Civil servants must spread the struggle

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miners PHOTO: SWP Militant With campaign of selective strikes and general disruption by civil service workers now into its fifth week, the effects on government revenue are becoming more and more apparent.

Thatcher's response has been to invoke • the cosy understanding the Tories have with Fleet Street editors to suppress information and to create the impression that everything in the Treasury is rosy.

In addition to this, D' Notices have been used to prohibit mention of some of the more security-sensitive areas of disruption.

Last week saw the passing of the civi service pay review date-April land the day was marked by rallies, demonstrations and walk outs by over 250,000 members of the civil service trade unions.

This again showed the unprecedented militancy and determination of the rank and file that existed from the outset.

Each time the call is made the response is strong and the union leadership has little room to manoevure to engineer a sell-out.

Nevertheless it is clear that the bureaucracy will need to make its move soon.

Among the nine civi service unions it is only in the CPSA and SCPS that there has been any history of the bureaucracy being overturned on key questions.

In such conditions any recommendation irom 1 the union leaderships in the Council of Civil Service Unions will have great weight amongst the membership.

To counteract this, all union activists must fight to keep 15% as the only acceptable deal, and to prepare the rank and file to reject any sell outs involving the restoration of the Pay Research Unit in place of an annual claim to be decided by a special pay conference.

A further potential area ment that levied a $1.90 per ton royalty on non-union coal-money paid into the union pension fund.

Many miners see this last concession as opening the door to future destruction of the union by artificially cheapening non-union coal.

Hard negotiations had already forced back the employers from a number of planned attacks on conditions-including imposition of a seven-day working week and company-by-company instead of industry-wide pensions.. * But the fact that US miners are prepared to face a for the "negotiations" which has been touted in some quarters is the imposition of no-strike clauses for mans civil servants.

This clearly reflects the shock expressed by Thatcher and the Tories at the ability of civil service workers lo disrupt the government's financial heartland:

But what is even more worrying for the bourgeoisic is the way in which defence establishments, spy stations and NATO bases have been hit.

In a period where the war drive is gathering pace and CND is on the upsurge it is crucial to demonstrate the power of organised workers to disrupt the war machine from within.

The lessons of the present dispute therefore reach much wider than the confines • of the wages It is with this in mind that both Tory rulers and union leaders hope to restrict its scope and duration. strike possibly longer and certainly harder than the I11-day stoppage in 1978 seems to some extent to be based on questions much deeper than their particular objections to the new contract.

The miners are the first big section of workers to be in a position to wage war on the Reagan administration, whose attacks on us workers include a demolition job on health and safety legislation, and a $130 million cut in the compensation scheme for miners suffering from Black Lung.

A chance to hit back seems to have been regarded as too good to miss.