Socialist Press no. 64

GRUNWICK POSTMEN SHOW THE WAY

All eyes on Jones "Roll up! Roll up! See Jack Jones attempt the death defying leap from Phase 2 of wage controls to Phase 3!

Chancellor Healey and the coalition cabinet, togetner witn bankers, industrialists and other leaders sit with baited watching breath Jack Jones attempt the trick of a lifetime as we go to press. Jones' act will be performed amid his coloured smokescreen of calls for an undefined "minimum wage" , talking of simply adhering to the 12 months rule embodied and echoes of Callaghan's fraudulent promises of a "decade of opportunity". If he should fall, Phase 3 would face a severe setback. Nobody should be fooled by the slackness of the wording proposal to the TGWU BDC. Jones knows he has never actually obtained a conference mandate alone macate-er from his members -for either Phase 1 or Phase 2. The last, 1975, TGWU Confer- ence was pressured into agreeing not to state control of wages but to Jones' tactfully vague call for "flat rate increases"-which the scene for state control.

And Phase simply was accepted on the nod by the 37 member Executive with not so much as a thought for the views of TGWU members.

ENDORSED

Jones knows the Executive- right wing, lell wing and com munist Party members alike have already endorsed his call for an "orderly return" (essentially meaning more controls). But it may be harder to fool the conference as a whole.

A large number of resolutions indicative of the mood on the shop floor call for an end to wage controls and severa call tor a clear sliding scale of Wages Meanwhile NUM leaders, too, are involved in a struggle in which wording is crucial The Yorkshire delegation, which last year crumbled in front of a right wing manoeuvre which turned their bold £100 a week dope and a miserame ty sate ok siate of ope anu a miserable this year attempting to rise are reverse the situation. It seems possible the NUM will throw out the 12 month rule. It is essential this is done by all unions.

from Far annual creases. workers need virtually weekly increases simply to keep pace with today's inflation. The mechanism for this must be for substantial increases to be tied to a sliding scale of wages according to an index of inflation as assessed by committees of trade unionists and housewives.

As new claims are drawn up workers must ensure this demand is included and fought for.

SOCIALIST

PRESS *

BEFORE

blacking Postal workers Grunwick mail at the Crickle- wood sorting office have given the clearest possible reply to the attacks and threats against the trade union movement by the courts. They refused to have bow threats from GO WIl beneat une George Ward, John Gorst and the National Association for Freedom that the full weight of the law would be used them against they carried on blacking the mail.

COURAGEOUS

At the same time they have refused to bow down before the their by General аштаск OWIl Secretary, Tom Jackson, supporting management threats to suspend them. The decision on Tuesday to continue blacking Grunwick mail is the latest in a two week series of courageous stands in support of Grunwicks and the whole trade union movement.

SHARP CONTRAST

And their detiance of the threat from the courts has been in contrast to the pathetic SHaD subservience of Jackson and the rest of the trade union bureau- cracy who throw Laut union principle and aim overboard at the first approach of a writ or the first glimpse of a judicial wig.

The most important lesson to from their stand is that emerge none of the threats of legal action against them have SO carried For two weeks

COURTS

RETREAT

BLACKING

Jackson, Gorst, Ward and every Labour Minister who could get to his or her feet have condemned the postal blacking as "illegal" The Tories are using Grunwick to prepare anti-strike and picket legislation. Involved the response of all the trade union movement to these threats. Most trade union leaders have followed Grantham and Jackson and Jones with support for the law, i.e. this will be their attitude to Tory laws.

But the response from postal workers all over the country has prevented this legal attack from taking place. Postal branches have sent telegrams of support telling the Cricklewood workers clearly- if they victimise you, we come out on strike.

NO WAY

Last week, defying the suspen- sion threat, the Cricklewood branch secretary, David Dodd said: "There is no way we are going to handle any Grunwick mail. A: as we are concerned we are talking about the right of people to join a union and be represented by it. We must stand up and be counted." The possibility is now raised of a national strike throughout the Union of Postal Workers, as much against their own strike breakin Executive as the Post Office and the Tories. The Post Office has now been handed the same free ticket as British Leyland were by Scanlon during the toolmakers strike- full permission to victimise the membership. first threats against the ne postal workers came from Jackson

FORTNIGHTLY PAPER OF THE

WORKERS SOCIALIST LEAGUE

No. 64 * 6 July 1977 * 10p EUNION of POST OFFICE

LONDON OVERSEAS TELEPHONES IN 2 BRANCH

UNITY IS STRENGTH

Post Office workers marching up to Grunwick picket line At a reconvened meeting of the London District Council Monday, Jackson 2-1 vote against the Cricklewood post-

NICH

Jackson emerged from the "One was in the meeting to say: situation where the membership were acting in a asunited was Now at least the executive council is in control of the situation."

In this period with mass arrests himself. He sent a telegram on 16 a feature not only at Grunwicks June saying: "Work normally. Do also Darlington and not break the law. Desoutters engineering works, the Jackson's own record speaks crucial question of the crisis of for itself. In January he called off leadership of the working class proposed telephone blacking can emerge from a straightforward against South Africa after NAFI trade union dispute. took out an injunction. In

GROUNDWORK

November he ordered the blacking of Grunwick to be called off after The Grunwick dispute started threats of legal action were made.

I months ago over a relatively straightforward trade union issue

WRIT

of recognition. It has developed The next threat came from into a major battle against attacks John Gorst, the Tory MP acting as on trade union rights, in which the public face of extortion for the Tories are attempting to lay the management of Grunwick the groundwork for making any Last week he announced a hatful effective picketing a legal actions planned OT criminal offence, and the Labour with George Ward conjunction politicians have been attempting Central to these actions was a to outbid them. against the Cricklewood

WIL

The court of inquiry with its postal workers, and against the sickening composition of reaction- Post Office ary Tories and right wing bureau- crats is a major move by the

IMPOTENT

coalition government to start The legal witch-hunt against the left. Th advice for these court should be boycotted by al threats came from the National Association for Freedom and both trade unionists. Gouriet's At the first sign of victimis organisation and Grunwick now ation of a single postal worker all use the same should call lawyers. Those lawyers have been

UPW

members proved impotent the national strike throughout their against union and should be supported weight of workers determined not to yield to the courts. by workers other unions Ironically the postal workers backing the right to take action have the verbal backing of every Miners' leaders have called fo a mass picket on July 11 and the other union bureaucrat, since the TUC has called for blacking of

TUC

have called a supporting But none this demonstration. There must be a verbal suppost sin being directed mobilisation picket mass to towards single group Grun wick that date and to workers actually ly puttiese it non close the factory. But the central effect. None these demand from that date must be leaders have carried out the action immediate imposition of would close Grunwicks blacking of all post services

WHICHE

tomorrow-the blacking of elec- delivery vehicles, water and elec tricitv and water tricity

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Page?

ZIMBABWE

RATS ABANDON SINKING SHIP

of The recent invasions economic pressure on increase in the urban blacks will spread and Zambian THe Mozambique support for the liberation struggle territory by Rhodesian troops and add urban are obvious signs of desper- regime's already desperate problems ation. in some of the rural areas.

This tension is undoubtedly the Smith's racists are out for reason behind hundreds of arrests pre-emptive kill before the burden of blacks (most of them reportedly of the war becomes unbearable.

of supporters of Joshua Nkomo) But already there are signs that the last white Rhodesia is running out of in the urban areas over two weeks. the human and economic resources A further knell of doom of the for the fight. Last week the Army racists from Peking where chief publicly lamented the failure came Robert Mugabe Goint leader with of national (i.e. white) morale.

Nkomo of the "Patriotic Front") For months now the many had to call more and apparently got a Chinese commit- racists have supply more arms to the more of the white male population liberation forces. into the army and this is threaten- This is, of course, an opportunist production in the rest of the ing of the Chinese move on the part white economy. these price bureaucracy: an anti-Soviet arms was reportedly

DECLINING

pronouncement by Mugabe. Smith's own desperation magni- More than this, the white popu- fies the desperation of the imperial- is declining fast white lation ists. abandon the sinking Rhodesians The British and American ship of racist rule. governments, with the white This year neL support from South African Prime rate is 15,000 a year emigration Minister continue their Vorster, which is a loss of well over 5% of Smith accept pressure the white population. nea-colonial settle- of strain is the compromise A further sign The recently ment before it is too late.

finance of the announced budget proposes However, last week's resignation next year military spending for the of the Rhodesian Front's chairman 20% the Rhodesian of about national income-the equivalent of Frost and the recent expulsion 12 MPs from the ranks of Smith's £56 a week for every white family.

the fact that underlines Not thmith res party surprisingly; Rhodesia's white population David Smith Finance Minister between polarised effort shift the increasingly every blacks fleeing and those the those. who are financial burden

OTO

to defend the who are preparing by raising indirect taxes.

the dictatorship whatever He still, however, very racist cost. constrained in ally

TURKEY

ECEVIT RESIGNS

of Prime The resignation Minister Ecevit, following the result of the early indecisive elections in Turkey-in which won an absolute party no further setback to the plans of majority-has brought bourgeoisie to the Turkish cover up its political and econ- omic bankruptcy. The Turkish economy has hit its worst state of bankruptcy-with a

IRELAND

deficit, heity trade Instrucill currency reserves and sky-rocketing inflation. Both Turkish and international capitalists were hoping for the end and the of coalition governments, prospect of a majority administra- Those expecting a mighty towards tion charting _course phoenix restored profits and attacks on the anti-imperialist arise from the ashes of the old working class. Instead the traditional party of Troops Out Movement (TOM) the Turkish bourgeoisie, the Justice been sorely must have defeat, Party, suffered a heavy the London disappointed by liberal-reformist while the "Open Conference" this week- Republican Popular Party attracted considerable support end. populist programme. Not only did the conference fail prepared a Ecevit had already coherent political to present any Frozamme which abandoned many analysis of the demise of the old him he promises TOM, it also showed every sign of Willi all its predecessor's reproducing particular. he had decided basic mistakes. The conference had been called reatest legislation against lock-outs; Airs redits to peasants and small a split because April, when a majority of branches against social mants lat National against telepare and walked out in test the

CILE

the fron Mussolini's constitution).

meeting was being conducted.

These branches then joined The political task facing Turkish "Committee for a is therefore the same together in the markers Free Ireland (CFI). and issued a the cection - to te sarker movement away irom an!

call

IOT

the open the basis that the old TOM was now aha: with 20012201 pa:185.

GERMANY

nearly 1500 On June 13 crammed into the people Technical University's Central West Berlin to Auditorium in take part in a preparatory "Russell Tri- meeting of the "inves- bunal" which aims to tigate aspects of repression in of Federal Republic the Germany (FRD)" auspices of the Set up under the Russell Peace British Bertrand liberal-democratic Foundation, the tribunal is expected to trust, attention on the expan- focus its sion of the governmental machinery of control and repression, restric- imposed upon counsels for the political censorship defence and, most of all, upon the practice of "berufsverbote' The latter term is the name given to the practice of political witch- hunting for communists and left- 150 people In all, some fewer than represeng no political organisations attended the conference. Most claimed with agreement demands advanced- the two withdrawal immediate of troops, self-determination for But all proposed widely dittering demands strategies for raising these the labour movement from the with RCG's call for Communist Party to the IMG and Big Flame's gimmick Tribunal on British national War crimes in Ireland. these differences despite representatives of the agreed that it was possible to band single organisation. together In a the jointly call barel single issue of troops in Ireland What the conference thus estar- lished was a less rigid variation of the old TOM-a propaganda bloc ai myriad political tendencies which West German police attack demonstrators.

in the Civil wing sympathisers Service which, since becoming law has investigated 1972, over so-called 800,000 for "balty to the constitution".

passed strict having German civil political screening do the become part servants "beamte" classification-ensuring them a relatively high salary, special pension insurance and strong job

SECURILY

SPD-FDP (Social Demo- The cratic and liberal coalition) leader- ship has fueled rather than checked right-wing spread of such

LILC

policies, arguing that criticism 01 cutbacks and lay-offs are detrimen tal to the "national interest" The speakers at the Action Com- mittee's meeting, an assortment of and petit-bourgeois ahertatian legal experts, failed to highlight the links between the living In standards of the working class anc increased state repression.

STRIKES

of vigorous Only a campaign strikes against such attacks and a within the public sector fight unions against the cutbacks in state expenditure pose a real alternative such the problems tacing increased If the demands for public expenditure are labelied as inflationary or a fiscal impossibility then the demand for committees of state employces elected from their along with respective

LOOKS

answerable their specialists unions, to examine the accounts of the particular state

HOLSICS

question must be advanced.

NO COHERENT ANALYSIS

AT TROOPS OUT CONFERENCE

But a glance at the history of the told

TOM

the old conference that such a structure is doomed to failure. The old TOM was not destroyed by the machinations of the clique Gery Lawless-although around Lawless's considerable appetite for bureaucratic undoubtedly hastened its end.

was On the contrary, was nothing paralysed because i other than the sum total of groups possessed of different political anal- yses and strategies. Consequently practical when action there were as many different there ations. each believing is: y'sis was corter: 2i =2. == impie- fighting mented.

TOM

matter time everted ic is constituent parts.

setting up exactly the same propaganda bloc. the type that it had

IN BRIEF

PERU

increases and price The huge economic measures just announced by the right wing military dictator- ship (supported with qualifications by the Peruvian Communist Party) have provoked a wave of militant These have been demonstrations. concentrated the especially southern cities of Cusco, Purio and Some demonstrators Arequipa. killed many reported and were police attacks. in armed injured Hundreds of arrests have also taken place in the capital, Lima.

FRANCE

The main unions and the Barre- Giscard govere entre temping defuse the fall in their against standards of living the public wage At the same time recent sector. the confirms economic

HEWN

worsening of the crisis of French Unemployment capitalism one million sharply to over

SANCIL

and industrial production has been stagnant for the last year.

ITALY

The Communist Party leadership has reached an agreement on a measures of austerity programme with the minority right wing Democratic government Christian In their customary of Andreotti. treacherous language of class collab- CP leader said there the "no winners or losers" in the were "the whole country negotiations; has won" The agreement was, they "demo- first step towards said, a cratic unity"

INDIA

Party Communist The (Marxist) government of the state has reportedly West Bengal released all politcal prisoners in the Naxalites including the state The CP(M) allies of the (Maoists). Janata party gover ment has still not fulfilled its pre- promise to grant amnesty election to political prisoners. collapse of its predecessor.

Moreover, a movement to force Ireland cannot out confine itself to just that one issue.

the extreme to is utopian in that the British think against mobilised class simply on the imperialism of Ire- of continued oppression land Only of relating to socialist all working capable class needs will be capable of effec- ting such a mobilisation.

the confer- But instead of war a stateg and demon incural stunts whits pushin MP: Callaghan and •leit Mason ignore. *From nothing. through norhi • words of Hege to nothing best describe the political itinera those who met together of launch the new mode TOM Mark IE

SOCIALIST PRESS D::*

In the preamble to the new draft Soviet Constitution, pub- lished on June 4 by Tass, we read that in the USSR an end has been put "to exploitation of man by man, to class antag- and national onisms to enmity", and that, as a result, "a developed socialist society has been built there. The state in the Soviet Union we are told, no longer represents the rule of any single class: it is no the dictatorship but is instead "a state proletariat, of the whole people". That such a classless 'state of the whole people' completely distorts everything Marx, Engels, Lenin and Trotsky ever taught on this subject is of course problem to the Soviet constitutionalists. For this 'classless' people's state has been cynically introduced to bridge the gap between the official theory of the Soviet Union and what exists in reality. Officially, all the tasks of accompishe dictatorship SaR have been accomplished; achieved socialism" and is now on the road to communism and the classless society. reality, monstrous state machine, controlled by a wasteful, reactionary and parasitic Stalinist bureaucracy there-as of Hungary, Czecho- workers slovakia and the USSR itself know only too well.

'WHOLE PEOPLE'

The red professors of the Kremlin resolve this contradiction by merely yoking the myth and the reality together: the state exists, yes; but it is a classless state, belonging to "the whole people".

*rom the standpoint of Marxism concept course nonsense. In general, the state is a product of irreconcilable class antagonisms, and arises precisely because of class and division

DOTTEN OI

socIely. A necessary corollary of this is that the state is an organ of class rule, and that as long as classes exist, it too will exist.

The working class of the Soviet Union of course carries on its back not the state machine of a capitalist class but one controlled by and 1n the interests of the Kremlin bureau- cratic caste. bureaucracy's That inflated living standards and privileges rest on its vice-like grip on boltical power, even within a state where the means of production are nation- alised "The soviet oligarchy DOssesses all the vices of the old ruling classes but lacks their historical mission. In of degeneration the Soviet state it is not the general laws of modern society from capitalism to socialism which find expression but a special exceptional and temporary refraction of these laws under the backward revolutionary country in The capitalist environment. scarcity goods and obtain the policeman generate a them arrogates to himself the function of Hostile pressure from distribution. without imposes on the policeman 'defender the TOLe country, endows him with national authority and permits him doubly to plunder the countrv" (Trotsky, In Defence of Marxism) in this way that class still find reflection DrESSIES within the Soviet state.

DEFEND

Of course Trotskyists uncondit-

USSR

and its ionally defend the nationalised relations property at the same time we recognise that the achievement of socialism-the abolition of privilege and of want- requires the political overthrow of the Kremlin oligarchy. And such an overthrow cannot peaceful be brought about by self-reform measures: it must be carried through by the mobilisation of the Soviet working class led by a revolutionary party. of Kremlin instead. inıs lne bureaucracy claims to have established a classless state, a "state of the whole people", which not but has only is not wineme away absolutely no intention of ever doing so. Not only does the constitution

SOVIET UNION

COVER FOR

BUREAUCRACY

"safeguard the interests Soviet state, to contribute to the of and strengthening its might 62, prestige. (Article emphasis added). The "state of the whole people" revealed as nothing but a bureaucratic humbug, piece formula designed to conceai and entrench the privileges which the bureaucracy enjoys. of the Constitution (Articles 88-105) concerns itself *the People's WITh and Procedure of their Deputies election". The title signifies the again change mentioned above: the state is a "people's state", therefore the Soviets be composed of are to "people's deputies".

NONSENSE

But this again is nonsensical: soviets nothing other than are of class rule-a non-class soviet is a contradiction in terms.

complementing unis new name 1s a declaration that the bourgeois method of electing deputies will be "on the basis of universal, used 1.e. direct suffrage equal by universal ballot". (Article 94).

In the early years of the Soviet Union, elections to soviets were public attairs. bv show of hands anu were weignlea so as lo ensure working dominance the Cass OT Soviet state. (For example the 1918 Constitution stipulated that working class areas. one delegate 25,000 while represented voters, in tne countryside ine ratio was one per 125,000 inhabitants).

In addition, elections generally took place at the place of work again reinforcing the class nature of the voting as opposed to the bour- ballot" geois which atomises the working class, allowing them to vote only as "individuals.

TROTSKY

This point is made forcibly in Trotsky's analysis in the Transition- al Programme of the rourth Inter "The replaced the bureaucracy with the soviets organs as class fiction of universal electoral rights- in the style of Hitler-Goebbels. It is necessary to return to the soviets not only their free democratic form but also their class content. As once the bourgeoisie and kulaks (rich

IINTERNATIONAL NEWS

CONSTITUTIONAL s= peasants) were not permitted to enter the soviets, so now it is neces- she te dive the bureaucracy and new aristocracy the soviets. In the soviets there is room only for of the representatives collective workers, rank and file farmers, peasants and Red Army men. Democratisation of the soviets is impossible without legalisation of soviet parties. workers and peasants themselves by their own free vote will indicate what parties they recognise as soviet parties."

(Folrose edition, p. 36) On this point the 1977 consti- the merely reproduces

LULOI

positions advanced by Stalin 1936. Both constitutions legally liquidate the soviet as a class organ, but in doing so they only mirror the actual hamdation of the soviets that occurred during Stalin's rise to power. The bureaucracy cynically retains the name soviet of expediency only: just as Napoleon Bonaparte called the empire over which he ruled "a republic" 0 0 Bonapartists these latter-day call their bureaucratic caste rule soviet society"

REALITY

But the constitution itself cannot help but betray the reality.

which it seeks to cover up.

Chapter 1 of section 2 is entitled "The Basic Rights, Freedoms and Duties of Citizens of the USSR" and is the longest chapter in the entire draft, covering Innumerable "rights' are guaran- teed to Soviet citizens. But every one of them is under- Soviet "strictly observe labour production discipline" (Article 60-significant- ly no right to strike is granted); to "be of intolerant anti-social and "to contribute in behaviour", of the maintenance way to

CYCL

public order." (No. 65)

ACTION

Indeed, Article 39 specifically states that "Exercise by citizens of rights and freedoms must not injure the interests society the - a rider designed to allow stalt.. whatever the bureaucracy to take action it wants against those who may protest their decisions.

Brezhner has now emerged. ai 13 years of "collectively staT with Podgorny and power Kosygin (Soviet Prime Minuster).

the worthy successor of Stalin a Kruschev. In May 1976 he received military of Marshal of t

TANK

Soviet Union, and since then has been referred Vozt as the title used by Stalin and i RI Sace equivalent of "Fuhrer" Russian the Both 1977 Draft Con Brezhnev's tution, and nise undisputed power, testify to continuation of bureaucratic rule the Soviet Union.

FAMILY

Articles such as numbers 53 a 66, enshrine the bourge family and oblige "citizens devote themselves to the upbring of their children" show how far

USSR

is from achieving socialist which al domestic labou be completely socialised.

Interestingly enough, Morning Star review of the Dr Constitution on June 6 failed draw attention to these article presumably because of the Recent events in Soviet with bourge the uncritical alliance Union also give the lie to the consti- feminism). Trotsky wrote tution's claim that "this is a society 1936 Constitution that it sealed: of true democracy" (Preamble).

the dictatorship of 1 The unexplained fall from power privileged strata of Soviet soci of USSR President Nikolai Podgor- over the producing masses.'

ny on May 24 is testimony to the (Documents of the Fourth Int continuing in-fighting within the national, . 105). The 1977 bureaucracy - grappling match Draft reaffirms t less bloody, but no less fierce, than dictatorship, and reveals again the intrigues of "the Stalin era" political revolution need for a Podgorny's sealed demise was oust the ruling bureaucracy.

with the appointment on June 16 of Leonid Brezhnev as President of

GAINS

the Soviet Union, who becomes the first man in Soviet The history to hold the post of party culous October revolution-nationalisati leader and President at the same of land and industry, state moi time. poly of foreign trade, elements planned economy -have been reversel domination of the USSR 1936 noW, as in fetter bureaucracy 15 extension of those gains, and mi before be overthrown progress towards genuine sociali can be achieved As the Transitional Program!

points out: "Only the victorious resolutio of the ary uprising oppr masses can revive the Sorier reg and guarantee its further develo towards socialism. There capable of leadi party the Soviet masses to insurrection the party of the Four Stalin International!" (p. 37).

WORKERS

SOCIALIST LEAGUE

The Workers Socialist League is a Trotskyist organisation fighting to build a revolutionary leadership in the working class to lead the mounting opposition to the betrayals of both 'left' and right wing Labour and trade union leaders and the Communist Party, as they attempt to enforce wage control, sackings, speed-up and public service cuts. As workers take up the struggle against these policies they are forced by the sheer weight of forces opposing them to confront political questions. Only with an understanding of the role of the labour bureaucracy and a programme to unite the broadest sections of workers in struggle can a way forward be found.

The Workers Socialist League is the only movement that sets out to do this, fighting consisiently in the working class for transitional demands, which go beyond simply trade union militancy to raise the political questions to workers and prepare the forms of organis ation and the knowledg: necessary for the struggle for socialism As a result we have been at the forefront of struggles against the cuts, against wage control, for unionisation, and against redundancy We have done more than any other tendency to fight the introductio of 'workers' parti upation' in industry. And we have strongly supp orted the Camfign for Democracy in the Labour Movement, whic has set out tr now the link between the reactionary policies of th Social Contr i and bureaucratic dictatorship in both the unions arc the Labour Party. But our practical struggle for the continuity of the principles a method of Trotsky's Transitional Programme is in no way a task cor tined to Britain. It requires an attention and involvement in ine struggles of the working class internationally, and the fight to recor struct the Trotskyist Fourth International.

So there has been a consistent drive within the WSL to deed=- movement's understanding of the history and :: the present crisis of the Fourth International as an essentia par: =* :.

initiative towards its reconstruction.

We urge all readers who agree on the need for reic atone ership and tre demands ye but towero to aromas.-

BITTER FRUIT OF LIB-LAB POLITICS

ASSET-STRIPPING

TORIES AXE HOUSING

Page/4 The municipal elections at the beginning of May confirm of the earlier the eyidence by-elections parliamentary that workers all over Britain rejecting the coalition are government. The election constituency they machines anal unable to mobilise their traditional mass support from urban workers aiter the history of class betrayals Wilson/Callaghan/Healey the leadership. he most irequent reaction or the workers was to vote with their feet, to stay away from the polling stations. The result was that Tories took control of most of Britain's where they will stay cities, large for the next four years. This is an important result for wOrkers, because the large urban municipal authorities control pro- for housing, education, grammes transport and the welfare services.

LITTLE RESISTANCE

little enough There was resis- fance to the cuts from the Labour The Tories controlled authorities. will hack and slash the programmes of public expenditure with an enthusiasm built on many years of political frustration.

They have plans to go further full-scale than asset CULs operation on the public sactor is underway. Workers need to defend them- selves against attacks on living stan- dards and job security from this new direction. A wave of town hall redundancies will accompany Tories' programme of cuts.

Information is coming out more quickly in London than in most of about the Tories aar ornet Cines and some guide- intentions, gives lines for the shape of the struggles that will develop over the coming months. Tories won overwhelming of the Greater London control seats out of Council, holding 64 93, complete reversal of almost a the position before the election.

REWRITTEN

One of their first acts was to the Council's standing rewrite preventing minority orders, the party from using its right to bring committee proceedings in front of the open council meeting.

The Tories had used this power repeatedly months before in ine election, obstructing the council agenda and preventing work on a large number of housebullding schemes The planning committee intends to give away the GLC's main plan- ning powers. Along with this will go the GLC's right under the Com- acquire sites munity development without public 101 giving massive profits to the land speсшаtотs. But is in housing that the will struggles importall develop. GLC housing has been a political battleground since the GLC was set up in 1966.

INTERVENE

The reason for this is that the GLC's housing powers have given it to intervene in the power traditionally Tory controlled outer suhurban boroughs. controlled GLC's have Labour families from wanted rehouse to the waiting lists of the overcrowded the outer They Foroughs where land is more plenti- Tul. The Tory outer boroughs have apposed they wnal regara as lne *ansplanting ol large numbers or Labotf voting council tenants into their areas. I: is no surprise then to find that ibe Tories" leader of housing, George Tremlett, is a councillor for the boroughs Ritaond. one of has most hitterly resisted strategy валите Latsur and Judge attempted to shift the blame for the series of design problems (which had grown out of the cuts they had administered) onto building workers and archi- tects. The blatant career building of both Balfe and Judge led to intense rivalry and prevented all efforts to create an integrated housing policy for the whole of London. This problem exacerbated Was by ot the Labour- controlled inner boroughs which retused to cooperate on integrated policies. This was despite the fact that

"I KEEP TELLING YOU-YOU HAVE COMPLETE FREEDOM OF CHOICE...

SALES

TIN

their constituents would obviously benefit trom The councillors clearly feared they would lose their powers of patron- age over council tenancies and their influence in allocating contracts.

The Tory boroughs were there- fore able to sit back and watch the Labour

DO OUC

GLC's attempts to create an overall housing policy for London.

This year's London Regional Labour Party Conference belatedly condemned these

ONSCHORS

called impotently for coordination of lettings policies to eliminate the involved in the largest waiting lists building up in poorest boroughs the THe wale richest boroughs refuse to take any responsibility for people outside their boundaries.

NOT RESTRICTED

The GLC's stock of housing, being distributed all over London restricted to one borough, and not offers the only chance IOT COunCIL tenants and waiting list families to move from one borough to another being forced into the private sector The first part of the Tory attack on this stock of housing is to be the much heralded 'sale of the century" They intend to sell as much of the stock as they can to the existing the biggest discount thet can get away with-30• There is obviously a characteris- result will be that the tenants will Selling council houses solves no problems. It only shifts the again be locked within the borough injustice and magnifies it.

boundaries for the rest of their lives The people on the waiting lists with of transferring no prospect pleasanter housing in will be denied access to the houses that that off-except in the suburbs. are sold unlikely event that they can raise The of rehabili- mortgages necessary to buy tation of the older houses and o them. support for housing associations And of course only the best of producing housing by building and the council houses will be bought.

same conversions will show the leaving a crumbling stock ot rise pattern of being restricted to inner blocks, interwar 'walk-up London, but the Tories have also and unmodernised terraced houses had another idea which they find for the next generation of tenants.

attractive The best council houses are out They call it homesteading' and in the traditionally Tory suburban it means opening up the worst of the unimproved housing stock, rent free, to anyone willing to live in it and make it habitable The most astounding scheme of

PAY UP

however is the conversion flats to offices and workshops.

There is aircady a great surplus OR in London of vacant office space of a symptom and tactorv space.

PUSH

the general economic crisis and also of London's decline as a centre of

OFF!"

world capitalism. How can it make sense therefore

LETTER

COUNCIL

HOUSING

Dear Cde. Editor, The second lead article in Social- ist Press 63 focussed on the stand taken by 'left' MP Audrey Wise and Rooker who voted against Jeffrey of Lib/Lab the budget proposals chancellor Healey in the committee stage of the Finance Bill.

The correct points in the article could have been strengthened by reference to comments uduc Wise following this vote.

boroughs, who least want council tenants. The second strand of the attack council housing savage attack on the building programme boroughs and outside London is to up as soon as possible. be wound

REDUNDANCIES

This décision hacks over 13,000 out awellings Lie prost amite over the next five years and will substantial redundancies building trade and among the the GLC's architects and housing staff.

Wise Especially disliked by the Tories are the direct labour force, builders In a television interview where directly for the council she was asked how she felt about who work competition with the private possibly precipitating general the return of a Tory sector. election and An ominous silence descends Mrs Wise said that if governmeht Whenever the tuture of the Gli was pursuing the ine government construction force is mentioned at correct policies there would be no County is becoming Hall, but i need lo Tear a generat eleCtor Statements such more and more obvious that their are Sanese levers days are numbered, and that-as extremely important for developing the struggle to force the each they 4l t 'lefts' to break with the coalition finished they will be laid off.

and lead a fight for an alternative The estates that they cannot sell leadership which could fight and to the tenants may prove an embar- win a general electior on socialist assment to the Tories. They want to hand them over to poncies but many of the boroughs en bloc, the boroughs don't want them.

The cost of meeting the interest charges on high rise blocks is moro the tent that can be charged than on them. and as they get Older the cost of repairs and rocketing darmangh SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 6 July, 1977

BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

needed close down much housing to expand this surplus?

To recover the conversion costs higher than rents wii nave to De those being asked for City offices.

EVERY LEVEL

These attacks on public services therefore and housing come at every level. They are typical of Tory plans for cities all over Britain in the will be coming months, and they carried through unless trade unions, Labour Parties and tenants assoc- mobilize the strength of the working class in a struggle for a socialist programme of house building at the expense of the landiords, property speculators, financiers and building companies hand with hight agaost the Lin- Today task hand goes Lab coalition government which opened the door to the Tories in the first place.

WISE AFTER

THE EVENT.

sides over the actions of Audrey The Wise and Jeff Rooker continue arguements to revolve around the question of saving the letting the government 1n Within that context we are able the supposed opposi- to challenge tion to the likes of Callaghan and Healey from their 'left' critics and put forward our idea of the socialist programme which a general election should be fought.

Audrey Wise's comments make it easier for us to argue that there is an alternative to waiting for the Tories to turn the knife and then the election defeat and deeple what will follow every half- We have to employ step forward of the left reformists if we are to succeed in our policy of breaking the coalition and forging alternative leadership in the working class. Fraternally, K. White, Coventry.

READERS' LETTERS

We welcome letters from readers. Letters for publication should be kept as brief as possible and sent to: Socialist Press 31, Dartmouth Park Hill London NWS 1HR

CORRECTION

A ry pographical error turned the meaning of the last sentence of the 6y into its opposite The last sentence should have read fight "But willingness most fertile conditions intersention that

-SECTAIST PRESS.

w= tresin:

PSOEL

SPAIN'S

GREAT

ELECTION

FRAUD

PART TWO OF OUR ARTICLE ON THE JUNE 15

ELECTIONS BY A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT IN SPAIN

and the Communist Party par- in the hope that they would DulLE workers' parties which might oblige resuLs uation of Suarez' Francoist govern- menT Dtuaus campaigns reflected their involvement in this which used its campaign to demon- dRaCHIS Carrillo diverted his attack solely before the elections that he wished Suarez, who he said represented the to which the CP leaders are prepared to go in making clear that it was no threat to the bourgeoisie occurred A CP member defending himself against physical attack while selling reacted by expelling their forbidding member, CP to defend him lawyers against murder charge and sending a dele- gation to the funcral of the Popular Alliance thug! the Spanish

"VICTORY"

democratic annesly , Carrillo welcomed the results as fallonal over fascism" and prest Spanish were "3 cir::. the PSOR

FUTE

was because they CP. not yet ready for having the CP in Workers Communist The PSOE itself is also preparing the ground for its own collabor- Maoism, with suarez- all of them Their Overall deserved surface these ing only He is already preparing the way version of the CP position.

to join a coalition with Suarez after One candidacy

FUT

-the then that Gonzalez and Carrillo are the LCR (Revolutionary ready to play their direct role in the

"HONISI

government when they are needed.

section of the main role of the (Organisation Left, a centrist group with with the capitalist class into a long term strategy of demobilisation of working class on the immedfately explosive questions ot group). rights (complete did lhe rll trade union rights, self-determination us campalgn dterature, tor ine ais.

Kaskadi and Catalonia) and econ- ei conditions twages and unem- d v vdldl.. mination and agains: the monarchy I. these conditions the position and CP leaders is far denounczd slute sien with their " hi fl ite vii:3 Mette ets morters an sirs= despite ih:s

CD U

arguments for the elections was not The LCR argued that participa- tion would allow it the opportunity to propagandise for its But in Progammne programme of FUT was a compro- mise in numerous ways with that of the

OIC

dilli

JODOTTCHAT

Unity could hardly have been more disunited. caucue vote for FÜT and a few days before Converter CP leader Carrillo

LOU

the question of what their objective was FUT representatives appeared at some of the "round tables" (organ- isations) along with representatives of the other candidacies, including In Madrid at the end of May the LCR withdrew its support from a repression of the amnesty that it might be converted into a PSOE leader Gonzalez demonstration for a boycott of the in the elections to their left did not gain more than a handful of votes calling for it favoured the boycott).

were not seen a clear alternatives to the PSOE and Three parties, the Revolutionary TORnETIOn

UKI).

Movement (MC)

INDEFENSIBLE

the Labour Party (PT)-all of them containing various combinations of centrism and petty bour- geois and Christian radicalism, and not the invitable results of partici- still illegal-put pation lollowed trom candidates in all the large provinces confused and contradictory nature tailure was since their militant tone The LCR and other groups on failed to conceal that beneath the • Parues were present- a left-sounding populist, of the FUT campaign was to help to con- claimed to be qualitatively different (Front for Workers' Unity). This Front was supported Com- events of the year since the Suarez League USFi); sympathising the OIC the tactic of the boycott appears as of the Communist a viable alternative to the headlong right rush of the left parties to present wing positions on the national ques- their candidates in the tion and an ultra-left opposition to A sustained and consistent cam- the building oi trade unionss: and palen Ic: ü Bcrc0i Communist Action (a small centrist "reform' presenteg ss er native a . . .innonad its assembly. could hute tat a maro: mectings. and to a limited ostent in impaul !ice tere eres an dirernane solution of the Francoist repressive pondd dire dee ee ine enernods iot nallonai selt deter. and threstenicg Meis mobilisations which the retorensts It argued against the social pail.

aidsl "º:::t non-democratio Mertrowing frataole Thes nature of the clections. condemned the

LOR:

s "a decab:r ust.5es greatest Duanesasi e= But practice when the PSOË ==: c decision to partieme.s to by the great ma cet; it said and groups on their lett vintidl Those who claimed to be : ta. thic

HIC USSIN

dentevt FUT, calling for a wa In addition, because of Sua ill OT Cates

CLO]

Meetings were forbidden by po Nonetheless, in some cities tactorie. pos Ma- ildl.

LIC STE

'real' bourgeois democracy previous allies in the Americ SWP) and by the OCI (Organisati Despite some tendency to ov dition for participation, this ca elections as the clearest and mo effective tactic against the plans collaboration of the reformist ar elections. Suarez (left) with Franco icer- and Fraga (right). And now after the elections : political issues. taken boycott campaign remain central the ahead for the Spars wornig class This because thoug IS elections have enabled Francoists (now with backing of PSOE and CP less hang on to governmenta. they have not CT. =..= Francoists to rule Tu rule at the res itans lo lose er diass d aprils: e.nc : IE= SuE: -costitten!

E H IST

virn postponed

16L C E

Spain g:l0 Slain s:s Indisc tr3a0c

BETRAYALS THAT

Page 6

OPENED DOOR

FOR HITLER

SECOND IN OUR SERIES "HOW FASCISTS TOOK STATE POWER" BY JIM SHORT.

But instead the KPD continued in Germany As 1931 opened, the Nazis, growing in to brand the sociar democracy as "social fascism", to insist that they confidence every day, struck were a more dangerous enemy than out more firmly than previous- the Hitlerites. Instead of engaging in a united ly on the road to power. with the SPD, objec- they In the spring of that year, they IrONL tively formed a united front with garned their attention to the crucial the Nazis-as in the Red Referen- Legislature) of (State Lanuiar dum. Prussia, a Social Democratic strong- coalition government

OPPORTUNISTIC

nOur was headed by Otto Braun and Carl of the Social Democratic Severing Such opportunistic manoeuvring failed to win over SPD Party (SPD). not only that they could Thinking members to a consistent revolution- conquer the Landtag if fresh elec- but actually drove them line, Nazis, al y held.

LION

closer to their own leadership.

alliance with right wing nationalists During 1932 the economic crisis led by Alfred Hugenberg, seized on worsened. Five million were

NOW

a clause in the Weimar constitution and jobless unemployed, and called for a referendum to oust benefits were slashed. the Pressist to commi worsened The political Communist Party first also. On March 18, 1932 new elec-

(KPD),

opposed referendum. TEe tions for the presidency were held.

But on July 21, 1931, they made a President, the break with their line sudden Hindenburg monarchist was agan were the social social

SPD

with standing-this The

KPD

presented an They argued that he was support. ultimatum to the SPD leadership- be "the lesser evil" and immediately supported against Hitler.

join united front against fascism, Or we Two other candidates contested the will vote with the NazIs In of the the election-Thaelmann referendum. KPD, and the ultra-right Stahihelm leader, Theodor Dusterburg.

REJECTED

After an inconclusive first round rejected the in which no one received an absol- the

SPD

When off election the KPD shamelessly ute majority, ultimatum, à runn redubbed 10. Dusterburg switched was held on April iner position, Nationalists the "Red Refer- and the referendum campaigned for the campaigned for Hitler. and endum SPD-led removal of the ment. In this way the German workers the bewildering and witnessed demoralising spectacle of the KPD avowed with their working jointly enemies, the Nazis, for the downtali of the coalition government.

although 9.8 it happened, As million voters supported the refer- it failed to 9 August, endum approval of more than the secure electorate (ie 13 million half the votes), and so was defeated.

But although it failed to remove the referendum the government, new succeeded opening sources of support for the Nazis, discredit also managed completely the KPD in the eyes of Social Democratic workers, who by this stage were decisive action against the fascists.

IRON FRONT

the In response to this pressure, SPD authorised, in December 1931, "Iron Front for the creation of the Against Fascism"-a The this time gave Kesslaike results mass organisation which embraced Hindenburg 53% of the poll, Hitler SPD youth the old Reichsbanner, 36.8% and Thaelmann 10.2% and other labour and liberal groups SPD who had turned their The and file of the SPD The rank Front into electoral rallied round this Iron Front, and a machine for Hindenburg, hailed the demonstrations of strect series 'victory over results as a decisive which led to clashes with the Nazis, Pastill were held. But in doing so they closed their sporadic these But despite fact that the Nazi vote eyes to the engagements, the Iron Front failed from 6.4 million to nad doubled struggle conduct SeTIOUS seventeen asly 13.4 milton in against the Nazis. months! Vor, indeed, could it, since the no intention of SPD leaders had

PLAYED OFF

Hitler's bands, and fighting Front merely established the Iron Bruning the Reichstag, as a safety-valve to defuse and head continued his Bonapartist policy of ofi the growing oft the Nazis and playing gathering within nation ihat was working class parties against each the tanks of the SPD. of the other application Presidential elections The eared torthy the KPD inulü have SA and the SS (the Schutz-Stattel, or "Protective Columns" Hitler's personal bodyguard).

was to prove

KAT

UNICE

of Bruning's undoing. For a series the military high intrigues the engineered by command so-called "social general" Kurt von resulted in Bruning's during Chancellor resignation as May 1932 31, Hindenburg On May Papen as appointed Franz vom instructed him Chancellor, and would be that form Cabinet "above parties" was about all von Papen This possessed since he could do, support the absolutely no Reichstag, and was able to rule only precariously balancing between by the contending factions.

BAN LIFTED

On June 4, von Papen dissolved the Reichstag, and set new elections 15, the ban 31. for July On une the SA and the SS was lifted, on and they at once showed their grati- unleashing wave tude by political terror and violence unseen since the Freikorps terror of 1918- 1919. the space of Hundreds died in four weeks, after which von Papen prohibited all political parades for two weeks before the elections.

Nazis decided to end But the their murder campaign in a blaze of fascist glory. On July • 17 they held Hitler with big business backers.

a march, under police supervision, working class through Altona, suburb of Hamburg. At the end of 19 workers lay dead and the day, 285 were wounded delivered his Von Papen then On the pretext that master Hoke. the riots showed the Aitona of the Prussian govern incapacity "law and order" ment to maintain he deposed it on July 20, 1932, and himself Reich appointed Commissioner for Prussia the was up (LO nex! They had pledged themseives

SPD.

to defend the republic against any *from the right or from coup d'etat workers waited the left". But as for the signal to act. expectantly huffed and leadership

SPD

the a charade ot outled, inaugta and trentuary indignant protest to fight the coup in the decided The Reichstag Fire, February 27, Nazis in order under arrest before the elections took place, and also to incite a terror against all opposition to them.

of their Red Referendum antics against the same Prussian govern- ment still fresh in people's minds, the response was derisory The workers were now seriously the fascists elated demoraliszed And in the elections that were held on July 31, the Nazis took 37.4% the of the vote which exceeded combined vote of the KPD and the SPD which was 36.2% time, the Nazis For the first largest party in the the werE Reichstag.

USE NAZIS

like Now Papen's plans were, Bruning's to use the Nazis without any major share of the giving them But encouraged by LeLI Nazis the electoral Successes refused his overtures, and when the Sep- Reichstag convened 1C1Y tember 12, they joined with other Panen's in censuring parties regime by 513 votes to 32 Reichstag Once again the again elections dissolved, and once were set-this time for November 6 and Between September Nazis the November began to lose some of their momen- tum. Big business began to haulk at prospect of these brown-shirted T.ne plebians holding political power, at Hitler's own the same supporters became impatient abou Hitler's strategy of a "legal" seizure

FINANCE

needed to The huge finances the SA Nazi machine, sustain the up, and SS and the began to dr reflected the fact November election results The Nazis lost 2 million votes as their share of the poll dropped to The SPD and KPD now had 33.1% 1.1% 37.3%-an increase compared to July. at this late stage Clearly, even determined joint action by the SPD and the KPD could hate halted the Nazis, and could have changed the halanie of forces so 1i 2 !gv:m.

SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 6 July, 1977 1933: a provocation staged by the • to frame the Communist Party leadership and place them electoral results between at the May 1928 and November 1932.

from consistently 1928 to 20.4% in November 1932,

KPD

vote consistently while 16.9%. In from 10.6% rose 1¼ million (3.5%) only November. votes separated the Social Demo cratic and Communist candidates.

This narrowing of the gap was disastrous achieved despite of social period policy third despite the refusal of the fascism, united front tactic by the KPD despite the Red leadership Referendum and similar opportun- istic manoeuvres. There can be no doubt, even it we look only at the distorted reflec.

of mere election results that tior the objective conditions could have bencfitted the KPD, and that this potential strength could have been reality into transformed correct line had been followed.

during same

SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 6 July, 1977 1930 Bruning (Centre Party) appointed Chancellor March 30 Nazis win over six million votes at General September 14 Election. Unemployment: 3,000,000.

SPD decides to support Bruning Cabinet in October 18 Reichstag as the 'lesser evil'.

1931 between army and SA on joint March 25 Agreement KPD joins with Nazis in "Red Referendum' August 9 to remove SPD from office in in attempt Prussia. Fails. 'Harzburg October 9 Hitler joins with Nationalists in against Weimar Republic. Unemploy- front' ment reaches 4,350,000. 1932 Hitler wins 13½ million votes in presidential April 10 But Hindenburg wins again Pectos. backed by SPD. Bruning bans SA and SS. April 13 Army leaders protest against ban on Nazis.

April 14 May 30 Bruning dismissed DY Mindendurg. tapel begins rule by decree. Ban lifted by Papen on SA and SS.

June 17 19 killed, Nazi raid on Altona (Hamburg). July 17 285 wounded. Papen coup in Prussia. Strikes by workers, July 20 no resistance by SPD or trade union leaders.

Nazi vote up to 13¾ million. KPD 5,280,000 July 31 KPD denounces united front appeal by SPD.

August 27 September 12 von Papen government voted down by huge New elections called. maioritv mn Reichstag Unemployment 5,102,000. Nazis lose two million votes in election. KPD November 4 up to nearly six million.

Begins Schleicher appointed December 3 Chancellor. 'left' Nazis and trade union talks with leaders. 1933 January 4 Unemployment nears seven million.

January 28 Fall Schleicher. Big business insists on Hitler as only solution. Hitler appointed Chancellor by Hindenburg January 30 (voted back as President in April 1932 with support of SPD). readiness to January 31 Trade union leaders state support Hitler regime. February 24 Police raid KPD headquarters.

Nazis set fire to Reichstag building. Blamed February 27 on KPD. Party banned. Nazis win 44% of votes in terror election.

March 5 March 8 wreck trade headquarters at Breslau. enabling act. March 23 New Nazi government passes Total powers to Hitler. Quite legal.

support Nazi April 17 Trade union leaders agree to 'national labour day'. May 1 Trade leaders march with Nazis in Day parades. Boycotted by many May workers. buildings occupied by SA. May 2 Trade union Leaders arrested, property and funds seized, organisations dissolved. All SPD property seized. May 10 June 26 All KPD property seized. bands grow in strength and inten- period, the Nazi vote astro-

LUDE

sify their attacks on the workers' from 2.6% nomically 37.4% in July 1932 only to drop to movement. if the But proletariat 33.1% in November 1932. with Is greater social influence (due to its But that drop of 2 million votes within society) reveals how precariously placed the stands firm and answers the fascists fascists actually were. now tor blow. then fascism can be crushed and the petty-bourgeois

MASS BASE

won over to the side or tae works class, enabling an all out struggle to The fascist mass nase waged against the bourgeois movement is the petty-bourgeoisie, heterogeneous social an extremelv orier lEse T Determined resistance to fascists grouping wedged between the prol- etariat and the big bourgeoisie.

is as important when they are a as when they are a As such, the petty-bourgeoiste tiny minority independent historic can Didy role, and in times of sharp social crisis petty-bourgeois "ne nusu

TESTIFIED

with " align themselves necessarily one camp or the other-the prolet- Nazi leader Goebbels has The arian or the bourgeois. testified to this truth when, in his Fascism represents the mobilis- book, Kampf um Berlin he wrote: of petty-bourgeoisie "If the enemy had known how against the working class the weak were, it would probably interests of big they ousness jelly reduced nave

USIO

encounter no resistance, the fascist would have crushed in blood the very beginning of our work."

And Hitler himself agreed: "Only thing could have broken movement-if the

GUI

had its adversary understood principle and from the first day had smashed, WIth Lne most extreme brutality, the nucieus of our new movement." (Speech to the Nuremberg Congress September 3, 1933) But in order to launch such an offensive it is necessary to have a correct poto defeat fascism -ard revolutionar. programme to that is precisely what neither KPD nor the SPD possessed.

The November elections *free be the last elections of the Weimar Republic: republic itself the within months "as to disappear forever.

'SOCIAL GENERAL'

Papen replaced Chan- Nazi flag hangs outside union headquarters, 1933.

from the Nazis. In this he failed miserably, and after only 57 days he too resigned.

1933 Hindenburg-.. On January 30.

SPD

whom the had helped "lesser evil" than Hitler power as a -appointed Hitler Chancellor of a coalition cabinet which von Papen was Vice Chancellor.

Trotsky had characterized the regime's of Bruning: Papen and Schleicher as regimes of "preventive Bonapartism". They were 'Bonapartist' because balanced themselves precar they iously between the camps revolution and fascist counter-revolution; they were "pre- ventive"-because at that stage the bourgeoisie were still hoping that such could prevent the regimes need for a full-blooded fascist take- over.

MOBILISATION

With Hitler's appointmell however, Trotsky Chancellor, recognised that this Bonapartist a close. But stage wan colnulk lu Hitler had fully consoli- not yet dated his rule, and in two articles written in February 1933, Trotsky called for an all out mobilisation of in life-or-death struggle against the fascists.

exhortations met with bul nis The SPD leaders rejected silence. "provocative" actions against any "Constitutional" Hitler's appoint- ment.

KPD,

form, the SPD the main danounced called enemy one minute, general strike the next, and made hiding the preparations to go next. Meanwhile Hitler was preparing for a final consolidation of his rule.

dissolve the He got Hindenburg call new Reichstag again and to elections for March 5.

BANNED

And to ensure that the elections would take place in a proper atmos- phere, he banned all KPD meetings and shut down its press. He finally managed to gain control of the Prussian police. and SPD meetings. In addition, the Nazis started a Reichstag on February fire the 27, and blamed the 1T On Communists. President Hindenburg responded swiftly by suspending all sections of the Constitution relating to freedom of speach and assembly Thousands

KPD

and

SPD

officials and in the Were SLeA weeks betore the March last Nazis the and the nationalists were allowed 1o with all the forces of the state at his disposal, Hitler failed to secure an absolute majority On March 23 Hitler asked the for dictatorial Reichstag

DOWELS

by 441 the Reichstag consented votes to 84. Only the Social Demo- the Com- voted against; all CIals deputies either But the opposition put up by the SPD was purely parliamentary, finally and before they too were they were to demean themselves even further. On May Day 1933, the Social Democrats called on their followers to march in Hitler's "National Day of Labour" parade; on May 2 the the sook oven movement. But despite this, on May • 17, the Social Democrats decided by 48 17 Hitler's votes to support

CLU

policy! The fact that foreign another 55 SPD delegates were in hiding or in Jal dia not scent er make any difference. On June 22 1933 these traitors themselves were suppressed The

KPD

were not to be outdone self-abasement sun avastillelll, however. On March 5 the Executive Committee of the Communist International dumped-without "social fascist" explanation -its line and called on its parties to seek anti-fascist united fronts with Social Democratic parties.

Such momentary. ior a march

ECCI

later, April the astonishing delivered this truls judgement to the workers of tho "Having heard Comrade Heckert's report on the situation in Germany, the presidium

ECCI

states that the political line and the organisational pone followed by the CC of the Com with munist Germans rarty Comrade Thaelmann ar its head. up Page 7 completely correct." (Documents of the Communis International, ed. Degras, Vol III p. 257) After 5 March, Trotsky called on his followers in the German section of the International Left Oppos- ition (ILO) to abandon their per- spective of reforming the KPD and to start instead the arduous task ot building a new revolutionary parts there. July 1933, Trotsky forced to put forward a similar policy with regard the Com munist International. For not only had the ECCI statement of April sought to cover up the fatal policy Germany, but pursued addition not one section or the had objected to that Comintern policy or to the ECCI statement- after the events had exposed even its utter bankruptcy and fraudul

RESPONSIBLE

This meant, Trotsky argued, that Comintern whole was the responsible for what had happened Germany. The Left Opposition must abandon the perspective had maintained since its foundation of reforming the International and must work for the construction of a revolutionary Fourth national. This position was adopted by a of the ILO on August plenum 1933. To symbolize the change of policy, the ILO changed its name to Communist the International League (Bolshevik Leninists).

The founding conference of the Fourth International itself was held in September 1938. Transitional Programm of the Fourth International Trotsk of draws out the caruma The defeats of events in Germany. the workers in Paris in 1871 and in 1905 Russia in were "condition- purely physical defeats, the relationship of forces" ed by Germany were Bui events without parallel. There proletariat was "The German smashed by the enemy in not the battle. It was crushed D baseness, perfidy of its cowardice own parties." (Folrose edition, p. 31).

In these articles we have focused this aspect the precisely Germany-the struggles criminally insane and suicidally mis- taken policies to the of the best organised workers' movement in the world at the that that genesis of the Hitlerite movement itself.

WEAKNESS

For it was not the strength of the Nazi movement, but rather the weakness of the leadership of the which workers' movement

DUI

and which paved Hitler in power for the concentration gas chambers and the camps, the slaughter of World War Il In comparison to Hitler, Musso- appear a mild, almost lini was humane fascist. Fascist dictatorship, Karl Radek once wrote, is the iron hoop with which the bourgeoisie tries to patch up the broken barrel of capitalism As world capitalism is once more thrown into crisis, it is to be expec- ted that it will again stretch out its the hoop of fascism. But nana lor in 1933 the hoop was put on only with the assistance of Social Demo- cracy and Stalinism To avoid a repetition of those events, we must learn the lessons revolution- and construct a mass capable of smashing ary party, capitalism-hoop, barrel and all After Hitler the alternative- socialism barbarism -is very concrete meaning -5..... which are in Fascism in German: be redd with Koperl Diaas."- Fascism in Grinz volume study trace: which ideology eti of Nazis well as analysing the polleas

KPDR

and

SPD

Daniel dicens

Page 5

OLD STALINISTS

FIGHT 'NEW'

STALINISTS

Half-way through its period of pre-Con- gress debate, the Communist Party of Great Britain faces deep internal divisions and widespread predictions of a split.

The surrounds the Party's new controversy draft of its long-standing programme, The British Road to Socialism. It brings to light issues which were first publicly discussed as early as January of following the appearance in the Party last year. journal Marxism Today of former CP General Secretary John Gollan's article on *Socialist Dem- ocracy' The discussion has broken out of the linits imposed by the Party leadership. In an attempt to fragment opposition to the new draft.

they have written contributions to 900 words in the CP daily paper Morning Star, and 800 words To judge by the al- in the tortnightly Comment.

most daily letters and contributions there has been an eager response to these small opportunities to participate. However an attempt to produce a coherent alternative to the dratt brogramme bv longstand- ing Party member Charlie Doyle has been quashed by a ban onthe distribution of his self-produced pamphlet. Members in several areas have been sus- pended for selling it. Of far greater significance was the unprecedent- of oppositionists, held in South ed open rally 6 June. current, London This opposition 'Frenchites' after the Surrey District named the Organiser of the CP, veteran Stalinist Syd French, sand, who heard a platform, including Jack Dash, lay down a challenge to the present leadership.

Along the lines of earlier statements, French catalogued the areas in which the CP's influence had declined, pointing to a falling paper circulat- of electora! support and the dis- ion, the collapse appearance of factory branches. went on to accuse the Executive Committee of failing to try to correct this situation.

In a sentence he sketched out Star as a daily, and result in an un- the differences that seperate stable period of political ferment in the faction from other, and the both the wings of the Partv different solutions that each pres- It is worth examining what is at ent to the crisis in the Communist Party: "The EC has done nothing stake in the dispute and looking at the implications of the arguments. but put the blame on the Soviet

USSR

The Frenchites see the issue of and the Union is the defence of the Soviet regime, as the strongest card that CPB members rationale for a seperate *Communist

HOSTILE

they formally angle have 1119 begun to defend the revolutionary Marx For a number of years now the of and theories Lenir leaderships of several European and relation to the bourgeois state, the some other Communist Parties have necessity for revolutionary violence taken an increasingly hostile stand and the dictatorship of the prolet- towards the traditional Stalinist line ariat. of uncritical support for the bur- The leadership faction, like eaucratically degenerated workers parallel tendencies in Italy, France and have moved to strike out states, and Spain, has the common charac- the call for the "dictatorship of the teristic of having drawn very close proletariat" from their pro- to the open defence of the bour- grammes. along the lines of social his has led to maior splits in democracy. the Stalinist parties in Grecce and

BUREAUCRACY

more recently I Dweuen, other countries most OovIous y In doing so, they seek to hold a Italy, France, Spain and Japan base of support by adapting to the the new line has been adopted with much less resistence. hostility of many to the bureaucratic rule in the Soviet bloc, This seemed to have been the criticising the suppression of dem- state of affairs in Britain too, where ocratic rights. And at the same time parliamentary road' conceptions they put on a 'moderate' face to neve been central to the CP pro- middle the class by ren- Jamme since was rewritten the revolutionary phras- ouncing ander the watchtul eyes of Stalin as the British Road to Socialism cology or tael pasi The leadership faction lays great 1951. The new draft embodies little I the way of political change from empnasis on us independence rom Moscow - a feature clearly it holds inat programme. with the so-called 'Euro-communist' Parties.

'ORTHODOXY'

Perhaps the most open state- Yet row the Frenchites, donning ment on this recentiv was by Span- ish CP General Secretary Santiago of self-proclaimed mantle Ine "Marxism-Leninism" have begun to Carrillo, who in a dispute with the Kremlin, defended himself against defenders of Marxist charges of advancing the orthodoxy against the CP leader- of capitalism. He said: "The Spanish Communist Party French even retused to tell eU Mike Higgs whether he does not owe allegiance any member ruling party or entity...the party is would be Loneless the draft (a shaping and will continue to shape decision to accept its own policies and strategies certain outcome), putting a split on the agenda unofficial last complete independence. as an This shows clearly that Carrillo's "Men a rory sizeable minority in intention is to win the support of the Party. French's implied threat is workers who mistrust a party dir- ected from the Kremlin. + slit aruld and the Morning John Gollan his "Socialist By Alastair Green French Democracy - Some Problems' put forward similarly the positions of the CPGB leadership centring on a critique of the USSR and promises: "Our aim is the construction of socialism in Britain, in forms which would guarantee personal freedom.

the plurality of political parties, the independence of the trade unions religious treedom. and treedom research, cultural, artistic and scien- tific actiyities.' In response to this article Fren- chite Fergus Nicholson said: of Marxism- «The main ideas Leninism which are under attack are the dictatorship of the today internationalism, the proletariat Vanguard Party and Democratic If these Centralism. not the main points on which the revolu- Parties nonary were from distinguished reformist so cial democratic and revisionist British An inadequate safety limit for asbestos could allow up to 1 in 14 workers to die prematurely of asbestos- caused lung diseases, according by Nancy Tait, to a report author of 'Asbestos Kills'.

Yet while evidence to back this claim is readily available, a new government advisory committee Asbestos; Health hazards report ( and Precautions, HMSO, 10p) has published which simply up- neen holds existing 'safe' limits.

This commitlee includes three A.C. bureaucrats trade Blyghton

(TGWU) ;

W. Lewis

(UCATT);

and Lomas

(NUDBTW).

These men have chosen to enore among other ev- idence, a report only last December Agency Research on Cancer, which states that: All forms of asbestos - blue.

white and brown - cause cancer.

Onlv a ban could ensure true pro- parties, what are?" Neither of these positions can form the foundations of a genuine revolutionary organisation.

Marxist rejects CHOn theory of the state, which denies the possibility of socialism being achieved through Parliament, whilst the other supports completely the actions 01 the Soviet and its bureaucracy strategy peaceful coexistence with imperialism which means 1n practice it is just as prepared for Class collaboration on a national or international scale as the openly reformist wing.

RENOUNCED

It is not without signiticance that French has been a member of the CP since considerably before the adoption of The British Road to Socialism in 1951, but that it has taken him until now to notice that every draft from the earliest edition has explicitly renounced "Russian road: "We are not claiming that Brit ain should copy others exactly in it advances to socialism the and establishes socialist institutions we have outlined a On the contrary British road to socialism.

(1968 Edition p.71). only because the very independent existence and justific- ation of the British CP seems to be pol threatened by the reactionary icies of the leadership that French opportunistically discovers Marx- ism-Leninism. French still supports the reac tionary Stalinist notions of broad of import "anti-monopo v alliances' controls as a step on the road to socialism, and the strategy of push- "Lefts" Left the ing "Euro-Communist" leaders Berlinguer (Italy) and Marchais (France).

BUREAUCRATS SCORN SAFETY

tection against it. Where possible asbestos must be replaced by a substitute Where asbestos has to be used, the lowest possible routinely meas- ureable level is recommended Ins report was endorsed in the USA by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(NIOSH),

recommended which that the Department of Labor ad- a safety limit of one tenth

LOL

This is one twentieth fibre per cc. of the amount described as "safe" in Britain.

NIOSH

also pointed out that "the British standard has not halted of radiographic the development abnormalities of the chest in work- asbestos-using establish- LI . ments." Yet still these three trade union "representatives" ', presumably sec- ure in the knowledge that they do not work in an 'asbestos-using est- ablishment" take it upon themselves to endorse this Britsih standard!

They do so in defiance even of TUC policy, which calls for a plan- SULIALISI PRess, wednesday o bug, 1уrr CP General Secretary MacLennan (left) with Gollan alliance with the Communist Party, which are the real political essence of the CP's practice in the class struggle. is impossible to preter one wing or the other of the CP from a revolutionary point of view.

ANTI-COMMUNIST

They each put forward reformist programmes, one tailored to vulgar otten an eleccal anti-communist feelings the other supporting the regime of the Soviet Union and exploiting the appeal of the October revolution. The important requirement for a clear analysis of the conflict in the CP understanding political questions at stake.

Contrary to the opinion of the Group, International Marxist expressed in Socialist Challenge, the democracy the British CP is not the principal issue honest militants of the Communist Party are to be won to the positions revolutionary Trotskyism, it will be as a result of the clearest : possible political crit- icism both sides in the oI debate.

LEADERSHIP

Of clearly that course we say French's faction should be free to organise: but even if French won the leadership the British Communist would be taken not an the cause revolution would inch further forward. The fight is crucially to force CP basic memDer Teasse Stalinist concepts of 'socialism in one country, and peaceful coex. istence, and that way break them from Stalinism.

VULIU

| Ic ned timetable towards an eventual Dan on aspestos producis, will ar interim maximum concentration of wille asoestos to de v.i lores, ce The demand for ban on asbestos is of course correct, but the TUC's gradual approach conc- edes that in the interim period workers will certainiv die as a resull of handling unsafe materials. This is Meanwhile the derisory penalties against employers willfully WonG ignore the most elementary satel!

standards is shown by a recent case in which GKN Building Services in Faling were fined a puny £100 after two workers were subjected to blue 100 asbestos estimated at times above the safety level!

* These facts and on asbestos other points relating to the fight for work are contained safcty at Hazards Bulletin, produced by the British Society for Social Respon- Science, sibility in 9, Poland St, London W1, price 20p.

PRESS

GANG

GRUNWICK

SPECIAL

The Press does not always speak with one voice and in the case of Grunwick there have been thousands of words in the national dailies which have appeared to reflect a variety of views. From the Express, Mail, Sun and Telegraph the support for Grunwick's managing director George Ward has been open. For the Mirror and Guardian Ward has been an obstacle, an enemy because he will not take a single step down the road of social democracy.

There has even been some reporting of events on the lines picket all one way traffic. HUl Guardian gave prominence to the claims that bottle throwers are police provocateurs.

The early edition of the Evening Standard on June 23 said: "The police-picket clashes were very bitter. In one case police charged a of pickets standing peaceably by the road, pushing them dangerously into the wall of a house." But it was not all like that. The real, considered, Press reaction came the following day, reporting the arrest of Scargill and the injury to PC Wilson.

The headlines tell their story. Britain' (Mail); "The Bloody Limit' (Express); "Shouts of Kill as PC is Hurt' (Telegraph); and 'Madness and the Martyrs' (Mirror). that dominated the papers The Pictules PC Wilson lying in the road with blood pouring from his head. A police cordon round his body had our the way so that the Press could get these shots of an incident which happened "off the ball' main picket was over. Wilson, a hefty member of the Special Patrol Group, had joined colleagues in attacking a crowd which had the temerity to bang on the side of the van.

This group of police aristocrats are the most vicious on the picket. But in the pages of the Press, PC Wilson became just another innocent bobby Roy Grantham's call to limit pickets to 500 and to licence them by wearing armbands was seized on by the Press for a further attack on 'mob picketing' Not one paper gave the strike committee's state- ment comdemning this move in full, and it was widely misreported as being a difference of tactics, instead of a fundamental difference of principle.

In a long piece under the picture of the injured Express policeman the blow after against the Not one police. police pickets! Indeed none of the capitalist press made any- thing of the news conference by two pickets, the other in a wheelchair, hospitalised by crutches, vicious police attacks. In an opinion piece headed "Yes, This is a Class Issue the Express said that the main question was not about trade , union rights but about whether or not there was going to be civil peace.

With the focus of most of the media on the mass picketing and the lessons for the ruling class it is left to the Times to produce the nastiest piece of all.

in a leader headed 'Where else will they get the Times makes an open racialist defence of Ward's exploitation of coloured workers and his fight against the unions.

"An immigrant community can only obtain a place of advantage for itself in the host economy if it is prepared to work harder and for less pay existing host community Grunwick has "The success of been based on employing immigrants without restrictive practices and at highly competitive, that wages. Is low, At a time when unemployment is high-and it is particularly high immigrant community among ene London-it very natural that coloured workers should be willing to take jobs on these terms. The alternative is unemploy- ment." The Times says that trade union leaders realise that the jobs of their members depend on the low wages of these workers and that the result of raising these wages will be to create unemployment, by raising them above the market price'. This is one area where the Press is united. Law must be maintained. Nothing must be done to undermine the economic system. The balance between Labour and Capital must not be upset.

The best answer has come not in words but fron the printers at the Observer, who refused to accept" VAFF advertisement without the right of reply; at the Sun where printers refused to set a vicious leader about and, of course, from the on the picket line, postal workers at Cricklewood.

They all demonstrate in a small way what will one Iny he proved again, that the pen of the bourgeoisie is so: mighter than the sword of the working class.

The 'A Blot on were of moved It is difficult to know after the where to start in reviewing book whose declared intent in the first chapter is "to start with the premise that there are two kinds of society, totalitarian and pluralistic." bar. When the book's subject the National Front and the author sets out to suggest inat Communism and Fascism al t basically different sides of the same sociological coin we faced 'half-baked disappointing

WIME

blow jumble theories tary that can do nothing to assist against class-conscious WOIKeTS the one on understand the development of the NF or how to fight it.

Nevertheless Martin Walker upon some aspects of NF history which have particular out importance for the labour move- ment. One of these is the role of the Labour Party leadership in boosting the development of racism and anti-immigration one of the main planks in the racists: policy both of the NF and their political forbears. than the

TROTSKY

Revolution Betrayed In Defence of Marxism. Transitional Programme

NATIONAL FRONT

FACTS-BUT

NO ANALYSIS

THEY

Police hold back anti-fascists at National Front march on April 23 For 1964, of urban centres Labour MP. for Southall, the PLP's policy Pargiter calling and principled complete ban on immigration to full-hearted enforcement of the Southall". And it was a Labour immigration laws." councillor, Ken Birch, who Other important helped run the Sandwell Youth NF activity have Club in Smethwick in the early attempts to 1960s which operated a colour Trade in London latly Midlands.

CENTRE

Walker recounts machinations at Imperial Type- This club was one of the Mansfield willers, centres of the British National the docks and their Party's National Youth Move- support for the Ron Bradham, later secre- strike. of the local Labour Party Militants will be interested to tought one local by election on learn that it is true policy of a total ban on files of left wing immigration kept by the NF in local areas tact the author points out and passed that successive Labour and Tory Branch. governments have in fact carried the alary original

PERSONAL BATTLES

of the demands various groups for increasingly stringent However, immigration controls providing us with a long drawn- that the re-enact- SnOWS accoun 1964 W the Immigration Act in battles was for the triumph the NF and their the author is unable to'offer any "It had taken three years of real analysis of the NF. mounting agitation in a handful To write a book on the NF £2.05 plus 25 p&p £1.75 plus 25p p&p 30p plus 10p p&p

WSL PUBLICATIONS

Fourth International: Problems and Tasks.

15p plus 7p p&p Significance of the Transitional Programme.

Wage Control. 5p plus 7p p&p fascist. The book does not even ca any analysis of the

TESTOT•

origins of racialism. There are many aspects of !

activity from which we mu draw lessons. Their delibera cultivation of support among sections of women isolated fro: working class movemer their recent turn to youth wr are jobless and equally cut o from the labour movement; thei efforts to wreck trade unionisr and to campaign for the incol poration of trade unions int the state- Mussolini style-are al crucial aspects of NF activity.

NO STUDY

All these are mentioned b the author in passing-but real study ensues This is because Walker lack any kind of class perspective and in fact is , even able to quota from Trotsky in such a way as to suggest that the decisive socia force in a revolutionary situation is There pee • the petit-bourgeoisie! when it comes to showing us how to destroy the NF Martin Walker can point to the labour movement the means of carrying out such des truction but cannot say how and express anything bur pessimism about the strength of the organised working class.

Yet the recent election results have shown, a determined fight by the labour movement in areas as Bradford and

SULT

Leicester has drastically reduced the NF vote.

DAMNING

The most damning criticism of the book must therefore be that it is more likely to demoral- ise an uninformed and isolated reader than to mobilise him transform Another weakness is the lack from staunch of information about the alleged opposition membership of the NF by large sections of the police, immigra- tion and prison authorities aspects of Such areas of investigation been their are much more worthy of atten- win support in the tion than Tyndall and Jordan's Union movement, espec- squabble over a female fascist of and the the millionaire Dior family The book is written as a the NF piece of journalism-lacking any index or chart of the Hosiery: on fascist organisations, racist sects surprising and right wing groupings.

1974 miners' Since these are constantly referred to by their initials this makes unraveiling their various that record and tangles a confusing activists task dit Despite its numerous on to the Special "The National Front' carries useful information.

For are not shackled by Inose wno the author's weaknesses it car provide a useful aid to anti apart from rascist propaganda and activity the labour and trade inter-personal union movement. within the leadership of closest rivals

BY A GUEST REVIEWER

LENIN

What is to be Done? 25p plus 15p p&p State and Revolution 25p plus 15p p&p Left Wing Communism 20p plus 15p p&p The Fight for Revolutionary Leadership.

15p plus 7p p&p The Toolmakers Strike and the Fight to End 25p plus 10p p&p

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

Page 10

CDLM ACTS ON

GRUNWICK

in the labour Democracy movement is far too danger- ous a subject for discussion, and should be banned, accord- ing to the Scottish TUC. the Scottish Four days before conference of the Cam- regional paign for Democracy in the Labour Movement in Stirling, the Central Scottish Trades rederation Councils sponsorship witnerew Its instruction of the Scottish -at the

TUC.

No discussion was allowed and Ine previous decision to sponsor the conference was reversed because, it was said, it was "against the rules" of the Federation to sponsor an all- Scotland conference. of the secrelary Scottish TUC Jimmy Milne told the Federation that it could face the withdrawal of recognition if it went achieve their aim of a 10% limit on ahead. earnings. would be fought Phase Yet similar conferences have from the day it was introduced been sponsored many times in the TUC was kowland onerel Geeze co past. What the scottish Stirling and District Trades Council objecting to was nothing to do with stressed that the question of getting the constitution, but the polities of the conference a programme was only part of the struggle, which Significantly, CP members who must generate support the be to

TOT

had voted

JOT

WILC CALC.

that programme so that it could be the challenge refused to take up put into action. and sat mute while the manoeuvre capitalist to the was carried out. ine Britain had been in some The of 50 went Crisis In comererce quarters a strengthening of nation- ahead backed among others by the alism as reflected by increased votes Stirling Party and Labour Scottish Nationalists and Labour group on Stirling Council.

toI unle the Nationa Htont including CPSA, NuI and NAtGO had asked Many sections movement LADOlT for reports back and in NALGO the which arguea lor import controls vi for holding off wage demands in discussion of the CDLM programme "'national interest" contributed the 30 minutes and opened naa laken towards these movements. up many questions in the branch.

Stewart MacLennan said that far Mersey Scottish militants had the talking made long treck shops in engang wich nad in lact helped to ensure that Phase 3 came firemen about. "The reason we are still discuss- ing it is because of those who said that the answer to the Social Con- tract could be left in the hands of WIn union conferences."

CONTRIBUTION

Victory came to Merseyside Alan Thornett, chairman of the firemen after only two hours

CDLM

organising committee, last Wednesday. The firemen reported on the two national con- held Birmingham. came out in the morning in think the CDLM has made a quali- response to the start of sack- contribution IntO ings the previous day by senior struggles of the working class.

fire officer Sidney Rankin.

Outlining the events leading up to final negotiations on Phase 3 he The sackings, being carried out pointed to the Lib/Lab coalition as on a station-by-station basis, were senior officer's the of any possibility the the end Tell OI ultimatum to end the 10-week long Labour demands on the government. work-to-rule or be sacked.

were sacked on Tuesday "The policy decisions of the 10 men Government are now placed in the but by Wednesday morning SO not of any defying the hands, ot the many firemen welc labour movement or the Parliamen- ultimatum that the office ran out tary Labour Party, but in the hands of notices. ci the Liberals. The unofficial work to rule was The demand must now be on the aimed at pressurising for a big pay to bring down the coalition leits' increase, to end the and was cut and the opportunity to put pressure following Monday. the lefts was now extremely The men's action-in response to good. wages of only £37 for a 48 hour opposed been by the week -nas

CERTAINTY

leadership of the FBU. When the strike was ended just before 11am, only 3 out of the 26 shang. although still Liverpool were stations still operating 110 ==cognising he base o The secretary of the Grunwick Mahmoud strike committee, Ahmed, said that on the first two days of the mass picket, before the bussing started, they had persuaded zu people nol lo go lo work, mine of whom had joined the strike.

What the pickets were noW demanding was not just the right to talk to the workers going in but the right to discuss the issues with them away from the police and manage- ment. Ahmed had been arrested twice in the first two days of the mass picket and the strike committee was rejecting limits on its size.

strike committee is still "The cailing lor mass pickels, as many ai We've got to keep the out. turn up and get many said -20,000 Scargill to Arthur 25,000 people." Since the Tories won control of the District Council in Birmingham they have intimated that they in- close down the Construc- tend to tion Department. A few weeks ago the men were with the summoned to a meeting leader of the Council, and informed that the Department was to be dis- banded and the men made redun- dant. There had been no warning at all and the unions of this decision, concerned had not even been con- The response immediate Oxford. Deart the 5/60 Branch

TGWU

the monthly branch meeting, right wing full time official David Buckle said he knew of no request lor tunds lor the Grunwick Strike Committee.

Member Right wing Executive Bil! Roche said there had been no to the 5/60 Branch recuest funds for Grunwick strike.

Stalinis: and false left Commun- isi Part: member Charles Siret corsistent reader of M remained tight the that he hipped despite tac! "As far as we are concerned, armbands just give the police the "these are official Chance tu pickets and those are not -you lot get in the coach. The majority of the people left in the factory took jobs there after "When the strike started. back they be out. are going to . they Whether. to be in the union or not, we don't want them.

Obviously they don't want to go on shane, they get fl5 a week more strike,

HOTEL STRIKES

Earlier the conference had been told by Cathy Sherlock about the sell-out stnkes Oxford and Sheffield by the TGWU which had strengthened -a the Grunwick management's hand The CDLM passed a resolution calling for national blacking to be of the

THF

imposed support strike still going, at the Night Out night club in Birmingham.

The regional conference went on resolution to endorse the calling for support for struggles against wage controls, opposition public spending and opposition to all legislation attack- ing gains and rights of the working class and to interference from the courts and police.

ALTERNATIVE

The conference agreed that the general basis for an alternative a demand for strategy should be sliding scale of wages and a the submitted Stirling resolution Trades Council the 1976 Scottish TUC calling for a 35 hour week, longer holidays, no redun- dancies, opening the books, nation- without compensation of alisation firms unable to ensure full employ- ment, restoration of the cuts in of public expenditure cost Cane living increases for all state benefits.

Grunwick of support the struggle the conference adopted the following programme: Pickets: Full support for mass pickets with no limits on numbers of relection or any system allu licensing armbands etc. Mass OI mobilisation for the day of action including demands on the Scottish

TUC

to organise special trains. CDLM to delegation from send conference to picket Blacking: Full support for postal workers in their blacking. Demands of UPW

GMWU

and on leaders EETPU to introduce official black- ing of post, water and electricity.

Courts: No recognition of court of inquiry. Defence of any union members taken to court for blacking. Demand the dropping of all charges against arrested pickets.

BUILDERS IN JOB FIGHT

manual and clerical from workers was overwhelming.

Days later at a Council meeting a mass demonstration of UCATT be forcibly evicted workers had to from the Council House called by • the meeting UCATT stewards' action committe which was held on June 1 in Dig- 100 and attended by beth Hall, stewards from local UCATT, NUPE and NALGO branches, with deput- ations from other branches invol- ved in Direct Labour Departments nationally. Full support was given for any

AT BL BODY PLANT, COWLEY, OXFORD.

Letter: Grunwick appeal ignored to be sent, etc. Most trade unionists are aware that even top trade union boss and Murray Len bureaucrat requested financial aid and support the Grunwick dispute Yet the for 5/60 Branch officers choose though ignore largest TGWU they command the branch in the land with one of the largest branch fund balances sitting idle in the Bank The Branch chairman. Labour Ton: the Res Part! reformist Williamson the terent: Order of the Brue Empre to SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 6 July, 1977 Warwick Cuts-no action Warwickshire NALGO have called off their limited action against the cuts, and accepted a "package" which includes a reduction in the total number of redundancies. to the The package was sold membership at the AGM, by the branch officers, in defiance of a call from the leading shop stewards for a stepping up of industrial action The put a slightly Chairmat modified version of a motion which had been overwhelmingly rejected by the shop stewards only a few days before. He claimed the motion was "new" because it only called for a 'suspension' of industrial action Meanwhile school cleaners in the county, members of NUPE, GMWU and the TGWU) are being asked to accept Council proposals that they be laid off during school holidays on half pay.

TERM TIME

This would involve the big cleaning jobs, normally done during the holidays either not being done at all, or being pushed onto the cleaners during term time The scheme is supposedly volun- official tary, but NUrt "If the scheme isn't accepted the only alternative is redundancies' At the same time it has been announced that the threat to sack all the 1130 school meal super- visory assistants has withdrawn. Instead, as the GMWU branch secretary put it, "they're being reorganised" "Teorganisation" The 25% redundancies. As the term draws to a close these manual workers are getting Many anxious about their future.

of them do not know whether they will have a job to return to in September Meanwhile the

TGWU

and GMWU officials have both demon- strated their concern by going on a fortnight's holiday. action necessary to save the Depart- ment. A stress was put on no reaun dancies, and no redeployment.

Since then, however, at least one trade union official has been negot- iating with management completely behind the backs of the member- ship, on a redeployment agreement The demands must be *No Redundancy; no redeploy notion barton and conte Contractors! *No cuts in public spending!

ordinary members put the question, saying that this would be dealt with during the meeting. later Appropriate nods and winks were made between the branch officials and in the event they made very sure that no time was then found for the request to be put to the meeting Hence the passer matter was forth Londo over. unust in ni Grunwick boss George tactor! Hard continues to exploit workers.

and thems: his rose as Emplos Alber: Booth ind mant secrete:

NGA STRIKE CALL

GERIATRIC HOSPITAL AXED

SOCIALIST PRESS i run than I"

NHS

IN

CRISIS

LIVERPOOL CUTS FIGHT

The struggle to save jobs taking from NUPE stewards to halt their of lightening strikes. and the standard of health series They asked for a working party to care in Liverpool continues.

make a full report in this time.

On June 23, 40 stewards walked However the

AHA

at their into the Area Health Authority July refused meeting to offices to demand a reply to their suspend cuts and are threatening request that the

AHA

make if redundancy the joint deputation to the DHSS to accept non-replacement policy.

protest at the cuts. The left with unions are Two

AHA

officials eventually only the bait of a "working party met the delegation and made a composed equally from represen- small concession-agreeing to tatives from

AHA

the and the meet representatives trom collaborationist staff joint consul- tormally

COHSE

NUPE,

ASTMS

and the tative committees following week. The AHA figures show also that However, they refused to make addition their commitment to protest jointly proposal to axe 500-700 jobs they any to the government or suspend the have the 10 months past cuts. cut 140 nursing jobs and On the contrary, at the very 100 ancilliary jobs by a policy of same time one of their number was "non-replacement". This has travelling to London the brought staffing to a to get rubber stamp on their proposed cut dangerous level some wards backs. At the further meeting the close wards through "staff to unions proposed that all cuts shortages" should be There is a danger that union suspended one 101 month. could become members In return they offered an under- ised by the inaction of their leaders 'Wanted-Good Homes for 84 Old Liable Ladies to Eviction-Regret Unable to Care for Themselves'. The place: Memorial Hospital, Aill, south east Shooters in The evil 'landlord"? Green- London. and Bexley Area Health wich Authority. Memorial Hospital is just one of several to come under the axe of proposals the AHA's latest for 'restructuring' the health service in the area. selected for Among others or curtailment of services closure are The Gables, Bexley and Welling, Eltham and Mottingham, and the British Home for Mothers and Babies. winter the Memorial lost Last over 40 of its 124 beds with the removal of maternity and gynae- cological Now those beds care. and only the geriatric stand wards remain. in the AHA's own They withdrawal of maternity The nave recent souls ne ron oi meant longer has already £100,000 to improve services to the waiting lists in the area as well as patients, and all that would post-operations lost. care. But there are dangers in the If the AHA succeed in chopping Committee's approach. as well, dozens of the geriatrics They tend to see the problem as aged will be packed off to stare at one of their own hospital, instead the four walls of crowded cubicles of the defence of the health service elsewhere, while they wait for as a whole. death to come along. The fight must establish a basis Staff at the Memorial are deter- for unity of all workers against the mined to keep the wards open, and cuts. The AHA 13 are particularly enraged at the are meeting on handed AHA's of July to make a 'final decision' high tactics on issuing a press statement on the the cldsure, which is proposed to without closure consulting take place at the end of the month evel the workers. It is vital for workers from all the Memoria Actior hospitals in the area to lobbv thai *Save Committee has been formed that meeting, to let the AHA know just includes members of all the unions what they think its schemes. And if, as expected, the closure represented in the hospital.

Their petition against the closure plans proceed, preparations for has 22,000 strike action to torce the AHA to MOre indicating broad signatures, com- change course must hegin urgently.

munity support. trades council. 1oo.

IINDUSTRIAL NEWS

Strike action by printers and a mass response by jour- for a nalists to the strike closed shop at Darlington must now be demanded after mass arrests on the NUJ picket line. The National Graphical Associa- tion has promised "full support" to the 106 NUJ members fighting for a closed shop at North of England Newspapers-even to the extent of stopping publication. Now those must translated into be effective unless policies are pursued. There is an absolute necessity to form joint union defence commit- tees in all hospitals to prevent ward closures and removal of equipment, and to monitor the filling of all vacancies.

OPEN BOOKS

Further, the demand that the

AHA

fully all reveal plans and books to an elected trade union committee must be fought for in of the "working place phoney party". As a first step in this the action composed about 40 group by NUPE stewards and convened Colin Barnett (also secre- official tary of NW TUC) must be properly constituted with a small committee meet regularly and call full meelugs The NUPE 'lightning strikes' must be developed to all out strikes by all health unions if jobs and the Merseyside health service are to be preserved.

CUTS

THE

STOP

CUTS

CUT

ARMS

the TGWU Attempts by right wing in British Leyland's Assembly Cowley Plant to split the membership by creating a new TGWU Branch have met a sharp setback.

According to latest reports, the

TGWU

majority of the 5,300 members in the plant have rejected the new branch and are adamantly existing

LWU

branches, 5/55 and 5/293.

5/293 Branch Report, distributed to members last week, "Members have voted by their actions against the policy of splitting and dividing the union The Report goes action. Meanwhile, the number of arrests has grown to almost 50 and among those arrested last week Vice President of the

NUJ,

Denis MacShane, and the full time Regional Organiser handling the dispute, John Hodgman. It was the second time in two weeks that both men have been arrested carried series of charges on the pickets.

Each charge was the signal for fresh Aiden White,

NEC

arrests. member who had brought a contin- gent from London to support the

EGA

CASH

PROBE

Only 'left' MPs Jock Stallard, Robin Corbert, Peter Harvey, Oonagh MacDonald, Laurie Pavitt, Joan Maynard and Doug Hoyle turned up at with 15 meeting about Elizabeth Garrett Anderson Hospital workers and selected supporters in the House of Commons Thursday 23 on June. They were presented with new evidence, prepared by a firm of consultants, to show that even i Area Health the Authority's own basic running cost figures are it accepted, is probably HUle "economical" to upgrade the EGA on its present site than to move its facilities Whittington to the Hospital.

SUSPECT

The basic AHA figures used for this assessment, however, are them- selves highly suspect. It seems that -to "prove" the case for closure- costs that should have been attrib- uted to other District services have been loaded onto the EGA against way fight closure, all that the MPs would offer was to try to persuade the Secretary of State to set up a "public enquiry" A twice repeated call by EGA supporter for a labour move- ment inquiry into needs, priorities and costs in the area was completely ignored by the MPs.

So were repeated appeals by the EGA workers for immediate action to get the hospital litt repaired and to combat the AHA's policy. of for examie, holis nuding stati down running hospital posts with agency nurses who can be easily dismissed.

SPLITTERS FACE SETBACK

their initiative. Although it own was supposed to be a free choice, this was not really the case.

Deputy Senior Stewards supporting the new branch have ween en fied werners ring weeks time, pressuring members to join the new branch.

number of other shop stewards who support the new branch have been released from their jobs on full pay for the to recruit people new branch. on the Hardly any problems plant are being dealt with, because the whole machinery of the untor is being used to persuade people to join the new branch. who was elected as Jun Barson . 25 pickets were arose: In all and i=:: ot the other with bruised ribs after a three hour Pickets ITOr Calit London, Sheffield, Leeds, Kettering The Deputy General Secretary of the NUJ Charles Harkness, was sent to Darlington by the General Secretary, Ken Morgan, to oversee "pull rank" on ine picket and le Hodgman, who was considered too militant. After impotently watching for a couple of hours Harkness seized the on and "colleagues" to allow the van through. The response was jeers from the membership, who refused to give from way and the polic pralst chief who issued a statement paying tribute to Harkness' reasonableness.

The call immediately opened the way for the number of arrests to be stepped up.

CAUTION

The NGA support is welcome vital and must be treated with One week before the executive met the Genera Secre tary Joe Wade, had pushed his way through NUJ members lobbying the

TUC

Printing Industries' Commit- and rejected their call for tee Instead the committee sent Bill Keys, General Secretary of SOGAT, to parley with Lord Gibson chairman of Westminster Press

NGA

The ConDay. waiting they now for the are results of these talks. NUJ members on the lobby had called for an instruction from each of the print unions not to cross the picket lines and to handle

ILOL

'blacked' copy. So far the extent of the support has been to refuse to handle copy members in the London office who are scabbing on the stike there. While the strike goes on, a new right wing group in the union ha been formed with the backing c some NEC The organ members. isation, which as yet has no name has the sole aim of fighting the left in the union.

SPONSOR

One of Jenny sponsors, Harris, has been paid by the Tele for anti-union graph which the Westminster Press ha ordered to be syndicated through out its papers. Westminster Press chapels art blacking all group syndicated cop!

and Press Association copy, beins used to break the strike The key demands for the Darlington strike must now be 1. Strike action by all print worker.

at North of England Newspapers.

2. Continued mass pickets by NUJ members until the paper is stopped Force

NEC

and members working against the strike to resign from the Executive.

and given an office i Company, organise the new branch. Meanwhile, nobody is allowed t go round the plant to argue the cas the existing 5/293 Branch Frank Corti, the branch secretary is tied to his job in sub-Assembly The Report stresses that.

whi members have in several cases tzz press-ganged into the new brati on false pretences, they are iree any time to return to the 5"9 Branch. Meanwhile, increasing number of shop floor workers are boltz out that the failure of the sea branch take m20a0 Member must reger!

NUT must step up strike action The first major strike action against education cuts is now being waged in Oxtord where 400 teachers have closed down 29 schools. The potential national importance of this action must be clearly under- stood and developed. Alongside controls, the wate working class have had foisted on the Social Contract' of their union leaders with the reformist Wilson-Callaghan -Healev government. massive cuts in public spending. For two years now vuieducials stood Dy while education, health and social" services were trimmed to the bone.

the NUT But in Oxfordshire bureaucracy was forced into action by pressure irom Is membersnip against cuts. vics too slashing London several schools have organised unofficial strike action.

The bureaucracy in Oxfordshire have their used excuse for this local action the argument that the Tories are spend- less than ing the guidelines and Max Morris has appealed Williams to Shirley come in and "sort the Tories out" This argument wears extremely thin amid this week's government announcement that next year's cut September 1. in the County must be £800,000- and education will not be exempt the OYCl from this. In the face of determined from County strike. Council who have just announced

NUT

nursery places will be Loat 41 lost by closures in two weeks time, the NUT leadership begs for concil- County iation and arbitration. Meanwhile the 400 teachers the County. Executive have called out on strike (out of 1500 who voted to strike) "Open are enthusiastically leafletting members" streets and factories, and petition- ing the whole city, and strike meetings are growing in size daily.

NUT

In the County, teachers are Oxford demanding that the whole County nationally, be brought out on strike, for they the sheer inadequacy of the strike funds. and meal class size they are still imple- times which menting, in the face of the intrans- File and Alliance September, betrayal the cards. A new pamphlet just published, available from the Workers Socialist League, 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London NW5 THR

SOCIALIST

PRESS

PAPER OF THE WORKERS SOCIALIST LEAGUE

BRITAIN

EUROPE

6 issues. £1 6 issues .. 12 issues {2 12 issues. 24 issues 24 issues I would like to take out a subscription to Socialist Press. I would like.. ...issues, l enclose £.

XAME..

ADDRESS

Summertown

WINTE

Middle School SUrE parents+ teachers

EDOCATION

Striking teachers march with parents and children against education cuts in Oxford.

igence. of the County Council. They are also demanding that the union sets out clear plans for all-out indefinite strike action from Parent-Teacher Associations all County are warmly supporting the teachers and sending in resolutions of support for the One body has called on the Forte 'Night Out' Oxford Trades Council and restaurant in Birmingham face the PTA's to form a delegate body the prospect of being sold out investigate the finances of the unless urgent support for the Council and assess the educational need throughout the strike is These moves were reported to an ment. Conference

NUT

of Birmingham on the dispute Saturday 2 July which resolved to only strikes at THF campaign nationally to pressure the original ments remaining to be 'settled' executive to spread the and strike countywide in Sheffield and and organise Hotel in Oxford were both sold out national levy of the membership for a few weeks ago. The Oxford Unfortunately, the domination of the conference by the Rank and strikers were TGWU officials that if they did not the Socialist Teachers accept a cash settlement their strike groups meant cane central political importance of the pay and all official union support would be withdrawn. Oxford strike was not grasped and the conference rejected a move to recall the conference in Oxford in of the huge boss when either the branch, who has membership will be facing a deep charge of the Night Out strike, is from leaders or preparing the same fate for his own 11C indefinite strike action will be on the mending a cash settlement.

ISLINGTON 18 DEFENCE

was done without any prior discus- with the strikers

COMMITTEE

SOd who were only Public Meeting proposais two weeks after they had been made. "Black Youth on Trial" motives at Tuesday 12 July at 7.30pm strike, tion of winning it. The Library Manor Gardens, London N7 * .£1.15 . £2.30 . £4.60

-WHY

THE

ME AvON

NIGHT OUT STRIKE

MOBILISE SUPPORT

Strikers at the Trust Houses In this he is carrying out the of Jack theatre orders Jones national leadership of the TGWU Law knows bread is buttered. He knows that as unelected oiticial he owes his built in the appointment to those above him in the TGWU bureaucracy Birmingham area labour move- He considers himself responsible to Jack Jones and the The strike at the Night Out is leadership and not to the rank and of the three file members. establish- So when the order comes from cool things above Strikes at the Grosvenor Hotel buckles under without even consul- Kandolph ine ting his own members It is not clear yet whether THF have made any response to Law's and Sheffield proposals for a cash settlement.

told by their local If, as some reports suggest, THF the

GODOLUTIY

buying the strikers out, presumably

CIES

completely, it shows It seems that Alan Law, full-time contempt they Cynica 5/35

TGWU

of good faith Law's gesture taken personal withdrawing the blacking.

In contrast to Alan Law the strikers are determined to continue the fight until their full demands of He has proposed to THF that reinstatement of Pat McGuire, the union would consider recom- victimised waitress, and This recognition are won. While the strikers stick it out on the Dicket law has faken himselt Lue selves told about the off to Italy for a month's holiday three months at the most crucial It is now clear that, whatever his time for the strike's future.

The the beginning of the strikers have Alan Law now has no inten- regional blacking of

THE

attementea to ensure lne success

£3000 FUND

Our £3,000 Special Fund continues to grow steadily. Since our last issue we have received a further £218.92 This gives a total to date of £1120.57. However, if we are to reach the £3,000 target by the beginning of October a greater effort will have to be made to raise more money each week. Latest donations include:Aylesbury £5; Sheffield £20; Oxford car workers £35.50;PC £2; AC and DC £50; Liverpool £5.18; Coventry £5; Health Service workers £27.50; TR £20; bookshop workers £6.50; HS £5; IB, Liverpool, £25; Hull £3.10; DP £5.

The June Fund closed well down at only £456.12. This is a serious blow which cannot be allowed to continue. The Monthly Fund is essential for the week by week running of the paper and with inflation again standing at nearly 20% we just cannot afford any decline in our regular monthly income. We call on all readers and supporters to respond immediately. Send a donation, We know that it is asking a great deal to run two funds at the same time, but the raising of this money is essential for the transformation of Socialist Press into a weekly paper in the Autumn.

All donations for either fund should be sent to: Socialist Press Fund Drive 31, Dartmouth Park Hill, London NW5 1HR. SOCIALIST PRESS, Wednesday 6 July, 1977

SHE

NO Y

DONTAIT

of the strike. and the They have been told by Law's minions at Transport House, who what side his apparently have neither a mind not a will of their own, that nothing action is taker Law's return the will strke continue to stagnate, as the officials national want it to, creating a more favour- able situation for a settlement to be imposed. The strike can be won but only down he built 1t support up the Birmingham trade union and labour movement. A total regional black on THF is urgently needed. The weekly mass pickets at the Night Out, called off at the same time as the blacking are due to be resumed on July 23 These alone will be totally inade- them quate, a mere gesture of militancy.

with what The Night Out strikers remain accepted determined but they urgently need in the material, financial moral and support they are not getting from the officials at Transport House.

Motions of support for the Night Out strikers must be passed in

TGWU

calling on branches the union of the 5/35 branch secretary Alan Law, and the Regional Secro- Brian Mathers, and all other tary, officials in Region S to implement of Huculally

CHARACK

his branch for Trust Houses Forte. Hunancia donations should be sent to The Night Out Strike Com- asked for mittee, c/o Pat McGuire, Transport House, Broad Street, Birmingham.

LUpe ask regular buyers of the paper for a contribution.