Partition Means

The British Tories have called Gharlie Haughey's bluff. Their latest plan for the North is a revamped Stormont —— thinly disguised Loyalist rule. There could be no clearer snub to Haughey!'s proposal of anewrelationship with Britain. The message to Haughey is absolutely clear: Britain means to stay in Ireland and partition will continue to be enforced by British terror.

PATHETIC RESPONSES Haughey the 'republican! has been pathetic in his response: the next The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has announced a 20% wage increase as its target for the next round of wage bargaining. In addition it is looking for an extra week!s holiday and a 35 hour week, These demands were not pulled out of ahat. With an inflation rate of over 20% and unemployment heading towards the 10% mark, the I1CTU!s demands are the basic minimum required to defend worker s! living standards, There will be a hard fight to win these demands, The Federated i Union of Employers is calling for a three month "Pay Pause! while the government is canvassing a 7% — 8% ceiling on wage increases, It is clear that there is little common ground between the ICTU i and the FUE/government. The # battle lines are firmly drawn and H only a full call-up of its troops by the ICTU can prevent a steep cut in workers! incomes and conditions, The trade union leaders, however, are not preparing for sucha timé he rakes Thatcher a siiver teapot he intends to politely ask her if we can have our six counties back Haughey has no strategy for Irish unity and no interest in achieving a genuine British withdrawal.

Fianna Fail!'s stance has been equalled by the SDLP. John Hume has said that the SDLP will be pleased to talk to Atkins about "the positive aspects!!! Presumably Hume isreferring to the prospect of a local assembly regaining control over housing, education, services and employment!

confrontation. While the employers and politicians have already declared war the ICTU continues to parlay and in the enemy camp at that --— the Employer-lL abour Conference, This isa strategy for defeat] The gap between the two sidesis obviously too wide to be bridged by talks which are bound by the collaborationIst rule of the Employer-L abour Con ference,:

The trade unions need full freedom of action to defend thelr member s, They must immediately withdraw from the E-LC, It is necessary to impress on the FUE and government that all future negotiations will be on an ad hoc basis and liable to suspension at any time. If the basic minimum for preserving living standards (ie 20% plus shorter working week) is not recognised as the starting point for a new wage increase and better conditions, LOYALIST RULE! social South look to Haughey. ANY DEVOLUTION MEANS For 50 years the North had a local assembly with all these powers and more, The Unionists who will always have a majority in any Six County assembly used these powers to grind down the anti-unionist population to exclude anti-unionsts from employment, to deny them decent housing and full educational opportunities -- in short, to create a sectarian stronghold, Despite direct rule the Loyalists have clung to these sectarian privileges, with the permission and collusion of both Labour and Tory governments. To imagindé that there is any possibility that the Loyalists might now surrender these privileges is nothing short of lunacy.

There are no 'positive aspects! to possible Loyalist rule, The Loyalists have given us many examples of what they are likely to do if they can grab back more govern-— mental control. They have, for example, under the leader ship of Paisley's lieutenant 'Reverend! Beattie, stalled the building of the Poleglass housing estate, situated on the edge of the overcrowded, predominantly Catholic, Twinbrook estate in Belfast, Just think of voice that’ will tell the British and their allies where to go.

A CLEAR POLICY The British should get out and be quick about it. The Loyalists shauld be told that they will no longer be allowed to block the aspiration of the overwhelming majority of the Irish people for national unity.

Haughey and the SDLP don't Say this because they have the same class interests as the British Tories. They are a fifth column within the fight against British imperialism.

Connolly wrote that only the working class remain as ''the incorruptible inheritors of the fight for Irish freedom", The working class at the head of all Ireland's exploited will settle accounts with the likes of Haughey and the SDLP and go on to defeat imperialism.

Connolly's message is as clear today as ever, There can be no imperialist solution to the divisions in our country. '!'The cause of Ireland is the cause of labour", means

----- pull-quotes -----

employer -labour conference OUT!

BAT lon TERROR