Italian 'communists Woo Bosses' Leaders

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Socialist Press Pamphlet ( taining analysis of the milit coup by the Bolivian gener a Soxialist Press irar 20 p Price 32p incl. pop from WSL, BM Box 5277, London WCIN 3XX The Italian Party is reeling.

Having been, in the last few weeks, outmanoeuvred by the capitalists of the Christian Democratic Party in the formation of a new centre-left coalition, and humiliated by the defeat of the Fiat strike, the CP leaders are desperately searching for a new tack.

Of course, as CP General Secretary Enrico Berlinguer said in the Central Committee at the beginning of November, the overall policy of the leadership -far from socialism-is still to establish "historic compromise" with thè capitalist class. !

Berlinguer issued an appeal for "unity" from the Central Committee to that traditional Stalinist category "democratic, progressive and catholic forces".

But there are always tactical variations for the CP en route to this reactionary goal.

And Berlinguer, who is permanently in fear of total exposure in the eyes of the CP's supporters, is always ringing the changes.

"Opposition"

Under Andreotti's * reactionary Christian Democratic government up to mia-19/9, the CP adopted a policy of "benevolent abstention" Parliament to keep the government in office.

Then the CP went into "opposition" , and remained so until Cossiga's government was defeated over its economic policy two months ago.

Now, with Christian Democrat Forlani as prime minister, the CP has decided to adopt a stance of "conditional opposition". It will reserve its judgement until it sees the nature of Forlani's economic policies.

But even within that framework there are variations-and they mostly concern the attitude of the CP to Forlani's main coalition partner, the Socialist Party.

A few months ago Berlinguer even playfully floated the idea of a CP-SP government along the lines of the many such laisons in Italian municipal governments.

Then, after SP leader Bettino Craxi shifted his party sharply to the right, Berlinguer aimed to cash in on this and attract some dissident Socialists by claiming on October 23 that the SP 'is no longer a party of the workers' movement"

Now, however, the Central Committee has decided as one of its priorities that there have to be discussions and : 'the political objective of an amelioration of relations with the Socialist Party"

There is no knowing in which direction the Italian CP will lean next.

But we can be sure it certainly won't bé in the direction of providing an independent policy Craxi for the working class against the offensive of the Italian bourgeoisie.

The CP's twists, turns and reversals are all directed towards finding some organisational way of fulfilling their policy of alliance with the capitalist class.

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Mass meeting at Cowley Assemblv Plant The Morning Star, daily paper of the Communist Party, has played a key role in the struggles against the Thatcher government.

Its role has been not to strengthen and develop these struggles but to assist those who have sabotaged that struggle.

The most recent example of such a betrayal has been the Star's coverage of the sell-out of the pay fight at British Leyland Seeking only to preserve the Communist Party's hand-in-glove collaboration with the official trade union leaders and convenors the Star has supported the bureaucrats in every twist and turn.

At first-when even TGWU chief negotiator Grenville Hawley was denouneing Edwardes' 6.8% "final": offer, the Star supported the call for strike action and welcomed the 2-1' vote by mass, meetings.

But as the bureaucracy, fearing a head on confrontation with Edwardes that could form the centrepiece of mass struggles against the Tories, moved in to stop a strike, the Star was ready and eager to help them.

As they forced through a vote to call off the strike the bureaucrats claimed it had only been "postponed" to talk about bonuses.

In fact BL was offering only the same measly £1.25 for 12 weeks-a grand total of £15 per worker before tax- which had been previously rejected. Every BL worker knows that the bonus scheme is a fraud.

But the Star, keen to lend a hand, told a very different story:

"This is understood to be new money, in contradiction to the firm's claim that it had no extra money."

And to foster the idea that a concession had been made, the Star even quoted some anonymous shop steward as saying:

"This meagre concession [!] was made by the company, because of the threat of action.

As the senior stewards' conference voted on Wednesday November 12 to recommend calling off the strike, the Star refrained from any attempt to expose the undemocratic nature of that gathering. In reality the TGWU, representing 80% of BL manual workers, has only 35 out of over 200 senior stewards -while dozens of craft union "convenors" have a vote while representing less than 100 members!

UCATT. for instance has ... HANU only 37 members in BL, but has 3 "convenors" and a representative on the Joint Negotiating Committee!

Though the Morning Star reported resolutions from the Cowley Assembly Plant condemning such gerrymandering, the Communist Party itself took up no fight for democratic procedures. • As mass meetings were held, those convenors who opposed the sell-out vote by the senior stewards conference secured majority votes for strike action. In Cowley Assembly Plant the majority • was increased with only 7 out of 4,500 voting against a strike!

But with some convenors tocing the bureaucratic line, some plants swung against actinn The spotlight focussed on Longbridge-where plant convenor Jack Adams is a leading Communist Party member.

Adams fought tooth and nail not for a strike, but for the On Friday 14 November two private ambulances crossed the picket line at St. Columba's Hospital, London, and removed three terminally if cancer patients, injuring a NUPE hospital worker in the process.

This act has proved beyond doubt that the administrators of Kensington, Chelsea and Westminster AHA are not capable of running any part of the Health senior stewards' sell-out proposal.

He won support for this policy on the works committee and on November 19 put it before the Longbridge Joint Shop Stewards Committeeonly to be voted down 180-140 by workers demanding strike action.

How did the Morning Star cover this? They carried an interview with Cowley Assembly Plant convenor Bob Fryer, and tactfully admitted:

*The vote of the giant Longbridge plant which will be taken that day (Tuesday) is decisive."

The fact that Adame was 1 IN LUVL LEILL Huallls waD opposed to a strike found no mention. On the morning of the vital mass meeting' the Star reported that some votes had shifted against strike action-but added: through the picket line by the administrators and a large number of police were held in reserve.

Tom Wilkie, a chef at the hospital, was knocked down whilst attempting to talk to one of the private ambulance Workers at St. Charles Hospital where Bro. Wilkie is based, called a mass meeting on the following Monday and voted to take sporadic industrial action in protest at the raid. They began with a token occupation 3y Tony Richardson "But the 15,000 Longbridge workers could easily swing the vote."

Indeed this proved to be the case. Led by a Communist Party member following CP policy, they "swung the vote" against a strike!

The Star gave a hint of Adams' position when admitted that:

"Senior shop stewards are meet later today. A majority them are reluctantly backing 1 offer."

Sell-out Translated from Stalinist double-talk into plain language, a majority of unrepresentative convenors were enthusiastically backing a major sell-out.• In the event Adams fought tooth and nail against a strike vote in defiance of the 180-140 décision of the Longbridge stewards. He claimed he was simply presenting the position of the senior stewards-but stressed that if the vote was for action "we will be on our own" and that workers should "only vote for a strike if you are sure you can win"

The leaflet issued by Adams' works committee put only the sell out position of the senior stewards.

On millions of television screens workers saw the Stalinist politics of the Communist Party in action-as Adams fought to stop a strike against the Tories and JSSC chairman Chambers ruled the sell-out vote carried as soon as the hands went updespite the fact that it was obviously a close vote (and, according to BBC cameras, a majority going the other way!)

What did the Star have to say?

It was the only national daily paper that did not report the Longbridge vote!

It interviewed Adams-but only on the outcome of the senior stewards' decision to call organisations.

Secondly, the treacherous isolation of the St. Columba's struggle by the official union leadership must be condemned and fought by every public sector trade unionist.

Conference Despite huge opposition to the cuts, none of the public sector leaders issued a single call for sympathetic strike Wednesday 26 November 1980 off the strike.

Having personally ensured that no action would take place, Adams felt able to cynically praise the workforce for the fact that:

"In spite of pressure from every direction [sic!] one third of the workforce had been prepared to take strike action for the original claim."

Now, deciares Adams, there IS:

"a great determination to change the way we do business with the company to ensure that this year is the last our members have to face this kind of settlement."

In Longbridge, as workers count the cost of this betrayal -with Tory rent increases, tax increases and inflation already eating into their meagre pay packets-there ..must be developed a determination to get rid of those leaders like Adams who do the company's business for them.

Less than a year after his fellow Stalinist Derek Robinson Adams ismin the front ne of saving Edwardes' bacon and the Tory government. And the Star helps spread confusion.

Hardly surprising, therefore, that this week the Star reported that once again it is in financial crisis, and losing readers. It is going up to 20p from January and can therefore be expected to lose still more readers.

Socialist Press welcomes this crisis of a paper which is financially supported principally by the labour bureaucrats whose betrayals it systematically covers up.

Forward to the monthly Morning Star.

About 200 women gathered for Saturday's conference on "Organise for

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Defend Bolivian masses agaurs t/ imperialism!

St Benedict's finally closes afi 'THANKS FOR ALL

-abour women discuss