Questions facing the Scottish Labour Party The British press has a remarkable talent for saying nothing. This is particularly so over matters that might embarrass British imperialism. Everyone gets so used to the hysterical attacks on terrorism that they don't notice the little things that get over HOOKed One such is the plight of Frank Stags He is an Irish Republican and he is in Wakefield prison. Like many Republican prisoners, Frank Stagg has demanded a transfer to Ireland. While this request is denied him he is on hunger strike. The ill-treatment he has suffered is such tha there are now serious fears for his life.
The case of Frank Stagg is not unique. All Irisn hepublican prisoners in enolisn prisons are kept in solitary confinement. These people are political prisoners. In order to have their status recognised they refuse to wear prison uniform. And so the authorities leave them naked in their calls Hunger strikers like Frank Stagg are Torce-tea. nen mouns are ciamped oper and tubes forced down their throats. If anything inside is punctured, well that apparently is just hard luck. That was the way Michael Gaughan was killed eighteen months ago. Public protests atthis and the danger that the Price sisters might have followed Gaughan forced Roy Jen kins to repatriate the Price sisters.
But Jenkins has improved his technicue since men, nere are no subnc oro tests and the press has been squared. We can be treated to the amazing spectacle of a Labour Government that makes humanitarian noises about the Chilean junta (without of course being so extremist as to stop building its warships) while continuino tne torture nere is no owner wort for it) of political prisoners in its own jails.
The Labour Government is able to end these atrocities at the stroke of a pen. The mere fact that Republican prisoners are kept in solitary confinement (that is, are stop sea trom communicating wit oue prisoners) is tacit acknowledgement that Thev are in tact sonical orisoners. us has to be said out loud.
Of course, that would destroy all the fine notions about a war against terrorism in the Six Counties. It would mean that the aspirations of the Catholic working class in the North of reland would have to De taken seriousiv, It is tnis tnat Jenkin finds unthinkable. Preserving the interests or britisn capital comes tirst tor nim. u is those interests that lead a Labour Home Secretary to condone torture of political prisoners and tnat may welr kil rrank Stagg.
MARTIN O'LEARY
2 Steel/Cowley the country.
The present strikes in South Wales represent the biggest upsurge in militancy in living memory in steel. All over the industry, where there is virtually no history of struggle embracing all steelworkers in a common fight, a new mood of determination has emerged. Steelworkers throughout Britain are facing their toughest battle ever - the fight to stop the British Steel Corporation from introducing a massive economy package which will lead to at least 40,000 redundancies and the closure of steel plants up and down The BSC has launched an all-out attack on the steelworkers. is no other word to describe it. BSC chiefs are calling for an end to weekend shift working meaning pay cuts of £15 to £20 a week), a free hand to carry out compulsory redundancies, complete flexibility of labour, talk in the abstract about reducing manning levels. But what this will steelmaking plants outside of the There big five (the oxygen steelmaking plants at Scunthorpe, South Teesside, Ravenscraig in Glasgow, and Port Talbot and Llanwern in South Wales. Red Weekly 22 January 1976 інШАНГа Port Talbot steelworkers at lobby in London earlier this month mean concretely is the closure of all Photo: WORKERS PRESS But the BSC isn't talking openly any more about closing down' plants That would be too dangerous, as the attempts to 'close' Ebbw Vale and Shotton have shown. Instead the BSC hopes to railroad through a new national agreement with the unions, a new regime in steel, which would allow them to achieve the same result more quietly and effectively.
The basic plan was outlined in the omy proposals is what steel militants must be demanding of their leadership. Spreading the current strikes into a national strike against BSC's economy package is an immediate necessity.
But what policy is needed to defend jobs? The old agreements are not sufficient. The only real cuarantee unar workers wil nocoa the price of steel modernisation by walking the dole queues is an agreement on work-sharing with no loss of pay for all steel workers Already, the guaranteed working week partly embodies the principle that the workers should not pay for the crisis. That agreement must be extended into an instrument for ensuring that BSC - and behind it, the capitalist class as a whole, whose needs for cheap steel are the princi pal concern of Monty Finniston & Co - bears the cost of any modern isation carried through.
Militants everywhere must come to the assistance of their brothers in steel. Right to Work Committees shop stewards committees, Labour Party organisations etc. should org anise meetings, pickets, demonstrations and so on in solidarity with this struggle.