Easter 1974 will be followed by a hot spring. That was the messige given to thousands of Republicans at Easter commemorations in Ireland and Britain, The annual Easter statement from the leadership of the Republican Movement promised that the IRA would: " sustain relentless pressure until the London Government commits itself to a planned and orderly withdrawal of its forces from Ireland.
Before the next major Republican Commemoranon lue march in wolrea Tone's grave at Bodenstown, in Junethe Sunningdale Agreement may well have been smashed by the combined weight of the IRA military offensive, and the political crisis in Ireland and Britain.
65 OUT-55 BACK IN At the London commemoration, the main speaker, Marie Moore from Belfast Sinn Fein, slammed Merlyn Rees's promise to phase out internment. She told over a thousand supporters that such promises had been made before, hut of the 65 men released from Long Kesh at Xmas, 55 were now being held again.
Most British newspapers reported that the Belfast commem oration bad been turned into a 'fiasco" by the arrest of the malo speaker In fact the British Army was left wiping eep off its face when it had to admit that John Joe McGirl. the speaker, was not a leading Provisional Army Council member', and was not on the British Army wanted list.
Time is running short for Merlyn Rees. The Sunningdale Agreement will have to be tormaliy ratified soon the word is that the Government favours June. But a yawning gip has opened between the Faulkner Unionists and the other signatories.
POLITICAL SUICIDE
In the present situation, with a clear rejection of Sunningdale by Unionists voters, and an intensified IRA military campaign, it would be political suicide for Fuulkner to accept the Council of Ireland. On the other band the SDLP and the Southcrn Government canpot accept a deal which does not include the Council.
Only a dramatic military defeat chances. Hut here the latest British Government moves are a pathetic admission of impotence, The proposed civilian force to take over city-centre security checks will be difficult to establishi, and in any case would only release taro hundred troops for other work. The flower pots placed in Royal Avenue may keep out car bumhs, but they cannot stop the planting of incendiary devices.
Given the new sophistication of these devices, their effect could be almost the same. On the weekend of 30-31 March incendiaries gutted three department stores and six shops in Bangor, causing damage to the tune of 16 million.
Rees may use the old Whitelaw trick of delaying a decision on Sunningdale as long as possible, and the only alternative to June for another conference is the autumn -after the "marching season" of July and August.
But long hefore the autumn the tide of history, which is pushing Britain towards a withdrawal, may well have drowned any last hopes that Britain can defeat the IRA in the North of Ireland The struggle at Essex University continues and the link-up between the police and the University administration has become clearer than ever.
The question of whether the campus workers will allow themscives to be used against the stud ents seill hangs in the balarice, but support from the working class movement ourside has remained firm, despite a red-baiting attack by the local press.
The witch-hunt was launched for the IRA would improve Faulkner's on the pretext that Colchester Trades Council has been 'infiltrated" by "extremists", und ought to "resign'. The basis for this is that Ronnie Munck (one of the two IMG militants expelled trom the University), is an ASTMS delegate to, and on the Executive Comittee of, the Trades Council.
defending Ronnie, and refusing to bend hefore this atlack. They have also decided to support che regional delegate conference to be held in Colchester on Saturday 11 May on "Picketing and the Law.
pickets goes on.
On Friday 1 April, the police were used to escort sume vans containing computer equipment and food through the picket lines. These were mostly vans owned hy the University, and driven by scab campus workers and administrative staff.
1 April police again escorted goods tough the picket lines. The police have been turning up at the same ume as large consignments of goods This proves the collusion between the State and the administration ainst the students.
BOB PURDIE Abother angle of attack by the dancies on campus. the now term, The Council has issued a statement Meanwhile police action against Ct Monday 8 April and Thunday University authorities has been viu the campus workers. The workers have been told that there is a possibility of redundancies as a result of the students actions.
In response to this the students called a meccing with the workers. They explained that the threat to jobs on the campus was a result of the cuts in educational expenditure introduced by the last Government and carried on by Labour, and proposed a joint struggle against the victimisation of students and redun The struggle at Essex is weakening. due to the falling number of students involved in the picket line. Recent police actions ure part of an attempt by the administration to break the picket before the start of The Broad-Left dominated Executive of the Essex Students Lendue bil Union has not been involved in the day-to-day work of picketing and maintaining che occupied bases.
They have continually sought ways of avoiding a head-on clash It is all the more urgent, then.
that the full weight of the student movement is mobilised behind Le Essex strugsle.
There is to be a muss picket at thi University on 24 April. But an even more important date will be 29 April, when the trials of the arrested pickers begin. A mass rally in support of the Essex struggle outside the Colchester Court is being discussed for that day Already Wandsworch Trades Council has pledged to back such an action. There anest be maximum effort to get other sections of the labour movement involved. as well as a massive mobilisation of students.
In the face of mounting attacks on students struggling to defend their living standards. many activists are looking for political solutions which the NUS liedership is failing to provide.
The IMG is organising a Rally next month with the aim of bringing together student militants from all parts of the country to axchange exporianees and disstrupgie for socialism.
Leading representatives of the student movement from France, Belgium Crachoslovakia and Chila will be spoalcing.
amerist, anti-racist, and anti repression struggles For further details, tickets, or material produceo torine naay, contact my Student Commission, 97 Caledonian Road, Hod Weekly 19 April 1974 Page 3
Women workers at Lentheric's perfume factory last week staged the first successful equal pay strike ever to occur in London. After three weeks of negotiations with management to reduce the E7 differential between the wages of women workers and the male minimum, the women walked out. Joyce Partridge, shop steward, told Red Weekly, 'We've never taken equal pay seriously before, but with the cost of living soaring, we had no other choice."
Strikes like this among women workers will be the rule and not the exception in the coming months of the spring and summer. If workers don't wake up to this fact, the entire working cluss movertent will suffer a serious setback.
The Working Women's Charter, discussed at a London Trades Council meeting last month, provides a basis for launching a campaign now which could ensure that strupples of women workers are not micre flashes: into every worker's pay packet, women find that their carnings are on avérage still only hall of Ibose of men. And the trade union leadership-busily attempting to work out Government-are least likely to respond to the interests of the weaker sections of their memberships, such as black and women workers.
Moreover, women workers are a weak link in the bureaucracy's chain -they have never been integrated into trade union structures to the same extent as men, and once women launch a struggle they often show: little regard for the desperate manoeuvres adopted by the burcancrals attempting to 'keep things under control.
On the other hand, the domestic commitments of women woriceis mean that the decision to launch a struggle is only taken as a last resort, if at all.
The introduction of the Equal Pay Act in 1970 took the steam out of the campaign launched by the National Joint Action Campaign (scheme.
notably shop, laundry and office workers stand to gain nothing under the Act simply because there are their 'social contract" with the Labour often no men with whom any comparison can be made. For these workers, the job is to fight low pay.
stand to gain from such comparisons employers have successfully rearranged jobs in such a way that the Act will no longer have any effect. In the Potteries, for example, women are being systematically excluded from jobs that they have always done, even though they have acquired skills which the new male workers cannot possibly have, evaluation schemes to achieve equal pay is that-as every militant knowsunder the cover of 'scientific studies" the workeis suffer, Job evaluation tivity deals, redundancies, speed-ups, etc. And even in cases whete the trade unions do have some control, women-such as those in APEX who In fact, large numbers of womenLed In certain cases where women did The rcal danger in relying on joh schemes go hand in band with produc( rates, holidays, sick pay, bonuses, elc, Bet pension rates are not includWomen are not to he prevented from getting equal pay because of protective legislation-prohibiting flight work, for instance-or because of maternity leave and carlier retirement, However, the Tory Government's proposais for so-called "equal opportunities aimed towipe out the gains women have made in this respect by removing those sections of the Factory Acts which Jimit Che number of hours women may work and which impose restrictions on where they may work.
At the TUC's conference in March, the delegates unanimously rojected the plan. It was correctly recognised that while the labour movement is not yet in a position to fight for the abolition of all night work, and all work in dangerous conditions. it is vital that whatever gains have been made, should be kopt.
Even under the existing legislation, employers can receive permission from the Department of EmployDOMESTIC TU
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after Easter - a hot spring
IMG Rally - Sat. 4 May - Conway Hall STUDENT