Wing society.
effectively challenge the capitalists right to govern in the old way.
ation as a means of industrial struggle.
ative. The collapse of the Scottish Daily News, the most publicised of the so-called workers' co-operatives, confirms that no islands of workers' power can last within capitalism - that even if the workers themselves assume responsibility for a failing enterprise, it cannot escape the economic laws governIncreasingly the most advanced workers are understanding that in the present economic situation, struggles against redundancy and unemployment cannot be based solely on traditional trade union demands limited to one firm. To be effective the struggle must be turned outwards to whole layers of the working class, mobilising them in united action on the basis of political demands which With this article, Red Weekly begins a series outlining the development of the occupThey will also deal with the key role of the left social democracy in confining the dynamic of this development to channels safe for capitalism - the co-operunion actions. and occupations that followed, have powerfully advanced the self-confidence of the British working class and have, objectively, raised the level of industrial struggles. But the lack of a viable revolutionary current in the trade unions has also meant that such actions have developed in accordance with British trade union traditions, firmly tied to strong reformist assumptions as to the scope and limit of trade NEW STAGE The election of the Tories in 1970 on a union-bashing programme marked a new stage in the growing class confrontation then taking place. Despite the previous Labour Government's policy of rationalisation of industry through Government-financed mergers and productivity deals, which pused up the unemployment rate by over 50 per cent, typical strikes prior to the election lasted three days and involved a few hundred people. After 1970, with the old enemies of the working class in office, every major union had to
rovember 1975 occupations