Jon the Wsl

Scan page 10

Name .

Address Sena With workers by the thousand taking to the streets to oppose Tory policies there is plainly no lack of militancy in the organised working class.

Yet the existing trade union bureaucrats and Labour leaders -whether right or 'left'-have no perspective to offer those workers prepared to fight in defence of jobs, living stan. dards, social services and demo. cratic rights.

These can only be defended through policies which start from the independent interests of the working class, which, as an international class, has nothing to gain and everything to lose from attempts to restore the profitability of their "own" employing class.

In a period where the contradictions of the anarchic capitalist system force the wholesale closure and destruction of the productive forces of society, only socialist planned economy on a world scale offers a way forward.

To achieve such a perspective a leadership is needed which, in today's struggles fights Please send me more details of the Workers Socialist League.

to: WSL, BM Box 5277, London WCTV GXX. to advance workers beyond trade union militancy, protest politics and illusions that capitalism can be abolished through parliament.

The Workers Socialist League is a Trotskyist move. ment fighting day in and day out to build such a principled leadership in the working class in Britain.

Internationally; we are affiliated to the newly-formed Trotskyist International Liaison Committee, which fights for the reconstruction of the Fourth International and the building of revolutionary parties in every country to lead the struggle against imperialism and against the parasitic Stalinist bureaucracies in thé deformed and degenerated workers' states.

We invite all readers of Socialist Press to seek more details of the WSL and its work, and to join us in the struggle for socialism.

YOUTH

Monthly paper of the Socialist Youth League Articles on NUSS Week of Action; antifascist activity in Leicester; steel strike; Tory anti-union laws; review of new Clash album and more.

London WC1V 6XX. Send your Socialist Pre London WC SOCIALIST clear Aware cantroi, cuts and redundancies cheque/P.O. to ss, BM Box 5277, 1V 6XX.

Scan page 11

An encouraging initiative in the fight against the cuts in West London was the 23 February conference of the Ealing Liaison Committee Against the Cuts.

The aim of the Liaison Committee is to build and co-ordinate opposition to all cuts in public expenditure and loss of employment in the public sector.

The conference drew 38 delegates from 12 trade union branches, delegates from two shop stewards committees, 33 delegates from nine political organisations and 16 delegates from • seven other local community organisations.

Calls from the floor were for the sort of action needed to smash the Tory offensive.

John Butta, speaking on behalf of Ealing NUT said that the Tory-controlled Ealing Council's proposals for cuts in 1980-81 were the worst in the country -8% across the board, a total of £3.4 million in cash terms.

Butta said that Ealing had ended contracts of 50 supply teachers in an underhand bid to cut the wage bill.

Ealing NUT would fight this by a policy of no cover for the vacant posts.

Opposition from the teachers to the cuts had been overwhelming with a vote from all the schools in the borough in favour of action.

He added that the NUT would need the help of NUPE, NALGO and the GMWU in fighting proposals to either cut school meals altogether OI chaige inflated prices.

Times are hard for the right wing leaders of Britain's third largest union -the GMWU. Their efforts at curbing the militancy of their members have suffered three rebuffs in as many weeks.

Pay offers to water workers and gas workers have been thrown out by delegate conferences despite endorsement by GMWU official negotiators.

And last Friday delegates representing the union's 16,000 shipbuilding workers threw out a wretched 112%-with-strings pay offer recommended by leaders of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions-which includes the GMWU.

The self-funding is contingent upon a further 3,000 rédundancies, on top of last year's 6,000 lost jobs; and requires also improved productivity and working practices" at yard level.

GMWU UNION DUES He said that public sector unions have to get together to fight the cuts.

Bro. Urridge of the GMWU echoed this necessity and said that the axeing of school meals would mean the loss of 150 jobs locally.

Sue Easton said that teachers should realise the importance of school students being organised and that the National Union of School Students would be implementing strike action.

Maternity beds

Delegates learnt of the proposals to close Perivale Hospital which would mean the loss of all maternity beds in the Health District.

A resolution calling for, among other things, support to occupations of threatened Bob Wright, the hitherto dormant Broad Left Assistant General Secretary of the AUEW has re-emerged from self-assumed obscurity to contend for the union's presidency against Terry Duffy.

This exercise in cynicism seems to have come to light only because two AUEW research assistants were sacked last week for "gross misconduct" after assisting Wright to compile material critical of Duffy and the right wing execPHOTO: Andrew Wiard, F • Basnett concerned at reducing the size of differentials in pay in the industry than in cutting the extensive strings to the offer.

But their show of independence must serve as a further embarassment to the Basnett leadership, and a warning that their scope for betrayal is nowhere near as wide as they would wish. .,.YOUR MAN AT THE facilities, the full public disclosure of all information relating to local authority spending plans and accounts and for the inflation proofing of all future expenditure on public services was passed unanimously.

The Liaison Committee marked a major step forward in the fight to bring together those forces who are willing to fight the cuts as a means of coordinating and developing the necessary action.

Local militants • should ensure that their trade union branches affiliate to this body and should campaign in their branches for the sort of national strike against the Tories' plans that can bring their downfall. utive.

For Wright to pose as an alternative to Duffy could well require extensive historical research, since on none of the major issues facing the AUEW in the last year-the BL crisis; the Confed pay struggle;, or the Robinson victimisation —has Wright been even visible, let alone a vocal critic of the right wing.

Despite his previous record of association with the CP-led Broad Left, Wright distinguished himself by failing to appear even once on a platform in defence of Derek Robinson-at a time when right wing AUEW leaders were consciously boycotting the fight.

The fact that the Broad Left lis forced to iesurrect him as a , rival candidate to Duffy speaks volumes on the crisis of leader. ship within the AUEW.

The Meccano occupation is now 80 days old. From the start, however, the issue has been rigorously restricted to one of notice and redundancy pay.

Basnett has used GMWU District Official and former convenor of Meccano, Mike Egan, to carry out the wishes of the National Executive throughout the dispute.

The role of the GMWU bureaucracy has been to point the occupation in the direction of looking for private buyers and to confine the whole occupation to the capitalist property market.

When one firm offered .. to negotiate a takeover on condition that the union would THROWN OUT BY EDUARDES? YES I DID HEAR SOMETHING! FUNNY YOU SHOULD MENTION IT— OLD DUFFY'S JUST SACKED 2 OF MY RESEARCHERS FOR MUCH LESS...

• The shop stewards committee at the BL Assembly Plant in Cowley has re-established its "open the books committee"-first formed in 1976.

The move follows the introduction of lay-offs at the plant under conditions where management has refused to reveal any information on stock of the AUEW bureaucracy.

WSL supporters produced a leaflet demanding the wellattended conference organise a mass lobby of the AUEW Executive.

But this appeal was ignored, and everybody went home to do nothing.

The AUEW Executive report simultaneously attacked Robinson and called for his reinstatement. Then the EC gave the power to the Birmingham withdraw and make the factory non-union, the reply was not couched n tne approprate Anglo-Saxon four letter words but instead a grovelling catalogue of whining reassurances of union collaboration with the Airfix management were forthcoming.

The willingness of Egan to cooperate with a new management was graphically demonstrated by the reaction given to recent prospective buyer.

After meeting the company representative at the airport, Egan took him on a tour of inspection of the factory. His reaction afterwards was as follows:

"I was very impressed by what Mr. Gough had to say. He seems to have grasped the situa(PAY SELL-OUT, THEY CAN MOAN TO SOMEONE . IF IT'S ANYTHING ABOUT THAT CONFED ELSE! I MAYBE LEFT -BUT NOT THAT LEFT!

WAR levels or the trading the Company.

Unsold

Alleged stock level figures of over 100,000 unsold cars, which are carried daily in the press are challenged by shop stewards, who suspect that BL may be exaggerating its undoubted financial and sales crisis in order to force through its 5% pay offer which is conWest District Committee to call out the members in Longbridge.

But instead of calling an immediate strike the CP and Broad Left controlled committee put off the strike decision.

This gave the company two weeks to use the press and exploit the Executive's report.

When the District Committee met last Monday they passed the call put to them by the CP-controlled Works Committee at Longbridge to put the strike call to a mass meeting of both unions on the Wednesday.

This finished the job. The company made full use of their 48 hours breathing space. The only chance of a strike would have been if the DC had instructed the members out at once and put a picket on the gates.

By their actions the right wing and CP have weakened union organisation throughout Leyland and struck a blow at workers everywhere.

Yet there is still a 3-2 vote throughout Leyland for strike action over the 5% pay offer and 92-page 'strings' document.

Even within Longbridge there are reports that the feeling is still there on pay, despite the Robinson vote. tion very quickly. He is by far the most impressive potential buyer we have had so far. He seems very keen on workers' "During his visit he stressed that some of the machinery at Edge Lane was a little out of date but that something could be done about it."

There must be no vacating of the factory on Thursday 28 February, thé date of the ending of the 90 day redundancy notices.

The occupation must be maintained until the jobs of all workers are guaranteed. The fact that redundancy pay has now been paid out with the connivance of the union bureaucrats will not help this.

It was a conscious move on IN, DONT START TELLING ME MY JOBONE OF THOSE TRENDY LEFTWINGERS, ! I'M JUST A TRADITONAL BROND LEFT CANDIDATE! IVE GOT BETTER THINGS TO DO....

VOTE

BOB RIGHT ditional on 102 pages of strings.

The job of the committee will be to prepare a report on the financial and trading position of the company and to investigate exactly what stocks are held.

The report could play an important role in pressing the leadership of the BL JNC to call strike action in support of the £24 per week claim submitted by the unions last October.

This must be transformed into all-out strike action next Friday after the NJNC's two week ultimatum runs out.

On the same day as the Robinson mass meeting, Cowley Body Plant TGWU steward Tony Richardson was appealing against a written warning which is stage 2 in the company's disciplinary procedure.

BL management calmly announced that in his case not only had they jumped the first stage, but if he breaches any more works rules they will jump all the suspension levels of procedure and he would be dismissed.

This is clearly a serious move made by a management strengthened by the Robinson success, the refusal to call any strikes by the bureaucracy and the fact that they have just laid off Richardson's section for a month.

Richardson's "crime"? Stopping a line thạt had been going too fast six days running.

' There must now be a campaign in BL to defend shop stewards from such victimisation.

the part of Egan to end the occupation; starve the membership of strike pay for months on end; refuse to organise the blacking of the Airfix combine; restrict action to futile token occupations of company headquarters; refuse to lobby and : occupy the national GMWU Executive and the National headquarters; refuse to organise a local levy of the GMWU membership on Mersey side; refuse to mobilise the local GMWU membership for local demonstrations.

The strategy has been to offer no serious way forward, wait for demoralisation to set in and then turn round and blame the membership for drawing the logical conclusion of this donothing policy and accepting redundancy money.

LOOK! DON'T BLEAT TO ME ABOUT DEREK ROL -I'VE GOT TO EARN A LIVING YOU KNOW WHATS THAT... HUMILIATED, WAS HE ?..

Scan page 12

SOCIALIST ESS ST

----- pull-quotes -----

Available, price 15p including postage, from SYL, BM Box $277,

NOPE -I'M NOT MOVING! ¡AUEW

PHOTO: PHOTO: John Sturrock, Report