Europe.
1980, compared with 751,000 in 1973.
The steel crisis reflects both the effects of the economic recession and the impact of LICW technology. DUl outcome is not being left to chance.
On the contrary, the EEC's industrial commission, headed is vigorously overseeing whole process to make sure that cutbacks go ahead on schedule.
Workers every producing Market country are feeling the pinch. In Britain, for example, the last eighteen months have seen the closure of plants in Hartlepool, of Jim Callaghan's Cardiff constituency), Ebbw Vale, and Shelton. Next on the list are Bilston and Corby.
In France, where 30,000 jobs have already been lost since 1972, the government is trying make further 20,000 steelworkers in Lorraine and the North redundant by next year.
But there the similarity ends.
In France the reaction of the workers has led to some of the biggest class battles since 1968.
Employers' ( offices police stations have stormed, MOLOTWEYS railway lines occupied, whole towns taken over for several hours during massive general strikes.
On 23 March more than 100,000 workers converged on Paris to demand a halt to all lay-offs and an immediate 35-hour week with no loss of In britain, nowever, Steel Trades Confederatione Trades Confederation, Bill Sirs, responded to recent SIES action to save the jobs at Bilston by saying: *I would always hesitate to embark on strike action. I am against strikes generally, and if the they can be avoided they should be.
That kind of talk is music to steel- the ears of Viscount Davignon and his EEC cronies, especially when it is accompanied by the instant nationalist solutions of the Communist Party.
In Britain CP shop stewards East Moors (bang in the middle* have initiated a campaign in Ford to make the company use more steel.
Morning Star (27
favourably quoted the comments of Transport & General Workers Union national organiser Ron Todd: arc posing about the sources of steels used in the car industry in order to defend our British industries where thousands of jobs are being lost."
The same line adopted by the and Party in been organised practically no solidarity with the recent massive and strike of the German steelworkers, they are now parading with banners bearing slogans such as 'No to a Europe and '1870, 1914, 1940 that's enough'.
SIn name independence, the Communist mayor of Longwy has issued a municipal decree the The March)
questions has been on 23 March.
Communist the transport of iron ore and Having steel products from through the territory of the town.
But nationalist solutions are no answer international crisis of the steel German industry. They merely prevent workers unified offensive against the of national internationally attempts of the employers to rationalise the industry through • promolung the Davignon Plan.
abroad' possibility is an reundancies been taken.
co-ordinated of Lorraine, Belgium come together, STEEL against steel. Paris cops confronted the 100,000 workers who marched against steel lay-offs Not just the need but the such unified action has been shown by the they live on, common demand raised in each struggle: for a 35-hour week to share available work and stop Already some steps have The geographic situation of the northern part 'national' borders of France, and Luxembourg has brought home to many workers that, whichever side of the border they are being forced to bear the same costs of the same economic crisis.
This has led to the formation of a 'three borders committee' of trade unionists from these Another promising sign was the a successful public meeting in Luxembourg on 23 February ist addressed by the former editor of the German steelworkers union paper Metall, Jakob Moneta, and jointly sponsored by the Belgian, German and French sections o the Fourth International.
The European elections in June offer a possibility generalise such workers solution in opposition both to employers attempt stabilise multinational capitalinstitutions and to the narrow chauvinist response of the CP and Labour lefts.
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JOBS in the steel industry are being cut back all over One forcast predicts that the total steel workforce in the Common Market countries could fall to 580,000 in
aree L'ILE VERA