursday March Part 3 of a series by Jack Gale It is well known that the German Social Democrats, led by Ebert and Scheide- mann, called on the militar- ists to suppress the Berlin workers and to murder revolutionary leaders Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxem- burg. In fact, this collaboration be- - co gan from the very day Ebert's government was installed by the and soldiers' workers' councils. On November 10, 1918, Ebert from received a phone call General Groener, Luddendorff's successor at High Command, and Field Marshal von Hindenburg's right-hand man. Groener informed Ebert that High Command placed itself at the government's disposal - but that, in return, the Field Marshal expected the government to fight Bolshevism. As Groener confided in his diary: 'We hoped, through our actions, to secure for the army and the Officer Corps part of the power in the new state; if we succeeded in this, then the best and strongest elements of the old Prussia were saved for Germany, in spite of the new the revolution.' a letter to Ebert, von Hindenburg demanded 'support government] against [from the the unheard of encroachments of workers' and soldiers' the local councils. It is obvious that we can only overcome this state of affairs if the government possesses an organ capable of ruthlessly enforcing its orders and the existing laws. As things are at present this organ can only be the army, and that means an army ruled by an iron discipline' disturbed the officers What was that soldiers' councils had sprung up, not only in every town, but also major German in Belgium, in the field armies France, Russia and Poland.

Everywhere, the soldiers were abolishing the officers' privileges and taking power in the areas.

But they remained loyal to the Social Democrats. And the Social of the request Democrats--at High Command- the military on November issued an order, 12, limiting the soldiers' councils 'advisory' capacity only. to an the leaders-the As one of Independent Social Democrat, Emil Barth — declared: 'If we cannot retain a firm hand on the returning troops, who mutiny at the slightest provocation, then to the devil." everything goes Nosko (centre) with Ebert (right): clar ay March 30, 1872 This encouraged the only officer corps to demand even more concessions. the be- At ginning of December, von Hindenburg again wrote to Ebert insisting that 'the authority of the officer must be restored at alt cost and politics must be removed from the army. Hindenburg demanded: (1) The power of the military _ command must be vested solely in the legitimate authorities.

(2) The authority of the officer and the regulations connected with it must be completely restored. (3) The soldiers' councils must • disappear from the units. Only trusties may remain who inform the commanding oficers of the mood of the other ranks. F. L. Carsten in 'Revolution Central Europe' assembles on voluminous evidence to show that Ebert was repeatedly in- formed by the generals them- selves of their plans for counter- revolution. Ebert's position was clear. He welcomed these efforts, and agreed to head a government installed by the generals once they were successful. But he would not openly associate with them in advance, in case they failed. One such plan was to bring the most 'reliable' regiments to Berlin, where they would be welcomed by Ebert who would accede to their 'request' then to become President with dic- tatorial workers, Power under which the soldiers' and councils would be dissolved. This scheme came to naught Berlin Executive because Committee of workers' and soldiers' councils insisted that Berlin units could march, only that their ammunition should be limited, and that workers' deput- ations were to accompany them.

Elsewhere, similar efforts were defeated by • the vigilance of the workers and soldiers-at Cologne and Frankfurt, for example.

Another humiliating setback suffered by the generals was when-—with Ebert's connivance- they sought to evict the People's Naval Division from the Berlin palace which they had occupied since the revolution. Crowds of to defend the workers flocked the General's sailors against forces-the ranks of which were, in any case, none too enthusiastic about their task. convinced the These defeats generals that they could not depend on the soldiers of even the most 'reliable' regiments. So, December 1918, they began in ah$): classic Social Democrat's role Armed members of the soldiers' and wo assemble the right-wing to volunteer units-the Free Corps.

It was this armed force which, with the connivance of the Social Democrats, wo set about set liquidating the and soldiers' councils throughout 1919. During the whole of this pro- cess, there had been very little so-called opposition from the 'lefts', the Independent Social Democrats. But this did not save them. As the confidence of the generals grew, and Ebert became more and more their pliant tool, they began to demand that the Independents be pushed out of • the government. attack The on the Berlin sailors was, in part at least, provocation against the Inde- pendents. The three Independents in the government resigned and the coalition with the Social Democrats was at an end. There is a lesson here. As the Heath government prepares further oppression against the Northern Ireland people, Wilson rushes to support his 'initiative'.

"lefts', The cling course, Wilson and the desperately to right wing. Later, some atrocity might offend their tender con- sciences. But the time to fight right-wing to get rid of the collaborators with • big business is now. In Germany in 1918, by re- fusing to break from Ebert and Scheidemann, the Independents allowed those traitors to develop close connections with the military machine and then to get rid of the 'left' when it suited them. Among the Social Democrats brought into the government to fill the places of the Independents was Gustav Noske. Noske ful- role of the filled the classic being Social Democrat. From the Kiel Sailors' chairman of (see previous article). Council Noske joined the government with responsibility for military affairs—-that is, he was the man generals whom trans- mitted their orders to Ebert.

The real repressions began in March, 1919. Thirty members of Naval Berlin People's Division were shot out of hand.

rs' and workers' counclis on the streets of Berli As the Free Corps the grew, began to form workers their Volkswehr-armed military own units. But they still retained their in the Social Democrats trust who were usually placed in com- mand of these units. And, as usual, this sealed their fate.

the • Hamburg, for instance, Social Democrats carried out the local military commander's re- quest to disband the unit, which was immediately replaced by a police formation recruited from the general's Free Corps.

In Konigsberg, East Prussia, 'Marine, Volkswehr' militant a refused to obey the orders of appealed to the generals and the Social Democrats' local Com- missar, the official representative of the government, to allow them to continue to exist. Instead, the Commissar collaborated with the surrounded the military unsuspecting workers' unit—-who awaiting the Social Demo- were crats' reply--to disarm them. All members of local and soldiers' councils in proviricial East Prussia were arrested, as workers' most of the were councils members. The great majority of those arrested were Social Democratic Party members.

Pomerania, strike agricultural workers was declared "illegal', not by the government but by the army! By now, the generals were well into their Not only the stride. extreme left of the Independent Social Democrats (many of whom were to join the Communist Party in 1920) was jailed, but the moder- ates as well. the military places, in many distinction be- overlooked the tween the Independents and the Even Social Social Democrats. Democratic officials, who were only too anxious to co-operate with the generals, found them- selves being herded along with their erstwhile friends' bayonets prodding their backs. Social Democrats had These set this process in themselves motion. In its decree of January 19, 1919, the Social Democratic covernment had restricted the powers of the soldiers' councils soldiers' to minor matters welfare, while re-establishing in ts of Berlin in 1918 practice the military hierarchy.

Leading counter - revolutionary in the Officer Corps was von Hindenburg's mouthpiece, Gen- eral Groener. In December, 1918, of the soldiers' the leaders councils approached the Social Gustav Democrat minister, Noske, and asked that Groener should be dismissed. Noske re- jected their request and in- structed them to co-operate with the High Command. In January the general soldiers' council of Seventh Army attempted to stop re- Corps cruitment to the ultra-right Free Noske told leaders: • Corps. is 'You are badly informed about your competences as a soldiers' We will show you in council. the next few days. The govern- will not ment suffer your activities' The council was dissolved by Bers amested. Dising May and May and June, 1919, the soldiers' councils were dissolved by government order in the areas of the Third, Eighth and Tenth Army Corps.

Speaking at an officers' con- ference in March, 1919, Groener declared: 'The soldiers' councils must be classified as entirely evil; enemies of they are the worst a quick recovery because they aim at political power and under- mine all discipline.' During the same month, Noske Command head- High visited quarters and indicated his attitude to the soldiers' councils 'Chuck the in the words: scoundrels out!' The alliance of the Social and the generals, Democrats which began on November 10, 1918, the very day when the meeting of workers' and soldiers' councils in Berlin had confirmed Ebert as head of the govern- ment, was firmly cemented by March 1919, as the workers who had placed the Social Democrats were thrust into jail in power by the officers, with the jeers of their own leaders ringing in their ears.

CONTINUED

" F. L. Carsten 'Revolution on Central Europe, p. 59.

'Daily Express' readers were treated last week to the latest instalment of the paper's 'law-and-order cam- paign—a cliché-ridden novel- ette written by one of the paper's staff and purporting to show 'how mindless glorification of mob violence can lead to ultimate tragedy'.

The author, Alfred Draper, pulls out all the stops to frighten his readers in what the 'Express' blurb terms 'a shrewd docu- mentary novel'. The only thing the novel does 'document' is the sick recesses of the middle-class mentality. Its paper-thin characters are a kind of nightmare caricature of reality -the villain is a genuine 'mind- less thug', his mind on nothing but sex and violence. His . victim is a hard-working football referee without a stain on his character. And the boy who takes the rap for killing the • referee 'Express' the as quaintly puts it, 'coloured'.

Spread over five lengthy epi- sodes, Draper has ample oppor- tunity to ride all the favourite Tory hobby-horses — football hooliganism, gambling, the youth and their disrespect for the police, sex and violence and immigration. It's all great material for the Festival of Light brigade. There are even two 'cultured' lads with well-brushed long hair who watch football because they like it and —of course-fall victims to the 'bovver' gang. The police are quite benevolent -they don't go in for beatings up like the thugs do. It's all good propaganda for the Tories. They, of course, con- fine beating up people and Most of the Tory press kept its opinion to itself about the TUC General Council's deci- sion to suspend from mem- berhip the National Union of Seamen following its leaders' decision to register under the Industrial Relations Act.

They obviously don't want to inflame the union leaders at a time when the Tory government has been shaken by the miners' strike and faces an enormous crisis over its Ulster policy.

The Journal of Commerce', which speaks every day to the shipowners and dock employers, had no such inhibitions. headed The Its editorial Poaching Season' was a diatribe against the union chiefs, accusing unstice to the them of 'denying NUS and being willing' to control the 'anarchy' at the roots of the trade unions.

The poor old NUS, it seems, was only seeking 'the protec- tion and rights afforded by the Industrial Relations Act, when killing people to remote parts of the world like N Ireland.

And then it's done in the name of freedom and decency, which makes it all OK, of course.

When it's not informing its readers about the mythical activities of equally mythical 'bovver boys', the 'Express' is lavishing sympathy on the Tory leadership. Take the sycophantic article in last Friday's 'Express' about our Foreign Secretary, courageous Sir Alec Douglas Home. Sent all the way from Jerusalem by reporter Daniel McGeachie, it strains detailed the appalling under which Sir Alec is forced to exist. 68-year-old It pictured the Minister in an RAF Comet over Israel willing himself to sleep' after a 'punishing' programme of along came the big bad TUC and showed them the door.

The "Journal' quite gets worked up about it. "The Kangaroo courts of the factory, the injustices of little men with all are repugnant to power, civilized men,' it says. Most of all, of course, to the dinosaurs in the shipping and docks boardrooms who are notorious for their high degree of civilization and fair-minded impartiality. What particularly upsets the columnist is the pros- 'Journal's' pect of a mass exodus of seamen another (non-registered) into union. This gives rise to the follow- ing purple passage, which will raise an ironic smile on the lips of merchant seamen toiling for low wages under abominable con- ditions and regimented by the Merchant Shipping Acts: 'Men are not animals to be trapped or seduced by ambitious union leaders-and the Industrial Relations Act goes some way to ensure that when men and Mate rehang Douglas Hoa activity in the Zionist capital.

Let McGeachie tell the story in his own inimitable fashion: 'Ahead lay a 2,400-mile over- night journey leaving time for a bath and breakfast before the Cabinet on Ulster at Downing St.

'Behind him was a 19-hour day which began at dawn in Tel Aviv and included: 'A hair-raising ride to car Jerusalem; a visit to the Israeli parliament; a two-hour session with the Israeli Foreign Minister?

one and a half hours with the Israeli premier; an official lunch; one hour with the Israeli Presi- dent; a press conference; a cock- tail party and an official three- hour dinner. 'And to please his hosts, Sir Alec also took in a two-and-a- half-hour "stroll" in appalling rain through the Old City of Jerusalem; a visit to two mosques (where he took off his shoes), a Christian church (where he took off his hat), and the Wailing Wall (where he put his hat on).'

What a man! According to McGeachie, he even 'still suffers occasionally from the after effects of the spinal tuberculosis which encased him in a plaster cast for two years' but he refuses to ease off. And all this for only £16,000 a year! Words fail me... women give their allegiance to a union, they do so without undue pressure being applied.' sentiment to which every civilized shipowner will append a hearty Amen. Hogarth, sacrotary of the NUS Workera Press, Thureday March 30, 1972 PAQE 8 The number of reported acts capitalist press has been of crime and violence in boasting the team around New York City schools special Ulster Office increased from 333 in under William Whitelaw. according to One of the junior ministers Board of Education figures.

is Paul Channon. The 580 incidents involved newspaper said Channon was a assaults on teachers and stud- first-rate choice for the job "close connec- ents, including rapes, attempted because of his rapes and molestations; purse snatchings and other robberies; the setting off of smoke and communication? hire bombs, and telephoned or The 'Mr paper went on: written threats against school Channon is a member of the staff members. Guinness family' - complete During 1971 285 assaults on with country estates, private teachers and other school per- lakes and hunting grounds, sonnel reported - two race horse studs, were aeroplanes fewer than in 1970 but well and racing cars! above the figures for previous January During and years. 170 incidents rebruary, were reported. If this rate continues, With an 'Och' and an "Aye' officials headquarters noted, No, the the 1972 totals will far exceed those for last year. Records show 197 reported 'making Scots more proud to arrests of younsters and adults be Scots'. last year in connection with only political require- school incidents, compared with ment will be a belief in the 102 in 1970. George Patterson, an assistant superintendent temporary school security matters, said: 'A few years ago, there were 'It will be disciplined, as the confrontations. more Now we largely have pretty when it puts out on parade or vicious individual assaults.

a demonstration, it is not going Patterson also to shauchle along, heard that an increasing num- with perfect precision, ber of students were carrying will be Scotland marching.'

guns-some out of bravado, some for business—a stickup- it is not an army and will not and some for self-defence.

have a uniform, on all public trews and Have you been following the women tartan parliamentary saga of the mice will wear the same coloured in the Palace of Westminster?

been taking Well, it's When it was suggested that up hours of debating time in the this form of dress might be House Commons and considered uniform, Miss Wood said: I don't agree. Our columns in the capitalist press.

great has So become the members will merely be wear- ing their native dress.' publicity surrounding the appearance of the mice, She explained that the that the commercial aspect of all organization would be formed 'roinns' 'schiltrons' this free publicity has occurred into and to Christopher Proctor. —the names of military forma- Young Chris is head of Proc- at the tions battle of Ban- tor Brothers (Wireworks) Lim- nockburn. ited in Bedwas, Wales. Roinns will comprise people His company makes a great with a similar interest in any little product called 'The Little wild. cultura. subject such as Nipper. life study, yoga, history, litera- The 'Nipper' is a mousetrap ture, embroidery, forestery, and and Proctor has They will be advised sent some SO on. samples to his local MP, Neil by experts in their fields.

Kinnock. In turn, roinns will be organ- He feels the mouse inva- ized into schiltrons which will sion in the House can be cover country areas. stemmed if some So if you see a roinn or a of his pro- ducts are placed in schiltron strategic coming your way, parts of the corridors of power.

duck for cover!

LEON TROTSKY :

Germany 1931/1932 Paperback £1.25- -cloth £1.87% Where Is Britain Going ? Paperback 372p Revolution Betrayed Paperback 624p—cloth £1.50 Problems of the Chinese Revolution Paperback £1.124—cloth £1.87} Permanent Revolution : Results and Prospects Paperback 75p In Defence of Marxism Paperback 75p Lessons of October Paperback 60p Postage 10p per book, 3p per pamphlet. Order from :

NEW PARK PUBLICATIONS

186a Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UG.

RENT BILL REVOLT

PAGE 10 Workers Press, Thuraday March 30, 1972

BY PHILIP WADE

ALL OVER the country tenants in their thousands are moving to fight Tory attacks to destroy their right to decent housing at a reasonable rent.

Labour council after Labour council has been forced by enormous pressure to pledge from non-co- tenants operation with the Housing Finance Bill if it becomes law. Already rent strikes have begun where Tory councils have started to implement the Bill before it is law. Tenants' associations are springing up where none existed before to combat Tory plans to double council house rents and impose the hated means test on tenants. This determination to fight showed itself on when Tuesday night thousands of tenants from all lobbied MPs over Britain over the Bill. Organized jointly and Residents and the ants Association of London Estates, represents thousands of which council tenants, it was certainly the biggest tenants' turnout at Westminster for many years. spoke Many of those to stressed the real meaning of the Roundhouse Tory plans- -to destroy the basis tenants rounded council housing. They also of would out the feelings made clear that protests not work on the Tories and that of the thousands the trade unions would have to on Tuesday's lobby-the trade act. Gravesend tenants in Kent are unions must be first defy the mobllized to act probably the to against the Tories Bill. They have already Tory refused to pay another 50p and their on rent Bill. imposed by the Tory- the rent controlled council. the William Thompson is on Gravesend defence committee 'fair rents' formed to fight the Bill. It is made up of the trades the tenants' council, association and the Labour Party. 'The Tories are trying to make council tenants into second-class They want to say- citizens. you're a council tenant and you'll do what we say. "They want me to accept a cut my standard of living,' said in William, who is a member of the Section the Constructional

AUEW.

'Our union has just negotiated week increase. If I pay a £1.50 a another 50p in rent and 1lp more Willlam Thompson, Gravesend in rates and then they stop 50p tenants'. assoclation : Government could be brought in tax that only leaves me with 50p of the rise. down on this BIll Already he has refused to fill government wouldn't be here in his means-test form. now: 'On this Bill there should have ' He expressed the bitterness been a better, more direct lead and anger.of millions of council With the trade unions. from they take on could lead from the TUC tenants as you Tories: the government down on bring this Bill 'Under we can this Bill. fined £50 for not helping 'Take the Common Market-if Well, scrutineer. they'd given a lead on that this rent aper that fight against 220:28 for 12 months (312 issues) {10.14 for 6 montha (156 Issues) £5.07 for 3 montha (78 lasuds) If you want to take Workere Press twice a wook the rates are: £1.56 for 3 months (24 issues) £6.24 for 12 months (96 issues) Fill in the form below NOW and send 1o: 186a Clapham High St., Circulation Dept., Workers Press, London, SWe 7UG. I would like to take out a subscription to Workers Press.

THURSDAY

MONDAY

Days required

FRIDAY

„TUESDAY

(Please tick)

WEDNESDAY

SATURDAY

months. Full subscription (six days) for Amount enclosed E

TO ALL

YOU HAVE

A

T DUTY

TO SUPPORT YOUR

MEMBERS FIGHTING

RENT RISES

«EVICTION

UNITED TENANTS AC

refuse to pay that-it may mean prison but we have to take that chance. Secretary of the Aveley, GLC: Tenants' Association Essex, Miss Dilys Stone, said she al- ready paid nearly £4 a week for a two-bedroom flat. 'But we also live 20 miles out- side London, so many of us have to travel all that way to work.

To commute to London and back costs me another £4 a week. Un- high in employment. IS very Aveley at the moment. 'My mother's a pensioner so the extra money she will get has to go in rents under this Bill.

'In my opinion tenants will have to stick together and refuse to pay the rent increases. There.

are 6,000 of us on our estate.

'They can't stick us all in.

prison, can they? I think this will be the Tories' last attempt to ' she kill off the working class, added councillor Mrs Ann Labour can be Geaney, who sits on the Labour- controlled Thurrock UDC, which we'll covers Aveley, added her sup- port: 'We consider this Bill a blow against the working class-and we will refuse to have anything to do with it,' she told me.

As tenants thronged the pave- House of ment outside the Horace Riches Commons, was walking up and down with sandwich board which declared: 'Housing Bill-the Biggest At- tack since the Tolpuddle Martyrs.' Horace, an executive member National Association of of the Tenants and Residents, had come with a coachload from Harrow.

He told me: 'Over 70 per cent of tenants will have to apply for a means- test if this goes through. I well remember the same thing in the 1930s and I feel disgusted.

'With this Bill the government will be able to coerce legally.

elected councils to put the rents up to what they want them to be.

'Everyone by right should • have a chance to get a decent house to live in. But now the Tories are killing the subsidies for council housing they'll only build for those who can afford really exorbitant rents. 'I pay £6 a week and it's going up fl in October,' Horace, who retires in 11 weeks time, told me. 'I don't see how I'll be able to afford the increase. 'Housing • should be a social There should be muni- service. cipalization of all housing, with cheap interest on loans and the nationalization of all land, ex- cept that of owner-occupiers. solve the housing That would problem. Bill is no different to •This other Tory measures. From the has in- start, this government tended to break the unions and rule roughshod over the working class. given a lead I think the 'But Tories will come down this year,' added Horace. Bert Wilkinson, a Westminster member tenant the Labour councillor Ann Goaney, from Thurrock UDC: BIll is a blow against the working class painters' and decorators' union, also thought housing should as a social service. run 'It's everyone's right to have shelter - though it seems the Tories aim to smash that. Hous- ing shouldn't be run for profit.

All that's happening at big businesses is that moment are feathering their nests at our 'expense.' The rent for his one-bedroom flat will be about f5 a week if the increases go through.

'But our wages are static, the basic is only f20 a week. And the point is why do you want to work your guts out just to pay the rent? 'Now there's no feeling of security left. Any rent increases standard of lower your living.' His friend John Hoey added: 'We can't survive the while Something has Tories stay in. to happen. They say they'll give us fl off income tax, but they take it back twice on the rents.

'We just can't go on like this.

The best way is to get the Tories out.' • See next Tuesday's Workers article on Chalkhill Press for Estate, Wembley. cover-up

MRS

RENEE

SHORT,

Labour MP for Wolverhamp- ton NE, yesterday accused Tory members of a parlia- committee of mentary sub doing 'a massive white-wash job' in a report on National Health Service facilities for private patients. Mrs Short was herself chair- man of the sub-committee of the Parliamentary all-party Expenditure Committee, whose report was issued yesterday.

During the five meetings held -to consider the approval of her "the Tories used their report, voting strength to remove the meat of the report and the 12 recommendations contained in it,' she sald. 'As a result of these changes it was necessary to attempt to restore the report in its original form at full meetings of the Expenditure Committee. *Some drafting amendments the main accepted, but were amendments were voted down by the Conservative majority on the full Committee, most of whom neither read the evidence had the examination of heard nor witnesses. 12 recommendations The included in her original report had also been voted down.

The committee, which inquired into the private patient situation in Britain's hospitals, concludes that private practice operates to the overall benefit of the National Health Service. 'We recognize that, from time to time, abuses may occur as they may in any large organization.

We do not condone this situation, but we do not believe abuses to be widespread or of any magni- tude" said that, Wittesses apart from trying to get extra beds for their private patients, some con- sultants got junior doctors to do work, without their private paying them for it, and stole or 'borrowed' equipment expensive for their private practices.

out that The report charges are ad- cover the cost of justed to services of all hospital staff.

condemned branches™ TWO Amalgamated Union of Workers' branches Engineering in London have recently passed motions condemning the govern- ment's ban use on Trafalgar Square for rallies con- nected with the Ulster crisis.

They are Chiswick No 5 and W Norwood, which also attacks the Tories' enforced direct rule.

Norwood motion The com- ments: "This government is out to crush the democratic rights of all workers and actively pre- pare for civil war. 'We demand that the leaders of the Labour and trade union movement launch an immediate campaign in unity with the Irish working class to force the Tory government to resign and return government which Labour must immediately: troops from all 'Withdraw Ulster, Restore the basic right working class to of the Irish determine their own future after over 300 years of colonial rule; basic democratic Restore - all rights and trade union rights to the working class of this country?

Chiswick has also demanded that the union's National Com- mittee 'call a national strike in the engineers' pay claim.

One-vote LP secretary RON HAYWARD; the Labour Party's national agent, was yes- terday elected general secretary on the casting vote of Party Anthony Wedgwood chairman Benn. This followed a deadlock between Hayward and the favourite for the job, Gwyn general Morgan, the assistant secretary.

BBC 1

9.45 On the Farm. 10.00 White Horses. 10.25 Deputy Dawg. 10.30 Swim: 10.55 Magic Roundabout. 12.55 Tresarn. 1.30 Herbs. 1.45 News, weather. 2.00 Show Jumping. 3.45 Conflict at Work. 4.15 Play School. 4.40 Jackanory. 4.55 Blue Peter. 5.20 Boss Cat.

5.44 Crystal Tipps. 5.50 News, weather.

6.00 NATIONWIDE.

6.50 TOM AND JERRY.

SPY TRAP. Package Deal episode 4.

7.00 7.25

TOP OF THE POPS.

8.00 IT'S MURDER. BUT IS IT ART? 2: Mr Drake Goes to Jail.

8.30 THE FRENCH WAY. Goosey; Goosey Gander-Perigord.

9.00 NEWS, Weather. PLAY FOR TODAY: THE FOXTROT. Donald Pleasence, 9.20 Thora Hird. 10.30 THE LADY OF AINTREE. Mirabel Dorothy Topham.

11.10 FILM: 'PHANTOM OF THE OPERA'. Herbert Lom, Heather Sears, Musician terrorizes a London opera house.

12.30 THE DAY OF THE LORD.

BBC 2

11.00 Play School.

7.30 NEWSROOM.

8.00 THE SHADOW OF THE TOWER. The King Without a Face.

8.50 EUROPA.

9.20 SHOW OF THE WEEK: HARRY SECOMBE.

10.00 NEWS, Weather.

10.10 WORLD CINEMA: 'THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MAT-

THEW'. Enrique Irazoqui, Margherita Caruso, Marcello Morante. Pasolini's documentary-like version of the life of Christ.

ITV

1.00 Sculptors. 1.30 Miscellany. 2.30 Yesterdays. 3.00 House- party. 3.10 Tea Break. 3.40 Marcus Welby MD. 4.40 Nuts and Bones. 4.55 Roadrunner. 5.20 Magpie. 5.50 News.

6.00 TODAY.

6.30 CROSSROADS.

6.55 FILM: 'THE CRUEL SEA'. Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Virginia McKenna, Stanley Baker. Corvette's crew in Battle of the Atlantic.

MY GOOD WOMAN.

9.00 9.30

THIS WEEK.

10.00 NEWS AT TEN.

10.30

CINEMA.

11.00

SOMETHING TO SAY.

12.00 IT MATTERS TO ME.

BBC 1

9.45 Andy Pandy. 10.00 White Horses. 10.25 Deputy Dawg.

10.30 Swim. 10.55 Magic Roundabout. 11.00-1.05 Good Friday Grand- stand: Show Jumping; 12.50 Football Preview. 1.05 Dusty Blue- 1.30 Mr Benn. 1.45 Yogi Bear. 1.55 News, bells. Weather. 2.00 Good Friday Service. 3.00-5.00 Grandstand: 3.05, 4.30 Show Jump- ing; 3.30 Boat Race Preview; 3.45 Rugby League; 4.50 Results.

5.00 George Best. 5.10 Crackerjack 72.

5.50 Tom and Jerry. 6.00 News, weather. 6.10 MAGAZINE. Regular local programme.

THE VIRGINIAN. A Touch of Hands.

6.15

THE LIVER BIRDS.

7.30 8.00 THE BROTHERS. 4: Decisions.

NEWS, Weather. 8.50 ACCORDING TO THE RULES. A Doctor in Auschwitz.

9.00 10.25

SURRENDER TO EVEREST.

11.55

THE DAY OF THE LORD.

11.00 Play School. 5.30 The Lost Treasure of Jerusalem?

6.15 MESSIAH. Handel's oratorio.

NEWSROOM, Weather. 8.10 8.30

GARDENERS' WORLD.

9.00

CLOCHEMERLE. 2:

The Inexorable Power of the Third Republic. 9.30 A SPECIAL REVIEW. Winner of Review Play Competition: 'The Soda-Water Fountain' by Denise Robertson.

10..30 NEWS, Weather. 10.35

FILM:

'THE ASPHALT JUNGLE': Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern. Huston's classic thriller about a million- John dollar jewel robbery.

ITV

9.55 Drive In. 10.20 Pinky and Perky. 10.35 Charlie Brown. 11.00 Mad Movies. 11.30 Gay Purr-ee. 12.35 Making of a Saint.

1.30 My Sweet Lord. 2.00 Name of the Game. 3.25 Riptide. 4.15 Bright's Boffins. 4.50 Circus. 5.50 News.

6.00 TODAY.

BEWITCHED. 7

6.30 7.00

SKY'S THE LIMIT.

7.30

FILM:

'FATHER OF THE BRIDE. Spencer Tracy, Joan Bennet, Elizabeth Taylor. Comedy' about American middle- Class manners. 9.00 SPIDER'S WEB. Nobody's Strawberry Fool.

10.00

NEWS.

10.30

THE VERDI REQUIEM.

12.10 IT MATTERS TO ME.

I would like information about Fill in the form below and send to NATIONAL

LEAGUE,

SECRETARY,

SOCIALIST

LABOUR

186A CLAPHAM HIGH ST, LONDON, SW4 7UG.

Name Address Workers Press, Thursday March 30, 1972 PAGE 11

THURSDAY

All reglons as BBC 1 except: 8.55 Weekend. 9.00 London. 11.00 News Drive Wales: 6.00 Wales Today. 6.50 spy. 12.35 Weather. piper 7.15 Tom Discoverers. 3.45 Week In Week Jerry. Women 4.40

HTV: 3.50

Beloved 8.30 Arall Fyd. 10.30 and 4.55 Lone 4.15 Tinkertainment vuts ,adwynau Meddwl. 5.20 London. 4.55 Huckleberry hanoer o.ul 2.37 Weathel Crossroads. Scotland: 6.00 Reporting Scot- London. rlnn. family Cartoon. port West. 6.18 Report Wales News, ana.l<.oi weduner 'Ill-Met Moonlight'. 6.35 Sky's the limit. 7.10 Film: 10.30 N Ireland: 6.00 scenearolad 9.00 Sport. 'The Loncon Six. 8.30 Cross Country Froamen. 9.00 LOn•On 11.05 Cinema. Drive in. Quiz. 12.37 News Splendour falls. 11.00 TO.St Marcus Welby MD. 12.00 England: 6.00 Look Weather.

TYNE. TEES

est yo Lto oday Miclanoc 3.45 Points Wet Son Today, News

HTV

West as above except: mem oe Spotlight West. 4.40 6.18-6.35 Sport West. Nuts and 4.55 Capt 12.37 vvcaine.

NE W S,

HTV Wales and HTV Cymru/ 5.20 Scarlet. 6.00 weather. Nales as above except: 4.15 7.00 day. 6.30 Airi Mawr. 6.01 Y Dyda Film: News. 3.45 London. 11.00

CHANNEL:

1.55 Horizons Be-

ANGLIA:

10 Tea Women. 4.10 break. 4.55 Police call 11.05 low. 3.45 Holiday in Switzer- 12.00 4.05 Origami. 4.18 Capt Scarlet 5.20 11.35 Loncon News. 4.22 6.00 About Anglia. 6.20 4.50 Nanny. Arena. 6.35 Crossroads. 7.00 5.20 London. •ki•ov. o.uu 'The News, weather. 6.10 What's Comedians. 7.30 Fim: 9.00 Village'. London. Fireball. Jesse James. 11.30 Avengers.

Sports roundup Magpie. Crossroads. 7.00 Film• 'Borde

MIDLANDS:

6.15 6.30 Stuart 3.10 Yoga line River'. 8.30 This is your life. Horoscope. 3.45 7.00 3.35 Women. Gililes. 9.00 London. 4.10 Family affair. 4.40 9.00 11.00 5.20 Mag- Bear. 4.55 Get this. Late cạll. Pan WESTWARD. As Channel ex- 5.50 Today. Alley. pie 4.18 6.35 London. Film: Gus Honevbun. Dua

GRAMPIAN: 3.38

3.40 News. Alibl'. 11.00 News. Épilo De: 12.00 Seather. 10.59 News. 9.00 Dyke 4.10 Beioved Dick var 11.55 Epilogue. Marcus Welby. 4.55 Rainbow 4.40 Nuts and bones

ULSTER:

4.00 Yoga. 4.30 4.55 country. 5.20

SOUTHERN: 2.30

Romper 4.50 News. London. News weather. room. 5.20 Blair. 6.35 4.17 Sear 4.55 Rorest ranaers. LOll •. Lesty Crossroads. Superman 6.00 Renorts 6.15 roads 7.00 Film. 'Our Mar 1455 con. om. London. 5.20 London. 6.00 Day by day 7.00 Dr Havana'. 9.00 11.00 'Dear Sudvival. 11.30 Golf. 12.00 Scene SE. 6.45 Junkin. 1.15 with 9.00 11.00 rulm. "weekene .LOeon corooue

GOOD FRIDAY

Dennis Price plays Alexls Luvelat, Minister of Home Affairs, In the seventh episode of 'Clochemerle on BBC 2.

REGIONAL TV

All Regions as BBC-1 except: Perky. 4.55 5.20

HTV:

My sweet Lora. Flintstones. Tom Film: Not the Grattan. News. 2.00 2.0l 7.00 Wales: 1.30 Ar Lin Mam. 6.15 4.25 Crossroads. Circus the 4.30 iinkertainment. oky s wi ss rt. 6.55 6.35 Question 4.25 4.50 Circus limit. 7.30 takes 9.00 Lon. thief. it Newyddion. 5.50 News 6.00 News. 6.03 8.30 On the buses. sport. 6.35 7.30 10.20 11.00 Bonanza Partners. Requiem. Film: of Sudan'. 9.00 12.40 "wpather Scotland: 6.10 Reporting London. 12.10 Weather. Weather. 12.02 Scotland. News, HTV Wales and HTV Cymru/

TYNE TEES:

wedine. o 1. a Sense 25 of Wales N Ireland: 6.10 Scene around as above except: 4.10 2.00 Nanny. Cantamil. 7.30 Behind the head- Goal. 4.40 12.02 News, weather. Pinky and Flint- lifico. ANGLIA: 1.30 My England: sweet Lord. Look o.u NO Ln. stones Grattan. 2.00 Goal. 4.05 Green hill Midlands Today, Look Eas 5.50 News. Points West, Soutr Today, 4.25 Rom Sky's the limit. room. 4.50 5.50 South West, Spotlight Doctor Gannon 8.30 On 6.00 About Anglia. 6.35 Weather. 12.02 News. lews. buses. 9.00 London. 10.30 London. 7.30 Jason Kina. 8.30 Verdi's ramers botn enas meet. y.uu London Requiem. 12.40 Epilogue. 1.50 My 10.30 Bygones. 11.00 Verdi's

CHANNEL:

sweet Requiem. 2.10 Pinky and Perky

LOTU

3.30 4.22

SCOTTISH:

Kiri. 3.45 Puttin. Goal

MIDLANDS:

2.35 4.10 Dateline. Dick Van Dyke. 4.55 Robin crossroads.

AIV

Hood. 5.20 Ask Westward. Yoga. 6.00 Horoscope. 3.40 Women. 450 GIrCus caal Newd Dateline. 6.30 5.50 News. 6.00 News, Stewart. 7.00 weather. 6.02 Tommy Cooper.

Hatty Jimmy Jula. 4.00 6.00 6.35 London. 7.30 | Spy. 8.30 Circus. imit. 7.30 stranae report. 8.30 b.o News. Comedians. 9.00 day. 6.35 Crossroads. 7.00 Both ends meet. 9.00 London.

London. 7.30 King. 10.30 11.05 Flm: 11.00 Late Comedians. Jason News. weduneh Film: 8.30 'The Night

WESTWARD.

Stewart Jintny Walker'. 4.15 Gus Honeybun. 9.00 London. 6.00 News. 12.05 News. 3.40 ULSTER: 2.35 My sweet Lord Epilogue. 12.10 Weather. Simon Be- 4.50 Locke. . | Komoer

TOOT

erey 455 Plintst pies. 4.40 Pinky 1.55 My sweet News. and 4hh qungeroıresbn! -utnanNH Film: 'Our Man In News. 6.00 UTC Reports. 6.35 Perky. 5.20 Lord. 2.25 455 King. 8.30 Tom Grattan. 5.50 News . 6.00 4.00 London. 7.30 Jason Houseparty. News, 4.25 weather. 6.10 and 4.10 Paulus. Crossroads. Both ends meet. 9.00 LOnCOn 7.35 4.50 Circus. 5.50 6.00 10.30 Spectrum. (11.00 Holy

VITS

LONCOr Week. 11.05 Film. takes a thief. 8.25 Stuart by day. Day lies 9.00 10.30 Sky's 7.30 London. heroes.

YORKSHIRE:

1.10 Sense of Hogan's 11.00 Film: Saint. 8.30 Both ends meet. Klller Is Loose'. 12.20 9.00 London. 12.10 Weather.• Wonder. 2.00 Skippy. 4.7% 4.40 Pinky and Epilogue. Crossroads. Discoverers.

PAGE 12 Workers Press, Thursday March

FROM STEPHEN JOHNS

LEADERS of engineering wo abandoned any attempt to lau in support of their claim for r holidays. The Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers district committee meeting on Tuesday, which was to discuss cided instead to allow shop stewards in city plants to fight for their own increases.

This marks a final collapse in to the the Sheffield district national policy, first mooted by AUEW president Hugh Scanlon, ef abandoning the national claim in favour of plant-by-plant battles.

At one stage Sheffield seemed likely to be the first area to launch district action around a demand for £6 a week, shorter hours and longer holidays.

The first retreat came when the claim was diluted to one for a 'substantial' increase and better holidays. Then a proposal to call a mass meeting of city workers to de- cide joint action was abandoned.

A further suggestion that workers in 13 firms should begin a co- ordinated work-to-rule also came to nothing. Finally the district committee met and rejected to a move begin a work-to-rule throughout the district in conjunction with workers in greater engineering Manchester. The casting vote against this suggestion came from Herbert Howarth, one of the several Com- munist Party members who dom- inate the committee. At Tuesday's meeting, a policy of joint action against Sheffield employers who have refused to . On the claim was negotiate turned down. Instead the committee recom- in mended that shop stewards plants write to their individual full-time union officials and ask for meetings. If the management to this, did not quickly agree action should be taken at plant level. Even a motion to establish a

MARCH FUND

TWO MORE

DAYS TO

RAISE £96.27

ALMOST

Our Fund

THERE.

stands at {1,153.73. Your great nearly last-minute effort has of £1,250. reached our target Keep It up and if possible help us go well over the top. We had no doubt that you, our readers, would make an all-out . Fund. fight for our Appeal Workers Press remains the only daily paper not only to speak out for the working class each day, but takes up the struggle Inside the labour movement for soclalist principles. On the basis of these principles, the revolu- tlonary party will be built.

Many, many thanks to you all for your very warm support. Keep up this magnificent effort—we are not there yet! Rush all your last minute donatlons Immediately to: Workers Press - March Appeal Fund, 186a Clapham High St, London, SW4 7UG. day March 30, 1872 ring workers in Sheffield have t to launch district-wide action m for more money and longer deadline for replies was rejected without a vote. An advance in Sheffield would have been crucial at this time. 30 miles Less than away engineers in greater Manchester area are in the midst of their battle and workers have own occupied nine factories. I understand that the AUEW national leadership have indicated that district-wide action in Shef- field would not meet with their approval. Only one firm in Shef- field, Davy United, is working-to- rule in support of the claim. ICI jobs face cuts ICI warned yesterday• that they will be pursuing a rigorous cost- reduction sackings. mean Company chairman Callard told 'Your board is workers: will have to re- convinced We are only duce manpower. of the distress too well aware caused by redundancies, but we have to be competitive and one of the cost savings is manpower.'

Last year ICI cut its UK labour force by 8,000. • ICI SALES DROP p. 3. THE OWNERS of a Preston engineering company have won their factory where 22 workers are staging a sit-in. The order was granted at the Preston Chancery Court by the chancellor, Sir Thomas . vice i Burges. Within an hour of the court's engineering decision, other

WEATHER

MOST of England, Wales and N Ireland will be cloudy with rain at times. Some sunny intervals are expected in SE England.

Eng- Scotland and extreme N land will have sunny periods and occasional showers which will be of snow in the north. Tempera- tures near normal in the S but rather cold in the N. Outlook for Friday and Saturday: Sunny intervals and occasional showers, chiefly in the N, but more continuous rain in the S . E at first and extreme W and later. Temperatures mostly near normal but rather cold in the N at first.

NEWS DESK

01-720 2000

CIRCULATION

01-622 7029 186a Clapham Wi hu Strees, Printed by Ploush Press Ltd. (TU).

Clapham London. High Street

THE

NATIONAL Graphical Association yesterday accepted a new pay offer for members in general printing and the pro- vincial newspaper industry and is to hold a ballot. The agreement reached was with the Newspaper Society and the British Federation of Master

NATIONAL INDUSTRIAL, RELATIO

workers in the Manchester area went to the factory, Sharston en- works, Cheadle gineering at Hulme, and offered assistance.

Mrs Isabella Dubost, managing director of the factory, said out- side the court: "I don't know what will happen. I hope the - police are not called, for the men's sake. I think they have been misled.' Making the application, Mr Peter Ferns said the proceedings were brought under a new order of the supreme court designed to provide a speedy method of obtaining possession of unlaw- fully occupied property. Mr Leonard Porter, for the defendants, said it not a was case of people going in and squat- ting. It was a dispute between He and employee. employer claimed there was no evidence or urgency. Vice-Chancellor Burges said the men had been sacked and does entitle the that not employees to remain on the premises.' In an affidavit, Mrs Dubost said the company had a work force of about 30, all members of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers. The directors had decided on _March 17 to lay-off four men .

because of a falling off in orders.

After meeting the men for one hour, John Tocher, Manchester AUEW organizer, said that the place to settle industrial disputes in court. was not 'We have 12 establishments in this area involved in industrial disputes. A court of law is not the place to settle it. The place to settle it is across the table talking to us.' He said the union were look- ing at the question of an appeal.

Printers after prolonged talks in London on Tuesday. Yesterday the NGA informed the employers that the overtime ban had been lifted. Although complete details of the settlement weren't immedi- ately available, it is understood the present craftsman's rate is.

RELATIONS COURT

THE 30070 THE

WAPTO WORK

DEAL TO LONDON

1972

RIGHT TO WORK

YOUNG SOCIALISTS 12th A Saturday & Sunday April 8/ Dance to 'BRAVE NEW WORLI also see a star-stu Cost approximately £4.50. For tickets apply to J 186 a Clapham High Street, L Please send me details/tickets of th I enclose

NAME

ADDRESS

increased by £2.50 a week for 13 months and by a further f2 for the following 1l months. The increase would from operate April 24—subject to acceptance.

The other unions in the dis- pute NATSOPA, SLADE and SOGAT-were yesterday con- sidering the offer. THE 'JOURNAL of Commerce', the newspaper of the port own- and international traders, ers yesterday praised the wielding of the Industrial Relations Act.

'Sooner or later the trade unions were bound to come up against the inescapable fact that the Industrial Relations Act, as with any law, will not disappear because the Trades Union Con- gress disapproves of its contents.

The unions may deregister, but while the sand may cover the ostrich's head, a vast quantity of body remains exposed. 'The National Industrial Rela- tions Court has the same stand- ing as a High Court of England or a Sessions Court of Scotland.

As such, the unions may dis- like the law it administers, they may campaign to have the law changed-but they cannot ignore the court's rulings. And neither can individual union members.

"To ignore the court's rulings is an act of contempt. To ignore lead to a its existence can only self-imposed denial of justice?

In a cautious editorial yester- 'Financial Review' also day, the commended the use of the Act's legal machinery. 'This is a clear case of the law being used where voluntary methods to end a dis- pute have failed.' Andrew Abdela (lett), counsel for Heaton's, the St Helens, Lancashire, firm which took the Transport and General Workers' Union to the Natlonal Industrial Relations Court, leaving after yesterday's verdict.

YOUNG SOCIALISTS

WE DEMAND THE

RIGHT TO WORK

SOUTHAMPTON TO

LONDON 1972

WE DEMAND THE

RIGHT TO WORK

SWANSEA TO LONDON

"MUNG SOCIALISTS

WE DAMAND THE

RIGHT TO WORK

GLASGOYTO LONDON

12th ANNUAL CONFERENCE April 8/9 Grand Hall, The Spa W WORLD' Saturday night 8 pm a star-studded show kets apply to John Simmance, National Secretary, , High Street, London, SW4 7UG kets of the Scarborough Conference.