workers press

The daily paper of the Socialist Labour League, 1969–1973: a searchable archive of the scans

Workers Press no. 943

11 December 1972 · 12 scanned pages · about 18,249 words of machine-read text

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Scan page 1

workers press Motions of support flow into union HQ

'DEFEND UNION

Ford workers press ahead with pay claim INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER • MONDAY DECEMBER 11, 1972 • No. 943 • 4p DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE LEADERS of 20,000 Ford discuss the implica- If decisive action is called shop already on tions to stewards are workers at Dagenham, tions of the fine. TrOm - tomorrow's meeling, Ine record supporting the could rapidly be and they will meet evening, Essex, yesterday backed the halt. sometime this week to decide to a engineers' Shop executive union SICWarUS flashpoint will Essex "rOm over SOUn

ANUINEA

on turner action. in its refusal the pay Suffolk, have been called together at the Sudbury, Also tomorrow the AUEW €50,000 fine imposed by the decide will plant, James Goad the what action they execuave National Industrial Rela- who took the union consider a call for a one-day take cerence tions Court. union's policy. now suspended national by the 1.2

CONTE

strike Most sections in the Ford full The 1,000 million membership. If accen 250 meeting shop meet in the ing workers factory ted would disrupt are alreaoy committed stewards from all the factories to supporting whatever action airports, power stations,

WIRE

the called by

AUEW

take over the fines. Darentam well as the bulk of industry Ford's main production centre they decide the fine. Branches of to strike the Britain, supported NORTH EASTERN divisional Work- TanSOOrt ana General coura easily Stall a Chall union's stand unanimously. ers' Union representing Dagen- action throughout George the orcanizer ham Ford workers have taken try and p articularly within the warned at the weekend that The stewards went Lucas-CAV Combine sequestration of union funds combine. decisions.

POLICY

AFTER A YEAR of opposing the Industrial Rela- tions Act the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers has been brought face to face with the in- evitable political consequences of defying this Tory law. Because of its steadfast refusal to co-operate with the Act or the National Industrial Relations Court the

-AUEW

union is threatened with destitution.

First the AUEW was fined £5,000 for exercising the essential democratic right of controlling membership and keeping strike- Then it was penalized another breakers out of the ranks.

£1,000 costs when it refused to crawl to Bow Street and hand over its members' funds. Now it faces a savage £50,000 penalty and up to €5,000 extra in costs. This Tory vendetta against Britain's most militant union makes one thing clear-tree trades unions cannot co-exist with this government or its battery of anti-working class laws. The Tories will not rest until they have established dictatorship over the working class. Unions face either the vast plundering of their like the AUEW. or the destruction of all their most powerful democratic rights.

The

AUEW

Its has co-exist. chosen not to total opposition to the and remains. was Act and all its institutions.

1.2 million Hugh Scanion's call on the gineers to 'defend the policy of the union', as national laid committee, must

COWI

therefore be backed per cent. nancer! workers will interpret this as a call for immedi- industrial action throughout the engineering ale industry. stated that the AUEW executive It must De l committee's stand is in sharp contrast to the other so-called left-wing leader the TUC, Jack Jones challenged exactly the was same way, Jones chose to ignore the policy of his union's biennial conference.

Jones and his surrendered to the executive have faithfully attended when ana Cases ordered. president

NIKC

SIT

lonn Donaleson Ford workers from the Dagenham, Essex, complex going into their meeting yesterday.

tires of heaping praise upon these respons- ible' officials. in the AUEW leader- Naturally there are those Ship wno want to abandon the ugat and allow union become a creature of the

NIRC.

"The Sunday Times' based its industrial story yesterday Ford national

FORD

SHOP

stewards joint nego. day standstill. Moss But Evans, the Essex UnIS secuion. Inev are Dressing

TOR

special Dacennam. Vester haung committee Is to lor National Committee in the hope that the delegates day decided to press ahead mally Transport General submit its claims ano will be frightened union stand with big 50,000 Ford work- Workers' Union national into reversing the Thursday, who chairs claim regardless of the on asalust une Act.

NJNC.

largely sidestepped ores eoisaron on od execicu But these manoeuvres of about 250 are not at the inoment A meeting detailed reply on InIs Issue vesteroav decisive. The battle begins today when over stewards called for all ne He told the meeting that million engineering workers back to work of strategy go ensure But even Ford's first re- the question Cessary the how they defend their own that their members aspira constacr Call actions are bound towards and rights. tions becomes a reality hostile. would have o be cecicee next year's Apart from a substantial company's pay The main them must the the work- the claim Issues perore For the stew- increase in was moniell pay call from

AUEW

resident Hugh Scanlon to Evans's aros chairman ole mana ers want a so nour week messact ine take matters nto their own hands and defend way said afterwards, action big improvements meeting was that innoll- the com meant calling of day fringe bene- could afford te union poncy. pany bring them with 1971, and the issuing will TItS mechnics will drag noustma actor poncy or the of publications. What miaht a 2: Into conne win Ine ody said unere nad been National Committee, and particularly its Com- follow would depend on the control laws, even if nego- per pro- cent increase munist Party membership, into the open.

beyond the company's tiations drag duction this year. And the reply amount of profit made per side of the

TURN TO PAGE

end immediate 90- was likely to lead to a vio- lent counter-reaction among the rank and file. *The situation is at flash- point,' he said. 'It only needs a spark to set them off. There is a very strong plea from large sections of the member- ship for some short, sharp action followed by a concerted national policy? The union's north-eastern (Tyneside) district committee has already passed an emer- gency resolution calling on the involve national executive to the rank and file in industrial action. On Saturday a packed meet- ing of over 200 members of South Shields No. 1 AUEW branch suspended all business passed unanimously and a resolution which: (1) Called on all members present at the meeting to go into their factories this morn- ing and insist that shop stewards and union delegates call factory meetings of all AUEW branches to discuss action in defence of the union.

(2) Demanded the immediate recall of the TUC to prepare a General Strike. Coventry No.

8 AUEW

branch has called on the exe- cutive council *to recall the National Committee for an immediate total strike and to work to bring down the Tory government which is destroy- ing all the hard-won rights that union members have built.

Coventry No. 25 AUEW branch also calls for a total strike and calls on the union to 'demand a recall of the TUC to call a General Strike to bring down the Tories and elect a Labour government that must repeal the Indus- trial Relations Act and carry out socialist policies. meeting yesterday. employee had risen • from £11,000 to £13,500. He would not, however, discuss the decline in the rate at which Ford is earn- ing profit on its British investment; the decline which is the mainspring of its current drive to transfer sections of its production to Europe. Researchers at Ruskin College, Oxford, are be- lieved to be currently pre- paring a second model claim for Evans and the NJNC, on the lines of that submitted in 1971 when the union leaders settled for a secret-ballot settle- ment.

Scan page 2

workers press Motions of support flow into union HQ

'DEFEND UNION

Ford workers press ahead with pay claim INCORPORATING THE NEWSLETTER @ MONDAY DECEMBER 11, 1972 • No. 943 • 4p

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE

SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

LEADERS of 20,000 Ford tions discuss the implica- If decisive action is called shop stewards are already on workers at Dagenham, tions of the fine. irom tomorrows meeting, the recoro sunDor me ne Tomorrow factory could rapidly be and they will meet evening, engi- Essex, yesterday backed the brought halt. sometime this week to decide stewards neers' to engineers' Shot • a union executive

ANOTHER

flashpoint will Essex TrOM over On lurter acuon. in its refusal to the pay Suffolk,

CAV

have natalled no ether at the Sudbury, tomorrow the AUEW Also €50,000 fine imposed by the decide will plant, where James Goad the what action National Industrial Rela- who took the union consider a call for a one-day lake fren tions Court. union's policy. court suspended national by the nOW strike 1,000 Most sections Ford full The engineer- in the milion membership. If meeting shop meet in the 4Sfl ing workers factory are ted would disrupt docks, arready commuted stewards from all the factories to supporting whatever action airports, power stations, called by

AUEW

take over the fines. Jazeltall well as the bulk of industry Ford's main production centre they decide fine. Branches of the strike the in Britain, supported Work- NORTH EASTERN divisional could easily Call union's stand unanimously. ers' Union representing Dagen- action throughout The oranzer weore ham Ford workers have taken try and articularly within the warned at the weekend that The stewards went on Lucas-CAV sequestration of funds combine. Combine union

POLICY'

AFTER A YEAR of opposing the Industrial Rela- Amalgamated Union of Engineering tions Act the Workers has been brought face to face with the in- evitable political consequences of defying this Tory law. Because of its steadfast refusal to co-operate with the Act or the National Industrial Relations Court the

-AUEW

union is threatened with destitution.

First the AUEW was fined £5,000 for exercising the essential democratic right of controlling membership and keeping strike- Then it was penalized another breakers out of the ranks.

€1,000 costs when it refused to crawl to Bow Street and hand over its members' funds. Now it faces a savage £50,000 penalty and up to £5,000 extra in costs. This Tory vendetta against Britain's most militant union makes one thing Clear-tree trades unions cannot co-exist with or its battery of anti-working this government class laws. The Tories will not rest until they have established dictatorship over the working class. Unions face either the vast plundering of their the AlEw. or the lke all their most powerful democratic rights.

The

AUEW

Its has chosen not co-exist. total opposition to policy and _ The was renails. Act and all its institutions.

1.2 million Hugh Scanlon's call on to 'defend the policy of the union', as gineers committee, national must laid

GOWI

therefore per cent workers will interpret this as a call for immedi- industrial action throughout the engineering ale maustry. executive stated that the AUEW must se t committee's stand is in sharp contrast to the other so-called left-wing leader the TUC, Jack Jones. Was cxaculy same way, Jones chose to ignore the policy of his union's biennial conference.

his surrendered to the Jones and executive and have faithfully attended cases when ordered.

NIRC

president TOnT Donaldson Ford workers from the Dagenham, Essex, complex going into their meeting yesterday.

tires of heaping praise upon these 'respons- ible' officials. in the AUEW leader- Naturally there are those snip wno want to abandon tne ignt and allow tne union to become creature of the

NIRC.

"The based its industrial story Sunday Times' yesterday Ford national

FORD

SHOP

stewards joint nego- day standstill. Moss But Evans, the Essex uns secuor ine. are Dressed special Jacennam. yester- lating commitied National Committee in the hope that the delegates day decided to press ahead mally Transport submit

ITS

claims ano Genera will be frightened into reversing the union stand with big new pay 50,000 Ford work- Workers' Union national of Thursday, and officer who chairs claim regardless the on drainst une hick. largely sidestepped

NJNU,

oreseeis cuor onod Company But these the moment A meeting detailed reply manoeuvres are not al InIs Issue vested decisive. begins today when over stewards called for all ne 4. He told the meeting that million workers back to work strategy engineering go to ensure But even Ford's first re the question the how they can detend their OWIl mat uner memoers asola acons are luwarus and rights. tions becomes a reality hostile. would nave o e ceciceo next year's pay Apart from a substantial after the company's reply The main must the the claim was Issues betore them For stew- increase in work- received May call from

AUEW

president Hugh Scanlon Evans's aros Charman • nana. es week messaut take matters into their own hands and defend way said afterwards, action big improvements not. meeting was That me com meant calling of which will tring bene. paro mpared could afford to the unlon boncy. bring them with 1971, and the issuing fits will drag policy of the had been a 2. IntO will Ine Day- salu unele Committee, National and particularly its Com- follow would depend on the control laws, even if nego- per cont increase munist Party membership, into the open.

tiations drag on beyond the this year And the company's reply duction amount of profit made per

TURN TO PAGE

side of the the 90- file huticulale was likely to lead to a vio- ient counter-reaction among the rank and file. "The situation is at flash- point, he said. 'It only needs a spark to set them ofi. There is a very strong plea from large sections of the member- ship for some short, sharp action followed by a concerted national policy? union's The north-eastern (Tyneside) district committee has already passed an emer- gency resolution calling on the involve national executive to the rank and file in industrial action. On Saturday a packed meet- ing of over 200 members of South Shields No. 1 AUEW branch suspended all business unanimously and passed resolution which: (1) Called on all members present at the meeting to go into their factories this morn- ing and insist that shop stewards and union delegates call factory meetings of all

AUEW

branches to discuss action in defence of the union.

(2) Demanded the immediate recall of the TUC to prepare a General Strike.

8 AUEW

Coventry No. branch has called on the exe- cutive council to recall the National Committee for an immediate total strike and to work to bring down the Tory government which is destroy- ing all the hard-won rights that union members have built'.

Coventry No. 25 AUEW branch also calls for a total strike and calls on the union to 'demand a recall of the TUC to call a General Strike to bring down the Tories and elect Labour government that must repeal the Indus- trial Relations Act and carry out socialist policies. • meeting yesterday. employee had risen from £11,000 to £13,500. He would not, however, discuss the decline in the rate at which Ford is earn- ing profit on its British investment; the decline which is the mainspring of its current drive to transfer sections of its production to Europe. at Ruskin Researchers Oxford, are be- College, lieved to be currently pre- paring a second model claim for Evans and the NJNC, on the lines of that submitted in 1971 when the union leaders settled for a secret-ballot settle- ment.

Scan page 3

'Lending rate' or bank rate'... rise means plunge into deep recession PAGE 2 Workers Press, Monday Decem THE BANK of Eng- land's minimum lend- ing rate is now at its highest level since World War II. It was raised from 7} per cent at the end of last week, equalling the level at the height of the 1967 monetary crisis. Minimum lending rate is the same thing as the old bank rate, renamed by the rubbish were

PILES

OF mounting up in the streets of Paris yesterday as a strike by and street-cleaners dustmen entered its fourth day. The strikers, mainly members of the Communist Party led CGT, have given the Paris coun- cil and the government a list of demands. These include a request financial compensation for having to start work early when snow has to be cleared, protective clothing for all employees, and

FROM PAGE 1

An industrial battle will in- evitably mean a major political showdown between the working class and the government on the issue of the law. It would be back to the days of the dockers' strike, when the Wholes Britain? Wes tion posed by Tory ministers. brings up the major This lesson to come out of the crisis faced by the AUEW. From the start of the cam- paign against the anti-union laws, it was clear that the was inseparable from fight the political fight to force the Tory government to resign.

The Communist Party and Hugh Scanlon firmly rejected this perspective. The Stalinists argued that the government could be forced to and nullify the Act. retreat Hugh Scanlon stated openly that the unions were not fighting a but one political battle, democratic rights. But we see these arguments Socialist Labour League

3RD ANNIVERSARY

OF WORKERS

PRESS

BUILD THE

REVOLUTIONARY

PARTY

GLASGOW

SUNDAY DECEMBER 17, 2 p.m Woodside Halls St George's Cross Speakers:

MIKE BANDA

(SLL Central tary) committee)

JOHN BARRIE

(YS rational committee) WILLIE DOCHERTY (chairmar Paisley Tenants' Action Com mittee. In personal capacity.)

lay December 11, 1972 lending rate also demonstrates Tory government two

BY JOHN SPENCER

months ago in an effort to ov ovenen Icds entry into the Common Mar- reduce 'psychological capital ket, which already flow short-term considerable flight impact of interest rate …london to these other duced a with centres. At the same time the capital to changes. BUTONt ven government is hoping to take little corresponding influx This semantic manoeuvre from the continent. the fact that out of circulation and conceal Calliol reduce the rate The latest balance-of-pay- or naton. capitallsm

TITICO

result of the Bank of figures show that des. ments towards recession deep As d of sterling the the midst of the international ano anes ove-de SeCore DElt ucall- the third increase in minimum lending the trade deficit for urace was. the fortnight- of this is higher past quarter France and Germany have lalc time since the raised their bank rates in re- nonev lor isveclacit wu non lilau all. y become even dearer, bringing 1 orles took olce have wetks anece further downturn Imports exceeded by £280m about increases also been prime depressed lending rates by the US period trom uly ti alcauy vcly over economic situation. October, showing that expor- British decisior 1 uc been unable to take ters have The rise in the minimum attempt to prevent the a change in the rota svstem At the moment, the council workers get two free days after Thev seven •avs IWOrK. want two days' rest every six days. The Paris Prefecture has dis- tributed plastic sacks and is not yet considering bringing the army guerrillas out of border REPEATED clashes between ucar une surcels. Palestinian commando units areas. It claims that to to aricc rota would mean Lebanese the change in and the army in- The clashes, which began 144 jobs. They dicate that the Beirut gov- cicdlina Friday and were repeated would prefer olustmeni ernment has succumbed to Saturday, began with an artil- continue with their seven-day Zionist pressure to drive the lery attack n Estinnon. Tse week! Lors nn solm em Le baLos army claimed the guerrillas had evacuate positions the WIln dsl datcanent reccied September. attack The Market all Atrer

VICIC

have been proved month alc Israeli ground and air forces

NIRC

is now an even greater spreading the general mood of against Palestinian refugee camps free militancy among workers. to trade unions uculale Hugh doubt SOuLI Cuntry. Scanlon here is absolutely no the Lebanese army attempiea to might dislike the fact, the That une working cascase close off the frontier regions to of democratic rights is strength and will to defeat the defence the Palestinians. government if it gets the call. the Tory Comsadoe WaLl government. Workers SUAlS Meetings have been taking Press this political struggle Because place (betweer tine l eovernmeni the

AUEW

was abandoned, the and the guerrilla command in an

AUN YY TO-

day stands alone, while almost Defence this union 'restore attempt normal con- class question because it is one all other unions have joined the The Palestinian delega alons of the major fighting organiza- into the arms of Sir denounced suannoere Tion The metnoc John. tions of the working class. It 1s which some Lebanese army units necessary to organize the widest But this trend tried to use against our militants can be IC- possible campaign in every are the over the versed clash and the wanle SUCUnon orGe! organize all unions, tenants the turning £50,000 could be of their command and who have been alert for days to commuutee. an• omner workin?. DULlIL. class organization in action be- Israel expected contront The cowardice of the TUC hind the engineers. aggression. is not reflected in the work- This the policy of the miners' strike, Following their recent attacks Action which the Ilk class nanelis the confrontation over All Trades Unions Alliance have across the Tite ceasenre dockers and now the into Syria, , the Israelis are widely anger called for. rumoured to be planning further the ranks in the • All out behind the engineers.

industrv show the enteerl aralls DaSC. • Mobilize the working class to in the Lebanon as well. working class is ready to fight.

force the Tories to resign.

Issues like the laws which ban Lebanese • Elect ( a Labour government wage increases and the prospect unlike the pledged to socialist policies.

: a vast rise in the of living guerrillas, stomach fo cost has no the • The time to fight is now.

a heht with the Lionists alter enliy common

THREE

ABOUT 250 engineers, victory, ing labour from dole since the miners

YEARS

made its way her he cally office which they other trade unionists would the Northern start work today. OF Young Club. and Socialists Loud applause se. TASS

WORKERS

marched through South Jack Grassby, chairman Joe McAlroy South called for es Union appre Shields on Saturday in a Saled When ne

PRESS

Council told Trades ciation the role rally called by the local the marchers: You Workers Press and 'its are not of coverage Trades Union Council in me ust lo ensace n sucl concll struggles for your rights. Barbours dispute. Chartists did the same support of the women 100 years ago. Greetings were conveyer Barbours' strikers at the demonstration OTkensponion and Paddy MacKay behal Rainwear. Joe Mills, Tyneside

AUEN

General Workers' of the

BIRMINGHAM

The strike, now entering organizer, district committee Iscıe a wara anc eighth to win ing that sanctions would Vince Foy, behalf of SUNDA, NLUEMOEM 11, 1 p.M.

on imposed against any Jarrow Trades Council. Bigbeth Civic Hall women's which offered comsan, Greetings also assistance to ooeaker. " barbours In wene Cries of "Tories Out- making up their goods. brought from South a. HEALT OLL Natonal secre he Tal rind End Police 'Recognize

AUEW

(No snierds, T&G' and Lloyd, Barbours' AITKIN (YS national USic 200 branch, were over strike committee secretary, committee) Violence' greeted the members had unanimously (Rover shop appealed for a mass pıcket nol sanes passed resolution of shoppers the liveliest for stewara. in dersonai capaciy.

Tonls mordid pecaus march seen in the town Barbours had been recruit- support for the strikers.

CORIN REDGRAVE

(Equity. In a personal capacity.) advantage of the competitive edge which devaluation should have given them. So-called invisible earnings mainly income from such ser- vices as insurance and bank- ing-rose by £15m above the second-quarter figure, but at £174m are still well below the figure for 1971. equivalent British industry, faced with sharply increased competition from abroad, is falling behind in the struggle for overseas markets. The Tories' answer is on in- a further clamp-down dustrial investment which can only lead to increased un- employment. CHILEAN President, Salvador Allende, left the Soviet Union over the weekend en route to Havana, where he will confer with Fidel Castro. A statement issued in Moscow said the Soviet government had agreed to increase its trade with aid for factory- Chile with building projects and for the copper and fishing industries.

A Chilean diplomat involved in the talks said that the Soviet agreed to 'activate' Union had which had been pro- credits mised back in 1969. Not all of Chile's trading part- ners are so tardy in building up their investments in its industry.

Last week, the Spanish gov- ernment granted the Popular Unity government £15 m credit.

This is one of the results of the visit to Chile in 1971 of Lopez Bravo, Franco's Foreign Minis- ter. The credit will be used to establish plant in Chile which will use Spanish-made machinery.

ENASA-the lorry. company jointly owned by British-Leyland and the Spanish government—is expected Chile to set up a branch soon. union

TURKEY'S

trade top leader has warned of a mount- ing , restlessness among workers which could lead to a General Strike. Senator Halil Tunc who heads the 'yellow' trade union con- federation, said in a statement at the weekend that there was con- cern about what he termed the future of the country's 'demo- cratic regime and workers were demanding the restoration of their full rights. Trade union rights have been greatly curtailed by the military regime, which has held the country's 1l most populous provinces under martial law since it seized power in April 1971. Strikes, union rallies and workers' demonstrations are banned in the provinces. The regime has spearheaded an attack on wages and working conditions in the factories. Tunc said the main causes of the un- uncertainty over rest were social security benefits, rising prices and lock-outs.

Scan page 4

German car workers. Ford's plans for a A recent visit by con- venors from Ford of Bri- tain to their opposite numbers in Germany pro- duced valuable some insights into what the multi-national giants, along with the Tories, are preparing for the British working class inside the Common Market. Giants like Ford's already have plans well advanced for a fully-integrated European Ope- ration. Rationalization has re- those operations duced in Britain which are duplicated in Europe. Tooling re-organiza- tion has closed Doncaster and pig iron requirements for Da- genham will be supplied from continental production. This will enable Ford to close the blast furnace. A European conference on Knock Down (KD) operations, held recently in Dagenham, stressed the need for a 'Euro- pean outlook' on packaging, 'in order to survive'. Fears have been expressed in Dagen- ham KD about operations con- cerning the falling work load and attempts to contract-out work. Furthermore, there is no escape for those plants that remain. Shop stewards at Da- genham body plant have been informed on several occasions that, by continental standards, they are 40 per cent over- manned. Ford produces exactly the same Cortina in Germany, Belgium and England! A short run-down on the main provisions of the labour laws of the Federal Republic of Germany shows exactly where the industrial Relations Act came from and why the big monopolies are so anxious to enter the Common Market.

These labour laws restrict all the rights of the German and immigrant workers in order to force from them pro- ductivity levels tu make the British monopolist drool. A labour court sits at the centre of these state laws as final lans for a fully-integrated European Operation ‹ arbiter whose decisions are en- forceable by fines and impri- sonment. All strikes are illegal. Before a case reaches a labour court, a conciliation committee arbi- trates. These committees have an equal number of workers' and employers representatives, independent well as an as chairman, mutually agreed.

The labour laws control supervision of elections to workers' councils by secret ballot and even removal of workers' council men from office. These labour courts can even enforce direct supervision of election. Workers who are members of political organiza- tions proscribed by state law are barred from holding office and it is illegel to canvas for political views on the shop floor. German employers have an equal right to run a non-union establisment as the men have to join a union, as long as they abide by state law in the elec- tion of works councils. Where do the trade union bureaucrates fit into this scheme? They simply act in an advisory capacity at factors level-their presence allowed at all meetings. Their main activity is in industry- wide negotiations with employ- ers' federations. German trade unions are in- dustrially rather than occupa- tionally based. The outlook of these employers federations can be gauged by the fact that Ford of Germany is a member, a situation Ford would not tolerate in Britain. Section 43, paragraph (2) of state: 'An employer the 'laws' shall be invited to workers' meetings and departmental of meetings and notified the agenda. He shall be entitled to address the meetings and bring an associate from the local engineering employers' fede- ration. He can also convene meetings on request.' Section 79 binds all workers and employers' representatives to secrecy, on pain of fines or imprisonment, to all delibera- tions which the employer claims can damage or impair his profitability if revealed.

This means that the works' peration are already well advanced council is virtually the prisoner of the company, particularly since the employer is entitled to be present at all shop-floor meetings! The labour courts can pass judgement on works' stan- dards disputes, a vital area of struggle which decides man- ning levels, mobility of labour, etc. Part of the Tories' recent 'Fair Trading Bill' is an attack on workers in order to intro- duce a similar situation here.

The National Industrial Re- lations Court is going to be busy in the new year if this Bill becomes lawy Much of the enforced pro- ductivity of 'the German mir- acle' comes from the backs of immigrant workers. Ford's of Cologne has 10,000 Turks and 2,000 Italians out of a labour force of 22,000. These workers are often under contract for limited periods and are under the constant threat of depor- tation. Yet the German and immi- grant workers are not docile.

Massive strikes have rocked the major industries. While a high standard of living and full employment prevailed, em- ployers have been able to pro- ceed with labour laws that re- flected the Nazi Labour Codes.

However, as the crisis deep- ens and the world trade war bites into the German econo- different mood has my, a emerged in the working class.

As a result of the August 15, 1971, measures of US Presi- dent Nixon, profits have fallen dramatically in major car hrms like Volkswagen. In this context, the fight to force the Tory government to return a Labour resign and government which is forced to repeal all the reactionary legi- slation of the last two and a half years and to institute a socialist .. Parti- programme, cularly in relation to the na- tionalization of the monopo- lies, becomes extremely urgent.

No one can • doubt where all the preparations of this con- spiratorial Tory government lead. The Common Market conspiracy must be smashed!

A FORD SHOP STEWARD

Workers Press, Monday December 11, 1972 PAGE 3 The present slump in the of the National newspaper caused printing trade has Graphical Association, Mr Eastwood, Granville dramatic cutbacks in appren- general secretary of the Printing and tice intake compared with ten Kindred Trades Federation, years ago. At the London College of reveals these figures and says Printing, for example, the in- that practically all local Feder- take of apprentice compositors ations throughout England and has dropped 90 per Scotland are reporting a falling cent in In off in the number of appren- the last other ten years. sections of the print industry tices because of the state of in London, the drop has been the trade. A large part of the trouble, just as great, as can be seen from the table below. he says, is that employers are Writing December in the not replacing apprentices when 'Print, issue of the monthly they become journeymen. Changes in numbers of apprentices at the London College of Printing from 1962-1972. Apprenticeship 1962 1972 percentage cutback Compositors 400 40 90% Letterpress-machine 450 50 89% Print finishing 80 45 44% Photogravure 90 100% Photolithography 75 30 60% Members of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers should not be too concerned about the departure of their merchant banking advisers, Hill Samuel. Chairman of the bank is Sir Kenneth Keith, knighted by the Wilson government, who is one of the highest Tories in the land. A week after he appeared on Wilson's honours list his bank's accounts showed that he had Scanlon kindly donated £25,000 to the Tory Party's funds to help in number of lunches he enjoyed the General Election. with Keith. On September S The 1971 accounts showed 1968, he wrote: Today that Hill Samuel and Philip lunched with Kenneth Keith at Hill Investment Trust, where Hill Samuel, He had no specific information, but it was Keith is also chairman, whipped clear another £15,000 into the Tory he and his like are making a coffers. great deal of money. Keith is also a director of 'If they were doing badly we Times Newspapers should hear much more of the and plays a strong role with Lord Shaw- critical times in which we live.

cross and Lord Robens He said profits last year were in keeping The Times' and "The 40 per cent up on the previous Sunday Times' firmly in sup- year and this year are 40 per cent up on the last.' port of Tory policies. On the face of it, Keith cer- his recently published diaries, the former head of the tainly a strange bed- seems Daily Mirror' Cecil fellow for Hugh Scanion. But group, Harmsworth King, described a nothing days! surprises these Dear Editor, are reminded to chasers in- In this day when the working clude the cost of their own class is engaged in struggles solicitor.' The council states decent living that you can either to maintain pay in wage and is restricted to basic or take a council mort- cash minimums of around the £20 gage. Repayments for a £13,000 £100.71 mark, the following council house 1S an are extract from a letter my friend monthly. received from Croydon Council As you can see the building regarding the of a of Councils of Action and the purchase council house. nationalization of land, build- The price range, he was told, and ing societies contracting £8,000 between would firms is urgent necessity vary an £16,000 -for and I pledge my support to and a house which is 15 years old. the Socialist Labour League to Legal fees council help these policies. to carry out Yours faithfully, would be £68.50; land registry fees £45.90 and stamp duty F. Nevill, New Addington, £65. Croydon. The letter went on: 'Pur-

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EZRA POUND: POET

OF IMPERIALIST DECAY

PAGE 4 Workers Press, Monday Decem The death of the Ameri- can poet Ezra Pound, who was jailed after the war as a traitor for his broadcasts on behalf of Mussolini's regime, has brought numerous as- sessments of his work. A scurry of apologists have provide tried to plausible accounts of his political career and his relations with fascism.

They either make no mention of his anti-Semitism or refer to it only as an unfortunate aberration. To understand Pound's position we have first to examine the role of the artist in capitalist society. Art is one finds his of the ways man bearings in the world, defines his relationship to objective reality and attempts to objec- tify consciousness, his thoughts, in order to reach others. But it is more than simply this. Art must also serve a class role in society. As Marx in The writes German Ideology': "The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e. the class which is the ruling material force of society is at the same time its ruling intellectual force. The class which has the means of material production at its dis- posal, has control at the same time over the means of mental that thereby, production, so generally speaking, the ideas of those that lack the means ot mental production are sub- iect to it.' Here Marx is not merely philosophical talking about ideas, but also of all the ways in which these philosophical ideas are propagated spread-and one of the most effective methods is through fostering of a 'cultural the heritage' of artistic production embodying, as Marx puts it, 'the dominant material relation- ships grasped as ideas. the ideas of its dominance' capitalists talk When the about 'culture' or 'art', there- fore, they refer to something with a definite class content.

Like all consciousness it has its material origins in the class struggle, and of course in such a struggle it cannot be neutral.

determined Pound, as a sees 'culture' idealist, as an with its origins in abstraction, gifted individuals and in danger of being crushed by the ignor- ance of the masses. For a writer who holds such • the fore- a view of 'culture' most question in his mind is perpetuation of the élite the which has produced 'master- pieces' in the past, and the assertion of the importance and special insight of gifted men poets, painters, such as soldiers, etc. insight is seen This as the material from separate circumstances which restrict it to only a certain section of a certain privileged class, and, this process of through abstraction, is made to seem an almost di. ine quality, com- mon to a special breed of man.

This conception of the 'great man' has a history in English The first clear literature. beginnings of it are to be found in the Romantic conception of the 'poet' as a leader of men, as set forth by Wordsworth, and most clearly by Shelley.

This idea was taken together German idealism by with ay December 11, 1972 Left to right: Victor Pl Carlyle or 'great man' to sei squalid capitalist England ar benevolent actator. Shades of these id in Tennyson's poetry After the middle the symbolist and increa approaches Jeclive accentuated the regara tne poet as su immaterial, separate with powers superio of mere men. extended to appeared to be spec Yeats tendencies in his ea together with reacuonary aristocracy. as a bridge between of capitalist rivalry epoch of imperialist sented poetically Pound. What form conception idealist Pound's verse together writings, of his fellow-think S. Eliot Lewis, show gust and loathing of of monopoly vulgarization its its profiteering, ing, and its refusal the mass of the pop The difference Pound's hatred of th on 'the cultural he a scientific mental, however. not see the capitalist the root cause and suffering, merely to the sympt the problem ship from a 'culture strong man. from which Pound w 19th early industrialized, towards poetry tendency to creature, Those wine poems, real and the Irish epoch and the Ezra such culture and prose with inose Yeats, Wyndham dis- with arts, OI Tine between and funda- Pound does of corruption but responds ge Moore, W. B. Yeats, Blunt, Ezra Pound, Rich in the 1930s to open advocacy of Mussolini's fascist regime.

As I have said, such ideas were not new in English liter- ature. What was new, however, was the material conditions in which such ideas became cur- rent. The age of imperialism period in precisely the which the ruling class requires ideas into to take such practice, in order to smash the organized working class. Thus, 1914: when Pound wrote •Democracies have fallen, have always • fallen, they because humanity craves the outstanding personality. And hitherto democracy has no provided sufficient place for such an individuality,' he was acting very much as part of the ideological vanguard of the cornered ruling class driven towards dictatorship. If we bear this in mind, it should not surprise us to find Pound say- ing of Mussolini: 'The fascist revolution was preservation

FOR

of the certain liberties and FOR the maintainance of a certain level of culture, certain standards of living, it was NOT a refusal to come down to a certain level of riches or poverty, but a refusal to surrender certain im- material prerogatives, a refusal to surrender a great slice of the cultural heritage' Pound, as a jealous guardian of this 'heritage', takes this kind of arrogant assertion and dictatorial manner into his poetry. Rather like T. S. Eliot, his voracious appetite for other people's masterpieces and his make this determination to • live on in his own culture work, fitted him to express in- directly, if not consciously, the barren wasteland of 20th century bourgeois art. For all the considerable and important changes in FORM brought about by Pound in his und, Richard Aldingion and F. S. Flint pictured poetry (the break from old metres, rhymes and images, the aside of Victorian smashing gentility and indirectness, for pungent and biting frankness), the ESSENCE-in other words philosophical content- the remains basically the same.

Pound's poetry rests on the basis of subjective idealism, the separation of cause and effect, subject and object, theory and practice. merely reflects the Pound confused world around him.

He does not start from the perspective of changing it. For him, change has to come from strong men such as Mussolini, imposing their will on the Pound's function is masses. merely to point out what is example is this wrong: an passage from his 'Hell' Cantos, with 'usura' or dealing here finance capital: the beast with a hundred legs, USURA and the swill full of respecters. bowing to the lords of the place, explaining its advantages, and the laudatores temporis acti claiming that the shit used to be blacker and richer and the fabians crying for the petri- fication of putrefaction, for a new dung-flow cut in lozenges, the conservatives chatting distinguished by gaiters of the back- great circle, scratchers insufficient complaining of attention the search without end, counterclaim for the missing scratch... Littered with past master- pieces, snippets of bourgeois economics, extracts from diaries, Chinese characters and quotations in nine different Pound's Cantos languages, really must strike the reader as a huge Sargasso Sea of dead learning, thrown up in verse it pictured in 1914. capitalist system as the very itself entered its final stage.

Pound throughout remains refusing to make him- anything more than an élite of intellect- uals, and offering them nothing more than the ideological re- quirements of the capitalist In other words, for class. Pound the only audience for his art was intended to be that section of society most intim- ately linked to the ruling class.

Culture for Pound was synonym for élitism. Does this mean there is no point in studying Pound's poetry? Not at all. But we must study with our eyes open to the positions he adopts. To that hatred for say capitalism is progressive with- examining precisely the out basis of that hatred in Pound would be extremely dangerous.

There are many passages where this lesson applies, where Pound unconsciously gives us a clear insight into the bank- ruptcy of contemporary society.

In the 'Hell' Cantos and in 'Hugh Selwyn Mauberly', Pound succeeds in making known the appearance at least of the objective world. Of course we must not forget the technical developments made by Pound either, since many further developments have been based on them. As an example of Pound's power and poetry, perhaps the best is these lines on World War I: "There died a myriad, And of the best, among them, For an old bitch gone in the teeth, For a botched civilization ..?

The 'old bitch', capitalism, is still claiming victims. Our task is to fight for Marxism against moralist and idealist conceptions which can lead so clearly towards fascism.

Scan page 6

NE VEUT

SAVOIR

RIEN

BY JUAN GARCIA

In 1970, June the Chaban-Delmas govern- ment brought a new law civil disorder- against *la loi anti-casseur'—onto the French statute books.

Part of the preparation for the next revolutionary of the development class after the working May June 1968 General Strike, article 314 de- clares: 'When, as the result of a concerted action, carried out openly, with force, of violence or assault and battery against people, or destruction and damage to property, the insti- gators and organizers of this action, as those who wel participated voluntarily, will Without prejudic. be punished, ing the application of heavier penalties inscribed law, sentences of one to five with years.' On November 27 Berlet, the producers of 1972, Berliet, buses and heavy-goods vehicles, brought nine workers before the court in Lyon under article 314. After the formal opening of the case. it was adiourned until December 18. Berliet is part of the Citröen group which, in turn, is con- trolled Michelin. The Michelin and Citröen factories specialize in employing immi-

MON

/MAITAL

DEMANDE

NETRAITE

PLUS

AMS

dool

VAMP

eSbT

FRENCH COURTS

AGAINST THE

TRADE UNIONS

from Spain, grant workers Portugal, Turkey and Algeria, and deportation threat to keep them in line.

surprise then that

IT IS NO

the Citröen-Berliet management should be the first to crack the legal whip against French trade unionists in the midst of cut- throat competition by the car- monopolies the Common of Market- -and on the eve Britain's entry. Citröen in Spain is already the decision by bitter about Franco to allow Henry Ford to set up a factory in Valencia.

The European lorry market is also tempting to investors Spain. British - Leyland manu- factures heavy goods vehicles in Spain through the ENASA company a branch of which is Pegaso that already has a con- firm tract with a Belgian to manufacture lorries in Bel- with cheap, made-in- Spain components.

PERTURBED

BY LOSSES

Berliet's profits for the first nine months of 1971 were 451 million francs compared with 388 million in 1972. Exports have been cut by a third in a year. Contracts with Cuba and Poland remain, but Paul Berliet has iust returned trom a tric to China without a contract signed. In France, the tonnage carried by lorries to be IS changed from 13 tons to 11 tons to bring France in line with the rest of the Common Market and that means expen- sive modifications in Berliet's factories, which are main sup- pliers to the domestic market.

These uncertainties are com- pounded by the failure of Citröen-Michelin to form a new coherent European multi- national with Fiat. Michelin is perturbed by the losses and continuous strikes in the plants of its Italian partner. Discussions are being held with Daimler-Benz which in- volve the future of Berliet, and perhaps Citröen itself. Whatever the outcome, the state of the European 'multi- national' is not one of harmony and high profits. The capitalist Utopia of the Common Market cannot break down the historical barriers of the nation-state, national currencies and the whole legacy of the out-worn system of private enterprise. French Communist The Party accepts the reality of the with the phoney EEC and policy of 'democratization' of the Market, puts the brake on : struggle against the mon- the opolies. So, the defence of the Berliet workers, which would mean striking the Pompidou at government, is subordinated to the nondisruption of the 'democratic' process-as if article 314 were not an attack on the real democratic rights of French workers! Workers Press, Monda Assembly-workers begin a dem- onstration in the Berliet factory near Lyons. Their trade union representatives are now being tried on riot charges. At a Paris rally on December 1, the electoral alliance of the left gathered some 50,000 sup- porters. The main speakers made no reference to the Lyons trial. On the contrary, Robert Fabre, president of the move- ment of the radical-socialist- left, proclaimed: 'As radicals, we have always been partisans of the owner- ship and control of the main means of production which dominate the economic life of the country. But we are also in favour of the necessary defence of private enterprise, of the middle-classes, of all those irreplaceable professions such farmers, artisans, small as traders, and small and average size industrial enterprises which make up the democratic tissue of our economy.? Francois Mitterand, of the Socialist Party, and Georges Marchais, secretary of the • Communist Party, French warmly applauded this classic eulogy of the petty-bourgeois.

This Communist Party Popu- lar Front camaraderie with the petty-bourgeois, who are the the CP's main target of electoral activities, is aimed at disarming the working class which faces employers, like Citroen, set on a course of destroying trade union organiz- ation. Since Berliet was taken over by the Citröen-Michelin group and the signing of the last agreement with the trades- unions two years ago, Paul Berliet who now owns only 20 per cent of 'his' factories in has been changing the Lyons, paternalist nature of labour relations in the factory.

His labour relations man, Monsieur Brégeon, has refused to open any negotiations with the trade-unions. When the CFDT called for negotiations on bonus payments and work- ing conditions, they were told quite sharply to look at state- ments issued by the company on 'its financial difficulties and a debt of 14 million new francs'. From July 1970, Brégeon trying to establish in has been its factories a branch of the CFT-the French Confeder- ation of Labour. This strike- breaking, company union is • well-implanted in the already Citröen car-factories. Congress The 4th of the CFT in 1969 described the as 'an

CFT

instrument of disinte- struggle against the gration of the nation' and the •defender of the family which is the basic cell in our society and the guardian of the moral values in our civilization' In July 1971, just before the summer holidays, the manage- ment ended a practice which had given the Berliet plant a reputation for liberal attitudes on the shop-floor-the right to hold meetings in the work- shops to discuss trade-union affairs. the holidays, the After struggle became more intense.

For nine weeks, the trade- union leaders called a series of lightening strikes in the French Stalinists tradition, in pursuit of an additional monthly bonus of 200 francs and an increase in basic pay. Some high-points in this frenetic activity: in CD shop No. 4 800 workers stopped work 16 times on one day; in another shop, there have been 235 hours of short stoppages.

Hubert Mazoyer, a technician member of the leftist Unified Socialist Party claimed: It needs a higher level of con- sciousness for short strikes than for an indefinite strike.'

Sometimes, the short strike into a demon- is escalated stration through the factory or a mass-meeting. Paul Berliet has met the guerrilla tactic with a series of 'shock' actions. It is one of his boasts that 'I have read Mao'.

On November 15, he issued ss, Monday December 11, 1972 PAGE 5 a communiqué announcing that i Berliet 'was to give up its development in the region of Lyons where until now it has built all its new factories..

it will move to regions which have a tradition of greater social calm'. When the workers were told of the financial problems, they answered that production has gone up over the last 15 months without technical modifications although 1500 jobs have been lost. There can be no doubt that this is true. It is also true that the Berliet branch of Citröen- Michelin faces serious financial difficulties. These are problems which cannot be solved by half-hour strikes or by the cry of Berliet can pay' . The application of article 314 against nine workers at the Lyons plant for organiz- ing a demonstration in the factory makes the political nature of the attack quite clear.

The Communist Party insists that all that is needed is a little When 120,000 more pressure. workers struck in the Lyons region and 20,000 demonstrated on the day of the trial, the CP said the main achievement was the agreement by Edgar Faure, Minister of Social Affairs, to see CGT and CFDT represent- atives about the trial. is one of the Yet Faure architects of the corporatist which Pompidou's measures government would like to im- pose. He has outlined a new law on work-contracts which is supposed to protect the worker against unfair sackings-—in fact, any worker who breaks a con- tract through striking un- officially will be liable to the sack and the payment of com- pensation to his employer!

The Berliet trial comes at a time when the bourgeoisie in France has begun a consistent policy of court actions against workers. From Caen to Brest and Lyons, workers were on trial in November for pursuing their struggle against the employers.

In the court at Caen, the prosecutor ended his statement against workers who had occupied their Ferodo factory with these edifying remarks: 'Whatever the regime, there can be no work without hierarchy, there has to be leadership, order or else you have anarchy. These actions are against the organization of society, the organization of labour. The CP and the left-groups who demonstrated back in June 1970 against article 314 now try to paralyse the working- class. Some groups thought the abortion case in Bobigny was more pressing-front page news for trendy women's lib.

Ligue The Pabloites of the Communiste complained in the abstract about more repression and relegated Berliet to page seven of 'Rouge', their weekly paper. Stephan Just, of the revision- ist OCI, told his readers in October that the "loi anti- casseur" could not possibly be used against a working-class which was prepared to fight.

The workers in Berliet and the French working-class face legal attacks and unemploy- ment as they struggle against inflation in the Common Market, tied to a Communist Party which is fighting an election with the liberal businessmen in the radical movement. A leadership must be built in the French working-class which will demand that the CP and the SP break from • the radicals and put forward socialist programme of nation- alization of the basic industries without compensation under workers' control as rejection of the capitalist conspiracy of the Common Market and as part of the construction of the of United Socialist States Europe.

Scan page 7

PAGE 6 Workers Press, Monday December

BY JOHN SPENCER

President Nixon has nominated Peter Brennan as his new Labour Secre- tary. Brennan (54) is president of the New New and York City. York State Building and Construction Trades Councils. Described "New the in York Times' as 'well-dressed, well-fed and well-mannered', Brennan is an active church- goer and a Boy Scout organizer in his spare time. He is also a vice-president and director of the Police Athletic League of New York. anti- He is an extreme communist who organized his 'hard-hat' union members to beat up anti-war demonstrators in New York two years ago.

His friendship with President Monday December 11, 1972 has Nixon dates from this time.

Nixon considered Brennan's public demonstration of sup- port for the Vietnam war was reassuring and 'very meaning- He invited ful'. the labour leader to the White House, where Brennan presented him a hard with hat and an American flag lapel pin. Though a Democrat, Bren- nan was one of the few trade union chiefs to give uncritical support to Nixon for the presi- The majority of unions dency. in the AFL-CIO led by Meany supported George ne' cher McGovern nor Nixon.

The White House has con- firmed that Brennan's appoint- ment was cleared beforehand Meany and with Team- with sters' leader Frank Fitz- who endorsed simmons, Nixon's bid for re-election.

Meany issued a statement of confidence that Brennan would be a 'very fine Secretary of Labour'. while Fitzsimmons declared the nomination was 'further proof' of the Presi- dent's make intention to labour 'an important part of administration'. his second In a telegram to Brennan, Frank Bonadio, president of the AFL-CIO's Building and Construction Trades Depart- and Robert Georgine, ment, pledged secretary-treasurer, 'total co-operation' and praised Nixon for 'good judgement'.

They were not the only people to welcome Brennan's appointment. Extreme right- Republican James L. wing successful Buckley, whose Senate campaign was supported by Brennan, said: 'Hard-hatism is what America needs at the moment' Not all sections of the trade unions are in favour of Brennan or his new job, however. One anonymous officer of an in- dustrial union was quoted as saying that the nomination was "a beautiful pay-off to one of the worst elements in the labour movement'. And Joseph Beirne, leader of the Communications Workers of America, added a note of warning to his con- Brennan's gratulations on appointment. He said that Martin Durkin, former plumbers' union chief who held the Labour Secretary's job under Eisenhower, had shown that it was 'difficult for a labour leader to live up to his trade union principles when required by an administration to per- which are highly form acts detrimental' American to workers. Other critics concentrated on Brennan's abysmal record of opposition to the recruit- ment of black construction *. Joseph Rauh, of workers. Americans for Democratic Action, said the new Labour 'clearly Secretary was repre- of those elements sentative within the labour

SOCHCIL

who have opposed all efforts ensure minorities rights to jobs. Herbert Hill of the National the Advance- Association for ment of Coloured People, was He outspoken. CYCl issued a bitter statement that said, in part: 'This is appointment of more in long senes political pay-offs to the enemies population. For oI the black than quarter of 11101 Peter Brennan has realousl protected and lefended the racist practices ol the bullding trades unions.'

Other critics quoted Bren- nan's remarks at a conference on minority opportunities in Brennan (below left) came Nixon's attention organizer building workers w hO demon. broke student airatione againet the left). nam mar Wilbur Mil Not Me Cog like Renublicans builders' helmets and (below right). secretar • anomi eder of the AFLiMo, seen we comer (above) with Nixon. inced: 'We had that from the communists Ronais men is describe Press secretary, evamnle the best character and strength admin- insate use or Brennan Pes friend agonited lokour Press, Monday December 11, 1972 PAGE 7 intends to bring more trade union people into the Labour Department. There they will have the job of selling Nixon's laws, plans anti-strike wage controls and attacks on the unions. The fact that his appoint- endorsed by ment has been Meany, Fitzsimmons and other union chiefs indicates a power- ful swing towards corporatism in the top circles of the US union leadership. They are responding to the requirements of big business as Nixon gears up for a second struggle with term working class. He has already promised even tougher wage controls when the third phase of his wage policy comes in in April. Many big contracts come up for negotiation next year and fierce strike battles are antici- Ironically, some of pated. Brennan's own 600,000 mem- bers in New York City and the surrounding state are now on strike. The strike began on July 1 and is still going on. Brennan said long strikes did not help anybody and 'we should do all we can' to avoid them.

Scan page 8

PAGE 8 Workers Press, Monday Decem Following the articles 'Reneg dealing with the situation in now goes on to examine the revisionist Unified Secretariat national, The International Ma An unprincipled cover-up How do Mandel, Maitan, Frank and Hansen deal with the virtual civil war within the Unified Secre- tariat? By conducting an honest political discus- sion in which tendencies come out into the open? That would be the met- hod of Bolshevism even if the result were to be a split. But it is not the method of the revisionist gentlemen. On the contrary, they seek to do little organizational 'clean- a up' job while studiously avoid- ing all the political questions.

The 'Fact-Finding Commis- sion' into the International Marxist Group (IMG) in Bri- tain was specifically instructed in November 1971 to find the 'facts' and ignore the politics.

'facts' As if, for a Marxist, could exist as things in them- selves, apart from their poli- tical setting. Yet the Commission mem- bers say: 'We were asked very explicitly not to enter into the political differences between the IMG majority and the ten- dency [minority] and we did not do so? (Page 3.)' The reason for this is obvi- ous. To deal with the politics would have split not only the IMG, but the Unified Secre- tariat as well. As it was, two separate statements were by members of the issued Secretariat following the Com- mission's report. One-signed by eight members of the Sec- retariat including Mandel Frank, and Maitan)defends the IMG leadership. (Page 7.)

It declares: 2. Most of the considera- tions included in the Fact- Finding Commission's report start from the assumption that the main responsibility for up- the principles of holding democratic centralism inside a Leninist organization lies with the leadership. There can be no dispute about this. But it cannot be applied in a mech- without taking anical way, into consideration concrete circumstances. To put the blame for all the organizational incidents on the majority in a one-sided man- ner, judging not on the basis of a concrete examination of the mechanics and background incident, but rather of each on the basis of the general abstract rule that on principle the main responsibility lies with the majority, does not permit an understanding of the real internal process in- side the IMG. There is no doubt that the IMG leadership has made many mistakes in regard to the minority and that most of the sanctions taken are in- defensible. But there is also no doubt that minority com- rades have behaved in a pro- vocative way in several stances. When the leadership of the lay December 11, 1972 •Renegades from Trotskyism' tion in Ceylon, JACK GALE ine the British section of the retariat of the Fourth Inter- onal Marxist Group (IMG).

minority states that it would not recognize suspensions de- cided by the majority, such a challenges statement clearly the right of the leadership to lead the organization. When a leader of the minority takes the initiative of setting up a political book service without the previous agreement of the this again party leadership, indicates a very clear attitude towards this leadership. : circumstances Under these the question whether the for- mal rules were or were not broken can at the very least not be the only one posed.

can easily acknowledge One that the minority has oper- capably within ated more these rules. Whether they res- pected the general principle of majority rule and abstained from any provocation towards a young and still partially im- mature leadership -that is an entirely differ- ent matter. Minority alleges 'bureau- catic arrogance' But five members of the Secretariat would not go along this. And they would with certainly have the support of Hansen. In a separate state- ment they declare: (Pages 8-9.)

Our statement is intended merely to indicate where with the criti- disagree we cisms levelled against the re- port of the Fact-Finding_Com- mission by Walter, Pierre, Petersen, Kurt, Delfin, Livio, Pia and Ghulam. consisted of a One side minority seeking through poli- tical argument to gain a maj- ority to its views. The other side consisted of a majority that represented more than a grouping inside the IMG; it held responsibility for leader- ship in the organization as a whole, and in this position it the power to impose held organizational measures be- arguing for its group sides views. As the leadership of the IMG, the majority held a special responsibility to safe- guard the democratic rights of minority. The majority the leadership did not safeguard the democratic rights of the minority. It imposed organiza- tional measures. Moreover, constituted these measures gross violations of the norms of democratic centralism.

The Fact-Finding Commis- sion cited three flagrant in- stances, and presented major pieces of evidence concerning them. The Commission thus came to its conclusions not because of a 'general abstract rule that on principle the main responsibility lies with the majority'. It based its conclu- series of specific sions on a instances all involving con- crete violations of the norms of democratic centralism which the majority was duty bound to uphold. their statement, 3. In Walter, Pierre, Livio, Peter- sen, Kurt, Delfin, Pia and Ghulam seek to excuse the abuses committed by the Mandel, one of the leadershi majority

IMG

the groun on

IMG

very 1s , that it ization', still and leadership', portant part of the has been a short truth • is

DOLLARL

majority leadershi seasoned; it has b Trotskyist long time. This sect the oppose norms of democra In fact gathered by that chow chiefly responsible ing the measures t of the violation The levelled by Livio, Petersen, Pia ana although expressed views tion, Fact-Fin the as a wou investigate or backgrou political 'sanctions' taken minority. matters were beyor of inquiry set for as indicat A much more im of inquiry sion's work were t expanded - would determination of t of the organization employed against t and the meaning the Fourth Interna On the face of it lutely clear taken against were traditions movement. In then, do they fall? One of the mem Commission, who has had som experience in movement. but it mixture.of irrespor competence bureaucratic arroga procedures Scottish cases, of small-tir fakery cratic labour TeP world over'. Indeed, such belong demanding that co a public statement what they falsehoods, as entra bers of a minori cases), as removing ship of a branch so it was won over to as DON LIOn. ers for the way t National IM as censuring memb ning charges giving them a hea le of the elahi leadership the he grounds that the very young hat it has a 'young partially immature "іт- that an that an im- 1S of the

IMG

leadership is well been in the movement violations of the evidence was ponsible for initiat- ensures that were in the of norms c centralism. main criticism Walter, Pierre, Delfin, Ghulam that members views on the ques- com- whole not indicate the the background to against the However

SUCI

ere beyond the scope for the Com- s indicated above. 1 more important area Commis- — if the k were to have been _ would have tion of the character anizational measures against the minority of this for of it, it is abso- that the the minority the Trotskyist what category, fall? the members of the Diego, 40 years' had some Trotskyist The put it down as in- and just plain tic arrogance'. In the To lowed ases, he was struck resemblance 'the to small-time bureau- well-known in the movement school practices g that comrades sign statement containing consider to be , as entrapping mem minority (Scottish removing the leader- branch solely because n over to a minority censuring mem- Conference ng members without ges against them m a hearing, as en- bers of the Secretariat who gaging We do not belie leaders of the IM conscious v borrowe of Stalinism school they did not that of what doing. disturbing question How is it to be exp majority Trotskyist into such a pattern? And how Pierre, Livio, Peter Delfin, Pia, and Gh position rationalize magnitude on grou inexperience, lack of capacity of tl leadership, and- on grounds comrades have beh provocative way nstances'? Are the be blamed for their rights because voked' the authoriti Yes, some tions reading of assembled by the F Commission. are not of the natur the statement Livio, Pierre, Ghulam. The Secreta masked What we have b split betw only a irreconcilable split in the Secret But principled gentlemer t? They seek to gl As in Ceylon, unple are swept under political principles all hands turn wel-known routine organizationa an which will allow ev proceed as before. Accordingly, Secretariat combine a unanimous letter 1 which totally ignore tical questions and involved. After of right-win mess developments inside was ton-wnich not politically oeuvre and revisionist leaders peal to all concerne togetner ano conflict. (Page 4.) publish Rarely cipled document by issued an leadership claiming skyist TO one o (To the Intery Marxist Group. While we I the IM( physical lot believe that the majority the IMG • borrowed from the Stalinism. We think the did not grasp f what they were vertheless a most question remains to be explained that ty leadership in fell organization ¡ pattern? could Walter, Petersen, Kurt, and Ghulam reach trying to such mistakes ot on grounds of the immaturity, and acity of the majority worse- and-still that 'minority have behaved in several violations of ; because they 'pro- authorities? big ques- evidence However, they the nature suggested Walter, Petersen, Kurt, retariat un- totally position MC_but a 8-5 e Secretariat itself. these highly- gentlemen do about ek to gloss it over. on, unpleasant facts the carpet, principles inds turned to the routine - hinding formula allow everything to the Unified combined to send is letter to the IMG Ily ignored the poli- and principles exposing political ats inside was dealt with by but evasion - the leaders simply ap concerned to worl avola politica this letter. such an have been ner ora claiming to be Trot- its sections: International st Group. differing 1 the IMG leadership. on the eva lating of the (see separate attached to the repo unanimously prement mendations: all the ct that and disciplinary act against tendency including censures, be includes, among censure of Comrad charges and against Comrade charges and against the That the IMG make every effor ntegration of tend bers into meaningf - especiall activity work, the expansior circulation of 'Inter Press', and contraception where their cannot come into c emcient and entnu This gagement. assure a fraternal inside the which all contributions the completely cise members under the norms of centralism. the majo That the tendency that t recruitment be uniformly applie the basic such a way as minority comrades organization. 4) That within this of democratic right sincerely minority and and recognizes elected leadership organiza lon activity, and that pates in public IM though even with which it disag The implementati recommendations interest of the deve democracy and poli the inter and Is I the IMG as a who Fourth Internationa We urge the lea world movement to in this effort. The Unified Ser

TOMORROW: THI

IST WORKERS PA

IMG.

' All page referenc out these articles 'Report of the Commission Secretariat on Situation within dated March 12, i ly applied and that organizational unit G be composed in y as not to isolat omrades within th thin this framew atic rights, the Il sincerely respects discipline es. party the of right dership to lead the in day-to-day nd that it partici- ublic IMG activities there are many a it disagrees. the the development of and political clarity the interest of both as a whole and the ernational. • the leaders of tl ement to collabora

THE SOCIAI

references through- articles are to the of the Fact-Finding on of the Unified Internal it on the within the Inter-

Scan page 9

WORKERS ZHUKOV AND THE

NOTEBOOK WAR GLORY CULT

REACTIONARY

GIGGLES •

John Wells, has taken a break from writing weekly lampoons in 'Private Eye' to contribute an article to 'Punch'. • an anachronistic 'Punch' hangover from Victoriana, has invited writers and Wells to submit plans for their own political party. Wells, a buddy of Richard Ingrams and Paul Foot of the International Socialist group, postulates that 'public sym- pathy is heavily biased in favour of the sheep' (i.e., the working class). He therefore proposes 'The Great Capitalist Party of Britain'. He sees capitalists as the oppressed majority: such is ironic that oppression should exist in a country that officially calls itself capitalist. Communist countries have no such inhibi- tions; there red banners hang across the street, proclaiming communist dogma for of backsliders; edification • look his there a man can fellow man in the face, with- out hiding behind a capitalist silk scarf or bandying with pseudo-liberal jargon and say "I am a communist". 'Is it too much to hope that with the formation of the new Capitalist Party, the equivalent might one day happen here?

That a mill-owner, casting aside at last the cringing manners of the liberal, might stand and face his workers and say, "I am a capitalist, I vote capitalist. I live in a huge house far larger than any of and have larger yours, a colour television set. If you go asking for more money I on shall be forced to sell my wife's second car, throw the lot of you out of work, and and exploit your pro- go letarian colleagues elsewhere"!

That brand named products might one day have capitalist propaganda printed on the packet? That one day the Mall might be hung with azure banners saying, "Victory to the Capitalist Party of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Special offer £20 incl Complete the form belo address of person to whon paper sent.

NAME

ADDRESS

Date to start sending Amount enclosed (£20) £. Complete form and post in

WORKERS PRESS CIRC

186a CLAPHAM HI

LONDON, SW

in its heroic struggle to knock down St Paul's Cathedral and build a new multi-storey car park" ...? 'In my imagination I can see it now, "Guilford Capi- talist Party Solidarity with US Imperialism and Boo Sucks To The Ghastly Little Men Who , Capitalist Clean The Sewers", Matrons covered with medals won in the Class War, tongues stuck proudly out at the walking wounded of the same conflict who gloomily line the route, hoping to curry favour occasional with the austere "Hurrah"? Mr Wells thinks his article is a splendid jape. It's all a giggle. But his concepts, whether couched in joke language or not, reflect deep reaction. No wonder he and William Rush- ton, another 'Eye' personality, be given so much time on can television and the capitalist so-called out- Press. Their fact rageousness' in purveys anti-working class and extremely right-wing views.

His cheque from 'Punch' will be in the post shortly...

THE FRENCH

'LEFT'

The servility of the left' groups in France before the electoral machine of the French Communist Party is without limits. After a recent discussion between two delegations of the CP and the Unified Socialist Party (PSU) of Michel Rocard, PSU national committee mem- ber Robert Chapuis com- plained that the CP had accused the PSU of 'unworthy electoral preoccupations'.

Chapius then outlined the great principles which were at stake in the inter-party nego- tiations: 'We are not asking the CP to sign our manifesto or open up negotiations with revolu- tionary organizations. We only want the CP to recognize that we exist.' £20 includes postage m below with name and to whom you would like the 1 post immediately to:

S CIRCULATION DEPT.,

AM HIGH STREET,

ON, SW4 7UG

Commanders - 3: 'Georgl The Zhukov, Marshall of the Soviet Union'. Producer Barry Hastings.

Director Maurice Kanarech. Tues- day December 5, 9.25 p.m.

Play for Today: 'Just Your Luck'.

McDougall. Producer By Peter Graeme McDonald. Director Mike Newell. BBC 1, Monday December 4, 9.25 р.т. The white-washing job in this week's episode of 'The Commanders' series was even more sickening considering the impact of some of the film used— when history was gouged out of unwilling sockets and thrown in dislocated lumps onto the screen. Georgi Konstantinovich Zhukov forged ahead from his beginnings, humble peasant leaving behind his love of the countryside and harvest to leave home at the age of ten in the big city - for life Moscow. We observed his hearty career through the brutal NCO training and army glory in World War I under Tsar Alex- ander Ill. Be we were hardly prepared for the quick dip in and out of the 1917 Revolution (a brief but stirring glimpse of Lenin) and the subsequent civil war and building of the Red Army (no mention of Trotsky, with- out whose tireless energy the Red Army would never have fought in the existed or manner it did. There was no further men- tion of Trotsky throughout, therefore. And - hardly sur- prising-only a couple of sen- tences were devoted to the purges of the 1930s on the pretext that 'in his memoirs, Zhukov skated swiftly over this passage'. No one deemed it necessary to mention that 350 generals, many of them Zhukov's colleagues, were murdered or imprisoned during these trials. The did commentator wonder though whether, after Zhukov met Stalin, the general ever brooded over the fact that he was 'now the col- league of the man who had murdered thousands of his own colleagues. On the whole it is more credible that Zhukov, arrant bureaucrat and careerist that he was, was more constantly preoccupied with the business of military strategy and his own position. Not without reason, this changed rapidly in the 1920s and 1930s until he reached an eminent spot among Stalin's favourite clique of Marshals who dexterously, no doubt bloodily, sur- and vived the purges and went on to prove himself in the war against Japan in Mongolia in 1939. As the commentator enthu- siastically puts it: 'He had the killer instinct which makes great commanders.' He was also known to sack on the spot any soldier who showed insubordination and to drive his troops regardless of loss. But he was a commander of extraordinary ability. And it was in World War II, from the moment he took over from Voroshilov at Leningrad, that he began to reveal his accom- plishments. Although he was purported to have said: 'Stalin is the greatest authority of them all, Workers Press, Monda Zhukov, one of the few generals to sur his tactics saved Russia both in the face of the formidable Nazi opposition (Leningrad, Stalingrad, Moscow), and in the face of the crass mis- calculations of Stalin himself.

In fact he was to disagree with Stalin several occa- on sions, despite a relationship which between the two men was to shape Russian history' and the 'deep, if wary, mutual respect... forged between them' accompanied The film was by Frank Gillard's pomp and is a It circumstance tones. voice resurrected for a very specific purpose-Gillard was war correspondent and a friend of Montgomery to this day-for literal and figurative flag-waving near militaristic hysteria ('on his shoulders and his alone the fate of Russia depended ... the peasant's son against the German Junkers').

new peak in It reaches a the recent cult for nostalgic individualistic war-glory and heroism of the most ominous kind • that has been flooding television screens of late.

But it did more-it obscured real issues, such as Zhukov's criticisms hostility and Stalin which reached a high peak after the war; his dis- missal and subsequent re- instatement; his inititiation of the intervention into Hungary in 1956; and his swift dis- missal yet again by Khrush- chev in 1957. Yet even such a grotesque play at 'history' could not obscure the Russian people themselves, the desperate in the streets of workers Leningrad, the frozen figures on the snowbound wastes of the World War II battlefields -the 20 million who were to 38, Monday December 11, 1972 PAGE 9 als to survive Stalin's purges.

die in that war. And, above them all, the spectre of Bol- shevism, yes, and of Trotsky.

The true, living Russian his- tory, in full, uncorrupted and uncensored during the last 60 years, has yet to be seen on any of our screens. And for nourishment of different kind, the middle- classes must turn with relief to the sort of travesty of a working-class world that 'Just Your Luck' revealed in Play for Today this week. The women in curlers, the drunks, the layabout unem- ployed, the unrelieved squalor and desolation, tricked out in what television drama loves to sport as 'realism', must have confirmed, agreeably for many, backwardness the working class, the truth in and middle-class despair apathy and likeminded shrug- gings of responsibility. Writer Peter McDougall appears to have abandoned his history with a sort of male- volent disregard of facts and reality, kindling a portrait with such theatrical contempt as to make a mockery of the world about him. Consequently, the objective generally, and in situation Glasgow in particular (highest unemployment in the country, simply turns the tables on the piece and shows it for a crude charade — a faithless and totally unrealistic sight of a working class, which, with all the innate conservatism and confusion that exists in all of us, has never been stronger, more aware, more disturbed to the point of unavoidable action.

Scan page 10

PAGE 10 Workers Press, Monday December 11, 1972 One of the reasons for As each week of the state pay law passes, more and more state control of wages, we workers beginning to are were told by the Tory understand just what the Tory 'anti-inflation' package means. government's Press agen- The fradulent of the nature cies, the to help was 'prices freeze' so-called now lower-paid worker. stands well exposed. But the end of the 90 days Since the Tories' state con- mentioned in the new law will trol pay laws have come into Tory not bring an end to the however, the real force, pIc- government's attacks on work- ture has been somewhat dif- ers' rights to decide their level ferent-in fact, completely the of wages. opposite has taken place.

talked Already Heath has Figures released recently by 'next phase' about the of his the Labour Research Depart- economic policy, which he said ment show quite clearly that 'to change the expecta- was the majority of workers whose tions' of wage and salary increases have been stopped In simple language- earners. are among the lower paid. The wage-cutting. huge majority are below the As far as Heath and British TUC's £20 a week minimum.

concerned, these capital are Among increases attacks are the price of entry already into the Common Market on stopped those due are to They 350,000 agricultural workers— January next year. must try to resolve their crisis present the men's minimum working-class wage in agriculture is £16.20 by making the the 93,000 housewife, family, youth and a week; furniture unemployed all carry the cost.

workers' increase of £3.11 to Heath's Christmas wish is to £3.93 a week was settled on 'at a stroke' un- October 24, but has now been cut every necessary-and held up until January I. Men necessary- luxury from the working class.

there earn a minimum of £18.79 a week. Other sections Table B shows the industries are even worse off as can be where negotiations are noW from Table A below. going ahead for pay increases.

seen

AGREEMENTS FROZEN

TABLE A

Present Men's Previous Increase Industry Minimum f Due Increase *Agriculture 1.1.73 16.20 17.1.72 6.10.72 13.50 *Hollow-ware (b) 16.11.71 1.1.73 16.05 3.1.72 Silk 20.9.72 14.22 *Readymade clo. (c) 13.12.71 W 6.4.72 31.10.72 14.70 *Dressmaking E & 12.10.72 20.12.71 14.22 *Wholesale mantle 14.50 13.12.71 20.9.72 *Shirt making 13.29 "Rubber proofed garm. (b) 10.11.71 5.10.72 30.10.72 14.70 •Corsets (c) 3.1.72 1.1.72 1.1.73 18.97 Furniture 5.9.72 13.20 *Retail food E & W 20.3.72 20.3.72 6.10.72 13.50 Retail food Scot. •Milk dist. E & W 3.4.72 14.8.72 18.75 15.11.71 13.10.72 12.50 "Retail news. Scot. (b) 12.67 *Unlicensed cafes 10.4.72 8.8.72 1.1.73 Banks *Wages council or wages board.

(a) Dates before 6.11.72 are wages council proposals. (b) Assumed to be days. (c) Date frozen even though they miss the 12 months only by given for previous increase is second stage.

NEGOTIATIONS IN PROGRESS

TABLE B

Men's No. Employed Prev. Increase Industry Minimum f 3.7.72 17.00 70,000 Biscuits 31.1.72 14.40 *Perambulators *Paper box 8.11.71 14.80 •Pin hook and eye 5.6.72 15.00 Gas 58,000 16.1.72 20.10 23,000 5.12.71 20.10 Water 17.70 24.5.72 Road haulage 14.00 Multiple grocery 120,000 1.11.71 24.1.72 14.00 General waste 17.48 Hospital ancillaries 250,000 13.12.71 1.4.72 22.67 Teachers 365,000 *Wages council or wages board.

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

SOCIALIST

I ABOUR

LEAGUE,

SECRETARY,

186a CLAPHAM HIGH ST, LONDON SW4 7UG.

Name. Address.

BY ALEX MITCHELL

Further information has been uncovered of the Tory plan to establish a presidential-style of rule from No 10 Downing Street. In previous articles we have steady infiltration shown the of top businessmen into the civil service in Whitehall.

The scheme is being master- minded by the officers of the Lord Rothschild 'Think Tank' which operates directly under Heath. Before moving to his new job as 'Mr Europe', John Davies 'political sec- introduced a retary' at the Department of Trade and Industry. The political nominee was seconded to the department from the Tory Party's Central Office and his salary is paid by the Tories. Nevertheless he resides next to the minister's office in the department and is available to give political advice. Workers Press has received copies of an internal memo- randum which Davies sent around his department explain- ing the appointment: Appointment of Special Assistant to Secretary of State I have decided to appoint a Special Assistant to help me aspects of with the political my work, in particular as it affects the Party outside Parlia- ment. He will keep closely in touch with the Party Organ- ization and will act as a link with it without, of course, displacing close my own relationships. chosen Mr John 2 I have Cope for this appointment and he will take up his duties on September 18. He will be located in my private office.

To enable 3 Mr Cope to undertake his task he will need to be closely in touch with formulation of depart- the mental policies and decision taking. To this end he will work alongside my Principal He will Private Secretary. attend many of the meetings with which I am concerned and will need to be in direct contact with officials in the Department. As working a member of my private office he will have access to official papers without need for special arrangements being made. On October 23 Mr John D. Grant (Islington) East asked Davies why, in appointing Cope to his Private Office to assist in the political aspects of his work and, in particular, to maintain links with the Con- servative Party organization outside parliament, he issued an instruction that in order to fulfil this commitment Cope should have full access to departmental meetings and officials and to official papers, Writings of

WRITINGS OF

Leon Tratsky

LEON TROTSKY

10537-31 (1838-8)

WRITINGS OF

WRITINGS OF

LEON

LEON

TROTSKY

11933-34) 11934-35 Six volumes of Trotsky's writings during years 1929-1940 £8.00 includes postage Please tick those you requir Name Address Complete form and post to: New Park Publications, 186

TORY PARTY

MOVES ITS MEN

INTO WHITEHALL

the Tory Party Central Office to give political advice to ministers.

including those containing or highly confidential secret information. Davies replied: 'I issued a Notice to mý senior staff about Mr Cope's appoint eat to int form them the nature his duties and to let them know that he was an authorized whom official in- person formation could be disclosed.

Mr Cope is, of course, bound Official Secrets Acts by the as other the same way whether civil servants people, whom official in- or not, to formation is entrusted.' On October 26 Grant asked the Prime Minister how many Ministers, government addition the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, special assistants within have paid by the Conservative Party but official facilities with available them, including to official to papers, in access political work affecting the Conservative Party outside Pallallent.

BUY A BOOK FOR XMAS

History of Russian Revolution of three volumes £1.70 includes postage Please tick those you require. Amount enclosed f New Park Publications, 186a Clapham High Street, London SW4 7UG ed a 'political secretary', seconded from give political advice to ministers.

replied: Two, Sir, Heath and there is an • adviser who serves more than one Minister.

In general, they assist Ministers with the broad political aspects of their work! The conclusion to be drawn from Davies' memo and the parliamentary replies is that Tory ministers have the brought their Central Office to Whitehall. Davies has served notice on senior civil servants that they must disclose in- formation to a man paid by the Tory Party to serve in the ministry. This political nominee will be privy to secret information withheld from the Press, the public and even subordinates in the department. He is not disciplinary subject to the powers of the ministry and it be appreciated that be- can cause he is the minister's right hand man he will be ordering civil servants to carry out duties which will serve the interests of the Tory Party.

TROTSKY

Trotsky—a documentary by Francis Wyndham and David King £1.65 includes postage et, London SW4 7UG

Scan page 11

REGIONAL TV

CHANNEL: 9.30-10.02

Schools. 1.15 News. 1.30 London. 2.00 Royal Clarence Yard. 2.15 Yoga.

2.45 Film: 'Another Shore'. 4.20 Puffin. 4.25 London. 6.00 News. 6.15 Knockout quiz. 6.45 Lon- don. 10.30 Name of the game. 11.50 News, weather. WESTWARD. As Channel except: of history. 10.00 Homes 10.10 The last stand. 10.40 Whicker within a woman's world. 11.10 Short story. 11.35 Better driving.

12.05 London. 4.20 Gus Honey- bun. 6.00 Diary. 6.35 Date with Danton. 10.30 News. 10.33 Darts final. 12.20 Faith for life.

SOUTHERN: 9.30 London. 10.00 Torchy. 10.15 Tricks of the good cook's trade. 10.35 Guideline. 11.05 Royal Clarence Yard. 11.15 Who needs horses? 12.00 News.

12.05 London. 2.30 Houseparty.

3.00 Film: 'Spare a Copper'. 4.25 London. 6.00 Day by day. 6.45 London. 10.30 Man of the South.

11.00 11.05 Theatre News. of stars. 12.00 Farm progress. 12.25 Weather. Guideline. HARLECH: 9.30-10.02 London.

11.15 Time to remember. 11.40 Survival. 12.05 London. 1.00 Plus Tam. 1.30 London. 2.00 Farm- house kitchen. 2.30 Women only. 3.00 Film: 'Made In Heaven'.

4.25 London. 5.20 Shirley's world.

5.50 London. 6.01 Report West.

6.22 Report Wales. 6.45 London.

Film: Shock Treatment'. 10.30 12.20 Weather. HTV Cymru/Wales 41 as above except: 6.01-6.22 Y dydd.

HTV Cymru/Wales 7 as 41 plus: 8.00-8.30 Yr wythnos. 8.30-9.00 Stanley Baxter show. HTV West as above except: 6.22- 6.45 This is the West. ANGLIA: 12.04 •News. 12.05 Lon- don. 2.30 Houseparty. 3.00 Saint.

3.55 Romper room. 4.20 News. 4.25 London. 6.00 About Anglia.

6.45 London. 10.30 Journey to the unknown. 11.30 London. - ATV MIDLANDS: 11.10 A testing job. 11.35 Better driving. 12.00 Today. 12.05 London. 2.00 Shirley's world. 2.30 London. 3.00 'Congratulations Film: It's A Boy'. 4.25 London. 6.00 Today.

6.45 London. 10.30 Name of the game. Weather. ULSTER: 12.05 London. 1.33 News. 1.35 Spectrum. 2.05 Dick Van Dyke. 2.30 Cartoon. 2.40 Romper room. 3.00 Film: "The Ship That Died of Shame'. 4.22 News. 4.25 London. 6.00 Reports.

6.15 Smith family. 6.45 London.

10.30 Monday night. 10.40 Film: "The Admirable Crichton'.

YORKSHIRE: 9.30 Let them live.

9.55 Helicopter holy land. 10.50 Dick Van Dyke. 11.15 Great lakes. 12.05 London. 3.00 Film: 'Holy Matrimony'. 4.25 London.

4.55 Skippy. 5.20 London. 6.00 Calendar. 6.25 Today. 6.45 Lon- don. 10.30 Name of the game.

11.55 Yoga. 12.25 Weather.

GRANADA: 11.00 Schools. 11.55 Paint book. 12.05 London. 2.30 Film: "The Lamp Still Burns'. 4.00 Crossroads. 4.20 London. 6.00 N.405 London. 15.30 Film right.

10.30 Film: The Search for Bridey Murphy'.

TYNE TEES: 9.30 Let them live.

9.55 Helicopter holy land. 10.50 Dick Van 11.15 Dyke. Great lakes. 12.05 London. 2.30 News.

Galloping 2.31 gourmet. 3.00 Film: 'Who's Minding the Store?'

4.25 London. 4.50 Skippy. 5.00 London. 6.00 Today. 6.45 Lon- don. 10.30 Face the press. 11.00 Spyforce. 11.55 News. 12.10 fights of the century. Greatest 12.25 Epilogue. SCOTTISH: 10.05 First principles.

10.50 Castle of the Clan. 11.15 Sky hawks. 11.40 Phoenix five.

12.05 London. 2.30 Dateline. 3.00 Film: 'Paper Man'. 4.25 London.

6.00 Today. 6.30 Cartoon. 6.45 London. 10.30 Late call. 10.35 Name of the game. GRAMPIAN: 11.00 Dick Van Dyke. 11.30 Skippy. 12.02 News.

12.05 London. 3.05 Film: 'Dream- boat. 4.25 London. 5.20 Emmer- farm. London. 6.00 dale 5.50

NEWS.

6.05 Countrywise. 6.35 6.45 London. 10.30 Cartoon. Name of the game. 11.55 Medi- tation. McGrath's "The Bouncing Boy Today on

BBC1,

tonight's Play for Meriel, a mother in labour. Here she i born daughter Hannah.

BBC 2

11.00-11.25 Play school. 7.30 NEWSROOM. Weather.

8.00 ALIAS SMITH AND

JONES.

Never Trust an Honest Man.

8.55 CALL MY BLUFF.

9.25 SHOW OF THE WEEK: 11.0

THE PRICE of shoes and other leather goods will definitely go up, it was announced on Satur- day. After a meeting of the Inter- of Tanners, national Council in 20 which represents firms capitalist countries, their presi- dent, Sir Kenneth Newton, said: 'People in all countries will have to pay more for footwear and other products made of leather. Manufacturers are powerless to halt rising costs.'

He claimed that suppliers had THE TORIES were accused of a 'cynical betrayal of the British steel industry' by Labour spokes- on fuel and power, Eric man Varley at the weekend. He said the expected government state the industry's future ment on would not approve 'specific pro- jects which mean life and death to steel communities fighting for survival'. 01-720 2000 01-622 7029 ncing Boy' (director Maurice Hatton) actress Patricia Brake plays ere she is seen with her actual new.

SCOTT ON THE PERMIS-

SIVE

SOCIETY. Terry Scott.

10.10 AMERICA.

Inventing a Nation. 11.00 NEWS ON 2. Weather.

11.05 LATE NIGHT LINE-UP.

ter- taken protectionist measures to keep raw materials off the mar- ket, thus forcing up prices. Ris- living standards had also pushed up prices. In Britain the industry is by Sir Charles dominated Clore's British Shoe Corporation.

are It accounts for 22 per cent of all sales and controls 12 per cent of all the retail outlets.

TIME-STUDY engineers at CAV's Acton, north London, have had pay increases plant agreed months ago frozen by management. They are now being told they must implement changes in the manual workers' pay. The men concerned are . members of TASS, the technical and super- visory section of the engineers' union. Time-study engineers are say- ing that the management action is a provocation and that their claim is identical to that of the site's 2,700 manual Acton workers.

CORRECTION

In the article 'Renegades in Action-the IMG' on Saturday, 'the IMG the statement that leaders had censured a member Workers' their Socialist of Party minority tendency .

should have read the IMG leaders had censured a member of their minority tendency ..!

Workers Press, Monday December 11, 1972 PAGE 11

SLL LECTURES

BARNSLEY R

10.30 Steam horse. 11.05 Schools.

12.00 Profit 12.25 by control. Cywain. 12.55 News. 1.00 Pebble Mill at one. 1.30 Along the trail.

Sunday December 17 2.05 Revolutionary theory and the 1.45 Look, stranger. The Marxist Party 2.30 Automata. 2.40 young idea. Sea sanctuary. 3.13 Schools. 4.00

RED LION HOTEL

Dixie. Pixie and 4.10 Play (Worsborough) 8 p.m. Crystal Tipps. 4.40 school. 4.35 Peter. Jackanory. 4.55 Blue 5.20 Lectures given The 5.45 News. long chase. by Cliff Slaughter Weather. (SLL Central Committee)

6.00 YOUR REGION TONIGHT.

6.20 QUIZ BALL.

SHEFFIELD

6.45 Z CARS.

Hobo. 7.35 THE LAST APOLLO. The Monday December 11 Last Landing on the Stalinism and Trotskyism Moon. PANORAMA. After 8.00 the Monday January 8 Moon. Marxism and the

O'CLOCK NEWS.

9.00 NINE

revolutionary party Weather.

FORRESTERS HALL

TODAY:

9.25

PLAY

FOR

Trippett Lane, 7.30 p.m.

'BOUNCING

BOY'.

John McGrath. With Nor- Patricia man Eshley,

LEEDS

Brake. 10.35

MASTERMIND.

11.05

LATE NIGHT NEWS.

Monday December 11

11.10 IRELAND.

Home Rule is Revolutionary theory and the Rome Rule! Marxist Party 11.35 Weather.

WHIP HOTEL

Leeds 8 p. т.

ITV

(Note change) Schools. 10.02 Wildlife 9.30 10.25 Cimarron theatre. strip. 11.35 Galloping gourmet. 12.00 Cartoon. 12.05 Rainbow. 12.25 Monday December 11 Larry the lamb. 12.40 First re 'Dialectical materialism' 1.30 1.00 Mr. and Mrs. port. Monday January 8 2.00 All Emmerdale farm. our 'The economic crisis' yesterdays. 2.30 Good afternoon.

Monday January 22 3.00 Film: 'Pardners'. 4.25 The 'Stalinism' Black Arrow. 4.55 Clapperboard. 5.20 And mother makes three. Monday February 5 5.50 News. 'Trotskyism'

THE WEAVERS' INSTI-

6.00 TODAY.

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS.

6.40

TUTE,

Burnley Road,

CORONATION STREET.

7.30 7.30 p.m. 8.00

DOCUMENTARY 'BUNNY'.

is a little boy of Bunny

HULL

suffered five who has severe brain damage trom birth and is undergoing a Wednesday December 13 radical form of therapy. The capitalist crisis

ARMCHAIR

THEATRE:

9.00 Wednesday January 10

'THE STUMBLING BLOCK.

Stalinism and Trotskyism Ronald Radd, Avis Bun- David Cook. Wednesday January 24 nage, 10.00

NEWS AT TEN.

Marxist theory and the revolu- 10.30

LONGSTREET.

The Shape tionary party of Nightmares. James

WHITE HART HOTEL

Franciscus. Alfred Gelder Street

11.30 DRIVE-IN.

(near Drypool Bridge)

CENTURIES OF

SIX

12.00 8 p.m.

SONG.

All Trades 8 p.m. ber 12, Prince Albert, Wharfdale Road, Kings Cross. Unions Alliance No Wages'. State Control of LIVERPOOL: Tuesday December

MEETINGS

12, 7.30 p.m. The Mitre, Dale Fight Rising Prices Street. Force the Tories to Resign WOOLWICH: Tuesday December 12, Queen's Arms', December p.m.

WATFORD:

Monday Burrage Road, SE18. 11, 8 p.m. Upstairs Room, Wat- EAST LONDON : Tuesday Decem- ford Trade Union Hall, Watford ber 12, 8 p.m. Festival Inn, Crisp Road Watford Junction (opp. Street, E14. 'Build Councils of Station).

WIGAN:

Lancs. Monday, Decem- Action'. Willesden: Thursday December 7.30 p.m. The Market ber 1 Wages and 14, 8 p.m. Trades Hotel. laws against and Labour Speaker: Mike Hall, Willesden High Road, the trade unions'. NW1C. 'No fines on the unions! Farley Monday December 11, 8 control of wages!'

HULL:

Monday December No state December 'White Hart',

CROYDON:

Thursday Alfred Chelder p.m. 'No 14 (Please date change) Street, near Drypool bridge. House, Coombe Boad Free Ruskin state control of wages. MacStiofain'

ACTON:

Monday December 11, Road. Sean MEDWAY: Tuesday December 19, 8 Co-op Hall, High Road, p.m. "The Greyhound', Roches- 8 р.m. W3. 'Free Sean MacStiofain' WEST LONDON: Tuesday Decem- Avenue, Rochester. ter

- SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

PUBLIC MEETINGS

SWINDON

Wednesday, December 13 8 pm

AEU HOUSE, FLEMING WAY, SWINDON

SPECIAL SHOWING OF THE 'RIGHT TO WORK' FILM.

A film made by ACTT showing the five Right-to-Work marches from Swansea, Deal and Southampton Glasgow, Liverpool, to London, ending with a huge rally at Empire Pool, Wembley, 1972. on March 12, Healy, National Secretary of the Socialist Labour League.

Speaker: G.

AEU

British Rail Engineering Chairman: Willis, steward at Swindon (in a personal capacity).

Workshop, • We demand the right to work!

• Make the Tory government resign.

• Build the revolutionary party!

BRACKNELL (Berks) Thursday December 14 7.45 p.m.

MOREDALE AVENUE,

MEADOW

VALE SCHOOL,

PRIESTWOOD ESTATE

WAGES, DEMOCRATIC RIGHTS AND THE TORY

GOVERNMENT

Speaker: G. Healy, Natlonal Secretary of the Socialist Labour League

Scan page 12

PAGE 12 Workers Press, Monday Dece

DECEMBER

TOTAL STANDS

AT £359.22 THE RESPONSE so far, has been good, but still not good enough.

month we are asking for This an extra effort. Help us raise our {1,750 target before Xmas.

Every day Workers Press is needed to give a lead in the fight. The decision to fine the AUEW £50,000 not only angers all engineering workers, must rouse them into action against this government. Our paper must show the way tor- ward to make this government resign. Help Us, therefore, with a • to raise De- special campaign cember's Fund early. We have 14 days to Xmas. Let's press ahead as fast as possible. Post all donations immediately to: Workers Press December Appeal Fund 186a Clapham High Street London SW4 7UG. all round MEMBERS of the Roundhead Association from London, the Midlands, Tyneside and York- shire, met in sober Cromwel- garb on Saturday at the lian King's Manor, York, for: 'A conventicle to condemn pagan roistering and the ex- cesses of Yuletide? The meet- ing opened with prayer, but moved licensed on to buffet. A good time was had by all. THE YOUNG Socialists' annual Leeds event has been bigger and better, cult More goods and more customers mad Leeds. People flocked in throughout il many other stalls. Various side-stalls w The success of the Leeds bazaar- Socialists will be even better equipped SEVENTY-SIX per cent of Britain's company directors more than £5,000, ac- earn cording to a survey conducted by the monthly business magazine "The Director'. Forty-eight per cent had an income of between £5,000 and £10,000 a year while 28 per cent exceeded £10,000. The survey found that the average boardroom idler is a keen golfer with two cars who enjoys dining out at expensive restaurants. Fifty-two per cent said their main hobby was gardening, 21 per cent liked collecting wine and 17 per cent were antique Registered as a newspaper at the lost Once. Published by Workers Press, 186a Clapham High _ Street, London.

SW4 7UG.

srinted by Plough Press Lta. (LO), 180b Clapham High Street. London

SWA 7UG.

Iday December 11, 1972 Wilde, credentials ENGINEERING union Coventry

AUEW

Worth's AUEW convenor. district taken from him 'deplores the were branches in Coventry of Similar resolutions casting vote are continuing to send time of Tory attacks rever- the and chairman and National decision in resolutions opposing union con- sal of the Du have been passed by Committee member. that the decision

AUEW

district the 49 and War- was taken contra- committee's decision to vention

AUEWO®

Rule 20°. allege that this was the basis of Coventry 25 Rule 20 done on urges withdraw the shop 'unless that Chrysler states mat i any meme

ALLACKS

Made steward's credentials Worth, ber has charges against him by uncan IDe recountes Chrysler worker John they

AUEW

stewards will son, another member, Chrysler shop stewards, refuse to negotiate. Worth. must be put m wallig.

BY PHILIP WADE OUR HOUSING CORRESPONDENT

TORY-APPOINTED Housing Commissioners will set up office at Merthyr Tydfil and Bedwas and Machen in South Wales today. These £5000-a-year government hirelings will have powers to enforce the "fair rents' Act.

the National Coal Board, Edward Lewis, In line with the Tories' whole trend to- of tary Machen. Both and Will Take cover _beciwas wards preparing the apparatus of the corpor- have enormous powers under the Housing rinklece ate state, both these Labour councils will be the Labour councils still refuse to imple- Act Act. stripped of all their rent control powers.

ment the councils can be required to pay the First, the or officer Commissioner's. wages. They can also lose their And councillor who ed S400 Commissioners evict be fined subsidies. The can obstruct commissioners Call audit under the Housing Finance Act.

They are required tenants. the Ane when oramnary Lne by law co-operate way with takes place and a deficit found- will be the Commissioner will have the elected appointees who will attempt to enforce £1 which the rent increases as soon as possible.

councillors It the to sucrace Labour Bill is more than £500 per councillor, they would has 6,350 council tenants and Merthyr, which then automatically lose their seats the council 1,700 Bedwas and Machen, with their tenants, 1o1 uve ycals. the only two Labour Connels Wales In effect, therefore, the Commissioner becomes defying the 'fair rents' Act. in person the council and is answerable to no one placed in default by Tory Secretary of State for Wales, Peter Were Housing Commissioners save lit jobs Ine were given taell Thomas last Friday. Alderman Albert John, vice-chairman housing committee, said about the The former director for Wales of the Depart- Merthyr's ment Environment, 'We are dennitev going OTHe

WATE

Comassoner represent Merthyr and the former regional secre- fighting. Many of the tenants are so incensed Merthyr that they will refuse pay Miners col- at Mertov vale demanded liery have already throughout South Wales action tenants Lorenered with evictions. But the way in which only the commissioners are comed be sent packing when the Tory made government TENANTS and trade unionists olan to demonstrate in Conis.

borough, Yorkshire, next Sun- day support the Labour councillors defaulted the by the falo vents government Ior the Act. The non- implementation stands policy the of 7 votes to b margin. resign through the mobilization of the entire working class. With surcharges coming Clay Cross. on, and Conis- Camden, London, and Bazaar held on Saturday record-breaker. Each year this borough, Yorkshire, Labour culminating this year in a massive sale over 5,000 programmes. councils already in default, such made this lively occasion most successful the have had perspective urgently re- bargains at the groceries, IS quired. le-stalls were oucy tor the wole Tve nols.

returning Labour govern- bazaar-like the London one held two weeks ago-means that the Young equipped to face the struggles that lie ahead in 1973.

movement to repeal the ing Finance Act and remove the Commissioners surcharges inflicted upon coun- cillors. North London and Lambeth collectors. Half of the 3,000 housewives, trade unionists, y directors interviewed in •Daily the cent read survey each Telegraph' and 33 per cent read maKe Sixty-three cent "The Times'. The average age of directors now were Is Talling. A quarter are Mediterranean. under 44 years old; most-62 Four cent-are between 45 and per cent spent to per t1.000 to travel to the 64. Indies to get away from it all.

The findings the "The Sixty-five per cent of them Director's' one day survey come own coloured television, atter lhe limes' editorial which 50 per cent own a deep treeze, claims that britain nas now be- per cent have an automatic dish- come the country of the 'mass

DEMONSTRATE NE

washer, 44 have per cent bourgeoisie' pensive hi-t sets and 8 per cent According to Saturday's large Decembe have a editorial by editor, Mr William Furthermore, Rees Mogg, there cent own is no longer March through Brixton a holiday home in the UK or workins-class shopping centre per cent own minority of ruling-class ex- yacht or powerboat and l per ploiters. Everyone has become Assemble 2 p.m. their 'middle class'. cent own aircraft. opposite Brixton Town Hall correct, oxiv be cer ow wo cors a ace entic Meeting a further 19 per cent more than we should all be living a modest aonam oal: two. two below the life-style Clapham Manor Street peg The 'Financial Times' is the of the directors described above 4 p.m. most regularly read daily news- Are you?

FROM OUR OWN

CORRESPONDENT

THE NATIONAL Dock Labour Board will decide to- day on the future of regis- tered dockers who work for Bermondsey Cold Storage on London's South Bank. By virtue of a high court judgement given last Thursday the dockers could be sacked because their work has now been declared non-dock work.

Lord Widgery, the Lord Chief Justice, and two other judges upheld an Industrial Tribunal ruling that none of the work done at the cold store could be classed as dock work. Mr Anthony Diamond for the National Dock Labour Board told the three judges last week: 'If the operation at these pre- mises is not dock work, then the company may employ non- registered dock workers and, if they so choose, they will entitled to dismiss, or not em- ploy, the services of registered dockers.' At a previous hearing the In- dustrial Tribunal had held that the work was not dock work not 'cargo' and were one mile from the Thames, were not 'in the vicinity' of the docks. The docks board • con- tested this claim and took an appeal before • Widgery in the Queen's Bench Division Court.

In his judgement Widgery said the tribunal had correctly direc- itself as to the law ted and had decided that the handling of goods at the store could not be regarded as ancillary to, or in the broad sense part of, their carriage by sea. At present nine registered dockers employed at Ber- are mondsey's in i Galleywall Road handling home-produced goods and imported goods which arrived at the depot. Following this morning's decision shop stewards

NDLB

will hold a meeting to discuss the situation. If the company does decide to sack them, a strike seems al- The Bermondsey most certain. men will seek backing from other dockers in the Port of London and the employers could find themselves facing another Mid- land Cold Storage-type picket.

Terry McCarthy, a • leading steward from Nine Elms • the depot, told Workers Press that there should be a meeting all stewards to consider the im- plications of the Widgery Judgement. And Ted Hedges, an other docker employed at Nine Elms, said the ruling was further evidence of the class rule of the courts. The employers are strengthen- ing their legal the noose on dockers, he added. • Councils of Action call on tenants, nionists, youth and unemployed.

'E NEXT SATURDAY

ember 16 March through Wood Green and Tottenham Assemble 2 p.m. opposite Wood Green Town Hall Meeting: Downhills Park School 3 р.т.

← no. 942, 9 December 1972no. 944, 12 December 1972 →