Australian Strike

Scan page 2

After a 10 week long strike power workers in the La Trobe Valley, Victoria have voted to return to work in orderin the words of the shop stewards' Chairman-'to avoid being at the centre of a political issue' The dispute, which Prime Minister Frazer called 'the most serious in Austrialia's industrial history', cost over 450 mittion Austrialian dollars in lost production and wages, and at one stage saw over 5000,000 out of work.

From the Victoria State Government it prompted the declaration of a state of emergency, and from the Federal Government it drew wide ranging legislation giving Federal courts greater control over trade union affairs.

Test out

As we go to press it seems likely that Frazer will get a chance to test in practi re the efficiency of these la ws in curbing working-class militancy.

And ironically, his first victims are most likely to be the power workers who have just returned to work.

Although they were capable of crippling the entire Victorian state, the workers failed to win outright their 40 dollar wage ciaim.

Instead, the union bureaucracy-led by the President of the Austrialian Counci of Trade Unions, Bob Hawke -browbeat the workers into returning while their claim is heard by Arbitration Commissioner Mansini.

But given that their claim has previously been rejected by the Commission (on October 18), it is highly unlikely if any further progress is going • to be made in that direction.

Seeing the stoppage threaten to take on the proportions of a general strike, the union bureaucracy were obviously desperate to get a return to work and are now engaged in haggling which may just get the workers concerned minimal wage increase.

Such a sell-out of course merely paves the way for further state repression of the union movement.

On top of this, Prime Minister Frazer has set December 10 as the date for a general election.

The main issues on which he will campaign are clearly to be greater state control of the union, more unemployment (predicted to rise to 8% by January) and a further holding down of wages.

Who governs?

In the words of Transport Minister Nixon, the choice is to be, who governs the country-the government or the unions.

At the moment Frazer has a majority of 49 in the House of Representatives.

His major opponent, Labour leader Gough Whitlam, has boasted that he expects to win back 30 of these seats and so take Labour to power again.

That, however, is by no means certain after Labour's failure to support the power workers' demands.

Scan page 3

TALIST PRESS, Wednesday 2 Nozember 1977 their political priorities.

These include economic the rights and wrongs of accepting loans from abroad.

Although this does not yet were not countenar during Mao's lifetime.

This turn to closer I