Civil Service Unions Face Crunch Decision

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will in Labour Party Parliamentary outs m leadership is beginning to Leaders of •the nine civil service unions spent nearly the whole of last week attempting to persuade the government to provide some sort of bait by which they could sell out the 1981 pay claim.

That they were unsaccesstul is clearly duc more to Thatcher's intransigence than to any desire by the council tor Civil Service Unions ('SCli) to stick to the 15: and £10 underpinning claim.

Having been denied any room to manocuvre, the CPSA executive (leading the largest union the C'SCU!) along with the SCPS leadership is set to recommend an many trade unionists and socialists that the repression by British state forces against the Catholic population of Northern Ireland is not qualitatively but quanritatirely different from repression here.

Capitalist rule

The troops in the sis counties are no more "protecting" the Catholic minority than the cops in Brixton "protect" black youth against racism. They are there to preserve. the stability of capitalist rule by stemming the resistance of the most oppressed sections of society These truths all-out strike to the membership. though it has not conducted any campaign for such a policy and was opposed lo the escalation of the action a mere two weeks ugo.

Historic decision

vow in the fourteenth week of sustaining a campaign of selective action which has hit government revenue, ports. airports and defence establishments, civil service workers are faced with a histeric decision.

To back down now would represent the most crushing blow. It would open the door to massive job cuts, imposition of new technology, wholesale victimisations. and the overnight to sink home and created now conditions to campaign in support of the prisoners.

But there is much more still to do.

While it is important fo break the "bipartisan" policy by which Labour and TUC leaders support the Tory line in Ireland, we must go further, and fight within the unions and the Labour Party for actire solidarity with the Irish struggle.

This means stepping up the fight for the prisoners' five demands. and at the same tune demanding the immediate withdrawal of British troops from Ireland.

We must show that those who point to the deatts of soldiers as reason for collapse ‹ it the gai is made by civil service workers through increasing union strength over the last ten ycars.

faced with • such prospects the fight to implement the demand for all out strike action must be paramount.

However, workers in the DHSS and the Department of Employment must organIse union-basea control over emergency payments beneficiaries.

At the moment it seems clear that the most mihtant areas are poised to take unofficial action by relusing to make emergency paymenis to claimants.

Suspensions

This will certainly lead 1o new waves of suspensions bv punitive actions against Irish prisoners of war are in fact simply prolonging the war, increasing the death toll and feeding Thatcher's war machine.

Amidst today's mass unemployment the labour movement must mount an active campaign agams army recruitment. in concert with the fight to pull British troops out of Ireland.

Responsibility

The valour of the hunger strikers has brought the Irish war to the foretront of British politics. I is now our responsibility to burd a movement strong enough to secure the prisoners" demands. management, which turn provoke walk ornces which are implementing emergency procedures.

In DHSS and DI: sections CPSA branches must link up with SCPS branches to organise emergency payments under their own control.

Full support

Obviously this has to be done on the basis of full support for the pay campaign. If there is more than a minimal level of. scabbing or a retusal by those in work to pay the strike levy then unofficial action is the only alternative for members striving to bring the dispute to a head.

There are signs that the Dirt ruler Irkins #Victory to the hunger strikers! POW status now!

*Troops out of Irèland nos!

*Selt determinat for the Irish people!

*Don't on Th atcher's army: dom a union! CIvil Service Minister Soames wake up to ine ract that tor the last three months civil service workers have been taking on the government.

Individual letts like Dennis Skinner have spoken up in the past, but this week-end saw an official statement trom the opposition.

The Labour has missed an important opportuniy amenatoniter win over whole sections 1 if the rank and file by its sil ence on the pay battle.

Boost The fight to affiliate the CPSA to the Labour Party could have been given an enormous boost-during the dispute.

The next week will be one of crucial significance in testing out the effects of the further intensification, and in demonstrating the way the union bureaucrats will turn to maintain control over members who will not put up with the present impasse any longer.

Published by Folrose Ltd. for the Workers Socialist League, 8M Box 5277. London WCIN 3XX. Printed London E2. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the Workers Socialist League.