The ruling class is fully aware of this situation, The ruling class, on the other band, have been making preparations for the coming showdown for a considerable period of time In last year's engincering dispute Manchester fisms set up a fund which paid out more than E2 million to individual employers to help them resist union demands. Already they have raised a further £3 mailion to clear-off last year's deficit and start another fund lot future struggles.
Special strike breaking forces are already being assembled, drawing on the scum of British society. These prite capitalist squads will be backed up by the pub de capitalist aguads recently created hy the police LEGAL CRACKDOWN Steps are being taken to tighten up the legal system so that it can better serve the repressive purposes of the ruling class. Moves which allow jury decisions to be made by majority vote, rather than requiring unanimity, and the widespread use of open-ended conspiracy charges have been recent steps in this direction Cases like that of the Shrewsbury 24 are designed to roll back the leeway allowed by the law in the past to such activities as picketing and require enforcement of the strictest logal
legislation and the existing criminal law. The inly fixed point on the horizon of the rulin lass is the need to use the state machine for a centralised offensive against the whole working class.
But the ruling class is not yet ready or able to SMASH THE OFFENSIVE 5 A plan Revolutionaries have to work out a plan of concrete demands and concrete action in response to this situation. They must seck to develop the present struggles of the working class in such a way as to take greatest advantage of the practical realities of this situation, What should such a plan propose?
First of all, the present ruling class offensive