With only a few days left to the Assembly, no programme of action against unemployment has yet been put forward by the conference organisers. In all likelihood this means that militants at the confer ence will be presented with the Tribunite demands for import controls and "controlled reflation. In other words, Healey in his April budget should hand out just a bit more than he will in tax reliet to wage-earners and 'take up the slack in the economy'. A truly 'left-wing export-led boom!
Red Weekly has many times pointed out that import controls are not only reactionary to export 'our' unemployment onto the backs of workers abroad; they are also useless, they simply mean that workers have to pay higher prices for goods from the sectors involved, leaving aside the threat of massive retaliation from stronger capitalist powers. The "lefts' call for import controls precisely because they prefer collaboration with the bosses at home to organising a real fight against these same bosses for the right to work. REDUNDANCIES As for 'controlled reflation', this will simply mean more tax conces sions to big business and lower interest rates to encourage industrial investment. Such investment will be for the purpose of rationalising industry - creating more redundancies, more unemployment.
As it is, many employers are still not investing in new plant because the present economic climate has made it easier for them to lay off workers and step up productivity without meeting massive resistance from the workforce. points inescapably to one conclusion:
have as its centrepiece to wage a successful fight.
- attempting occaust back against them.
as providing jobs.
PROGRAMME Many programme coming from the Assembly to tackle the effects of inflation, unemployment, the cuts and the social crisis must the struggle for workers control over production and the social services.
Even the limited struggles that have developed against the cuts and unemployment so far have shown ele ments of the programme necessary In most major towns Cuts Action Committees exist, drawing support from local union and Labour Party branches as well as voluntary groups and individual militants. The immpaigning for the implementation of Labour conference policy on the health service and its extension to the whole public sector.
To finance this policy, militants at the Assembly should fight in existing cuts committees and throughout the labour movement for the cancellation of all national and local debt charges, and for the nationalisation of the banks and finNO CUTS IN *
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OPEN THE BOOKS NO