Last Sunday's march passes through Trafalger Square. standards by Tory pay policy is becoming evident.
this Government.
It is unlikely that the talks will produce any agreement, but they do give the Government an important propaganda weapon. For this reason the fight within the trade union movement to stop the talks must be greeted with a mountain of resolutions and a massive lobby against the talks.
But putting a stop to the talks is only a first step. Preparations must be made throughout the trade union movernent for an all-out fight to smash the Government's policies. The struggle of a key industrial section of the working class will provide the best focis for such a tight. Two such struggles are now on the agenda: one around the engineers' claim, the other around the miners, A mass campaign of solldarity with whichever group of wor kers goes into struggle first must be prepared Now:
The engineers are particularly important because of their great numbers, their presence throughout the whole country, and their ability to put a strangichold on the most important British industries, A national engineering strike could immediately become the nucleus of a general strike Such a struggle could rapidly move towards the overthrow of the Tory Government itself, and would result in an immense strengtbening of the rank-and-file of the working class movement against the bosses, the state machine, and the trade union Immediate steps must be taken to prepare for a national struggle, both within the engineering industry und throughout the whole working class The first opportunity will come at the Seprember confereno of the Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Unions. This body must 27 July, just as the serious undermining of working class living This makes the talks all the more important to the Tories: they are the last fig-leat covering the nakedly oppressive character of break with its past record of empty speeches and pious, general resolutions and take on the job of working out a atrategy and plan of action for the rank-and-file in the next round of class struggle.
Within the engineering industry, spe cal sessions of the quarterly shop stewards" meetings should be convened in every district, to discuss the claim and plan a campaign for its implementation national meeting of engineering shop stewards delegates sbouk courdinate local actions and plan the strategy for a national strike. This will place control firmly in the hands of the rank-and-file.
Trades councils ind shop stewards committees should organise local moctings of delegates from all sec tions of the working class morement to plan solidarity with any group of workers that goes into struggle against the Plans should be made for the effec tive defence of pickets, industrial solidarity actions, and a campaign to insolve other groups bit hand by Tory policies (tenanta, housewives, students, immigrants.)
But the mass of workers cannot be expected to take up the strugele against the Tories unless they are also fighting for their own demands, Trade union militants should immediately begin to popularise a set of demands unite the entire working class in the coming strug ples. These demands could be fought for within individual unions as part of a claim, could be pressed for in local bargaining, and could be part of the programme of demands of a united, nationalstruggle of the rank-and-file - for example, in a general Strike, Central demands should be: • £35 minimum weekly basic wage *35 hour week without loss of pay: * No productivity deals or speed-up: * 4 weeks paid holiday each year; * Equal pay for women workers
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LOBBY AGAINST TUC-GOVERNMENT TALKS called by Westminster Trades Council ASSEMBLE 10.30 July 27th Congress House Gt Russell Street Talks between the TUC and the Government reopen this Friday,