The defeat that the Government has suffered owing to the Ulectricity supply and other scttlsments has brought into question the whole of the Government's economic policy. The Government wishes to avoid industrial conflict but is under pressure from home and abroad to 'stand firm', This weck's Mconomist says quite flatly that the harm done to Britain by the iilectricity supply settlement is less than that done had there been a strike. Ulsowhore in the Bulletin we have material showing the attitude of foreign bankers. On the other hand,whilst the Govornnont is now trying to reassert itself and make the wages pause stick, the workers havo every incentive to go ahead with their wage demands. How can the Govornment now say to the miners and railway workers "No, you can not havo a wage increase the country cannot afford it" when the threat of a strike brought a climb down in the slectriicty supply industry? Still more, and perhaps of greator importance, how can trade union bureaucrats use arguments about the country's wellbeing to head off wage demands and action to achiove them?
This is the dilomma of tho Tory Government, They know that to precipitate sharp struggles could very well upset the wholes trade union sot up, that a series of struggles could load to tho kicking out of the dominant class collaboration leadership and its roplacoment by a mikitant loadership. The strength of the workers movemont is such that unless the Government is willing to pursue the battle to the bitter cnd there would be tho danger of the Government's dcfeat. They cannot be unmindful of the electoral consequences of such a strugglo -— the loss of two thirds of the Tory gonoral eloction vote at Bridgeton could be an augury - more especially as the official leadership of ths Labour Party would be compelled to make some kind of a 'loft' turn.
All these developments take place with a backcloth of tho attompt by the Tories to gat into.the Common Markot. For a varicty of roasons, ontry into the Common Market makeS moro essontial for the Toriss that they should weaken tho workors bargaining powor, Under conditions of intensor competition against countries whose working class, in most casos,is tamor, British capitalism would bo at a disadvantage. From a general point of view the other members of the Common I’arkst will not be keen to have in their ranks a country with an ‘uncontrollable! working class.
The Labour leadership, whilst making som. political capital out of the Tory Governments difficultios, givos no real alternative policy. No one know. oxactly how Gaitskell proposes to deal with tho sitaution, This is not accidontal. the prosent crisis is basically 2 crisis of policy and to propose an alternative to what the Tories are doing is to bring into question the fundamental assumptions underlying their (and the Labour loadership's) policies. The intolerable strains on the British oconomy are caus@ not by wagos inflation but by tho wmamsents burden, What the capitalist class is angry about when thoy talk of wage inflation is the refusal of the Dritish working class to pay for the armaments burden by tightening their bolts, Protscting the pound or maintaining storling means prese rving British capitalism. The balance of paym mts crisis has Significance only in torms cf Britain boing part of the world capitalist system. Whilst the working class rejects paying for theso policies, this rejection has not yot boen refloctod in a socialist consciousness,which would draw the necessary conclusbns from this state of affairs. Until this comes about the fight on the industrial front will be an empirical one and not fitted into a genoral policy.
Un the industrial front tho trado union leadorship are angry at the Tory Government's brusque treatment of them but also fearful of tho militant spiri: which is growing among the rank and file, They still haven't given up hope of arriving at at some working arrangoment with the Government, hance their dillydallying on the Government's planning bodies participation. However owing to the pressures upon them, the Torics cannct come to complste agreoment with the trado Union bureaucrats, This fact,combinod with the restiveness of the rank and file brings into question the social role of tho trade union bursaucrats, The bureaucrats can only play their rolo of middleman betwoon the workers and the bosses if on the one hand they show somo rosults to the workers, apparontly greater than thc se direct action would bring, and on the hand, if they can exorcise control over the workers, Therefore the trade union bureaucrats will be forced to initiato, wv cy mich against their will, some strugeles. Tho exact pattern of this will be deter— mined by a complox of factors. Nevertheless, this very fact will of itself help very much to create a basis for all kinds of struggles, both officiel and unofficial.
The extreme caso of the teachers! wage claim shows what we must e if tho rank and file does not tako a hand. However thers exist various currents the trade union leadership and tho 'left' tendency, as personified by Cousins, c play a powerful role in the initial stagss in setting into motion powerful forces. Of COUPSR., a8, xists we know that at a later stage, in the absense of a marxist leadership, cf @ just as dangerous 2s the rights of today.
Whilst in confusion about their general strategy and whilst they will probably pull back at the brink of an all out struggle, the Torivs and bosses will pursue very definite tactics. We can sev this clearly in the Motor Car industry in the Rootse strike. They will seck to take on,and try to inflict defeats upon, those sections of tho workers who are weakest or can be most easily isolated. On the other side, the trade union breaucrats, even if they do initiate struggle, have no conception of how to wage all out strugglo neither do they want things to 'ect out of control's their ideal would be where they could use the workers as pawns in a gigantic gamo of chess with tho employors.
This then is the prospect befo:rwus, one of sharp struggles in industry without a conscious leadership, and without boing fitted into a genoral workers! programme with socialist aims. We must, of course, seo our main contribution as helping to bring about a state of affairs where such a programme can be worked out and accepted by large sections of the working class, Ilowover wo have a role to play here and now, which is on integral part of the struggle for such a progr aAMMme
We should strugzle for an immediate programme around the following pointss
(1) All out preparation at alllevols, especially factory level, of of the trade union movement. Tho drawing up of concrete plans to wage the fight for increased wages and against attacks on conditions.
(2) A policy of the linking up of all struggles with the maximum solidarity. At all costs wo must prevent any soction of the working class having to take the brunt of a particular struggle a la the Rootes Acton strike.
(3) For the unions to on to the offensive now by waging recruiting campaigns and a programme of activity, Pockets of non-Unionism should be tackled by tho whole trade union movoment.
(4) For the Labour Party to be linked to the Ba struggles and carry out solidarity action with all strikors otc. At present can be done best, and casiest, by getting tho Young Socialists to intorveno in industrial struggle.
(5) For a renewal of propaganda for socialism by all organisations of the working class, in particular posing the socialist solution to the present crisis of British capitalism.
We should raise all these questions in our organisations and in particular in the Trade Councils, which can in the coming period play a key role.