May 14th-what next?

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Oxford Pensioners' Action Committee on May 14th demonstration May 14-the long awaited TUC Day of Action-has come and gone, leaving the trade union leadership searching for further diversions from the task of a real fight against the Tory government and its jobcutting, wage-cutting policies.

In spite of the virulent press campaign orches trated by the Tory front bench and its friends among the editors in Fleet Street the one day protest on May 14 actually saw more than 250,000 workers participating in 130 demonstrations throughout the country. Instead of the lunchtime meetings and badge wearing protests called for by the trade union leaders many thousands of men and women workers took strike action against the Tory government.

Since May 14 inflation and unemployment have continued to soar and further cuts in local government and health service spending have been announced. But rather than organise a real fight to bring down the Tory government by calling a general strike the TUC is now wooing Thatcher and Josephs over a new social contract deal!

Chapple of the EETPU is prepared to talk with the government on any terms while Murray. Basnett and Fisher hold out on pay talks-arguing that they will not discuss "pay in isolation", and clearly seeking an all-round framework of collaboration with the Tories.

Meanwhile in the Labour Party the May 31 Special Conference has passed the joint resolution drawn up by the left on the NEC and endorsed eagerly by Callaghn. This resolution, calling for price controls and import controls among other things, totally ignores the lessons of the last Labour government and completely lets the Callaghan-Healey leadership off the hook. It gives no guidance whatsoever to local Labour controlled councils as to how to lead a campaign against the cuts and in fact has no perspective whatsoever for bringing the Tory government down except through the ballot box in four years time.

Woman Worker calls upon these left' leaders in the Labour Party and the trade unions to mobilise the anger and hostility to Thatcher's policies that exists among all sections of the working class-in workplaces and in the homeand to adopt policies such as opposition to all cuts and rent and rate rises, the defence of wages and benefits against inflation by a sliding scale of wages and defence of jobs through worksharing on full pay. A lead on these policies would bring about the determined confrontation necessary to bring about the downfall of Thatcher and her cronies.

STO The coordinating committee will be meeting in Oxford on 8 June and the aim is to produce VAL DENSI ISIONER TION MITTEE THE COMMIT