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of strikers the previous Friday, gives the women the same operational rate as men and a flexibility bonus of f2.50.

Members of the strike committee were claiming that the company, which makes 90% of windscreen wipers used by the British car industry, had conceded all their demands.

REPERCUSSIONS

The repercussions of such a victory will inevitably be widespread. Women up and down the country involved in the struggle for equal pay will be greatly strengthened by the victory at Trico's.

At the same time the standing of the reactionary so-called Equal Pay Tribunals will have been greatly undermined by the actions of the Trico strikers.

The women correctly refused to take their case to the Tribunal, knowing that during their briel history, these Tribunals have clearly demonstrated a bias towards the employers.

No doubt it was for this very Hindi Hua toasts Nixon in Peking Communist Party, was conducted entirely behind the backs of the Chinese masses, and the Party rank-and-file and even of the lower levels of the Party hierarchy.

So the Byzantine uncoiling of the crisis in the Party leadership throws into relief how spurious are any claims that - during the reason that Trico management themselves referred the case to the Tribunal - who found in their favour!

The women refused to accept the findings of the Tribunal and maintained their strike decision completely vindicated now that the company has finally given in.

OFFICIALS

But if the Trico strike is a victory for the fight for equal pay; little thanks is due to AUEW National and District Officials. Their refusal to fight for an EC instruction to union members demonstrations spread to other cities, effigies appeared of Chiang Ching suspended from a hangman's noose.

At the same time came widespread rumours that Teng is to be "rehabilitated" and even that he has already returned to Peking.

Railway Minister Wan Li, ousted very recently as a to black all winuscreen wipers, a move that would have quickly brought Trico to its knees using the excuse that the EC would not agree to such a "black" and that this would demoralise the strikers - has resulted in a long drawn out strike with much harship and suffering by many of the strikers.

Clearly the struggle for equal pay must go hand in hand with the fight to build a new, revolutionary, leadership in the working class in opposition to both 'left' talkers and the right wing. on the CP political committee -succeeded Chou En-lai as premier with the support of the Shanghai "gang" • and presided over the excommunication of Teng.

Now with the aid of the army leadership he has double-crossed the "leftists' and is submitting them to the same abuse.

And the Five Year. Plan has already been revised in line with Teng's policy with great stress on advanced industrial technology and foreign trade.

WRONG

It is completely wrong to give any sort of "critical support" any section of Chinese Stalinism - as the French Pabloite paper Rouge did last week to the "lefts"

Neither faction's policies express the interests of the masses of the. Chinese workers and peasants. "Leftists" is in any case a misnomer for those purged. They have, after all, presided over diplomatic policies which back regimes as reactionary as those of Pinochet in Chile and the Shah of Iran.

And they eagerly gave Nixon a catastrophe, because the expected boom in demand for investment goods has failed to materialise.

FALL

And in Britain, the latest figures show a marked fall in industrial production over the last three months - to a level barely higher than it was in 1970.

While Callaghan and Healey try to patch up this situation in ever closer alliance with international finance capital, so the Labour 'lefts' and the TUC leaders deepen their collaboration with British industrial capital.

This close relationship centres on the call for greater protection of British industry - taking shape last week in the joint statement issued by the TUC and the Confederation of British Industry (hailed as a victory by the Morning Star).

REACTIONARY

Socialist Press has consistently pointed out that the policy of import controls advocated by so-called 'left-wing' Labour and trade union leaders is a reactionary diversion from the struggle in defence of jobs and wages - in which the main enemy is the British capitalist class.

We have always stressed that the question is to fight the employer at home, and not to attempt to export unemployment to other countries.

And now it is clear from this joint declaration that the difference between the right and the 'left' of the Labour leadership is living standards. should be distributed among the working class internationally.

Lett and right, the reformist leaders of the workers' movement are lining up behind their "own" employing class as it prepares for cut-throat trade war.

There are no reformist measures that can soften the blow of this economic crisis. To defend jobs and wages it is more than ever necessary to fight against all forms of collaboration with the capitalist class.

Instead the leadership must be built to fight for a programme of demands which ensure that the working class can fight the consequences of the crisis in an internationally united and independent manner:

*DOWN' WITH THE 4½% DEAL! For wage increases rising in pace with inflation as assessed by elected trade union committees - a sliding scale of wages.

*NO REDUNDANCIES! Occupy workplaces threatening redundancy or closure. Demand work-sharing on full pay!

*NO CUTS IN SOCIAL SERVICES! For a social service budget rising in pace with costs, as assessed by elected committees -a sliding scale of spending.

OPEN THE BOOKS! Where employers threaten sackings or closure, or claim they cannot afford demands, force them to open their accounts to trade union committees, to prove the case for nationalisation without compensation.

REFORMISM Socialist Press Special Fund 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London NW5 1HR.

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