[astms. The preliminary agenda for 'the annual conference…]

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astms.

The preliminary agenda for 'the annual conference of ASTMS, the white collar, and technicians union, shows that as far as the union memberinflation, is now the dominan factor in shaping Union policy.

In the section devoted to general industrial affairs, a new 'Cost of Living' subsection contains several motions calling for the establishment of threshold agreements to enable wages to keep up with inflation.

Clearly, the Tories' ploy to hold wages down, has now rebounded, and there is a strong more amongst Trade Unionists to establish automatic inflation-related increases in wages to defend against the soaring cost of living.

It is also clear, however, that threshold agreements based on the Government's cost-of-living index are inadequate, since these underestimate the true increases in the day-to-day expenses of the working class.

What is required here is a body established by the Trade Unions to establish their independent measure of the true rate of inflation, and wage agreements to be increased commensurate with this rate.

By far the largest section of the agenda is devoted to political motions, and amongst these there seems little confusion as to the role of the Labour Government's Social Contract. Motions from all areas condemn the contract. correctly linking it with wage cutting and attacks on living standards.

It is left to the Edinburgh branch, however, to point out that ASTMS National Executive accept the contract and that no fight was put up against it at last year's TUC.

OCCUPATION The mounting threat of factory closures and redundancies as the crisis deepens, is reflected in a number of calls for occupations of threatened factories asca step towards forcing their nationalisation, and another Edinburgh 'motion insists that trade unions must have access to the books of industry to establish the basis of workers control as a defence against closure.

A decisive section of ASTMS membership lies amongst the technical and paramedical workers in the National Health Service who show determination to defend the NHS in the face of inflation and Government cuts. Demands for an immediate injection of capital into the NHS are linked by calls, such as the ·500 momthi CONFERENCE AGENDA REFLECTS ECONOMIC CRISIS one from Oxford Health Service branch which wants elected com mittees of Trade Unionists repre senting NHS workers and other sections of workers to examine the day to day running of Area Health Authorities so that they may be best used for the benefit of patients.

This is linked to the need to abc lish private practice, a call taken up by most of the other NHS resolutions.

Closely linked to the NHS cuts are those in the education sector.

Here the Government cuts are resulting in a cut-back in the number of technical, academic and administrative staff employed, with a consequent increase in jobload and productivity, as well as a fall in the number of students being trained. Already this is felt in working class areas by the shortage of both teachers and teaching materials.

Branches in education are therefore to be supported in their demands for restoration of the educations cuts, and for further grants to meet the rising costs materials.

LEADERSHiT

But although many of the motions are able to identify the problems facing the working class under the impact of the economic crisis, and recognise that the Labour Government is acting against the interests of trade union and their membership, few of their go beyond demanding that the leopard should change its spots.

Without any programme for independent action, the Union membership is thus left in the hands of trose who. actively or tacitly, support the Labour Government's attempts to defend British capitalism at the expense of workers.

In ASTMS, it is now clear that General Secretary Clive Jenkins, even the much vaunted 'left' must be ranked amongst these staunch defenders of capital.

He has shown, in his recent cohabitation with extreme Tory, Enoch Powell, that his opposition to the Common Market has nothing in common with defence of the working class against British and European capitalism, but, rather, with the defence of British monopolists against foreign mono. polists.

In doing this Jenkins lines up not only with Powell, but also with the Stalinists of the British Communist Party, and the fascists of the National Front.

To break workers from the grasp of reformists like Jenkins is now the urgent task facing us, and a programme for independent action of the working class is the method by which we can achieve this task.

Over half of the 300 workers at the Blue Circle Cement Works at Shipton on Cherwell near Oxford are to be made redundant at the end of this month due to the recession in the building industry.

Over 3 million families depend in some way upon the building trade and already 130,000 workers are on the dole. A survey of companies showed that 75% will be working at half capacity or less by the summer.

Connected directly to this is the slump in demand for furniture; carpets, etc. and new office equipment, therefore carrying over the recession into these manufacturing industries.

COLLABORATION

The treachery of the trade union bureaucrats is again exposed; at Blue Circle where, refusing to struggle to protect jobs, they are collaborating with the management in seeking alternative employment for the 'surplus' workforce; and nationally by their refusal to fight for a sliding scale of wages agreement in the recent pay deal which was accepted under conditions described by the Financial Times "the necessary majority will have been achieved mainly because of fears of wide-spread unemployment..." (Jan 21st)

The CP bears predominant responsibility for the lack of fight on this issue by the Building Workers Charter which fought merely for increasing basic rates.

The employers who threaten redundancies must be fought to concede instead a sliding scale of hours for the whole workforce, with no loss of earninma The unions' fignt for this demand must be linked to the continuing struggle to eliminate the use of anti-union 'lump' labour.

PUBLIC WORKS

This of course will be impossible for capitalists in their crisis so workers must demand that the books of the firms be opened to elected committees of trade unionists, and the necessity of the nationalisation of the building industry without compensation will be proved.

Crucial to the fight for building workers' jobs is the demand for a massive programme of public work, For years and years Labour councillors and MPs have voiced concern over the housing and homelessness crisis - will this 'concern' ever be transformed into action? Increased finance must be made available to Local Authorities to provide decent housing for all, to reverse the cuts in the school building programme and to build new hospitals urgently needed.

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ship is concerned, the econo- mic crisis, and particularly