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the one the The recently formed Lambeth Campaign against the Cuts held its third meeting last week. The highlight of the evening was the continuing political acrobatics of the Inter national Marxist Group, the self-proclaimed Trotskyists who form the British section of the Unified Secretariat of the Fourth International. The MG claim to support the Transitional Programme, the founding document of the Fourth International. However, the news does not seem to have reached the IMG in Lambeth.

The main item on the agenda FSP (Popular Socialist Front, of the many left splits from Socialist Party).

The danger of this alliance is its domination by the Stalinist policy of support for the bourgeois AFM government: it also utterly fails to provide a fighting policy to develop the independent strength of the working class.

A government based on the scattered expressions of workers power in factory committees, house occupations, etc., is not at this point an immediate policy. It is however a perspective towards which all serious revolutionists must now aim. Thus the correct demand that the workers parties - the CP and the SP, which won a clear majority in the last elections - form a workers government and for an independent constituent assembly distinct from the AFM junta. This can only be fought for through mobilising the class and strengthen ing these local organs of class rule.

If the working class is solely directed to seeking "democratic' rule within the confines of a capitalist Portugal, the necessary direction towards the struggle for power could be lost. At the same time it is certain that the demand for a func tioning independent constituent assembly can expose Soares' links with the AFM to those workers who have been taken in by his demagogic talk of "democratic rights" , and who seek the parliamentary road in Portugal where every major workers party is tied to the bourgeois AFM.-m-adall--i. which the committee should adopt around which the working class of the borough could be mobilised against the cuts in public espenditure being introduced by the Labour Government. Members of the Workers Socialist League.proposed a series of demands based on the Transitional Programme. These demands included a sliding scale of public expenditure to protect against the erosion of the social services through inflation, the opening of the books of the area health authorities and education authorities to committees of trade unionists, a call to the local Labour Party to demand that local MPs and councillors vote against the cuts and the demand that Junior Minister and Tribunite MP for Norwood, John Raser, resign from the government and begin a campaign in the Parliamentary Labour Party to re move Wilson and the right wing from power. supporters of Gerry Healy's LCRP (League for the Construction of a Revolutionary Party) were punched and their papers burned.

A more effective intervention was made by the PRT (Revolutionary Proletarian Party, associated with the Hansenite minority of the "United Secretariat" and pursuing policies opposed to those of the official section the LCI). They distributed a document on the demonstration welcoming the desire for unity against reaction but warning of the dangers of the Popular Front. We saw animated discussion between demonstrators and those who gave out this leaflet, which seemed to provide some hope of breaking these workers from the Stalinist policies that had brought them there.

At the same time, the PRT leaflet contained a number of weaknesses. Despite the real physical dangers, a more effective way could have been found to confront these policies of the CP which have allowed reaction to grow in the past and will certainly encourage it in the future. Above all, the PRT leaflet did not mention the need for unity in action with those workers who still support the biggest working class organisation , - the Socialist Party. The slogan «down with Social Democracy!" was shouted with great fervour on the demostration and while many workers expressed their justifiable hostility to the reactionary policies of the Soares leadership, the Stalinists must not be allowed to prevent the growth of inint action hetween

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NAf d „9H 1 PLOYMENT 8 2827 The Labour Government, acting as the representatives of British capitalism in crisis are working jointly with the TUC leaders to create mass unemployment. This is in an attempt to solve the economic crisis of capitalism at the expense of the living standards, jobs and working conditions of the working class whose votes put them in power.

The collaboration of the union leaders in this is: blatant. The TUC advocates 'voluntary' wage restraint to hide Wilson's introduction of state pay laws restricting rises to £6. Every trade union leader, every loca official, every right-wing convenor now argues for the viability, on capitalist terms, of private industry in order to avoid fighting for the defence of jobs or for wages.

Their capitulation to the employer is concealed by the reactionary derr and for import controls - made loudest by those who have done least to defend jobs. Such a policy amounts to support for British capitalists against "foreign" capitalists, under conditions where capitalism internationally exploits the working class and stands in the way of improving living standards or developir the productive forces.

In the steel industry, where the tra union leaders have accepted the loss of 20,000 jobs, with wage cuts and speed-up for those remaining, in order to make the Corporation viable, the same leades now hypocritically call for import controls - to protect jobs!

In British Leyland, where the union leaders are enthusiastically implementing, the Ryder Report * which is almost solely concerned -With the reduction of the labour force - they join with managemen! a the company newspaper to emand sanctions against Japanese car imports.

Nor are such betrayals confined to the right wing. It is now Nat-ional Committee policy of the Stalinists of the Communist Party to advocate import controls. Now the Morning Star has come out in favour of the implementation of the Ryder Report (along with its lass-collaborationist "worker part icipation" committees, whose job it is to force in the rationalisation of BLMC).

Precisely because of the treacher of these leaders workers face a situation where unemployment of 1,250,000 will grow rapidly worse. At the same time living standards will fall at an alarming rate under the impact of inflation The most conspicuous aspect of the present mass unemployment is the total silence of every one of the TUC leaders, 'left' and right.

In earlier periods of unemployment, such as 1963, 1966 and under the Tory government in 1971-1972, there were lobbies of parliament, demonstrations, or at very least militant speeches from the trade union leaders to cover over their complete inactior Now they recognise that the situation is much more serious.

The working class is still capable of defeating the Labour government's reactionary plans. Even the lightest breath of leadership in this situation could kindle the unbroken strength of the working class and force a major struggle challenging capitalism itself. Under such conditions the struggle of the working class to overthrow capitalist property relations and establish state power would be posed. The trade union leaders, dedicated to preserving and reforming capitalism, shrink from this perspective.

ATN SAN This is why they sit silent -even while their unions' membership is eroded by unemployment - and raise not a finger nor a voice to defend a single job.

To answer this situation the Workers Socialist League puts forward a programme on which the fight against unemnlovment can begin.

The starting point must be to demand that sackings are ended and instead a policy of work-sharing on full pay fought for where jobs are threatened.

Where the employer refuses tl demand, the threatened factory must be occupied, and a committee elected to demand access to the books of the company and report back the real state of its finances.

Only in this way can the 'bankruptcy' or otherwise of the company be revealed, since otherwise the employers have a monopoly of information. If, indeed, the firm is bankrupt, then it proves not (as the employer and union leaders will argue) that the workers should drop their clair but that the factory or company i fit for nothing but nationalisation under the control of workers' elected committees, preparatory to full workers' management.

As the Norton Villiers Triumph experience shows (where a powerful occupation now stands in great danger), the demand for nationalisation within the capitalist state is not enough. The fight must be for socialist nationalisation - with paying compensation except to si savers, but with a programme of state contracts to keep productio: going while workers' committees begin the development of an ecor omic plan for the factory and thi industry as a whole. Such a plan, produced by workers themselves, would stand as a clear alternative to the anti-working class rationalisation 'plans' of the employers.

But public works programmes must not be restricted to presery. ing existing jobs. Rather trade union committees in each area must draw up plans for useful programmes of building and othe work to provide additional emplo ment on full average industrial earnings (not the dole). Only if such steps are taken can the thousands of unemployed school leavers and workers already on the dole be found jobs. The dem and must be that the government carry out this programme - not by subsidising the building mansnolies and land eneculatore hut punvo anu samu spermaruis, vur by nationalising building firms without compensation, expropriat ing the land and putting the schemes under workers' management.

UNITY

In a situation where 1,250,000 are unemployed there are other key issues on which unity must be fought for between employed and unemployed workers. While workers must fight for the sliding scale of wages, to provide increases linked to the rising cost of living as assessed by trade union committees, those committees must also. include unemployed workers and pensioners and must lead the fight to ensure that state benefits keep pace with inflation.

The illusion peddled by the TUC leaders that high wages cause unemployment must be fought. the standard of living falls, even more workers are thrown on to the dole as further sections of industry go bankrupt.

In order to fight for such a programme the unemployed must be organised by the trade union movement. We urge all our members and readers to demand in their union branches and committees that the unions make provision for the recruitment of unemployed workers.

Where such provisions do exist, the demand should be put forward that these facilities are advertised, and campaigns waged for the recruitment of unemployed worker and youth.

Trades Council delegates have an important role to play. Motions. should be moved that Trades Councils set up specialist committees to organise and deal with the problems of the unemployed. It should be the job of such committees to fight also for a programme to defend jobs and challenge the union leaders who stand on the side of the employe against the unemployed.

The trade union movement, through these committees, must take on the responsibility of solving the individual problems faced by the unemployed - both those who are able to join a trade unio: and those who are not. If the working class movement does not act to organise the unemployed, the danger is that the racists, the fascists and the scab racketeers will, and will use what forces they win there against the organised working class.

The defence of jobs and the organisation of the unemployed are thus linked in this. period and are the obligation of every class-conscious trade unionist.

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POL UNEM