Socialist Action (LSA) Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1981
A different group, and a different paper from the IMG’s Socialist Action of 1983–88. The League for Socialist Action were supporters of the US Socialist Workers Party’s tendency in the Fourth International who split from the IMG in 1976 and rejoined it in 1982.
The scan: Socialist Action v4 no1 1981.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
-HANDS OFF POLAND-
By MIKE RODNEY (Finchley CLP)
The Tories came to power on a clear racist ticket. Talking about the country being "swamped" by an "alien culture", they pledged to tighten up still further the already racist 1971 Immigration Act.
The new curbs - added last year - have meant that the rate of deportations has doubled. Right now, hundreds of Filipino workers are threatened with expulsion on the flimsiest of grounds.
Raids on factories and workplaces, in search of so-called "illegal immigrants", are being stepped up. Two hundred Blacks are being held, on any given day, in detention centres around the country. Police harassment of the Black community is on the increase.
Union leader Lech Walesa
Action
For a Class Struggle Left Wing in the Labour Movement
DEFEND
BLACK
RIGHTS
Now the Tories are planning a new stage in their racist campaign.
Their nationality proposals - due before the Commons early in the year - seek to deprive millions of Blacks of their right to enter, work and stay in the country.
The proposals divide people into those whose ancestors were born here (mainly white) and those Whose ancestors weren't (mainly Black. The introduction of such a colour bar will not only mean the vast majority of Blacks being excluded from Britain. It will also mean that many of these - registered as UK citizens - will be made virtually stateless.
Moreover, those Blacks already in Britain could witness a real curb on their civil rights. Under the proposals, many could be denied the
By STEVE RANDELL (Lambeth CLP)
Faced with the growing power of Solidarity - Poland's independent union movement - the Soviet bureaucrats are taking steps towards a massive military intervention against FEAR the Polish workers.
Recent days have seen a number of news leaks about Soviet and East German troop movements near the Polish border. Reservists have been catled up for military service in East Germany, Czechoslovakia and the USSR.
The latest moves followed a December 5 meeting of Warsaw Pact governments which declared that
Growing anti-racist fightback: right to vote, for example, or to hold office in the Civil Service.
SECOND-CLASS
osals - if passed - do not need to
- Black people will effectively be-
"..the Polish people can firmly count on the fraternal solidarity and support" of the Warsaw Treaty countries. In the twisted vocabulary of Stalinism, such "solidarity" comes on bayonets.
What lies behind the Kremlin leaders' latest moves is clearly alarm at Solidarity's mushroom growth. More and more working people see it as a real tool to combat the corrupt and repressive regime of the Stalinist leaders.
Only recently, for example, over 500,000 small farmers met to discuss means of forcing the government to register them as an
Vol.4 No.1
was% chacren Hornel
The implications of these prop-
be spelt out. Denied entry on grounds of colour - and denied democratic rights in Britain on the same grounds
action to take. racy.
PARTY
CONTENTS:
JOBLESS TOTAL
LABOUR PARTY DEMOCRACY
CARL
NICARAGUA
LONGBRIDGE
ABORTION RIGHTS
H BLOCK
January 81 NASTRA P BESID NASIRA AND BIRGUM
INWARA DITTA'S
SANITATOR 500 march in Rochdale in support of Anwar Ditta, November 15.
come second-class citizens.
The climate of legalised racism
created by such proposals will give
the police the green light to escalate
their harassment and intimidation
of the Black community.
Worse still, it will give the racist
thugs of the National Front - and
other ultra-right groups - an added
impetus to step up their assault and
independent union on the lines of Solidarity. Farmers' leaders announced they would be consulting with other union leaders over what
Moreover, this growing upsurge among Poland's working people has not been limited to demanding basic union rights (such as the right to organise and strike). It has begun to pose demands which point, increasingly, in the direction of taking over the government. and establishing socialist democ-
Solidarity has begun to challenge the privileges of the Stalinist bur-
2
4 & 5
6
8
Price 15 p РОЗШ-Н (LABO PAR
even murder of Black people.
The cause of this racist campaign
launched by the Thatcher govern-
ment is only too clear. As unem-
ployment escalates and living
standards fall, the Tories hope to
single Black people out as a con
venient "scapegoat".
They clearly want to shift the Continued on Page 3.
eaucrats, their arbitrary use of power and repressive techniques. It has used the threat of strike action to remove corrupt Stalinist officials and get union members such as Jan Narozniak - released from trumped-up charges.
The repressive Stalinist apparatus is coming ever more under fire. Michael Dobbs, reporting in the Washington Post, describes the momentum building up in a typical rally organised by Solidarity in Szcecin a month or so ago.
"Practically all the questions were political in tone. Some call. ed for retribution against politi-
Continued on Page 8
Page 2 scan of this page
Democracy~ a key issue
page 2 Michael Foot
by TERRY VINEY (Croydon CLP) 1981 sees the highest jobless total since the war. 800,000 have been added to the dole queues over the past 12 months and - according to forecasts - the future looks even bleaker. The Cambridge Econometrics Group, for example, estimates 4 million out of work by 1985. As the Tories' monetarist policies bite home, whole areas of the country are being turned into industrial deserts. Particularly hard hit - as Alex Kitson pointed out on the November 29 demonstration - are "...the country's most vulnerable workers - racial minorities, women, unskilled workers, the low-paid and the young".
DELIBERATE The return of the spectre of the thirties is no accident. It is the deliber-
in which old-fashioned British industry faces stiff competition in declining markets - the Tories are hell-bent on drastic measures.
What Tories have in store for millions of workers: the dole queue
Central to their strategy is cutting
away the "dead wood" of the economy
and creating a new, streamlined indus-
try able to hold its own on the World
market. This means increasing profit
rates - at the expense of wages - so
that the necessary modernisation can
The Thatcher government knows,
however, that profits cannot be raised
simply by imposing a wage freeze. It
has learned the lesson of the previous
FUND DRIVE
£10,000 Easter target. ributions which you - our readers - make
PO Box 65, London SW 16 INN.
by BOB SWART (Streatham CLP)
On January 24, the Labour Party special conference will take place to elect the party leader. The very fact that such a conference is occuring is a sign of the radicalisation among the grass-roots fed up with seeing conference decisions overturned, year after year, by pro-capitalist leaders.
The decision to take the election of party leader out of the hands of the PLP was a major step forward in the fight for democracy and our ability to hold our leaders to account.
While a major step forward, however, the PLP has fought a desperate
Jobless total soars
Heath government which came into a head-on conflict with the powerful industrial unions and was swept out of office.
STRATEGY The method of the Thatcher government is different. Its major thrust has been to promote mass unemployment (particularly by its attacks on the welfare state). Creating a pool of mass unemployed will, it is hoped, demoralise the labour movement and force wages down under the threat of redundancy.
This thrust has been backed up by an attack on the rights of the trade union movement. Prior's Bill seeks to destroy those elementary rights which are key to defending jobs and living standards.
The green light has also been given to hard-line managers, such as Edwardes oi Batish Leyland, to begin the process of crushing shop-floor organisation. The victimisation of Derek Robinson, last year, and the sackings of the Longbridge 9 recently, are clear attempts to ram home this offensive.
FIGHT-BACK Although the Tory leaders have scored some successes, there 1s utte sign, now. ever, of demoralisation setting in. The steelworkers' strike last year - and the support it won from other industrial unions - shows the wide-spread willingness to fight back that exists.
Last month's fund drive brought in €680.00 - pushing the total collected so far up to £2,060.00. While slightly short of the hoped-for Xmas figure, it is a major step towards the
While well on our way, however, we still need to make an all-out effort if we are to reach the target on time. Unlike the big business press, SA can only survive on the sales and cont-.
We would therefore-urge you all to put at the top of your New Year Resolutions making a donation to SA. A regular donation - however small — would be even better. (Please make all cheques/postal orders payable to Socialist Action,
rearguard action to sabotage conference decisions to widen the electoral franchise.
aghan's resignation, was to hold a rushed election last year in which Foot was the winner. This was clearly an attempt to undercut the candidature of figures like Benn on the 'left' - supported by the CLPs - and foist a compromise leader on the party.
Their second tactic has been to try and ensure that the PLP retains - in
decisive say in who is elected. They this November. management's 9% offer.
LEADERSHIP ment". with the dole today.
ACTION
reduction - in public services. ations - into action.
CENTRAL
4£10000
- 68000 behind them.
£6000
forward. €4000
£ 2000
Their first tactic, facilitated by Callany electoral college that is set up - a
have been backed up in this by right-
That willingness to fight back has been shown in the number of protest actions that the labour leaders have been forced to call over the past year, culminating in the massive 150,000 rally in Liverpoo?
Such combativity has also been shown in other ways. It has been revealed in the firefighters' recent breaking of the 6% public sector wage norm, the strike called by the Longbridge workers to protest victimisations and the militancy 15%. of the Ford workers faced with the
What has been lacking to date is not the willingness of the rank-and-file to fight back but the inactivity of the labour leaders. Although pressurised into protest actions, their main thrust has been to call for workers to wait fo: the return of a Labour government in i years ime to soire thel problems.
As Michael Foot declared at the massive anti-jobless rally in Liverpool: "Prepare to destroy, at the ballot box, ANGER which is the only place they can finally be defeated, the party of unemployment, the government of unemploy-
Such sentiments - while shared by millions - will not help the steelworkers at Port Talbot, the workers in the car component factories in the Midlands, the direct labour force up and down the country who are faced
columnis
What is needed is not promises for the future but action today around the demands which the November 29 demonstration centrally raised: for the 35hour week and for an extension - not
These demands can become the rally. ing cry of ever-wider layers of the labour movement faced with the insanity of a system that can only survive by throwing millions on the scrap-heap.
The labour leaders must not be allow-
ed to view November 29 as a one-off
protest action which can conveniently
be forgotten. They have to be forced
into putting their call for an ongoing
campaign - including regional mobilis-
Workers facing redundancies and
plant closures must not be allowed to
struggle alone. The full weight of the
labour movement must be mobilised
The victory at Gardners - where the
workforce defeated management's
590 redundancy threat by occupying
the plant and winning wide labour
movement support - shows the way
Equally, Labour councils refusing to
implement the cuts mustn't be allow-
ed to face Hesaltine's penalties alone.
They have to be given full backing.
It is only by forcing the labour
leaders to build a mass campaign
against the Tories that jobs can be
prorected and the basis laid for the
return of a Labour government that
will defend workers' interests.
wing union leaders like Duffy of the AUEW who has called for 75% of the votes to go to the PLP.
While it is unlikely that Foot will be challenged when he submits himself on January 24th, what is important is that right-wing attempts to undercut conference decisions are.
Socialist Action believes that the most democratic election procedure would be that of conference itself which reflects the real weight of the trade unions in the party.
Socialist Action would urge all delegates - if a motion approaching such a widening of the franchise were posed - to vote for it.
150,000 say:
"Thatcher Out!"
by ANN WESTCOTT (Salford CLP)
Despite the bitter cold, between
100,000 and 150,000 turned out in
Liverpool, Nov 29, to protest the
Tories' jobless strategy. It was a suit-
able setting. Liverpool has been in
the front line of the Tory assault
and unemployment now stands at
Thousands of Liverpool workers
turned out on the day to express
their anger at government policies.
They were joined by thousands
more - particularly from the hard-
hit industrial areas of Scotland and
the North East - who had travel-
led there in special buses and trains.
The most noticeable thing about
the demonstration was that it was
made up of thousands of ordinary
been on a demonstration before.
The second most noticeable
thing about the march - called by
the Labour Party AEl - was!
militancy. As the contingents of
carworkers, steelworkers and fire-
fighters moved along, slogans such
as 'Save jobs - Sack the Tories!'
and 'Maggie, Maggie, Maggie -
Out, out, out!' rang along the
The militancy was also reflect-
ed in the reaction of the marchers
to the speeches at the rally. When
Labour right-winger Denis Healy
approached the microphone, he
was booed. Workers no doubt
remembered the fact that - when
in office - he had presided over
a sharp increase in the jobless total
and had rammed home an incomes
policy in the public sector.
A similar reception was reserved for union leaders such as Alan Fisher (NUPE) who called for a general election to get rid of the Tories. The crowd responded with a chant for a general strike.
MOBILISE Other speakers were more militant. Eric Heffer stated that the next Labour government "must not go down as another one that tried to administer capitalism" but one that "began the rebuilding of British industry on socialist lines". Recently-elected Labour leader Michael Foot was even more outspoken. "We're going to carry this campaign from one end of the country to the other", he cried, "to mobilise the power and the strength of the people to destroy this Thatcher government and build a real socialism".
It was sentiments such as this which found a favourable reaction among workers who wanted action now and not just pledges for the future. Promises to mobilise regional demonstrations against the jobless total were greeted with
Socialist Action If such a position is not posed, however, we believe that the most effective course would be to support that motion which guarantees the most democratic representation of the union and party rank-and-file and curbs the unrapresentative power of the PLP.
At present, that would appear to be the NEC motion which calls for a one third split of votes - in a future electoral college - between the PLP, unions and constituency parties. While underweighting rank-and-file control, such a motion represents at this stage the best step forward in democratising the party.
cheers.
One group of workers on the
march who had given a concrete
example of how Thatcher's offens-
ive could be defeated was that
from Gardners (a diesel factory in
Birmingham).
Faced with 590 redundancies, the
two and a half thousand workforce
occupied the plant for seven weeks
and won widescale support from
the labour movement. It was the
determination of their action - and
the backing they received - which
Bob Swart/Socialist Action
The November 29 March.
forced the managers to back down
and postpone any redundancies
for at least three years.
The confidence of the Gardners'
workers was reflected in the ban-
ners they carried on the march:
"Gardners sacked us, the nation backed us, and WE WON!"
CAMPAIGN It is clearly actions like that at
Gardners that will be needed in the
period ahead if the Tory offensive
is to be stopped. Key to achieving
this will be mobilising general
labour movement support for any
group of workers faced with re-
dundancies or plant closures.
This is why it is vital that the Nov 29 demonstration not remain as a one-off protest action. The labour leaders have to be forced to see it as the beginning of an ongoing campaign against the Tory unemployment offensive.
Regional demonstrations can
begin to create a real groundswell of opinion that can break down the isolation of groups of workers facing lay-offs or closures and present the Tories with a united labour movement stance.
Page 3 scan of this page
January 81 Discussing how to increase Labour involvement in anti-racist fight.
By GARY ERLISKER
Labour Party activists from a number of branches throughout London met on December 17 to discuss organising opposition to the Tories' new racist nationality proposals.
The meeting was called by Labour members involved in the Campaign Against Racist Laws (CARL), which has been spearheading action against racist immigration controls over the past year.
The letter which went out to London Labour Partv branches advertising the meeting, was also signed by Black and other part! member noted in an
FIGHT-BACK
7. A.!. t chaired the meeting. CARL acting secretary and Finchley CLf member Mike Rodne: explained the develos.
signed io neep Blacks our of the
By PHILIP LINDSAY
(T&GWU)
What do we want - justice for
Filipino workers! How do we get
it - no deportations!" This was the
chant that rang out through the
streets of central London on Nov-
ember 23 as 500 Filipino workers
and supporters marched from
London Bridge to Malet Street.
The march was called by the
Migrant Action Group and sup-
ported by the Transport and
General Workers Union, the
General and Municipal Workers
Union and the National Union
of Public Employees.
DEPORTATION
The demonstrators were prot
esting the deportation orders
hanging over the heads of several
hundred Filipino workers, mainly
women domestics. The means by
which these women are being
attacked could be applied to tens
of thousands of other migrant
workers.
The domestics, who have been
doing some of the most menial
and lowest-paid work in Britain
Tottenham Court Rd, London W1.
LP anti-racists meet
The new proposals, he said, will affect millions of Blacks both here and abroad.
Bob Swart, secretary of South London CARL and a member of Streatham CLP, pointed to the ngat-back going on agamnst lacist attacks. The highpoint of this was on November 25, 1979, when 20,000 people - mainly Black workers - took to the streets in a CARL march acainst attempts to tighten immigration curbs.
While this demonstration had succeeded in mobilising Blacks, however, Swart went on, the labour movement as a whole had not taken up the struggle. without suen m volvement, the attacks canno: be detested ne: che baboo: moremer:
UNTI The meeting discussed specific means by which the Labour Party scult he surred awards and mobi-
tionality proposals. Circulating
Filipinos protest
deportations
JUSTICERA SE
FILIPINO
WORKERS
IRKEKS 300 tup workers protest deportations for years, are accused of the "crime" of not declaring they had children when they were being interviewed for work permits.
The fact that they were never asked in the first place is of no concern to the racist immigration authorities. Nor is the suffering that would result for these women and their children if they were deported.
Many of the workers send much of their wages back to the Phil-
SOCIALIST ACTION PUBLIC FORUM
Fight Thatcher's Racist Laws!
Speakers: Mike Rodney (CARL St. Cttee)
Bob Swart (LP CARL Group)
on WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21st (8.00 pm) at THE ROEBUCK,
CARL's newsletter "Here to Stay" and putting out a Labour newsletter explaine une issues al stake welc some of the ways proposed.
Most importantly, the meeting adopted a statement outlining the way forward. through examples of the increasing attacks on Black people and the growing resistance that is developing. It went on to explain that "there has been a lack of involvement in this crucial area by much of the labour movement... Thi situation needs to be changed..."
Rees/Socialist Acton
It argued that "if the Labour Party cannot defend the most disadvantaged sections of working people, it will not be able to defend any working people from the Tories' attacks on our democratic and human rights, wages and living conantions.
"Racist sentiments would continue to be fostered and wreck the abilitv of the labour movement to organise the strongest possible fight-back against all attacks on working people. We cannot allow any section of our class to be
PROPOSALS
Calling on the Labour Party to fight the nationality proposals, the statement indicated how this can be done:
CARL and other ing against racist immigration controls to party meetings; affiliating to and sending representatives to CARL; passing resolutions agalnsi the new proposals and supporting the national demonstration late:
ists around the struggle against the proposals.
such aims should contact Bob ine la- Swart, c: o Lansbury House, 41 Camberwell Grove, London SE 5.
ippines to provide for the welfare
and education of their children.
Without this, many of the child-
ren wome stano tae chance in
life.
The immigration authorities, however, are now classifying the
Filipino workers as 'illegal entrants'
and saying that they must leave Britain.
AMNESTY
After the march, hundreds of
people crammed into the Univers-
ity of London Union. Speakers from the Filipino community and several unions explained
the domestics' case and blasted
the attack upon their rights.
A motion put by the Migrants
Action Group was passed, calling lor an amnestv ror tne worker. involved and an end to the threat of deportations.
Continued from Page 1
identifiable minority
ne statement went
Grant labour".
FIGHT-BACK pino workers. inviting speakers from
groups campaign-
Rudy Narayan creak
LABOUR
All those interested in supporting
30b swart, socialst Action
cord.
UNITY
changed.
ahead democratic rights.
SE 5).
... defend black rights
anger and resentment building up away from themselves and the system they defend onto an easily
This is the reason behind the deliberately provocative statements by leading Tory front-benchers such as Keith Joseph who, only a few months ago, stated that the high jobless figure in certain areas of the country was due to "cheap immig-
The Tory racist campaign has not, however, gone unchallenged. Growing opposition is mounting in the Black community against these racist attacks. More recently, in November last year, over 500 demonstrated in London against Tory attempts to deport the Fili-
The same month, in Rochdale, another 500 took to the streets to protest the Home Office's attempt to prevent the children of Anwar Ditta being allowed into the
Meetings have taken place up and down the country to protest the new Nationality Proposals. In Brixton (London), for example over 100 turned out to hear Labour MP John Tilley and Black leader
For the need to
While Black people have shown their determination to fight the racist threat. however. there has been a serious lack of involvement by the labour movement.
The last Labour government, for example, not only failed to repeal the racist 1971 Act, but actually launched its own attacks on Black people. Merlyn Rees introduced new curbs to the Act and a Green Paper on Nationality was drafted on which the Tories have modelled their present proposals.
Such pandering to racist views by the Labour leaders is not new. It has led them, over the years, to try and out-compete the Tories in introducing anti-Black legislation. Callaghan's comment in 1968 that CARL he had done "more to keep Blacks out than anything by Enoch Powell" sums up the infamous re-
It is a record that has to be
The limited support that has begun to develop in the Labour Party and unions for Black rights has to be extended in the months
If the labour movement cannot mobilise to defend the most oppressed layers of working people, it will not be able to defend any working people against the Tory attacks on living standards and
Moreover, it will lead to serious divisions being created in the
CARL CONFERENCE on January 10th 1981, from 1.00-6.00
at Digbeth Civic Hall, Digbeth, Birming-
Sham, 12 (Delegate credentials are available from: Mike Rodney, c/o Lansbury Hse, 41 Camberwell Grove, London
page 3
Nationality Bill
If passed, the Tories' Nationality Act could mean that: * People in countries presently ruled
ov brat woule not be able to
enter the UK as of right; * Many Black people who opted for
British passports could become
stateless; * Previously stateless people, to whom
British citizenship was given by the
1948 and 1964 Acts, could have that
citizenship taken away;
Residence of 5 years would no
longer entitle people to citizenship
It would become a matter of Home
Office discretion. Black people
who speak out and organise against
racism or who are active in union and
wider social struggles could be vic.
timised; * Black people born in Britain would
not be able to adopt children from
abroad. Parents would also have to
prove they are legally entitled to
settle here before their children are
accepted as British; * Black women will not gain citizen.
ship by being married to citizens; * It is likely that the civic rights o
Black people - - such as the right to
vote - could be restrictec
GOVERNMENT
movement which the Tories will play upon, in the years ahead, in order to ram home their anti-labour offensive.
On January 10, the Campaign Against Racist Laws (CARL) will be mapping out plans for a mass campaign against the Tory proposals. It already has the backing of most Black organisations and a number of anti-racist groups.
What is central in the period ahead, however, is that the Labour Party and unions seriously move behind that campaign and give it mass support. If passed, the Nationality Act will be a set-back not only for Black people but for all workers in Britain.
A fighting alliance of the Black community and labour movement - mobilised on the streets - could stop it. It could deal a real defeat to the Tories and weaken their ability to attack any of our rights.
STOP THE
TORY
RACIST
LAWS
Page 4 scan of this page
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Page 5 scan of this page
January 81
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example, they recently completed a successful literacy campaign to ensure that the majority of the people can read and write. Russell Johnson, national secretary of the Socialist Action League of New Zealand, recently visited Nicaragua to find out what is happening there and what support workers in other countries can give to the revolution. This is an abridged form of his eye-witness account from Nicaragua.
Politics at every turn. This is the overwhelming impression of Nicaragua today, as the mass of the population, emerging from 50 years of dictatorship, soaks up political ideas.
The radio, the television, the daily newspapers - all are devoted in the first instance to the discussion and debate of politics, both national and international. Television especially is used by the government to explain its policies to people up and down the country.
POLITICAL MEETINGS
While there have been no big demonstrations in Managua while I have been there, there are always political meetings of one kind or another.
There are meetings on trade union unity, women's meetings, meetings with doctors and journalists on their role in the revolution.
Many meetings have an international flavour - the most popular themes being solidarity with the dedeveloping revolution in neighbouring El Salvador, and with the Chilean people under the boot of the ruthless dictator, Pinochet.
This open and democratic discussion about how Nicaragua can move forward i ments "olution. first time in mose people's lives they can organise and speak out in their own interests without fear of reprisal. Even being able to have a party and dance into the night without fear of police brutalisation is a new and popular experience for most. Beer consumption, I am told, is way way up.
There has been a tremendous growth of democratic organisation and participation in politics on the part of the people. Unions, for example, scarcely existed prior to the revolution. one belongs to one.
Many of these new organisations are represented in the Council of State - the government body which discusses new policy for the country.
PARTICIPATION OF WOMEN
A particularly impressive aspect of this democratic organisation is the extent of the participation of women. This despite the fact that Nicaragua is a very poor country with few resources available to spend on providing public facilities like child care to ease the burden of being a wife and mother.
Women were nearly a third of the anti-Somoza guerrilla forces and today are a visible component of the 3C Sandinista army and police. In the unions. in the student organisations, and in the government. we. men seemed to play a gromment role. Women's dull participator in society is conscicusly enconaged by the leadership of the revolution.
Another main achievement of the revolution has been the progress made in reactivating and reconstructing the economy in the interests of working people, despite inadequate aid from other countries. Unemployment has been slashed through the creation of 90,000 jobs in one year.
SOCIAL WELFARE
Health care, education and social welfare are being constantly expanded and improved, despite the poverty of the country. Much help in doing this has come from socialist Cuba. It has provided 2,000 teachers and hundreds of doctors to help establish education and health facilities in the most remote parts of the country.
In the countryside the amount of crops that have been planted has exceeded the government's hopes. The big problem they face now is finding sufficient labour to harvest them.
And even in the cities, where the destruction was the greatest, the factories, the houses and the roads are being slowly rebuilt and the ec-
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If you would like to read on-the-
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'e of the main achieve- araguan capitalists.
For the government.
DESTABILISE
Now, just about every-
been staying here.
ment. aign.
CONTINUE REVOLUTION
overthrow Smoze.
of the rally.
ward". back now.
They struggles against imperialism.
Front.
go all the way!"
out bosses.
Intercontinental Press
onomy is moving forward again.
But this is no thanks to the Nic-
Those who didn't flee with their friend Somoza are dragging their feet about putting their money back into business to FSLN. provide jobs and goods for the country's reconstruction because it is no longer profitable enough for them. Many businesses have had to be taken over by the workers for this reason, with the support of the
And these same capitalists are on a systematic campaign to destabilise the economy and undermine public confidence in the FSLN-led government. Key commodities are kept from the market, forcing up prices. Fake rumours are circulated about economic conditions in the country. For instance, there has been a sugar shortage while I have
One of the most inspiring meetings I have been to in Nicaragua was the First National Assembly of the July 19 Sandinista Youth Move-
About 1.000 delegates had gathered to, as a banner put it, "Stop to reflect so as to advance more strongly". And to project new tasks for the nation's revotutionary youth who have been the backbone of a recent literacy camp-
The assembly had been named in honour o: Pedro Arauz Palacio. a young martyre: te sigee:
His = was brough: orto the stage as pari
When she spoke, she simply said: "Keep my son's example in mind. Don't let his sacritice be in vain. Continue to take the revolution for-
And that is the attitude of the overwhelming mass of the Nicarag. uans today. So many people, especially the young, sacrificed their arouno mem. lives to overthrow the dictator, that they feel there can be no turning
want to build a new Nicaragua, one in which their children can have a secure and happy future. They want Nicaragua to develop so that it can be a strong example and RIGHTS firm base of support to the other oppressed peoples of Central and South America in their liberation
And they feel that in Nicaragua today this road is being guaranteed children. by the increasing participation of the workers and poor farmers in the running of the country, led by the Sandinista National Liberation
As a popular slogan here goes: "Only the workers and farmers will
And that means ACTION building a socialist Nicaragua with-
Intercontinental Pres
NOR SIKING CHALLENGE POLISH REGIME
'CURA
Nicaragua Co-ordinating Committee
The Nicaragua Co-ordinating Committee was set up in November 1978, following a tour of Britain by representatives of the
Shortly afterwards, in December, the Labour Party NEC passed a resolution supporting the FSLN in its struggle against the Somoza regime and agreed to sponsor the committee. The two main demands of the committee are: * Freedom and self-determination for the people of Nicaragua; * Solidarity and support for the FSLN in the reconstruction of a free Nicaragua.
Up to the present, the co-ordinating committee has concentrated on publicising the situation in Nicaragua - within the labour movement - and winning material support for its people. If you would like to affiliate to the committee, please write to: Nicaragua Co-ordinating Committee, c/o 20 Compton Terrace, London W1.
Child Care Conference
Charts Future
NCCC members lobby TUC.
by CAROL REES (NCCC St. Cree)
On January 24, hundreds of women will be attending the second National Child-Care Conference. The aim of the conference is to work out the aims of the campaign and to launch action
The need for such action was never from more urgent than today. One of the major victims of the Tories' cuts programme has been nursery provision for the under 5's. Up and down the country councils have began to axe the (already inadequate) facilities that exist.
The result of this attack is becoming only too clear. Thousands of working motners arouna tne country are being forced either to find untrained babyminders (at a cost they can ill afford) or leave their jobs to care for their
This attack upon women's rights fits in with the general thrust of the Thatcher government to drive women out of the workforce back into the home. It fits into the general cuts in social services which attempt to place on women the care of the young, sick and the disabled.
The last child-care conference, in July, was an important step forward in begining a fight-back against Tory policies.
It brought together activists from a whole number of local child-care campaigns (from Bristol to Glasgow), began to discuss our une issues ano elected a national ad-hoc committee.
Over the past 6 months or so, the ad-hoc committee has helped issue propaganda ana inuate a number or acavities, such as the lobby of the TUC in September, which won a sympathetic hearing from delegates.
What is needed - at this conference - is a clear national focus which can unite all the various groups fighting local cut-backs in child-care. It is only by placing responsibility where ir belongs - on the government - that we can unite and make a woman's right to a job a national issue.
page 5 SUPPORT
As with the National Abortion Camp. aign, a key element of building such a mass action campaign must be a struggle inside the unions and Labour Party to convince them that women's rights is an issue they cannot ignore or walk away
Such a thrust is vital because it is onl by gaining the support of the powerful unions - as did the Campaign Against Corrie - that the government's attacks can be stopped in their tracks
A central thrust of this will be fighting for the TUC - which already has its "Charter for the Under 5s' - to begin fighting for, and not just talking about it. A useful step forward here might be calling a national one-day trade union conference around the issue.
Such a fight has also to be taken into the Labour Party. The ad-hoc committee (set up at tne last comerence) recentiy established a Labour Party sub-group to work through the Labour Party nationally.
This was a maior step forward and should be built upon in the coming period. Child-care rights should be promoted within the branches of the Labour Party with the aim of getting them to take up the issue both locally and at a national level.
The aim of such an offensive should be to get the next Labour government to pledge to reverse all cuts on child care as a pre-requisite to establishing a comprehensive child-care service
BOLD
If the coming NCCC conference can adopt bold policies such as these - and take zen into me labour movemell -there is no reason why it cannot draw thousands into the fight for a women's right to work
If you would like to affiliate your local LP/trade union branch to the NULl — or woula lke to attena th conference - please write to: NCCC c'o Surray Docks Child Care ?:!e: Dockiand Settlement, RediE: R: London SE16
Page 6 scan of this page
Defend Longbridge 8
Heseltine Axes Housing
page 6 by GRAHAM WEIGHT (POEU) Despite the strike by 1500 workers at the Mini-Metro plant, Long bridge, the Edwardes' management has still refused to re-instate the 8 workers sacked for alleged "gross industrial misconduct".
Far from seeking a compromise, the Edwardes' management has shown it intends brooking no opposition to its plans to ram home speed-up and job loss in the period ahead. Edwardes arrogantly decared that - unless the workers reported to the plant on January 5 - they would all be sacked. Clearly, management was looking for a confrontation it thought it could win. Their policy has partly paid off. In the absence of any firm stance by the union leaders, the workers decided to drop strike action pending an independent enquiry' into the sackings.
SPARK
The atmosphere at Longbridge, after continual attacks on working conditions, mounting speed-up and arbitrary lay-offs, was already tense. The spark that set off the tinder-box was management's attempt to introduce speed-up in the Trentham seat-build shop.
Workers refused to carry out a management call for 25 sets of seats per man per shift and - when seats were brought in from outside -rafused to handle them. Manage. ment responded by laying oii al the workers on the Metro chain and blaming the action on the men in dispute.
This attempt to split the workforce cut little ice, however, with Longbridge workers. 500 in the CABI Metro trim shop held an angry meeting and voted to march to management offices to tell the bosses how they felt.
VICTIMS
On December 3, 12 workers were
by JANE ANSELL (Finchley CLP)
Since coming to power 18 months ago, the Tories have made the social services a number one target. Hesaltine's latest decision to slash the rate support grant - announced on December 16 - will add yet another nail to ine conn.
Cutting the rate support grant will mean compulsory teacher redundancies, larger classes and fewer college places. It will mean - as applied to the health service - further hospital clos-
The cutbacks planned in housing, however, are even worse. Over the next four years, housing is to suffer no less than 75% of total government cuts in social spending.
PRIORITY
The priority of the government couldn't be clearer when we compare the projected cut-backs with defence spending. At the very time when an extra £ 200 million is to be poured into revamping Britain's so-called "nuclear deterrent", housing is to be sased to une done.
Five years ago, for every f1 spent on defence, 96p was spent on housing. Soon, if the Tories get their way, for every f1 spent on defence that on housing will have shrunk to a miserable 33p.
The price of such neglect is only too clear. It will mean a return to a
O WIN
SMASH THE EDWARDES MASHT BL workers on the march last year. summoned to an "enquiry" into the protest march that had occurred a few weeks earlier. The company, it seems, already had statements from unnamed "witnesses" accusing the 12 of being the "ring-leaders" in the dispute.
When they arrived, they were called in one by one, the charges were laid against them and - after the hearing hour to prepare their "defence". This is democracy at British Leyland. They were called in individually to hear the company's final verdiet: 9 were sacked including † stewarüs).. weeks and 1 suspended "pending further enquiries"
The response of Longbridge workers was sharp. Angered by what was a clear case of victimisation, over 1500 downed tools and the stoppage began.
WEAK-KNEED
For the Edwardes' management, of course, the victimisation of the Longbridge 9 is merely another step in their strategy of breaking
massive slum problem and a housing shortage of post-war proportions. As Gerald Kauffman (Labour's Environment spokesperson) put it, Hesaltine's policy is "contemptible in its dishonesty and disgraceful in its contents".
The Tories' latest attack, of course, comes on top of already serious inroads into local government housing projects. The government "moratorium" - in force at least until this April - has meant that councils have already been forbidden to build any new houses or make major repairs on existing stock.
Moreover, instructions from central government that they have to sell council homes means that the housing stock that exists is already being seriously depleted.
As a result of the Tories' axe-job to date, over 274,000 building workers have been put out of a job and obliged to join the dole queues. At a time when millions are desperately seeking homes, building workers are deing thrown on the scrap-heap.
The latest cut-back announced by Heseltine will mean a virtual end to public
housing programmes as we know them.
Already, it is estimated that:
* 2 million people do not have a
place to live in;
shop-floor organisation at BL.
What made management so confident in its stance, however,
the leaders of the AUEW and T&GWU have allowed Edwardes to walk rough-shod over them.
They accepted the Edwardes plan - a recipe for speed-up and - they were given one lay-offs - and they bulldozed the workforce more recently to accept the company offer of a
inflation is raging at over 15%.
= suspended ior :wo a to 1 rote by workers in BL in favour of strike action.
BACKDOWN
The reason for this cowardly
frightened by Edwardes' threat
will be forced to close down.
have gone meekly along with as a result of his policies.
overcrowded;
"unfit for human habitation";
agement plans.
ENQUIRY involve ACAS. is the weak-kneed attitude of the union leaders. Over the past year,
down ENQUIRY
6.8% pay increase at a time when
To do this. they had to over-rule
return to work.
attitude is crystal-clear. They are
that - if they don't play ball with attempts to "streamline" the company - the government will retuse further cash injections and sections
challenged
This fear has meant that they
one will be safe.
major repairs.
FIGHT-BACK Heseltine: laughing while millions suffer
* 1 million households are officially
* 1 million households live in homes
* 1 million homes in England need
almost everything the management has served up, including late last year the open victimisation of convenor Derek Robinson, whose sole crime was criticism of the man-
Such an attitude has determined their approach to the present dispute. Instead of calling for an immediate official strike, the union leaders have done everything possible to avoid the issue.
First of all, they suspended any action pending the outcome of the appeals of those dismissed. This resulted merely in the reduction of the number sacked from 9 to 8
Secondly, when Edwardes threatened to sack all workers who didn't turn up for work on January 5, the spineless AUEW leaders urged
Led. their members to turn up. The T&GWU leaders called for an "independant" enquiry which would
No section of the leadership attempted to defend the victimised members by calling for im-. mediate solidarity action - and threatening to extend it through BL unless the management backed
It was this cowardly attitude by union leaders which has given Edwardes the green light to press ahead with attempts to destroy shop-floor organisation. It is also this attitude which. offering no perspective of struggle to the Longbridge workers, resulted in the
The struggle is not yet over, however. Longbridge workers will be angrily awaiting the result of the "enquiry". If the 8 are not reinstated, the rank-and-file must organise to call Edwardes' bluff:
If his arbitrary power is not
- and the 8 victims are allowed to remain sacked - no-
In such a situation - when over two million are queuing to get a council home - the Tories have decided to
virtually bring building to a halt.
If the proposals are enforced, any
person on a council housing list
would have to wait 21 years before being housed. In the meantime, of course, they will be expected to go
on living in sub-human conditions -that is, if they have a roof over their heads in the first place.
It is clear that the Tories are not cont-
ent with axing education and health.
They are trying to take away the very
roofs over our heads. That is why it is
imperative that a fight-back begins
The first step would be for all Lab.
our councils to refuse to sell off council
housing or make any part of their dir-
ect labour force redundant. This was
one of the major demands passed by
the Lambeth conference against the
Cuts last December.
A recall conference is being planned
for January 17. Such a conterence
has to prioritise the fight against the
housing disaster the Tories are creating.
It is only by Labour councils and
public sector unions uniting - and
drawing in wider support from the
labour movement - that the present
policies can be reversed.
Socialist Action
NUS under
attack
by KELVIN BAYNTON (LSE SU) Students are finding out just what a Tory government means. Last year, even the formerly privileged highereducation students had their grants cut in real terms by 10%.
This year, the government has turned its attention to student unions. In an attempt to destroy what autonomy they have had, Rhodes Boyson (Minister for Higher Education) has announced sweeping changes in the way student unions are to be financed.
CONTROL
Previously, unions would negotiate with their parent institution (university etc) to decide a per capita fee for that college for the following year. That figure would then be charged to the fee-paying body by the college and passed on (as a legal right) to the student umon concern
Under the new proposals, likely to be implemented this autumn, the government would add a nominal igure to the amount it pays (either directly or through a local authority) to each college. It will then be up to the college as to whether that money is passed on
Although in the past governments have annually issued guidelines as to what the increase in student union fees should be, this new system gives the government a far tighter control over the amount of money student unions have.
FONT AGAINS UNEPLOYHEN
CHILLING
More chilling than that, though.
is the enormous dependence that
student unions will now have upon
their college authorities.
At the LSE, for example, the stud-
ent union is currently organising a
rent strike against increases of 24%
in hall rents. At the same time, the
union runs its own accommodation
service (costing f800 in advertising
alone). Under the new system, the
LSE authorities could simply refuse
to pay the grant (hence no accom-
modation service) if the rent strike
continued
RESPONSE
The Tories, of course, have tried
to cloak the fact that they are direc
tly cutting income. They have follow-
ed their usual tactic of relying on
"market forces". By putting student
unions among all the other public
sector groups competing for ever-
scarcer resources (libraries, teaching
resources etc, they hope they will
fight it out among themselves in-
stead of uniting in opposition to all
cuts.
The NUS leadership's response to
the Tory attack piays into their
hands. They have tended to concen-
trate around how much money will
go to the student unions. Not only
does this neglect the important issue
of student union freedom to spend
the money as they wish.
It also cuts students off from the
other sectors facing cut-backs. Such
a policy can only lead to students
defending themselves against other
workers for a larger slice of a dimin-
ishing cake instead of uniting with
them in a common fight-back ag-
ainst the Tory offensive.
Page 7 scan of this page
January 81
by SABINA ROBERTS (Streatham CLP)
A year or so after the defeat of the Corrie Bill - by mass TUC action - it looks as if women's abortion rights are once more in dancer.
Cut-backs in the NHS have already led to an erosion of the 1967 Act. Less women today are having abortions because of the shortage of hospital beds, shelving of day-care centre plans etc, than for some years.
SAINSBURY
Now, on top of this, Timothy Sainsbury (Tory MP for Hove, who came top in the private members ballot) has said he may introduce a Bill to lower abortion time limits and tighten up the conscience clause.
If Sainsbury's Bill goes ahead, it will mean that thousands of women will, once again, be faced with the age-old dilemma: to have a child they do not want or return to the backStreeLs.
IHKHAH
Faced with this new threat, the National Abortion Campaign (NAC) nas area pean o swing mo a" tion. It has called on all its supporters to start a massive letter-writing campaign to sainsoury to snow lie extent of the opposition he faces.
NAC's national planning meeting this January will be discussing the next steps in the campaign. Clearly, a key priority will be working out ways of mobilising support in the labour movement. It was, after all, the mass turn-out on the TUC spon-
EDUCATION
FOR SOCIALISTS
The hunger-strikers of the Northern
Ireland H-Block prisoners had a major
impact in Britain and Ireland. The
prisoners were desperately protesting
inhuman treatment.
The torture and humiliation they
were subjected to by the Tory gov-
ernment merely continues, however,
a centuries-old policy of repression.
Since the time of Marx and Engels,
revolutionary socialists have been
deeply involved in support of the
Irish struggle for self-determination.
In November 1872 - 108 years
ago - Marx, Engels and other mem-
bers of the International Working
Mens' Association helped organise
a demonstration of over 30,000 in
London to demand an amnesty for
the Irish political prisoners of the
time.
These were the prisoners from the
1867 Fenian Rebellion. That upris-
ing for Irish independence failed,
and 169 participants were brought
to trial. Half of them were sentenced
to hard labour.
A mass movement developed to
demand amnesty for the prisoners.
Engels wrote a report about how
the November 3rd 1872 demon-
stration to support the Irish polit-
ical prisoners was built.
Written for an Italian workers'
paper - La Plebe - it is reprinted
in Ireland and the Irish Question: A
Collection of Writings by Karl Marx
and Fredrick Engels. It is well
worth reading by those socialist
currents, such as Militant, whose
policy on Ireland is so far remov-
ed from that of the founders of
Marxism.
Below are excerpts from Engels'
article.
by JASON HILL (Stoke-on-Trent)
London, November 14, 1872.
The Liberal English Government
has at the moment no less than 42
Irish political prisoners in its prisons
and treats them with quite except-
ional cruelty, far worse than thieves
ana murucicis
The Irish members of the Intern-
ational in London decided to
Abortion Rights Threat
PREE ABORTION ON DEMAND sored demonstration in 1979 that threw the Corrie Bill in the dustbin where it belongs.
t wa onv de dv taboung unis sub port again that any further erosion of the 1967 Act can be stopped. The fact that the TUC recently passed a resolution deploring continued attacks on abortion facilities shows the potential that exists.
LAW
Winning such support will not only be key in preventing any further curbs to the 1967 Act. It will also be important in gaining mass support for the positive legislation Fred
organise a giant demonstration in
Hyde Park (the largest public park
in London, where all the big popular
meetings take place during political
campaigns) to demand a general
amnesty. They contacted all Lon-
don's democratic organisations
and formed a committee wnien in
cluded MacDonnell (an Irishman),
Murray (an Englishman) and Less-
ner (a German) - all members of
the last General Council of the
International.
RIGHT
A difficulty arose: at the last
session of parliament the government
passed a law which gave it the right
to regulate public meetings in
London s parks. It made use oi
this and had the reulations posted
up to warn those who wanted to
hola sucn a puduc meellig blat
they must give written notification
to the police two days prior to
calling it, indicating the names of
the speakers. This regulation care-
fully kept hidden from the London
press destroyed with one stroke of
the pen one of the most precious
rights of London's working people -
the right to hold meetings in parks
when and how they please. To sub-
mit to this regulation would be to
sacrifice one of the peoples' rights.
voN AL
RIGHT
CANT
Mass demonstration against first anti-abortion bill by James White. NAC decided to pioneer at its lasi conference.
NAC agreed to prioritise three key issues: first, the need to fight for adequate abortion facilities, second to amend the existing laws to "decriminalise" abortion and third, to fight for a woman's right to choose. Mass backing has to be won for such aims in the unions and Labour Party to ensure that when the next Labour government is elected, it actually begins to implement them. The NAC labour movement conterence this March will be an important seg ewards aining such surger
Engels on Ireland
The Irish, who represent the most revolutionary element of the population. were not men to displa! such weakness. The committee unanimously decided to act as if it did not know of the existence of this regulation and to hold their meeting in defiance of the government's decree.
ENORMOUS
Last Sunday, at about three o'clock in the afternoon, two enormous processions with bands and banners marched towards Hyde Park. The bands played Irish songs and the Marseillaise; almost all of the banners were Irish (green with a gold harp in the middle) or red. There were only a few police agents at the entrances to the park and the columns of demonstrators marched in without meeting any resistance. They assembled at the appointed place and the speeches began.
The spectators numbered at least thirty thousand and at least half had a green ribbon or a green
leaf in their buttonhole to show they were Irish; the rest were English, German and French.
UNITY
This is the first time an Irish demonstration has been held in Hyde Park; it was very successful and even the London bourgeois press cannot deny this. It is also the first time the English and Irish sections of our population have united in friendship. These two elements of the working class, whose emnity towards each other was so much in the interest of the government and the wealthy classes, are now offering one another the hand of friendship; this gratifying fact is due principally to the influence of the last General Council meeting of the International, which has always directed all its efforts to unite the workers of both peoples on a basis of complete equality.
This meeting of the 3rd November will usher in a new era in the history of London's working-class movement.
Dear Cde,
AND
FICH
pressure they are under. march.
Philip Lindsay (London)
Dear Cde. the good work.
Martin Bell (S. London)
Dear Socialist Action, sure, disagree. ers did vote Reagan.
POST BAG
The march and public meeting in defence of the Filipino do mestic workers (see p. 2 -Ed) were important first steps in organising against the deportations.
As a participant, I was impressed by the turnout of Filipino workers, part- reality. icularly given the social and political
Several union banners were also (Bolton) in welcome evidence, although the unions will have to do a lot more if the fight is going to be won. Because a victory on this issue would be a setback for the Tories and a gain for all workers, hopefully the labour movement will swing more into action.
Rut what was noticeabiv absent was the major British socialist groups.
The League for Socialist Action (LSA) and several small anti-racist groups were represented with banners, but there was no sign of the Militant tendency or of the Sociulist Workers'
Party. The International Marxist Group also declined to support the
The complete lack of support for the struggles of migrant workers by the (very British) British left reflects real national chauvinism on their part.
Just what will it take for such groups to begin living up to their responsibilities? I hope many of their members will be asking this question too.
Pleste ind enclosed a sub for one
impressed by its coverage, particularly of international issues. Keep up
While I agree with your call for a Labour Party in the United States, your interpretation of the recent president- apart. ial elections struck me as wishful thinking. Three points stand out.
First: you emphasise the fact that there was little difference between Carter and Reagan. Really? While it is true that Carter was no 'dove', are you seriously suggesting that Reagan's politics do not mark a real shift to the right? Workers in the USA (and in neighbouring Nicaragua) will, I am
Second: you stress the fact that
the low poll indicates there was a real
shift among working people away
from the two big business parties.
This is playing with figures. The fact
is that the poll was only 2% lower
than last time and that many work-
Socialist Action Pamphlets
Socialist Action has a wide range of pamphlets/books on the labour
movement, the fight for women's rights, anti-racism and the
struggle against Imperialism. If you would like a full list of works
available, contact: Socialist Action PO Box 65 London, SW 16.
strige
TRADE
UNION PrO
Par
by Jame
page 7
Third: you play up the move towards a labour party. While I agree sucn a party was necessary - to pose an alternative on class lines - it is quite incorrect to give the impression there was a mass sentiment for one. Hopes should not be interpreted as
Jane Whitmore
Cde Whitmore should read the article more closely. SA did not say there wasn't a shift right in US ruling class opinion. What it did say was that, whether Carter or Reagan was elected, both would have been forced to abide by the needs of the ruling class and, in this sense, there was no real difference between them.
Secondly, the facts are that this was the lowest poll for 30 years, with only 2 out of 4 workers bothering to vote and only 1 out of 4 voting for Reagan (26.5%). Even those few workers who did vote Reagan didn't so much vote for his policies as against Carter's.
Finally, SA didn't say that a labour party was "on the cards". What we said was that there are trends for growing numbers of US workers to look for an alternative to the two big business parties. -Ed.
Dear Cde,
As I read the last edition of your paper I was glad to see a British paper condemr.• ing the British H-Block and Special Air Services (SAS) atrocities carried out against H-Block campaigners by Britis-
morder squads
British government has noi brougnt in its reforms to take the men off the blanket. The rumour is another hung-
Ii chis cadus the men's demands will be ilear: political status and
notning les:
We do not blame the British people,
we blame their government. They pro-
tect a minority in this island who re
fuse to call themselves Irish and who
keep the Irish Catholics and Protestants
To anyone who thinks that the re-
publican cause is beaten, I say it is not
and will not be as long as an armed
British soldier is on Irish soil.
Tony Harker (Armagh, Ireland)
Dear Cde,
The column by Liz Easton in the last
Socialist Action about the freedom fight-
ers in the H-Block was very informed
about the hardships to those freedom
fighters and about the Irish working
people's cause.
Please send some more copies of
Socialist Action.
Jimmy McLaughlin
(Dublin)
What
Working Peopl
Should Know
Abou
the Dangers of
for et Nuclear Power
Page 8 scan of this page
Socialist Action
HUNGER STRIKERS WIN
SMASH
HEADCK
SMAS
H BIOC
Supporters of strikers mobilised by the thousands By LIZ EASTON (Hackney CLP)
The 53-day hunger strike by H-
biggest victories yet by anti-imperialist forces in Northern Ireland. By the time it ended, it had centred world attention on the struggle of the Irish people for self. determination and the Tory government's brutal suppression of humar. rights.
It had, moreover, begun to spark off a massive upsurge among the Irish people with demonstrations and protest actions sweeping every part of Ireland, from Belfast to Dublin
lies of the British press - in forcing the Tory government to back down and concede the demands of the prisoners. The statement made by Humphrey Atkins (Secretary for Northern Ireland) granted all the prisoners demands.
DEMANDS
The fundamental issue of the prison protest was the attempt by the Tories to force prisoners to wear cedes every demand. convict uniforms. Convicted on forced "confessions" by jury-less courts, the prisoners protested their treatment as common criminals.
Socialist Action PO Box No 65, London SW16 INN
Typeset by Bread 'n Roses (TU) 01-485 4432 &
MAJOR VICTORY!
SMASH
HBLOCI
MONAGHAN
Because of their protest, they were forced to live naked in their cells.
Block prisoners has led to one of the They were put in punishment wings
(H-Blocks) and subjected to inhuman treatment and constant harassment.
The prisoners' decision (two months ago) to launch a hunger st. te was a desperate attempt to pruiesi inis incumali treatmeni dished out to men whose only crime was fighting to free their country of brutal oppression. * the right to wear their own Cornes. * the right to refrain from prison work; * the right to free association Finally, it succeeded - despite the among political prisoners;
* the right to organise their own educational/recreational facilities; * the right to full remission of sentences (i.e. time off for good behaviour).
CONCESSIONS
Although the government has insisted it made no concessions to the prisoners, Atkins' statement - read out on December 17 - clearly con-
The statement declares: "Within a few days, clothing provided by their families will be given to any prisoner giving up their protest so that they can wear it during recreation, asso-
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ciation and visits..
This concession on clothing is backed up by others. ment continues that "Prisoners who end their protest will be able to associate within each wing of
at weekends".
It continues that "We want to work out for every prisoner the kinds of available activity which we think suit him best - work (including, of course, the work of servicing the prison itself), vocational training and educational training".
will be of special importance to the prisoners' families - provision already exists for lost remission to be restored after subsequent good behaviour".
PROTEST
hard to fathom. rage of lies put out by the British press, the Tories brutal policy in Northern Ireland was receiving international condemnation. Messages of solidarity with the hunger strikers were coming from sources
movement and US senators.
Even more worrying, from the Tory government's point of view however, was the mass movement that was developing in Ireland against their inhuman treatment. The campaign that was developing represented a resumption of the mass movement that had begun 10 They demanded: years ago with the civil rights marches of 1968-69.
MASS ACTION
the fast, mass demonstrations and
mobilisations in Northern Ireland began to overspill into the South where - on December 6 for example - an angry crowd of 40,000 marched on the British Embassy.
against Tory policy began to find roots in the trade union movement. On December 10, workers went on strike throughout the country. In Catholic West Belfast, all major businesses halted
The size of the protest building up clearly terrified the Thatcher government. They realised that the death of any of the prisoners could lead to a mass explosion which would present a direct challenge to their rule. It could bring masses into struggle and fuel the fight for a united Ireland free of British rule.
LESSONS
on many of those leading the strug-
ers. They will clearly realise that mobilising thousands the powerful industrial workers
way of carrying forward the tight against British oppression.
of the British labour movement. This means building a mass Troops
valuable aid in helping the Irish people win national freedom.
The state-
the prison blocks in the evenings and SPREAD
Finally, the statement adds: "On the question of remission - and this
The reason for the Tory government's back-down is not, of course,
Despite the bar-
PROPAGANDA
as diverse as the French trade union
In the weeks preceeding the end of
protests swept through Ireland. The
Moreover, the protests developing
SET-BACK
The fact that the Tories have been forced to back down will not be lost stoppage"
gle in support of the H-Block prison-
- particularly in April. in united action is the most effective
MIXED
The resurgence of such mass action in Ireland, and the renewal of struggle against British oppression, places a real responsibility on the shoulders
Out movement which will be an in-
Hands off Poland
Continued from Page 1. cians responsible for the crisis ("Sentence them to death', an elderly woman cried). Others asked when the independent union federation.. would set itself up as a political party to rival the CP."
It is clearly this growing threat to the very core of their repressive rule which sends shivers up and down the backs of the Kremlin peace. leaders. They realise, of course, that military intervention into Poland would meet fierce resistance and that a "victory" would only be won after a long and bitter fight.
Confronted with the growth of Solidarity, however, their room for manoeuvre is limited. Brutally crushing the fight for socialist democracy may become for them a life-and-death matter.
They are only too aware that a victory for the Polish workers would find many imitators in Eastern Europe and the USSR. If a similar movement did erupt in the USSR, the bureaucratic leaders would find themselves in a free fall with little chance of regaining their footing.
This explains the growing attack on "anti-socialist elements" that has recently been issuing forth from Kremlin press releases. As with the propaganda preceding the Soviet invasion of Hungary and Czechoslovakia, such words are nothing more than double-talk.
The Polish workers are not seek. ing to overturn the major gains of the Polish revolution of over 30 years ago - the ousting of the capitalists and the creation of a planned, nationalised economy. On the contrary, as Lech Walesa. the prominent Polish union leader. has spelled out, they are their foremost defenders.
What the Polish workers are fighting against is that bureaucratic layer which is the worst enemy of socialism in Eastern Europe: that layer which stands for privilege, inequality and repression and which seeks to turn workers into unthinking tools at the service of high-living managers.
If the Kremlin does intervene in Poland - to defend its repressive regime - this will not only be a set-
Firefighters show way
By GEORGE HOLD (Peckham CLP)
Last month, when the Tories an-
nounced their 6 percent wage freeze
in the public sector. the response of
the firefighters was immediate.
Overtime bans were imposed up and
down the country and resolutions
poured in calling for an "all-out
It was under this mounting pres-
sure mar une local aurnotes wert
forced into upping their offer to
18.8% - 13% now (backdated to
September) and the remaining 5.8%
While a set-back for the govern-
ment, however, the reception the
offer got at the delegate conference
was mixed. Many brigades, such as
London and Strathclyde, were
campalening lor a no vote
They clearly felt that the
settlement represented a retreat from
the guaranteed 18 percent the fire-
fighters were due to receive under
the agreement with the Callaghan
government some years back.
January 81
back in the struggle for socialist democracy in Eastern Europe. It will be an attack on working people around the world.
It will give the Thatchers and Reagans of this world a priceless propaganda weapon in their drive to step up the arms race. The sight of Soviet tanks rumbling into Poland will allow them to justify their hawkish ambitions by posing the USSR as a "threat" to world
Moreover, they will use it as a convenient cover for stepping up their intervention against working people in countries such as El Salvador or Nicaragua.
HANDS OFF!
This is why it is important that working people everywhere are Fighting for socialist democrac
aware of the high stakes in the Polish situation, and express their solidarity with the Polish workers. The rallying cry should be "Hands off Poland'
Such a call has nothing in common with the hypocritical support offered by Western leaders to Solidarity. Reagan or Thatcher have to interest in the victory of the Polish workers, which could serve as an inspiring example to workers here fighting austerity plans and curbs on democratic rights.
On the contrary, while secretly supporting the crushing of the Pol ish workers, they would merely use the Soviet intervention as a propaganda weapon to justify their own repression at home and abroad.
Moreover, there was clearly anxiety about the "strings" that were attached to the agreement. The local authorities have hinted that the deal will nave to be pala lor by greater job losses and manning reallancals
STRUGGLE
The firefighters are already under great stress and are being stretched almost to the limit because of recent cut-backs in the fire service. Any more cuts or job losses will, as Jim Fitzpatrick (union secretary Battersea) explained, put "the whole future of the service at stake".
This is why thev wil have to be fought. The FBU has already stated that it will vigourously oppose any redundancies made by local authorities and the rank-and-file members will have to be vigiant l this respect.
such a strugge - or a decentystaffed fire service - is in the inter ests ol au workers and Inis Is why support will have to be won from the other public sector unions and the TUC
← Socialist Action (LSA) Vol. 3, No. 12, December 1980Socialist Action (LSA) Vol. 4, No. 2, February 1981 →