La strike ought to be deferred.' Speaking at a meeting sponsured by Brent Trades Council last week, Jack Collins, Kent Anes delegute to the NUM executive, pointed to the central feature of the present situation when he said: 'It is my feeling and the genersi feeling of the Kent esecutive, that if the miners go out on the streets, they shousu not go back until the Strewsbury 3 are released".
There are hundreds of ways - Like the 3-day week, the wape freeze, and the jailing of the Shrewsbury 3 - in which workers have come under attack from The miners, by coming "out on the streets' could become the spearbeat of a united working clase fight back. The aim of Heath in calling a general cloction & to try and stop the miners going out on the streets', and thus prevent the working class fighting back against the Tory altacks.
There is abeolutely me renson fue the miners strike to be called off becaus fle Government has resorted to this batest trick, Only the sneerests al the ruling class would be served by much a move.
However, the Labour Party louders and the Despite the massive 81% vote of miners in favour of strike action, Joe Gormley now thinks the whole thing is a mistake: "we ought not to fight an election in the current dimate, and therefore NIM right wing will be sure to urge such a course, But rank and-file minors must not be led along such a disastrous rond. If the executive fails to call the national strike as planned, there shoald be mass walkouts from every pit, and the duca Committee chould meet to organise area wide strikes, Flying pickets should be gent out tom the militant pits atki areas to tally their comrades In more backward areas The interests of the rest of the working class can only be saved in a similar way. Conferences of the entire labour movement must be organised E every ace to breat a coocdmate the struggle against the Tory Government, both in of concrete and practical forms of solidarity with the factory and at the polis. the organs on the miners, and launching of industrial action against Phas: 3, the Tory lackout and the jailing of the Shrewsbury workers, and plans for a mas and strikes for the election, should be on the anti-Tory campaign of raises, demonstran Workers at the occupied Maclaren Contrul factory in Glasgow have shown the way by writing to the NUM executie and Jocal mats lodge: offering the use of their fuctory to the NUM during the strike. This sort of initiative should be taken up by engineering workers every where.
Such demonstrations of practical solidarity with the misers are the nest menns of cocouraging the militants in the pite to continue the light against the Tories, The laneching of massive industrial action by the miners in Ibe face of the election coll would apell tbe fashuce of this manoeuvre, and open the way to the total destruction of this vicious enemy of the working dinss, the Tory Governient. the clectoral field.
Fighting weity of the working class. as these industrial action. in a different way, through a 'red scare" union bashing election.
They are aided in this by the cowardly positions of Wilson and the Labour Party leadership, The Labour leaders have consistently refused to support the miners strike, and have aided the Tories by their red baiting attacks on miners" leader Mick MeGahey.
But the working class can still defeat these well-laid plans of the Tories. The steps forwand in the industrial struggle — with an 8156 vote for a strike - can be turned into a victory on But this can only be done if every effort i made to prevent the elecrion breaking up the For that, of courac, is what Heath hopes to achieve by an election: the struggles will be campaigl suspended, workers will reture to the normal routine of home and Job, and the Tory he machines of the press and television will get to work on them individually. Workers in this position are far more vulnerable co all the rubbish about the rule of law', the "natdonal interest, and the sovereignty of parllament' - ideas which are supported by the Labour Party leaders and the union bureaucrats as well as the Tories — than are workers united in a common struggle against all these institutions of capitalist class rule. Thus the Tories have the best charice of winning an clection under conditions such Already the "leaders of the trade unnons and the Labour Party are falling into the Tories trap, Wilson has appenled to the ASLEF men to call off their action, He will almost certainly appeal to the miners to do the same. Gormley said, when the election was announced "we ought not to fight an clection in the current climate and therefore a strike ought to he deferred", This Tores. would play right into the Tories hands.
Instead of playing into the hands of the Tories and responding to the general clection call by baiting the strugele, all the struggies shouid he stepped up. The miners must proceed with their strike, ASLEF should step up its One powerful group of workers who could seal the Tories fate is the engineers. A national engineering strike in solidarity with the miners and for the full engincering claim should be launched immediately, The AUEW executivr will certainly not take this step. But move are already under way to recall the natiomal conference of engineering convenors which met in Manchester last year. This body should meet immediately and, breaking with all nonsensical ideas of an overtime ban, underI take to launch district engineering strikes and coordinate them on a national basis.
Other groups in struggle with the Tory Government such as students Should seize the oppurtunity of the election to step up their struggie.
In fact, the whole election campaigo, and particularly polling day, must be the occasion for a massive wave of strikes and demonstrations against the Tory Goversmens. The best situation for an clection would be a general strike which would pose going beyond Parliamentury elections to renl workers elections.
United front committees and local contcrences of the labour mosement must be organised in every area to prepare such a The working class movement must figkl in every way possible to smash the Tory attempt to fragnent and individualise it, Instead, the industrial power, numbers and organisation of the working class must be used to determine the outcome of the election, In this way every section of the working class; including those that do not usually vote ind even some who vote for the Tories can be swung into action.
If the Labour Party were a real party acting in the interests of the workers, i should long ago have swung all its resources behind the miners and other workers in struggle, It should have campaigned for a general strike to bring down the Tory government. Now if should call for a mamive display of strikes and demonstrations in the clection campaigo.
But there is not the slightest chance of it doing so. Wilson & Co not only fail to pursue the goal of socialism, they even refuse to carry out a real struggle against the The Internutional Marxist Group is un favour of people voting Labour. A victory for the Tories would he a defeat for the working clase, while a victory for Labour would encourage the fighting spirt and self-confidence of the workers movement.
For this reason the outcome of the clection will affect not only Parliament but also the far more important struggle outside.
Bul no confidence whatsoever can be place in the Labour traitors. We say: Vote Labour Bur rely on your own struggles. Only through resolute mass actions - through strikes and demonstrations all illusions ahout the reformist class traitors and on the basis of sheddin who lead the Labour Party, can the working class both defeat the Tories in this election and prepare to deal with whatever Governmer cuines out of it.
quite useless for a string of CP speakers to record impressions about their particular localities. What is needed is a practical test of the willingness of the workers to act in defence of the Three When 800 delegates to the recall Liverpool Conference on Shrewsbury met in St George's Hall last weekend, the first thunderclaps of a miners' strike were breaking over their heads. lead into strike action other sections of worke prepared to fight for the release of the Three.
Local Shrewsbury Defence Committees should now be setting about the creation of picketing pools in every area, with special reference to the need to defend the miners! pickets.
Two things came out of the Liverpool Conference which could assist in this struggle It proposed a series of regional conferences to be held throughout the country before 18 March. Some of these are already planned Others should be organised as rapidiy as possit
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strike must go on
prospect it opened up of a full-scale working class offensive against the Government. This election is nothing more than a political manoeuvre, Unahle to defeat the miners in the open cle s struggle the Tories have decided to try to do the same job