character, WOeS and blems. socialism bosses ment.
their small beginning.
be union movement.
This campaign all all those parties in shown one thing: we can't afford to wait four years to get rid of the Tories! Thatcher's is a government of the rich for the rich. Tories have made their intentions quite plain. They want to solve the crisis of their system at the expense of working people.
Massive cuts in welfare spending; unemploy. ment zooming upwards, with BL and British Steel being given free rein to sack tens of thousands of while prices go through the roof. add insult to injury, Prior's Employment Bill to shackle the unions is almost certain to become law.
Thatcher, Joseph and Howe show no sign of being persuaded to change their ways. They want to push home their attack. What's happened over the past year is only a small glimpse of things to come. We can't allow this government to go the full course of five years in power. mobilise the strength of the labour movement to kick them out. But that's only the start of our proMurray and the TUC leadership are a pathetic opposition to the Tories, while right-wingers like Chapple and Duffy are openly aiding the governCallaghan and his cronies front bench are no opposition at all. The TUC and Labour Party leaders have to be forced to organise a fightback. The Day of Action on 14 May is a very The steel strike, the turn out for the 9 March demonstration called by the TUC, and the initial response to 14 May show that a willingness to fight against the Tories is there. But the Tory Party and their allies in the media, have unleashed a tremendous barrage of propaganda against the trade is being waged under the spurious ideological banner of the right to The test is enough push home its offensive.
We have to The alternative to government.
level of the labour movement the Labour keep pace with inflation.
ployment. possibility of success because of the indecisiveness and timidity of the trade union leaderships. Their failure to issue a firm call for all-out strike action on 14 May has opened the floodgates for the Tory press to mobilise people not to strike.
But even worse is the TUC's notion that the Tories can be made to 'change course', or that proFar from the government responding to the TUC being 'responsible' ', it seizes on the spinelessness of the trade union leadership to We have to get it across in the labour movement that 14 May is just the beginning; we need to go on from here to launch an all-out offensive to bring down the Tories. As the 'general staff' of the labour movement, the TUC General Council has to assume its responsibility to get rid of the Tories by preparing to organise a general strike.
the Tories is a Labour But we can't afford another Labour government like the last one. That's why in addition to simply struggling against the Tories, we have to initiate a fight for socialist policies at every As British capitalism reels into an ever deepening crisis, there is an urgent need to develop a programme which can solve the crisis, but in the interests of the workers not the capitalists. What we need is bold socialist measures which put all the major decisions about investment and planning of the economy in the hands of working people.
Such a programme must include:
*A sliding scale of wages to ensure that wages *A 35-hour week with no loss of pay and a massive programme of public works to cure unem*A freeze on all prices and the introduction of price controls to stop runaway inflation.
vestment and planning.
Hicasure and austerity.
fensive must continue.
remains the urgent task of the moment.
towards such a class struggle leti fight back.
Action shows that the fight is in earnest.
working class government.
the Tories responsibilities; to general strike to kick out the Tories. boost their millions through large-scale redundancies How long will the labour movement SuC travesty of press freedom to continue? There are signs that the enders or areast on print unions NATSOPA, will fight back. It has retusee to accepi Court ruling over 14 May, Tuesday night it led a mass picket of the Daily Express.
Hoperuly tnis millanc. will encourage printworkers that the press barons' screed does not continue to roll off the presses willoul a reply labour movement.
After the 'winter discontent the brine not and sections of the labour leadership launched the Campaign Freedom with the object of exposing bias of the existing mas of alternatives which would be valuable to the working registered strong support of attendance at the major monopolies, the banks, and the finance houses to give the working class control over inwould immediately hit at capitalist anarchy — the source of unemployment After 14 May the fight to roll back the Tory of Given the scabbing role played in the build up to 14 May by the right wing, it is obvious that a major fight against class collaboration needs to take nace inside the trade unions. The building of a class struggle left wing Such a left wing would have to link workers in different unions across industry. If the Labour Co-ordinating Committee were to push ahead with its proposal to organise Labour Party supporters in the unions it would be a decisive step forward But on a broader scale during the build up to 14 May, delegate action committees have been formed in numerous places to co-ordinate the anti-Tory activity and build up the mobilisation. These committees can be made the tocus for developing lit anti-Tory struggle; they should be kept in existence to push forward the fight on cuts, jobs and so on. They can be an invaluable springboard for the The response of the Tory Party to the Day of The Tories have responded hysterically because they know the stakes are the very existence of this antiIf things are left to the TUC General Council, will be let off the hook. The crucial task of the hour remains to mobilise and organise to force Len Murray and company to assume their force them to organise a rallies and by way of membership, with some 150 labour movement organisations joining up trace unions at national level The campaign should now arguing nicola unions for a commitment to support the right of reply by all those facing media hostiliCane soul. pubish a guide as to how this right can be secured, by way of pickets, occunations and the like mass daily for the labour movement has become a matter of urgency, and the Labour Party and should be urged to launch it now. wild lie Drovision Or tIc right of reply and open debate to establish at least the basic tenets of press freedom in the workers' movement.
The Campaign for Press Freedom's AGM and one-day conference are to be held on Saturday, 24 May, :10.30am to 4.30pm, at Conway Hall, Red Lion Sq, London WC1.
To join, write to: Campaign for Press Freedom, 274/288 London made ya. desear Tel 0702 553131.