Left swing of British
teachers and students

By JOHN WILLIAMSON

LONDON — The school teach-
ers and university students of
England and Wales, who have
each been engaged in militant
Struggle, have just completed
their annual connferences.

At the centenary conference
of the National Union of Teach-
ers (NUT), its 2,000 delegates
representing 318,000 members,
heard President Wm. Eilliot de-
clare the time is past when
teachers can be trampled under
foot: “For the salvation of the
teaching profession, don’t look
to Parliament, local authorities,
universities, newspapers or TV.
Look to yourselves!” he said.

The conference decided to
affiliate to the Trades Union
Congress; to demand a substan-
tial salary increase that would
mean a basic scale of £1250
($3,000) increasing to ' £2300
($5,520) after 11 years in con-
trast to the present scale of £980
($2,352) “to £1720 ($4,128) after
14 years (which latter is inclus-
ive of the substantial annual in-
crease of £120 just won after
striking); for reduction in size
of classes to 35; declaring to
their employers. for the first
time before starting negotia-
tions, that they are ready to
organize strikes if they don’t
get satisfaction on their pay and
classroom demands; and with
only one vote against, they con-
demned “as a betrayal of the
nation’s children” all economies
in education made by the gov-
ernment which “@n only mean
a massive deterioration in stand-
ards.”

In the elections for 13 new
members of the 44-strong Exe-
cutive, the Left strengthened its
position. Together with Max
Morris, another well known
Communist, Sam Fisher, was
elected. The newly elected sen-
ior Vice President, who automa-
tically becomes president next
year, was prominent left-winger
Jack Jones.

At the conference of the Na-
tional Union Studénts:i {NUS),
the lively debates reflected the
recent struggles. The outlook is

ed treasurer.

for an increase in the number
of full time students from
450,000 in 1971 to 727,000 in
1981. Instead of welcoming this
the Government, like the Estab-
lishment in general, are alarmed.
Already now the students are
hard hit by failure to increase
grants, by increased cost of ac-
commodation, and restriction of
education choice.

On top of that new proposals
are being made to either reduce
the cost of university education
or restrict applications from
students, during the next de-
cade. The Tories want to re-
place the system of grants with
loans and threaten the students
with their policy of ‘law and
order’. .

NUS president J. Straw de-
clared: “The Government’s panic
Over cost is a very effective
smokescreen to disguise the real
poverty—in ideas.”

“To talk of a higher education
system is a misnomer,” he con-
tinued. “What we have is con-
trived chaos”. He said the role
of the NUS was first of all the
protection of its members but
it also had to act as “a real
agency for social and educa-
tional changes within our so-
ciety”. While recommending the
setting up of a fund to defend
students taken to court by Uni-
versities, he also condemned
students who committed vio-
lence and “play into the hands
of those who wish to destroy
the union”.

The NUS conference went on
record to have trade union re-
presentatives on university gov-
erning boards, for students re-
presentation on decision-making
bodies, for greater democracy in
the entire school system, against
secret political files, and for in-
creased grants.

In the elections, Straw — a
Left Laborite — was reelected.
A Communist, Digby Jacks, was
elected National Secretary by a
vote of 251 to 219, while an-
other Communist was elected

left-winger Lee Smith was elect-

nee villains.

Canadian independence

Its real meaning for labor

By BRUCE MAGNUSON

On March 18 last, The Toronto
Star editorialized about Cana-
dians who “in their concern
over takeovers in industry, often
forget the parallel takeover of
our labor movement by outsid-
ers.”

In its pretended concern
about. the welfare of organized
labor, this capitalist mouthpiece
of bourgeois liberalism bemoan-
ed the fact that this takeover
by United States-based interna-
tional unions “has prevented the
growth of a truly Canadian la-
bor movement with a disinctly
Canadian outlook” (emphasis
mine—BM).

“More specifically,” the edito-
rial writer continues, “it pre-
vents this country from seeking
the central bargaining arrange-
ments between labor and man-
agement that work so well in
Scandinavia and some other
European countries. Because
having an independent labor
force is just as important as
having any other kind of inde-
pendence, Ottawa should waste
no time in drawing up a labor
charter which sets out minimum
standards of autonomy for our
unions.”

A most interesting observa-
tion, indeed. The matter is put
as if it is merely a simple mat-
ter of choice between Canadian
versus foreign monopoly control
and domination, a purely na-
tional question.

What about internationalism,’

which is the heart and soul of
the revolutionary tradition? The
editor stays clear of this in the
same way as he ignores the
social and class question involv-
ed.

WHAT THEY WANT

Like many other champions
of a policy of “Canadianizing
the Canadian labor movement
from the international working
class, and to tie the trade unions
to a policy of narrow national-
ism and class collaboration. For-
getting about the international
class struggle, and turning its
back on the: struggle against
imperialism, particularly United
States imperialism, Canadian
labor would be easy prey for
the super-exploitation of inter-
national capital.

The main contradiction in our
society is the one between capi-
tal and labor, with labor com-
pletely dispossessed and at the
mercy of big capital unless and
to the extent it can organize
and fight for certain limited con-
cessions.

In the above-mentioned edi-
torial, a false parallel is drawn
between industry and labor in
the matter of foreign domina-
tion. This is much similar to the
“big business and big labor” ar-
gument with respect to who is
to blame for inflation. The aim
in both these instances is, of
course, to obscure the real situa-
tion, to ignore class relationships
and bring about a struggle be-
tween the victims of capitalist
exploitation on the basis of the
boss principle to “divide and
rule.” In the end the robber

sone of 4. “vite'presidents) 1 and‘! barons. go_ scat-free .and. their . -

victims are held up as the real

LABOR’S TASKS

What then is the task of Can-
adian labor with respect to the
issue of Canadian independence
and the position of the inter-
national trade union movement?
In the view of the Communist
Party the issue stands as fol-
lows: . my

Canadian labor has the res-
ponsibility and the duty to fight
for and establish a united and
sovereign Canadian trade union
movement,

This is mot only a matter of
form but also of content.

" What is at stake is the con-
ditions under which the Cana-
dian labor movement can assert
the most effective influence and
pressure upon the Canadian
ruling class, while maintaining
the closest fraternal relations
and solidarity with the world
trade union movement, both
that of the U.S. and all other
countires,
talist.

Internationalism has been a
characteristic of many history’s
great revolutions, including the
American and the French bour-
geois-democratic revolutions.

But the internationalism of
those revolutionary epochs be-
came lost in the cut-throat
competition of bourgeois na-
tionalism in the 19th century.
With the development of im-
perialism at the end of last cen-
tury, internationalism turned in-
to its opposite with the subjuga-
tion of nations under colonial-
ism.

For a quarter of a century the
Second (Socialist) International
flourished and grew and then
ended in disaster because it lost
its internationalist character. As
V. I. Lenin wrote in 1919:

“The Second International
(1889-1914) was an internation-
al organization of the proleta-
rian movement whose growth
was in breadth, at the cost of
a temporary fall in the revolu-
tionary level, a temporary in-
crease in the strength of oppor-
tunism, which in the end led
to a disgraceful collapse of this
International.”

During the First World Im-
perialist War, all major Social
Democratic Parties in all leading
countries involved, with exep-
tion of the majority Social De-
mocratic Party in Russia, the
Bolshevik Party under Lenin’s
leadership, betrayed their pled-
ges, threw internationalism over-
board and joined each with
their own imperialist masters in
the slaughter of the workers
of the nations on the opposing
side. That betrayal of interna-
tionalism cost ten million lives.

COMMUNIST MANIFESTO

Marx and Engels in their
Communist Manifesto (1848) de-
fined the class struggle and the
role of the world working class
in the struggle for emancipation
from capitalist exploitation.

“The Communists are distinct
from other working class parties
by this only: (1) In the national
struggles of the proletariat of
the different countries they
point out and bring to the fore-
front the common interests of

dent of nationality.”
The Rules of The First Inter-

socialist and capi-.

national in 1864 laid down the
following principle:

“The emancipation of labor is
neither a local nor a_ national,
but a social problem, embrac-
ing all countries in which mod-
ern society exists.”

And in 1913, Lenin wrote the
following concerning the class
basis of internationalism:

“Bourgeois nationalism and
proletarian internationalism —
these are the two irreconcilably
hostile slogans that correspond
to the two great class camps
throughout the capitalist world
and express the TWO policies
(nay, the two world outlooks)
in the national question.”

Workers of each nation, 4t
the head of the broadest popU
lar alliance possible, and theil
own path to socialism, in com
formity with specific national
conditions' and traditions. But
this national variation in the
path to socialism does not meal
nationalist separatism.

UNITY IMPERATIVE

The task of Canadian labor '§
to battle for Canadian indepen
‘dence from foreign economic
and political domination so 4§
to enable it to defeat imperial-
ism—which is a single intern@
tional’ task!

The most favorable condition
in which to carry out this tas
is through a united and sovet”
eign Canadian trade union mov
ment, holding its own convel”
tions and deciding its own poli:
cies.

The ruling class is daily sell-
ing us short and betraying Ut
national interests to realize 1”
super-profits. The government) —
which speaks for these mon —
poly interests, does much thé
same thing, unless, and only
then to the extent it is fore.
to modify its sell-out by the
weight of public pressure.

Only when _ the Canadiat
working class, and in the ee
place the trade union moveme?”
acquires enough class and im
cialist consciousness to cnt
lenge the power of the mull
national corporations an the
state and government will

Canadian people be able tO |
p Pp. eer destinies: ’

termine their for
Only then will the struggle nd
Canadian independence aan

against imperialist dominat 4
take on any real and serl0
meaning. ;

CLASS QUESTION |

_ The struggle for Canadiat
trade union autonomy has
treated as a class question. fn
ther than as a national ques! of
from the narrow viewPO" an:
national exclusiveness. The
adian working class will ©
through to national indeD er
dence in congert with all 0.7,
anti-monopoly, anti-imperi?

democratic and national allie*

e

The struggle for independen',

must be internationalist ! oo
content whilst national 10 fo

It is this which points ae oft

difference between the e
munist approach, on the |

gitiO

the | entire. -proletariat..indepen-..hand,-.and the social-ref nS

and bourgeois-liberal PO
on the other hand. __

de-. -

age

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aa .

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