They d to have labour camps

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Tebbit's new 'training initiative' starts soon. We look back Tebbit's new training initiative' starts soon. We look back at similar compulsory schemes in the "30's FOR school leavers the pros pects of work may be bleak, but for those in the "job creation" industry business is booming. Manpower Services, YOPs, TOPs, the Youth Training Initiative have becorne a major part of the bosses' strategy over the last four years.

But their aim is NOT to combat the poverty and indignity of unemployment amongst young workers. Instead they want to use the mass unemployment of youth to create a different kind of workforce - one which can be worked till it drops with no more than a minimum outlay on wages. • A workforce which has no trade union rights against sackings, victimisation or inhuman working conditions. In short what the bosses want is slave labour.

History

The history of "employment" schemes in the 1930s gives us a clear picture of which way the Tories want to go with the new training initiative. It also shows that the bosses are prepared to be patient in their pursuit of their slave labour goal - taking one step at a time.

In 1925 the government began to open training centres for the unemployed.

Courses ran for six months and gave training in specific trades like welding and carpentry. In many respects, they were similar to the present government retraining centres.

But in 1929 these were supplemented wịth a different kind of training, In May of that year the first Ministry of Labour ''Instructional Centre" was opened.

These were not skill centres. They were generally known as "training and reconditioning camps".

Typical jobs in them NATIONAL HISTORIC _ mne_ were forest clearing and road making. And the camps were residential!! In other words they were work camps, the British equivalent of the labour camp.

These special camps paid no wages. The "volunteers" instead got four shillings a week pocket money, taken out of their unemployment benefit. All the rest of their benefit was taken from them for food and accommodation at the camp. The trade union rate for labouring at that time was 42 shillings a week. Little wonder that these camps were known to workers as the "slave camps"

Behind this 'slave labour scheme' was the idea that workers should work for their dole. That the unemployed had no rights to benefits unless they were prepared to slave for hours in the most back. breaking jobs and that meant working a week for a day's pay. That was the future offered to youth.

Government papers of the time show hos the bosses weren't keen just to make people work for dole money.

In 1934, a new Unemployment Act was passed extending the role of the slave camps among the young unemployed. Attendance became compulsory for UNITY AGREEMENT in them. Those who refused not only lost their benefit -they were prosecuted! During 1935 hundreds of young workers were fined by magistrates for refusing to be drafted into the bosses slave labour army in the camps. Four years later they were all being drafted into the trenches as cannon fodder for the Second World War.

The struggle of the unemployed of the 1930s was a long and heroic one which has gone into school history books as the Jarrow marches. But the marches changed nothing! That is why we are taught about them. The real fight of the unemployed,. against closures, for trade union rates for all work, to smash the slave labour . camps remains a closely guarded secret.

The militant young workers who organised strikes in the slave camps and on training schemes aren't in the history books.

That is the way forward today, against the Tories' dream of a new genration of slave camps, fighting as they did in the '30s to bring the unemployed struggle into the labour movement.

. Especially now when £25 a week is put forward as a decent wage for a 40 hour week on the New Training Initiative.

Marek Garstocki, now editor of the Solidarity Trade Union Working Group bulletin in Britain, remembers his school as the starting place of his political involvement. Like most other schools, says Marek, the social studies teachers encouraged classes to discuss and think for themselves.

And if the head teacher wasn't in the Party, or the would talk about "forbidden parts of Polish history".

Clampdown Some schools, like Warsaw Grammar School, have such a reputation for student and teacher militancy that since martial law, there has been talk of closing it down. We asked Marek what sort of school student involvement there had been with Solidarnos and he told us about the URO - the Pupils Defence Movement. "Although known student activists were likely to fail their leaving exams, (unless they did better than everyone else and get put yanger's to say, Let me as wa have to ATO must ita NATO must have PEOPLE in high places are getting very worried by YCND. They need to be, for YCND is the fastest growing youth campaign in Britain, with over 6,000 members and hundreds of groups up and down the country. Since June 6 alone we've been inundated with hundreds of new applications.

The latest people to show interest in us are the Ministry of Defence. They're producing a glossy leaflet 'How to deal with a bully -neace throuah deterrence NGUNY - the only answer to a bully's threat.' The bully is Russia, and the leaflet, aimed at school youth, tries to convince the reader that "NATO's policy of deterrence has kept peace in Europe for over 30 years". (Try telling that to the Turkish people living under the Generals' dictatorship, kept in power by NATO).

We are also told that, unlike Russia, NATO is making serious efforts to halt the nuclear threat. The peaceful grassy lands of this country are portrayed in the centre of the leaflet in an attempt to convince us that all is serene and peaceful in England. (Bet there's a nuclear bomb shelter for some rich bastard under the grassy hill!)

In response, YCND has produced a counter-leaflet "Think for Yourself - My into dead end jobs or small provincial colleges, it was common to find discussion pamphlets circulated by school groups". School students also led marches and at Marek's tech college crash courses in printing were filled with school activists.

Since the clampdown, school students have had to find new ways of protesting.

A popular form of protest has been to sit in absolute silence during lunch breaks.

In some schools the head has called in the police to stop the silence! The latest Voice of Solidarnose carries report of the Youth Social Defence Committee's recommendations to school students to continue the silent break protests, wearing resistors (resistors are pieces from old radios worn in Poland as symbols of resistance - they're much easier to get hold of than badges!)

on their lapels, not going to cinemas, theatres or discos, and going for a walk during TV news broadcasts. same bcally, t of the West has Britan Every t a pots up a neve propta's satety and well-being can Youth, our Future, Peace" through Deterrence." • It aims to counter the MoD leaflets by facts and truths, encouraging young people to get involved in CND and voice their opposition to the insanity of an arms build-up - of course we haven't the resources of the MoD but we hope enough youth, teachers, land civil servants in MoD) will circulate the leaflet and promote peace education in schools.

The message is clear:

"There has never been an arms race that hasn't ended in war" "That's a history lesson none of us can afford to ignore."

At the last NC preparations were started for the first national YCND event. This will happen in London on September 18 with bands and do's - the only hassle at the moment is finance, with the GLC unwilling to give us a hand and CND in dire financial straights.

Another event is the peace camp being held in East Acton "Tent City" during the whole of August. Organised for YCND by END, there'll be events and workshops and lots more so bring a tent and it's only £1 a night (phone END 01277 1236 for more details.

In the last issue of Class Fighter you'll remember YCND were supporting the Reagan Reception ComThe first generation of fioet nanoration college students since the growth of Solidarnose have flocked into the militant union, the NZS (Solidarnost students). These are the students who were in their last year at school when the strike wave started. Marek thinks the organisations of school students have been responsible for this. Before the new college intake (last year) only 20% of students were in the NZS, now the number is around 50%.

Speakers Solidarnose Trade Union Working Group can send speakers to meetings to talk about Solidarnost. Why not get your LPYS branch or General Committee to invite a speaker. Maybe you could contact your local Polish Solidarity Committee and hold the meeting jointly.

Information and collection sheets are a good way to start building support for Solidarnosc. You should write to STUWG and the NZS at: Acorn House, 314/ 210 Gray's Inn Road, London WC1X 8DP. thinking mitter tion ( last N secret quite only : critici suppe the de WI direct abilit decisi of its "If y name dis in NATO - to deter Russie fron Rg03в0.

TE us rub ash.

land left in peace-they get strength and deterrence. That's the way to secure peace - not wishful = and its demonstraon June 7. Well at the IC Bruce Kent, national Mary of CND rold us categorically that not should YCND not have ised CND for failing to Part it but couldn't go on emonstration. hen I argued that this tly undermined YCND's y to make its own ions and the sovereignty i conference he replied You want to drag CND's in the mud then go"!!

of Defence propaganda leafler. ID's reply KER.

Write Goodwin N4.

IN A WAR.

CND For those on the left in YCND there's a big problem arguing against the bureaucratic attitudes of people like Bruce Kent who want to keep CND pure and unadulterated from politics (especially socialist ones). We don't need purity like that! Join CND and YCND now!

JUDITH BONNER YCND NC to YCND, 11, Street, Londor:

----- pull-quotes -----

those drawing benefit once they were called up for work

secret police weren't watch- ing, radical history teachers

MADE HEAR O IN IDEA KIWILLHAL TO GET AJO WORKING FO

NATO'S POLICY of us can afford to ignore