The new issue of New Left Review (No 46)contains an important interview with Hugh Scanlon on 'The role of militancy'. The significance of the views expressed lies in the fact that Hugh Scanlon ws recently elected to the Presidency of the A.E.U., having fought a bitter campaign against the right wing sup,orters of Lord Carron and John Boyd. His campaign drew support from a wide cross section of left wing opinion in the union and, as is made clear in the interview, was fought on a platform of opposition to the Government's Incomes Policy and of greater democracy within the union, including the right of the national committee to be the policy making body, and of the right of members to elect all officials - a refreshing contrast to 'Carron's Law’. When asked how opposition to the incomes policy can be made more effective, Scanlon refers to the A.E.U.'s current wages application which seeks a substantial pay rise without productivity deals; t-is is a significant advance on the view widely held in the T.U. movement that productivity deals are good for everybody and that unions should argue mainly about the price of concessions. In Scanlon's view the next step in the development of opposition could come if such an agreement was blocked by the government. 4lthough he does not specify what he or his union would do, he does speak of the ‘development of resistance to the prices and incomes act in accordance with our own and TUC policy'. Also welcome is his view that national nesotiations should entre on minimum wage levels and holidays, etc, whilst wage demands in general should be the province of the shops stewards. Such a development runs counter to the attempts of the right wing to weaken shop stewards and would make government intervention in wages bargaining much less easy, thus striking a blow against wage restraint. On the question of workers' control, Scanlon feels that this will ‘come out of the wider political and industrial struggle, rather than just from a narrow fight for improved wiges on the shop floor, although the latter is an integral part of the struggle.' He sees struggle on the shop floor over victimisation etc, having a bearing on workers' control but goes on to give the fight for public ownership primacy over that for workers' control in the private sector, and does not seem to view the two as an integrated struggle. This issue of New Left Review also contains articles by E. H. Carr on the Collectivisation of agriculture in Russia, one on the Australian Left and many Otherse.seseeeee- Available 5s post free from N.L.R., 7 Carlisle Street, London, W.l.
FOOD PRICES JUMP - WILL GO UP ANOTHER FIVE TO TEN PER CENT BY EASTER -
by Dave Windsor Speaking on December 14th, Mr. Len Reeves-Smith, secretary of the National Grocers Federation, predicted that the family grocery bill will rise by 5 to 10 per cent before Easter. He gave this persoral estimate after meeting the Minister of Agriculture Mr. Fred Peart, along With abort 20 other representatives of the wholesale and retail grocery trades at the Ministry. "This rise will be due entirely to devaluation," said Mr. Reeves—Smith yesterday. "Price increases will filter through, but it is too early yet to say what the final result will be," said Mr. Dennis Ellam, secretary of the National Federation of Wholesale Grocers. The price rises predicted by Mr. Reeves-Smith will be in addition to those which have already taken place in the last month or so. Accord-— ing to Sheila Black, the Financial Times women's correspondent, in the December 14th. issue: "The rise is exceptional for the time of year, for the biggest increases tend to show up during the summer when fruit and vegetable prices fluctuate between extremes. The culprits are, predictably, meat and dairy produce. Both categories were hard hit because the dock strike ran almost coincidentally with the foot and mouth epidemic" (although no-one has noticed prices going down now that the strike is over ! Dave Windsor) " Most sensitive to higher prices was beef, which was generally 2s a pound dearer on the expensive cuts at 15s and upwards, and pork. Lamb was edging up, though rather less than either pork or beef, since demand was rather lower. Eggs were rather dearer than last year at between 4s 6d and 5s a dozen (in 1966, they were from 3d to 6d less). Milk, in the case of two shoppers, was not available in the 10d-a-pint quality, and they both had to take "gold-top" at lid a pint. In past years, the December index has been only slightly above that of November, with the biggest increases showing up in dairy produce, while meat has tended to cost less. This year, there has also been somewhat unseasonal stability in canned and packaged goods which usually cost a little more around Christmas because of a death of bargain and special offers. This year, there has been almost a rush on canned goods, and retailers have commented that it lodks as if customers are laying up stocks against steep price increases. Sheila Black explains that " So far, the cost of our basic shopping basket has not been affected by devaluation. As far as imported goods are concerned, food firms in manufacturing, wholesaling and retail sectors buy well in advance and higher import costs will take time to filter through to the consumer. Futthermore, a backlog of unperishable produce, recently released from the docks, has bolstered raw materials supplies to a substantial degree." The outlook is even gloomier than Mr. Reeves-Smith predicted, according to Sheila Black: 'Mr Fred Peart, Minister of Agricultute, forecasts a rise in the near future in food prices of anything form ls to 3s in the £1. . . . Overall, there may have to rather bigger increases than those prompted only by devaluation and the loss of SET rebated. The adjustment of margins to mare economic levels and the higher costs ef packaging, owing to imported wood-pulp and other ingredients for card and paper, will also have to be taken into account.