British trade unionists are faced with very difficult problems: the wage freeze, increasing uuemployment and anti-trade union legislation. There is a growing movement of struggle on these questions. Although the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign was formed to oppose the aggressive war against Vietnam, it is not indifferent to these struggles. it regards them as part of a joint fight against the Labour Government's abandonment of Socialist principles, It is no accident that the men who have initiated legislation against trade unionists for fighting for higher wages have also sided with the American Government in its efforts to prop up a viciously anti-working class regime in South Vietnam, In fact these two aspects of the Labour Government's policy are inseparable - both have their origin in the fect that Mr, Wilson and his Cabinet have decided to do Johnson's bidding in both foreign and domestic policy.
Value of Solidarity Our appeal to you is for solidarity with the people in Vietnew, Nobody is more aware than the active trade unionist of the importance of solidarity in struggle, It is, indeed, the one thing that employers and other reactionaries fear and hate more than anything else, When workers are isolated they are easy to cefeat; ane every trade unionist knows the value of such solidarity action as blacking, collection of strike funds and supporting publicity. He also knows that the people who call upon him to return to work so that negotiations can begin are not friends,
Vietnam’s Struggle is Just The Vietnam Solidarity Campaign takes a similar attitude towards the Vietnam war, Because we are convinced that the Vietnamese people's struggle against foreign domination and domestic reaction (typified by Hitler-loving Marshal Ky) is a just one, we want them to win.,We do not call upon them to abandon their struggle in order to negotiate any more than we would call upon strikers to abandon their struggle The decision as to when to negotiate or make concessions, when £0 start a fight or to close it, is for those conterned to make , But there is another aspect to solidcarit j i
' : y: just as every victory b a particular section of workers is a victory for all de so ac
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victory against oppression and foreign domination anywhere in the world is a victory for all the ordinary people of the worid, The reverse is also true: every defeat suffered by one section is a defeat for all,
How to Avoid World War
Everyone in his right mind wants to co all he can to prevent the outbreak of another world war, Just how to prevent this from taking place is the great question facing us all, Again we can learn from the experience of trade unionists, We all know that having inflicted a defeat on one set of workers an employer will be encouraged to tackle others, The auclogy is obvious: can we doubt that if the United States is successful in putting down the Vietnamese people it will go on to attack others? Isn't it clear that the most likely outcome of an American victory in Vietnam would be an attack on China? All our experience of aggressors - Hitler, Hirohito, Mussolini ete, - confirms this thesis, Support for the national liberation forces in Vietnam is a blow for peace.
Your Support is Needed
Even here at home, there are very good reasons why trade unionists should support the struggle of the Vietnamese people, Until the whole pattern of the Labour Government's policy is reversed there is no hope of ending its policy of wage freeze, Forcing the Government to change its Vietnam policy would not just have an isolated effect, A victory on this front would bring to the fore those people who are also against the wage freeze, An ending of the American alliauce would mean that a whole alternative domestic policy would be necessary, Today there are only two policies; one is for Socialism, the other for backward-looking capitalism, Solidarity with the people of Vietnam is directly linked with the fight for Socialist policies in this country,
The workers and peasants of Vietnam are being bombed every day. The engineers, builders, dockers, construction workers, farmers, etc,, have built up their country through 25 years of war, more bitter than anything we have suffered, They deserve our support and solidarity, Fight in your trade union and political party for solidarity with the people of Vietnam,
If you wish to support the Vietnamese people's struggle, your place is in the Vietnam Solidarity Campaign, Please join us in this work,
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