LABOR SCENE

by Bruce Magnuson

The International Monetary
Fund, the group of international
managers of big monopoly
capital, wants Canada to adopt
an incomes policy. What is an
incomes policy?

Prime Minister Trudeau is
only partly right when he says
it is a policy of trying to con-
trol prices through incomes.
‘That leaves many question un-
answered. Controlling whose in-
come, for instance? Or, why not
control prices directly instead of
going about it in a round-about
way by putting the cart before
the horse?

The facts are that in our
times monopolies control capi-
talist governments, or perhaps
even more correctly, are fused
with governments wherever they
are not directly running the gov-
ernments themselves, like Nel-
son Rockefeller, governor of the
State of New York.

It is obvious, therefore, that
capitalist governments today
are agencies, or political spokes-
men for the monopolies. The so-
called “new” or “managed”
capitalism is simply a state of
affairs where monopolies dom-
inate governments and society.
Exploitation by the internation-
al monopolies is extended to
ever new sections of the 'popu-”
lation. Instead of improving the
lot of*working people, the rich

are made wealthier still. At a
time when tremendous possibili-
ties for economic development
are placed before us by the stu-
pendous progress in science and
technology, monopoly capitalism
is unable to provide .jobs, let
alone a worthy future, for a
young generation educated and
capable of great contributions to
economic, social and political
life.

This monopoly-controlled so-
ciety confronts the working
people with monopoly-rigged
price structures designed to
produce the largest possible pro-
fits for the few all-powerful
corporate structures. To cover
up the real situation, they
spread the lies that wage in-
creases are pushing prices up-
ward. This, they claim, is the
reason for inflation. Therefore,
the idea is advanced that con-
trol of wages is needed to stem
inflation. Not a word is to be
found about exploitation and
profiteering.

However, and as a means of
selling the idea of a wage
freeze, contro] of prices comes
in as a secondary matter. Presi-
dent Nixon - has apparently
chosen the tactic of bluntly in-
troducing a wage freeze while
at the same time openly subsi-
dizing monopoly -profits, but
doing it in stages. In this way

By JOHN WILLIAMSON

LONDON — Meeting at a
moment of continuing Tory
government attack on all fronts,
with growing unemployment
and economic stagnation, the
Trades Union Congress (TUC)
held its 103rd Congress at
Blackpool with the highest-
ever membership — just over 10
million. There had been a
growth of 600,000 during the
last year, of whom 227,000 were
women.

While scores of decisions
were adopted during the five
days, the TUC was dominated
by three things: (1) how to de-
feat the Industrial Relations
Act; (2) to keep Britain from
joining’ the Common Market
(EEC); and (3) projecting an al-
ternative economic program of
growth, full’ employment, a
wealth tax and nationalization
of key industries — including
support for the “work-in”-of the
Upper Clyde shipyard workers
— and demanding a minimum
weekly wage of £20 ($50).

Other important decisions in-
cluded the call for encouraging
fraternal. relations between the
ICFTU and the WFTU; launch-
ing a national campaign to win
an increase in pensions for the
elderly; demanding a Bill of
Rights and end of internment in
North Ireland while condemning
violence on both sides and say-
ing “working people must reject
bigoted sectarian policies” with
“no section of the working
class seeking privileges at the
expense of another.” It also
condemned the sale of-arms to
South Africa and called for the
release of all political prisoners.

The Left further consolidated
its progress made during the
last year. Where it had lost out
in the General Council recom-

PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 1971—PAGE 8

463

in-

mendations concerning
structing” the unions not to re-
gister under the Tory Industrial
Relations Act rather than the
General Council majority propo-
sal of “strongly advising” non-
registration, the Left took the
issue to the delegates and de-.
feated the General Council pro-
posal at Congress by a majority
of 1,125,000.

Everyone condemned the In-
dustrial Relations. Act and
agreed to oppose it, but the
issue of controversy was “how”.

The General Council majority
position, argued for by General
Secretary Vic Feather was that

~ the legislation was “pernicious”,

that registration “is a device to
divide the movement” and made
them ‘a collection of state-
licensed organizations”, but to
defeat the Act and prevent divi-
sion it is necessary “to develop
a unity at the highest possible
level” and this means ‘‘argument
and persuasion and not by in-
struction”.

The Left position, moved by
Hugh Scanlon of the Engineers
union and supported by the
majority, was that precisely
because of the “pernicious”
union-destroying aims of the
Act “no part of the movement
should cooperate” because “in
the long term this would be a
danger to all’.

‘Scanlon declared to an out-
burst of applause, “We must

pledge that not one union will.

register”.

The resolution opposing Brit-
ain’s entry into the Common
Market on present terms and
calling for a general election
before a final decision, carried
by a 5 to 2 majority and the
supporters of the amendment
favoring entry to the EEC did
not even press for a vote.

all the opposition to the wage
freeze comes at the outset in
the first stage, followed by a
second stage at which the im-
pression is created that the un-
just and one-sided wage freeze
comes to an end, followed by a
period of an equitable incomes
policy, in which equality, jus-
tice and fairness reign supreme.

The real reason for all these
political maneuvers and falsifi-
cations is that U.S. imperialism
is today facing growing difficul-
ties in executing its nefarious
plans against working people

both at home and abroad. Unit-—

ed labor opposition to its poli-
cies within the United States
could be fatal. It is therefore
desperately trying to integrate
the working people into the im-
perialist, or state-monopoly
capitalist system, to help inten-
sify the very exploitation to
which workers are subjected.

The leaders of the AFL-CIO
in the United States, headed by
George Meany, have long advo-
cated both control of wages and
sacrifices by American labor in
support of U.S. imperialist pol-
icy, including its dirty war in
Southeast Asia. Their most re-
cent outburst against President
Nixon’s new “game plan” did
not last very long. It was mere-
ly the political ploy to pave the
way for accommodation to Presi-
dent Nixon’s plans. As it turns,
out, Mr. Meany not only accept-
ed a permanent wage freeze, but
has promised a no-strike pledge
to enforce it.

The conclusions we must
draw, when looking at the now
unfolding situation, are: First,
that there can be no equitable
and just incomes policy in our
society, dominated as it is by
international corporations and
monopolies that dictate their
own economic policies (includ-
ing price fixing to realize maxi-
mum profits).

Secondly, the incomes policy
advocated is predicated on the
lie that wages—not profits—de-
termine prices. :

Thirdly, any and all machin-
ery to enforce incomes control
(as proved during the Second
World War) will be full of loop-
holes for big business to get
through. The only foolproof
control will be the one on
wages, and it will be guaran-
teed by the employers.as well as
governments and the state in all
its majesty.

CLC President
must face up

The crisis we are now facing
is an international crisis of im-
perialism, a crisis of monopoly-
capitalism as a system. The ef-
fort to preserve that system,
which has already lost its his-
toric initiatives to the new and
dynamic system of world social-
ism and the revolutionary move-
ment, is headed by the United
States imperialists who seek to
impose their will on the people
at home and in every country
of the world where capital is in
power.

The consequences of this
policy can bring disaster upon
the world, including a thermo-
nuclear war and fascist repres-
sion, unless all anti-imperialist
and anti-monopoly forces unite
under the leadership of the
working class to defeat the
schemes of monopoly while
there is still time to do so.

What is an incomes policy;

“ALL YOU GOTTA DO IS TIGHTEN YOUR oa

1"

In Canada the workers
through their trade unions have
carried on a heroic struggle
against government - monopoly
policies on the economic front.
Greater numbers of workers are
joining in this struggle.

However, that heroic struggle
lacks the unity, cohesion and
leadership necessary in the cir-
cumstances now facing the
people of our country.

It must be abundantly clear
that no business-as-usual leader-
ship will be sufficient. Nor will
the old approach and methods
of following in the wake of
government and monopoly poli-
cies—criticising largely irrelev-
ant details of form, but never
challenging the contents and
the aim of these policies.

The statement issued Sept. 8
by the Canadian Labor Congress
president on the Trudeau gov-
ernment’s answer to the U.S.-
imposed surtax on imports, in
the form of Bill C-262 or the
Employment Support Act, is a
clear case in point. :

Mr. MacDonald correctly
states his organization believes
“the federal government should
move rapidly to ensure that no
Canadian worker’s job will be
jeopardized as a result of the
surcharge.” He also urges the
government to ensure that re-
gulations adopted under this
Act will provide direct protect-

PRAGUE—The World Feder-
ation of Trade Unions has re-
iterated its position in favor. of
consultations in the internatio-
nal labor movement for cooper-
ation to defend the workers’
interests in the unfolding crisis.

Nixon’s aim is to try and
solve the difficulties of the Ame-
rican economy — permanent in-
flation, unemployment and the
other consequences of the crisis
— by unloading them onto the

“ back of the working people of

the U.S. and other countries.
Faced with this situation,

which seriously threatens the

purchasing power and the living

ihe
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