North’s union lead

face".

"It is not just the odd factory which is closing whole industries like man-made fibres are collapsing in the face of the recession, and,with them, the jobs of thousands of Northern workers".

Terry Carlin, the full-time officer of ICTU in the 6 Counties has described the Tories economic policies as "criminal". He has described the effects of British government policies over the last two decades. * Man-made fibres: In 1974 this industry employed over 9,000 workers, now it is down to about 2,500 and expected to fall even further in coming months. * Ship-building: In the late ‘50's this industry employed over 24,000 workers, now its down to 6, 5000 * Linen: Once the backbone of the Northern economy employing 40, 000 people, now its been virtually wiped out.

The general verdict in the North is that,even with the end of the recession, there will be no economy in the 6 counties for an upturn. The severity of the crisis has brought some new and strange additions to the list of employment deserts. Towns like Carrickfergus, traditionally loyalist which have usually enjoyed almest full employment, has now been devastated by wholesale lay -offs at major plants like Courtaulds and ICI. Protestant workers have also been jolted by the Tories attacks on the public service, an area where jobs have always been thought to be safe and secure.

These latter developtnents have prompted some fresh attempts to build a common political front of Catholic ond Protestant workers which would aim at getting the Tories to cushion the effects of their economic policies in the North. The most noticeable attempt involves former SDLP leaders Gerry Fitt and Paddy Devlin who have called for the seiting up of a "Left Alliance’ to fight the forthcoming local government elections in May. This plan has already received support from the Republican Clubs and the miniscule United Labour Party. This electoral mishmash would like to receive the public backing of the North's trade unions -a most unlikely possibility .

In fact, despite verbal attacks on the Tories’ policies as “criminal” NICTU has absolutely refused to sanction industrial action in defence of jobs and against the cuts never mind prov -iding leadership for a Fightback. Real opposition to the Tories would demand that NICTU toke action over the longstanding unemployment blackspots such as Catholic Bally -murphy, Catholic Strabone and Catholic Derry as well as the more recent victims like Carrickfergus. The NICTU know thot would run the risk of antagonising Protestant workers and that is a risk the trade union bureaucracy are not prepared to take.

NICTU's fears, however, are not completely divorced from reality. The attractions of sectarianism as a solution to the unemployment problems of Protestant workers were underlined in February by decisions taken at Armagh and Cookstown District Councils. Both councils are loyal -ist controlled.

Armagh Council had been instructed to implement a Code of Employment and Promotion Procedure adopted by the Local Government Staff Commission but loyalist councillors ganged up to ensure that staff appointments would remain in their patronage and not open to public scrutiny. Cookstown Council rejected a report by the Fair Employment Agency which indicted the Council for discriminating against Catholics in job appointments. Of the Council's senior staff only 2 out of 15 are Catholic; of 57 manual staff only 15 are Catholic; A great many of the North's loyal ist controlled councils have refused to sign the Declaration of Fair Employment.

The trade union leadership has done nothing to counteract this tendency to seek sectarian solutions to the economic crisis. Indeed, on the April 2nd’ Day of Action’ against the public expenditure cuts last year NICTU organised the protests with a view to minimising the mobilisation of workers from anti-unionist areas. The whole approach of the trade union leadership to the fight against unemployment and the cuts never rises above lickspittle pleadings that the Tories should treat the 6 Counties as "a special case*.

NO SECTARIAN SOLUTIONS POSSIBLE And so they betray the interests of all workers by masking the fact that it is the imperialist system which is in crisis and not just the vindictive policies of the Brit ish Tories. Unlike the "hungry thirties" there ore no sectarian solutions capable of immunising Protestant workers from the scourge of unemployment. Only oa socialist answer is possible: yet the trade union leaders determinedly refuse to mobilize that section of the working class which, having suffered most from the sectarian policies guaranteed by imperialism, is most capable of mapping out a line of march. ging imperialist domination can offer real prospects of haltino t!e Jecline of the Northern economy. The combativity of anti-unionist workers demonstreied in the anti-repression transform the balance of forces in to play in the battle against unemployment. The 1,500°anti-unionist contingent on the Belfast protest last April point to their willingness to For the past few months television viewers in Britain and Ireland have had a feast of Irish history on their screens, both the BBC and Thames . TV produced series detailing the history of Ireland.

The Thames series "The Troubles"

This was a television series which took over two years to make and attempted to look at an 800 yeor span of Irish history with an emphas is on that "The Troubles" was a major achievment despite attempting to compress such a time period into five programmes. Although masquerading behind 'balonce' and ‘objectivity’ the producers of the series, lan Stuttard and Richard Broad, took a position on the interference of Britoin in Irish history.

It became patently clear os the series progressed where the blame for Ireland's 'Troubles' lay.

Only challen- well illustrated in the programme on the Unionist State from the 1920's to the 1960's, from the intervening decades and counterposing the analysis of Michael Farrell and the apologetics of Glen struggle over the past 13 years would favour of the working class if brought workers who formed the largest single —-~ rs e Oe aed SG fn-* finished its run at the end of January.

the six counties. There is little doubt for analysis.

This was Using old film foot age take up the challenge.

But anti-unionist workers are not fools. They will not take up position behind a trade union leadership that has presided over the st ructural discrimination essential to the survival of the Northern statelet, Barr, the programme clearly illustrated the sectarian and ant i-catholic nature of the Six Counties.

One of the most striking pieces of film was, interestingly enough made by the Southern Government during the anti-partition campaign of the late 40's ond early 50's. This clearly illustrated the sectarian allocation of housing used by Unionists to discriminate against Catholics. This programme clearly leaned on Michael Farrel's book, Northern Ireland: The Orange Stote, both as a source book and as a framework The second last programme on the '66-72 period dealt with the build uo to the Civil Rights movement; internment and Bloody Sunday . Again it was clear what the role of the British and the Unionists was. One of the most impressive elements of this programme was ao documentary film ‘reconstruction’ of Bloody Sunday. However it must be said thot the last programme of the series foiled badly to live up to the expec -tations which the previous episodes had built up. It became clear in this programme that the makers of embattled nationalist ghettoes of the North should be a cornerstone of such a battle. Young workers in the South should be encouraged to form links with the youth of places like Bally murphy and the Bogside. Delegations of young trade unionists to the North to investigate the situation of youth in the ghettoes, to discuss common problems would be a major step in starting to build all-lreland solidarity .

the series were not capable of following through their analysis to its inevitable conclusion: British withdrawal and the necessity to end Partition. Instead of the cl arity and consistency of the previous episodes, this programme limped along from one banal conclusion to another finally dismissing the British withdrawal option as a false solution.

While it is uncl ear why this was so there is no doubt that the fact that the series was made by a major ‘establishment' television company placed severe limitations on its ability to come to terms with today's presence of British troops on | rish soil. Yet that in itself does not detract from the overall value of the series. For the first time millions of people in Britain ond Ireland were able to see an account of the recent history of Ireland which left little doubt as to the role of Britain and it's Unionist allies in | rish history. In Ireland, history, no matter how far back,has an importance ond an impact which shouldn't be underestimated. The Irish people are still prisoners of the history of British involvement in | reland. It is a long history. Professor Donal McCartney of UCD criticised the series on the grounds that it revived a nationalist attitude to Irish history which he and other histor*ans have done their best to bury. If that is the case, then the series was obviously worthwhile.

An important element in its success and impact was the brilliant television techniques which the producers used to put their case, techniques which gave the series a pace and sharpness rarely seen in television history or current affairs and without whichgit could never have attracted the audience it did. Because of Irish Government censorship it is something RTE is unable to even undertake.

This, in itself,is a savage indictment of the Irish Governments broadcasting censorship, RTE and Irish journalists; in that order. That such a series was produced by a commercial British television station, while RTE's contribution to posterity was to hand over it's film archives to the BBC for their effort, is an indication of whot ten years of Government censorship has resulted in.

RUAIDHR!I MAC NEILL

As we go forward from International effect on the state as a ‘whole. Tis context is even more of a reality for SOCIALIST REPUBLIC PAGE 7