Socialist Challenge No. 158, 31 July 1980
The scan: sc-n158-jul-31-1980.pdf (PDF, Marxists Internet Archive)
Uncorrected machine reading of the whole issue. This text was read by machine (Apple Vision OCR) from the scan and has not been corrected or cut into articles. Each page gives the headlines first, then the columns in order, so one article runs on into the next. Expect misread words. Use it to find things; quote from the scan.
Page 1 scan of this page
Socialist Challenge NOW TORIES GO FOR THE KIDS
THE longer Thatcher goes on, the lower the age of her victims.
The Tories are not content just to attack working people, their living standards, and their
Even school-leavers, forced
Dy me mad monetarism' of Keith Joseph, aren't sufficient to sale the Tory appetite.
For now it is children who are to become Thatcher's latest targets.
The evidence statement on Monday Social Services minister Patrick Jenkin. He said in parliament
child-benefits deliberately be allowed to fall behind inflation.
Mumble
Even a few •Conservative back-benchers mumbled their discontent. Tories, it seems, also have children.
The government move is in direct defiance of an election promise made in the Tories' manifesto.
cessfully fought for two years
ago by left-wing Labour MPs Audrey Wise and Jeff Rooker which sated child benefits for the effects of inflation.
As with other Tory policies, it will be the poorest and most unprivileged members of society who will suffer -rely on child benefits to feed and clothe their kids properly.
Single
Particularly hit single-parent families unemployed parents. from parents will be affected because one of the advantages of the child-benefit system is that it is will women who control how the money is spent.
The social consequences for the kids themselves frightening. that baby-battering beating are most liable to occur in low-income families because of the tensions and economic worries involved in such situations.
It all adds up the Children Fund - Kick Out the Tories.
THATCHER'S
SORROW
AT DEATH
OF TYRANT
compen-
will be
and Many are show and wifeto a neu Save the
THIS SMALL BOY had his arms cut off deliberately. He was mutilated by the Shah of Iran's secret police to try to make his father reveal information.
Mrs Thatcher last week expressed 'sorrow' for the death of the Shah - a man who ruled over the biggest torture chamber in the world.
An estimated 100,000 political prisoners wère held in the Shah's jails. Those who managed to escape execution told of the electric shocks, rapes, enemas with boiling water, tearing out of nails and teeth, an electrically wired bed designed to burn the person placed on it; and the pressing of the skull in a vice, sometimes until it broke.
By the Tories' friends shall you know them. Dancing on his grave p.9.
No.158 31 July 1980 20p
Page 2 scan of this page
Labour Party conference priority Down with Tory militarism
Labour left takes initiative on leader's election
OUR POLICIES
Capitalism is in crisis. The leaders of the Labour Party and the trade unions offer solutions that are in the interests not of the workers but of the capitalist class.
Socialist Challenge believes that the iwo vital tasks revolutionary socialists are:
• To build broad-based class struggle tendencies in opposition to class-collaborationism labour movement. These should
in grouping together militants holding a wide range of political views.
• To begin to fight for the creation unified democratic revolutionary socialist organisation which can. an application of tactics. begin lo be seen alternative by thousands workers enegged in strugoles
Such an organisation should be based on the understanding that:
The struggle for unite the fight of
workers against frie with that of other oppressed layers of society - women, black people. gays struggling for liberation. This socialism can only be achieved by creating new organs of power and defeating with necessary means the power of the capitalist state.
• infinitely more democrats
Our socialism
than what exists in today, with full rights for politicai parties and currents that do not take up arms against the socialist state. The Stalinist models of "socialism' in the USSP. and Eastern Europe have discredited socialism in the eyes of millions of workers throughout the We are opposed to them and wil! offer full support to fighting for socialist democracy.
3 or won eat Capitaim The interests of workers and
on a world scale. Capitalism has not created market. it has created world politics. Thus we fight for working class unity on an scale. This unity will in the long run be decisive in defeating both the imperialist regimes in the West and the brutal dictatorships sustain in Latin America, Africa and Asia.
in Britain it implies demanding
British trops from Ireland and letting the Irish people determine their own future.
The C'ommunist parties in _ Europe are in crisis. Neither The 'Eurocommunist" the pro-Muscow wings have any meaningfui strategy for overthrow of the capitalist state. New revolutionary socialist parties are more necessary than before. Conditions today more lavourable than over the preceding three decades. But such
Billy built rejecting sectarianism and seeing internal democracy not as a luxury but as a vital necessity. his means the right to organise factions and tendencies.
If you agree with these principles and activities by Socialist Challenge supporters in your area, fill in the form below and send it to us.
interested information about activities in my
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Name ..
Address
confronting character,
By Mick Sullivan, North Islington CLP
and IF anything to go by, through
declare for
as
of
plicitly for
socialism government.
bosses
machine motions. The
their
pean or world-wide disarmament. all organisation supports
defence, Bill Rodgers,
Britain Cuts
all
tee for Transatlantic
verence.
world. wall or tre barry lo subbort lE
and his NATO-financed friends will al those
disarmament.
of motions on the conference
world
provision, and the education. international
and nationalising
A year's experience
they strong state has
larcest Dieck
plaints procedures,
Blair Peach.
Wages
пОг Motions from the dominate the strategy, most
ever posals on public investment
are Contros.
determined'. by Union of
prices'.
more
Party national
showed a bit of leadership.
on the election of the leader. Mobilising Committee. oild simply
HOMENEWS
numbers of motions are the Labour Party conference in October will
unilateral nuclear disarmament. Almost a third of the motions are on defence and disarmament, and of the 131 dealing with these issues 75 call ex-
unilateral nuclear disarmament by a future Labour
The full conclusions of this position -British withdrawal from the NATO war
Is acmanca by c4 or lc remainder support the Labour Party's present opposition to the siting of Cruise and Pershing missiles in Britain, or call for a campaign for Euro-
trom ally affiliated Ine view
should accept une new missues ano necolate witn the Soviets from a position of strength'.
The lavishly funded Labour Commit-
Understanding which published Rodgers' recent pamphle
wisormamem me reace. ine case for Cruise Missiles, has not, it seems, been able to persuade a single constituent
It remains to be seen whether Rodgers
be able to ine up sutficient trade union bloci votes to defeat or neutralise the evident desire at the base of the party for unilateral
caucalon nas ine second largest slice
agenda.
These are mainly concerned with restoring Tory cuts, a commitment to mull nurser
The Health Service comes a ciose unira, will restoring cuts, adolshing private practice and prescription charges
drug Cull ballic featuring prominently in the 20 motions.
of the Tories' ensured that the fourth or moaons deal With ine police — calling for greater accountabiliPolice disbandment of the Mara-military Metropolitan Special Patrol Gröup; independent com-
and access to police stations; repeal of the 'Sus' laws: and for an independent inquiry into the murder of
major unions econotic of which draw on the "Alternative Economic Strategy' for pro-
and bori Callaghan's loyal allies in the National Union of Railwaymen add 'the wage place of incomes within the policy must be
The Labour leader also receives support for his call for incomes policy from
Communication • workers DrOllLs
the latter claims that would be understood that wages are no allowed to fall below the movement of gramme, AT the meeting of the Labour
normal executive last week, the party's left wing at last
By a slim majority the ex- cent to ecutive decided to place before
vote. conference two recommendations ple that ile tender is elected by conference. on the NEC's constitutional amendment which would give effect to an electoral col
be conference co form: The leadership
Cruise Missiles last June
In tact a maiority of the 1l motions under prices and incomes seem to support
controls through the guise of Tor a pianned economy' As the motion Irom Liverpool walton. cur. bolts ouri 'In a capitalist economy incomes policy is a euphemism for lower wages and higher
The section on unemployment, with motions mainiv from the constituencies. puts forward a far more relevant pro
calling nationalisation, shorter working week. worksharing with election would take place as part of the
conference but votes would be proportioned differently ou ver cento me unions. per cello l Parliamentary Labour Party, and 25 per
Labour • parties Every MP and every CLP would have a
Despite the positive stand taken by the executive the matter is by no means cut
Party conference, which begins at the end of September, attempts will be made to
lams tied to getite issue shithe
Williams tried to get issue of
election referred even more dangerously Judith Hart MP
Did that she inter move an alter-
DON
LABOUR PARTY
YOUNG
SOCIALISTS
Anti-nuclear campaigners on Labour Party demonstration against
no loss of pay, and a crash programme of Dusic works calls The 'hold socialist programme' of the
Militant tendency is given its yearly airing in the section on public ownership, eccentne succesion unar une next Labou government should pass an enabling act end power Socialism by fiat!
The nine motions on Northern Ireland probably understate the strength of opposition to Britain's rôle in Ireland. has occi growine unc Labour rarty ove
native proposal at the executive meeting the just before conference
The substance of this alternative, also •backed bv Frank Allaun MP. who chaired the last conference, is that the party ex ecutive should put up at least two differen election. agreed, and one in which the PLP, the unions and the CLPs would each have a Lu or le vote
There are two objections to such a suggestion: the second method would more power to the bastion of reaction in natives to the vote could split the votes of those who Party. and allow the status quo to be main.
Whatever is eventually put to the con-
missiles
mittee
the Prevention
Norineri
scular lall
Loyalists
of the
Ireland the Lastly, the
Northern Loyalist-dominated
party leader
MPs
Labour
had been won. the ability Action
of issues put without
do. Very few
party to
Tories from office A simple
with the
big
Blue Labou
This
campaign for
dill the
Union to back the
give
want to democratise the Labour
ecutive control of
leader by conference.
the past year, but antagonism to Cruise
Tories' militarism has overshadowed everything.
nonetheless respectable testimony to the work of the Labour Com-
on relan UVCI months that six of the nine motions are based on the committee's model resolu tion on the withdrawal of British troops I nice or the six rignuy add a call to repea
of political status for Republican prisoners ana lie mumcalate windrawal or troops
Among the other three motions is the approach of the CP/broad left calling for the introduction of a Bill of Rights inte
Ireland. replacement ot the Royal Ulster Constabulary with a non
DUNC and oute marvellous illusions in the neutrality and benign nature of the British state.
Then there is the cretinous economism •Militant tenancy recognises inal Inere exists in Northern
objective basis forging unity based on the problems sharea oy une working class or boln com
wages,
the crisis worsens so Loyalist workers have become increasingly determined to protect their limited privileges in jobs and housing from Catholic encroachment
_Labour loyalism of the Campaign for Labour Representation it
Ireland, whic wants the Northern trade unions to build a Northern irelanc LaDour Far Never mine anis Wolf line up the Labour Party organisationall behind the artificial partition of Ireland.
forward motions on the election of the
all of which want it taken out of the hands of the PLP. • iCe are only three motions on the reselection of
It would scem that most parties who made submissions on these issues to the
Party commission inquiry
They have underestimated of the right wing and the trade 'union block vote to take back the gain. made so far, and to stop further • steps towards accountability.
Despite the radical content of many of the motions on the agenda and the breadth
forward for debate, almost CACCO! i they are proposals for what a future Labour government should
address themselves to the problem of how to deal with the present Tory government, or seek to commit the
an immediate campaign of mass action with lue trade umons to dave une
strategy of winning party
programme for the next Labour government is not enough. If the Tories are able to last their full term, the scale of defeat and demoralisaton in tne working clas could be such that Labour would have no guarantee of being elected
active role with the rest of the labour movement in building action to defeat the lory altacks. is a ov marms recuure ment is not reflected more widely in the resolutions for the annual conference.
ference, the trade union block votes will b decisive for the outcome, and the score o this front looks none too hopeful. But thi
did receive a boost last week with the • decision of the
and general purposes committe • Transport and General Worker '50-50' system
Rank and file activists in the Labour Party and trade unions will need to ensure that their leaderships don't backtrack on such decisions. And, in the case of certain masons such mounted to rece sit democratic debions d ready lakese. mounted to
the left have had since last conference: ex-
manifesto,. man.
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HOME NEWS
Newham anti-
racist
mobilisation
on 2 August
By Ken Glanfield BLACKS and anti-racists in the London borough Newham will take to the streets on Saturday,
the recent racist murder of
provocation on the 19 July side East Ham police sta-
The 2 August protest was agreed last week at a meeting organised by the Steering Committee of Asian Organisations, which has equal representation with the Newham Youth Movement on the body organising the march. Businesses
At the meeting support for 2 August was also expressed by Prem Singh from the Indian Workers Association. representative of the Sikh community proposed that all Asian businesses should close on the day, and it was agreed to work towards this.
Bulwinder Singh from the Anti Nazi League and Newham Labour Party explained how he had witnessed the Jagdip Singh on 19 July:
'I saw two policemen hit at Jagdip's testicles and stomach. He was then arrested for being an illegal immigrant, and carried into the police station by four police.' Jagdip was later released.
Backing
The march on 2 August is expected to be the largest antiracist mobilisation seen Newham. Support bas already come from the Greater London Council of the Labour Party and the political committee of the Co-op. Backing for the defence campaign mounted after the 19 July arrest is also vital.
Donations can be sent to: Newham Youth Movement, c/o 24le High Street North, London E12. 'Let the NF
photograph
you' - police
LAST week's council byčlection in Brighton was the occasion for a National Front meeting in a local school, courtesy Brighton's Tory council.
Apart the Harold Webster, meeling ead youths. the presence cops, local antiwere unable to prevent the taking place. They attend and dutifully queued in son entering the foyer who insisted on two that those entering Corre ner allow photograph The police role in protecting has never been meeting an activist the local women's centre was ay by tapet Nazis.
17 AUG
THE NATIONAL FRONT organising demonstration in Bromwich for 17 under the slogan jobs for British Unemployment has hitting the prosperous West Midlands very. hard and this is the North Street, Barking, Essex. of
NF's and the
of
did, the NF
FIGHT THE
#NEW NAZI
WAVE: WEST
BROMWICH
first major attempt by the National Front West advantage of this situation August to re-build 'British organisation. workers'. been previously 'immigrants' taking 'our' is also ludicrous.
Asians West brought to this country in the '50s
NO TO RACIST MURDERS Demonstration Saturday 2 August 2.00pm, Plashet Park. Plashet Grove, London E6
Called by: The Steering Committee of Asian Organisations, 100
Baig shops,
Nazi
tions
to take economy. their workers
The NF's message is simple: but black workers
caused JODS. lI WOrS • Large numbers of
WCIC Recently, rounary Smethwick hundred Asian. "British workers' must The announced
should mobilisation By Paul Lawson THE MURDER of Ahktar Ali
East Ham last week, allegedly by skinhead came as no surprise to socialists in the area. East London is infested by gangs of skinheads who support the Nazi British Movement (BM). This problem is not confined to East London. Attacks on blacks by skinhead gangs in the London borough 0f which includes Southall, are now a daily occurrence.
The gangs of white youths who invaded the Sparkbrook area of Birmingnam a lew Weeks ago, Pakistanis and smashing up Asian
were skinheads organised by the British Movement. Nazi skinhead gangs frequently travel London's Piccaally tude line, decea m comdal jackets with the BM's distinctive lion and Union Jack badge, looking for blacks and gays to beat up. In short,
penetration the gangs is reaching epidemic
'Patriotic'
To understand why this is happening, we have to look at the crisis of the National Front (NF). During the early seventies the NF managed to establish itself as the dominant fascist group in Britain, by trying to get away from the Nazi image, trying to look like a 'respectable' nationalist 'patriotic' organisation.
Immigration was the main issue on which it played, but it was by no means openly Nazi. Anti-semitism was played down. Ex-colonels and retired group captains were recruited
fronts for the hard-core leadership around
and '60s when there was a labour
NOW There l
has and hite
suffering conscuuences or unemoloyment -
suffer more, since they are generally consigned
ODS alle are considered the most 'dispensible'.
the Birmid Qualcast neighbouring announced redundancies. Its overwhelming jobs for British sound : to Asian workers who face the dole!
• Anti-Nazi League has
demonstration to the fascists. IMG branches irom birmingnam soutn
support
Time for the left to act
Webster. In the 1977 GLC London local elections the National Front got nearly 100,000 votes.
The NF went into crisis, however, youths, under the pressure of two different things. First, the campaign run by the Anti Nazi League effectively blew the NF's cover; the NF was firmly iden. tified as a Nazi organisation. Many of the NF's potential supporters frightened off. Then, the NF suffered from Thatcher's Tories Ealing, power. 'respectable squeezed as Thatcher seemed to adopting more and more of the NF's programme. Ranks The resulting pressure on the NF led many in its ranks to demand a
fascism semitism. The drift in this direction by a section of the NF's man. form the British Peoples Party, and ship led to the split in the Midlanas skinhead the growth of support for the British proporMovement.
Dual membership of the NF and the British Movement is common.
The British Movement is open about its Nazism. Its leaders have links with the Ku Klux Klan in the US, and Nazi groups all over Europe. It claims that the National Front are just right-wing Tories, not real fascists.
The British Movement have been able penetrate gangs, organising them around antiand black violence. from unHe fascists. But the gangs, especially the young all-male particularly fertile BM.
Nazi Large numbers of these young
cult of violence,
and ability to black were
The room for a right-wing be needed.
organisation was be
Racism,
traditional open union. street fighting and anti-
losder- Racism to stop skinheads
Reggae
tone'
skinhead to Of course it is far groups. all skinheads
gangs have proved ground for the
thugs cannot be won by the propagan. of confidence amongst anti-racists.
List ch
da of anti-racists and the left. Their
and the elan and mystique which the BM's Nazi filth gives them, makes them completely alien to the left's propaganda. The only answer for this hard core is the method of self-defence, a willingness
organise to • prolec communities against their violence. Whatever limited progress is made by the methods of propaganda self defence against racist gangs will
The left needs to start to organise again on an anti-racist basis among youth — to re-vitalise Rock Against
which has tended to die away. The National Union of School Students has an important role to play - which is one reason why we need a mass campaigning NUSS, not a rump of revolutionaries masquerading as a
(Perhaps we should also ask some of those bands who came to fame on the back of Rock Against
playing Ior lascis and do some RAR gigs again - UB 40, are you listening?)
Some skinheads are into two.
mixed reggae-punk bands Using these bands in RAR gigs on a wide scale could be an important was of combatting the Nazi influence. But we are in a different period than when RAR started. In all probability RAR gigs with two-tone bands would have
protected by self-defence
It is time for the left to grasp the fact that fascism has not been pletely defeated by the ANL It has suffered a severe reverse and changed its spots. We need to take the offensive again, to re-create an atmosphere
Page 4 scan of this page
Engineering: the policy alternative
HOMENEWS
By Colin Talbot,
POEU Westminster branch
*This is now the policy of the union and
determination.' These were the fine words
of Bryan Stanley, general secretary of the
Post Office Engineering Union, at the end
of the wages debate at the union's con-
Stanley and his right-wing supporters
on the national executive had just seen the
conterence decide on a pay claim of 30 per
cent on basic rates and 7 per cent for
responsibility'. This claim was a full 10
recommendation — 23 per cent plus 4 per
cent for productivity.
Last week Stanley
"determination' by settling for only 20 per cent
on basic rates and 3 per cent for productivity.
he natióna
along with this miserable sell-out, despite the
velate opposition supporters to discuss the offer.
Answers
In a.letter Stanley outlined his five reasons for accepting this offer. It's worth answering his points one by one:
The National Executive Council has decided to accept this offer against the background of an increasingly depressed into account the following points:
It compares favourably with the generality of settlements made in the 1979/80 pay round.
An offer of 23 per cent does not compare favourably with the fact that the armed forces, police, and 'top, over 30 per cent this year and have 'caught up' with inflation, while we have lost almost 15 per cent in real terms since 1975.
Barlow, chairperson of the Post Office, has had increases totalling £13,000 this year.
we need
By Andy Lilley, AUEW LIKE everywhere else, jobs in West London's engineering industry are going fast, and there are no signs of a fightback at the moment.
As a result management is getting bolder. When calling voluntary redundancies the bosses luw sulbulalc wicre ley SAOLC come trom. This makes it cheaper for them because they exclude the older WUIKCLS with long service from the lists thus avoiding high redundancy payments.
Every grade of worker is involv4. - • setters, operators, assemblers and labourers. Within that overall mittulcyoul dre laving a par uCurday rough Young workers can't get into factories fo their first job. If they
Halt Hatt culladi unc cannot find new work.
Places like Trico's are running down the mid-dav short shift which is very important for women with children.
Looking at the figures for the boroughs of Hounslow, Hillingdon and. Ealing the biggest percentage rise is in southall. ¡ us cicary in dicates a big growth in unemployment among West Indian tisidilyuul anle among black workers generally. Sliding
Obviously this is affecting wage settlements. In Lucas CAV it looks like they're settling for 10 per cent which is lower than expected. The stewards there have accepted that the company can't make a profit.
However at Hoover they've inst negotiated an 18-25 per cent wage increase for the coming year for the next year they' ve agreed to 10 per cenop. cent plus a sliding scale tied
But we onc th (LUtA they will prob. ly have tbrec-figure redundan. cies. è =a: Saciefict Chatle
showed his
executive voted 14 to 9 to go cent
the Broad Left who demanded a recall conference
1978?
POEU branches, Bryan
economy and taking
CUCHY
people' have had rises
well would William On top of this some of the agreements are being signed with the tacit acknowledgment on the unnun siue bilal lere will oc a long summer shutdown and short-time working. Without a district or national alternative being offered the Illa orLy convenors stewards are making the bad job and selling jobs for wage IC. CasCS co-operaton management on the makeup of lists allows them to keep their own jobs.
the majority of the District Committee are Broad tied to a policy of import controls. At the same time they spend time trying Malla emenl mor for special treatment government for their region. All this defuses the national fight-back
Combine
Two related demands are now vital in the engineering industry worksharing without loss of pay and nationalisation.
Crown When Cork locai which factory workforce of redundancies then the organisation of worksharing without loss of pay is an immediate possibility.
When a national combine like Lt CAS announces its Birmingham redundancies then there is obviously a need for a fight through a natonlal sop sicward comoine committee for a national worksharing plan. Of course Lucas would never agree to this and then nothing short of a fight for nationalisation would make sense.
A major obstacle to such moves was the AUEW executive's sell-out of Derek Robinson. Every steward in the county wan surecen sy 4 aktr defence of Robinson automatically led to opposition to that HI- i subsequent redundancy and
cosure plans. This could have paved the way for the nationalisation of the components industry to pro• 31 July 1980 Page 4
not enough.
movement could result from negotiation, with or without prolonged industrial action.
If this were true, explain that the Post Office's final offer' of 17 per cent was magically transformed into 23 per
POEU conference overwhelmingly for industrial action? How does he explain the fact that the POEU gained a significant reduction in hours, to 37.5, in
The truth is that Bryan Stanley and friends are frightened of industrial action becaușe, as in 1978, they are worried that PO engineers might begin to realise weakness of a leadership like Stanley and Co.
The Post Office is facing a cash-crisis in the current financial year as a result of cash limits. This is likely to lead to a short fall of £200m in the telecommunications business.
The cost of any further increase to the membership would be likely to exacerbate the situation to a polat al
measures had to be undertaken to ease the cash flow situation.
At the POEU conference it was made quite clear to delegates, by Stanley and others, that industrial action for 27 per cent or 37 per cent
mean confronting the limits policy.
Stanley said at the conference: 'We are facing a board and a government that want a
and best of a
with
Left supporters
COLlE
approaches
from the
Darticula
tect jobs throughout engineering. 1 UC nEnEDaC reverses has to presidential September . Everv militant in like industry should be pulling has the stops against Duffy and for the
declares
Left candidate. His should be used as a starting point for action in the inaustry. ample we can't launch a campaign engineering against cles without raising the demand for a shorter working week. At the moment formally speaking our hands ied behin‹ because of last year's Boyd/Duffy settlement. So calling for an immediate break with LIC OCSOLI OTA emenlei riv ort lass her a t.
In the • 1e Union of Engineering Workers an
successful the Electricians' would have
LuC! wouid oc preparce Io government money bello hal enge inside the union. This is a members because in the previous
Post Office engineers get
23 per cent- but it's
how does Bryan Stanle)
NORMAN voted Political
to 'higher' things In August,
their strength and the
join British
Some
which unacceptable
Tories' cash-
tion. the AUEW agains! unest leadership role. start with Now the elections this the introduction of secret because these WUIKOaC SUICIE
Bob Wight the Broad
campaign project for
ror ex tion with redundan-
Cent Bi we have . our backs Rallies
Wright should
paigns in favour of Wright by th Engineering days Left supporters as well as by supAmalgamated
Union have for Bob Wright to finance here and now. would be to propose fights against restrictive legislation sponsored by all the currents in the
OF RATS AND
SINKING SHIPS...
HOWARD, currently Officer and Editor of POEU Journal, is about to give up his trade union post as a POEU assistant secretary. He is, as they say, moving on
The will be changing hi role as publicist and press officer for the main trade union in British Telecoms to Telecoms management as their, yes, you gues sed it, Chief Press and Broadcasting Officer. uncharitable sonls in the POEU have suggested that Mr Howard will at least now be getting paid by the right people, as he's been doing such a good job for them for years anyway.
settlement lower than the cost of living and the
cash limits policy would be severely imposed.'
Out of 700 delegates only about half a dozen
voted against industrial action.
the future
monopoly made on 21 July provides the worst
possible context for profonged industrial ac-
played a national
current right-wing umon icadersmp are willing to set
ballots first undermine the o le skor Hter stewards movement. Success in this
Duffy would Coll run-off Solarle meaanganellor and pave the way for amalgama
Chapple's EEPTU. The umon las to adopt a policy or com
lete opposition to the Emplc
toral failure
best bulders of the
In our area there will be cam-
lead the Gazette duld Broad fy/Boyd leadership. ponat sis neded is ethe narimir Engineer's Charler. unity of these campaigns to win yolis that the Wiriack is possiet- and to ex
Ches, SICS
way to achieve this local rallies tivities that Wright in the areas.
the monopoly. a fair share of the wealth we create? the the
sweat for.
dated delegates, ed with their wishes or desires.
of the
to be able to do much better. renc TENISI
HareDI'S
in 1979, the another HOUSEN, union supporting Wright and open to all stewards and members. for
in the past Engineer's Charte has run against Bob Wright in the
Around of the elections which was a correct tactic to ee
policies across. They .then called for a vote for Wright in the
The Broad Left have used this as an xcusieera e haring to do
Engineer's cnnne culacii porters, but this time they can't use the Charter as a scapegoat for elec-
strike •ringe Engineer's Charter is that in trying to be th
Wright cam pargl wcy will Hot taise tae policie ad ar tanack agd nt to office.
fight Tories and the sell-out of the Duf-
Socialist Challenge supporters should be putting forward policies of worksharing with no loss of pay and nationalisation in their bran eroded
SUC TII tmmt ee district committee and in the course of bulding all the campaign of these
The best way to defend the Post Office as a nationalised industry is to fight the Tories and not to back down before them. Far from putting us on the defensive, Sir Keith Joseph's attacks on the monopoly should be fought by go-
PO Telecoms is profitable; it provides a good service, and is getting better all the time. I is the hard work and skill of telecoms workers which creates that wealth and that service, not
What's wrong with demanding
The offer provides for the maintenance of the real value of the members' wages and for some real improvement in cash terms.
The offer does not provide for any real improvement. Prices, on I July, stood at almost 23 per cent higher than a year previously. For .our wages to keep pace we needed 23 per cent.
That is what the original claim said, and that is why 23 per cent doesn't mean an increase. Our claim for 30 per cent was aimed at raising basic rates sufficiently to recoup some of the real wages we 've lost in recent years. Instead we've got a basic rise of only 20 per cent, the other 3 per cent 'productivity' we'll have to
In total, Bryan Stanley's argument adds up to craven capitulation - nothing more or less. That is why he turned down the call for a special conference so that the rank and file, through their democratically elected and man-
could decide on the offer.
The Broad Left in the POEU is launching a campaign for such a conference, although the 'democratic' rules of our union mean that we have to get a full two-thirds of our 290 branches to support such a call, making it an almost impossible task. Nevertheless such a campaign is very important to show the rank and file that their current leaders aren't in the least concern-
We might not win this time round, but the fact remains that our 23 per cent is still a dent in the Tories' unofficial public sector pay limit of 14 per cent. If we can put a small dent in that policy with a leadership like Bryan Stanley and Norman Howard (see insert), then others ought
Rail next for
asset
strippers
By Peter Grant, ASLE addington Branci THE Tories are planning to sell off the most profitable
of Sealink Hovercraft, Hotels, British Rail the British
city centres.
£60m were deducted. will find
Tories have creater nationalised
BR Hortn
-.the cast round - IS
This union the
TOTa!.
wiltt
Conference also insisted tha shal not alow wages in the public sector to be pegged as an 'example' to the private sector, no allow the hard-won conditions of service on the railways to
Railworkers must push thi exccutives to take action in policies. We Face a bi struegle to save the Tail indestry.
Page 5 scan of this page
BOC workers fight back with
REMEMBER
HIROSHIMA
AND NAGASAKI
Hiroshima Day: Wednesday 6 August Nagasaki Day: Saturday 9 August THE DEAD of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will be remembered in the next weeks in actions organised throughout paign for Nuclear Disarmament.
Vigils, petitions and meetings will aso warn against the present trend lowards nuclear escalation, the most dangerous step being the introduction of Cruise missiles into bases throughout Western Europe.
NEWBURY
75-hour continuous vigil will be held directly outside the main gates Greenham Common Royal
outside AUT rOrci •Dasc Newbury, one of the two pro. posed sites in Britain for the Cruise missiles. The vigil will run from 8.15am on Wednesday 6 August to 1lam Saturdav 9 August. These are the exact dates and times which the atom bombs were
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Over 30 MPs have pledged their support for the vigil and as expected ual oulier DI0llinent figures will attend cluding Peter Hain and Tony
(director of MIND).
The vigil being jointly organised by the Campaign Acallist the Missiles (Campaign ATOM, c/o 48 Stratford St. 0X4 ISW) and the newly-formed Newbury Campaign against Cruise Missiles (c/ọ Adam
Ivcwoury Arts HallkshoNorthcroft emperance Hall, Lane, INewoury.
MANCHESTER will takealace on Saturday 9 mass demonstration August, asemo te DCIWCel Mancunian Way and Booth
Oxford Road)
Street (on
off to arrive for a rally in St.
Peters Square at 3.00pm.
SCOTLAND
A day of action will take place throughout Scotland on
Ilass leafletting and petitioning in
Glasgow Edinburgh, and
COLLaCU lali Davison 041-942 1099 for further details.)
In Glasgow there will be a commemoration ceremony on Sunday 10 August at 2.30pm at the Cherry Trees (in tront
of Art Galleries).
Gays fight back
By Terry Conway
A 150-strong picket
greeted committal
hearing last week of the 12
people arrested during the
Gav Pride march in Lon-
don last month.
Police harassment con-
tinued, with the arrest in
courtroom 01 two
members of the defence
committee. They were
bound over to keep the
peace for twelve months
some of whom are National Front members.
were outnumbered and finally driven away.
Chapel Market on Saturdays.
Britain by the Cam-
YORKSHIRE A. Nagasaki Day march will assemble 2pm Heworth reen ca DaTK. marching to Clifford's Tower via York Minster for a rally at 4.000D. A reeder demonsura tion will assemble on 9.30am thạt morning in Easingwold Market Square marching via Hawkhills to York to join up with the main rally.
BIRMINGHAM
The World Disarmament Campaign and the CND are onuy organisis Cycus the two days. Hiroshima Day will be marked by a vigil starting 4.00pm in Victoria Square ending 6.15pm. On Nagasaki Day petitioners will meet at Martin's in the Bull Ring at 11.00am.
COVENTRY
EP Thompson and Dorothv Thomoson • will speaking at a Hiroshima Day public meeting at t 7.30pm at St. Marv's Hall. Baylev Lane after a vigil in the Broadgate between 11.00am and 2.00pm.
BRISTOL
Burke's statue will be the carly (8.00am) start to a Hiroshima Day organised CND WIl. throughout the day. Contac Mike Birchnell 0272 32092 for further details of CND activity in the area.
LONDON
The Hiroshima Commemoration Tree Tavistock Square is the venue for a meeting at noon on 6 August. In the evening a conington town Hall Ha kney -second Ant-Nuclear resuiva will take place in Clissold Park, Stoke Newington on Sunday 10 August.
NOTTINGHAM
stall with petitioners will De sel un in front of Broad Marsh centre on Hiroshima Day from noon to 2.00pm.
for lighting cigarette
leave the courtroom. ine pickets responded with the kind of determination that had been shown on The mares.
Unfortunately Gay News refuses to support the acivitie:
The defence committee.
Similarly fook place during the march the organising committee was more interested going with the planned celebration protesting the police attack.
THE Hemingford Arms in Islington is regularly used as a local centre by the left in the North London borough. Over the past few weeks there has been trouble between gay people who use the pub and groups of mod youth,
Last Friday evening the confrontation devełoped into a full-scale fight on the pavement outside the pub at closing time. Some 20 youth shouted anti-gay slogans and chanted 'Sieg Heil". They were not expecting the gays to fight back and were somewhat disconcerttd that they
The problem could well escalate since the National Front seems to be re-establishing its sales pitch at nearby
BiD
TASTE oF AFTER Hackney depot was no longer viable and demanding 26 redundancies, British Oxygen bosses management have •come clean massive new investment in the depot plus another 10 redundancies!
Management want to increase productivity by reducing workforce "Inrougnpul or cylders rom te depol.
All talk of the market for their products in the area collapsing has cone out of the window with the announcement of a £2m plus investment pro. gramme which will mean that every inder in the depot's stock of 22,000 bottles will be replaced at a cost of roughly f100 per cylinder. In THE much
Party commission of inquiry has finally completed its work. On the
most controversial issues tion of leader,
manifesto, reselection of MPs -it remained absolutely silent.
Commenting on this outcome in the last issue of the Rank and File Mobilising Committee's
stated: It needs to be said that the NEC members araueo trom me woro collal lit
three constitutional questions should be
determined by val ly
ference.
'Now these questions will be taken in the normal constitutional way. Those who
were manocuvrit lo use une comunissiol to bring about changes in the nationa
executive to undermine its marginal left-
wing majority find their efforts have come
to nought.'
If the commission, or rather certain members of that esteemed body. failed to get their way on the actual constitutional
Part of the picket
SHAH! THERE'S
IT!!
work sharing demand
maintaining that their
and announced
increasing De saved,
Union block vote spells
A danger for Labour left
publicised Labour
year's conference. -eleccontrol of the ther discussion posals. Banen
Eric Heffen ference agenda through an
members at con-
cursuitulonal year would be
to 1983.
ference policy
ENs
SPONGERS WORK IF THEY WOULD ONLY LARGALL ONG THI IGO AND LOOK FOR DON'T WANT TO.
WORK!! addition management want the loss of eight drivers" and two testers' jobs.
This is just a part of the proposed national 'slimline' that BOC want to push through. But they nave lo crack ine hackney nul berore lej can implement the plan.
The BOC workforce however is 100 per cent firm in its opposition to the redundancies and has worked out a detailed plan to defend jobs. Their response to management is simple. Ever
Wing an average of eight hours overtime on top of the basic 40 hour week was signed. nave consistent demandcd averari hours overtime a week. The stewards at Hackney propose cutting overtime and introducing a basic 35-hour week immediately. This, coupled with a smak reducion in tne ionnage outpul or gas would mean that all the jobs at the depot would changes, then they did try to block any progress to democracy by resurecellig he 3-year rule which was thrown out at last
: By recommending the reinstatement of. this rule, they hoped to prevent any fur-
on constitutional profar beer thwarted. The NEC meeting to discuss the commission's report threw out any suggestion of the rule being resurrected.
But it could still be placed on the con-
tom al altilated organisanon, la walde case the left will have to mobilise against it. Its re-introduction would mean that any
oroposal. aiscussca ruled out of order if resubmitted by affiliated organisations prior
Blackpool, Labour activists will be saddled with the PLP veto on the manifesto, a leadership which fails to implement con-
— and no constitutional way of changing that situation
CAYS
week's hearing against those arrested on the Gay Pride march
AND agreements.
off addition to their previous offer
negotiating
verage of 20
As we go to
response be nackne workes backeu De
What the mobilising
committee stands for
IT WAS a proposal from the Rank and File Mobilis. ing Committee which was carried at the Labour Party executive meeting. The Mobilising Committee supports:
* Defence of automatic reselection;
*Election of the leader by the party as a whole;
Democratisation of the PLA NEC
control of the manifesto;
* Defence of the present composition of the NEC
* No reintroduction of the 3-year rule
Between now and Labour Party conference, the Mobilising Committee planning a series of rallies and public In its last Broadsheet it appealed to al supporters of democracy and accountability in the movement.to:
• .аке extra copies oi tne Broadsheet use them to
THOUGHT IT WAS A POR A MINUTE
... BUT IT'S JUST ANOTHER TORY ECONOMIS LON TELEVISION..
Additional measures include a demand for early retirement and a new national agreement to end formal provision for negotiating redundancy
Management have responded by offering an extra £3000 per worker for every job lost as a one-
While the full-timer from the Transport and
porating these terms as a permanent basis for
redundancies convenor John
press the results of nationa negotiations are not known. But if any redundan cits are entorceo al tne eno or te yo-day wallng period (which expires on 28 September) then the
all-out BOC strike Dy an overtime bar throughout the rest of the combine.
convince others of what is at Propose that your CLP, trade union branch, or shon stewares commitee our in a bulk order. Get a speaker from the Mobilising Commit tee to vour nicelas * Get your organisation to the five principles of ine Modinsing commnice * If your organisation's policy has not yet been fixed, campar non the side to democracy Blackpool. contact te moousna con mittee to be put in touch with other activists doing the same WOrk so llal you call worl together * Write immediately to the NEC to urge it to stan‹ firm on te mascare mandators reselection, NEC control of the manifesto, and election of the leader by the party as a whol * Help 1n the different local activities particularly the meetings and the rallies Contact the Mobilising Committee Drive, Phone John Bioxam (01-607 NWII
9396) David Smith (01-985 8635 or Barry Winter (0532
LAURIE SP
The major rallies planned so far include:
London 15 September, Camden Town • Hall, 7.30pm. Speakers Tony Benn, Eric Heffer, Bot
Manchester •September, 7.30pm University -of Manchester •Union Tony Benn plus others Birmingham .22 September, 7.30pm. speakers: on Benn, Wright. Venue to be Call nounced.
Sheffield 24 September, 7pm, , AUEW House. Speakers: Tony Benn plus orners Edinburgh Council Perry 2pm, Trades Council, Place Speakers: Reg Race MP plus others cinlist Challenge, 31 July 1980 Pape 5
Page 6 scan of this page
Copenhagen
UN conference:
mid-decade chat
IMPERIALISM often hierarchies and backward traditions to enforce its domination. Many of the most barbaric antiwoman laws are based on religious codes. In India, the misery of millions of women is accen
SEXUAL POLITICS
reinforces religious
THE United Nations Decade for Women conference held two weeks Copenhagen cost about £3m to organise. lot of money to waste on a gathering which appeared to do little more than issue a large number of platitudes.
This was the view given to us by newspapers bothered to comment on the event.
Leonora. Lloyd, from the International ContracepCampaign and an active feminist for the last ten years, was not allowed into the lavish Bella centre for the main event but she did attend the Women's tuated by the caste system underwritten by the Hindu religion. In Iran the enforcement of the veil is designed to banish women from public life and deny them any individuality.
alternative
That's
ministers. cemane represenaton
Britain which Trone ons.
and Sterilization ment officials
ward they had made for tion.
Imperialism
Asia, extermination, of capitalism century and a half.
engaged in subs entericulura the basic unit Women play
to as many children a
tility
The low level of causes extreme collulily particular. domination rally. It Is
to stunted.growth or malnutrition.
for women reach 100 per cent.
As the
migrate to the towns
the Bantustans of South Africa
Ines note att
there, Torcet into employment.
the rural environment.
осаки" women begin to occupy
Forum which was organised as ar
to the main jamboree.
In Mexico City in 1975, where the Decade of Women began in International Women's Year (you could be
noticing this!), conference women stormed the main conference
- it was dominated by government Russia.'
many of them men The alternative Forum was organised this time to deliberately avoid any similar con-
explained. Sunday "The themes for dom conrercace
were the same - Peace, Health and
Europe,
At the main conference govern-
spent their time boasting about the great strides forLeonora spent her time making con- suggested women from the TOO often in the West we are given to believe that women in Third World countries are passive victims of their fate; that no resistance is offered in these 'backward' countries to female degrada-
Such a view is far from the truth. In the last two decades women have fought alongside men for national liberation - in Cuba, Vietnam, Nicaragua. This has encouraged women to view
dominates every facet of life in the Third World today. The colonial powers came to Africa, Latin America, and
using torture, rape and terror on a mass scale. Slavery was only the most extreme form of the brutal exploitation of these lands which have been thrust into the world market by the expansion
over the last
Women's lives reflect that reality today.
In most semicolonial countries the majority of the population live and work on the land.
The family is a vial euromic role by economic role producing charen wild Stare Lie Wolk dill give security in old age. Marriage takes place early, at puberty, and women often give birth
possible. A barrer woman 1c con a cod vacc
is grounds for divorce in many such economic development deprivation whole and itual nota women Women live of the male members of thei uncommon for female children to receive less food and care. leadin!
early cern from Female infanticide still practised in many areas. Often illiteracy rates
capitalist market penetrate the rural economies inflation and ine drive cowaras larger oroducevi forces ine male members or the tamily to
Women themselves forced to eke out an impoverishe existence rom tae lana on tael own, as tr
Some workers are even compelled to leave
Come Westerr European countries in search of work. Once
immigrants in particular are most menial forms
For women who migrate to the cities. "nowever, tere Is a greater opportunity lot • education and financial independence than in
taking DrOseSsIOn positions which
tacts with women who are fighting all over the world for fertility control. •We showed two films from the Na-
Campaign, sold loads of badges and organised a press
We made loads of contacts including ones in Thailand and
Impressed
Yvonne Roberts writing in the
Times described the alternative Forum as a feminist version of the eight-ciles in-two-days inpLo
because of the massive number of workshops and stalls.
Leonora pointed out that English was the main language spoken which
La high concentration of West, Or
WOMEN
THIRD W
challenge the myth of their inferiority.
Women, who make un between 8 and 15 per • cent of the workforce in most colonial semicolonia Coustico. concentrated in industries food processing and Rico the workers in the major electrical industries al C . vital the Women's anol very employing them at low rates drives down the general wage level in these countries women cannot rev on a permanenl ob Unemployment and underemployment Women are often Corin. desperate measures loliccalcu Handicrafts and home cooked food are sold on the street, laundry is taken in. Prostitution is frequently the only recourse Legal equally for women Is not commot in the semicolonial world. over their wives than Western societies. In most cases, a man can say when his wife will and will not work, a man can take away his wile's wages, a mai often has the custody of the children rather than the woman.
Afghanistan before the PDPA came to power, it was common for women fo be sold into murdered for committing adultery in Islamic
Western education.
She impressed Wal mUSL
however, win me arce numbers o
women from women's groups an
anti-imperialisi Lati
America
The differen problems. facir Third World countri
workshops. Explained. Leonora
'Women in the Third World have t
ting tresh water, enough to ca
per cent of Indian women will neve
see a doctor in their lives
cause of death for Latin America
women of child-bearing age is illega
When an American woman
sisted that 'female circumcision is a
attack on all womanhood' and mus themselves as the equa raise their own concern
On these pages we l perialism on the lives World, record events at UN's Decade for Women the role of women durin Bengal in 1946-50.
the Indian a crushing heavily economic d women. such as lexies. electrical parts. Contrary
majority of Corvetes. pnarmaceuuca and the traditior The profits from these countries
imperialists and backw domination,
India, the a re accentuated
forced to take
#HOUSE families underwate Muslim cou Iran, the des victor deny them
Husband's have effectively i
as the Repu Violence under impr uSed imperialists some countries, such as their own h
government participate Women can be customs
humilation
Page 7 scan of this page
What are little girls made of, What are little boys made of
be fought by all women as a single ISSUCI Sudanese women were cautIous. suL irst naveto naaltor
right for girls to live to reach DuUCiLy.. Women's health
African health visitors are trying to deal with circumcision as part of the general question of women's health within their own culture and traditions. Ine main problem was
women to to clinics alu getting health and education into the schools. Mothers and
non-marriageability they weren't circumcised.
*I argued for Western women to men, and to begin to women.
at the impact of imwomen in the Third forum held during the nference, and recount e peasant uprising in equality, as guaranteed in ation, means little under the
and O1 DOverLy, THilclacy, ence for the vast bulk of.
popular myth imperialism ive a civiline intuence on I culture of people in these
orces religious hierarchies
to stabilise Its y of the most barbaric anti›asee on tengious coacs. in of millions of women is the caste
sanctioned law cine , as we have seen recently in
veiling women n nem rom Duoic ure and dividuality. Divorce is still in Catholic countries such Tare and nst women is exacerbated
Women domination. xual crannicanon orune ley also face the reaction of husbands and lovers if they
lic life. Old prejudices and
they face beatings.
concentrate their fire on their own government's exploitation of women HUIC
in the Third World. Leonora said 'whether It's through control policies or through an army or occupanon as in ireland.
Having two conferences didn't avoid a confrontation as was intendea. rovorea ov me reace meme. Jacqueline Heinen, a journalist from Rouge, the French drowned out an Irish minister or to minutes in a orotes against the treatment of women in the Armagh jail and the forcible occupa SCA TOTE British army. or te Nort of Ireland by une
On Friday 18 July Bolivian coup broke and it was decid. ed to march to the Bella centre in a demonstration against the Bolivian
N THE
ORLD
they step out of line.
Educational opportunities for women are extremely limited. The system reinforces the 11122e of women onto all female children. Co-education is less prevalent than in Western societies. small number or women nave ocen take advantage of the benefits education in these countries.
Control over fertility is a long way off throughout the world. In the underdeveloped world women are pressurca
Birth control information is almost always in the framework of racist population control rogrammes imposca by nocrialisi Forced sterilisation has been carried out on one-third of Puerto Rican women.
Women in these countries have been widely used as unwitting guinea testing biren control devices and arugs pill was tested out on vears before it was used in Europe. Access to anortion is also nee to coercion not treedom of choice. Every forced to seek illegal abortions most degrading conamons possible, leading to an unknown number of deaths.
Western capitalism foists standaras of colonial world. Women are conform to these alien standards while at the
Having LO SULICE double standards. The sexual mutilation of female children and the custom of polygamy one nusoard, several wives are Only me most extreme examples of the general view of women that they exist gratification, not for their own
Because women's position
intimately bound imperialist exploitation it is separate the fight for women's demands from
national liberation struggle
Vietnam, Algeria, Cuba, Africa and Zimbabwe women have taken up arms against imperialism and then begun to raise their own demands within that struggle.
leading the battle for political status Republican prisoners both inside and outside
all, The women's liberation movement has given these struggles a broader dimension. It nas soured women to nse uo ana place unel needs and concerns at the cerfere of every struggle. The gap between archaic norms and varues did the ever yudy lives or women grows ever wider. Women of the Third World have so little to lose that once they begin the battle a social ferment is unleashed that capitalist ines enticulo control.
military and calling neria lists to keen me names ou Bolivia. population The Danish police
They heleas. •SLOTHCE
Custre and threw ane few el
and threw who had managed to reach the tron! doors out onto the street. 'We turned and applauded the police for their Trotskyist polite behaviour outside the Decad
tor women conterence al — uc looked quite sick'.
Broken
news of the
off to hospital with a broken arm, a small delegation was finally allowed
their 222SL
seed yet they only Sometimes would take
Zamora lo pay the British who ploitative system.
they won 60 per into the anelores aramnstores took Tebhaga crop. Terrified landlords called in police and over 50 peasants were l ed by police bullets
their land peasants took over.
Sault Comma village administraton. troops were formed to put the cor HELECCO
People's courts were set up
Red Flag
ment at every level. ine crop under
went on delegations to landlords.
Only a aDIC
of higher
the landlords.
It was
Have
passed COll
pigs for - ne Turkish women ten
its own women in
forced
for male sexual
in these
with impossible to
itself.
Palestine, -South
for PARLE
for
had other the
of dangerous drugs
telling
ratner Than
DUEL
exploitation.'
After one woman had been sent
Bengal, sharecropping peasants rose up
landiords. These peasants cultivated the land with their own cattle, implements and
got half the the landlord more than half because the peasants could not neetings
their debts. The operated b terrible famine of 1943-1944 was
when the police enter a disaster for these peasants and the Kisan Sabhas, peasant fronts Is Was We Signa of the Communist Party of In- neighbouring vill
face the police dia, organised the struggle to win two-thirds of the cultivated crop. readers esca
*Land to the tiller' became one of
Kni the key slogans of the movement, as
upheld the ex-
Rural Bengal was in ferment. In some areas the peasants managed to take two-thirds of the crop; in others
cent. Peasants bur
two-thirds of ti
Some landlords were forced
completely and They elected I look after
decisions into action and t guare the area as any alack
to the
Women were active in this move- died
They harvested The struggle tne kea rlag, uney encouraged the took part in the demonstrations; they
the "liberated zones'
At night they guarded the villages Kisan Sabhas, armed with agricultural implements. cases of wife beating. ( In Kakdwip and Hajong they took up and molestation arms against me ponce, minary, and
women who carried the messages from one district committee to another, and on their way ic
WUId about
Tears and dolls frils and falls.
and bubbling energy with
Parle Gluco-
* the tastier
9L uco-India's largest-selling biscuit
Leonora was a little disappointed
with the alternative forum. *There
ing,' she told us, 'and it didn't really
get to grips with organising anything
together — for instance over the use
that it was a
ed to view themselves as Lady Boun
in the Third
World how to solve their problems
concentrauma Unt
practical task of solidarity and sup.
'What women in the Third World
need from us is an end to imperialist
African delegate at UN conference
When peasant women
fought back in India
A warning system arried out Women conch shells, bells, bugle ams and strength
ople from
Kisan Sabha
Men hid more ent arrest from police knives, axes, nill powaer. In ented the police he nattle with Irrested men by their battle.
And break his rie him without a
Killed because
Kisan cond blacc also pust their own treatment in the home.
courts. In Harpur, a party cadre we
woman of : a meetin alone ane allelpice rape her. The people's court order him to leave the area within 24 hour would see that the court verdict was ed to work as domestic servants in
energy food.
And here's what Parle Gluco is made of-
ine goodness of mik, wheat. sugar, giucost
Be Wond Stecton Anard winne
had gained confidence
were forced to give them the respect they were due. How did these poor gather and landless women who had little time for meetings become so active during the Tebhaga struggle?
• peasant movements. Ilke ovement aimed had been led by Party as they had produc Women " in
The poor peas a worked in the fields. The c product of their labour as m men's.
Bds was
intensity ruggle Wal brought women to the nt. The villages were in turn
Fuld not make so many den women.
respon took se-
The spor me actor
the fore. If a men sad of it. When & nder attack defence rom every quarter. Womer often SHIESI ICSDORC defence work
aoWs
The militancy of en's
aragallas WACIC LIC strongest Visi worl
people's courts became : a -TOI wome achands
omen in Kakdwip, who were forc-
Fights and games toys and trains.
PARLE
Gluco-India's largest-selling biscuit C
the landlord's houses for nothing demanded payment. wher theil husbands tried to get them to con tinue working unpaid they raised the ssue m me villare court Urban activists helped with
political classes backing women's attempts to raise their own cemanes womenis role mae crane ed. They were not playing a subor dinate role in the struggle, they wert helping to lead the fight against the landlords. From the economic front they became aware of their sexual subjugation.
Crushed
But after independence the move ment was crushed me communisi
was banned and the activists were forced underground. Although women cemancer releasi those arrested and punishment fo the landlords and police who had
murders their activity in politics began to decline
The Communist Party, even when it
organise women but only for the fr- arall, inges of political activity. Domestic responsibiities began to dominate womens' lives once more:
Villages
It was only in the revolutionary atmosphere when landlords were being driven from villages that women had the opportunity to challenge all the structures or power and contro that dominated their lives, including the power of f men. Yet even at tha nan bolt or suuggie uncy were fart
Kisan
came when they used their collective strength as women to raise their own demanes ane make sure cur vorce was heard.
This article is an edited version of one written by Adrienne Cooper in the July 1979 issue of Manushi, Indian Feminist Journal This jour nal is avallable Jrom. Ine Manushi
Editorial Collectiv A-5 Nizamud.
din East, New Delhi 11013 and bubbling energy with
Parle Gluco-
the tastier
energy food.
And here shot patie Clear i made brose
Socialist Challenge 31 July 1980 Page 7
Page 8 scan of this page
Poland: 'We've reached a higher level of organisation
INTERNATIONAL
than in 1976'
strike committees. future.
Q: Apart from WSK Mielec and ZM URSUS, have strike committees or workers' commissions been set up during the recent strikes?
JK: There is not that much organisation if one takes into account the total number of factories on strike. But in certain strikes delegates have been ciccica In mass meelings and this has been a great success.
For example at WSK Swidnik the elected delegates tained the assistance of the official trade union lawyer to help them in their negotiations with management. This is an aspect of the protest that we have not seen before.
The memory of the repression which struck the 'ringleaders' in 1970 was
break sel. organisation; there are some factories where the strike committee, elected shop by shop in secret ballot, doesn't show itself openly. This is the case in the huge 'Stella' stocking factory Zyrardow which employs a majority of women, many of whom are single mothers.
Factory
For this factory we have begun to take up a collection because the workers there are paid on the 15th of the month and we beleve that because of une strike their pay will be delayed to force them to give
We've reached a higher level of organisation than in 1976, but there aren't strike committees everywhere. URSUS is a shining example of self-organisation for the rest of the country.
Be Word or ade d per BROADSIDE Mobile Workers" Thea requires a socialist actress (mus
Scat of serica and political e
241e High Sireet North, London E12, or phone
021-643 0669: build the fightback in
Speakers:
sor sold Saturdaye cutie
SIRMINGHAM: SC on sale at The Ramp, Fri
Sat 104. For more info phon BRADFORD: SC available from Fourth Idea BRENT: S 4 Sputters.
supporters sell every Sat Morning
CARDIFT: SC sales
stable from 108
Socialist Chalk
ONE of the most exciting developments of the wave of strikes in Poland against the increase in meat prices has been the appearance of elected
The French Trotskyist paper Rouge asked JACEK KURON, a leading member of the Polish civil and political rights organisation KSS-KOR, about these committees and prospects for the
Q: You talk of the need for a national discussion as one of the conditions for carrying through structural reforms. At the moment is this only a policy on paper or are you in a position to organise, for example, a national meeting of representatives of firms on strike?
JK: No, not yet. We think that in this wave of strikes we can gain experience, popularise. and this is most important the most advance experiences.
And we expect hot we think that inere will be then a generalisation of workers' self-organisation, self-organisation of the whole of society, but in the first instance of the workers. Jacket Moreover it is a unique lifejacket for the country, and even - although I'm not keen on saving it, but that's the situation for the ment. But that's for the future.
Besides, when we discussed it with the comrades from UR.
SUS they said to us: 'You talk about the autumn but it's taken us four years to develop and be capable of this level of organisation!'
Well it's CLUC that the climate is more propitious today, we can populanse forms of organisation by pointing to concrete examples. For example, in the last issue of Robotnik, number 57, we published, together with the 11 July KOR declaration and a calendar of recent events which lists strikes, claims, and so on, a very detailed report of the birth of the workers' commission at URSUS. We are going to continue to do this in the hope of trebl-
WHAT'S LEFT SC EVENTS
COVENTRY: SC
DUNDEE: SC available from Dundee City Thursda
Mps. The Persza SCale nOW Herne Hill British
outside information about loca İ activities. Tel. 061-682
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every
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win their 10 to 15 per cent demands.'
ing the Porescil print-run (30,000) copies of Robotkin. Q: What is your prediction for the present strike wave? Is it going to continue?
JK: It will end when workers everywhere win their 10 to 15 per cent demands. For the mo-
the authorities are retreating before the workers
• an open invitation to strike! But at the same time there are lay-offs; all of Lodz (the second largest workers' town in Poland) is going to be laid off because, as a result of the economic crisis, they are having to stop production.
They have drastically cut back on imports to pay back interest on loans, and it is only thanks to the slow rhythm of SOCIALIST
Allaun MP. Organised by CND.
out of NATO! US Hands off Iran and the Caribbean!")
CPSA comrades
ABORTION fraction: Sat 6 Sept: Details from
FRACTION. Sal 2 Aug. 100n-5pm. Na.
JACEK KURON: 'The strikes will end when workers everywhere
economic life that transport and energy production are continuing.
At the same time the situation is deteriorating, inflation is going to swallow up the wage rises. Even so the increases won in the last days have been important: at the beginning of July the 'Cegielski' workers at Srem won 7 per cent and within Smidnik returned to work with davs WSK workers 15 per cent!
The only solution is a major reform, self-organisation, but the workers aren't ready for that yet. When they go back, faced with new difficulties, the working class will be stronger, more conscious of what it has won. That will be the difference.
IMG NOTICES
Saturday 27 sept al une Me
Farringdon.
No replacement for Polaris!
No Cruise Missiles!
No more Hiroshimas!
DEMONSTRATION
Saturday 9 August 1.30pm Mancunian Way, Oxford Road, Manchester 1. Rally 3pm, St. Peter's Square. Speakers include Frank
(All North West Socialist Challenge supporters are asked to attend. Join the Socialist Challenge contingent. 'Britain
BRANCH ORGANISERS. National meeting Centre nor sion. St 1 Sep: National
Turkey friendly... the f goes a long way in Turkey!' Israel
Literature. censor 1S The Shakespeare.
Palestine in 1946. South Africa
of King William's Town last Wednesday.
were treated for less serious injuries.
ed their school boycott.
West Germany
'education officer' for the Nazis.
'Stop Strauss' button.
portrait of the great leader.
the youths off to a police station. German-financed journalists,
front'? United States country which threatens American interests.
Intercontinental Press/Inprecor
scription campaign disarray, and more.
PO Box 50, London NI.
AROUND THE WORLD
AN estimated 800,000 workers took part in a general strike in Turkey last week. The stoppage was over the murder of Kermal Turkler, one of the country's most prominent trade union leaders. Turkler was shot by a gang of right wingers.
The strike was in defiance of martial law imposed by the right-wing government headed by Sulayman Demirel.
Meanwhile the Turkish government continues to place advertisements in the world's press aimed at encouraging tourists to visit Turkey. A recent one in the Guardian reads:
"There is still time to enjoy an inexpensive Mediterranean holiday! Why not enjoy a country that is peaceful and
THE Israeli government has just banned several hundred books from sale or distribution in the occupied Arab territories. Titles include The History of Jerusalem, Islam and Western Civilisation, Palestinian Poetry, and Modern Arab
But the really subversive work spotted by the Merchant of Venice by one William
The legislation under which the bans have been imposed was originally drafted by Britain when it was in control of
POLICE wielding clubs injured at least 160 boycotting black students when they attacked a demonstration outside a high school in a black township near the eastern Cape city
One press report said that 58 youths were taken to hospital with broken limbs and head injuries. A further 100
Last week mixed-race students in South Africa suspend-
THE former political affiliation of Franz-Josef Strauss, the Christian Democratic challenger in the West German elections, is beginning to make itself felt. Strauss was once an
First there is the case of 18-year-old Christine Schanderl who last week was expelled from Regensburg high school in Bavaria, a part of Germany already controlled by Strauss. Christine's crime was that she came to school wearing a
Second, the case of four Munich youths aged between 15 and 18, who, one recent night, were the subjects of a 'citizen's arrest'. In fact they were kidnapped by six Strauss supporters after they had been seen standing near a defaced
The youth themselves claim they didn't apply the grafitti but being in the vicinity was enough for the modern version of Hitler's brownshirts. The six, one of whom was armed with a club while another had a walkie-talkie, frog-marched
Third there are the more official activities of the Strauss campaign. Remember how in Hitler's day the Nazis claimed they were fighting a great conspiracy involving everyone in sight? How does this, a Christian Democratic campaign poster, measure up to those old standards: 'Germans do you know who is behind the anti-Strauss campaigns? East
bad cheque writers, pot smokers, friends of terrorists, Communists and, unfortunately, also the Social Democrats. Stop this leftist popular
THE Carter administration is currently involved in negotiations with the government of Somalia over establishing a US military base in the African country. Somalia is envisaged as being one of the staging posts of the US's rapid deployment force, designed to 'restore order' in any Middle Eastern
The Somalia government have asked to be paid $200 billion for the use of their territory, but the US have so far only agreed to pay $30m. What was that about a recession?
IN. this week's issue: Half a million Nicaraguans celebrate the first anniversary of their revolution. Israel's deep crisis. American labour — what it stands for. Plus Carter's con-
Single issue 40p incl p&p, or £6 for 24 issues. To: IP/I,
Page 9 scan of this page
Dancing on a tyrants grave
INTERNATIONAL
By Paul Lawson TIN miners in Bolivia leading me assance military coup which took place on 17 July. It is reported that tin miners in the Huanini Siglo Viente areas south of the capital, La Paz, were armed with machine guns dynamite; troops armed with tanks have been sent to crush
The coup Bolivia, led by faceless * pre
the presi dent elect, sules urazo, wacci
feared the consecoming to AT long last Mohammed Reza Pahlavi is dead. That is good news. Like cancer from which he died, the deposed Shah of Iran
terminal sickness which in its time, responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
He was responsible as well for the torturing of countless citizens of Iran, and the incarceration political prisons of estimated 100,000 people.
"The of the century' the contemporary Iranian press has called him, and if that is an exaggeration it is only a slight one, and one that is excusable considering the justice and suffering the subjects of the 'king of kings' endured during his reign.
The Shah did not impose his rule alone. He was returned to
1953 by British-US intervention. When he up in 1957, agents of this hated police were trained in the US and Britain.
Oil companies
In co-operation with the Western oil companies Shah undertook revolution' whose main benefi-
the capitalist class
Bolivia: resistance to coup continues
socialist, but a UDP government introducing radical reforms would are threaten to unleash a revolutionary the dynamic, as happened under the
The military coup was carried and out with ruthless
first act of the mehtist-ed troons was to invade the headquarters of the Bolivian trade union federation and (COB). During
anion Simon leading member of the Communist Party, was killed as was Marcelo Quiroga, the Socialist Party's presidential candidate Juan Lechin, known trade union leader, wounded during the Witnesse: speak of other trade union leaders being beaten and tortured by the military.
Latest information reaching the Bolivian Human Rights Committer
tempts to starve them out, Bolivia's 50,000 miners the
in
in-
The Shah.
joint
secret the 'white
His
Under the Shah there were
questions at isolated moments in history. It is better to ask: Where is Iran going and whiere has it come from?
Under the Shah, the majority of the people the sebam por Kurdestan, tionalities Khuzestan, Turkomenstan and Azerbaijan, women, workers — had no future. That was why these
smuggle in food from Peru and the stoppage remains solid. reported in some areas forcing tre Troop mutinies generals threaten bombing of the mining camps efficiency; the Unconfirmed reports speak of
Another report points to the complicity
presence of 200 Argentinian troops
Bolivian in the country
Bolivian workers and peasaints. Bu the extent of the resistance bestwas from defeated. The ever coup. past week are a dramatic col won or lac whok trend or ponto. the last decade in the southern. of Latin America. struggles of the AS tIC develop, the military are incres
even potentially manaceu e developments. The policy of
over 100,000 political prisoners; some met their fate at the It is best not to ask such nian society combined to over-
throw the Pahlavi regime.
Today in Iran many of these people continue to be oppres ed, but they alse con fight that oppression.
including Most
removal of the Shah taught the masses in Iran
the oil regime is itself that this been
:D. have
whole-sale
of other southera com
...
Child labour was Shah's Iran that he preferred to conceal from his Western fan
hands of the mistary
This st
to
portantly
te power !
tabili
WE CAM ONLY LET DU HAVE THIS GEAR
workers' move-
I in hand with eu se coerence Uruguay, is have been Bolivia.
TWO BIDS
under Shahpur
uncovered
preparation
that Army of Iran'
Egypt Iraq/Iran border.
General
one of the features of the
the massacre the Shah.
died Washington boasted: summer Tehran.'
According
of Khuzestan,
would call
Tehran.'
bIOL
He planned gle of the Iranian ibeir self-liberation That straggle receir-
Comunide Mohaqeqi,
revolation in Irar bring reinained frozer
the death of According
ttle more than Science Phantom
of a small President
NOT TO USE IT TO SUPPRESS , INTERNAL DISORDER parlamentary road
BRITISH MINERS are organising in souaarity wiln ine miners or
This Wednesday march from Speakers Corner to the
IRANIAN PEOPLE
THREATENED BY
COUP ATTEMPT
By Steve Potter
to install a military dictatorship in Iran
ex-prime minister Bakhtiar have failed. Now a third has been
- led by the man who was known as the 'Butcher of Tehran'.
The latest coup plot is still in
British news acorde Now in it
25 July issue the magazine revealed
7.000-strong 'Liberation has been trained in
stationed in frontier camps on the
commande •of the Genta lutam o esti forces
Gholam the
who was directly responsible for
Be of tens ; of thousands of peaceful demonstrators against
it was Oveissi wno gave the orders on Bloody Friday
the In september 19/8, wnen 3,00 •and end discussied visited with US officials. Afterwards he
. "By the end of the I shall be master of
Now! •The immediate objective is to establish
Lital bases at Ahwaz in the oil province
and at Hamadan, • Kurdish Onci Oveissi's agents succeeded they
on disaffected troops and the local population to join them, then re-group to march or the holy city of Quom, and finall
This plan appears much mo
etermined and seriol than
Abolhassan Bani-Sadr on 10 July. exposcu President
asserted then that a coup by air-force officers Anwaz nao been oul down. Iw( former generals of the Shah, Said door Mehdivan, the Shah's air force
and Ahmar miltary pire ou rendo date
apparently later confessed that they had planned tr
• Bakhtiar to power. Mohaqeqi was executed.
Christian Monitor of 14 July bombers would have bomoce varous largels icong the home of. Ayatollah. Kohmeini,
Bani-Sadr's offices,
Bolivian Embassy organised by th
NUM. The Bolivian Human Right
solidarity with the Bolivian
Contact them at Ribblesdale Road, London N8 General Oveissi in london in June 1973
theological colleges in Qom and une residences or une majonly or
deputies to the Iranian parliament
One of the first acts of the new
53 American hostages, claimed the Monitor report
Sex DOSUlt the conspiracies provide: additional support for Bani-Sadr's assertio
the raid Washington on 24 April the 'fiasco in the desert' was part of broader military plan to bring down the Iranian government.
The type of regime installed b such a coup would inevitably be devoted to crushing the resistance
of the working class and peasantr
Iran. No quarter could be expecte from the likes of Oveissi.
Plotters
However, many of the policies
oI ine Iranian regime opc the
to the plotters 10 Bakhtiar. The suppressior of the nationais intrar adore
The nig
wing to believe that they can cor
on the support of the Arab peo of Khuzestan for example.
Nevertheless faced with the
threat against the Iranian peopl plotted by imperialism, people have no choice but to End the plots against iran! End o British economie boycolll H off tran!
3110190
Page 10 scan of this page
THE CASE FOR CHARTER 80
INTERNATIONAL / IRELAND
CHARTER 80, the campaign established in Britain to promote the demands of the H Block and Armagh political prisoners, is now establishing a firm foundation.
Among recent signatories| to the call for 'human rights for Irish political prisoners' are Mick McGahey, president of the Scottish National Union of Miners, and Gordon McClellan, general secretary of the Communist Party.
The arguments on which the demands of the prisoners are based are described in a new pamphlet produced in Belfast by the trade union sub-committee of the National H Block Committee*. The pamphlet explains the background to the H Block issue, relates the 'conveyor belt' system of "justice', and outlines a number of case histories of trade unionists who have become political prisoners.
One such history is that of Tom McAllister, a member of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers. This is Tom's story — and the case for Charter 80. Tom was 13 years old when tempting to escape, Tom was British troops went onto the shot in the ankle and knee. streets of Belfast in 1969. Liv- While he was on his face on the ing in a socially depressed area ground the Special Patrol on the Falls Road made him, Group (RUC) fired more shots like others his age, a target for into his back injuring the base harassment from both the of his spine.
British Army and the RUC. Later Tom's doctor
On average the McAllster testified that the of household was raided' by the this injury indicated that Tom security forces several times a had been shot while lying on the week, and sometimes two or ground. An eye-witness to the even three times daily. shooting told the same story.
The Tom
Tom left school at 17 to paralyzed from the waist down. become an fitter, He also had a broken leg. He but due to spending too many was taken to the Royal Victoria al-night sessions ın army or Hospital where he was given a RUC barracks he found it im- blood transtusion The very possible to hold down his job. next day he was transferred to a He left work return to military hospital. school, but even inis became Approximately four weeks impracticable, as he often was later, without warning, Tom «alc or mie way to school was transferred to the infamous
He was arrested again on 29 Castlereagh RUC station. He March 1978 in what was later still had a leg in plaster, and said to be a hijacked vehicle. It had a bag and catheter attached was also claimed that guns and to him to assist his bowel and explosives were involved. bladder movements.
that state delivered for despite the fact that the day he
was moved the consultant in charge issued Tom a certificate stating that he had to remain in
TOM McALLISTER - 'But for the political set-up in our country he would never have seen the inside of a prison.'
was hospital for at least a further 13 'questioning', weeks.
Tom's parents and solicitor tound out about the transe and contacted the family doctor who saw Tom the next day.
During the examination Tom
WHAT YOU CAN DO
*Copies of the petition being circulated for endorsement by Charter 80 can be obtained from PO Box 353, London NW5; *The demands being made by the prisoners are: the right to wear their own clothes instead of prison uniforms; the right to free association with other prisoners; the right to refuse to do prison work; the right to organise educational and
recreational activities and to send and
receive a weekly letter, parcel, and be
visited weekly; full remission of sentence;
*Propose that Charter 80 be adopted by
your trade union, trades council, or Labour
Party;
*Ask leading figures in the trade union,
women's, and student movement to sign
Charter 80;
*If there is a local Troops Out Movement
branch in your area ask those involved to
circulate the Charter 80 petition;
*Come to the Charter 80 rally in London's
Conway Hall, Red Lion Square on 27
September.
complained that the police were hospital for proper treatment. interrogating him standing up The family doctor rang the
- even though he had one leg prison, spoke to the doctor in plaster. Five weeks after be- there and urged that Tom be ing shot he was finally charged transterred to hospital The After this his parents visited prison doctor agreed with this him. opinion. Nevertheless Tom
In statement to tne McAllister remained in prison, Associalion lor Legal Justice on remand, for over a year. his mother said: 'We under no illusions about how When his trial was eventualTom would after the ly heard it lasted all of three Special Branch were finished days. was convicted of with him, possession of a gun and expletely astounded when we saw plosives, and was sentenced to him. He, in all honesty, was a twelve years and ten years, to physical wreck. be served concurrently. He was
'He was in a highly nervous denied political status and imstate, twisting his hands and mediately went on blanket propulling at his nails. At that mo- test. ment I knew without a doubt According to his mother he that my son had been to hell is at present 'badly handicap. and back at the hands of the ped'. She explains: 'He wears a sadistic animals. built-up boot. He has gone
from over 12 stone to about seven stone. He has the zombie-
"They had withheld the pain-killing drugs left by his ilke appearance that all the GP. He said they had stood him blanket men have, vet he is for interrogation against a wall determined to remain on the pulled his hair, his ears, pulled his head back as far as possible, protest unti he status, and we his family fully gets He said they also sat him in a support his aims. 'He is no criminal, and but straight-backed wooden chair, and from behind kept kicking for the political set-up in our
country he would never have his chair so as to jar his spine. Tom appeared in court the seen the inside of a prison'.
next morning. He was remand. *Trade Unions and H Block ed in custody. The magistrate costs 5Up and is available from recommended that the medical "Trade Union sub-committee' authorities at Crumlin Road 52 Broadway, Belfast 12. Cost prison should examine Tom 50p plus 20p p&p. Ten Copies and if necessary remove him to or more 30p each.
News from the Troops Out Movement
PLANS are now well under- whole will meet up in Belfast on way for the Troops Out Saturday but tie mos Movement delegation to Poole boy boat ine are for hee Belfast on the weekend of boat; the fare for the 9/10 August. urall boat tennis tą Most of the delegation are ex-
The delegation will visit and pected to travel by boat, so there picket British Army forts in West should be plenty of company
and will take part commoon Bellast will be demonstration on 10 August mark. provided, mostly in the homes of ing the anniversary of the introduc- local families tion of internment. • An educational There will be a meeting for all programme is also being arranged those in the London area wishing to to allow those who go the oppor- take part in the delegation on Montunity to meet learn the truth about the Irish situa- people day August pub, Tottenham Court
Rd.
The delegation is being planned Further details can be obtained so that people who are working can by phoning the national office of leave home on Friday evening and Troops Out : Movement on 01 set back aried mons 267 2004. If you want to see Belfast rangements are on offer depending variety travel al- British media refuse vourse anadern to what the tell you on how much people can about Ireland phone. that numbe! The idea is that the delegation as a
Page 11 scan of this page
weekly alternative newspaper
UNDER REVIEW
By Kate Holman A NEW newspaper is to be launched in the East End of London in the autumn. The paper, East End News, produced a pilot issue on 15 July. So far 8,000 copies have been distributed.
The pilot issue contains a special supplement, printed m Bengali and English, which highlights one of the major changes facing the East End
includes published in thirade trys taken by sylvia ranknurst never ocrore
trade by employed a Successor
ranging from Chinese, and Jews at the turn of the century to the Asian community today OLCH ding them with starvation wages and sweat SAO0 COnCILUIS
Now the dec ine business swelling the unemployed in the East End, already high que to cock costes cuts.
The East End News local, weekly alternauve licwspaoci aims to unite a broad front of trade union and local groups on issues like cuts in liv-
standarus; Lalisi. and discrimination.
The structure of the co-operative that will run the paper is daringly democratic. The FEN will be owned by its readers as well as workers. Anybody who buys five £l shares becomes a member of the co-op and is entitied to a vote meetings.
The membership will elect a manage-
LETTERS
No fascists in Handsworth WILLIE WHITELM
IS A SOFTIE.
THE N MARCH
ON TO WEST APL
BROM.
TRIPPED this sticker from the
wall of a Birmingham subway.
everywhere in Birmingham and
many more of these vile stickers
are onsolayca. As you know the NF is plann-
ing to march in the West Brom-
wich area and there are also pro
posals for an NF march in Hands-
worth on 17 August
If the march goes ahead we
must mount the largest anti-fascist
counter march or rally that there
has been for a long time. The
Front must never get into Hands-
worth.
PAULINE ROE, Birmingham
PS: APL stands for Anti Paki
'Second home'
bombings in
Wales
AFTER the bombing of the Tor!
Secretary of Wales' third, bu
alleged 'ancestral' home and the
detention of Brendan Young, an
IMG member in Swansea, under
the prevention dietrous Ael.
i mates 1MG's areitude to the ar- worth recalling the
son. attacks on secola nullics li
Wales:
*Basing ourselves on the pro-
gramme or revolutonary Marx.
sm waes wil beueves to
only solution to the problem of
second home ownership is
through a mass action, anti-
capitalist campaign...
"The burnings are individual
responses, even where some
clandestine organisation is involv-
•esi the very nature of the burn-
mas exondes mass invo venent.
An impassable barrier is set up
between political activists and the
popular opposition.
"It is for this reason, rather
than respect for capitalist proper-
London's first local
week
political parties,
community.
the run-down of the photographs comprehensive round-up of
accepted if they tradition paper's policies. Huall rish
widely respecca lot Is aull-racisi ICWal
tailoring
SCCLUL pelled from the
strike. It was London's first.
the spur for the new paper.
The launch of the sexual
is under discontent Derek mon to most national dailies. al eneral
ty, that s wales Imu stand:
against the arson campaign.'
Passed at its May aggregate,
S Wales IMG is now empnasising
these positions in its political
work, pointing out that bombing
an ason bay do bosiuve roic l
the class-struggle. Individual ter-
rorism isn't a way forward; it just
allows the ponce to marass and In
timidate those political activists
building a mass anti-Tory move-
ment in Wales.
While reflecting dișillusion-
ment and confusion at the refusal
of the Wales TUC,
Party, and Plaid Cymru to build
such a mass movement, ll above
all lets these organisations off the
hook and makes an anti-Tory
movement even harder to achieve.
DEREK DAVIES,
S Wales IMG
Providing a
tangible
alternative
I AM grateful for Anne Cesek's
Iraternal review (17
Party (obtainable, incidentally,
from the Institute for Workers
Control, 45 Gamble Street, Not-
tingham, price 40p).
But her suggestion that I
helieve with 'the traditional lett in
the Labour Party' that extra-
parliamentary activity
an ace to balacilal s
reform is inaccurate and certainly
could not have been extrapolated
trom tne pampaiel
For example, I argued 'we
need to go further and give a
priority to extra-parnamentary ac-
tion, even to the point of subor-
dinating electoral politics to it',
and 'what is required is to press
lor parlamentary change as lai di
the sytem will allow it, from the base of extra-parliamentary ac-
tivism.
*Any other strategy in contemporary Britain is doomed, either to a corone soo lc case of an exclusively electoralist approach) OF at the margins of society (in th case of fringe left groups).
Similarly, the traditional Labour left tends to see the Alternative Economic Strategy as a capital, that is not true of newer left forces.
ment committee to supervise the week-to-
with from Tower Hamlets trades council, local shown
women's groups, ethnic minorities etc. The aim of the structure 1s press. to avoid control by any one sector of the
Already over 400 organisations and individuals have bought shares. The East End News can only succeed with mass sup port from the people of. East London. Tner
The format will be lively and profes-
wide sports coverage and a
entertainment in the East End. Ads will events and pilot
clash with
Last year the East Ender — a weekly owned by the Stratford Express group and • Values
policy
was taken over by the rival GLEN group and closed down. This left GLEN's own paper, the conservative tast London
non-union journalists wilo telt or were ca
NUJ around a recent during an NUJ pay dispute produced, a one-off edition that provide last vear that the first East End News Wat
East End News comes at a time when the role of the press
harsh scrutiny. Coverage of the the sacking and 14 May has demonstrated the bias and distortion com-
At the same time, protests from immigrant leaders over racist treatment, direct action such as the occupation of the 1221).
We see it as an essentially pouncal strategy, using concrete policies of immediate relevance to Britain's economic crisis as a mobilising base for pushing the system to its limits and ultimately transforming it (see Geoff
Strategy, ILP, 1979).
position on the Ats of the rest of the far left it fails to provide a tangible alternative telving instead on an essentially rhetorical appeal to agitation without a clear programme for fundamental change.
Welsh Labour PETER HAIN, London
NAC and
the TUC
JAN Parker is right to point out (25 July) that the 8 February lobby or Parliament on abortion was only sponsored, rather than organised, by region of the TUC, and that the crucial driving force was the calluals.
July) of my involved in building both NAC and CAC
either the role of or the strength and significance of women organising around their own demands to fight for them unless we women do us. *is simply However, Jan tends to counterpose the "feminist' aborton campaign to the maledominated' labour movement.
We believe that it is necessary to take feminist politics into the labour movement and that it is possible to do this because of the thousands of women in the Labour Party and the trade unions who have shown their willingness to fight for their rights abortion demonstrations and so forth When we talk about the labour movement being 'maledominated'
to frantic irrelevance male chauvinist,
membersale are wornch. true that be mobilised to fight back and challenge the that leadership holds back the with struggle for women's rights. the campaign against Corrie, we
Evening News office by women appalled
anne ones ammuce to isolaus rave
that many people are no longer
willing to tolerate victimisation by
The trade union movement is learning
the painful lesson that to counter some of
the distortions it must exploit the Press 1o.
its own ends. Unions like NALGO have set
up media seminars. At the TUC last year
Campaign
launched to challenge the whole structure
of the 'free' 'and privately-owned press.
has since adopted the East End News as its
project NUJ members have been forced to
realise their own role in press bias, through
the blind acceptance of established 'news
This has led to an intense debate
within the union about professional stan
dards' and the strength of the NUJ's code
or conduct The success of the East End News will
be important to these future initiatives
particularly given the degree of support it
has received from the luc. the
unions, other trade unions at national and
Labour Party and othe
areas of the left. women's groups.
sioners, gay groups, MPs, local churches,
and so on.
But the co-operative has only raised
half its launch target of £25,000, and that
extra few thousand pounds might make or
break the project. The East End News still
needs more money, more members, more
supporters, to be sure of success.
If you would like more information abou
the East End News contact the office at 17
Victoria Park Square, London E2. (01-981 Socialist Economic he real problem with Anne's
and that - is that practise?'
South East Wilal we wallt.
Against Corrie. London N1
the last five years. would be the last to deny
suer camoalki Socialist Challenge
— no one is gong
'The Future of Socialist Challenge' (10 July).
For tne paper by coming out on the
we have to remember
would like. between 30 and 40 per cent of the 1ciuldl ca
• Wilo Call
• leadership when
After the support wo got for.:.
EAST
Wak
pictured History
The East
End rag trade...
IOLSULLCLI parison. • for our rights and who know
But it is also true that we cannot do it on our own! JUDITH ARKWRIGHT,
The future of
political direction of Sociali:
Challenge over te past ycal scem fully justified by the editorial
This is quite blatant about how it sees the paper going: 'We want to popularise the paper. Ihis means writing shorter articles, revamping the language and style
It is to the credit of Socialist Challenge that in its earlier years, 1977-78, we had a paper that was directed exclusively to the revolu tionary vanguard. It may be because of the style of SC that not as many workers read it as we
Another reason/excuse for this detection to workensm/ econo mism in its crudest form is what's happening in the Labour Party.
It's a historical fact thạt while in office the Labour Party ham mered the working class into the ground. But the instant it is in op
END NEWS
Stop
News
the
rot!
SE No 12
position it is transformed into a radical left-wing socialist party and the attacks on the working class while it was in office are
This opportunist about-turn by the Labour Party would seem to justify a SC of the old variety and not another Socialist Worker, Militant. etc. In tact, lt tn‹ editorial statement is just for openers Socialist Worker will seen ke des naouur l coll'
Since I left the Socialist Workers Party I have sold SC for over two years in Dundee. I am committed to the ideas of a unified revolutionary organisation and autonomous yout and women's movements.
I shall be watching for future develonments of SC with some in terest and I will determine my future commitment by how far SC slides down to a Socialist Worker-type of paper.
JOHN MALONE, Dundee
BOOKMARXCLUB duarter 1980
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I enclase sum of E.
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READING
THE RETURN OF THE
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THE JUDGE, Rebecca West, £3.50). Her second novel agains the background of Edinburgl and the Essex sea marshes, is a powerful expression of her sion of life as a perpetual strug gle between the forces of love and death
HARRIET HUME, by Rebecca West, 288pp (Virago, £2.95). A witty and beautifully imaginec fantasy set in London which re counts the victory of love and the love of beauty over man's eternal quest for dominance and destruction.
TESTAMENT EXPERI
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Testament of Youth continues he autobiograph the
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Women in the Arah World by Nawal El Saadawi, 236pp (Zed Press, £2.95). A picture of wise to grow us as ‹ woman in the Islamic world which places personal relationshos in tie context oi socicly a a whole. Complete with an introduction which looks at the questions posed by the development of the Iranian revolution.
THE IRA, by Tim Pat Coogan
620pp £2.50). The
Edition of this comprehen sive history, widely hailed at the
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from THE OTHER
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expose the corruption of
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Page 12 scan of this page
Socialist Challenge TWO DATES TO REMEMBER TO BEAT JOBS SLAUGHTER
ished by Cardinal Enterprises for Socialist Challenge, 328/9 Upper, Street, Londan N1. Printed by East End Offset Ltd. (TU), London E2
BY the time the TUC1
meets at its annual conference in Brighton at the start of September official number unemployed will be over two million.
That explains why the fight for the right to work needs to be one of
Mator unemes ference. The preliminary motions to be debated by the was published at the start of this week. Included are a whole number
But while many fine sentiments are displayed in these motions there is a noticeable shortage of concrete ways alle mcals or ensuring lal there will be 'no return to the Thirties'
One of the few that does put anything forward comes from the Transport and General Union.
It calls for a campaign to fight the cuts, resist closures and redundancies, establish widespread train-
and overtime with an immediate goal of a 35-hour week, control of te troduchon or new technology and step up the battle for an alternative economic policy. Bad
For starters, that's not bad. But such policies will not be won simply by passing resolutions at the TUC
advocates will have to be fought for and mobilised around.
will coure commitment from the entire trade union movement; a commitment which cave no noids barrco in tne ngni
By. Pete Tattersall, Gateshead NUPE DENNIS Skinner has repeated his call for Consett steelworkers to
the lall against closure and to use as base 10 organise widespread abour movement sapport for the fight.
The Labour MP's call came at a rally organised by the Save Consett Steel Campaign at the Belle Vue Football ground in Consett at the end of a march by workers through the town
Skinner's. call was only heard by a fraction of the original march as
away after hearing Bill Sirs, ISTC General Secretary,
with like:
Come have given the chairman's job to a British lad foreigner.
Sirs • well on lo suggest that Consett should be taken over ov dove over of them found it an attractive proposition rather than see it close.
This appalling proposal is ironic because one of the main problems that Consett faces is
the
0f
Conlist TUC Workers
for jobs.
One way of stepping pressure so tat the 1 UC takes such a fight seriously will be for the rank and file in the unions, would
ипетрюуса memselves to apply that pressure.
direct competition from the
private firm of GKN.
would not be unhappy it Con-
sett was removed as their chief
competitor particularly as
the private firm has just
recently Meanwhile the continua-
the BSC aria the Consent
BSC
unions is a sham being dragg-
ed out by management as long
as possible in ОСО CAMA
down. any hint of a direct
struggle. The next meeting is
planned fo 12 August
But BSC have already told
the workforce that only one
furnace will be operating after
the summer break. This will
halve production in prepara-
tion for closure.
As Bill Thompson, Chair-
person of Save Consett. Stee
• Committee said,
'British Steel are nailing up
the coffin before the talks are
Once again the road of
alliances with MPs, lobbies to
Parliament, reasonable nego-
tiation and playing
capitalist's of arguing
viability las a blind
alley for. steelworktes.
WULACIS
Llanwern workers took things
into their own hands and tried
the methods of occupation
Had for by Dennis Skinner
Monday
1
September
UD Ine mass lobby
unento ovment. anuune September.
Skinner advises Consett to occupy wet us y
GKN THE PRESS LIES continue to pour out on the Olympic Games Afghanistan.
In a remarkably candid article in the Sunday Times lar Jack claimed that much of the copy being sent back by journalists Covetil being edited by the Street copy desks to reflect za-boycott sentiments
Agnansan another Sunday Times • all Philip Jacobsen, delivered a
the Western press tipuously distorted the war.
Wing as fast queues.
The
other
high
factor'
Simple
Wing and
cies.'
dustry?
The opportunity to do so comes
£49.70 a week.
Lie
Demand the TUC takes action! Join the lobby on 1
because the move available.'
Just pected Thatcher 'prosperous'
unemployment
Support YOUR press
casualties as tribesmen 'massing outside kabul were pure fabrications he asserted. and Socialist Challenge lights the facts which the Flee Street editors delete. why we appeal to you to keep contribution: drive coming lean summer months.
Fleet Our thanks this week to: F Montcrieff German supporter
A Beyder reporter, R Ford
ELOY
had con- Yoko Takada
Total Cumulative rotal
THE number of lies coming from the mouths of
politicians unemployment is increas-
as the dole
first lie came when Thatcher, Geoffrey Howe, and
Tory bosses claimed unemployment was caused by
wage claims. Thatcher said on 22 July that 'the main
behind 1.9m unemployment -figures announced that day 'is the high increase in wages'.
Such nonsense is disproved by a few simple facts:
*The North of Ireland has the highest unemployment rate and the lowest average wages rates of all the regions ruled by the Tory government.
*The textile and clothing industry is one of the worst hit by job losses. Ann Spencer of the National Union of Garment Workers said at the weekend: 'Five factories a week are clos.
only today I was notified of 400 more redundan-
And what is the wage rate for a dress-maker in this in-
The grand sum of
Then came the lie that it's
unemployed are unwilling to move that they are Switch
Thatcher
'I think it is reasonable to expect that there must be some mobility if people are willing to
where jobs are
where are people exto move to? Perhaps had mind the South-east. By comparison with other regions
in the Southeast might not be quite as bad, but last month this region had
highest increase Britain: high- Abroad:
That's
in through the
Name £10.00 1.92 Address
10.00
12:00 :55.82
unemployment in the country.
At the weekend the Cambridge Economic Policy Group forecast that 1983 unemployment in the South east would be approaching nine per cent.
These attempts by the Tories to switch the blame for the unemployment scandal onanyone but themselves should be exposed and resisted.
That is why it is important to build the demonstration called by the Right to Work Campaign and the Liaison Commitfor the Defence of Trade Unions at the Tory Party con. ference in Brighton on 10 October.
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