Unemployed against employed

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Socialist Press Special Fund, BM Box 5277, London Prior To many people the prospect of two million on the dole queues in Britain is a horrifying waste of human energy and resources -a bitter lesson in the workings of the capitalist system.

But for the Tory government and their big business friends mass unemployment has its uses:

*They hope to use the threat of unemployment to bludgeon workers in industry into accepting wage increases well below the rate of inflation. Hence the recent ultimatums handed out to workers in Lucas and Chrysler/Talbot.

*They hope to combine growing unemployment with attacks on social security and other benefits, and with harassment by DHSS officials, in order to press gang jobless workers and youth into the lowest paid jobs.

• Sir Keith Joseph . only recently delighted the employing class by calling on the unemployed to offer themselves for work at below the established rate of pay.

*Now Employment Secretary • James Prior has revealed tary latest Tory objective-to lower wages in the public sector to the level of unemployment benefit, by dragooning workers into unpaid "voluntary" work in hospitals and community service.

"It seems wrong to me that we are paying out large sums in benefits and get nothing for it ... , he declared last week.

. In other words, while Tory cuts and closures decimate the paid workforce in the public sector, top ministers are planning to draft in unemployed workers and youth to cover over some of the impact of these attacks-and of course to weaken and erode trade union organisation and the fight for wages and conditions among public sector workers.

Prior's Minister of State, the Earl of Gowrie spelled out clearly the fact that such schemes would be far from voluntary.

"There is no coercion at the moment. but we may nave to ly refuse to work under this FUND Our address is: voluntary scheme", he declared.

Then Prior, in attempting to deny that the Tories plan to conscript the unemployed into "community service" made the scheme even clearer.

He emphasised that Gowrie meant only to coerce unemployed youth into the existing youth employment programme and temporary employment schemes -in which the weekly "wage" is a princely £22.50 per week, as against dole payments of £15!

It is clear therefore that the Tories are plotting to exploit a vast pool of cheap labourlatest reports expect that at least one million young workers aged between 16-25 will be unemployed next year.

This is of course a savage attack on the whole working class. Yet it received only the most weak-kneed opposition from NUPE leader Alan Fisher and. other public sector union leaders.

Poweli WC1V 6XX The Tory offensive is now reaching full speed ahead: on every front the trade union rights, living standards and social services achieved by workers in decades of struggle are under attack.

Far from offering to talk to Prior about his reactionary scheme to exploit the unemployed, Fisher and his fellow TUC chiefs should be called upon to prepare general strike action to bring down the Thatcher government.

And within the workers' movement the fight must be stepped up for a principled leadership that will challenge the right wing Callaghan/Healey clique in the Labour Party and spell out a socialist programme for mass action to bring about a socialist planned economy which alone can secure improved living standards and the right of every worker to a job.

PHOTO: Chris Davies, Report _.. i..i.. ant-anth... Lebeld ns. a au.

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