So eas

Build workers’ political power

By WILLIAM KASHTAN
Leader, Communist Party of
Canada

A conspiracy is afoot. The
target is working class stan-
nights jobs and trade union

The weapon of unemployment
is being used to achieve these

The Eemment could, if it

_ Wished, bring about a drop in

unemployment by expanding the
economy and undertaking other
Measures to create employment.
The Turner Budget has not done
this: Inistead its aim was the
achievement of “neutrality,” that
is, don’t let the economy expand,
and don’t allow it to drop too
far down.

What this means is that mass
unemployment is being used ac-
cording to the Government, to
‘fight” inflation. In reality, how-
€ver, unemployment is being
used to attack wages and living
Standards.

Through high unemployment
“the Government and monopoly
hope to force the workers and
Wage -demands, or at least, to
limit these demands to cost of
living escalator clauses. This

Would suit monopoly well and .
assure it high profits through in- ,

creased exploitation of the work-
ing class.
WAGE FREEZE THREATS

The attack on living standards
through high unemployment is

Coupled with threats of a man- ,

datory incomes policy if the
workers do not limit their wage
demands to cost of living esca-
lators..

Prime Minister Trudeau, who
up to recently opposed an “in-
comes” policy seems to have
opened the door for such ‘a pol-
icy when he declared recently,
“wages and prices are pricing

Canadian products out of the |

market, at home and abroad.”
It is a clear threat against col-
lective bargaining and the right
to strike. An incomes policy di-
rected against wages means to
freeze the present unequal dis-
tribution cf wealth and ensure it
is weighted against the working

class and working people. Con- |
sidering that the present distri- |

bution of income has favored

monopoly and the rich, there can.

be only one sound “incomes”

pelicy the working class can |

support, and that is one which

controls prices so as to eliminate |

profiteering and. assuring rising
incomes corresponding with an
increase of the national product.

PERMANENT UNEMPLOYMENT

The weapon of unemployment
and the threat of an incomes pol-
icy is coupled with a third line
of attack by Government. and
monopoly, that of maintaining
permanent unemployment and

_ eliminating the pretence of a pol-

icy of full employment. As the
Communist Party has warned
more than once, Government ~
economic policy has moved away
from che oneeet of full employ-

ment to a policy of maintaining
unemployment at the level of 6
to 7%. Such an economic -policy
has as its aim.the weakening of
the working class and trade
union movement. The capitalist
media makes no bones as to
what is behind such a policy —

pressure to compel the working
class to forego its just demands.

i
|

i

‘WILLIAM KASHTAN

The conspiracy extends to col- ,
lective bargaining. Governments
and moncpoly are out to over-
haul labor legislation, not with
the aim of enabling the working
class to have a say over produc-
tion, technological change, acci-
dent, safety and health. The

contrary / is the case. The pur-
pose of this overhauling of col-
lective bargaining is to weaken
the ability of the workers to de-
fend themselves against increas-

ed capitalist exploitation in con-
ditions of inter imperialist trade
wars.’

THE LAY-OFFS CONSPIRACY

The conspiracy extends to lay-
_offs. The recession is increasing-
ly being used. as.a reason for so
doing. In actual fact, however,
many of these layoffs have noth-
ing to do with recession. But
they do have to do with a mon-
opoly: drive to discipline the
workers, weed out the militants
and undermine militancy in the
ranks of the working class.

Unfortunately, instead of giv-
ing a lead to the workers and
the trade unions of how to cope
with this conspiracy, right wing
trade unions leaders and the

' right wing in the NDP tend to

conciliate, ‘to retreat, to capitu-
late. Some recent. settlements
are far. from satisfactory. The
right wing in the NDP is still
clamoring for mandatory wage
and price ‘controls, which in the
given situation means wage con-
trols. Their line is directed to
help capitalism resolve its con-
tradiction at..the expense of
‘working class standards, rather
than taking a course of consist-
ant class struggle, of united ac-
tion for new economic policies,
for a new direction for Canada.
THE WAY FORWARD

The way forwafd for the |
working class and working peo- ‘

ple is not through retreats but
through the development of stra-
tegy and tactics that will lead
to advance and the curbing of
the power of monopoly.

, The working class-and trade

The struggle to preserve the

_ Sains won in, Portugal’s 1974

break from fascism continued
amid planted rumor, right-wing
Violence; and a boast by. former
President, de Spinola (operating
in Brazil and Europe) that he
has “outside” funds to aid the
Counter-revolution.

~ While the capitalist media per-
sists in distortions of the situa-

’ tion as Ss the playing

seportuguese workers crid democrats S emgnvinah
inister Vasco Goncalves, and defiance of CIA-

Portuguese battle
to preserve

down of the half hour strike call-
ed by the Portugal’s two million-
strong trade union federation,
Intersindi¢al, in which hundreds
of thousands in the Lisbon-Setu-
bal .area alone downed tools)
Portuguese patriots stand firm
against rightist attack.

Reports at press time indicate ©
a set-back for those attempting
‘to oust Prime Minister Vasco
Goncalves, and increasing unity
of defenders of the revolution,

even to a common front of the

fe support. for the revolutionary Gimnisk ot of Prime
fascist attempts to turn back the clock to fascism.

Communists’ and non-commun-
ists.

The facts emerging from a
welter .of contradictory news
stories suggest that President
Costa Gomes and the Revolu-

tionary Council of the Armed

‘Forces Movement have, despite
threats of armed violence, con-
tinued to back Prime Minister
Goncalves, while the nine dissi-
dent officers were, at that mo-
ment at least, unable to force
the PM’s ouster.

union movement cannot defend
standards, jobs and trade union
rights without fighting for new
economic. policies including a
policy of full employment and
the extension of trade with the
socialist and newly liberated
countries. They cannot defend
their standards without combat-
ting inflation and inflation can-

not be combatted without com-
ing to grips with the arms drive.
Peace, detente and disarmament
are inseparable. from the battle
for full employment and rising
standards.

The workers and their trade
unions should not allow them-
selyes to be taken in by the
mass media which speaks, about
recovery around the corner. This
is aimed at weakening the strug-
gle for reduced. hours df ‘work
with no reduction in take home
pay. and for earlier voluntary re-
tirement based on substantial
inereaseg in pension. eytants.
including hew écoriomic. policies
based on full ‘employment.

UNITY AND ACTION.

The conspiracy of Big Busi-
ness can be defeated through
united trade union and working
‘class action, and _ through
united political-action. These are
vital ingredients. of a victori-
ous strategy for the working
class.-

What is needed today. 8 to
shift the balance of power in
favor of the working class and

democratic forces. As long as
the parties of monopoly are in
the driver’s seat, they will re-
flect the aims of monopoly and
its drive for maximum profits.
Right wing NDP policy however
will not change this. Indeed it is
‘not calculated to change this
situation. When Stephen Lewis
can be quoted as saying in the
Globe and Mail that “Ontario
sees us as a much more integrat-
ed part of the whole system,” it
is clear that not much can be
expected from the right wing in
the way of a genuinely alterna-
tive program to the parties of
monopoly. The aim of united
political action is not to inte-
grate the working class and its
democratic allies in the (capi-
talist) system but to advance a
program which will challenge
capitalism and curb monopoly
power. The strongest and most
effective form of working class
_unity at this stage’ lies in politi-_
cal action by labor around a
basically anti-monopoly pro-
gram.

IMPORTANT QUESTIONS

These are important questions
for the working class this Labor ~
Day. The trade union movement
has grown in strength. Its econo-
mic power has increased in nego-
tiations. But its, gains are being
undermined every day because
it has not yet used its political
power effectively and well. This

is the challenge this Labor Day.
And it needs to be combined
with the struggle it wages for
a plan of economic development,
for an investment policy aimed
at achieving full employment
and for public ownership of
energy and’ natural resources.
This must be combined with its
effective leadership of a consist-
ent and many-sided struggle
-against racism, and for the ex-
tension of democracy, and a
ceaseless battle to implement the
promise of the European Con-
ference on Security and Coop-
eration, a peaceful Europe in a
peaceful world; based on poli-
cies of disarmament, equality of
security, and peaceful coexist-
ence.

Every trade unionist will wel-
come the visit of the CLC dele-
gation to the USSR, headed by
its president, Mr.° Morris... It
marks an important: break with
cold war attitudes which. have
done great. harm. to: the trade
union movement in Canada. It
opens up new prospects of
strengthening cooperation be-
tween the Canadian and Soviet
trade union movement and of
stimulating further the trend to.
unity of the trade-union move-
‘ment on a world scale. It opens
up better conditions for strength-
ening the battle to achieve a
united, sovereign and indepen-
dent trade union movement ih
Canada, having equal fraternal
relations with all trade unions
throughout the world..

Labor Day this year has the
promise for new and greater ad-
vances for the working people
of our country.

LABOR

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PACIFIC TRIBUNE—AUGUST 29, 1975—Page 5