WITH the jobless total now the worst 11 nas Deen since me sus. usE monuns Socialist Action public forum on unemployment took on some of the key questions in the class struggle today.
What are the causes of unemployment! Is there a way that workers can stop the Liz Faston (Tottenham CLP) showed that unemployment is not just an unhappy accident. Just as Thatcher advised Reagan recently that the only way lo cure malon is to but up will unemployment, capitalists and their governments nave no solution to the prod• lem except by attacking worker's living standards.
True, Britain has one of the worst-hit economies at present. This is largelv due to lis outmodea macninery. bur unem ployment throughout the West is rising sharpely and, as a recent report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development predicted, is due to reach 21 million by 1984.
SACRIFICES Attempts to win sacrifices out of workers is not new. Both Torv and Laboul governments nave altempica to squeeze living standards.
Heath in the early 1970s applied a wage freeze until the miners kicked him out. Mandated by his party to promote free collective bargaining. Wilson brought in a "voluntary prices and incomes policy".
pay norm lost Labour the last election.
SOLUTIONS Does the Lavour rarty as yet orler any solutions to bring back jobs and boost pay?
(ALs) pul lorwara as tne radical alternative by the TUC and the Labour Party NEC sets out to reilate the economy.
plained that such a policy was the basis of the Wilson government in 1974. Backed by Tony Benn, the AES suggests that economic problems can be solved within the framework of capitalism.
IMPORT CONTROLS?
controls, financial aid to flagging indistries and a "prices and incomes policy".
As Robinson explained, import would encourage British workers to ally workers. The "Alternative Economic Strategy"
Tim Robinson of Socialist Action ex- workers again!
STRATEGY How? By propping it up with import controls would lead to a trade war. lhes dacs themselves with the bosses against foreign LAST Christmas Socialist Action announced plans to move full steam porters, stage one of that expansion Socialist Action moved into its new sents a big step forward for Socialist move ahead and complete stage two Having already moved into the new A new Centre will result not only Name...... battle-fronts being waged against the Specifically, we shall be Address.....
in the fight for class struggle policies.
All this means more cash. It means I enclose the sum of £.
As socialists, shouldn't we be trying to destrov the massive monopolies which control our lives? Clearly Benn sees worKers his task as providing artificial respiration for them so they may resolve to exploit Socialist Action takes a totally different to provide services and to create jobs.
view. A capitalist crisis always results in the bosses mounting a fuli-scale attack on RACIST workers. They try to divide workers nationally and internationally.
Tunes The only strategy to fight this offensive must be to mount a mass movement which can unite all workers.
Demands for the 35-hour week and for work sharing with no loss of par ofte workers a genuine solution to job shortWe should call upon the bosses to Open the Bonks! Bosses who maintain that Building Socialist Action that we have to ask all our readers and supporters, who have already given generously, to dig a little bit deeper into their pockets to provide us with the resources to carry on Last month's fund-drive brought in £843 towards our target figure of £10,000 by the coming Easter. That means that the total collected so far is f4,203. Already Socialist Action has made use of these extra resources. Your contributions have made it possible for us to purchase a typesetter. This will ease pressure on production and enable us to maintain the paper on a regular monthly basis.
Particular thanks this month are due to the Stoke-on-Trent supporters of Socialist Action who contributed £100 towards the fund-drive, and to DB (North London) who gave £50 and LW (South London), £100 While we are almost halfway to the target figure, however, it is clear that we will need an all-out effort in the remaining months if we are to reach the total needed to bring out Socialist Action more frequently.
For this reason, we once again urge all supporters and readers to dig deeply into their pockets and give generously. Socialist Action - unlike the bourgeois press — can't rely on advertising revenues to cover the cost of inflation. It is only by relying on your generosity that we can keep ahead of costs. Please complete the form below and send today.
As well as providing To: Socialist Action, PO Box 65, London SW16 INN. they cannot afford to provide jobs must have their accounts scrutinised by the such companes wno tall to satisI) workers' needs should be nationalised.
The public sector should be expanded In discussion, it was pointed out how racist laws sucn as the Natonauty Bul are used to divide workers along racist workers for the dole queues.
Attempts have also been made to divide women from men by mounting an ideological assault on working women, suggesting they should return to the domestic household. building Socialist Action.
Please send all donations (cheques/ postal orders to "Socialist Action") to: SA Fund Drive, PO Box 65, London SW16 1NN. .......as a contribution to your Fund Drive.