LURKING In the shadows of the Reinlorced Steel Services dispute is a mysterious organisation which sees tsalt as crusading for is own POTICIOUS VIEW DE SOCI ety. Its members distribute hundreds of thousands of faciory leaflets but most of their acitivities, like those of their backers, are carried out in utmost secrecy.
No, not Trotskyisis' bul an organisation whose aim Is the preservation of all the We KnoW It — 170 Econ omic League Set up in 1919, Its alm is to 'actively oppose all subwhaterer their origin and inspiration - that seok to undermine the security of Britain In general and British IndusIn particular. One si that is its facior le lotting and its courses for supervisory stall.
But far more sinister Is It provides for employers. One personnel officer who has attended Losque courses told how he was given details aboul the politics of the Trotskylst 'wreckers", D8B8C UDOn CODes ol Hoi Weekly and Socialist WorkThe Labour Department reports how a publication of the omic League, entitled Industrial Subversion, Background claims 1o tell all about organisations like the Instifute for Workers Control, the National Confederation o Claimants Unions and the Liaison Committee for WHENCE Unmmunist Parly and the Of course this in itsell is harmless and the League seems to gain a lot of its kudos with employers from "exposing" which display their politics quite openly. curious that all Its recorts proving how Ineffeclive the begs the question why the League should sludy them Research In the first place.
But the central part of the Econ- League's work backs It to the tune of Future, E400,000 a year — Is providing blacklists to the employers. The Information it suppled 1o Steel Services is a typical example which has Trade years in most major induswell Iries der then, organisations cial backers. practice is to to BEETSIDE which job applicant why big business Reinforced practice gone on lor Particularly wall known cases are the bullding and car industries. Small wonthat companies like British Insulated Calenders' Cables and Britlar eyland should have beer mong the League's finan The genera lull CULE details of the political and trade union background of Most nierosino IB tA inaccuracy of the League's Information. Workers in occupation at the Strachan's vehicle body plant in 1974 discovered that one appli cant had been turned dow on information from the Economic League because Shell. he had been a Communist election candidale Moning tar. en her piece written for the of Information was true.
Who is behind the Eco. nomic League? The simple answer is big business, but the favourite THARGICE seem lo be the banks and insurance However, recent figures from the Labour Research Department show that apart Irom donalions from companiea ike Sun Alli[directors include Tory MPs Hugh Fraser and Sir Geoffrey Howel there also payments fron Industrial tims like Unite Biscults [James Prior MP| and Cadbury Schweppes.
The directorships of the Economic League counci members read like a Who's Who of British industry:
Burtons, Harland Wilcox, Rugby Portiend ERSCOCEAN Wilcox, Cement, Granada, Smith's Food, Alled Breweries, British suoar Corporsion HIGH ON Perhaps most interesting ls the fact that there are ber of nationalised industries or industries with high Govemment stake such as Shall, British Lay.
and some components of the new agrospacs Industr And workers at Reinto cod Sieel Services and Por Talbot might consider this point: Inal Sir David Har ran, a President of the ls member of the board of the British Steel Gorporation "Chris O' Brien has done a detailed Investigation into the political activities of some of the Economic League's main financial backers. appear in an early issue of Socialist Challenge