The press, government and employers have all united in a great confidence trick to fool the unions They have been crowing about a 6 per cent increase in production, but neglect to mention that the balance of payments is in a state of absolute chaos. World food prices went up by 56 per cent last year, and the Economist calculates that home prices will soon be up by at least 10 per cent more. Pickets from building sites, trade union branches and trades councils will be outside the Shrewsbury Court next Friday, 18 May, for the next stage in the committal proceedings of the 24 building workers charged offences during picketing lust summer.
These will include delegations from the Cowley car plant, Oxford Trades council. Birmingham, London and South Yorkshire building sites as well delegations from Liverpool and But despite the good response to the picket it is evident. that many sections of the labour movement have still not understood the vital need to defend these workers.
CONSPIRACY The use of the conspiracy lawn against some of the 24 brings home the truth that there are good laws and bad laws. All present laws are good for the rul ing class and bad for the workers' The Tories introduced Industrial Relations Act as 'scabs' charter and a law to serve the interests of the employers. But the massive movement that welled up against the arrest of the Peatonville Five showed the ruling class that it was not possible to implement the Act against resistance of working class.
It took five months to bring these charges against the Shrewsbury men, During that period the prosecution spent an estimated 65,000 preparing the case which involved a carefully compiled photographic file. There is no doubt that there has been a conspiracy the never-ending conspiracy of the Tory government and the state against the working class. But that is a conspiracy charge which will not be accepted in the capitalist courts. These charges have been brought against workers carrying out officinl union policies They have two aims. One is to attack picketing, the other is to force the union to discipline its membership and act as a policeman for the employers. So far, none of the unions Involved has issued an official circular about the case. Not one official action has been organBed. No attempt has been made to mobilise the membership to fight the charges.
BIRMINGHAM The Shrewsbury case coincides with the use of the new anti-picket police squads against the Hull dockers, the arrest of the London dockers on last week's May Day march, summonses just served on five Birmingham bullding workers. These last allege that on 7 February, 1973, these workers and an ATV camera crew "did conspire together with otber persons unknown to enter the premises of the SOS Employment Bureau.* As Peter Carter, chairman of the Birmingham building workers' shop stewards committee, says: 'Our action was intended to expose the operations of the SOS which works in total violation of the rules of the bailding industry. We proved that the buiiding employers were using this agency in violation of the agree ment the trade unions have with the employers.* The men' are due to appear in the Magistrates Courts. Corporation Street, at 10 a.m. on 22 May when a picket will be held. This flagrant violation of the general interpretation of the picketing laws shows that the police are quite intent on setting new precedents. Fire electricians who are witnesses for Kavanagh have been asked to appear specially in court and it is understood that the police are trying to get an order to bind them over for one year." This is despite the fact that they took no steps whatsoever to approach the lorry drivers.
This stepping up of attacks on in dividual militants follows the return bospital warkers and deciion of the miners not to strike. It seems fairly clear that in the next period most struggles will be local, short and bitterly tought. The next big pay claim of the engineering Paul Davidson, one of the arrested Birming workers does not come up until the autumn The present attacks pickets, the use of conspiracy laws and police frame ups ure all designed to take advantage of the lack of big national struggles and set the scene for any future confrontations. Tories are testing QUIE their legal machine knowing Shrewsbury could be the shape of things to come if they can secure a favourable verdict there.
Every socialist and militant must take up the cases of victimised workers. Shrewsbury assumes particular importance in that respect. Financial aid is urgently needed to help with the mounting legal costs and meetings for these workers should be arranged in every area.
In London, well-known building wor ker and CP merber Pete Karanagh is up on clarges of cousing a breach of the peace after incidents on the St. Thomas's Hospital site picket. He protested to police that four pickets were being prevented from standing nearer than shouting disrance from the path of strike-breaking lorries, but on moring over to peacefully remonstrate with the drivers be was arrested. British capitalism has been able to increase its exports over the last year only because of the expansion of the world economy, Worsening inflation in the USA and Germany means cut backs in their economies and this is happening throughout the capitalist The British economy, already weak, will therefore be operating in a stagnant market. In this BrIm situation the British capitalist class can only survive by tightening up its incomes policy and starting the biggest attack against working class living standards since the war. On the wages front the situation is getting worse. In 1972 the tremendous struggles of the miners and other militant sections of the working class meant that many groups of workers got increases in the region of 15 percent. These advances have over the last year enabled people to into going along with Phase Three of the incomes policy when it is introduced in the autumn.
stave off the worst effects of-inflation. But since the trade anion leaders abandoned any pretence of a struggle over Phase Two things have gone rapidly downhill The Phase Two formula of El plus 4 per cent means in practice a celling on wage increases of eight per cent.
After tax and deductions this means a paltry six per cent. Since last November when the "freeze was introduced prices have gone up by eight to ten per cent. The acceptance of the wages freeze" by the union leaders has not just stopped wage increases; it has resulted in a significant cut to living standards. Such is the realism of the TUC This can only be stopped by a massive campaiga inside the unions to put a stop to the negotiations between the TUC and the government. Look at Scanion. Three weeks ago his union's national committee decided by an overwhelming majority to press for a SERVICE The picket shat closed Oxford bus depor on May Day Particularly important were the types of local initiatives which took place. In Oxford, for instance, the Trades Council held a meeting beforchand of all shop stewards and workplace representatives in the area to plan and co-ordinate action. On the day itself there was an extremely succeasful flying picket, which among other places closed the bus garage after the drivers there had voted to work but not to cross picket lines. After police attacks on the picket lines had been heaten off, -the picket voted to allow, out special buses to EIO wage increase. Before the ink has dried on the resolution he i engaged in negotiations which will seil this claim down the river. TUC "realism" obviously goes band in hand with certain conceptions of unio "democracy.
The alternative to the TOC talks b already. being given in fight back by the working class. Every attempt by the employers and the government to use their victories so far as a basis for new attacks must be stopped, This means a massive cam paign of support for the Shrewsbury workers and all other victimised mili tants. The engineers" pay claim and those of other workers due to come up in the autumn must be united into • great battering ram to put an end once and tor all to the Tory government and its policies. This is the way that the working class can solve its problems, not by cosy chats at Downing Street pick up nurses and handicapped children.
Thanks to the sabotage of the trade union leaderships, we can hardly claim that May Day was a great vic tory for the working class. But the actions of sections which in many cases struck against the orders of their executives miners, electricians, post office workers, etc.-showed the way forward in the coming period. Inaction can no longer be so easily justified on the grounds of 'caution when that inaction opens the door to confusion and enemy attack