* Jornal do Comércie workers to popularise their struggle 'Our Common Struggle first number just out articles on:
background to 25 Apri repression and the pres laws - the postal warkers atrike - the new Labour laws single copy: 7p (including postage): subscription: 70p for 10 numbers CEMPARECES UN ALVINISIRASER SEN PREFER SALMERATNES Tories dared.
EDICÃO DE GREVE The front page of a special strike edition of the Jarnal de Comercio put out by its bulletin of the Portuguese Workers Coordinating Committee (in English)
the new aw are bleas multinational companies in Portugal From: PWCC. 18 Flest Roed, London N19 THE PORTUGUESE GOVERNment has just published its new Labour Law. It gives a pretty good! foretaste of the sort of 'democracy' the Portuguese ruling class has in mind for the working class.
In many respects the new law illegal (crawn up by a Government which includes the Communist Party) is very similar to the infamous Industrial Relations Act of the Tory Government in this country. But it also contains a number of provisions that go far further than even the The aim of the new law is to outlaw all militant forms of struggle and place the Portuguese labour moveUnder the new law:
* The right to strike is denied to the armed forots, magistrates, the police, prison guards and firemen * The public employees right to strike will be subject to even tighter restrictions under a special lo * Strikes which are not conducted according to the terms laid down by * In unionised firms workers"
official trade union bodies, and strikes called by a union or unions which iogether represent a majority of workers * In firms where a majocity of workers are not in unions, a strike can only be called by a secret ballot which shows a majority of al workers in the firm in * A strike cannot be called until thirty days after demands have been presented to the management in writing + Once a strike has been decided on, a further seren days notice must be given to the boss and the Government * Occupations of workplaces are * Strikes with "political or religious aims are illecl * Solidarity strikes with workers orgunising the process of prodoction are "k* Strikes daring the life of a collective contract are illegal • All trade unions and workers an obliged to ensure that normal security and maintenance work is carried out during a strike, nod workers in public service industries must ensure that essential serOf course, this bitter pill is served up with a certain sugar coating. The right to strike and picket is 'generous. ly ensured, bosses are denied the right to stage lock-outs lexcept for "defensive' lock-outs called in reply to workers" violations of tlie law), and they cannot import scabs from outside the firm to replace strikers (although the right to work' of scabs inside the firm is gusranteed under the law).
What all this adds up to is that the Portuguese ruling class, havine well and truly trussed up the working class in this new law, is declaiming But look, we guarantee your tight to wiggle your toes"
Red Weekly 5 September 1974 Page 7