Labourites Angry at Shipyard Vote

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dancy has infuriated leading Labourites.

Labour NEC member John Chaimers, who is also on the board of the newly nationalised British Shipbuilders, and who is also General Secretary of the Boilermakers Union, was possibly more annoyed than most.

Rationalisation

As a leading subscriber to Labour's reformist programme he had welcomed the nationalisation of the shipyards-setting aside the obvious fact that such nationalisation would inevitably be followed by rationalisation, speed-up and the sacking of thousands of shipyard workers.

As an employer's spokesman on the board of the new nationalised concern he was as keen as any capitalist to enforce a no-strike clause on the Swan Hunter workforce.

• And as leader of the Boilermakers' Union he stands in complete opposition to any independent action by workers-which of course offers a clear lead to boilermakers and to other sections of workers in the shipyards and elsewhere.

Other reformist spokesmen had less complicated reactions.

One Tyneside Labour MP described the outfitters' decision as a "kick in the teeth" . Another thought it was more of a "kick in the guts" after their campaign to get the shipyards nationalised.

Only Jarrow born John Evans MP seemed to find time to mention the role of British Shipbuilders' management, who had allowed the pay parity dispute to linger on for three months and attempted to end it with an ultimatum.

He was attacked by Chalmers who spelled out his position of complete class collaboration.

"It's our industry now ind its an industry with a big mouth which will take a lot of feeding"

Bankruptcy

While Chalmers clearly feels at home with the capitalists on the board of British Shipbuilders, the corporation, of course is not now the possession of the working class or even slightly controlled by workers.

Like British Rai, like the National Coai Board or like the British Steel Corporation British Shipbuilders was nationalised only at the point where its private owners were verging on bankruptcy, lurching desperately from one government handout to the next.

And while steel, the principal by volume shipbuilding, now produced by the 'nationalised' British Steel Corporation, there are a thousand garaging, staff facilities finding suitable termini.

Despite the careful silence of the campaign on bus cuts PHOTO: Chris Davies, Report John Chalmers and one ways in which these 'nationalised' concerns are exploited by their capitalist management boards in the interests of the profits of private industry.

Hundreds of suppliers, bankers and other enterprises use the 'nationalised' industries as a source of revenue from sales or interest payments.

Chalmers, insotar as he is a functioning member of British Shipbuilders board and not merely a decorative topping to give the illusion of trade union involvement, must know all this. But he remains silent.

Occupy

His boilermaker members at Swan Hunter however, who are now being threatened with the sack, must line up alongside the outfitters in rejecting the employers blackmail.

They must demand an elected committee be given access to the books of the 'nationalised' concern, to determine in whose interests the corporation is being run.

They must occupy to prevent redundancies being imposed and demand that if orders are short, then the reduced amount of work available be divided among each section of workers with no loss of pay.

Declare support

And in the meantime they must declare full support for the pay battle now being fought by the outfitters.

Union delegates to Labour GMC's must take the lead in demanding that those Labour MPs in Tyneside and elsewhere who have denounced the outfitters vote must be thrown out, and representatives committed to opposition to the 10% pay policy and the Lib-Lab coalition elected in their place.