Ulster Unionists of more parliamentary abstention on the Queen's Speech, allowed a Government majority.
capitalist weekly, the legislation proposed in the speech.
rapidly dwindling support the British Leyland pattern.
suggests how we can dispose of it.
the Economist *There is nothing in this speech which the Government is likelv to regard as a would need no-confidence vote to General Election at alime nopiate a precipitate Callaghan's choosing.
But there is one issue on which Callaghan has based both the life of this Government and Labour's election strategy - incomes policy.
Callaghan and Healey have stuck up two fingers to the TUC and Labour Party conference calls collecuve bargaining. It is on tnis issue that the right-wing Labour Government will stand or Tall.
OUTSIDE Nothing that happens in Parliament will unseat the Government on pay policy. wnemer tne callagnan regic can impose its 5 per cent limit will be cecece ov events ours ac mC DeCe of Westminster.
Only WICH this policy is clearly failing will a serious move be made to unseat Labour in Parliament; and even then the rift in the Tory Party means that there is no evident alternative to -Callaghan for the capitalist class.
Is Callaghan failing? The recent vote of the Ford strikers would seem to say he is. But when the Ford workers broke the 10 per cent limit last year, and average increases for the private sector were 16 per cent, the Government was able to keep wage increases in the public sector to 10 per cent, and thus overall increases to 14.2 per cent.
anis year the rora workers scem sure to win a lot more than 5 per cent, making a repeat performance difficult Yet the 'winter of discontent' which Public Employees' leader Alan Fisher predicted is not guaranteed to upset the Government's plan.
Despite Congress duissenera laghan still has the TUC's Council behind him. They may not agree on a 5 per cent limit, but they are united in wanting the return of a Labour Government at any cost.
While Sid Weighall's call for another Congress to endorse the 5 per cent limit has been rendered impossible by the Ford and bread strikes, TUC-Government I0O. producing a joint statement.
Callaghan does not expect these to result in endorsement of the present pay Socialist Challenge 16 November 1978 Page 8 THE LABOUR Government is literally buying time. A bribe to the seats ensured their and this, Economist, Even the most radical items, aimed at retaining some of the for Callaghan within movement, only serve to promote more collaboration with The ECLE First collective bargaining'.
This is another way of saying that where the union officials may back a specitic fight for big profitable companies such as Ford, the story is quite different in the likes of Leyland Secondly, it means that the TUC does not campaign in solidarity with workers who are confronting the 5 per cent limit. Murray has already made it plain he is not mandated to do this (unlike Labour's National Execuuve free Committee).
Thirdly, Callaghan will
long-term agreement on public sector along the lines Basnett's proposals for comparisons with private sector wages.
What the Prime Minister does not Want, however, is to allow the public sector workers more man a per cem now. confident continued collaboration because he has asked two questions to which the TUC. including 'left wing'. answers. What is your alternative to the Government's economic policies? And who would you want in our place, the Tories?
There is one answer which the union leaders refuse to give. When Callaghan and Michael Edwardes say Leylanc cannot afford to pay decent wages, and therefore BL inflation to cut their wages or face redundancy, then that just shows that industry run on an unplanned capitalist basis cannot meet the needs of the vast majority of the population.
That's why the motor industry as a whole shona be ensure JoDs, living products which are of use to society.
RIGHT TO WORK
CalFar from this being an argument for workers to stop defending their living standards, it is an socialist measures to delend even the basic right to work.
When public sector workers are told they will be forced to accept the pay policy, whatever Ford workers win, this the is not a reason for them to demand comparisons with the private sector. It is an inducement for automatically defended against inflation, through automatic increases in wages to keep pace with rising prices.
with an the labour the is responsible increases in want a perhaps of has no workers must allow nationausea. and Standards aid the bread workers.
ItIs an stand for the argument for people.
wages to the working class voters THE LAP of luxury, 1978 style -alternative to Callaghan's axe on living standards When the working class is informed Inat it must cuner accept Canaghans pro-capitalist policies or have a Tory this is BOSSCS reason for Len Murray to do nothing to leadership argument Callaghan out of the leadership of the the fightback. labour movement, along with Murray and all his supporters in the unions, and replacing them with people who do interests of working If Callaghan wins the next election, as the opinion polls suggest he might, it will be because the Tories are split not because me me visierras wor of leadership. the enthusiasm of working class people. pro-capitalist policies have demoralised If a Tory Government is the result, it is far better for the labour movement to confront it confident of its victories in yet the union leaders have no political defending our living standards than in a state of disorganisation after five years collaboration with Callaghan and the Removing the 5 per centers from the labour movement will best be achieved by strengthening It was the Ford strike which won the vote against the Government's policies at the Labour Party conterence this autumn. It will be by spreading the struggle, by joint action now part of all workers with claims in, that the s per cent hmi will be aercarca al its supporters removed from positions That's why the task of the hour remains to demand the breaking off of all talks; for the to launch the bread workers, and for a socialist alternative to Callaghan's policies.
Saturday, 24 March. At Tickets £1, from: SC Trade London NI.
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along undertaking on Welsh and Scottish referendums on devolution, "A full session's work, but nothing risky' is how one major described the programme of
bosses — such as the proposal to extend workers' participation on RICH PALSER follows the trail of Sunny Jim's strategy, and