our has limped home with the largest number of Parliamentary seats. What sort of problems will a Labour Govemment face? To answer this we must examine the experience of the Tories over the past 4 years.
Heath's biggest job was to reverse the decline in the profitability of British industry, something which the previous Wilson Government had failed to do. According to one estimate, the pre-tax rate of profit in manufacturing, construction and distribution, had fallen from 17% in 1951 to 9.7% in 1970, These figures include foreign earnings. If these are subtracted, the fall is even sharper, especially under Wilson: from 11% in 1964 to 5.8% in 1970.
It would not be enough to bash wages, Hourly carnines in Britain Tose by 58% between 1967 and 1971. Yet this is hardly exceptional. In France for example, hourly carings rose by 64% over the same period. Wage costs per unit of output in France, however, rose by only 18% whereas in Britain they rose by 27%!
In other words, the productivity of British industry was poorer than its competitors, even its weaker ones. This reflected persistently low rates. of investment. Yet an investment boom could only be encouraged by a rising rate of return on capital. The Volous circe was complete To break out of this dilemma, Heath launched a double offensive. He took Britain into the Europcan markets, and set out to fundamentally weaken the combativity of the working class by the use of the Courts and the law. This latter aim was especially urgent since entry into the Common Market would raise the cost of living in Britain through VAT, an end to subsidics on bacon and sugar, and levies on imports of food.from outside the EEC "LAME DUCK' The preparations for entry and the initial attack on workers dovetailed with the "lame duck policy which allowed the least efficient firms to go of UCS. This prepared business Tor the competitive conditions of the FEC. while at the same time helping to raise unemployment to over a million by March 1972. Tax handouts replaced investment prants, and the dole queues swelled. Business was to be made more efficient by competition while the workers were to be demoralised by unemployment.
The Industrial Relations Act was aimed primarily at the unofficial shop stewards movement in industries, where strikes had been high in the 1960's: engincering, automobiles, docks and construction, The trade unions to which unofficial strikers belonged could be hauled before the NIRC by employers and fined huge sums of money. The aim was to force the trade union bureaucracy to discipline their own militants. To be given power to re-write the rule books and lay down procedures for calling strikes.
BLUNT WEAPON
Although the TUC never mobilised the movement to seniously light this Act, and although the T&G and the NIRC, the Act has proved a hunt weapon. The most significant defeat was the upsurge which greeted the imprisonment of the five dockers, when the lawyers made the stupid selves legally liable (instead of the In the sixties, workers with little economic power, especially those in the nationalised industries, suffered a sharp fall in real carnings. These now went into battle with national strikes.
At first, the Tories breezed to victory. They had rejected conciliation with the trade union bureaucrats, choosing instead the tactic of threatening blood and thunder to any leader of a nationalised official pay norn of 87. The postmen were smashed. Dustmen, hospital workers, nurses, teachers, also fell by the wayside.
Yet it was from amongst this group of workers that stepped one group who could smash the policy into the ground: the miners. As one official commented during the Wilberforce negotiations which marked the end of most dramatic strike since the War: *the miners could have had the shirt off Heath's back.
advantage and mobilise to remove the Tories from office, and the Government counter-attacked by introducing state coatrol of wages. At no time did the Tories seriously assist them, an official Registrar would believe in a voluntary incomes policy. They knew it would be swept aside by the militancy of the workers. The talks with the TUC were designed to weaken the TUC's position and strengthen the Government's hand for electoral purposes.
not give the Tories an easy ride AUEW have suffered large fines under| Several strikes occurred, although they suffered eventual defeat, Only the firemen managed to stretch the terms of Phase 3. Finally, however, the Tories had to face once again those workers who just would not go away: the miners.
and save the Tory incomes policy. Heath has been forced to sabotage the economy. The 3-day week, even though it has virtually washed out the engineers" struggle, must be one of the most costly anti-strike manoeuvres of all time. It failed. With the miners, even the uitimate manoeuvre of a general election has failed.
the workers movement a decisive blow. The controntation strategy relied for success on the political out of jail.
The TUC failed to press home the more than once But the workers movement did In his effort to defeat the miners in its political tank.
Heath has therefore failed to deal Yet the redundancy tactic was met penerous. with occupations of factories in defiance of the laws of private property. The majesty of the Courts has been met with workers refusing to obey injunctions or pay fines, and striking to get workers All the pomp of Parliament has not stopped nurses, council workers and miners from striking against its laws. The police have been fought and beaten on the picket lines in several big battles, such as Sallley in 1972. The trade union bureaucrats, even those of the 'left', have lost some of their authority, and the workers' movement has developed tactics, such as flying pickets, which have outflanked the bureaucrats RULING CLASS FORMULAS On top of all this, certain ruling class political formulas have been exposed. No longer can a capitalist Government say with confideno that modern capitalism will never again create unemployment. No morale. longer will a Government be able to appeal for wage restraint with the glib argument that this will produce economic growth and hold down Heath, with the assistance of the TUC, may have managed to get through it all without bringing on a general strike and a revolutionary upsurge of the workers movement. But the new government will have to confront the workers movement with fewer miles to the gallon Certainly, Heath has managed to redistribute wealth away from the working class to the capitalists. The rate of price increases has overtaken the rate of increase in hourly earnings, omy Council rents have been raised by 40, Barber's latest budget has cut education spending by £200 million, Free school milk has gone, and the price of school meals raised. Tax of student struggles in which the masses can be turned on and ott rather like a tap in order to fit into their manoeuvrings to placate the right wing and protect their positions. Not surprisingly one of the things the bourgeois press has omitted to mention is the actual role of the Communist Party in this campaign That would not fit in with their red The attucks from the Tory press can only mean that further repression is on the way for students particularly if a Tory Government is re-elected. The beginnings of this can be seen in the trials of students at Oxford and Essex and the threat of further victimisations at Kent.
Kent occupation provoked hysterical press - in this case, the Daily Mair WHAT is haagening (p ou universilles? Has student student whw was expedied fur Saillug to reach the More and mure academies reinstated Ins werk after are WETTESS THA militant Left-Wingers Lad caduates demand with becupied the administration menaces pousers undreamed buildin and benuge: Be at a decade ago entie place to a halt.
• relief for the rich has never been wore Yer the prospects for British capitalism remain prim. During the year 1972-73, gross pre-tax profits rose by 189. Yet this raised the share of profits in the national inconne by only 0.15, to 6.7%, This is nothing like the 14% share it enjoyed in 1960.
While herween 1970 and 1972, undistributed protits rose by £1,500 million, investment rose by only a quarter of that amount (including foreign investinent). Business confidence never got off the ground. The 3-day week, the oil crisis, and the threat of recession throughout Europe in 1974 are the last straws.
Finally, the Tories have failed to solve the Irish question in favour of British imperialism. The armed resistance of the nationalist population has undermined the Protestant monolith in the North, and no permanent solution is in sight. The British Anny has gained valuable training in the streets and torture chambers of Northern Ireland to use against workers in Britain but it has cost British imperialism dear in terms of men, material and LABOUR GOVERNMENT A central plank in Labour's election policy has been its plan for a vol untary wage agreement with the TUC But such a deal could only survive if major concessions on prices and the social services were offered. along with "anti-capitalist pestures like limited nationalisation.
Even then success would be brief. For Labour will have to seek massive foreign loans to meet the trade deficit, and suhsidies on food and nationalis ation with compensition will be extremely expensive, without providing any immediate stimulus to the econ Labour will be a paralysed Government. But it will be faced with a workers' movement, undefested and politically primed to explode in the face of capitaiism.
These must be rigorously fought. If College Authorities succeed in victimisation this will cut the feet from under all the other campaigns, on grants, housing, course content and exams, that may require direct action to be taken.
This gives a new urgency to the Conference on Victimisation to be beld at Essex University on Saturday, 16 March. And it means that the slogan on which the Kent occupation was ended What do we want-a Fighting Union'-should be popularised throughout NUS in order to combat both the attacks of the college authorities and the lies of the bourgeois press.
Dily Nal. Tende. Fesses 11, This incident was the Prodessor Guy Cliver.
Pacally. Fur years behad watched the silsation decorate. This week he resigned as Dean. Hourhe bells why.