50 Minute Sell-out

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To the apparent fury of the Tory press, local authority employers agreed last veek to f6 a week pay increases for 1 million of their manual workers. To judge from the panic, any reader might think it had been conceded after weeks of crippl ing industrial action which forced the employers to their knees.

Nothing of the sort. The negotiations had in fact begun and ended within a mere 50 minutes, and had taken the form of the union leaders (eager supporters of Wilson's pay laws) hearing the This was of a actorgepting it. the union, but a capitulation to wage-cutting legislation.

If £6 was conceded as a starting offer, it is obvious much more could have been won with, a fight. And £6, after deductions will scarcely make a dent in the hugely inflated bills every worker and his family face this winter for food, electricity, travel and consumer goods.

CONFERENCE

In the case of the NUPE representative at the talks, he went completely against the decision against the £6 limit at their recent conference. The G&MWU spokesman, Charles Donnet, pointed out openly that "under norm: circumstances we would have pushed for 27% increases match the rise in the cost iving" . In other words these FRANCO, continued from page 1 Stalinism. While Communist Partic chroughout Europe denounce the crimes of Franco, they remain tactfully silent on the economic backing given to Spanish fascism by trade with the degenerated workers states of Eastern Europe. * Poland, Rumania, Czechoslavakia, Yugoslavia, the Soviet Union, Hungary, Bulgaria, East Germany and Albania all carry out increasing volumes of bilateral trade with Spain, providing Franco with valuable markets.

And in 1970 it was Polish coal imported by Franco which enabled the defeat of the Asturian miners' strike.

The British CP then and now remains absolutely silent on this. international strikebreaking role of Stalinism. Nor does the Spanish Cr challenge in any way the "peaceful coexistence" of the Soviet bureaucracy with fascism. Rather, CP leader Carillo himself sees a peaceful transition from dictatorship to bourgeois democracy in Spain (see report, page 3).

The Stalinist leaders, who just signed away half Europe to capitalism in the Helsinki pact, intend to keep this agreement, even at th expense of a further defeat for the Spanish working class.

It is for this reason that only the Trotskyist movement, built in struggle against the betrayals off Stalinism and social democracy, dan point a way forwand in the fight to remove the Franco regime The demand in Spain must be for a united front of workers organisations to prepare general strike action to topple the fascist dictatorship. The shootings have confirmed that it is senseless to look to the regime for even the most minimal reforms. No issue -whether the national rights of the Basques and the Catalans, trampler on by Franco, or the democratic rights of assembly, free speech and trade union organisation - can be resolved while the fascist power remains intact.

The alliances being made by the underground Spanish CP and bureaucrats, who live off the backs of trade unionists, consci ously settled for a wage cut without even consulting the me bership.

Their show of weakness on wages will only strengthen the employers' drive to impose savage cuts in manning. This is what the press barrage on the settlement was all about, with the continual reference to "£20: million on the rates" building • u middle class hostility to the council workers and seeking to divide the working class itself, in preparation for redundancies.

The union leaders blandly ignore this danger. Jack May, NUPE assistant general secretary, said "We will now expect the Government to take action to protect our membership's jobs and to halt the rise in prices" As if the Wilson government ha: shown any inclination to protect jobs - with 1,300,000 unemploye - or hold down prices, rising at 20%.

REMOVED

These bankrupt union bureaucrats who will not fight the employers must be removed. The fight must be taken up for thest unions to reject the Tuc major ity's acceptance of state pay laws: and unemployment. To defend wages against inflation a sliding scale of wages clause must be forced into all wage agreements, which must not start out from bogus demands for "the full £6" but from the much larger increases needed to bring wages up to the increased cost of living.

Juan Manot: sang ETA hymn te firing squad general strike struggle wagedto bring Franco down and establish a workers' government. In preparation for this, factory committees and local councils of action must be established, and these must arrange the arming of detachment: of workers in self-defence squads to hold off military intervention.

POWERLESS

If Spanish workers through such a fight could inflict a defeat on th fascist regime, the European bourgeoisie would be almost powerless openly to intervene. But the way would be open for the working class of Europe to act in support.

These policies must at once be fought for to attack the Franco regime. * A complete black on Spanish imports and exports. Jones must call official T&GWU action, and fight for full TUC mobilisation. All unions must cancel scab holid programmes in Spain. * The Labour government must break off all diplomatic and trade relations with the fascist regime. * The labour movement must demand an immediate end to trade and diplomacy between the workers states and Spain. Demand where the British CP stands. End Stalinist support for Franco! * Full financial support to Spanish workers in struggle. Open the books of British mononolies with holidavs