[Simply to call for nationalisation in defence of…]

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Simply to call for nationalisation in defence of jobs is not enough. This is the hard lesson in Coventry, where the nationalisation of machine tool manufacturers Alfred Herbert Ltd has not prevented 1,200 people from losing their jobs.

The first steps towards this defeat were taken when the union leaders, under pressure from the Labour government, took part in the preparation of a plan for the industry which involyed 900 redundancies.

The first details of redundancies were announced in September last year and the leaderships of the various sites, few of whom had even consulted their members before completing the plan, quickly proved themselves incapable and unwilling to wage any fight.

There was no attempt to unity workers. Despite the fact that steps had been taken towards the establishment of a Combine Committee covering all plants, each individual union, at each site went 11S own way. This strengthened sectional consciousness, a clear factor in the defeat.

In any event union leaderships in the plants had no programme which could be the basis of a successful defence of jobs. Instead they placed total reliance on discussion with In Leeds the last two Although it was obvious that the Labour government was insisting on the sackings going through before it committed itself to any action no struggle was waged against the policies of the government.

DEMAGOGY

No call was issued to the 'left' MPs such as Audrey Wise to implement their demagogic claims to oppose government policies, and for them to wage a real fight against these pro-capitalist policies.

There was no attempt by the union leadership to prepare a real alternative basis on which nationalisation could have been carried out. A committee should have been elected to campaign for access to the accounts, investment and production plans of Herberts.

District President, was to announce A plan could then have been drawn up starting with no redundancies and instead a system of work sharing on full pay.

When this did not take place, and the Labour government did nationalise Herberts, it did so inevitably on the basis of restoring it to a position of 'viability' within the capitalist system.

The principle of redundancies has been accepted - but not enough workers have volunteered and so compulsory redundancies will take place on February Ist.

The lessons are cleat. Nationalisation in • itself will not save jobs and the situation facing trade union leaders is so stark that increasingly there will not even be a pretence of a fight.

The fight for workers' management must be carried through under new leadership.

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