Bank-on Union Leaders' Sell-out

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the whole working class.

Three whole months after being mandated by the TUC Congress to mount a campaign against the cuts and anti-union laws, these top bureaucrats last week finally spelled out their long-term strategy: a national demonstration on Sunday March 9; and a "day of action" -consisting of a series of lunchtime meetings!-on Wednesday These pathetic token gestures are the sum total of TUC resistance to an unprecedented Tory offensive on every Time to bite Indeed a spokesman actually argued that the incredibie delay before even these protests take place is "io allow the cuts to bite", and to "give union leaders time to assess the feelings of the rank and file"!

This argument is, of course, nonsense. There have been ample indications to even the blindest and deafest union leader that workers in both the public and private sector are more than ready, given the slightest lead, to take action against the cuts and against the whole battery of Tory policies.

Tens of thousands of workers have taken to the streets in the last few months in protest against Tory anti-abortion laws, local governı lent spending cuts, racist legisla ion, and cuts throughout the pi blic sector.

Strikes

Nearly 40,000 BL carworkers were involved in unofficial strikes against the victimisation of Combine Committee chairman Derek Robinson who opposed mass sackings in BL; and 2 million engineering workers fought a tenacious battle against the Engineering Employers Federation , • to achieve a cut in the working week.

Even now shop floor resistance to the Tory package of closures, redundancies and cuts in teal wages in the steel industry has forced the rightwing-led Iron and Steel Trades Confederation to call allout strike action on pay from 2 January.

Such is the shop floor militancy against the Tories that even bureaucratic leaders of the Welsh TUC have been forced into making threats of a possible general strike against the mass sackings in the South Wales steel Tax the dole This anger can only increase the Tories press ahead with PHOTO: Laurie Sparham, IFL No action- Fisher their programme of vicious attacks on working class living standards.

Last week saw Thatcher vigorously reasserting the Tory manifesto pledge to tax dole and social security payments in order to tackle what she called the " Why work?' syndrome"

This renewed, cynical, onslaught on those thrown out of work by Tory policies, together with still more public spending cuts, are intended to enable the government to introduce yet another cut in taxes for the wealthy, to provide what the Tories describe as "personal incentives"

But it also runs alongside Sir Keith Joseph's plan to cut £10 per week from benefits paid to strikers' families-regardless of hafdship.

The Tory argument is that benefits will be paid on the assumption that a striker is receiving £10 per week in strike pay from his or her union-and will deduct this from any amount due.

Since virtually no union pays as much as f10 per week even for official disputes, Tories hope the effect will be to starve strikers into submission by penalising their families.

With a programme involving vicious anti-union legisiation, runaway inflation, the destruction of health, education and social services, the devastation of whole areas of industry, and huge tax cuts for the filthy rich, the Tories are staking their future on one thing: the obvious refusal of Labour and trade union leaders to mobilise the full strength of the working class in mass strike action to bring down the Thatcher Opposed to action Public sector union leaders like Alan Fisher and Albert Spanswick denounce Thatcher the scope of the struggle to one of seeking a few concessions from the Tories rather than bringing them down.

Even this stand is attacked by IGWU and GMWU leaders, who declare their willingness to 'negotiate' on BSC's insulting 2% pay offer.

Civil service union leaders stand by, mouthing empty phrases of opposition while the Tories butcher jobs and destroy vital social services.

AUEW leaders knife strike action in defence of Derek Robinson, and throw the full weight of the union behind BL chairman Michael Edwardes' plan to sack 20,000 workers, destroy every shop floor agreement won in decades of struggle and create conditions for closure of the Corporation.

NUM, AUEW and EETPU leaders have even expressed cautious approval for at least sections of the Tories' new anti-union legislation, while expressing only tactical reservations at Thatcher's frontal assault on picketing rights.

Nowhere in this panorama of retreats and betrayals is there an official leadership prepared to defend on principle the independent interests of the working class.

No union leader has campaigned for a programme of strikes, occupations, and mass action that could prepare the Nowhere is there an offi leadership fighting to spr struggles against the closures and other Tory atta through the building of coun of action front toet delegates unions and labour movem political organisations to deb and decide the way forward.

This is because every layer the trade union bureaucr: fears that, if such a lead w given, the militancy of working class could develop t level where their parasitic : privileged positions and per ful coexistence with mana ment would be jeopardis Conditions would be crea where an alternative, revoluti ary leadership could be c structed, dedicated to struggle for the independ interests of the working cl -- -00-- --Such a leadership must built in the midst of struggles that will undoubte erupt in the New Year, and the fight to mobilise act derailed by TUC and Labr Bring down Thatche Until this takes place, i until the Tories are brou down and replaced by a gove ment that is made answera to the mass workers' movem there will be no end to attacks on the working class.

*Strike and occupy to si the cuts!

*Defend living standar Protect all wage agreeme through cost of living claus *Defend all jobs! Fight work sharing without loss pay!

• *Build councils of action defend and extend strugs against the Tories!

*For a general strike to br down the Thatcher governme *For a workers' governme *Build revolution leadership in the labour mo ment!

Taxing dole-Joseph ass.

be the dly I in ion and ght Inible ent the top 'ds! nts ses! for of ing nt! nt! ary Ive-