[Ford workers lobbying last week's p such ban…]

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Ford workers lobbying last week's p such ban on government departments purchasing Ford cars.

They hope to strengthen Ford's resolve to sit out the strike, and are counting on other TUC leaders to repeat their sabotage of the firemen's strike, by ensuring that the Ford workers stay isolated.

Looks fragile

But with claims now under way for local authority workers, lorry drivers, British Leyland workers and many others, this strategy looks increasingly fragile.

It can be destroyed completely. All those workers with claims now due must press for a straight answer from management on whether or not they will offer in excess of 5%.

Where the employer refuses to break the Phase 4 limit there must be immediate strike action alongside the Ford workers.

The mass upsurge of workers on wages flows from three years of cuts in living standards inflicted through government pay limits.

Thousands of workers are noW declaring in practice that they are determined to defend their independent interests, and that they reject the spurious arguments about the 'national interest' peddled by Callaghan and Healey.

The danger remains that Evans, with his talk of "responsible bargaining" and emphasis on basing claims on what the employer can afford, will move in to attack pay struggles in supposedly "bankrupt" sections of capitalism-such as British Leyland.

Only last week AUEW leaders forced the strikers at Leyland's Bathgate plant back to work, using the argument that the company could not afford to concede to clear demands.

Workers must challenge any such move.

Leyland workers, with their review due for settlement on November 1, should be fighting alongside Fords.

If the employer argues he is too bankrupt to pay a living wage to his workforce the immediate demand must be for his accounts and those of his suppliers and bankers to be opened up to elected trade union committees.

If he proves in fact to be bankrupt this is an argument not for dropping the demand for a living wage, but for adding to it demand for nationalisation, without compensation, of the firm concerned, along with the whole string of banks and component firms that feed off it.

Ford workers have spoken for the working class as a whole. Now is the time to take action to regain lost living standards and defend them through cost-of-living clauses based on figures worked out by elected trade union/housewives committees.

Should any 'left' MP timidly pose as a supporter of this struggle to break Phase 4, he or she must be called upon to put their talk into practice, and immediately begin campaign throughout the labour movement for the removal of the wage-cutting Callaghan/Healey leadership and for alternative, socialist policies.

In this way the gap between left' words and the actions of these reformist leaders can be rapidly exposed.

attended stration London protest wave of the Friday

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INTERNATIONAL- .... MH mnana iststoodes rus Mengistu's rallies are not often seen rushing off together at short notice to meet African Presidents.

The revelations over the Zimbabwe sanctions busting led to just such a trip last week.

Clearly under some pressure, Zambian President Kaunda who has always argued for faith to be placed in the sanctions strategy summonea nIS Important Ar a man hin immonialiot friends to meet him in Nigeria.

The outcome of the meeting was a statement to the ettect -II ..e that Owen, Callaghan and Kaunda had "no differences on the future of Southern Africa".

Callaghan and Owen's trip comes at a time when, to ail appearances, the imperialist plans in both Namibia and Zimbabwe are in shreds.

In Namibia, South African Premier Vorster's resignation through ill health was announced at the same time as the South African government made it clear that it intends to proceed with the "internal settlement" Nkomo and Mugabe - rival candidates i his means that erections Tor a National Assembly are to be held before the end of the year and that the timetable drawn up by the UN and the latter's plan for a UN "peacekeeping" force are rejected.

This is despite the fact that only the ultra-nationalist Ji for grouping 'Aktur' and the collaborationist Democratic Turnhalle Alliance have agreed to take part in the elections.

Both SWAPO and the Namibia National Front had already boycotted the internal settlement, but had agreed with the United Nations plan.

Now that the UN and the front-line states have succeeded in forcing SWAPO into a negotiated settlement, the South African government clearly feels it has nothing to lose by stepping up the bargaining over the port of Walvis Bay by ignoring the UN settlement for the time being.

Walvis Bay is a strategically important port in Namibia over which South Africa wishes to keep control after independence.

It was the main point of difference which remained to be settled after the UN plan was accepted by both Vorster and SWAPO a few months ago.

In Zimbabwe, lan Smith has followed up his imposition of selective martial law with a four-day raid into Mozambique and conscription of blacks into the army.

Desperate move

The latter is a desperate move, hardly designed to make him friends in the African masses-since if blacks are to be forced to fight anyway, the chances must be increased that they will take up arms with the guerrilla forces.

Meanwhile important moves appear to be taking place within the liberation forces.

At the recent celebrations the anniversary of the Ethiopian revolution, Nkomo was heavily snubbed by Fidel Castro, who did not even meet him.

Castro preferred to spend several hours with ZANU leader Robert Mugabe.

ZANU has traditionally looked to Peking rather than Moscow.

But the celebrations in Addis Ababa a key theme was hostility to the Chinese.

It seems very likely that Castro's courting of Mugabe is connected with this.

It is reported that for some time a section of the ZANU leadership has been under "protective detention" in Mozambique.

It is possible that these people ara Inost most committed to Peking and that what is taking place is a definite realignment of the ZANU leadership away from China towards Moscow.

This may also be what is behind ZAPU leader Nkomo's recent petulant rejection of any new conference on

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1246 MILLION PROFIT OFF OUR BACKS = ROBBERY STUFE THE 57 PHOTO: Laurence Sparham, IFL

in Iran, DON AREA LET THE 4TH

Impertdst srooges Tusn to patch up African shambles

Prime Minister Callaghan and Foreign Secretary Owen