By Martin Meteyard IS now nearly three months since martial was declared ›lidarnosc has kept sistance, reorganising underground to meet is fundamental challenge to workers' rights. it sad to say it has received little help in this sk from the leadership of the labour moveent in Britain.
The Labour Party NEC USPO 0 GO annel * wake of martial law. d only now is it organis ¡ its first action a raily London on 16 March.
The condemnation of issued military crackdown, d general secretary Len irray the thorities for a visa to i rolane and indure in But the Cleveland Trades In that time alive the spirit of TUC too has done nothing to organise actve support labour movement for Solidarnosc task has largely been left to rank and file and Labour Party often ty committees. It is they up contacts between the tanks of the Bruish labour movement and the Solidarosc members temporarily exiled in Bri tain.
In Scotland, for stance, tours organised by the Glasgow Polish Solidarity Committee have allowed Solidarnosc members Piotr Kozlowski and Marek Garztecki to Archbishop Glemp: doing his best to force Solidarnosc to compromise with the regime speak to mass meetings of dockers drivers, shop stewards COTEES building and engineering, BL and Plessey Bathgate, TOCO councils, and many other UTO COULED One purpose of this is to build local labour movement support for Solidarnosc now, through financial aid, adoption ternees and other suitable means.
Piotr and Marek have also urged workers to conblacking and exports Poland where propriate as docks, for example.
But the most impor tant thing is to build up such a head of steam in the this issue that the and Labour Party leaders are themselves forced to organise action in support of Solidarnosc.
So, for instance, organise support for Solidarosc was to be discussed this week by the Transport 8 workers leadership. The resolution was moved by the TGWU district committee on the east coast of Scotland after they were addresed by Piotr and Marek.
A Solidarnos speaker is also likely to address the national conference of the National Union of Journalists as a result of a meeting NUJ activists in Glasgow.
This way to build support the labour movement for Solidarnosc Move every union get Solidarnose vited to address this year's national conference organise fringe meeting well. Build up the pressure for Solidarosc speakers and a major debate at the Congress and rank-and-file activists substitute themselves for this process risks harming rather than helping the cause of Solidarnosc Britain Yet this is exactly what is being done by Socialist Organiser and London Labour Briefing, two small groups in the Labour Party who have organised what they call the first national labour movement march on Poland' on 13 March in This national labour movement march' has been called at short notice by these two groups with no attempt to consult the local labour movement acHave been orator go daris sup practical supSOTT TUE the last two months, no posal through the officia SEWELLICE at the move ment, and no discussion with other socialists active organising support for Solidarnosc.
inconceivable therefore, that this demonstration can in any VVOY represent the real groundswell of support for Solidarnosc in the labour movement. In fact it could seriously set back the pro cess of that support, because it will be used by supporters of mar tial law as an examole o how little 'national labour movement backing there is for Solidarnosc For these Socialist Challenge will Britain later this month.
with the local solidarity committees national.
bureaucrats and the working class Kowalewski is a member Lodz Solidarnosc, ing for the 'active strike' in London on Tuesday 16 March. Tour dates Monday 22 March Oxford Tuesday 23 March Birmingham Wednesday 24 March Glasgow Thursday 25 March Manchester analysing the following Kremlin Solidarity with Solidarnosc meetings 3 March at 7.30 pm in Lower Town Hal Solidamosc, on Eastern Erronel Marys Rd at 7.30 pm. Speakers: Alan March at 7.30 pm in TGWU offices, 259 Salvador and South Africa campaigns. and author of the new Pluto book, The Summer Before the Frost, and Zbigniew Kowalewski, a militant leader of Solidar. nose in the Lodz region, will be touring Potel and Kowalewski will speak at a number of meetings around the country between 22-26 March, organised by Pluto Press in conjunction Potel is a member of the Revolutionary Communist League, French section of the Fourth InterHis book recounts the struggles and debates at the Lenin shipyards in August 1980 where he was an eye witness, and analyses the different social and political forces in the Polish crisis — the Church, the KOR, the peasants, the of the presidium of one of the most militant regional leaderships which was actively campaign putting the workplaces under workers control. He was in Paris at the time of the military crackdown. He will also be speaking at the Labour Party rally on Poland at Central Hail Next week Socialist Challenge will review the Jean-Yves Potel book and the new Penguin special The Book of Lech Walesa, as well as latest situation General Jaruzelski's visit to the Battersea: Labour Party public meeting on Wed Lavender Hill, SW11. Speakers include: Eric Heffer MP, Ron Keating (NUPE), member of Oliver MacDonald (Labour Focus Southampton: Trades Council public meeting on Wed 10 March at St Matthews Hall, St Whitehead, Labour parliamentary candidate for Southampton West and Oliver MacDonald. Nottingham: meeting called by Labour Move ment Solidarity with Solidarosc on Thur 11 Mansfield Rd. Speakers: Piotr Kozlowski of Solidarnose trade union working group and Islington: Labour Party public meeting on Thur 11 March at 7,30 pm at Manor Gardens library off Holloway Rd. Marek Garztecki of Solidarnose trade union working group plus speakers from E Brent: Labour Party public meeting on Wed 17 March at 7.30 pm in Harlesden primary school,