Miners' Strike Threat Wins Photo: Andrew Wiard, Report Deep Duffryn Reprieve

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Coal Board to otticial trade union action Duffryn as on a national level, pose a major making pit. challenge to the cuts in public The fact that in this instance services. Now the NUM has union leaders have been forced proved it in practice. to wage a struggle that flies in • At a time when the jobs of STEEL WORKS STEELWORKS arres healthy boost the the fund.

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London ESS Socialist Press Special Fund 1HR Area Workers Socialist SUMMER FAYRE Saturday 14 July at Lyndhurst Hall ST McGahey ¡hile press attention at the miners' conference centred on the unanimous decision to submit a 65% pay claim for settlement by the old, review date of November 1, the most immediate impact of the conference was on the fight against closures.

The militancy of NUM delegates in supporting the struggle by South Wales miners against the closure of Deep Duffryn colliery forced even right wing President Gormley into calling on the Coal Board to reverse its decision.

It became unmistakeably clear that the South Wales decision to ballot members for strike action would produce an overwhelming 'yes' vote, and that miners in Scotland, Yorkshire, Durham and other areas would mobilise in support.

Within haurs of the confer- HUMID WI LIL VUITILIence ending these developments had their effect.

The NCB began making noises about reconsidering the closure plan: and by late Sunday night it was reported that the threat of widespread action had persuaded them to pull back and reprieve the 450 jobs at Deep Duffryn.

The struggle marks a major victory by the union and is particularly significant in that tigures show weep a substantial lossPHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report duce the same effect by forcing the UPW leadership to collaborate further in massive attacks on working conditions within the Post Office.

With these viciousiy direct methods, the Tories are seeking to drive workers out of state employment and at the same time operate cheaper, more 'efficient' services for private capital.

Unemployment

In the long term of course they also look to a massively increased pool of unemploy• ment as a means of reducing all wages in every sector of Such attacks cannot be thrown back by snivelling whines from the Labour frontbench or TUC bureaucrats.

Kinnock from the Labour 'left' has called for the next Labour government to renationalise without compensation all sections de-nationalised by the Tories.

But the threat exists now, and a response cannot wait on the machinery of parliamentary Jobs and conditions in the social services, civil service, local government and state-owned or controlled industry must be defended by action now.

Closures, redundancies and speed-up must be fought with a the face the standard employers argument Onl amnlnuna! suremant an "viability' is of importance to workers in other "loss-making" sectors such as steel and shipbuilding.

But it also points the way forward in the struggle against the cuts in service, sackings and closures in the public sector.

The Workers Socialist League has consistently argued that immediate strong actionstrikes or occupations in the area concerned-could, if linked SHOTION SHOTTON Steel industry faces new attacks clear programme of demands.

Occupations must be planned and organised to unite every section of the labour movement in supporting strike action.

Demands for a massive increase in expenditure on the social services to meet existing needs, with a sliding scale to counter inflation, must go alongside the demand for work-sharing on full pay in the state industries and a sliding scale of wages throughout the public sector (not just for MPs) with the abolition ot low wages. ALR. -I-- I:e: - .1I.

Against the exploitation of nationalised property .as a service for the profits of private capital, all the books and accounts of the public sector must be opened to the scrutiny of elected committees of trade unionists (with housewives, claimants, pensioners, school and college students).

With the help of sympathetic technical advisers these committees can assess the use and abuse of funds and resources which is operated through the present system.

In the struggle to defend all these sectors against the openly pro-capitalist attacks of the Tories, the fight must be taken up to develop workers control and build the basis for workers management of nationalised industries in a planned socialist leaders was also reflected in the leftward shift in the NUM Conference.

Right wing General. Secretary Lawrence Daly came within one vote of losing his seat on the TUC General Council to Scottish Stalinist Mick McGahey whose remarks were recently witch-hunted in the press by Gormley.

Top of the poll came left-talking Yorkshire President Arthur Scargill. The question outstanding is whether he, or the other lefts on the NUM Executive will press forward the fight for the 65% pay claim.

Crisis . .. from front page ended through concessions and piecemeal compromises. Only nationalisation of major industry without compensation under workers' management can defend existing jobs and create new ones.

Within the Labour Party the extreme right wing Callaghan leadership that rejects any form of socialist answer to the crisis and opposes action to bring down Thatcher, must be removed.

This entails a fight to expose the treachery of those left' poseurs on Labour's National Executive who mouth opposition to Callaghan but refuse to lift a finger to campaign for him to be thrown out.

The working class has the strength to defeat the Tories and carry through the struggle for socialism.

But it is saddled with a reactionary, reformist leadership that seeks only to preserve its own privileges within the capitalist system.

A revolutionary alternative can and must be built if these leaders are not to pave the way to serious setbacks for the working class.

This is the task undertaken by the Workers Socialist League.

SACI AGHAN!!

12,1 MATe TEB ( RISIS O: " CAPITALISM STILL' AVAILABLE: WSL Manifesto - spelling out the programme of the WSL and our attitude to the 1979 General Election. 5p plus 7p post from WSL, 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London NW5 1HR.

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