from Robert Gray & Alec Bagloy
The Labour Town Council in Aberdeen has recently become the 13th in Britain to boycott South African goods, following the lead of such ship-building towns as Newcastle, South Shields, West Hartlepool, Hull, Gt. Yarmouth, and Liverpool, and others including a number of London onese
In Aberdeen, however, there has been a vicious reaction to the boycott, far more so than anywhere olse, and the problem of local unempll-— oyment is clearly one of the axes the Apartheid business apologists have chosen to grind in their attempt to discredit and undermine the Labour Council, at the samo time making Aberdeen into a test-case of opposition to Anti-Apartheid.
The ostensible reason for the outerry is that the boycott threatens workors! livelihood, especially with regard to a South African order for trawlers. Tho Chamber of Commerce has emerged as the unlikoly champion of insccure shipyard workers after a resolution token last week 3 while the unions support tho boycott so far. In fact there is little reason for thinking the order will be cancelled - unless at tho behest of Apartheid's business apologists to ‘teach those intorforing socialists a lesson.' Tho order is a contract botween two private firms, and it is presumably in the interests of both that it should stand, On February 29th an MCF meeting was held to discuss how the local issue fits into the goneral pattorn of Apartheid and the tactics.of its apologists.
Tho sudden announcement of the boycott was, perhaps, somewhat inept, especially as it has in no way been a rocent issues it is the result of a coaseless campaign by Dob Hughes during the past 2 years. (he was comm itted as a candidate *to the boycott and since then has only just got the matter through). The opposition to it is a piece of hysterical diversion to obscure the real issues, including Government responsibility for the chronic difficulties of our shipyards. Local organised labour is beginn= ing to rally behind the boycott 3 tho March Trades Council will be decisive.
Tho outery of the Thomson owvmed local press, plus local Tories? antics may havo had some succes with ordinary citizens, It is to be hoped that the trade unions and the council will not be stampoded into changing their attidude, and that local socialists, in fighting for the boycott, will launch a strongcounter-attack, making clear the real issue of business support for South African fascism, and the sad effects of Tory economic policy on Scotland!s great shipbuilding industry. ~ ED. notes next issuo will contain more material on this question.