Workers Press no. 954

workers press

CRISIS-HIT GOVT HAS WITCH-HUNT READY

TORIES PLAN

THE TORY Party has a con hunt left-wing groups if it is fo Election. * * The Editorial Board of Workers Press would like to send the

SEASON'S

GREETINGS

to all our readers and supporters. Many, many thanks for once again showing your magnificent financial backing. You've done it! - see p.12 ** -

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLET

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTR

s a contingency plan to witch- f it is forced to an early General Their stunt - like the in- famous Zinoviev Letter-will be timed for the eve of the election. It is aimed at stam- peding the middle class into returning a Tory government for another five years. But the provocation will also serve another purpose: it will create the conditions under which the Tories can introduce violently repressive legislation.

The real purpose of the legis- lation will be to smash all those sections of the labour and trade union movement who oppose the Tories' policies. This means that legal intimidation will be used against all those who want to fight soaring increasing prices, rents, the attacks on the unions, unemployment and closures in industry. Workers Press has been told some of the details of this Tory strategy. We have decided to publish the information already learned as a warning to all move- ments on the left - the Com- Party, munist International Marxist Group and International Socialists. The information emanates from from the highest quarter of the Tory Party. In a private dis- cussion the Tory said there would be no immediate acts of repression against the left.

But he went on: 'It's our last card in the pack. If we are forced to go to the country, we have everything we need for a scare

NEWSLETTER • SATURDAY DECEMBER 23, 1

CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SOI

BY A POLITICAL COF

Heath... corporatist legislation on the left.' He specifically men- Socialist Labour tioned the League as one of the targets.

The Tories have developed this sinister strategy because they know they have outrun any mandate to rule. This is an illegal government which has broken every pledge made at the 1970 General Election.

Prices have risen by • more 23 per cent despite a than promise to housewives that they would be cut 'at a stroke.

• Britain has been railroaded into a reactionary conspiracy of monopolies called the Common Market against the wishes of the vast majority of the population.

• Remember Fair Deal at Work'? That was the Tories' election pledge to reform' the unions. It became the Industrial Relations Act and the NIRC.

Since then five trade unionists have been jailed and their unions are getting massive fines.

BER 23, 1972 • No. 954 4p

HE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

John Wyman (in polo n

AL CORRESPONDENT

Remember the Fair Rents' policy? This became the Housing Finance Act which has put up council rents by fl and even- tually intends to double them.

Was this mentioned during the Tories' electioneering? They have deliberately pur- "shake-out' in • industry sued a which has raised the number of jobless to post-war record figures.

Yet in the election they promised to cut the number of un- employed. Driven by the depth of the economic crisis the Tories must lash with even out more reactionary plans. If any worker thinks the first two and a half years of Heath rule has been savage, he had better steel him- self for the next period.

have Already the Tories drafted Phase Two of the state pay plan which is an "norms, attempt to impose state on wage or their unions levels. If workers defy these 'norms' the Tories will use the power of the criminal unlimited fines to courts and break them. The arithmetic of this situa- tion is brutally simple: real wages are slashed by the rising cost of living. The working class, the mass of the population and the producers of wealth, have their standard of living forfeited so that the speculators and bankers can hang onto their bankrupt system. And while wages are being held down by Heath's corporatist legislation, prices will be allowed to soar uncontrollably. Entry into the Common Market in a few Turn to page 2 in polo neck) leaves a Dublin court in custody. By OUR OWN REPORTER A DUBLIN High Court will decide next Wednesday whether to grant bail to a British MIS agent who has been charged with espionage activities. The squad of detectives who arrested John Wyman of 3 Swan Walk, Chelsea, had been in- vestigating the bomb incidents in Dublin on December 2, the night the amendments to the Offences Against the State Act were rushed through the Dail.

A coroner's court hearing into the death of two men killed in the explosions was indefinitely adjourned on Wednesday. Superintendent John Robertson of the Special Branch told the court that criminal proceedings being contemplated by were detectives investigating the bomb blasts. Robertson made his applica- tion a few hours after Wyman and Sergeant Patrick Crinnion, who works at the Phoenix Park headquarters of the Irish police, appeared several charges on under the Official Secrets Act.

THE Bank of England's minimum lending rate was put up to 9 per cent yesterday. The rate has gone up twice Latest rise already this month. was of 1 per cent.

workers press

CRISIS-HIT GOVT HAS WITCH-HUNT READY

TORIES PLAN

THE TORY Party has a con hunt left-wing groups if it is fo Election. **. The Editorial Board of Workers Press would like to send the

SEASON'S

GREETINGS

to all our readers and supporters. Many, many thanks for once again showing financial backing. You've done it! - see p.12 ** -

INCORPORATING THE NEWSLET

DAILY ORGAN OF THE CENTR

s a contingency plan to witch- f it is forced to an early General Their stunt - like the in- famous Zinoviev Letter-will be timed for the eve of the election. It is aimed at stam- peding the middle class into returning a Tory government for another five years. But the provocation will also serve another purpose: it will create the conditions under which the Tories can introduce violently repressive legislation.

The real purpose of the legis- lation will be to smash all those sections of the labour and trade union movement who oppose the Tories' policies. This means that legal intimidation will be used against all those who want to soaring prices, increasing fight rents, the attacks on the unions, unemployment and closures in industry. Workers Press has been told some of the details of this Tory strategy. We have decided to the information already learned as a warning to all move- ments on the left- the Com- munist Party, International Marxist Group and International Socialists. The information emanates from from the highest quarter of the Tory Party. In a private dis- cussion the Tory said there would be no immediate acts of repression against the left.

But he went on: 'It's our last card in the pack. If we are forced to go to the country, we have everything we need for a scare

NEWSLETTER • SATURDAY DECEMBER 23, 1

CENTRAL COMMITTEE OF THE SO

BY A POLITICAL COI

Heath... corporatist legislation on the left.' He specifically men- the Socialist Labour tioned League as one of the targets.

The Tories have developed this sinister strategy because they know they have outrun any mandate to rule. This is an illegal government which has broken every pledge made at the 1970 General Election.

• Prices have risen by more than 23 per cent despite a promise to housewives that they would be cut 'at a stroke' • Britain has been railroaded into a reactionary conspiracy of monopolies called the Common Market against the wishes of the vast majority of the population.

Remember Fair Deal at the Tories' Work'? That was election pledge to 'reform' the unions. It became the Industrial Relations Act and the NIRC.

Since then five trade unionists have been jailed and their unions are getting massive fines.

BER 23, 1972 • No. 954 • 4p

HE SOCIALIST LABOUR LEAGUE

John Wyman (in polo n

AL CORRESPONDENT

Remember the 'Fair Rents' policy? This became the Housing Finance Act which has put up council rents by £1 and even- tually intends to double them.

Was this mentioned during the Tories' electioneering? • They have deliberately pur- 'shake-out' in : industry sued a which has raised the number of jobless to post-war record figures.

Yet in the election they promised to cut the number of un- employed. Driven by the depth of the economic crísis the Tories must lash with out even more reactionary plans. If any worker thinks the first two and a half years of Heath rule has been savage, he had better steel him- self for the next period.

Already the Tories have drafted Phase Two of the state pay plan which is an state 'norms, attempt to impose wage levels. If workers or their unions defy these 'norms' the Tories will use the power of the criminal unlimited courts and fines , to break them. The arithmetic of this situa- tion is brutally simple: real wages are slashed by the rising cost of living. The working class, the mass of the population and the producers of wealth, have their forfeited standard of living SO that the speculators and bankers can hang onto their bankrupt system. And while wages are being held down by Heath's corporatist legislation, prices will be allowed to soar uncontrollably. Entry into the Common Market in a few Turn to page 2 in polo neck) leaves a Dublin court in custody. By OUR OWN REPORTER A DUBLIN High Court will decide next Wednesday whether to grant bail to a British MIS agent who has been charged with espionage activities. The squad of detectives who arrested John Wyman of 3 Swan Walk, Chelsea, had been vestigating the bomb incidents in Dublin on December 2, the night the amendments to the Offences Against the State Act were rushed through the Dail.

A coroner's court hearing into the death of two men killed in the explosions was indefinitely adjourned on • Wednesday. Superintendent John Robertson of the Special Branch told the court that criminal proceedings being contemplated by were detectives investigating the bomb blasts. Robertson made his applica- tion a few hours after Wyman and Sergeant Patrick Crinnion, who works at the Phoenix Park headquarters of the Irish police, appeared several charges under the Official Secrets Act.

THE Bank of England's minimum lending rate was put up to 9 per cent yesterday. The rate has gone up twice already this month. Latest rise was of 1 per cent.

... but Brezhnev bends PAGE 2 Workers Prees, Saturday December 23, 1972 NORTH VIETNAM's De- US uttered in Moscow by Communist Party ene Minister To ges peace Giap said yesterday Leonel Hanoi bombs may denunciation but and role war. his way went out the Vietnamese people. 'This will prove to be ar indicate the Kremlin's 'active for Giap was speaking on the illusion. Hanoi, Haiphong support pro- anniversary moting a just peace settle.

ourer clues ing of the North Vietnamese bombed and even razed, ment. but the will of the Viet- They go along with the people will fraudulent unprecedenteo weatnere• Hallico. Lalk Tine US States bombing President attacks from gIve. United warplanes. As a mark of their de. and his minions that peace fiance the North Vietnamese attainable in He accused the Uniter Indo-China have already shot of starting the Viel LItt B52 nam war, largest davy Liberation "the •OWi ane the canonal bloodies its kind bombers, each valued Front have broken popular $8m. all talks with the largest the Americans wellas World Several of the US Air struggle the ana House Force's F-111 Il'. swing-wing declared that the bombing General who led fighters have also been lost will continue at its present Giap, and the number the Minh to victory of Ameri- level.

VICU

against Dien There can be no peace in the Frence al Vietnamese hands is mount- 1954 told his until the Bien Phu in Indo-China last The US American soldier is driven in Giap's defiant statement bend the will out and the Workings set ore i mans propped up by by mass marked Contast Lalurs imperialists are overthrown.

the muted criticism of the Giep... led victorton DESPITE the renewed terror bombing by the Americans in Vietnam the Soviet bureau- cracy intends to stick to its peaceful co-existence course of seeking a world-wide deal with imperialism. many's Brandt. tended his praise to This was made clear in the 'which policy speech made by Leonid ness to depart from many dog mas dating from the cold war that the Soviet Union was ready Brezhnev, Soviet Communist for co-operation with the Com- In the light of the news from Party secretary, on the occasion mon Market. Vietnam. of the 50th anniversary celebra- Despite phrases must have had a hollow the refer- his to of audi- ence the continuing tions. ring even many struggle the He emphasized the Soviet between the two systems l Union's desire to see spheres economics, politics he paid parucular tribute to a puro- the efforts made by General de Security Pact to confirm and ideology, the predominating pean Gaulle and President Pompidou the existing status quo and said emphasis in his speech was The dally apor tha ads the light against the Tories. 20.28 for 12 months (312 lasues

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political situa- • ne {6.24 for 12 months (96 issues) tion has been Brigadier Frank Kitson, head Fill in the form below NOW and senid to: Training School •1 Lne Crculation Depl., Workore Proze, 186 188a Clapham High St. Warminster. his most recent book, Kitse" says: and genuine serious grievance I would like to take out a subscription to Workers Press.

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might concentrate their efforts which and siluallull or was beyond the power the police handle. Should this Full subscription (six days) for months. army would be the happen, quired restore Name .. posion rapidly' Kitson is 'expert Address the army's He counter suoversion put to practical use the idea counter-gangs the infiltration anti-imperialist groups agents provocateur Amount enclosed E In Kenya these agents adopted the uniforms, slogans hide- While Mau-Mau. they be the side the Mau-Mau, they pur- I would like information suca a poncy 01 assassillalile Ils leaders and handing them over about to the British imperialists. subject, It was Kitson's pet which received an subversion airing in the House of Com- on Monday this week. mons The Industry debate (Trade Unions' Role)', was initiated by Sir Edward Brown FIll in the form and send to NATIONAL MP for below Bath. a 1O1Y Tory Party chairman.

SECRETARY,

SOCIALIST

LABOUR

LEAGUE,

'He led a lengthy tirade against 186a CLAPHAM HIGH ST. LONDON SW4 7UG.

infiltration communist much of his re ving tor information on the discredited Name..... of in the series articles 'News of World' une Address.. Makers'. Brown was joined by another MP. for Tor- Frederick . Bennett, quay. He read a list of names of d victorious Viet Minh. speeding up the detente with the imperialist world. Brezhnev had some words for the Chinese which led the Peking ambassador to walk out of the gathering. He accused them of making absurd claims to Soviet territory, slandering the Soviet Union and obstruct- trade unionists whom he claimed were members of the Communist Party's national executive.

The final reply to the debate came from Mr Robin Chichester- Clark, junior Employment Minister, and brother of Captain James Chichester-Clark, ex- Stormont premier. It a carefully-prepared was speech written with the help of his political advisers at the department. Chichester-Clark, Ulster an Unionist, put forward the view that when trade union militancy 'threatens the safety the nation or to undermine parlia- mentary democracy by industrial violent means, it becomes or subversion'. This 'theory' needs consider- able study. What the minister is saying is that trade unionists can be militant. He doesn't seem to mind that. But if their militancy extends to industrial action it becomes 'subversion'. These statements were made the day that more than on 100,000 engineers in London, Oxford, Dagenham and Ports- mouth came out on strike, thus halting large sections of the car industry and the national Press.

The implication was clear enough-the engineers and the trade unionists supported who committing 'sub- them were version' and the government was preparing to combat it. This is precisely the conclusion which was drawn in the next day's capitalist newspapers. Chichester-Clark then went on 'small talk about the to minorities who hold the country to ransom' . He drew an essen- tial demarcation between the policies of the Communist Party and. the other left-wing groups.

'The Communist Party wants to take over at least the outward structure of the system,' he said.

'We probably all accept that.

That is where it differs from

BY OUR OWN

CORRESPONDENT

leader of the revisionist Com- muniste', appeared in a Paris court this week charged under the 'loi anti-casseur' intended to deal with demonstrators. The charge arose out of a de- outside the US monstration embassy in October to protest in Vietnam, against the war of during which number windows were broken. Besides attacking the law, Krivine called his defence prominent two Paris doctors who had visited North Vietnam. They described how they had seen hospitals which had been destroyed despite bearing large red crosses, and examined vic- tims of napalm and anti-person- nel bombs. The prosecutor launched on Krivine and his co- attack defendant, Michel Recanti, des- cribing their arguments jesuitical. He demanded sus- pended prison sentences. Judge- ment will be pronounced on January, 10. ing its efforts to end the arms race. True to the bureaucracy's technique of blaming your ene- mies for what you are trying to do yourself, he accused Peking of siding with British Tories, re- venge-seeking West Germans and the Portuguese and South Afri- can racialists. He missed out the Greek and Spanish fascists with whom the east European countries have been conspicuously successful in establishing contacts. the Trotskyists and Maoists to its left.' Winding up the minicter said: 'The majority of trade unionists recoil at the thought of threats to the fabric of society. our whether such However, threats come from over-stretched mili- tancy or whether they come from subversion, if a threat is made to our democratic institutions, to electoral processes, our or, indeed, to the will of the elec- torate, it must be met, for no government can afford to be left simply with the trappings of office, as some have been, when real power lies elsewhere' And this, of course, is the central dilemma facing the Tory It is government. trying to uphold a bankrupt and para- sitic system in the face of a world-wide economic crisis.

Yet breathing down its neck is a • determined and united which will working class not surrender its rights and its stan- dard of living. The 'Strife Makers', the 'small group of men holding the country to ransom' are the Tories. This despised clique shows complete con- empt for parliament and the the majority of Wishes of people who make the up labour and trade union move- ment. Their plans to stage provoca- tions and witch-hunts can only be beaten by calling their bluff.

going to new talks Instead of with Heath on • January 4 the TUC leaders should be calling for an all-out industrial mobil- ization to force this government out of office. Each day longer the Tories remain in office they are able better to prepare their offensive against the working class.

• Force the Tories out. • Elect a Labour government pledged to the nationalization of basic industry and the repeal of all anti-working class legislation.

BY PHILIP WADE O

THE SURRENDER to the " ment over the 'fair rents' Act Labourites represents a gross b city's 150,000 tenants. For weeks tenants have in effect been led into a trap by the Labour-controlled cor- poration. But, for a whole group of councillors, the politics of class-collaboration eventually proved stronger than the prin- ciple of fighting on behalf of the working class. What really scared the 33 Labourites was the prospect of being jailed or fined following the court order made against them on Monday. As soon as that became the situation, council leader Richard Dynes became converted to the 'rule of law'. • Turning his back • the working class he said: 'We always knew we were fight- ing the law and could not defend ourselves. There was no point in trying to fight the court action.'

Crossed over So on Thursday afternoon Dynes recommended to his coun- cil that the Act be implemented.

Although 41 Labour councillors still voted for non-implementa- tion, another 33 crossed over, voting with the Tories to swing the day for the government.

Cllr Dynes proved beyond all doubt the bankruptcy of reform- ism when he declared that if the law was not obeyed, the Labour Party would be destroyed in Glasgow. Faced with a direct challenge from the Tories — which poses the question of the government's resignation - the leadership at Glasgow simply caved in to become respectable once more.

The city's 150,000 tenants now face rent increases after Christ- mas. Undoubtedly they will also draw some conclusions about the rottenness of their leadership at the town hall. £8m threat MEANWHILE, the Tories are using their powers under the Housing Finance Act to threaten Camden council in north London with the loss of f8m housing subsidies. Environment Minister Geoffrey Rippon seems determined not to provoke the issue directly in Camden by sending in a Housing Commissioner or ordering an extraordinary audit of the accounts. Instead he has written to Camden and said if they do not implement the Housing Finance Act " within three weeks, the council is liable to lose the f4m subsidy due to be paid after Christmas. In addition, Camden could lose the subsidy for the 1973-1974 financial year. Rate rise At a council meeting on Thursday night, Peter Best, deputy council leader, said if the rates would subsidy was lost, have to rise 25p in the £.

Camden will make a decision in January on whether to con- tinue resisting the Tory gov- ernment. Workers Press, Saturday December 23, 1972 PAGE 3 DE Our housing correspondent

THE

100 - per - cent Labour council at Hoy- land, near Barnsley, has accumulated a rent deficit of £7,000 because tenants have been The tenants have issued The five who favoured this completely antes revitt Hoyland tenants refusing to pay increases the with councillors Imbeneracon ors Smith, McKay, Foster points out that when the three-point programme. for nine weeks. Froggatt and Wildsmith- nearby Dodsworth Labour • No action must be taken President of Hoyland council reversed a decision ware recenly against any tenants. not to evict tenants who All meet the tenants. and attended except Mrs Wild- refuse to pay the increase • Should they Association, lorry driver their implementation e desse only required Les Levitt, told Workers Ulic -meeting. Press that the Labour sIon they will dave I00- They were asked why per-cent support from councillors claim they had not seught to find The refusal to pay the every tenant. they would not have im- out what the feeling of the increases, tenants' the Act was, and told that said will plemented the Tory voters • No further increases o the Tory govern- if they regretted imple- tinue. must be imposed. Its Act by Glasgow the people menting the Act counciliors had Trev Who vored should immediately reverse against implementation them'. councillors Eaden, Loy and council is to held gross betrayal of the their decision. shortly which will The council decided to Asamnorenare rastawo are the tenants' among tenants refusing to attended by mplement by five votes to ncillors clair committee. s would take six mon pay. EVEN BEFORE the to the Director of Tories' alleged to have taken place assed during the builders' strike.

Prosecutions concern- preser ing incidents Now Telford on September stepped-up police that inquiries building strike! during the arrasament are North manter inco being that beginning to emerge. the north-west are complete.

The building thousands of pounds worth of trades damage done when Assistant Chief Constable of was boyers have aureauy CU- West Mercia, arrived operated The

WITH

DICKCL

police inquiries into incidents Rennie, said: 'A file has been various sites in a fleet of cars.

THE

Municipal General and workers nonas acreer wito management at the CAV, Acton.

west London factory scheme To CeCuro Concoulos out of members' pay packets.

This is despite the fact that the joint shop stewards' tee passed a resolution over two years ago man- Turnine agement's offer operate the Now the G&MWU's factory conectors been Caulee LO- gether and told the system will far as they operate con-

WORKERS PRESS REPORTER

Coruca For the union bureaucracy the system means FACTS released this week less contact with

FRESH

the rank and file and no sub- indicate that the plight of the Birming.

scription Management dlicalo. automarcarv ham Small Arms Co may be worse than details of who and where the G&MWU's members the are anyone has so far suspected.

and the Dianl. UnOS numerical strength. BSA-Triumph have announced that from Amalgamated Union January 1 prices will be reduced on sections Engineering Workers' north of its world famous motor-cycle range to make London district committee Part of the BSA plant in Birmingham.

remains opposed to the system.

them more competitive. oi fendinge a mapa bikes have no The cuts range from £65 to British Japanese chance £84 and will restore near- competition. the comparability between prices of BSA and Japanese In addition to the price cuts bikes.

TYDFIL

IF

MERTHYR

justified granting this extra the company nas aiso been torced ask the Tory council borough agrees TO worker ever in decision has The company been it does infringe the government's a fom handout. from recommendation its trouble since 1968, when foreign freeze. BSA have over- finance peci and general purposes and home drafts totalling £6.3m. committee, manual workers He added: There is aways a export America markets terrific amount of absenteeism and craftsmen employed by wiped about f2tm off profits.

The company's liquidity crisis New Year's Day and think on is so severe that BSA have been the authority will be given compelled to sell off 21 New Year's Day off. the acres of wc nave lo lact Over the past lour years making it a holiday.' company's plight went from bad oroune to Solinocinaso LorDora- to worse with losses at one time tion to raise just under £lm.

But will Tory Secretary of State for the decision De breach Employment, Maurice Macmillan, standing at f8.2m. of the Tory government s Significantly sports wages, hours and workers' stanosul is empowereo to issue an ordei In a prolonged effort to push facilities were part of the parcel holidays. to prevent Merthyr council from Perhaps BSA sense they may not graysinhiiday workers down costs Thous nes mich Gerry have been sacked, productivity Alderman Donovan impose and wage-rises kept to future. commented: believe we are penalties for any breach.

lacked uc a minimum. Coming on the back of these changes, the

CUTS

re oresent last desperate bid by

BSA

A wide selection of paperbacks—special giftpacks— the motor-cycle back

WICO

market from the Japanese.

children's books all available from the bikes past lew ycalo made by Honda, Suzuki, Yamaha Kawasaki have swept the British market prices up £100 cheaper than those of BSA.

OPEN :

In addition the Japanese com- 9 a.m.-6 o.m. Mon-Thurs panies' 'super have conne 9 a.m.-7.30 p.m. Friday be recognized by trade and to 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday to alike superior Custolicie their British counternarts in botn performance and finish.

BOOKS • PERIODICALS • NEWSPAPERS

Market experts say has now been reached where

PAGE 4 Workers Press, Saturday Decemk By ALEX MITCHELL During the period of 'eco- nomic boom' up to the mid-1960s, the British ruling class stood shoulder - to - shoulder exuding smugness and piety. Fortunes in paper money were made based on the roar- ing supremacy of the dollar.

The agreement at Bretton Woods had set in motion an inflationary programme to restore capitalism in western Europe and to buy off the resurgent militancy of the working class following the war. As a direct consequence of the economic climate a new generation of speculators and financial whizz-kids came on the scene. By the end of the 1960s they had elbowed out the more sober aristocrats of industry who had built their empires on the cast-iron law that real value came out of the backs of workers. The new boys had no stomach for class warfare when their fortunes could simply be made by a 'rip off' on the Stock Exchange or in a property transaction. But like their fathers and grandfathers they adopted the attitude that their system was inviolate, that their position was unchallengeable. Some embarrassments and ay December 23, 1972 disagreements did arise. The collapse of one or two big companies — Rolls Razor, for example-and the unfortunate scenes involving Mr John Pro- fumo and Miss Christine Keeler were sent to try them.

There were some trivial argu- ments about 'Macmillanism', the dreaded theory that old Harold was some kind of creeping lefty. But these 'minor' issues were weathered with reasonable equanimity. The Tory Press, the City of London, the Tories at Westminster, the Confedera- tion of British Industry, stood like a self-approving edifice in which never a cross word was spoken. The economic crisis has changed all that. Scarcely a day goes by when there is not some open recrimination be- tween one section of the ruling class and another. Michael Clapham, the CBI president, was recently caught sniping at the government's economic fluential backbench committee of the Tory Party, has been captured by a well-known critic of the Heath leadership, Edward du Cann, head of mer- chant bankers, Keyser Ullman; when Robert Carr presented new immigration regulations to the House of Commons last month he was resoundingly defeated by a big abstention from among his own sup- porters; during the two recent by-elections local Tories openly backed more extreme right- wing candidates; sections of the Tory Press have started to criticize Heath's style of gov- ernment and call for much against the tougher action working class. The depth of the economic crisis and the resistance of the working class is driving a - blade into the double-edged ribs of the ruling class.

The predominating mood in these circles is, inevitably, a big shift to the right. In their blindly desperate attempt to hold on to profits, the leaders of big business want the gov- ernment to unleash an all-out attack on the working class.

They have the deepest mis- givings about the way Heath settled the miners' strike and . - they feel the release of the five dockers from Pentonville was also a 'capitulation'.

It would have suited the ruling class to have inflicted a major deteat on the working class prior to entry into the Common Market. But whenever they attempted a confrontation this year-the miners, the railway- men, the dockers and now the engineers — the working class gave Heath a bloody nose. He was forced, therefore, to seek 'bureau- what amounted to cratic' means temporarily to rescue the economic situation.

In July the pound was floated, which effectively meant steady devaluation. But instead of alleviating the economic and political crisis, Heath only intensified it.

into the He will proceed Common Market in just over a week's time with a sick cur- rency and an undefeated and militant working class. It is against this national background and the continuing world inflationary crisis that in the ruling the rankling class must be viewed. Workers Press has compiled a series of viewpoints which are beginning to emerge in these circles.

These people aren't pussy- footing anymore. They want a showdown with the trade unions and the use of the police and the army is freely mentioned. "The Director', the monthly magazine of the Institute of Directors, has just published the results of a survey carried out among 3,000 directors.

The answers reflect the growing disenchantment with Heath's policies. Asked if the government had abandoned its economic objectives, original 70 per cent of them replied 'Yes' Nigel Broackes, head of Trafal- gar Investments and a close collaborator with the financial party, had no wing of the saying: 'One hesitation in criticizes the new policies, the over-late acceptance of their necessity, and the consequent haste with which they were introduced — particularly the indiscriminate subsidies to which British shipyards, • ridiculous in their seemed form.' Mr J. Martin Ritchie, head of the Bowater group, the largest newsprint in company incidentally world (which, Broackes was recently trying to take over) said: 'The present government have abandoned which the principles under they were elected with the result that we are now in a period of roaring inflation and the present initiative is un- likely to succeed as long as it is on a voluntary basis.'

Other respondents to "The Director's' questionnaire pre- ferred to remain anonymous.

The chief executive of a leisure said he particularly group wanted to attack the govern-

ment's 'shilly shally to the left'® Mr J. O. Blair-Cunynghame, chairman of the National and Commercial Banking group, urged state control over wages: I would wholly agree with the philosophy recently expounded by Mr Maudling in an article in "The Times" which empha- sizes the nature of the pro- found social revolution which has been taking place during the last decade and is likely to continue into the foresee- able future.' 'The Director' added: 'And in general terms the feeling of many directors was summed up by a chairman of a tue group as follows: "I criticize the fact that the government has retreated from its declared objectives. Politically its aban- donment of objectives may make sense, but it makes for weak government which is in no one's interest.", Another question put by 'The Director' concerned poli- tical contributions: Do you believe it is right for com- panies to give financial support to a particular political party —and would you say why or why not?' Again, Mr J. Martin Ritchie of Bowaters comes up with an incisive comment: We sub- scribe to the Conservative Party because we are led to believe that it is a party which supports free enterprise. In the main I think that this is still true... But what an astonishing equivocation! He says they were 'led to believe' that the Tories would look after their interests. Now they're not so Perhaps Bowaters may sure. be inclined to put money into some other political formation which could possibly deliver the goods— that is the only conclusion to draw from his remarks. same sentiment is This expressed more concisely by Mr W. M. Vernon, chairman of Spillers, the giant flour and bread firm: 'My own company Conservative the supports 'in the belief Party' he says,. that it is absolutely crucial to stop the Labour Party in the long-term interests of all businesses. We would confess that our doubts as to the wisdom of continuing to sup- Conservative Party port the grows daily. The Tory-owned 'Daily Tele- graph' has never been particularly at home with Edward Heath. When the battle for the leadership was in progress in the mid-1960s the "Telegraph' fancied almost all the other candidates to Heath. He was not an aristocrat, he wasn't in the a major figure even industrial estab- financial or lishment. He was a bachelor organ-player from Broadstairs —which doesn't count much with the Berry family. It was inevitable, however, that once he was elected the "Telegraph' would give the leader unbridled support. This has been forthcoming. until the past tew weeks-since, in fact, the results of the Sutton and Cheam by-election. As we pointed out at the the hidebound Tory time, voters in this locality gave Heath a conscious rebuff. They moved en masse away from their traditional Tory allegiances and voted for the joke candidate from the Liberal Party. following Tuesday, The December 12, the "Telegraph' 'began publishing a series of major feature articles pointing the way forward for the Heath Inthe government. most astonishing of these pieces a certain "Michael Harrington' asked and answered the ques- tion: 'If a wages confrontation leads to some kind of General Workers Press, Saturdi Strike, is the government pre- pared?' He opened by stating: 'Since the defeat of the General Strike in 1926 it has been almost an axiom of trade union union leadership that an open trial of strength with the gov- ernment was to be avoided at almost any cost. This did not preclude, of course, strikes in the public sector with the gov- ernment as employer. 'It meant that the govern- ment's authority ultimate should not be challenged by the unions. In present circum- be stances, however, this can no longer taken for granted.'

Harrington goes on to fore- cast that 'the present situation contains the essential all ingredients of a period of bitter industrial strife'.

These prognostications may come as a chilling surprise to readers of the 'Daily Tele- graph'. But not to ours. Basing and the strength of the work- ing class we have consistently warned that a showdown must sooner or later come about.

The 'Morning Star' has en- tirely ignored any such analysis revisionists and in the 'Socialist Worker' and the 'Red Mole' scoffed at our warnings were being and said we and 'catastrophe- 'alarmist' minded'. 58, Salurday December 23, 1872 PAGE 5 But let us see what else Mr Harrington sees in the crystal ball of the bourgeoisie. Harrington points out that the ruling class put in eight years of patient planning to defeat the 1926 General Strike.

He goes on: 'Defeating a General Strike consists, essentially, in keep- ing the community going some- how or other without the work done by the men on strike, and being able to do so indefinitely. In 1926 there was a vast reservoir of volunteer middle class labour, particu- larly students, on which the could draw? government Would this help be forth- coming in 1973? On the face of it, it seems a bit unlikely, particularly so far as the stu- dents are concerned. "Which means that the gov- ernment would have to rely on the instruments of public force: the police and the army.

The crunch could occur when the government, faced with a strike in an essential public service, in support of a wage demand above the "norm", decided to use troops to keep the service going, and ordered the police to take very vigor- ous action to deal with ob- structive picketing. 'Even if the TUC avoided a General Strike call, enough unions would probably come out in sympathy to confront the government with some- thing indistinguishable from it. Apart from anything else, there would be a serious risk of public violence on a large scale. It is most unlikely that police and strikers would play football matches with each other? Where do the revisionists and Stalinists stand in relation to this scenario which is roughly what the. Workers has been saying since Press this crisis-ridden government took office? The 'Red Mole' is buried deep in its hole of confusion Star' 'Morning while the attempts might and main to pursue its policy of 'pressure on the government' to gain some kind of mythical reforms.

There are no possible forms: there are no possible compromises. By suggesting that there is a way out the Stalinists, who are tailended politically by International Socialists (IS) and Inter- national Marxist Group (IMG) disarm the working class as to the nature of the impending clash. The crisis running through British capitalism is deep. And trying the government to resolve the situation at the expense of the working class is weak. This does not mean that the Tories will go down without a fight. But their offensive will be against powerful and undefeated work- ing class. Only one political demand of meets the contingencies today's situation: the Tories must be forced out of office before they have a chance of implementing any of their vicious plans.

PAGE 6 Workers Press, Saturday December 23, 1972 Between the time markets closed last weekend and reopened on Monday morning the prices of some foods doubled.

As working-class housewives staggered home with their bulging bags of Christmas shopping their verdict on this year's holiday prices was: 'It's horrible? Housewives moved among the stalls at London's Brixton market last week checking and cross- checking prices to find the cheapest buy and counting and re- counting the notes and cash in their purses. Many complained that the prices of essentials like bacon, milk, sugar and bread had risen higher than ever, but the really savage increases were in the things families needed specially for Christmas.

Oranges had leapt by 40p to 50p a case pushing the price up to over 12p a pound. Grapes had soared from £1.60 to £1.90 for a 10lb bag, pushing the price up to by 10p a pound to shoppers. Toma- toes rose by 33 per cent since Saturday, going up from 70p to £1.05 a case-a price hike on the counters of about 7p a pound.

Stallholders claimed the price of all vegetables would skyrocket by the end of this week, particularly Brussels sprouts, parsnips And they warned that this year wholesalers will and greens. try to stabilize prices at the new infiated Christmas levels.

Three miles away in London's West End the fur-coated and bowler-hatted chauffeur-driven rich strolling in and out of the millionaires' row shops of Bond Street and Piccadilly seemed oblivious of the price hike. Whatever the charge they paid it.

Everything from champagne to diamonds found its way into their bags providing London's top shops with what they claim as a record Christmas boom.

This year's prices in Britain are bad enough. In Ireland, where the cost of living is now said to be the highest in Europe, housewives unable to shop without a purseful of fivers might as well stay at home. Prices across the Irish Sea are a foretaste of what is to come in Britain and IAN YEATS went to Dublin to look in detail at the charges workers are being asked to pay this Christmas.

at her arm baffled by Mrs Margaret Murphy iently thesell empty balloon rolle frowned she picked as a balloon?' packets of Mrs Murphy told over pre- asked and him to be quiet. packed frozen meat in a She had good reason to be Dublin supermarket. irritabie and he had good rea- She moved slowly along the son to be puzzled. The fridges length of the giant brimful ret- and shelves at Williams' Henry her hand turning Street supermarket were piled rigerator, high with all kinds of tins and over packet after packet and letting it fall back again after Yet Mrs Murphy's packets. she had looked at the price.

trolly remained empty. wondered A small boy tugged impat- The boy clearly

HAMPER

: |6 •00

EXECUTIVE C

MINIATURE CASE

why his mother did not simply take what she needed from the crowded shelves and be done could get with it so that he outside quickly and buy a bal- loon from the street sellers.

his mother hesitated, it If the beef joints because was she was looking at had risen 31.93 per cent in price in the compared to the last year average 9 per cent increase in her husband's pay. August, beef Since last prices rose on average by 30 per cent, mutton 25 per cent, pork and bacon 20 per cent and fish 30 per cent. Lowest price rises were in poultry, at only 6 per cent. A beef joint could have cost Mrs Murphy £2.50 in Dublin shops and, taken together with only one item-rent at about £6 a week- —it would have ac- counted for a third of her hus- band's average weekly earn- ings. said: The Mrs Murphy scandalous. You prices are cannot afford meat any more if you've got children to keep.

Everything's gone up, but par- ticularly the essentials which we cannot do without. You need two wages in a week to 'keep up with it.'

XECUTIVE CASE

£ |1•50 Das se Wasty to London Denüni Amart: Nato Sterry Firmace Konal Tramy Port The dramatic rise in beef been directly trig- prices has gered by entry into the Com- mon Market. A Kilkenny ran- cher farming 400 acres told me selling prices had that his doubled in the past year be- of EEC demand for Ire- cause land's large cattle. While the big ranchers drive around in expensive, imported workers' German Mercedes, wives like Mrs Murphy can hardly afford to buy meat at In the first three months of value of all 1972 alone the animals exported rose by f3m, of which cattle accounted for over two-thirds. Last week a £25m deal for frozen meat was signed by Irish farmers with the EEC. Often from necessity pota- toes have for decades formed part of the staple diet of Irish workers. Garnished with slices of pork or ham they are still the main meal in many homes.

In the past 12 months the price has risen by 56.75 per cent. Yet in Britain last year it cost taxpayers £33m to dis- million tons of of pose SURPLUS potatoes. This year surplus still stands at the 500,000 tons. In Ireland other essentials skyrocketed like bread have by 20.12 per cent for a plain, white, sliced loaf; milk by 19.66 per cent; eggs by 17.97 per cent; margarine by 16.72 22.22 per per cent; sugar by cent; marmalade by 16.70 per cent and even sweets and ice cream by an average of nearly 20 per cent. The overcoat Mrs Murphy's son wore had jumped 12 per cent in price since last sum- mer and her small daughter's cotton dress by 27.46 per cent.

Shoes for all ages had risen by 25 per cent. Fares on the buses Mrs Murphy uses to go in and out of central Dublin have gone up by 38.31 per cent. Thousands of Dublin coun- cil tenants are on rent strike with increases for all rented accommodation reaching 22.94 per cent in the year. Anybody using coal to heat their homes face charges up by 25 per cent.

Envelopes for a letter to à Britain relative working in have gone up by 21.85 per cent, writing paper by 17.97 per cent and the cost of post- age by a huge 50 per cent.

If she into hospital, goes Mrs Murphy faces a mere 23- per-cent rise in fees. But for services of a doctor, a the dentist or an optician she must pay 29.94 per cent more. Dublin is one of Ireland's cities, but most expensive prices elsewhere in the Repub- lic do not lag very far behind and in some cases are actually ahead Butter costs 29p a pound in compared with the capital 28Łp in other major towns like Cork, Castlebar, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, Naas and Tralee. Sugar is 1lp for 2 lb in Dublin and generally 103p elsewhere; a 5lb bag of pota- toes is 19p in Dublin but 16p elsewhere; flb bacon costs 25p in Dublin but 224p elsewhere and eggs cost 17p for six in the capital but 15tp in other towns. Round beef-steak prices are expensive outside Dub- more lin—in 1 Drogheda and Water- ford, for instance, a full 2łp dearer. coffee, washing-up Cheese, liquid, detergents and toilet paper all cost up to 5p more outside Dublin. Although there are substan- Workers Prose, Saturday De individual variations tial ap- and mainly plying to skilled minority groups, latest ngures show that average wages for Irish workers are around £22 for a 42-hour week. Since 1971 voluntary a wages agreement hammered out by employers, unions and has operated in government the Republic. This has held pay rises down to about 7 per cent over the 18 months each agreement has been and is in force.

effect important Another has been to keep pay rises for relatively highly-paid workers down to a minimum, concen- trating improvements on lower paid workers in textiles, agri- culture and distribution.

national agreements These are hailed by the Green Tory government for their success in stemming the wave of in- dustrial unrest which charac- terized 1970. In that year 1,007,700 days were 'lost' because of strikes compared 273,800 with 1971. But Fianna Fail's jubilation is unlikely to last much longer.

The fact that have wages levelled out over the past year means that majority of work- • Prosa, Saturday December 23, 1972 PAGE 7 ers are now in the same boat, facing pay rises less than a third of the increases in prices.

Frank Houlihan is a rail- wayman. He gets £2.70 a week more on his basic pay after Christmas with a further 4 per cent rise 12 months later. His average pay is about £24, but most railwaymen take home only £20 a week. Commenting on the rise, he told me: "There is no value in it at all. You need £10 a week just for pocket money these days. Even the middle classi are beginning to be affected by the prices.' Significantly it was railway- men, albeit mobilized by Pro- visional Sinn Fein, who marched to the Dail to protest Lynch against govern- ment's new laws allegedly for use against the IRA. Relations between the Irish working class and the govern- mant are potentially explosive.

Whic Common Market entry involves massive price the largely hikes - despite token efforts of the govern- ment's Prices Commission- the national wage agreements are clamped down like a lid on the cauldron of working- class desperation and unrest.

PAGE 8 Workers Press, Saturday Decomber 23, 1972 The Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers is today in the forefront of the struggle against the Tory government's Industrial Relations Act. Here a special correspondent highlights important and significant episodes in the history of the engineers' fight to build and their courts. Part three: The ASE fights the attack on picketing in the 1860s and 1870s and engineers campaign for the nine-hour day. In the 1860s the entire garding security of their assets, stimulated a powerful reaction, trade union movement especially from the Amalga- found itself in a crisis Society of mated Engineers when a number of judg-

(ASE).

They found that their now in the ments courts assets of upwards of £130,000 threatened to make the were in jeopardy, no longer unions illegal. by the Friendly protected Act of 1855. Societies which The occurrence of the Shef- was practically annulled by the field 'outrages' when violence 1867 judgement. was committed against non- Labour newspapers the of the union men in cutlery trades, led to a public outcry late 1860s. most notably the 'Miners' and Workmen's Advo- and the appointment of Royal Commission of Investi- cate'. the 'Beehive' and the 'Commonwealth' feared the ex- gation into the principles and aims of trade unions in general.

tinction of trade unionism, crippled Further, in 1867 the impor into impotence by tant decision Lord Chick hostile legislation, and urged by Cockburn in the organized working class to Tustice the case of Hornby y Close, defend the of trade when it status was declared that unions were unionism with political action against a parliament of in of a conspiracy restraint em- ployers trade' and therefore outside and their represen- the protection of the law re- tatives. The turn to political action was made with great reluc- tance. 'No politics' rules had long written into the been constitutions of the national unions of skilled workers like the ASE, the Stonemasons and the Carpenters. It was the attack on the unions on the legal front from the mid-1860s which pushed the leading craft unions into political action. The aims of the Chartist movement of 1834-1848 were revived in the agitation for the vote in 1866- 1867 when the mass action of the working class in all the main cities was of crucial im- portance in winning the Second Reform Act of 1867, which ex- tended the vote to most skilled workers in the towns. Of course, the unions as a body, and particularly the ASE, did not declare their ad- herence to political action to secure trade union rights, but were spurred on by politically- conscious leaders like William Allan of the Engineers who played a prominent part in the National Reform League, working-class, basic organiza- which tion from 1865-1867 agitated for universal suffrage.

In order to change the laws and prevent the introduction of harsher legislation even against working-class organiza- tions, many workers recognized the need to secure political re- presentation for the working class as an indispensable means of sifeguarding basic rights, including those of the trade unions. Although the executive council refused to identify the ASE with the National Reform League, reiterating the view that 'the society should not allow either political or reli- gious matters to be introduced or discussed at the meetings', it was abandoned as a forma- lity when the very existence of trade unionism itself was at stake. Among the national amalga- mated societies the ASE was represented in the Conference of Amalgamated Trades called in defence of trade unions as an immediate reaction to the Hornby v Close decision. legal attack on The the unions and the findings of the Commission Royal report dominated the proceedings of the Conference, which resolved to fight for 'repeal of the Combination Laws' and com- plete protection of funds.

The Criminal Law Amend- ment Bill of 1871, whereby trade unionists were liable to criminal prosecution for unde- fined acts as 'molesting', structing, under the 1825 Act, caused a widespread outburst of indig- nation among trade unionists.

As a consequence, the third Trades Union Congress, and the first really national one, was summoned in London. All the important unions were re- presented, including the engi- neers, alongside those from other metal and steel trades, ironworkers, ironfounders, boilermakers and iron ship- builders. ( After the passing of the Cri- Amendment Act, minal Law the ASE made a fighting state- ment in the annual report. The Act was intended to operate in the interests of capital and to prevent, if possible, work- men from maintaining their rights and privileges, it said.

It pledged union to the 'never rest satisfied until this disgraceful Act is totally re- pealed'. Under its new general secretary, John Burnett, the ASE participated in the cam- paign to remove from the Sta- tute Book an Act which was responsible for a stream of convictions against pickets in the years after 1871, until the 1876 Trade Union Act re- stored the right of peaceful picketing, but only after a sus- tained and trade Vigorous union campaign. Besides the legal front, rank- When workers in Newcastle struck in 1871 for the nine-hour day, the employers tried to break strike by bringing in foreign the workers • (above). But the ASE in collaboration the Inter- with national Workingmen's Associa tion proceeded to organize amongst them with the result that 120 German workers 'mutinied' and-file engineers began to fight systematically for shorter hours. Other trades, parti- cularly building, had in many regional cases won a nine-hour day. John Burnett, before he became general secretary, was a leading spirit as chairman of the Newcastle Nine Hours League. The north-east engineers of Newcastle and Sunderland led the way with industrial action for a nine-hour day in 1871.

The employers tried to destroy the strike movement with the double weapons of imported foreign labour and the Cri- minal Law Amendment Act against the trade unionists who attempted to repel the 'scabs'.

Such was the pressure exer- ted by the League that even the imported labour force in Armstrong's factory began to express their interest in the nine-hour day and were per- suaded to leave. The successful struggle of the north-east engineers stimu- lated similar Nine Hours Lea- gues elsewhere, so that by early 1872 all the districts had achieved a nine-hour day, amid the complaints of the executive council that strike action had constantly been taken without their prior sanction. The defence of the nine-hour day throughout the 1870s placed the ASE in the fore- front of the trade union fight for better conditions, until, by the end of the 1880s, it was eclipsed by the dramatic move- ment into general unions of the unskilled workmen, pioneered by dockers, gasworkers and matchgirls.

CONTINUED TOMORROW.

Priests who found that life in the ministry was a little too much to stomach have received a rude shock. Many holy men in France decided to get out of the church and make their way in the wide outdoors.

The bishops were sceptical of the move and they have been proved right. a year outside the After church the bishops have been flooded with requests from priests who want to return to the flock. 'After a year in the world,' Catholic commented one paper, 'many have once again returned to their priestly duties enriched by the break and with a deepened under- standing of their ministerial role.' Women's Lib in Chile from the beginning has been very much in favour of the paper reforms instigated by Presi- dent Salvador Allende. Like 'Comrades' Fidel Castro and Juan Velasco of Peru, Allende has always recognized the importance of women, of his especially wife, Hortensia. It is believed Hortensia was behind a recent Bill which passed through the Chilean parliament creating compulsory service for women. Havana notified all Cubans of this revolutionary step.

'For the first time in his- tory, the Chilean government instructed has grass-roots organizations of women to debate a Bill involving their active participation. Compul- sory service for women was discussed in all mothers' centres and supported by 70 per cent of women.' No doubt, the local clergy were there to give a nudge to this dialogue with the women of Chile. Special offer £20 inc Complete the form bel address of person to whor paper sent.

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If one thing brings out all of the the class venom employers, it is a political strike by print workers. At one moment, the news- paper bosses are happily turn- ing off millons which universally picture trade unionists as a band of cut- throat thieves. Nothing would seem capable of disturbing the • mechalsill The machine propaganda which spits out maxims each day looks well oiled. Yet this week-when the engineers walked out-saw the sixth political strike by print- workers in London since the Tory government came power in June 1970. On all these occasions hun- thousands-some- dreds millions- -of workers times have staged strikes against the Industrial Relations Act, for Pentonville the freeing or tne Five, or in defence of the engi- neers' union. Each the newspaper the few families who bosses, industry, control the Have been unable to print a single word against the strikers. have Their mouths been silenced. It is a measure of the mat- urity of the political situation that printworkers have broken through the myth of the 'free- Press' so beloved dom of the of Tory ideologies. It has been rightly seen as the freedom to pillory the working class when the occasion demanded. before the Only one week 1970 General Election, the printers gave the Tories of what was to come Lane when they staged a national strike in support of a pay claim. of all the Leaders maJor

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political parties condemned the strikers for interfering in the 'normal democratic pro- cesses' When the Tories were elected, they lost no time in setting their plans to 'change the course of history, as Heath put it. The Industrial Relations Bill was quickly published. Just as rapidly the first strikes against the Tory gov- launched. On ernment were December 8, 1970, well over 500,000 workers struck in pro- test against the Bill. 'Go-anywhere men whip up strikes, screamed the 'Sunday Express' just before the stop- The High Court pages. awarded the employers an in- junction against SOGAT (Div- ision A). printworkers weren't go-anywhere men. ers the into fact, they never went work at all and Fleet Street presses fell silent on Decem- ber 8. Of course, the Beaverbrook- owned London 'Evening Stan- dard' was hit twice. During the powermen's work-to-rule the that notorious cartoonist, Jak, chose to depict the powermen as heartless mur- derers. immediately Printworkers held up production of this provocatively reactionary car- toon. And only when they were allowed to print a state- explaining alongside, ment their objections to Jak's effort, did the presses roll. The 'Observer' found the whole thing 'ominous' and wrote: The freedom of the Press consists in the freedom to publish despite anybody's objections.' Well, they were quite free, but just unable to carry their concepts into prac- tice. The introduction of Robert 'Securicor' Carr's Industrial Relations Bill into the House of Commons was met with a further unofficial one-day strike on January 12, 1971.

Many editions of the Tory were lost as printers Press staged walkouts and meetings all over the country. In under two months the newspapers were hit by an- other wave of political strikes.

This time the engineers orga- nized their two one-day, offi- cial strikes against the anti- union Bill on March 1 and March 18. They were the biggest poli- tical strikes embracing on Writings of

WRITHIS

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LEON TROTSHY

Fast 39 (1838-91

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187-34 (1934-35) Six volumes of Trotsky's writings during years 1929-1940 £8.00 includes postage Please tick those you requi Name Address Complete form and post to: New Park Publications, 18 Workers Press, Saturd

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A.. • on Fleet Street. the second occasion well over 2 million workers-since the General Strike. On 1926 March 1, 1,000 Fleet Street engineers stopped. And on March 18, the Newspaper Publishers' Associ- ation's attempts to get dispen- sation from the strike was turned down by the executive the Amalgamated council of Union of Engineering Workers.

By this time the newspaper losing their magnates were a little and threatening cool sackings all round if political stoppages continued to hit the papers. 'To be bullied or cajoled into destructive, wildcat and often sterile protest is the pre- mindless sheep, rogative of Hugh Cudlipp, chairman of Publishing Cor- International poration, told a conference of circulation executives. Over a year passed before the longest stoppage to date took place. Only hours after the dockers were jailed by the National Industrial Relations Court on July 21, printworkers throughout Fleet Street were locked in chapel meetings.

On the Saturday, outside Pentonville, there were many rumours that the presses were to stop the same evening. But no one was quite sure. Then 'Sunday Mirror' the printers suddenly arrived at the prison gate, led by the NATSOPA banner. The newspapers had indeed stopped. The nationals did not pub- lish in the main until Friday morning, despite the fact that the dockers were released on the Wednesday evening. There was much talk about lock-outs, but the employers once more lost their nerve when the crunch came. Then this week the engineers in Fleet Street struck again in response to the call from their executive council to defend their union against the Indus- trial Relations Act and against the fines imposed by Sir John Donaldson's court. History of Russian Revolution special gift pack of three volumes £1.70 includes postage u require. Amount enclosed £ post 1o: ons, 186a Clapham High Street, Lon

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'The Times', , that bastion ol British capitalism, upholder of all that is right and proper in our society, felt it had to devote its second editorial to the engineers' strike. The Press owners have rea- to be concerned. The son strikes by Fleet Street workers reflect the crisis of the British capitalist system. With the Tory government deciding to rule by word of mouth and by letter, taking away basic rights at a stroke, the working class has been pushed forward into a political fight. Never before have there been in such a concentrated • period so many stoppages of the Tory propaganda machine.

In fact, to see the last such period the lie apparatus was put out of action, you have to return to the last major poli- tical strike... 1926. On May 2, 1926, while Tory Prime Minister Stanley Bald- win was negotiating with the TUC on the question of the miners' pay, Rothermere's 'Daily Mail' was preparing a scurrilous editorial on the unions. It was to have been an attack accusing the unions of threatening a General Strike in support of the miners.

It accused the TUC of organizing revolutionary a movement' not to be 'toler- ated by any civilized govern- ment'. It called on all 'law- abiding men and women to hold themselves at the service of King and country. When the machine opera- tors, members of NATSOPA, read the text they decided to 'hold themselves at the ser- vice of the trade union move- ment and went on strike, refusing to print the editorial. on the 'Mail' staff Some telephoned the Cabinet and the talks with the

TUC

were broken off immediately on the the Daily Mail' pretext of Hours later the stoppage. General Strike began. Trotsky—a documentary by Francis Wyndham and David King £1.65 includes postage el, London SW4 7UG

Your viewing PAGE 10 Workers Press, Saturday Decemb

BBC 1

10.00 Mr. Benn. 10.10 The night the animals talked. 10.35 Crazy world of Laurel and Hardy. 11.55 Harlem globetrotters. 12.15 Bar- rier reef. 12.40 Grandstand special. 12.45 Football preview.

1.00 Olympic review. 2.20 Inter- national show jumping. 3.20 Quiz ball. 3.45 What the Dickens.

Basil Brush. 4.15 We want to sing. 4.45 Final score. 5.05 The gang show. 5.45 News. Weather.

6.00 CHAPLIN REVUE. Charlie 'Shoulder Chaplin • in Arms', and 'The Pilgrim'.

7.25 THE HARRY SECOMBE

SHOW. Guests Ann How- ard, Harry Friedauer, The King's Singers.

8.10 FILM: 'THE WAR WAGON'.

John Wayne, Kirk Douglas.

Taw Jackson sets out to get revenge on the man who put him in prison. 9.45 NEWS. Weather.

10.00 MATCH OF THE DAY.

11.00 PARKINSON.

Michael Parkinson with guest Bing Crosby. 12.15 Weather.

BBC 2

3.00 Film: 'I'd Rather Be Rich'.

Sandra Dee, Robert Goulet, Andy Williams, Maurice Chevalier, Her- moine Gingold. A business ty- coon wants his daughter to marry the right man. 4.35 Play away.

5.00 Choir practice.

ENTERTAIN-

6.00 BRISTOL

MENT. A thousand years of a great city. 7.10 HOME. The earth does not belong to man but man to earth. • The words of Chief Seattle of the Duwa- mish Indians.

7.40 WESTMINSTER.

8.00 NEWS, SPORT. Weather.

8.10 WAR AND PEACE. Boro dino. 8.55 FULL HOUSE. Introduced by Joe Melia. Some Bright Stars, In trouble, Zenon, Poetry. 9.50 Christmas greetings. The Box in the Corner. 11.00 NEWS ON 2. Weather.

11.05 FILM: 'THE COLLECTOR'.

Terence Stamp, Samantha A young Eggar. bank clerk who collects butter- flies adds a human speci- men to his collection.

REGIONAL TV

SHANNUM. "11040

Merrie melodies. 12.30 11.35 Puffin. Bonanza. 12.40 All our yesterdays. London. 1.10 Weather.

WESTWARD.

Channel except: Gus Honey- 10.45 Woobinda. Christmas in the holy bun. 12.10 12.35 Faith land. for life. 12.40 Weather. SOUTHERN: 9.15 You and your golf.

9.40 Collecting on a shoestring. 10.10 10.35 Stingray. 11.05 Let them live. 12.00 Merrie melo- Cowboy in Africa. 12.27 Varnethe 7.05 12.30 London. dies. Reg Varney. Film: "The 6.00 Greatest Show on Earth'. 9.30 Lon- don. 11.40 News. 11.45 Spyforce. 12.35 Weather. Guideline. HARLECH: 9.00 London. 9.50 Bugs Bunny. 10.00 Tomfoolery. 10.30 Sesame challenge. 11.30 street. 12.30 12.00 Best both worlds. 7.00 Film: London. 6.00 Reg Varney. "Peyton Place. 9.30 London. 11.40 screaming. 12.45 The earth dies Weather. HTV Cymru/Wales 7 and 41 as above except: 5.15-6.00 Sion a sian.

9.00 London 10.00 En-

ANGLIA:

house. 10.10 Cartoon. 10.20 chanted Film: 'Ferry Cross the Mersey'. 12.00 Christmas carol. 12.30 London. 6.00 7.00 Film: "Hotel'. 9.15 Reg Varney. Sylvester. Film: 9.30 London. 11.40 "Traitor's Gate'. ATV MIDLANDS: 9.15 You and your 10.10 Pelleting unshoes ross 10.10 Place country. Survival. 11.00 Cartoon. 11.05 Tom- foolery show. 11.30 Osmonds. 12.00 Elephant boy. 12.30 London. 6.00 Reg Varney. 7.00 Film: "The Greatest y December 23, 1972

ITV

9.00 Time off. 9.30 Getting your money's worth. 9.55 Return to Peyton Place. 10.20 Sesame street. 11.20 Merrie melodies. The Osmonds. 11.50 11.30 Junior police five. 12.00 Partridge ew. family. 12.30 News. 12.35 World of sport. 12.40 On the ball. 1.15, 1.35, 1.55, 2.15, 2.35, 2.55 Grey. hound racing. 1.25 International sports special. 2.05 World cup skiing. 2.25, 2.45 Action 72. 3.05 International sports special. 4.00 Wrestling. 4.50 Results service. 5.10 News. 5.15 A proper panto- mime.

6.00 SALE OF THE CENTURY.

6.30 THE REG VARNEY RE-

VUE.

Guests The Os- monds, Kenneth McKellar, Dorothy Squires. 7.30

FILM: 'PARIS

WHEN IT

SIZZLES'. William Holden, Audrey Hepburn Comedy Gre- goire Aslan. about a film scriptwriter. 9.30

THE JULIE ANDREWS

HOUR. Guests The Young Americans, Donald O Con- nor, Alice Ghostley.

10.30 NEWS.

10.40 JUST

IN

TIME FOR

CHRISTMAS. Alfred Burke, Gwen Watford.

11.40 IT MATTERS TO ME.

11.45 RUSSELL HARTY.

** 1 garb Out of his private aye Alfred Burke as Leonard Nottage in tonight's play on Independent 'Just Time for channels Christmas'. Show on Earth'. 9.30 London. 11.40 Film: "Fathom'. Weather. Mama'. 9.30 London. 11.40 Theatre of stars. YORKSHIRE: 9.15 Fever of the deep.

10.10 Osmonds. 10.35 Thunder in the valley. 12.30. Ondon. 7.30 Film 6.00 Doctor at •The large. 6.30 London. Memorandum'. 9.30 London. Quiller I1.40 Mod squad. 12.35 Weather.

GRANADA: 9.30 Sesame street. 10.30 Batman. 12.30 London, 6.00 Reg Varney. 7.00 Film: "The Sons of Katie Smith-curious Elder'. 9.20 Pete 11.40 Mid- 9.30 London. contests. night mystery. TYNE TEES: 9.15 Wild life theatre.

10.10 Osmonds. 11.35 9.40 Rodeo. the valley. 12.30 London.

Thunder in 5.15 A proper pantomime. 6.00 Chi- bears. 6.30 London. 7.30 cago teddy Film: 'How to Steal a Million'. 9.30 11.40 Edgar Wallace. 12.35 London. 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen'.

BORDER: 10.35 Film: 'Batman'. 12.30 Re Elder. Var- London. 5.15 London. 6.00 7.00 Film: Sons of Katie ney. 9.30 London. 11.40 Jimmy Stewart.

SCOTTISH: 9.15 You and your golf. shoestring. 10.10 9.40 Collecting on a l Tomfoolery. 10.35 Joe 90. 11.05 Dave Osmonds. 12.00 And Cash. 11.30 12.30 London. mother makes three. hero Christs once 6025 fam: heroes. Bonanza. 'Genghis Khan'. 9.30 London. 10.40. A season for miracles. 11.40 Late call.

11.45 Reg Varney. GRAMPIAN: 11.15, Tomfoolery, 11.45 12.30 Lon- Reg 7.05 Film: don. 6.00 'Solomon and 9.30 London. Sheba'. 11.40 Hogan's heroes. Victor Borge fools around the keyboar Show' with the London Philharmonic Or

REGIONAL TV

CHANNEL:

11.45 London. 12.30 Mountain' Film: Climb Angry An 2.15 London. 12.45 Epilogue. Weather.

WESTWARD. As Channel except: 9.30 live. London. 10.30 Let them 10.55 Gus Honeybun. 11.00 London.

SOUTHERN: 9.15 Talking hands.

9.30 10.30 Cartoon. 10.35 Odd 12.30 Film: couple. 'Mozambique'. 2.15 Weather. HARLECH: 9.30 London. 10.30 Pippi longstocking. 11.00 London. 12.30 Weeks In a Balloon'. 2.15 Film: "Five London. 7.25 Film: Fate is the Hun- ter'. 9.15 Mr. and Mrs. 9.45 London.

12.45 Weather. HTV Cymru/Wales 7 and 42 as above except: 10.30-11.00 Miri nado- mawr y lig. 6.15 Llusern. 6.40-7.25 Serch hudol. London.

ANGLIA: 9.30

12.30 Film: 'Seven Hills of Rome'. 2.25 Big match.

3.15 London. ATV MIDLANDS: 9.30 London. 10.30 Captain Scarlet. 11.00 London. 12.30 Film: 'Ivanhoe' London. 7.25 Film: 'Gigi'. 9.45 London.

ULSTER: 9.30 London. 10.30 Christ- mas in the Holy Land. 11.00 London. 12.30 Film: •1001 Arabian Nights'. 1.45 Barry John talks to George Best.

2.15 London.

YORKSHIRE:

9.30 London. 10.30 Flintstones. 11.00 London.

12.30 Film: "Climb An Angry Mountain. 2.15 London. 12.50 Weather. GRANADA: 9.30 London. story London. Christmas. 11.00 "The Canterville Ghost'. 2.15 London.

TYNE TEES: 9.30

London. 10.30 Forest rangers. 11.00 London.

Mountain'. Shoot. 3.15 London. BORDER: 9.30 London. 10.30 Christ- mas in the Holy land. 11.00 London.

The Canterville Ghost'. 2.15 London.

SCOTTISH: 9.30

Christmas story. 10.50 Captain's Christ- London Sport. Hopkirk. 1.50 land. 11.30 Epilogue. GRAMPIAN: 11.00 London. 12.30 In search of Tutankhamun. 1.30 Christ- mas at moose factory. 1.50 Sport.

3.15 London. Vaughan (r) and Clive Peter Swift are in BBC 1's ghost story 'A Warning to the Curlous'.

o keyboard on Independent's The LP monic Orchestra. Omnibus on BBC 1 looks al somo 'im seen with her daughter Liza Minnelli.

BBC 1

10.00 In mercy and love unite.

11.05 Christmas Carol. 11.30 International. 12.20 Jerusalem Vienna boys choir. 1.00 The golden age of comedy. 2.15 Mary, Mungo and Midge. 2.30 'Davy Crockett. Fess Film: Parker, Buddy Ebsen. American frontiersman. 4.00 Around the world in 80 minutes. With Joyce Grenfell, Kenneth Allsop, David Attenborough and Tony Soper. 5.20 Disney time. 6.05 NEWS. Weather.

6.35 THE NEW BEGINNING.

6.45 CAROLS WITH KING'S

COLLEGE CHOIR.

7.25

FILM:

'WEST SIDE

STORY: Natalie Wood, Beymer, Russ Richard Moreno, Tamblyn, George Chakiris. wo young lovers in the midst of New York gang war- fare. 9.50 NEWS. Weather. 10.00 OMNIBUS. Impressions of Garland. Profile of Judy Garland.

11.05 A GHOST STORY FOR

CHRISTMAS. A Warning to the Curious. With Peter Vaughan, Clive Swift.

11.55 NATIVITY.

BBC 2

4.30 Money at work. 5.30 Hori- zon.

NEWS REVIEW.

6.15 6.50

NEWS SUMMARY.

6.55

CHRISTMAS.

WHAT'S IT

ALL ABOUT?

7.25 AMERICA. A Firebell in the Night. Alistair Cooke considers the causes of the Civil War. 8.15

FACE THE MUSIC.

8.45 PLAY 'FOR LOVING'. By John King. With Angela Scoular, Alfred Lynch.

9.30 MILLIGAN IN WINTER.

Spike Milligan. 10.00 A DAY OUT. Film written by Alan Bennett about a group of cyclists who go to the country for the day.

10.50

UP SUNDAY.

11.00 NEWS ON 2. Weather.

FILM: 'THE QUIET MAN'.

11.05 John Ford's film about an Irish immigrant to America With who makes good. John Wayne, Maureen O'Hara. somo 'Impressions of Garland'. Judy is

ITV

9.30 Service of carols and les- 10.30 The King's break- sons. fast. 11.00 Christmas lift off. 11.45 Stars at Christmas with songs of Christmas. 12.30 Film: 'The Treasure of Silver Lake'.

Lex Barker. Western. 2.15 Big match. 3.15 Christmas company.

4.15 Golden shot. 5.05 Sleeping Beauty on ice.

6.05 NEWS.

6.15 JOSEPH AND THE AMAZ-

ING TECHNICOLOR

DREAMCOAT.

7.00 CAROLS FOR CHILDREN.

7.25 FILM: 'KHARTOUM'. Charl- ton Heston, Laurence Olivier, Ralph Richardson, Richard Johnson. British imperialism in the Sudan,

9.45 NEWS.

10.00 THE L.P. SHOW WITH

VICTOR BORGE.

FOR 11.00 AQUARIUS CHRISTMAS

SPECIAL. A Play in a Manger.

11.55 MIDNIGHT MASS.

over Christmas

BBC 1

9.30 This is Christmas morning. 10.00 Mr. Benn. 10.15 Born the city. 11.25 10.20 chrisimas dobeds

STOCK.

ing full of stars. 1.30 Black and minstrel show. 2.10 Top of white of the Review trie ycal s Billy Smart's circus. The Queen.

DOST

3.15 Billy 4.10 Dick Whittington. With Dick Peter Noone, Stratford Jonns, News. Weather. 5.55 Bruce Forsyth and the

STARS.

Intoucer Corbett Ronnie and Ronnie Barker. With Cilla The Gene- Black Young alon Mike 'The Liver Birds' Goodies' 8.15

MORECAMBE

AND

WISE

CHRISTMAS

SHOW.

Guests Glenda Jackson, Jack Vera Jones, Lynn, rol mulley 9.15

'BAREFOOT IN THE

PARK'.

Robert Redford, Jane Fonda. Comedy about woUs woUs 11.00

GOOD

OLD

Special Christmas edition.

STORY

OR

CHRIST-

11.50

MAS.

Told by John Slater. Weather.

BBC 2

11.00 11.25 Play school. Point. 12.40 Cartoon with music. vocumentary. van Saine Hedgerows' 1.30 Look, ray 12. 1.55 2.00 Golf 3.05 3.00 Queen Film: i ne V'. Olivier. Laurence Robert Banks, NAWtOn Leslie Bon of Shakes Renee Asherson, the film Shakes- version 5.15 Call my Decre slate childhood Christ. 3. 45 7.25

THE

STALLION.

black stallion runs wild on Dart- moor. 'The Reluctant Jack Douglas Is Juggler'

BBC

2's 'The Edwardian' series.

ITV

8.30 A concert for Christmas. 9.15 The enchanted house. 9.30 merry morning. 10.00 Clapper- board's Christmas cracker. 10.45 Christmas morning service. 12.00 Gulliver's Travels. 1.15 The Mig top. 2.00 The flight of the snow geese. 3.00 The Queen. 3.10 Film: 'That Rivlera Touch'. Eric Morecambe and Ernie Wise. 4.50 Opportunity knocks. 5.35 News.

5.45 All star carnival. Introduced by Jimmy Tarbuck.

7.30 CORONATION STREET.

8.00 THE COMEDIANS.

8.30 FILM: "THE WAY WEST.

Kirk Douglas, Robert Mitchum, Richard. Wid- mark. A party of emigrants head west in 1843

10.00 NEWS.

10.15 FILM continued.

11.00 DOCUMENTARY:

'THE

LOVE GODDESSES'. Every femme who ever was fatale.

12.30 RECONCILIATION.

French

8.15 LA SYLPHIDE.

the television film of romantic ballet. 8.25

PLAY: "THE STONE TAPE.

By Nigel Kneale. With Michael Bryant, Jane Asher. 10.55 NEWS ON 2. Weather. 11.00 AMERICA. A Fireball in the Night. 11.50 FRED ASTAIRE. Talking to Dick Cavett about his career.

BBC 1

9.10 Camberwick 9.25 green. Winter quarters. 10.00 Film: Journey to the Centre of the Earth'. James Mason, Pat Boone, Arlene Dahl, Diane Baker. Science fiction. 12.00 Holiday grandstand. 12.20 Rugby league.

Leeds v Wakefield Trinity. 1.05, 1.40, 2.10 Racing from Kempton.

1.25, 1.55 Motor racing. 2.35 It's a Christmas knockout! 3.30 Film: 'Help!' The Beatles. 5.00 News summary. Weather. 5.15 Holiday on ice.

6.05 THE SOUND OF PETULA.

Petula Clark with Anthony Newley.

6.50 FILM: 'CARRY ON CLEO'.

Kenneth Williams, Sidney James, Kenneth Connor, Charles Joan Hawtrey, Sims, Jim Dale, Amanda Barrie. 8.20

THE LAST GOON SHOW

OF ALL.

Peter Sellers, Harry - Secombe, Spike Milligan. 9.00 NEWS. Weather.

9.10 TILL DEATH US DO PART.

9.55

SHIRLEY BASSEY.

10.40

MASTERMIND.

MR WODEHOUSE SPEAK-

11.00 ING. William Mervyn pre sents the comic and idyllic world of P. G. Wodehouse. 12.10 Weather.

BBC 2

11.00-11.25 Play school.. 1.25 Film: "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp'. Anton Walbrook, Deborah Kerr, Roger Livesey. The life and loves of Clive Candy from the Boer War to World War II. 3.30 Star Pieces. 4.10 The living Arctic. 4.40 Orville and Wilbur. Stacy Keach and James Keach as the first aviators. ¡Eric and Ernie are World War I fighter mas Show' on BBC 1.

REGIONAL TV

CHANNEL: 10.45 London. 12.30 Weather. WESTWARD. As Honeybun. 12.30 Faith for life. 12.33 Weather.

SOUTHERN:

London. 12.30 Weather. Guideline.

HARLECH: 8.30

London. Weather. HTV Cymru/Wales 7 and 41 except: 2.00-3.00 Hogiau'r wyddfa.

ITV

9.00 Cliff's kids. 9.15 Mountain rescue. 9.35 Bugs Bunny. 10.00 the Professional wrestling.

10.55 Film: 'Tarzan and the Slave Girl'.

Barker. 12.20 Boxing Day day racing. 12.30, 1.00, 1.30, 2.00 Racing from Wetherby. 12.45, 1.15, 1.45 Racing from Wincanton.

2.10 The Lorax. 2.40 Play: 'Dear Octopus'. Peter Barkworth, Lally Bowers, Hannah Gordon, Cyril Luckham, Anna Massey, Nora Swinburne. 4.10 Junior show- time pantomime. 5.00 News and sports results. 5.15 All the jokers —full. house. Val Doonican's guests on Independent cl and Alan Price. 6.05 McCRINDELL'S TOYS.

6.50 NEW S

SUMMARY.

Weather.

'FALSTAFF'.

OPERA:

Verdi's comic opera with Geraint Evans, Regina Resnik, Norman Bailey, April Cantelo. 8.55

SKIS ACROSS THE AT-

LANTIC. A party of British ski-mountaineers traverse Workers Press, Satur I fighter pilots in this sequence from the ANGLIA: 8.30 London. 8.15 p.m. Away in a manger. 9.30 London.

ATV MIDLANDS: 8.30 London. 8.30 p.m. Film: 'Khartoum'. 10.00 London.

Second Chance London Through the Chance. 'Second eyes of a child. 4.50 London. 12.30 Christmas night. YORKHIRE: 8.30 London. 9.15 Felix the cat. 9.30 London. 12.30 Weather.

GRANADA 8.30 London. 8.30 Film:

6.15 FILM: 'PRESS FOR TIME'.

Norman Wisdom. Comedy. 8.00

PLAY: 'BIG BAD MOUSE'.

Eric Sykes, Jimmy Edwards. 9.30

THE VAL

DOONICAN

SHOW. With Terry Wogan, Georgie Fame and Ălan Price, Tonia Bern-Camp- bell, Charlie Drake. 10.30

NEWS.

10.45

FILM: THE MUMMY'.

Peter Cushing, Christopher Lee. Horror. 12.20

RECONCILIATION.

pendent channels Include Georgie Fame the entire length of the Alps. 9.55 THE EDWARDIANS. The Reluctant Juggler. Georgia Brown as Marie Lloyd, music hall singer. 11.10 NEWS ON 2: Weather.

AT- 11.15 THE OLD GREY WHISTLE

TEST. Highlights of the series. rosa, Saturday Docember 23, 1972 PAGE 11 trom the 'Morecambe and Wise Christ- "Tom Jones'. 10.00 London. 10.15 Film contd. 11.00 London.

TYNE TEES: 8.30 London. 12.30 Christmas message. BORDER: 8.30 London. 8.30 Film: "Tom London. 10.15 Tones' 10.00 Film contd. il.00 London.

SCOTTISH: 8.20 Moderator's Christ- mas message. 8.30 London. 3.10 Film: "Caprice'. 4.50 London. 12.30 Late call. GRAMPIAN: 9.20 Moderator's Christ- 9.30 London. 12.30 mas message. Christmas meditation.

REGIONAL TV

CHANNEL: 2.10 London. 6.15 Film: 'The Return of the Seven'. 8.00 Lon- don. 10.45 Film: The Wild Ones'. 12.15 Weather. WESTWARD. As Channel except: 9.00 London. 9.35 Gus Honeybun. 10.00 London. 12.15 Faith for 12.20 life. Weather. SOUTHERN: 9.00 London. 9.35 Primus.

10.00 10.55 Film: 'Clarence London. the Cross-Eyed Lion'. 12.17 Weather.

12.20 London. 10.45 News.

10.50 Film: 'Hot Enough For June'. 12.30 Weather.

Guideline. HARLECH: 9.00 London. 9.35 Merrie melodies. 10.00 London. 10.55 Gasbags.

12.20 London. 4.18 News. 5.00 Lon- don. 6.15 Film: "Carry On-Follow That Camel'. 8.00 London. 10.45 Film: 'Lolita'. 1.20 Weather.

HTV Cymru/Wales 7 and 41 as above 9.35 Miri except: mawr. 9.45-10.00 Cantamil. ANGLIA: 9.00 London. 9.15 Magpie. 9.35 Romper 10.00 London. room. 10.55 Film: Laurel and Hardy in Toy- land'. 12.20 London. 6.15 Film: 'Fantastic Voyage'. 8.00 London. 10.45 Film: 'The Spy With a Cold Nose'.

Cartoons 10ND London. Bos Film Cartoons. London. "The Return of the Seven'. 8.00 Lon- ..don. 10.45 Film 'Lolita'.

ULSTER: 9.00 London. 9.35 Romper room. 10.00 London. 10.50 Film: "It's Only Money'. 12.20 London. 6.15 News. 6.20 Film: 'Beau Geste'. 8.00 London. 10.45 Film: 'The Horror of it All'. YORKSHIRE: 9.00 London._9.35 Car- 1oon. 10.00 London. 10.45 Film: The Unforgiven'. 12.45 Weather.

GRANADA: 9.00 London. 9.25 Jackson five. 10.00 London. 10.45 Film: "The Wild One'. TYNE TEES: 9.00 London. 9.35_ Car- 10.00 London. 10.55 Film: t00k. •Thunderhead Son of Flicka'. 12.20 London. 10.45 Film: "Demetrius and the Gladiators'. 12.35 Epilogue.

BORDER: 9.00 London. 9.35 Cartoons.

10.00 London. 10.55 Film: "Thunder- Son of Flicka'. 12.20 London. head 10.45 Film: "The Wild One'.

SCOTTISH: 9.00 London. 9.35 Merrie melodies. 10.00 London. 10.55 Film: «The Seventh Voyage of Sinbad'. 12.20 London. 6.15 Today. 6.30 Film: "Hell Zero'. 8.00 London. 10.45 Late Below call. 10:50 Film: The House on Green- apple Road'.

GRAMPIAN:

9.00 London. 9.35 Merrie melodies. 10.00 London. 6.15 McMillan and wife. 8.00 London. 10.45 Film: "Georgy Girl'. 12.25 Meditation.

Steel plan will slash jobs PAGE 12 Workers Press, Saturday Decen Press

FUND

THE NEW plans announced for British steel means that over 80,000 jobs will have been destroyed since the industry was nationalized by Labour in 1967. With Common Market entry only a week away, the Tories and the capitalist class have decided to salvage what it can from the ailing industry.

Without efficient and an modern industry, the Tories can- not hope to compete on the against world markets the Japanese and others who—with their basic oxygen plants--can sell at lower prices in Europe than the Europeans. Almost 50 per cent of British steel is still produced with the open-hearth process. This out- dated method means that pro- ductivity per man in Britain at 110 tons is under half that of the Japanese. But the plans announced for the industry can only be carried through on the basis of massive attacks on the working class.

Yesterday's "Times' put it on the line: 'For several years now it has Britain's steel industry could hot been obvious hope to survive, let aione prosper, without a drastic shake-out of men.' Production will be savagely rationalized and concentrated in five main centres: Ravenscraig, Lackenby, Teesside, Scunthorpe, Port Talbot and the new £7m plant at Redcar on the south bank of the Tees. Japan's 100 million ton plus industry is virtually all on basic oxygen lines. Britain-whose steel comparatively industry has been backward in technique — only produces Il million tons with this method. Scotland will be hard hit with jobs going in ten up to 18,000 Steel-making in North years. Wales will be finished with the closure of Shotton, and the loss of 6,500 jobs. Tom Jones, Wales officer of EVERY single capitalist news- paper yesterday systematically £69,250 down the played seized from the engineering union by the National Indus- trial Relations Court. Yet this was the biggest attack on a trade union in this country the Taff Vale case of since 1903. And hundreds of thousands of on Wednesday workers had proved the same Press to be totally wrong in its unanimous forecasts of a poor response to the call for strikes against the fines. Only one capitalist newspaper carried a report of the fine on its front page. And that one "The Times'-gave the story only four short paragraphs.

The rest buried the story on the inside pages, usually with very short reports. The 'Sun' car- a tiny an equally short while the item page 4, on 'Daily Mail' gave it six para- 9 and "The graphs on page Guardian' and 'Daily Tele- graph' both relegated it to page 5.. Several papers sought to over- shadow the fines story by placing it alongside 'good' which news (or news they tried to make look good).

In the "Telegraph' it was placed day December 23, 1972 you down. We will continue to IT

REALLY

is magnificent. We £1,750 by the asked for next Mon- produce only daily paper you ralsed that out firmly on behalf day. Not only have speaks by the working class. We today, but you have also of are collected nearly £170 the determined to remain in the over top! No other paper could do it. forefront of this great struggle to the Tory Your warm support encourages make government re us to press ahead with our plans sign. We would like to thank you to expand. As the struggle against the Tories, all for the magnificent support building up it clear that thousands of you have raised this month and is that so consistently backs us up workers are now looking towards Workers Press for lead. each month. We will never let We wish you all of you, dear promise we yesterday Vale the Transport and General that Ebbw was the closure list, Workers' Union and chairman also bringing 18,000 Shotton the total loss in Wales to of . the Defence Steel said Other plants doomed Committee, workers at Jobs. those at Corby and Shotton extremely Consett.. were angry. 'They feel they have been Of the £3,000m to be spent on thrown on the industrial scrap- Britain's backward rationalizing heap as if they be pro- no con- steel industry, half is to are ol "They at all,' he said. vided from within BSC. To raise sequence hold the British Steel Corporation that kind of

BSC

Will money, for and government responsible undoubtedly have to launch this vicious attacks on the conditions situation. "They of left working the those will stand against any industry. being man dismissed and are determined not to accept any Market for Common entry redundancies.' British capitalism heralds an it paralleled attack workers' 'The Times' made clear LIVERPOOL shop stewards will be meeting early in January to make a final decision over blacking support for the CAV occupation at Fazakerley. At a Liverpool Trades Council meeting on decision this key issue Thursday the was The main issue is a re- postponed yet again. quest from the docks shop stewards for a guar- antee that they will be backed by industrial action if they are forced into a strike over the blacking of CAV goods on the docks.

Fazakerley themselves are Meanwhile the men fighting a bitter battle to stop the combine for diverting supplies in the north-west.

Pickets have been out at the Lucas Victor works vehicles lorries. But some are getting stopping through. This is despite a deci- sion by Lucas drivers in Birming- decisive stage. Action throughout ham not to handle supplies nor- Merseyside is needed to support mally carried by the Fazakerles the occupation, entering its 13th drivers who have been laid off week. because of the occupation.

But such solidarity can only be The other challenge facing the built on the understanding that occupation committee is the con- the labour movement must unite workers tinning pressure on at behind socialist policies against adjoining Lucas Industrial the the Tory offensive jobs- Eqiupment factory to split the supported by firms fike eagerly ranks and re-start production Lucas. there. noticeable that people It is the crude Lucas are using who rejected this political per- of closure to whip threat up spective in the early days of the

LIE

feeling workers among

CAV

struggle are the most re- Fazakerley men but against the luctant take any concrete so far they have been unsuc- back the determined steps to cessful. fight for the right to work at The CAV struggle is now at a Fazakerley. response that was not confined bigger headlined next December to AUEW members. 1940', while the Though forced to seek to resolve 'Mail' a large headline by attacking the its crisis down' is workers, this class is far from confident. It views the strength and its Both ignored of the working class ers 100 trade unions with real fear- workers unemployed- the -and despite cringing subser- that's according official vience of the rUC leaders to figures which were recently The Tories know very well that sus reports if the determination of the underplay to working class to defend its rights is matched with revo- the days The item was lutionary. leadership, of a of capitalism are numbered.

shadow Huge Cash story Thate ' Stalinist why it is significant that British Steel'- 'Morning Star' Boost for the this "boost' involves although also gave very little coverage the loss of at least 50,000 jobs.

to the story. Workers Press was the only nat- An in working-class upsurge headline struggle against the Tory ional newspaper to gOv- the fact that the nominal value ernment creates the conditions union's for the development of revolu- of the assets seized was not £50,000 but £69,250.

tionary consciousness--which the Stalinists fear as much as Those capitalist which papers mentioned this at all, buried it the Tories. in the text—while 'The Guar- Only Workers Press gave the dian', Telegraph' 'Mail' story the prominence it merits and carried. the figure £50,000 -because only the Socialist in their headlines. Labour League is fighting to The ruling class is nervous at the develop revolutionary con- sciousness and to build the fighting response shown by the revolutionary party in Britain.

working class this week-a readers, best of the very season's greetings. And finally, as your response we are sure with is so great, still another week to go before the end of the month, we can push our final figure well over £2,000 mark. See what you can do. Post any more donations to: Workers Press December Appeal Fund 186a Clapham High Street London. SW4 7UG. organizations and living standards.

That is the meaning of the steel plans.

BLAST

FURNACES

at the British Steel Corporation's Scun- thorpe factory were damped down yesterday morning in preparation for a Christmas strike of steel- workers. About 6,000 members of the Steel Trades Con- Iron and federation were expected to walk out in support of their union's demand for the right to represent middle management at the Lin- colnshire factory. ASIAN workers from Mansfield Hosiery's Loughborough mills definite arrangement on want a the training as knitters and not prospect of scrambling for the 41 jobs offered by management.

Negotiations will continue after Christmas. British-

CARWORKERS

at Leyland's Cowley, Oxford, car- assembly factory have lodged a claim for pay increases of up to £7 a week. To be answered by the company in the New • Year, the claim would give direct pro- workers rises of £5.80 duction week and skilled craftsmen £6.40. This would establish common rate of £50 a week.

:..and God, please God, please This is the third Christmas that the Plymouth Fine Tubes strikers, their wives and their children, have spent on strike with very little money.

These men have waged a bitter struggle for the most worker *can basic right a possess-the right to belong to a trade union. Strike committee members have travelled over 100,000 miles to sustain their fight This Christmas is the hardest of all. It has imposed a great financial burden. Now the 37 strikers face the rest of the winter with a depleted strike fund. January is always a diffi- cult month to raise money to further their fight. Yet they are determined to fight on. This is a struggle the working class cannot afford to lose. That is why the Socialist Labour League and the Work- ers Press wishes to make a special appeal to all trade unionists to take collections in their factories and branches for the Fine Tubes men in order that their heroic and determined action can be car- ried forward. All money should be sent to: Fine Tubes Treasuren c/o 65 Bretonside Plymouth, Devon.

THE

NATIONAL Union of Mineworkers said yesterday that despite warnings government were not expecting a wave they of pit closures. Earlier Tory Industry Minister Mr Tom Boardman told the Commons: 'A number of pits must be so grossly uneconomic that closure is inevitable. And there must be other pits which will have to improve their performance enor- mously if they to remain are open. There will undoubtedly be some contraction and redun- dancies? Yesterday the NCB revealed that four pits employing about 2,000 men have been added to the jeopardy list. They are Auchincruive, Scot- land; Whitworth Park in the in South Salway north-west; Durham and Tower-Fern Hill in South Wales. said: The NUM spokesman 'Pits have always closed. I cer- tainly don't expect a daffy of closures. What Boardman said springs from the new joint NCB.

union consultative committee which is reviewing these things.

I wish these fellows would keep their mouths shut.' Registered as a newspaper at the Post by Workers Office. Published Press, 186a Clapham High Street, London,

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Printed by Plough Press (TU), Lta. Street, London, 180b Clapham High

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DA- ad, please send me £30,000..