The French Government seems to be moving in for the kill at Lip, the watch factory in Esancon where the workers are now in their seventh month of struggle against redundancies This development comes after a period of a lew weeks during which forges inside the workers movement have done more to weaken and solute the Lip struggle than the ruling class had achieved in the previous five months. SCANDALOUS ROLE The most scandalous role hus been played by the national leaderships of the main trade union tederations, Uhe Conunist Party-led CGT and the Socialist Party-inclined CFDT. who since the 100,000 strong solidarity Cemonstration on 29 September have retreated from evch their previous token activity. CGI leader Georges Seguy has gone so far as te denounce local CFDT militants for 'prolonging the struggie unnecessarily. Now even sections of the revolutionary left, which has play ed an increasingly important role in maintaining sobdarity, are moving on to greener pasBebind this bebaviour lies the retusal of the Lip workers to accopt the Goverment's plan for ending the struggle, which would bave up attack involved 160 codundancies and no guarantees on wages and conditions. This led a fortnight ago to the breakdowa of the negotiations, thus destroying the bureaucrats plans for a peacetul, tidy end to a strupele which had embarrassed them by its militancy and willingness to challenge capitalist legality. A motion to accept the Government's plan and return to work, put by the local CT leaders, was overwhelmingly rejected by the democratic assembby at all the workers.
GOVERNMENT OFFENSIVE But the isolation in which the Lip workers row tied themselves has begun to move them towards seeking a compromise. The local CF DE leaders have now accepted the principle of 160 redundancies, while still standing out for their ic-employment elsewhere on identical terms. However the Government, taking this as a sign of weakness, has now moved onto the u lensive.
This became very clear at the beginning of this week. On Monday, the Minister of Labeur told a CGT delegation that there was no ques Lon of te-opening negotiations, even on the aasis of apreement on 160 redundancies: all thal remained to be discussed was how the Lip workers could find new jobs elsewhere And on Tuesday, the police launched a full "Illegal" sale of Lip watches at Renault factory in Billancourt - proceeds go to finance struggle scale raid on the stake headquarters, allegedly searching for the treasure chest of watches taken by the workers to finance their struggle.
The building was turned over from top to bottom, while the strike leaders were held and interrogated for an hour in a crude attempt at intim dation SPATE OF PHONE CALLS In using such tactics, the Government is gamb Ling that it can now impose its own solution without interference from the rest of the workers moverent. However, the very spate of phone calls to Besancon from factories all over France as soon as news of the police raid came through, shows that large sections of the French working class still repard the Lip strug gle as their own. The task must be to mobitse this support, to see back the initiative from the Goverament. Already the Lip workers, by-passing the official Tendersbips, have launched a new campaign to popularise the strugele -with regular information bulletins, advertisements in the news. papers, six nour with Lip metings with film shows and discusions in ten major cities, and a Malor conferenoc on the scrugule against unemployment with speakers from the French and international labour movement But meetings alone will not foroe the Govern ment to yield. All this must be bur the casental proparation for centralised uction, taking the form of demonstrations and industrial aclion if necessary.
Red Weekly 26 October 1973 Page 7
Red Weekly