The Strike That Could Have Crushed Phase 2

Scan page 9

"The Toolmakers Strike and the Fight Against Wage Control" published by the Workers Socialist League, price 25p. Reviewed As TUC and government leaders put the finishing touches to Phase 3 of wage controls it is important to recall that the situation might have been very different.

Three months ago a solid strike of British Leyland's toolmakers, which had paralysed much of Leyland's car production and secured active support from sections of workers throughout the AUEW was sold out by its rank and file' leadership.

The strike, whose main strength was the willingness of the toolmakers to fight employers, union officials and the government in the struggle to bring their wage rates in all factories up to the highest toolroom pay rates in Leyland, posed the sharpest and strongest challenge to the Social Contract.

If this demand, however inadequate, had been held to and won, it would have driven a coach and horses through Phase 2-and it is precisely an intact Phase 2 of wage control that the TUC are now using launching pad for a third round of rigid controls.

DRAMATIC

Despite the eventual sell-out, the toolmakers succeeded in the course of four dramatic weeks in subjecting AUEW leader Hugh Scanlon to total humiliation, exposing the role of the entire TUC leadership • as policemen of wage control, and in the process creating such a monumby John Lister. ental governmental crisis that the Labour government tell, to be replaced by the present reactionary Liberal-Labour parliamentary coalition.

But the leadership of the toolroom committee, spontaneously thrown forward into the front line of struggle was not up to the tasks demanded of it.

Leyland-backed to the hilt by union officials-announced its ultimatum-demanding the 3,000 striking toolmakers return to work or face immediate sacking.

The toolroom committee at first took a correct stand on this, voting to recommend a continuation of the strike, and calling for support from other skilled men inside and beyond British Leyland if the sackings were carried out.

But the next day at the very point support began flowing in most strongly, the toolroom committee (pressed hard by Longbridge convener, CP-member Derek Robinson, to surrender completely) opted to make a new approach to management, and in exchange for meaningless verbal concessions by management, called off the strike.

HOSTILITY

It is precisely at this point that the WSL alone shows itself able to analyse correctly the strengths and weaknesses that led to this outcome.

The strength was clearly in expressing massive shop floor hostility within the working class to the bureaucratically imposed Phase 2 pay policy.

This hostility produced a wave of strikes in December and throughout the New Year, centred on wages and defence of living standards (though nearly all avoiding specific reference to Phase The toolmakers, with their foot on the windpipe of Britain's major cal manufacturers, were undoubtedly the best placed of all these sections to press home their action.

OPEN OPPOSITION

Subsequent actions by Heathrow maintenance engineers and Port Talbot steelworks electricians, although in many respects standing on the advances made in the toolimpact of the toolmakers' action..

And the toolmakers' leaders also took open opposition to trade union officials to a new peak with the mass meeting in Birmingham that howled down and humiliated AUEW President Hugh Scanlon, in scenes which endeared the tool makers to every militant worker in the country.

But the toolroom committee never spelled out clear demands on wages. They denied at every opportunity that they were leading a fight against the Social Contracta fight from which every section of workers would gain, and which thousands would support. struggle on defence of living standards. And this political vagueness and • weakness left sufficient room for the final sell-out-with not a penny gained and Phase 2 left intact.

The struggle in this way stands as a crushing indictment of those who claim all that is needed is rank and file militancy or "more support" or industrial muscle. The toolroom strike had all these to abundance, yet was stopped in its tracks by lack of principled leadership.

But at the same time the action, followed by the Heathrow and Port Talbot strikes, completely refuted those who had argued that the working class "accepted" the Social Contract, "accepted" the arguments of its leaders, or had been pacified by the existence of a Labour government.

GROWING MILITANCY Here was a conservative, skilled section of workers, a basic layer within the organised labour movement, prepared to stand firm against its official leadership, the TUC and Labour government.

Given even the most inadequate lead, they responded overwhelmingpromiss of aldirity aides ad ly. And. In toolmakers showed they are not a rare exception, but a part of the growing militancy of the working class.

The booklet shows how. misconceptions on these questions led to wrong positions, and articles point to the central role of the Communist Party in scabbing on the toolroom and other wages struggles, providing 'left' sounding arguments, all of which diverted from the fight to defeat Phase 2.

Another article shows the bureaucratic methods through which Phases 1 and 2 of wage control were foisted on the working class, and points out that the only initiative aimed at defeating Phase 2 was conducted by the Campaign for Democracy in the Labour Movement.

PHASE 3 COALITION

The Liberal-Labour coalition government, brought suddenly into the world amid the turmoll. of rhe toolroom strike, aptly characterised the "Phase 3 Coalition" is dealt with in the opening article.

And in this period of acute governmental crisis, with Callaghan dragged round on a lead by Steel and his coterie of place seeking bourgeois politicians, it is well to remember the struggles that toppled the elected Labour government.

That strength-and those same political problems-remain now within the workers' movement. The building of a new political leadership is still the only way to unleash that strength and open up the fight to defend jobs and wages.

The booklet, comprising articles from the Special Edition of Socialist Press and other articles with a new introduction stands, at 25p, as extremely good value and provides essential reading for all militants in today's struggles. will be the end of the freedom of the Press. How many times have those words been written in the pages of the bourgeois Press?

One of the evils that is supposed to result is that "politically motivated' journalists will use the columns for their own ends and censor all contrary views.

As a matter of fact the National Union of Journalists is about to elect a new General Secretary. There is no Trotskyist candidate only one could be regarded a 'left' Mike Bower, from Sheffield.

Electioneering is banned in the rule book and members are forced minds from previous knowledge or from the election address. campaign, if it can be called one, prevents journalists from questioninf That however does not stop our candidates meetings. fair minded liberal Press, The Times and Bernard Levin-now the foremost right winger in the uniondeciding to have a look at the election.

In a long article he recommends ballots among union members to destroyed and takes a side swipe at the Randolph strikers-now sold out but still being trodden on by Levin and the like.

He then goes on to say that the NUJ executive has shifted left. "It is of the highest importance that the exrcutive officer of the union should be a moderate."

Highest importance to whom? He doesn't say.

Levin manages to identity Bower as "standard bearer of the Left" gives a short mocking summary of his election address and then moves to the real heart of the matter.

"Many NUJ members will be casting election with no idea of where the candidates stand in the political struggle; several union members have asked me for guidance, and I therefore taking the opportunity today to say how I shall be voting myself..

"it is important for NUJ voters understand method election is the single transferable vote, it is only limited use to plump for a single candidate. addition the important task of helping a modercandidate to win there is almost equally important negative one of ensuring the defeat of the leftist, Bower.

Levin goes on to list the five right wingers in a kind of random order and say he will not vote for Bower.

It is good to know that as long as Levin around to fight the

----- pull-quotes -----

WE ARE NOT CHALLENGING THE SOCIAL CONTRACT:

room strike, never had the immed- iate and devastating industrial

PRESS GANG A closed shop in journalism