Car crisis: a programme for BL workers (continued)

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tions. The TGWU charter argues that there would be no retaliatory action by other trading nations; yet similar protectionist policies are being advocated throughout the capitalist world under the impact of the economic crisis.

While the TGWU for example gets together with Edwardes to pressure the Tories for controls, the United Auto Workers union in the USA is also getting together with US manufacturers-to push Carter for protection of the American But Thatcher and other capitalist governments recognise that import controls are protectionism and protectionism is a step towards all out trade war.

In such a trade.war no capitalist trading nation will simply allow even 'selected' industries within its economy to be hit by new tariffs without defending itself by retaliation.

Under these conditions the weakest will go to the wallBritish capitalism is undoubtedly the weakest.

British capitalism is also the most vulnerable to retaliation. The USA for example expors only 6% of total produce. Britain exports 30:. Fa: Birti capitalism to go fou i world threatening to mpose sanctions and protectionist policies would be very rash indeed.

Those in BL who support such action should know that it is very unlikely that BL could survive such conditions.

But these economic realities are not the main reason that the Workers Socialist League opposes import controls.

Our opposition is one of political principle.

For workers in Britain to get together with their "own" employers to save their "own" industry resolves nothing. It is not in any case their "own" industry. They neither own nor control it.

Workers in Britain have far more in common with Japanese, French, German or Italian workers than they can ever have with a 'British' boss. All workers are exploited and face very similar problems.

To gang together with your "own" boss against workers in another country, simply feeds reactionary nationalist sentiments while playing right into the hands of the employer.

Such class collaboration places workers immediately on the employers home ground, :s-: 252 =-. i ET .: keep out Japanese or Italian imports then productivity must be raised, the commodity must be made more competitive, wages must be held down, factories must be closed and hard-won agreements must be given up!

The trade union leaders have, of course, gone along with this-as BL workers are painfully aware.

The unions are now involving themselves in advertising campaigns and sales promotion. The TGWU recently gave a full page of the Record to a reprint of BL's 'Buy British' advertisement. Convenors cooperate in sales promotions in their individual plants.

In this way import controls lead workers directly into alliance with their own employer at the very point when they are facing severe conditions created by the crisis of capitalism and requiring a socialist solution.

So how can BL workers actually defend themselves under these conditions? There is no magic formula.

First and foremost it is a question of leadership. They must be prepared to challenge their existing "leaders" at every level. They must tell them to stop the sellouts. Stop the collaboration with management, stop the soft jobs and the easy life.

It is necessary to find ways of demonstrating clearly to workers exactly what these 'leaders' are and who they represent.

At the same time defence of jobs needs a plan, a programme around. which to organise action. Workers must demand that their leaders support this plan. Workers must at the same time be prepared to build a new leadership from amongst those who are prepared to fight.

The situation must be ended where the employers keep all the trump cards in their hands and are allowed to play them so that everything turns into a scramble for the highest redundancy pay. This happens when it appears to workers that there is no alternative but to accept the money.

There must be a clear alternative which can develop a confidence amongst workers that there is a real chance of success in defending their jobs.

Such an alternative must start clearly from the independent interests of the working class as distinct from that of the employers.

The trade unions must declare that the problems facing the workers stem from the private enterprise system of the employers themselves.

They arise from the system of production for profit and the contradictions within the capitalist mode of production.

They must say clearly that the working class have a right to a decent house and a right to a living wage, a right to a decent home and a right to a health and education service.

Tse: =uf sar that it is unacceptable that the working class be made to pay for the crisis.

Having got that straight it is necessary to have a programme which directly challenges the "rights" and prerogatives which employers have for so long been allowed to exercise.

Business secrecy for example. When closures and redundancies are announced the only people who know the whole picture are the employers: this enables them to say anything they like to justify their actions.

Last spring, Edwardes created a crisis situation. He claimed massive overstocking, laid most plants off for a month and ran a programme of voluntary redundancy.

When Edwardes' "crisis" was investigated (by an open the books committee set up from the shop stewards committee in Cowley, for example) it was found that with the exception of the Rover SD1, stocks at the time were normal!

The layoff had created a shortage of cars. A month later some plants put production up and recruited labour-having just made hundreds "redundant"!

The exercise, while appearing to be economic madness, in fact paid Edwardes very well. It was timed just before the crunch on the annual wage review and created the feeling that it was hard to fight for wages because the company was stacked out with cars. It had the desired effect.

This autumn, although the crisis is very real and not contrived it is again being manipulated and synchronised to coincide with the pay review to have a cimilar effect The only reason management can play this kind of game is because they monopolise information.

When a closure is announced they usually show the full time officials a simple balance sheet of profit and loss. But this does not mean. anything. Uniy management have all the information; and they use it to suit them selves.

They never reveal where all the money is going-for instance what they are paying for their components and services; or what rake-off. the distributors are getting.

Even small items like how much they are paying into Tory Party funds or £1 million to charter a cruise liner to take the distributors on a holiday are hidden away.

Yet two-thirds of a car is manufactured in the private component industry. With BL being government controlled the pricing policy of the component suppliers is of particular importance.

There is no point in saying BL is making a 'loss' if profit is simply being creamed off by component manufacturers.

Distributors, for example, get a 30% rake-off from the sale of a car.

To get a true picture it is necessary to know all of this. If workers are to lose their jobs or are being denied a living wage they have the right to know.

The unions should therefore demand the opening of the books-all the books, all the files and all the information about the operation of the company as well as its suppliers, distributors and bankers-who are currently receiving £70 million a year in interest payments from BL.

This investigation is a step towards workers' control. If it turns out that the company is bankrupt then the mobilisation created around forcing the opening of the books can be turned actively demand nationalisation in the case of a private firm.

If the firm is already nationalised, demands can be placed on the government to nationalise the distributors, the suppliers and the banks and to fund a programme of alternative production for social use under workers' management.

A campaign of this sort gives the initiative back to the labour force and puts management on the defensive.

Obviously simply to open the books will not save jobs. For that occupation is crucial.

Thoughts of redundancy payments must be set aside, and everything concentrated on defending the plant.

The property of the employer must be seized and the plant brought physically under workers' control.

Occupation alone may not be enough but it certainly puts management on the defensive, gives workers confidence, raises the issue sharply and provides the necessary platform to demand full support from the trade union movement for what is usually decisive in the endstrike action in support.

A major battle of this sort would transform the situation in relationship to closures and must be the objective if a new Edwardes plan is announced in To avoid occupations the employers run plants down gradually. It is an effective tactic.

Immediate Just look at Canley and Castle Bromwich. By the time the closure comes there is not much left. Occupation should therefore be immediate, whilst the plant and the workforce is still intact.

Voluntary redundancy (VR) is also used repeatedly to rundown plants both for closure and to cut production.

In some plants management select who will go from amongst those who apply. They select the shop stewards and the militants.

In the Cowley Assembly Plant 80 out of 180 TGWU shop stewards went VR last spring in one exercise. It both deflates the trade union movement and gives the impression that stewards have been given preference.

VR must be resisted. If it cannot be stopped then call for wage controls.

No-strike clause The TGWU on the basis of the report they commissioned from Eurofinance, have drawn up an "alternative plan" for BL which offers a no strike clause in return for more investment and import controls.

In talks on the reconstitution of the BL JNC the Confed discussed a document containing a legally binding no strike clause.

Although no agreement was reached this is still on the agenda to be resolved by the Meanwhile the unotficial BL Combine Committee is almost defunct. Its recent meeting (the first for a year) was attended by less than 50 stewards-the smallest meeting since it was set up 16 years ago.

In an unprecedented move, those who attended the meeting including Longbridge convenor Jack Adams were disciplined by management for attending an unofficial meeting inside working hours. This means that the committee is unlikely to meet again in the foreseeable future.

The Combine Committee must be rebuilt. Historically the shop floor strength in the car industry has been built on the unofficial movement. But this requires a development amongst militant workers and shop stewards in BL.

This is a big job but is entirely possible. The Leyland Action Committee has made an important start. It has adopted a programme which is essentially the same as the programme outlined in this article.

Divisions

An action programme for BL must break down divisions between workers throughout the car industry, both internationally and within Britain.

Ford workers must not be played off against BL workers. Vauxhall workers must not be played off against Talbot workers, or workers in the component industry.

Such moves must be combatted through the call for a nationalised integrated car and component industry in Britain, embracing all car and component manufacturers and distributors. Only such a measure could bring any kind of planning or order to the It is true to say that no real or lasting solution can be achieved under capitalism; that only socialism and a planned economy can resolve the problem.

But there is an intimate connection between the fight in defence of the workers rights today and the possibility of overturning capitalism and establishing socialism.

Trotsky set this out in the Transitional Programme.

The programme explains that it is only through the defence of the working class today that a leadership can be developed in struggle, adequate to the task of social revolution.

It is only through such struggles that the consciousness of the working class in the car industry and elsewhere can be raised to carry through that historic task.

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The local authorities threat and the fact that throughout the country are any realistic fight will very facing the threat of more rapidly go beyond their cuts and restrictions on control and become a their powers which will challenge to the governforce them to make further ment's right to govern, cuts themselves if they fail thereby undermining the to mount a fight against the Parliamentary system on Labour Party bureau- depend for their career crats and careerists are prospects and privileges.

between the need to be seen that the Labour leaders are to be fighting the Tory being forced into a show of Pagc Thatcher government.

caught in a dilemma Those of us who thought that the present leaders of the Council were capable of defending the people of Newham against the attacks of the Tories have been proved decisively wrong.

It is now evident that none of the senior councillors, and very few • among the newer members, have any wish to see the Council take any part in the struggle to defeat Thatcher.

This is the main point to be borne in mind by Labour Party ence "to prepare a socialist fight back" against the Local Government Bill.

The majority of councillors have not only failed to lead any which the Labour leaders One example of the way AGAIN THE CUT: action is in the Newham area of London, whre the controlling Labour Group on the Council, and the Local Government Committee are calling a conference to discuss the way forward for the labour movement to oppose the Tories.

The Council itself has failed to lead any fight and has disciplined councillors who have broken the Group's rule of silence on these questions, and so it cannot be expected to give any real lead.

The Kensington Ward of Newham North East Labour Party will be proposing a policy document, which we print below, designed to bring forward the demands which are needed to break out of the limits imposed by the present leaderships and to mount a serious attack against the Tories. UTS AGAINST • AMBETH

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CAINST IST CU