number of motions going to the TUC conference do ffer an alternative to the policies of the Wilson Governnent, dealing with cuts in education and orner sectors if public expenditure. These will almost certainly be rassed - but will they be acted on?
To fight the cuts it's not enough to protest after hey have happened and demand the Government hange its policy. In every local government departnent, hospital and school, investigatory committeess if workers can be set up to monitor any cuts. In response to a national circular. NALGO members n Manchester nave been cong us already, in the ame way social workers in Tower Hamlets used such normation to back up recent strike acuion against inder-staffing. In hospitals, evidence is continually oming to light of grossly out-dated and under-staffed wildings and declining standards of treatment. In education there is the ridiculous situation of the Government cutting back the number of places in eacher training colleges, and of teachers being unemHoven. at a ume waen class sizes or qu and over are till common. The National Union of Teachers has a notion to the TUC calling for 'the elimination of all lasses over 30'. It is a relatively simple matter for hese unions to gather all this information together nd demand no reduction in staffing-levels.
But the problem is bigger than this. Often it's a ase or out-or-date equipment or anapidated bulloings t is not sufficient for a single union to monitor the taff cuts in its own particular backyard. It is necessary or all the unions involved in the public sector, and veryone concerned about the value of the 'social Birmingham Mail. These attacks took place because of the failure to free the Shrewsbury pickets. But because of working class opposition to the Shrewsbury trials, the employers and their state protectors have changed their tactics. The Eldon Square pickets are not beng tried under the notorious Conspiracy Laws, but under the Public Order Act of 1936.
ANNOUNCEMENT The State has further tried to reduce the amount of support for the Eldon Square workers by delaying the announcement of the date of their trial. The men were originally sent for trial at the Crown Court back in March.
The decision to send te pickets to the Crown Court was taken by the police. taking the Court to a higher Court and by delaying the date of the trial to the last possible moment, the police and McAlpines hope to carry out their attacks without any oppostion. It also means that the sentences may be BUCHECE The attacks on these workers have been greatly helped by the attitude of the Eldon Square scaffolders' union, the T&GWU. The ocal T&G officials refused right from the start to make the strike official - it began after 14 scaffolders were victimised for clocking off after a site union meeting on wage' - that is, every single member of the working class — to organise in defence of the gains of the wel. fare state.
In some cases it will be inter-union committees: in other cases action committees - such as the East Lon con committee Aons tie Curs - nave been estaD lished which monitor the cuts throughout an area, involving tne people allected by ine decine in ine ser vices as well as the union members working in them. rades councils. waich orlen nave a wide sponsorshin from the local labour movement, can also be suitable instruments to launch such bodies.
Through such self-organisation, the workers can build up a comprehensive picture of what is going on. Having done this they can go about finding the resources to remedy the situation. Medical technicians can't build hospitals, and teachers can't build schools. There are however 200,000 unemployed building workers who The local labour movement should take over the building stock-yards to get the necessary materials. It should also demand that local councils and the Government provide the necessary finances. Only the self-organisation of the working class will guarantee that any policy is implemented in the interests of the working class.
The demand for a sliding scale of public expenditure, giving automatic protection against inflation to al socia services combined with anis sen-organisation would kill two birds with one stone: unemployment would be massively reduced and the services improved to the benefit of the whole working class.
safety. They can now be very proud that they managed to defeat the workers after over six months on strike - during which time one worker was killed on the site because of inadequate scaffolding on a job.
However, despite their defeat, the scaffolders are still confident. Though they failed to get the 14 reinstated, the site is still blacked by their branch and there will probably be a stoppage of all scaffolders the day the trial takes place.
The Eldon Square workers have had to fight alone. As with the Shrewsbury pickets at first, it was left to the small organisations of the revolutionary left to organise opposition to this new attack on pickets, as well as building support for the strike.
REMOBILISE We must learn from the Shrewsbury trials. We must not let any more brothers join Des Warren in prison. The most important step now is to mobilise all possible support for a demonstration in Newcastle on 1 September.
By fighting to defend the Eldon Square pickets we can begin to remobilise forces to fight for the release of Des Warren. That is the message that must be given to the TUC The Newcastle demonstration should be raised immediately in every organisation of the group has so far failed to expel Michael Foot from its own ranks. Despite this it is sure to to pay laws, unemployment and the ravages of inflation.
with that struggle. The MPs have not been on the picket lines.
Liberal support is there for the asking.
tant in that they can encourage and act as a stimulus to the trade union struggle to break in problem with all Tribune's proposals is that their starting point is the internal rhythms and structures of the Labour Party. of the present struggles of the working class The decision of the Tribune MPs to challenge the Government's policies is therefore of great importance. It is a way of drawing the lines inside the labour movement - although the Tribune attract the support of large sections of the workers movement who are seeking an alternative But at Swan Hunters ship yards in Newcastle, where a section of workers have been on strike for seven weeks for an increase over the £6 limit, the Tribune MPs have failed to identify They have not addressed either meetings in Newcastle or other parts of the country urging support for the strike.. Nor have they issued a public statement from the Tribune Group expressing solídarity with the strike.
And at the British Leyland truck and bus plant in Leyland, the workers have decided to challenge the pay laws and threatened an all-out strike following management's rescinding of an agreed pay deal. But so far the Tribune Group has remained silent on this significant challenge to the Whilst it is correct to try and mobilise the biggest possible vote against Wilson at the Labour Party and TUC conferences, that in itself is insufficient to budge the right wing. Just as Wilson ignored and blatantly snubbed the majority decisions of the Labour Party and the TUC on the EEC, so will he do the same if these bodies reject the pay laws. He is well aware that Tory and Majority votes at the TUC and the Labour Party Conference against the pay laws are imporpractice the f6 limit. But by restricting the opposition to the internal structures of the Labour Party, the Tribune campaign will remain simply at the level of protest. A mass campaign aimed at united action to break the £6 limit is necessary to defeat Wilson and his ruling class allies.
This means building a united movement inside the labour and trade union movement which has a programme that can offer a socialist solution to the problems of inflation, unemployment, the chronic housing shortage and the other problems in the various social services. That prog ramme has to show in practice how the working class can go beyond simple wages militancy and begin to construct the socialist alternative to Wilson's policies through their own actions. The The fight for their 'programme' is not seen as an integral part