for their unions to put in similar claims, and should participate in the action committees. Their first task should be to mobilise for the November mecting. It will be the building and extension of such committees which will give the militants the opportunity to undercut the influence of the bureaucracy.
It is also crucial that the struggle is conducted in the context of the fight against the pay laws, and not on the basis of the sectional interests of London workers, Any attempts by the NALGO Jeadership to present this claim as a "special case must be vigorously resisted. A fight for this claim, and against Phase 3, could be the list step in a campaign to make the ruling class pay for the regional differenoos in pay and prices, which are now hitting Landon local government workers.
Alan Bennet, Many militants felt frustration and anger after last Saturday's Rotherham conference on Phase 3 and the initistives for struggle At the very beginning the chairman, Communist Parry member Albert Knight, Had ruled that no platform speeches from Arthur Scargill (NOMI, Joan May nand (Labos Parly NEC), and George Caborn (Sheffield ALEW district secretary), a leading Jigure in the Horlerham tenants movement rabel the question of support for the local tenants, who are withholding read incacams despite tuneats from the Labour Council to deduct the money from wages. This resolution was embarrassing for the Labour Counciliors present, as well as the Lahour MP for a procedural rumpus, at the end of which Knight housing in Brighton. fickd Polys.
Falmet, Brighton, Sumex. A new front in the struggle over student accommodation has been opened at Leeds Pulytechnic, where between four and live hundred students have occupied the adminis tration block to protest at the diminishing living standards of students at the college. At the meeting which decided on the occupa lion, it was stressed that the students must seek support from the local labour and tenants morement. I was the support of the Trades Council wich he ped win an important victory at Sussex University, where the occupation was used to provide temporary accommodation and to lunch a campaign withir the local labour movenent on the queston of It is also sucesary to link up with otber colleges whete stiler strugales are taking place. Action on the accommodation ssue is currently belug carried out al Manchester Poly, Cambridge and Teos-side Toeln.cal Colleges, and is being dis cussed at Plymouth, Middlesex, and HuddenThe conference silled by Sussex students for 27-28 Octoher le urganse solidarity with the struggle against cuts in housing can assist these working class existing strugeles, It will be an important opportunity to raise the problem of student accommodation eithin the labour movemene in Is context as part of the Tory atlacks on social expenditure, which affect Boch workers Forsaformation about the confercaer contact Steering Committee for Acconasadation Confercool, University of Susser Enion, Michael Price Phase 3, il, as a result of a growing world recession, world commodity prices began In addition, there are more generous provisions allowing firms to raise prices in excess of cost increases if they claim to need the money lo finance Investment. Depreciation has now been made an allowable cost lo justify price increase And capital intensive firms operating at low cipacily at the beginning of l'hase 1 can caleul. ate their base costs, from which increases are measured, as if they were operating at 75 per cent of capacity.
What for some firms will turn out to be the most generous regulation of all is that there will now be no control of price increases at all for firms with a profit rate on capital of less than 5 per cent or with a profit margin or turnover of less than 1 per cent. The Phase 2 figure was 5 per cent return on capital. Quite a substantial minority of Hritish companies declare profit races below this tigure and so up to this limit they will have complete licence to raise prices.
The regulations governing the nationalised industries work in the same direction. The government is planning conticued prices increases for them of less than their increase in costs. Their deficit, therefore, will grow Since they produce important inputs for other industries this price restraint will benefit the profits of private companies. And the growing deficits will be financed from taxpayers, which means from the During Phase 3 profits will no longer benefit from the recent surge in output and produc tivity, Knowing this, the government intends to keep prolit growing by more generous regulations under the new Price Code. It is clear that these regulations will do nothing to curb the pace of inflation. The 'counterinflation policy remains more than ever a policy for faster rises in prices.
----- pull-quotes -----
Action blocked at Rotherham Conference