UWC RE-MOBILISES No response from ICTU

The Ulster Workers! Council, the organising force behind the 1974 loyalist stoppage which brought down the Sunningdale power-sharing Executive was reformedatameeting inBelfast onFebruary 25th. The 32 shop stewards who attended the meet— ing represented tanker drivers, power and shipyard workers. They appointeda"'21 man" committee with ex-peace person, Harry Murray inthe chair.

One of thenewUWC'sfirst actions, was toissuea challenge to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the organisation to which the vast majority of trade unionistsinlrelandareaffiliated. The UWC areraising the oldcall for the "Ulster TUC" directly linked to the British Trade Union Congress.

Ironically, the 1CTU through its autonomous Northern Ireland Committee, has paved the way for the resurgence of the UWC through its total refusal to mobilise Northern trade unionists against the vicious anti-working class policiesof the British Tory Government. Instead of organis— ing industrial action against the mass unemployment and the public service cuts, the |CTUhas sought an alliance with the bosses‘ union, the Conteaeration of British Industry, and those same Unionist MP's who faithfully support the Tories at Westminster in an attempt to ''moderate the eff— ect of Government policies on Northern Ireland!!. Thus, the UWC have been able to attack the ICTU for "not doing enough to safeguard jobs in Northern Irefand!'.

ORGANI SING SHIPYARDS Although it has not been courting publicity since the initial meeting the UWCis busy organisingin the shipyards andfactories. Ostensibly concentrating on 'breadand butter!issues, the UWC!Saimis clear: withProtestant Workers facing massunemployment for the first time since the 1930's, the UWC hopes to turn their anger and despair into sectarian attackson the North!s Catholics. Both the 1974 and the unsuccess-— ful 1977 loyalist stoppages were accompanied by widespread intimidation which the so-called 'security forces! did little tohalt. Atkins persistent refusal to ban the UDA whose members have beenresponsible for alongiist of terrorist attacks on repub— licansindicates that the UWC will again have a free path tointimidate.

Despite Paistey's 'Carson trail! rallies, it will not be easy for the UWC torepeat anything on the scale of the previous stoppages. The loyalist camp ispretty badly divided and with sectarian lines in employment having been hardened and over the past decade, new sectarian solutions to what is practically the collapse of the Northern economy are hard to find. Evenmoreimportant, the mass response to the hunger strikes and the fact that for the first time during the present struggle areal national move— ment has been forged among Irish workers, actsasa major restraint onloyalism.

Indeed, as sooftenin the past, the pressing danger to the Irish trade union movement is posed by our existingleaders. The silence of Ruaidhri Roberts, the inaction of Mullen and Merrigan and the attacks on the H-Block campaign by Paddy Devlin and Terry Carlin are great encouragement for Paisley, the UDA andtheUWC. Itisby removing these misleaders and building an alternative leader ship committed to Using industrial action both to beat unemployment and halt the repression that we wil! defeat these enemies of the working class! unemployment, widespread cuts in health and welfare services, housing programmes slashed, industries wiped out or broken wages held down!

Margaret Thatcher and Charles J. Haughey. Both the British Tories andFianna Fail havea common objective anda common strategy: to maintain profitsfor imperialismby crushing the living standards and organisation of the working class.

Thatcher and Haughey have no choice but to pursue the sort of » policies they are following.

resentatives of the worldwide system of imperialism: itisthat isbankrupt. Any of the capital— istparties, as defenders of Battered! That's the only way to describe thelrish economy. Mass in fragments, inflationrising and andresources.

The picture isthe same North and South. So too are the policies of They are the local political rep— hausted.

system whichisincrisis, which ale sin) alae d'S profit, would have topursue sim— ilar policies. That's why Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, the Unionist parties and the SDLP have nothing to offer Irish workers: these partiesnot only tolerate but encourage imperialist ex— ploitation of Ireland's economy.

NO ANSWER FROMUNIONS The 234, 000 unemployed, the workers whose jobs are on the line have been offered no alter— native by the present trade union leaders. These leadersare tied to the present system, are committedtokeepinglrelandas aparadise for fly—by—night mul tinationals who reap the riches of public grants and tax subsidies only to flee to another source of easy pickings when these are exThereisan alternative, asolution which can provide jobs for all anda decent standardof liv— ing: anAll-Ireland Workers! Planbackedup by mass indus— trial action and independent political action by the working class throughout the 32 counties.

WORKERS! PLAN A Workers! Plan would create jobs by imp!|ementing a 35-hour week and sharing existing work without any reduction in wages; by launching a massive prog— ramme of useful public works to build the houses, hospitals and schools so sorely needed. It would defend existing jobs through the nationalisation under workers! control of any firm threatening redundancies.

A Workers! Plan would defend the real value of wages by providing for automaticincreases in wages in line with any increase in inflation. It would include the introduction of a National Minimum Wage of £100 per week to lift the low paid andunemployed out of poverty.

A Workers! Plan would be financed through the expropriation of the banks and insurance compan— ies andai| the financial instituttions ofimperialism. Instead of increasing the burden on PAYE workers and the small farmers, there woul dbe punitive taxes for the rich, the monopolies and multinationals.

Such a plan could only be implemented by a government which was not subordinate to imperialism, a government of the workers and small farmers themselves. Such a government can only be fought for by overcoming the divisions within the workingclass. The trade union leaders are incapable of uniting the working class and must be replaced.

Peoples Democracy is committed to building an alternative to this leadership, an alternative comm-— ittedtoclass struggle policies like the Workers! Plan. Within the trade unions at present there is scattered opposition to the collaboration of the bureaucrats. This opposition must be drawn together and Peoples Democracy woul dbe interestedin discussing with militants in the trade unions how tobest put this into effect. JOHN McGEE

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

Sin ; toRrY On