So far little or no serious preparation has been made by the unions for the one day protest called by the TUC Special Congress. Despite all the militant speeches, no real action has been taken. A dangerous retreat has also been allowed to set in on the wages front. Left with unsureness about official backing from the AUEW and T&G, the Ford's men have felt unable to take decisive action. Similar developments can be seen in the mines. Gormley struck a militant image at the TUC but the NUM executive has retreated from any real fight on the £5-7 a week claim. Instead it has followed a line of 'wait for the TUC.
In this situation the ruling class is talking of things taking a tum in their favour. The Financial Times says, "a number of claims have been quietly settled within the guidelines of Phase Two. There are reasons for mild optimism." On the one day strike itself they claim, "the economic effects are of little lasting importance".
INTIMIDATION Mean while intimidation is being stepped up against less traditionally militant sections of workers. Members of the Civil and Public Services Association in Customs and Excise have been threatened with a lock out. Other members of the same union have been asked to fill in forms stating why they have taken part in industrial action. It has been stated that this form will be attached to the personal files kept on them by the civil service.
It is quite clear that the struggle against the capitalist offensive has reached a critical point. Phase 2 of the Freeze becomes law in a few weeks. The ruling class is hoping that this will force the unions to retreat further. The TUC aims to carry through this retreat under cover of a one day protest. In this situation the preparation at a rank and file level for the TUC day of protest becomes vital. The actions taken then can either be the beginning of a massive fight back by the working class, or they can be just a mild one day of protest with a retreat at the same time on most key fronts. END IN ITSELF?
The decisive thing about the day of action is whether it finishes as an end in itself, or whether it is merely the first step towards more decisive struggles. Extreme right winger Stagg of the UPW put the question straight at the TUC when he said, "Do any of you believe that if you can get 10 million people out on strike you are going to shatter the Government to its foundations?" He is quite right, if all that is thought of is a one day protest. This by itself is not going to scare the employers or anyone else one bit. The ruling class paper, the Economist, is already talking of how sections of the trade union leaders intend to pass the whole thing off as a jolly lark?. This is precisely the aim of Gormley and others. They want to talk militant at the TUC but back out At the same time, however, a move to a general strike, even a one day one, can be used by militants as a big step forward by the working class. It means that the old fears of 1926 can begin to be put to rest. An action taken on the same day by the whole working class can give a tremendous feel for the potential power of the class. If militants can in practice raise the slogan of Support the one day protest, first step to the General Strike', an Important move forward can be made in the struggle to throw out the government and this, while it will by no means solve all the problems facing the working class, is the next big step forward that has to be taken to open up the way for the fight for socialism.
The important thing however is that the steps forward have to be practical ones and not just words. Every factory occupied, every mass demonstration held, every sign that a simple one day action is insufficient is going to be more important than a hundred pious resolutions.
WHAT MUST BE DONE The first thing which has to be done in every trade union branch and shop stewards committee is to pass motions supporting the one day stoppage but criticising it for not being enough. The demand for a General Strike and every other means necessary to get rid of the Tory government has to be raised. This is the vital first step against the ruling class.
Secondly the struggle has to be extended to include even wider sections than trade union members. The one day protest has to be turned into a vast action by every possible section of the population. Students must be called on to join the one day strike. Tenants Committees should organise one day actions, such as demonstrations. Absolutely every normal working of capitalism must be stopped on the day of action. Not one object must be produced, nothing must be moved or built, no work must be done in the government departments, no-one must be taught.
But resolutions are not enough. Practical actions to show dissatisfaction with merely a one day strike have to be taken. The greatest step forward would be the occupation of factories. A mass day of factory occupations would really terrify the ruling class and demonstrate to the bureaucrats that their words were insufficient. It would tur the strikes from an act of protest into a direct and open declaration of war against the capitalist class and its agents. As the trade union leaderships are scared of such decisive measures the greatest possible local initiatives have to be taken. Also absolutely vital to organise are mass demonstrations. The day of protest mustn't be a day for going fishing but a day of the greatest mobilisation against the enemy. Teach-ins, public meetings on a massive scale must take place. Any prolongations of the strike, even local ones, will show the dissatisfaction with HOW TO PREPARE In order to prepare for the day of action, to continue the fight for a General Strike, and to reverse the retreat on the wages front, the key slogan of the day is for organisation. In many areas action committees, councils of action, public sector alliances and the like are being set up. Trades Councils and other bodies are holding special conferences to discuss the struggle Unfortunately, due to the policy of the Communist Party, it seems that the most important of these organisations, the Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Unions, is unlikely to follow suit; it looks as if it is just going to have a one day conference without really playing the role in centralising action which it could. Nevertheless, even without this the task of organisation is going forward.
Anciliary workers occupy their hospital in Manchester. Such militant initiatives have been spreading throughout the country in spite of terror tactics by hospital authorities and timid union leadership.
The International Marxist Group, while it supports any and every step forward on this path, thinks that any such organisations should be clearly set up with a programme of getting rid of the Tory government and calling for a General Strike and every means necessary to achieve this.
The most urgent action to be taken by these organisations is to prepare for the one day stoppage, and to support the various wages struggles. A campaign of boycotts, strikes, and action against price increases is also being started in some areas. All these are the key tasks of the hour. They will open up the way for turing the one day action from a mere protest into the first step in a real war against the ruling class and its agents. Despite the hopes of the employers and the bureaucrats, the present struggle is not just going to stop