Stop the lies on the Camden dea

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CAMDER Bay John Suddaby (left) on platform during Camden strike Dear Comrades, As shop stewards centraliy involved in the public sector pay fight in Camden which secured almost the full. £60/35 hour week claim, we feel we must come out publicly in opposition to what amount to deliberately lying accounts of the settlement published in both Socialist Worker and Socialist Challenge.

Both papers claim that there was no political opposition to the acceptance of Camden Council's offer in the week of February 19.

Socialist Worker states outright that:

«'Certainly in Camden, no-one on the left argued for Camden NUPE to stay out.

The argument should have been put, but there is much strength [sic!] in the argument that not signing a settiement in Camden so near the claim will strengthen the opprition in NUPE to the sell out"

(SW 17.3.79)

Socialist Challenge (March 1) takes a more roundabout way of distorting the truth.

In an article written by Sikorski and Varnes, and (unusually) endorsed by no less than the Political Bureau of the Publicly disowns the actions of IVIG Socialist Challenge IMG member and Camden NUPE Branch Secretary John Pakl Worke NEED Suddaby.

But it goes on to report the steps leading to the acceptance of the offer as follows:

"Prematurely assuming that the strike would crumble, they [the strike committee] voted-to recommend acceptance to the mass meeting.

In addition, neither at the strike committee nor at the mass, meeting did the branch leadership argue the case for Camden to continue to play their leading role by staying out for the full national claim."

The Socialist Challenge article dodges any mention of the opposition there was within the Negotiating Committee and within the Strike Committee to accepting the offer.

Instead it minimises the opportunism of IMG member Suddaby by palming off responsibility onto "the strike committee", "the branch leadership" , and later even "the Camden leadership"

These terms are designed to give the impression that not only Suddaby but (since no opposition is mentioned) all the leading stewards involved in making the key decisions backed down.

This is simply not true. Indeed in 'an interview with Socialist Press (published 28 February), Cressy Road dustmen's steward John Seymour Low Paid Workers described the opposition that existed to the offer among strikers, while pointing out Suddaby's role in pressing for a quick settlement "in case the council - withdrew their offer.

Seymour argued then, and continued to argue for Camden to press ahead-to win the claim in full for all sections of workers, and to strengthen the national struggle.

It was Suddaby who from 19 February onwards pressed the case for acceptance-and it was SWP members who actually proposed the mass meeting.

•Thursday February 22 on the other hand saw no less than six strike committee membersincluding WL members-vote against recommending accepTance.

These six were stewards from sections of dustmen, home helps (whom Suddaby wanted to be exempted from the strike call), lighting, sewers, baths and cemetry workers.

It is a total fraud for the SWP and IMG to ignore this political opposition, led by the WSL within the strike committee-especially when they do so only to cóver up the opportunist actions of their own members.

Yours fraternally, John Seymour, Camden NUPE C. Creasly, Camden NUPE supplies through nationalised banks, haulage firms and manufacturing The nationalisation of the food processing industry and distribution monopolies would also ensure the peasant farmer received a fair price for his foodstuffs.

But at the same time a socialist system would in every way possible encourage peasant farmers to come together in more efficient, collective units where • mechanisation and modern technology could GANI Papers in Britain gloomily reported early last week that the morale of the RUC in Northern Ireland had sunk to rock bottom following the publication of the Bennett report.

It is not that RUC officers are unduly thin skinned or sensitive to criticism. But knowing, as they do know, that the torture they, hand out to republicans under interrogation is part of the British policy for Ireland, they no. doubt felt let down by friends who made tutt-tutting noises over their excessive enthusiasm for the job.

Perhaps these fine upstanding examples of the British way of colonial rule will be feeling a little better this week. Certainly the press in Britain has been doing its bit to cheer them up.

The_Daily Mail has surely earned itself a ringside seat in the RUC control room when plans to start televising interrogations are introduced.

Tribute

Reporter lan Smith (no relation by blood, but sympathetic. in politics) paid his tribute to the forces of law and order in Northern Ireland in a tear jerking centre page piece.

"Pressures from the job are enormous-and constant. An 80hour working week is average; a gruelling 120 hour seven day week unexceptional. with inderdevelope conomies elsewhere in th world.

The present EEC structure, however, is not only not socialist, but is designed as bulwark against socialist revolutionattempting to buttress up the various crisis-ridden capitalist governments in a mutual economic, political, and eventually military embrace.

This year's scheduled "The chain smoking, soft voiced detective had three hours sleep the previous night and was wearing the pin striped suit for a frustratingly time consuming 10.00 am court appearance.' (That is the trouble with these court appearances. Frustratingly time consuming. Perhaps it would be possible to dispense with the trials, sinçe everyone is complaining that the Diplock courts are little more than a rubber stamp for confessions extracted under torture.)

Pin-striped martyr But you must not confine your sympathy for just this one individual pin striped martyr. There are more.

"In Northern Ireland where the Royal Ulster Constabulary are trying to maintain law and order in a province ripped apart by civil war, he is nothing exceptional, just one of the 6,460 men daily subjected to unbearable, unrelenting strain.

"Targets of Provisional IRA gunmen, RUC men never relax, never go to the pub for a drink, never open the door without a gun hidden behind their backsand always check their car in case it has , been booby trapped."

Don't let us mistake this gun-toting teetotal life for one of insecurity: Our pinstriped detective who "grins as he throws out mind boggling statistics like charging eleven men with seven The fight for a concerted boycott of these elections must be linked with a struggle for the policy of breaking up the EEC, through forcing the withdrawal of Britain and the other member countries.

The task is not the hopeless one of seeking to negotiate or legislate improvements in the Common Market, but the revolutionary one of the overthrow of capitalism in each European country and the establishment of a Socialist United States of Europe. separate murders within eight day period" is not a frightened.

"There is no time to be scared. Besides why should' you be frightened of cowards who hide while they are shooting at us and always run away after they have planted a bomb?' • Medals And there are consolations. The RUC receives more medals from the Queen than any other police force she commands.

"Just a few days ago 16 men flew from Aldergrove airport to Buckingham Palace to collect six George Medals, five Queen's Gallantry Medals and five Queen's commendations ... an unprecedented accolade in the history of any police force."

When things look bleak, when lily-livered do gooders and wreckers seeking, to undermine the fabric of their society as they know it start knocking them for excessive enthusiasm with the truncheons, fists and boots, these gallant band of heroes know that the Queen will be waiting for them loaded up with medals.

Mutilated

Or as one RUC man summed up the esprit de corps in the interview from his hospital bed where he lay terribly mutilated:

"If I could lay my hands on the man who did it I'd put my gun behind his ear and pull the trigger".

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Hansen with Leon Trotsky in Mexico Listi ANIE takeover of the state machinery by monolithic Stalinist parties January 1 1959: Cuban newspape Carried away with the superficially 'left' rhetoric and

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NEED alinimum Wage