Vol. 1. No. 35 Price Threepence Aug 24th 1962 UNEHPLOYMENT FIGURES SOAR — AND WORSS TO COMs
As Marx explained in Capital, industrial capitalism needs a reserve army of unemployed to function. Like any other commodity Labour Power finds its exchange value through the operation of the market cand via the lawof supply and donand (which do not determine the exchange value but onable this value to express itself) Ca@tain theorists have claimed that the long period of fi11 employment enjoyed bysadvanced capitalist countries has preved liarx wrong. In actual fact even in those countries where full enploymunt has been the rule, other methods of regulating wages have evolved. Large scale immigration, a continuous process cf rationalisation, the winning of sections of tho trade union leadership to a policy wage freeze, the bringing into the labour market of large numbers of peasants, otc. have been instrunental in preventing wages from becoming too exorbitant. (As liarx demonstrated, with a reserve army of unemployed, competition between employers for labour, trade union action, etc. would push wages up ond up) But these mothods can only temporarily fill the bill, moroover the situation is complicated by the act that the contigencies of the cold war make large scale unemployment undus- ‘ble from the capitalist Governments! point of viow.
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The latest figures produced by tho Iiinistry of Labour show a marked increase in tho last month or so. Between July 16 and August 13 unemploymont rose 63,773 to a total of 464,191. This is the highest figure for 2$ years and repros— ents a percentage of 2.1. of the labour force. This compares with a figure of 1.4 in August of last year. On tho othor side of the balance shest the number of notifiod vacancees fell by 24,504 to 226,000. This relationship betwoen the number of people looking for jobs to the number of jobs available has changed drastically to the detriment of the working class in the last year - now thero aro two people looking for jcbs for evory job available, then it was the other way round. The soasonilly djustod figures are not available yet, but these will Give an even gloomior pictures; excluding school leavers, the number of unemployed rose in August by 21, 180 as compared with the "normal! figure of 9,000; on the other hand vacancios fell by 24,504 as compared with the normal figure of 16,000.
These figures came out at the same time as the B.T.C. decisicn to rundow the Reilwya workshcps to the extent cf making 20,000 cut cf work cvor 5 years. This comes shprtly after plars to close down large ssctions of the railways, and to stop production in many Scottish pits. British shipyard owners have dropped hints that thero will be large scale closing of yards over the noxt two years. A survey conducted by the Birmingham Confederation of ~ngineering and Shipbuilding Unions cnongst 3,000 shop stewards in the motor-car industry gave a picture 'bleaker than tor some years.' In the last week it has been anounced that: the G.l.C. Landor Ste works in Birmingham is to close (1,000 to lose their jobs); the B.A.C. Luton works (1,300 te lose jobs) to close; Napior Avro Ungines, Acton to finish production (2,500 to be sacked) redudancies have been announced by Bellpuch, London (100); HOLSEFs Kimborley (Ilotts.) (number not stated; and ary smaller firms. Thus we nave a situation where, even without a recession, there will be a continuous unenploymont tendency on top of an already bad position. This, moreover, cones before Britain joins the Common Market (or failing that is subject to the intense compet ition that would follow) which would subjoct large sections of backward British industry to immediate cut-throat competition.
As noted in last weck's Bulletin, British workers are in a fighting mood over large sections of industry. The spate of small strikes has continuod: Car workers at Words (500 walked out over ssuSPonsions) ; at Liorris liotors works (Oxford), 300 struck over tho attitude of a supervisor, and at tho key factory of Lucas (Birmingham) there i fpphe threat of a strike ovor a wage domand which would bring the motor car to a halt; two moro strikes at Fylingdake involved 160 Spidermen and 170 Air Conditioning workers; during the weck tho A.U.B.T.W. made the strike of 100 bricklayors at ‘Stowart and Lloyds (Corby) officials they are expected to do the sane with 70 builders on strike at Derby Lene (Liverpool) construction site; up in Glasgow tho 2,000 workers at the Romington Rand factory (Hillington) wont on strike in protest against redundancy; 100 suporvisors at the onurt & Brown factory ( Spennynoor) struck for highor wages; work stopped at the Lurgi construction site at Birmingham over bad conditions; 140 eranc drivers at Hull decks had a one-day tokon strikes; the Post Office iingineers! Union has banned all overtime on the Post Office cable floct; and tho A.3.5.0.7. has done tho sano in 4.0,C. factories at Luton, Stevenage and Bedfo#lshire, to ggmbat redundancy. Thus tho stage is sot for big strugyles. Only out and"6 fi gnand by ths Labour movonont buroaucrats can head it off. lMarixsts must mako this impossible.