'Survival of the Fittest' One of the 'Ten Demands' of the Work *Break the freeze. For across the board increases limits to agreements. E15 now.
'Fight back' is the essential message of this demand. agree. Socialists must support to hilt workers struggle around creases. We reject the Jones's notion that workers must pay for capitalism's crisis, and that they have to accept responsibility forit Consequently wage claims which can restore the wage cuts under Phases 1 and 2 of the Social Contract.
But evels to that of two years ago i not enough; future wage rates also need protecting ially in a period of high inflation.
The limit of sements no time limit inadequate to deal with this since in a period where inflation is running at 15 percent or more, workers will scarcely have secured an increase Detore iney are preparing to struggle for another Calm That is why Red Weekly has argued that in addition to an immediate across the Crease. wades need to be brotected against inflation by automatic increases in wages, determined on the basis of a cost of living index drawn up by trade union bodies.
SWP opposed this demand. Arguing Index-linked wages have not dulled Italian workers' militancy. against thresholds Crisis: Social Party-led of the SWP, writes: Campaign is: "They with no time orientate cetence We going into proffits."
flat-rate inJack tion in workers do tace a being lost. we fight for fight restoring wage who have especagreements' tive drawing unity and struggle.
later when board be a tremendous to passivity Italian has consistently in his book Contract or Socialism, Tony Cliff, the leader [thresholds] tend to suppress profits as a factor in wage negotiations. They tend to workers towards the of existing standards rather than towards improving them and cutting into the level of The truth is that the real situaBritain today is that 'defensive' struggle to maintain real wages • a struggle which is presently Far from this being a spur to demoralising effect on workers; particularly the weaker sections seen their regular to keep up with the cost of living prove inadequate When Cliff argued in Socialist Worker in June 1974 that Hyperinflation can become a locomoworkers towards he should draw a balance sheet two years despite continuing inflation the number of days lost in strikes has fallen from 14,750 in 1974 to 6,021 in 1975 and an estimated 3,000 in 1976.
In reality a successful struggle fora sliding scale of wages would Victory workers in Britain today. Nor is there any evidence to suggest that this would necessarily lead and Australian workers testify the opposite.
The effect of the SWP policy is to wage the struggle over wages on a sectional basis. As Cliff put it in Socialist Worker:
The way wages are won under capitalism is simple: workers in the strongest sections win increases - then it is up to the rest of the working class to keep up by comparing their own wages with those received by the strongest and best paid.
Tell that to the weak and low paid workers who gained more even payments than through previous wages struggles, and for whom seemed a substantial increase.
the class in struggle.
up.
Heath's threshold whase CONFERENCE ON WAGE CONTROL called by CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRACY IN THE LABOUR MOVEMENT SUNDAY MARCH, BINAM Credentials 50p from: Kevin Lee, 44 Devonshire Road, Handsworth Wood, Birmingham 20 Today the defence of real wages requires the maximum unity of all The SWP have recognised this empirically, and so look for class unite struggle. That is why E15 across the board has suddenly popped Rather than coming to grips with the new situation however, it is just a figleaf covering over a policy which simply amounts to militant trade unionism.
wages policy in