The reality of the situation is that the workers, organised in their unions, have seriously frichtened the employersand the Tory stabian.
demonstrated the extent of their power.
It is they who produce and move the roods. Without them capital is useless t is this power that the establishment is determinee to crust The demand for legislation to outlaw the closed shop, to stop "secondary bring powers under a State of Emergency, are all designed to crush the rising power and mulancy or lne workers.
For the establishment the unions, instead of being the spearhead of the workers struggle areto pe ountea and used as the policemen to discipline the workers!
However, despite these demands, history will not at the moment lend itself to such developments. ments along the lines of the workers' demands will have to be reached.
That is the government belatedly recognising the facts and is rerusing to be stampeded into accepling a State of Emergency Contrary to what the Tory press is hoto: BOB MURPHY Socialist Challenge 25 January 1979 page 8 trade have La decent control. For then her right-wing view: would create com rontanon The British labour movement is unique. The Labour Party was created by the unions and it cannot exist without them.
William Rodgers, the Minister for Train or his cents.
Settle- the party and unionised workers. It is between the UnIOnS.
This is because it is the Labour government which is out of step. It has accepted too many Tory arguments. There is just enough time to put things right, but only just.
FORDERES FIGHT FoR EVERYONE situation Tererred TO a but not between SOLIC All the props are being pulled out from the elaborate structure built up Lover our years to noist Dront Fates al the expense of wages.
Thatcher's ranting about 'strike committees SInC elected government' is not just demagogy: it expresses the very real fear of the ruling class inat tney are losing contror over events.
The scale of the struggle against the wage controls is greater, it anyining than in 1973-4: more workers directly involved than in the miners' strike which displaced Heath.
And the lorry drivers pickets show that in wide sections of industry the attempts by management to porate convenors and senior stewards have failed to emasculate shop steward organisation.
However, there is one big difference between the struggle now and that in 1973-4. the level of political generalisation is lower.
In 1973-4 all the struggles began to focus on a single, achievable goal -removal of the Heath government. The Labour opposition seemed to provide alternative controls and the inree day week Now there is no credible national political alternative to ine Labour, capadie or giving a sense or unified purpose to the many groups of workers in struggle 'Left' union leaders ike Kitson and "left' MPs like Heffer have been falling over themselves to distinguish inemse ves trom Moss evans Mutay or even Callaghan.
INC widespread feeling by group of workers that it should not b wage controls is not yet of Colous co struggle as a class-wide this which has allowed defeats like that of the bakers occur -atTer Vic ones like Cords Although the class is advancing, it is doing so in a fragmented manner, WHICH arall employers to retake the initiative. This places a special responsibility on the revolutionarv lett Suddenly, we are in a situation where what we have been saying for years learning through their own experience of struggle.
But there are too few of us where it matters, on the factory and office floor, for that many of them to take us Seno sv many thousands of workers.
Secondly, industry and union are trying to bund of rank and file rooted in the workplace and with a perspective develoos struggle of their fellow workers rathe than the old broad left perspective o trade union bureaucracy We believe that such rank and file groupings which revolutionaries non-revolutionary trade unionists into struggle and bring them closer to revolutionary ideas In line with this perspective, our been hundreds of picket lines in the last few weeks, have distributed thousands of leaflets, have done thei 'utmost to lead those they work with into the wages battle Cart