A workers government would gree all out supporto the stru Excepting abortion and contraception, Labour has turned out a series of promises for worsen that embrace most of the issues raised by the women's movement. In their bumper bundle, they include. child care, family allowances, equal pay, etc.
Implicit in Labour's proposals is their acceptance of the need for state responsibility in big areas of family life. Recognition is one thing immediate implementation is ano ther.
That Labour has been forced to include these points does show that there is a growing awareness and understanding of them in the Labour movement.
However, this carrot is tied very firmly to the inevitable stick." "Such proposals cost money says Labour. We understand-and think you will too- that their timing depends on how quickly we can get on top of the economy".
As Labour's only plan for getting on top of the economy is the social contract, the message is loud and clear. You want these things. you have to observe the social contract. You should abo make sure that your menfolk observe it.
This package is designed to put a block on the militancy of women. and seeks to counterpose their interests to thosc of male militants lighting the social contract. This exposes not only the contradictory nature of Labour's proposals but also shows their hypocritical and opportunist nature.
The same method lies behind the approach to pensions, Labour sig gests taking the twenty most highly paid years of a worker's life as the basis of working out their retiremen! pension. But if a woman hasn't worked for twenty year, ber pension is based on her husband's earnings, This ties the pensions of most women to the carning power of their husbands.
Worst of all are Labour's proposals for putting their programme into practice. All they can lamely sugeest is a series of parliamentary acts, Their pride and joy, the Waite Paper on sex-discrimination will-so they infoon us outlaw sex discrimination through independent inquiries and not rely on private prosecution. All they are offering here is another toothless Race Relations Act.
The most successtul fights against as al Imperial Typewriters, have organised themselves to fight it. immigrants have relied on the Race Red Weekty 3 October 1974 Page 8 a for equal pos or education. had never existed"
polies, The last clection showed that the Labour Party is in deep trouble in The election of the seven Scottish National Party (SNPI MPs in the rural north was a shock, but it was the loss of working class support of a Scottish Assembly is Just a conin the industrialised west of Scotland tinuation of these old policies in a -areas like Govan or Hamilton which gave the Party leadership its The failure of the Labour Party over the last three decades to in any way get to grips with the hasic problems of the Scottish working class is the root of Labour's THREE GENERATIONS For three generations Scottish wor strength of the working class, not in Kers: we suffered from higt -nemploParliament, whether at Westmins oyment, lok wages, and decaying fac fer or Edinburgh, In a situatier of litics in social services like boasing They bave literally been forced to leave their homes in search of their jobs. As a recently published report by the Scallish Council put it. employment Tand they could have udded han housing of enigration continues unabated as though regional pokey The recent development of al off the Scotlish toast brought onty huge profits for the ou shoneIndeed, the union busting attitudes of these firins, corshined with their ruthless exploitation of temporaty mugrunt about & a grave challenee to the organised strengsh of the Scottish working class.
The Sol has boen able to lake advantage of these buge problems working class support in a situation where its old policies are increasing ly seen by both the working class and the ruling class as irrelevant to the crisis which is racking British capitalism.
For the Labour Party, the idea new form. It remains wedded to a programme that counts on Paritament to solve everything and is to tally class collaborationsi Bur what the experience of the fight at the US shipyards showed (despile the reformist Jeadership ol the campaign) was that the rea. powet to solve Scotland's problems lies in the mobilised and organised increasing working class struggle ( was impossible to get on a bus or buy a pint of heer last week in Glas gow because of strikest the Labour Purly prefers co base itself on the power of the capitalist state, and work to tart-up the capitalist ParlSament, rather rely on the power of the working class.
Even the experience of the last few years in dealing wish the sil monopolies should have shown the meleoness of legistition against organised capital. examspic: official plamning pemension at the Nige Bay Dry dock on ly allowed for 600 local workers, but today There are 3000 migrant workeis emploved there.
Despite all the Rowery apcoches