[Argentina's 10-month old ruling military junta last week…]

Scan page 3

Argentina's 10-month old ruling military junta last week sent in troops to take control of the Buenos Aires' subway system, in an attempt to crush the most widethe spring of last year. Armed soldiers and policemen backed up strikebreaking management officials in running one of the five underground lines which have been idle since last Friday fortnight (October 28).

The strike initially began as a limited stoppage by 40 signalmen demanding higher wages, but has snowballed into an all-out confrontation between the unions and the junta.

The signalmen have been joined by overland and underground railwaymen, airline pilots and airport ground workers as well as water and power workers in Rosario demanding wage rises of The government itself has been forced to budge by the strike, and last week Economy Minister, Jose Martinez de Hoz, relaxed the restrictions on wage increases to allow the company to offer a 40% rise.

But in a situation of rampent intiation such as exists in Argentina such wage increases only serve to temper the continuing fall in living standards.

The established Peronist leaders of Argentina's working-class would be only too glad to call oft the growing strike in return for a paltry rise, since the strike is now challenging not only the government's monetarist economic policy, but the government itself.

Clearly what is needed now in Argentina is a leadership capable of transforming the movement for wage demands into a movement aimed at ousting the government through general strike action, and replacing it with a government of the working

Scan page 4

SOCIALIST PRESS, Mednesday y SOTerDer, 1y.;

The 'liberation' of the pound by allowing it to float on the international currency markets, was a great day for chauvinists but not much comfort for the government.

A higher pound has importat implications for the working class and for the international crisis of capitalism.

Its possible effects on inflation, unemployn lent, wage controls and ublic spending have been such as to produce a split in the Cabinet.

Pegged

Until last week, the pound was pegged within close limits against the dollar and other major currencies.

The Bank of England was intervening in the international currency markets to sibility of a further and more severe slump in tł le British The Society of Motoring Manufacturers and Traders have already bitterly complained, partly because British cars will cost more abroad but mostly because foreign cars will become cheaper in this country and will take an increasing amount of the market.

The government would be unable to get away with the reactionary solution of import controls because these would not be permitted by Germany and other EBC countries.

Backbone A higher pound hits therefore at the backbone of the visible export trade-the car market. It is little wonder that it was those who cling to nostalgia of their 'left' days, like Benn and Shore who opposed the move in the Cabinet.

The overall effect of the week was however for the pound to stand just one per cent higher against the di allar than before the float.

Headache

It has underlined that despite North Sea Oil, despite the profit boom, a floating pound can still sink.

That is the other major headache for the government. By allowing the international pressures to be reflected on the currency they are faced with the possibility of another run on the pound.

The manoeuvres over the pound reflect three things.

A special correspondent looks at the ups and downs of the pound and the complex problems faced by British capitalism.

1. That the government is deliberately sticking to a policy which it knows is bound to lead to higher unemployment.

2. That it intends to use the changes in exchange rate to argue for speed up and sackings as part of an 'efficiency' drive.

3. That the crisis of capitalism has become so deep that even these policies show no signs of breaking out of PHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report the cycle of falling trade and investment.

For the working class the lessons are clear. The falling inflation rate is not the slightest argument in favour of government policies.

The attacks on the working class are now merely taking several forms at once.

The demands for a sliding scale of wages to protect wage increases against inflation, for work sharing on Healey full pay to combat the attacks on jobs must be fought for.

They point to the need for the seizure of power by the working class and the first steps to a planned economy in the interests the working class.

Going up or down, the capitalist system knows only how to exploit the working class.

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

spread strike it has faced since seizing power in