[page 1]
THE FIGHT FOR CONTROL:
Militants in the Trade Unions
Organised Labour v. the Capitalist Offensive
[page 2]
An I.M.G. Publication, 1970.
If you would like more information about the IMG, write to: The International Marxist Group, 182 Pentonville Road, London, N.1. 01-278 2616. For further copies of this pamphlet, write to: Red Books, 182 Pentonville Road, London N.1. Single copies 4d + 4d postage.
Bulk orders: 3/- a dozen, post free.
Printed by The Prinkipo Press Ltd. (T.U.), 182 Pentonville Road, London N.1. 01-837 9987.
[page 3]
INTRODUCTION The following article is a reprint from Red Mole of 15th September. It was written before the announcement of the Tory Government's anti-trade union proposals. However, those proposals, which amount to a systematic and thorough-going attack on the independence of the trade union movement from the state machine, underline the importance of discussion of the issues raised tn the article. First, of course, we need to have a mass movement against the Government’s proposals, but then the problem is posed: where is this movement going? What are its perspectives? And how will it relate to the more general problem of overthrowing British capitalism? The answers to these questions are just as important as building a mass movement in response to the Tory Government’s attacks. A very learned professor once said: “He who does not learn from history is doomed to repeat it.” 1969 saw a mass movement, involving two one-day political strikes, against the Labour Government’s anti-trade union proposals. 1926 saw a general strike which paralysed the whole capitalist system in Britain. In the pre-war years we saw a strong, viable, militant organisation involving hundreds of thousands of workers—the Minority Movement. Each one of these movements involved huge numbers of workers in class action. Yet they left the basic structure of British capitalism untouched. The 1969 movement against the Labour Government’s anti-trade union proposals, in particular, involved workers taking directly political action, yet it disappeared almost without a trace once concessions were made. There is no doubt that there will be a mass movement against the Tory Government. Quite rightly, there will be a tremendous desire for unity and hostility towards hair-splitters. However, we do not want to repeat the history of 1926, 1969 and the pre-war years. However heroic those struggles were and whatever victories they led to, they did not lead us any further along the road to socialism. And that is the hub of the problem. British capitalism is in an irreversible crisis; its leaders are obliged to attack the working class in a desperate attempt to solve this crisis. Therefore any victory— even a dramatic one like forcing the Tories to withdraw their proposals—is a temporary one. We need not only to win battles but the war as well. As Pat Jordan points out, for social reasons there is a built-in tendency for trade union bureaucrats to limit the struggle. This tendency comes together with those of the Communist Party and Tribunites both of which for political reasons want to keep the struggle at a purely economic level. With a strong desire for unity in struggle dominating the thoughts of militants, there is a great danger that the movement will indeed remain defensive, that history will be repeated (because we have not learnt from it) and that the mass movement against the Tories will not lead to a struggle for a socialist Britain. For all these reasons the International Marxist Group considers it vital that a serious discussion takes place on the problem of transforming the defensive struggle against anti-trade union legislation into an offensive one which will eat into and finally destroy capitalist power in Britain. We welcome the trade union conferences now taking place and will do our best to make them successful in their task of meeting the Tory onslaught. We will work for the widest possible unity in this fight. But we consider the most important contribution we can make is that of helping to elaborate a socialist strategy for these struggles. We come along with no ready-made formulas or panaceas. We consider those who refuse to listen to the ideas of others as sectarian. But we are of the opinion that it is equally wrong to ignore the lessons of history and of the distilled experience of the labour movement. In this spirit we offer Pat Jordan’s article as a contribution to the discussion. We will welcome comments, enquiries, etc., and we will be especially pleased to hear from those who would like to work with us in the job of constructing an international revolutionary socialist party.
[page 4]
“If hard factual evidence was really needed to whose whose sole and normal method of gaining cry from the TUC resolution of 1868 which manoevres are determined by his social position. confirm that industrial relations remain in a their livelihood is selling their labour power) recommended the First International “‘to the But we have to face the fact that most people parlous state at a time of acute economic diffiface the bourgeoisie as atomised units. Dispossupport of the working men of the United Kingwho end up as trade union bureaucrats culty, no thinking person could do better than sessed of the ownership of the means of dom, especially of all organised bodies, and commence their career as militants (in fact the study the official returns on stoppages of work production, they face a class, the bourgeoisie, strongly urges them to become affiliated to that most effective ones from the point of view of through labour disputes, published today... which has the monoply of their means of body.” the bourgeoisie very often started out as socia- More than 1m. workers are involved in stoplivelihood. For most of the proletariat’s history lists or even revolutionaries). What goes wrong?
Since the development of mass trade unions Pages in the first seven months of 1970, it has faced the additional pressure of the As noted in Rakovsky’s famous essay on the in the advanced capitalist states, the bourgeoisie representing the loss of over 6m. working days, reserve army of unemployed. In the elemental dangers of professionalism in the workers’ orgahas followed this unceasing policy of trying to more than double the level of 1969...” The class struggle (directly over the rate of exploitanisations, there is a built-in tendency for the integrate the trade unions into bourgeois society Times Business News, August 28th, 1970. tion) workers would have been in an absolutely emergence of “professional” or ‘‘bureaucratic”’ —aided and abetted in most countries by social hopeless position but for their power of cominterests in the workers movement which are in “The trade unions hitherto concentrated their democratic leaders. At the height of imperiabination. Trade unions represented, in their contradiction to those of the rank and file lism’s power. this policy was intricately woven attention too exclusively on the local and direct origin, the placing on a permanent basis of those membership. This is especially the case in times into the process of granting reforms—legal, struggle against capital. They have not yet compowers of combination and unity. of comparative class peace and the corollary: pletely realised their power to attack the very negotiating rights, etc.—which ensured a ‘‘place At first the British bourgeoisie responded by low participation by the membership. system of wage slavery and present-day methods in society’ for the trade unions. In social terms trying t» break up and smash these organisa- Trade unions in advanced capitalist countries of production...” From a resolution passed on this meant institutionalising the social role of tions. The most dramatic and heroic episodes in trade unions by the First International, Geneva, are especially prone to this danger. Continous the trade union bureaucrat. the history of the British working class were 1866. contact with employers (who turn out to be concerned with the struggle to maintain the The Trade Union Bureaucrat quite pleasant personally), accompanied by a According to the press Britain is in the midst of unions. Once the employers had learned that it middle-class standard and style of life, psycho- The trade union bureaucrat is grateful for his an unprecedented strike wave (the number of was impossible to destroy the unions without logical pressures such as praise from both enshrinement—he is always ready and willing to strikes being the highest on record) combined provoking a permanent civil war, they sought employers and government, make a powerful stop or moderate rank-and-file struggles. In time with a wages explosion (£9.84m. up per week to come to terms with them. This change of of full employment he restrains the workers impact on full-time trade union officials. And, in the first seven months of this year as against attitude encompassed many years and was from taking full advantage of the shortage of of course, unofficial rank-and-file action is in £1.75m. in the same period last year, according accompanied by a continual tug-of-war in labour. In time of war, from his office desk, he direct conflict with the routinism of a trade to DEP figures). which the employets sought to restrict and assists in the raising of cannon fodder, and he union office, disrupting the possibility of a We don't intend to counter capitalist propaemasculate the unions. The capitalists were does his best to replenish the depleted labour quiet, smooth life. ganda by explaining that actua//y the unofficial only prepared to grant full legalisation to the force from women, the young, the old, and the The best of left-wingers find these pressures strikers aren't rea/ly holding the country to unions when they were certain that by a comuntrained. In time of capitalist decline he perextremely difficult to resist. Only a revolutioransom—on the contrary; in fact one of our bination of bribery of strata of workers (the suades the workers to accept sacrifices ‘‘in the nary ideology, backed by a revolutionary orgacomplaints is that the trade union movement so-called aristocracy of labour) and integration national interest’. The trade union bureaucrat isn't doing just that. nisation and revolutionary discipline, can enable of the leadership of the unions into bourgeois can be relied upon to discipline ‘‘wild-cat’’ people to resist integration in such circum- It is more important to consider some of the society they could contain them. strikers. As the Donovan Report noted: problems facing trade unionists, and how revostances.
The change in outlook is well illustrated “Many trade union leaders have gone on This situation makes doubly criminal the lutionary socialists should relate to them. We historically: Ken Coates in Trade Union Regisrecord unequivocally as being opposed to such action of those tendencies (starting with the have a situation in which very large numbers of ter 1969 compares the 100th Congress of the breaches (of negotiating procedures), and we Communist Party)!1) which concentrate upon workers are willing to go into militant action TUC: have no doubt of their sincerity in the matter. winning union positions as a strategy against the against the employers, the state, and very often, “A solemn and vast concourse, it followed a On occasions when their active intervention in their own union leaderships; however, all this right wing. This policy is ‘‘rewarded”’ by sensaseries of gargantum celebrations in which, it an unconstitutional dispute has become necestional renegacies: witness Will Paynter and Dave militancy is doing little more than maintaining seemed, practically all the English Establishment sary, they have almost inevitably sought to Bowman, who chose precisely the time of their present standard of living. Such a considerwere ready to join. Her Majesty, flanked on all persuade strikers to go back to work...” sharpened class struggle to resign from the ation will involve taking a look at the history of sides by the responsible statesmen of the Indeed, the trade union bureaucrat is Communist Party and openly ally themselves trade unions, their leadership, their role today, General Council whom she had ennobled, dined obliged to attack any rank-and-file action outwith the right wing. the problems they face and, most important, before television cameras to greater honour of side his control. His whole social position The answer is not, of course, to refuse to what revolutionary socialists should do. labour...” with the “first congress, a meagre depends upon him being able to ‘deliver the stand for union positions—such a policy would gathering of 34 virtually unknown men, Trade Unions Yesterday and Today goods”’. If he cannot control the rank and file, severely inhibit the chances of influencing large convoked...with difficuly to meet an unprece- Trade unions are the basic organisation of the he is no use to the bourgeoisie. But this very numbers of workers once a firm trade union dented offensive against the unions...”” working class. They arise from the first steps in need to control the rank and file means that he base has been formed. On the contrary, the One could add that the 1968 circus was a far working class consciousness. The proletariat (i.e. must also “deliver some goods” to the workers answer is to go for union positions (when there as well. Thus the trade union bureaucrat’s is rank-and-file backing) but to demonstratively
[page 5]
furthermore, helps to make for’greater rankly become militants, let alone revolutionary refuse to be integrated into the middle-class developments likely should Britain join the socialists. On the contrary, the best shop Common Market have had no corresponding style of life union officials enjoy. A revolutioand-file action. Undoubtedly one of the big response whatsoever from the trade unions. stewards will be the politically formed ones and nary trade union official should openly donate factors in the present strike wave is the fact that In general, trade union militants should large sums of money (all his wages above that even shop stewards are subject to tremendous millions of workers believe that their union respond to these problems by fighting for a of the average rember he represents) to left pressure in their functioning. leaders favour militancy. Thus in a distorted organisations. He should campaign constantly bold and militant policy of:
Revolutionaries must explain that the present way workers exercise control over their organi- (a) total opposition to redundancies. End ~—even to the point of resigning his position offensive against shop stewards is designed to sation.(2) haggling about redundancy compensation rates should this be a positive step—for regular elecweaken rank-and-file control over bargaining A further test of the essential differences and instead demand no sackings, but work tion of officials, the reduction of trade union and union organisation. The left in the trade between the Labour Party and the trade unions sharing. Every worker sacked is one more union movement must fight tooth and nail officials’ wages, and the right of recall by those is shown by a simple fact: no one anywhere in unemployed, every trade unionist “on the against moves to integrate shop stewards into who elected him. Failure to do this, even on the the political spectrum, no matter how right stones” is a blow to trade unionisn. the union apparatus (by making them full-time, grounds of preserving a base to “do constructive wing, has suggested legal sanctions against the (b) a large-scale recruiting campaign especially for instance). It must explain that the obsession work’’, will inevitably begin a process which will Labour Party. Why? Because it presents no directed at the young, women, white-collar and of the capitalist press with ‘‘unofficial” strikes end in degeneration. challenge whatsoever to capitalism (instead it is new industry sectors. Trades Councils would be is because these strikes are the ones which propping it up) and is in no way an obstacle to the idea! local bases for such a campaign. It goes enable workers to directly respond to changes Shop Stewards British monopoly capital’s attempts to moderwithout saying that such a campaign would be a in their situation quickly and decisively. They Shop stewards have been the target of the nise itself (on the contrary, it attempted to do formality unless the unions can demonstrate are the strikes least controllable by the trade hatred of the capitalist press which is a sure the job for capitalism). The main social role of by their militancy that unions are worthwhile. union bureaucrats. indication that they are more in tune with the unions today remains defending workers’ (c) acampaign to link up trade unionists in rank and file than the trade union bureaucrats. interests.
Still Workers’ Organisations? combines, industries and internationally. There In general they can be distinguished from trade should be a call for a European rank and file Certain people have argued that just as the union officials by the fact that they are lay- Some Structural Problems conference to work out a unified response to Labour Party is in its essential function a members and in practice are usually directly Trade unionists face many particular problems the attacks of international capital upon bourgeois formation so are trade unions basielected and even often recallable. Because of today: workers’ conditions. cally props for the status quo. Of course trade the relative increase in the importance of shop- 1. The growth of unemployment which seems (d) a campaign for the social ownership of unionschave gone far from their original role—it floor bargaining the role of shop stewards has certain to increase still further even in the the ‘commanding heights’’ of industry under is not now a question of workers creating trade become more and more decisive. In much capiabsence of a recession. Unemployment is now workers’ control. unions to meet the bourgeoisie, the worker now talist propaganda the shop steward is pictured roughly double what it was before Labour came finds the trade union already in existence with as a wild militant. This propaganda effects some to power—one of the few lasting monuments to Present-Day Attacks on the Trade Unions its own apparatus and bureaucracy. In many on the left, particularly middle-class students Wilson’s term of office!! Because the economy The bourgeoisie has always, of course, sought cases a worker will be unable to find employand lecturers who tend to romanticise the is so stagnant, unemployment will tend to to limit the role of trade unions either directly ment unless he is a member of the appropriate working class as compensation for their own increase (if production does not increase at by legal sanctions, victimisation of militants, guilt feelings about their class origins. The truth trade union. In some unions, this is used to least as fast as productive potential unemployetc., or indirectly, by persuading trade union is much more complex. The Donovan Report control militants, e.g. the ETU. The example of ment will increase). leaders to collaborate with them. However, had this to say about management's attitude Pilkingtons and the way the GMWU collaborated 2. Whilst year-to-year figures vary, there is a there are a number of special reasons why towards shop stewards: with the bosses in trying to smash the newly built-in tendency for the proportion of trades capitalism is at this stage trying to directly con- “Only 2% of managers held that shop formed General and Glass Workers’ Union is unionists in the total labour force to drop. The trol and shackle the unions. stewards were unreasonable, 95% taking the fresh in all our minds. main explanation of this is that many of those Firstly, we live in an era of sharpened interview that they were either very reasonable or One can have considerable sympathy with sectors which have been traditional strongholds national competition, and victory in this fairly reasonable. Four managers out of five these views but they are extremely mistaken. of trade unionism have tended to decline— struggle will go to those who can use the most thought that shop stewards were either very Whilst the trade union bureaucrats have control mining, railways, shipbuilding, etc.—whilst up-to-date techniques. This means bigger and of the unions they still have to be responsive to efficient or fairly efficient at their job. Nearly a many of the new industries which have replaced bigger units, round-the-clock shift working, rank-and-file wishes. In many trade unions third of them thought that shop stewards were them are more difficult to organise. This factor rationalised division of labour, the sweeping there is a polarisation between “left’’ and right a lot of help to management, and most of the has outweighed the growth of white-collar aside of all obstacles to the introduction of new in the bureaucracy and reat battles are fought remainder that shop stewards were of some trade unionism and the tendency for more techniques and methods, the more and more out. Whilst we must not create illusions in the help...” women to join unions. rapid replacement of plant and machinery. The Jones’s and Scanlons, it must be noted that the The objective position of shop stewards 3. Whilst there has been a huge concentration normal functioning of “free” trade union barvictory of the tendencies around them in the makes them much more responsive to rank-andof capital and growth of monopolies, union gaining and especially workshop negotiations two largest unions in the country was a big file control than trade union officials but it organisation still corresponds to the old over the control of conditions is a major obstablow to the plans for integrating unions into would be a big mistake to assume that they will, employer/employee relationship. The growth cle to this process. capitalist planning. Their verbal militancy, because of this, automatically and spontaneousof international monopolies and especially the
[page 6]
iuneory of the Party(5). However, this does imply Secondly, the operation of modern capitalism of the small size of the vanguard groups, their plete planning of wage costs. It must be noted isolation and the absence of worker militants the acceptance of the propagandist argument means that there must be a strong element of that a complete system of productivity deals is “planning” because of sharpened international that this revolutionary consciousness will be to put them forward from inside the movement. utopian from a capitalist point of view, even in inserted into the workers’ movement by propa- The winning of workers for revolutionary orgacompetition and the huge risk involved in new the absence of workers’ resistance. Uneven rates nisations thus becomes an imperative necessity. Investment. This means that every element of ganda from the outside. On the contrary, whilst of development in industry, the need to “lure”
However, it is extremely important that these cost must be planned in advance. ‘‘Free’’ wage propaganda for ideas of revolutionary socialism workers from one sector to another, etc. would bargaining introduces an element of uncertainty worker militants ate won for a total revolutiois vital at all times, the way of winning masses of introduce instability into the system—modern and unpredictability. This is one of the reasons nary position. The concept of winning militants people (and especially industrial workers) for capitalism is quite unable to overcome the for the capitalists’ hatred of the so-called wage on the basis of industrial struggle alone and then inherent anarchy of the capitalist mode of revolutionary ideas is by revolutionary praxis. drift (the gap between nationally-negotiated dealing with the political questions is extremely production.
The popularising of transitional demands and misguided. :
In their efforts to get workers to accept the creation of nuclei capable of winning masses wage rates and actual wage rates determined by local and workshop bargaining). of people to fight for those transitional demands productivity deals, employers very often offer The Communist Party has, over the years, Thirdly, after a long period of comparatively what appear to be very high wage increases. and taking these masses of people through an won tens of thousands of militant workers on full employment certain sections of the working Of course, the catch soon becomes apparent: experience is the way to develop revolutionary the basis of “servicing” their struggles and class have become extremely well-organised and massive redundancies and a terrible speed-up. consciousness on a mass scale. needs via industrial fractions and its press. This have imposed upon the employers an element The most important long-term effect is the loss led to the accruing of a large inactive memberof control—workers in some large motor Getting a Local Base of control over conditions. The establishment ship, the majority of whom could not be industry factories, dockers, sections of the of productivity bargaining, measured day work- At a time when revolutionary forces are weak further politicised because they did not attend ing, etc. on a complete scale would be a big in the trade union field and in many areas conprinting industry, etc. One of the recent aims of meetings. This also led to the phenamena of a the employers, especially under the Labour fined to one or two areas (and then very often defeat for the working class and should be large, virtually syndicalist wing in the C.P. vigorously fought by all socialists, (3) Government, has been to change the relationwhite-collar unians), membership of Trades which was never integrated into the Party. No ship of forces in these fields.
Councils will give activists contact with a variety revolutionary organisation can afford to have Fourthly, also arising from comparative full Building a Revolutionary Nucleus in of unions and industries. Although at the within its ranks unintegrated forces. At time the Unions employment and the strength of working-class present stage Trades Councils tend to be conof sharp political crisis when ‘‘unpopular’’ Organisation, there has been a shift of impor- In this situation the central task of socialists is stands have to be taken (e.g. supporting the servative, and what left there is tends to the tance from nation-wide bargaining to local Arabs in the 6-day war) such elements will be C.P., in time of sharp crisis they can easily to link the extreme militancy of big sections of bargaining. This has lessened the use of paythe working class to the revolutionary struggle the source of considerable instability and exert become focal points for coordinated militant ments by results schemes to the employers and an opportunist pressure on the organisation. activities. Revoiutionaries should, anyway, try against capitalism. If anything emerges from enabled certain sections ot workers to obtain The C.P. discovered this at the time of the to convert them into instruments for generalisthe present stage of British capitalism, it is the quite high rates ot pay. The corollary of this is invasion of Czechoslovakia. ing.class struggles on a local level. They should strength of the working class and the weakness moves for parity from other sections of workers’
It is precisely by fighting in all industrial of the bourgeoisie and its agencies. The mainly be in the forefront of campaigns to break down in the same industry—giving rise to the famous struggles for transitional demands that con- “economist’’ nature of the present strike wave non-unionism and should become organising leap-frogging effect. It also strengthens union sciousness will be heightened and the basis of means that after it is over the class relationship centres for local solidarity. Although there are Organisation at factory and local level as winning militants for revolutionary ideas will be of forces will, at best, remain unchanged. More- ‘many weaknesses in the Liverpool Trades Opposed to the power of national organisation laid. Fortunately we are aided by other factors: over, whilst the struggle is limited to wage Council, it has played an important role in this and the trade union bureaucracy. As the demands there is the danger that a whole series 1. that young workers have been affected by respect over the last few years. Donovan Report wistfully noted (page 32), the youth radicalisation and many of them are of productivity agreements will be the main Before one can do serious trade union work “For a brief period between the wars the conor help a living struggle one has to build up a attracted by revolutionary ideas. outcome. Junction of industry-wide bargaining and heavy 2. the Communist Party has now lost its virtual Whilst completely supporting the wage certain minimum of resources. Whereas the unemployment gave trade union leaders an struggles, revolutionaries should seek to insert monopoly of the allegiance of political worker strength of ideas can by themselves be very unusual ascendancy in their own organisations” into them transitional demands and should militants; and effective in university and intellectual circles, —Things have certainly changed. advocate the complete rejection of all strings. (4) 3. that other sectors have come on the scene in industry it is the size of one’s organisation Similarly all redundancies should be opposed which are more politicised than the average and the scope of one’s press which together Productivity Deals and work-sharing counterposed. Shop stewards mifitant—Irish workers, black workers, etc. with correct ideas is decisive. To effectively It is in this context that productivity bargains should take advantage of the present militancy assist a living struggle a small group will require have to be set. The achievement of a full system to assert their control over hiring and firing; Revolutionary Consciousness and Trade a relationship of forces in which it is not of productivity bargaining would be the capitashift working, overtime, promotion procedures, Union Consciousness swamped. This means that in the first stages lists’ ideal solution. All measures of rationalisaetc. There should be total opposition to any the greatest successes wil! be obtained in those Of course, trade union consciousness by itself tion would have to be accepted by the workers state control over unions. fields where the scale of the struggle is small will never automatically lead to revolutionary before wage increases were granted. Moreover The job of putting these demands into the and the strength of opponents (especially the consciousness. Indeed this is one of the most Productivity bargains would ensure the comcurrent struggles is extremely difficult in view trade union bureaucrats) is weak. After successes important contributions made by Lenin in his
[page 7]
nowhere is this more true than in Britain.
The Institute of Workers Control! have been registered, revolutionaries will gather activist | can’appreciate that this study would be of Living proof exists of this general proposition value. The book’s main weakness, as | see it, is its sufficient experience and forces to move into The Institute of Workers Control has done “economist” orientation, especially its almost comin the experience of the struggle against the even more important sectors. extremely good work in popularising the ideas plete ignoring of the question of “workers’ control” penal clauses in 1969. We had two political oneof industrial democracy (for a study 9f this see (4) A transitional demand is one which bridges the United Action Committees day strikes which had the perspective of growing the September issue of /nternationa/). However, gap between the consciousness of people in struggle bigger and bigger. A network of trade union In the absence cf a revolutionary party but the as they are now and revolutionary ideas. It is distinit has never clearly defined itself or decided guished from the most militant democratic or minimum defence committees sprung up and there was a presence of burning and immediate tasks which whether it is to be a purely educational organisademand by the fact that it always involves the eroding huge demonstration in London on May 1st. But a revolutionary party should tackle, the tactic tion or an action-orientated body. (And a real away of capitalist power and the subsequent enhancing because this movement was restricted to of the united action committee is paramount. workers control campaign needs to be linked of workers’ power. It is distinguished from the maxidefensive demands and the main one was conmum or full programme demand by virtue of the fact This is usually called the united front tactic, with living struggles). On many occasions it that it has to seem reasonable to those to whom it is ceded everything collapsed like a pack of cards. but this is a little misleading. More correctly, fuzzes over ideas (in popularising the ideas of directed, here and now at their present level of con- The present strike wave could suffer the same Jack Jones and Hugh Scanlon, when the latter’s the united front refers to the unity of mass sciousness. It is distinguished from the most radical fate. definition of industrial democracy equals organisations of the working class. The united reformist demand by virtue of the fact that it is impos- This makes the struggle against limiting the sible for the bourgeoisie to grant it. As Trotsky workers’ participation and increased productiaction committee, on the other hand, consists explained: of bringing together on a single issue (or a very vity combined with high wages). Seeing ‘‘left’’ movement to “economist” demands (i.e. bread “It is easier to overthrow capitalism than to realise and butter issues) absolutely imperative. A politrade union leaders as a bridge to the rank and minimum programme) all those forces which this demand (for a sliding scale of wages and hours) file, many elements in the IWC are extremely tical struggle combined with transitional accept a principled position on the issue. In this under capitalism. Not-one of our demands will be reluctant to criticise these trade unian leaders. demands is essential if anything at all is to be realised under capitalism. That is why we are calling way some of the consequences of the fragmenthem transitional demands...”’ Discussions on the gained.
At the same time, association with the workers’ tation of the left are overcome and the workers’
Transitional Programme, Writings of Leon Trotsky, This is not to say that the trade unions control movement gives such people as Jack and anti-imperialist struggles are assured greater 1938-39.
Jones and Hugh Scanlon a left coloration. should be converted into political parties. The solidarity than if every group did its mite on its However, the most well-thought-out transitional unions have a different function from that of a Failure to criticise them in these circumstances demand will remain a propaganda slogan unless it is own. Making this distinction between united linked to action. It remains at that level unless it is political party. They are in essence the elemencan assist them in keeping this left coloration action committees and the united front in no actually mobilising workers in struggle. tary organisations of the working class in which even at a time when they damp down rank-andway exonerates the refusal of such sectarian A typical transitional demand is that of workers’ workers receive their first lessons on organisafile struggles. organisations as the SLL and CPB (ML) for control over hiring and firing. An element of this tion. They can be much more than that, howalready exists in well-organised sectors in times of refusing to take part in them; on the contrary, Revolutionaries should continue to support comparative prosperity. However, when management ever. They can become the great working class this concept makes it more imperative and the workers’ control movement but it is essenwishes to sack workers because of slackening of school in which all political struggles in the brands refusal to take part in principled camtial that they do nothing to assist “left’’ trade demand or in the interests of rationalisation, a very apt class are fought out. They can become the paigns utterly reprehensible. slogan will be that of no sacking, but work sharing. It union bureaucrats keep their radical reputation. arena in which workers learn to distinguish It is essential that revolutionaries spare no will appear reasonable to the workers and yet cut into Indeed, a struggle within the workers’ control capitalist power. Of course, it will not be fully transibetween opportunism and revolutionary polieffort in forming united action committees to movement for a transitional programme means tional unless it is linked with a refusal to accept a cut tics. The task remains, therefore, to build up assist present trade union struggles. The call combatting and freely criticising the ideas of in wages when work is shared. If the capitalists then nuclei of revolutionary workers in each industry for solidarity in all major struggles should be say they cannot afford this, a demand for the opening Jones and Scanlon. Such criticism has to be and trade union, working through united action made. These calls for solidarity should be geneof the books to verify this should be the response—if both sensitive and non-sectarian, otherwise it then, as is very unlikely, this demand is granted and committees. ralised in the formation of permanent trade will be incomprehensible to sections of the the bosses really cannot afford to pay full wages, the Pat Jordan union solidarity committees. It is clear that at rank and file which look upon “‘left’’ trade appropriate slogan will be for the workers to take over. the present stage it is impossible to do much and run the factory themselves. bureaucrats as real militants. it is best, by far, Footnotes The job of working out precise transitional demore than aid each struggle as it comes up and if such criticism comes from trade union mands is, of course, that of the revolutionaries (1) Although this is not the main criticism to be make general propaganda for the idea of permamilitants. involved in a particular struggle. Only they will be able made of the Communist Party’s trade union policy. nent solidarity committees. However, sooner or to judge the exact mood of the masses. However, a The C.P., despite some muted criticisms of the Ruslater a crucial struggle will come up, one in Conclusion revolutionary organisation should seek to insert the sians over the invasion of Czechoslovakia, stil! basically method and concept of transitional demands into which, for instance, the Tories will attempt to— in the present stage of the decline of capitalism, follows the political line of the Kremlin. This expresses every struggle it can influence. in the words of The Economist—“‘stand firm” itself in the trade union movement in a special form when far from being able to grant reforms it has (5) However, one has to be on guard against the of ‘‘peaceful coexistence’ between the C.P. and “left” against wage increases. The miners could easily to seek to take back existing workers’ rights, crude and one-sided presentation of Lenin's ideas on trade union bureaucrats. be the victim of the Tories’ endeavour to end the era of classical trade unionism is over. Either this topic a la C.P. and SLL (not to speak of some (2) But there is a reverse side to the coin: the “‘left”’ the present wave of wage increases: they are in extreme Maoist groups). Lenin explained that when he the unions become instruments of political reputation of these leaders enhances their ability to combatted the ideas of the Economists, who had a comparatively weak position as compared struggle and emancipation of the working class defuse struggles at decisive moments. It is extremely “bent the stick one way”, he had to ‘‘bend it the other with the dockers, for instance. In such an event doubtful, for instance, whether Deakin could have or it is their fate to be integrated into the state way’’ in order to straighten it. called off the dockers in the way Jack Jones managed. the committee of solidarity could become a machine and be used more and more to police In reality, the phenomenon of developing revolu- (3) Tony Cliff, ideological leader of the Internatioliving reality. tionary consciousness and the effect on workers in the working class—no third way exists. And nal Socialists group, has written an interesting and taking part in struggle is a very complex process. informative book on this topic. As a former workshop
[page 8]
BUY all YOUR red BOOKS at RED BOOKS Red Mole 182 Pentonville Road, London N.1 Revolutionary internationalist Marxist fortnightly, edited by Tariq Ali.
News, discussion and analysis on all SPECIALISTS IN MARXIST LITERATURE subjects of importance to the revolutionary left in Britain and internationally.
IRELAND TROTSKY RED CIRCLES set up by Mole The Revolution Betrayed 25/- 1934 Republican Congress supporters all over the country provide by George Gilmore 6/- In Defence of Marxism 21/a framework for action around issues Permanent Revolution 21/- The Making of Northern of immediate importance. Look for The Essential Trotsky 8/6 Ireland by D.R. O’Connor the address of your nearest Red Circle Lysaght 3/- Stalin 30/in The Red Mole. My Life 35/- Theobald Wolfe Tone by 1/6 per copy. For a subscription to the History of the Russian 10/- Frank Macdermot 7/6 Mole, fill in and send the form below.
Revolution (3 vols.) each Please send me THE RED MOLE for JAMES CONNOLLY Writings 1937-38 25/the next 6/12 months. I enclose cheque/ » 1938-39 25/- P.O./cash for £1/£2.
Labour in Ireland 21/- ” 1939-40 25/- Socialism & Nationalism 21/- Labour in Irish History 3/6 ee ay MANDEL Europe versus America? 35]ee ey An Introduction to Marxist Economic Theory 8/6 THE RED MOLE, 182 Pentonville Road, POLEMIC London N.1. 01-837 6954, 01-278 2616.
T-SHIRTS The Credibility Gap: The Red Mole T-Shirts. Black on red & Politics of the SLL Foreign subs: Asia/Africa/Australia/ (An IMG pamphlet) 5/red on white showing large Mole N& S America: £5 per year (airmait); £3 per year (ordinary). W. Europe:
The Inconsistencies of giving Red salute. £3 per year. “State Capitalism” by 20/- per shirt, small, medium & large.
Ernest Mandel 4/6 Enclose 1/- postage.
Open 10 a.m. -5.30 p.m. (Monday - Saturday) For all postal orders please add 10% for postage. Send s.a.e. for free catalogue. If you want to help Red Books, order ail your textbooks etc. through us.