LABOR SCENE § Grassroots BY BRUCE MAGNUSON “The regime which today de- nies the Spanish people the most basic liberties came to power by force of arms in 1939. The heroic resistance of the Spanish people opposing national and international fascism be- tween 1936 and 1939 won the admiration and solidarity of de- mocratic forces throughout the world. “For the working class, the fall of the Republic and the instal- lation of Franco’s fascist regime in Spain meant the abolition of all the rights and liberties it had won through 50 years of strug- gle. The dictatorship came into being purely to represent and defend the interests of the big _ financial and industrial groups and the large landowners. “The regime immediately be- gan to destroy all forms of work- ef’s organization and suppressed the right of association and the right to strike as well as tie eight-hour day. At the same time it reduced all wages. Franco’s Syndicates “Furthermore, it physically eliminated all those militants who made up the leadership of the workers’ movement. In ad- dition to the million people who died during ‘the Spanish Civil War, more than 300,000 were shot during the early years of the dictatorship while another 500,000 fled to exile. In a coun- try the size of Spain this repre- sented the physical elimination of: practically a whole genera- tion. “Not only did the Spanish working class remain without leadership, without its own or- ganizations, without rights or liberties, but the fascist dictator- ship imposed on it so-called vertical syndicates. Membership in these vertical syndicates, made up of owners, management and workers, was compulsory. Controlling and directing these fascist syndicates were members of the Spanish aristocracy, big industrialists, landowners, and a handful of Falangist lawyers. It was in fact a syndicalist system manipulated by the goverment for the owning class.” The above quotation is taken from an introduction to.a pam- phlet dealing with a new and original movement of struggle known as Workers’ Commis- sions, now active in Spain singe 1961. The introduction is writ- ten by Vincente Romano, Dal- housie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia. The pamphlet is publish- ed by the Canadian Committee for a Democratic Spain, and can be obtained from this organ- ization by writing to Box 1227, Station Q, Toronto, Canada. The Price is $1.75. Class Struggle The pamphlet contains basic documents of The Workers’ Commissions, 1966/71, including a declaration of principles, point 1 of which reads as follows: “The capitalist system generates and conditions the class strug- gle. In a capitalist socio-econo- mic system there is no possibil- ity of harmonizing the interests of the two sides (capital and~ labor) locked in combat and situated at opposite poles. Be- cause of this, the defence of and fight for opposed and irreconcil- able interests, it is only possible to admit those labor organiza- tions which are based on this reality. Therefore, we reject the so-called ‘syndicates’ now legal- SS — campaign to Automobile Workers Oakville; Ca TRIBUNE PHOTO Panelists at one of the workshops during the Worker in Spain con- ference in Toronto. Left to right: Harry Greenwood, local 1005 United Steelworkers Hamilton; Pat Clancy, president Ford local 707, United tlos Elvira, representative of the Workers Commissions in Spain; Vicente Romano, professor, Spanish Dept. Dalhousie University Halifax. ly in existence in this capitalist Spain in which we find our- selves, basically because they are not the proper instruments for the struggle which the work- -ers need to develop in order to defend and fight for their rights.” Point 10, and the final point of this declaration reads: ‘‘Capital- ism never has made a present of anything to the workers. If we act in unison, we shall achieve success. If we let our- selves be deceived by the manoe- uvres of the enemy, we shall have only ourselves to blame for maintaining our slavery . . .” * % oo The lessons of the Spanish working class are of inestimable value for all workers. That this is so, is now widely recognized in the growing movement for defence and freedom for 10 - Spanish labor leaders jailed in Carabanchel, near Madrid, since last June for “illegal associa- tion” and facing a total of 162. years in prison. Their “crime’: trying to organize their fellow workers.» They are accused of being members of the National Co-ordinating Committee of the Workers’ Commissions. The trial of the “Carabanchel Ten” is expected to take place before the Public Order Tribunal in Madrid within the next few weeks. Observers in Spain be- lieve this trial could be even more important than the famous Burgos Trial in December 1970 in which a number of Basques were sentenced to death and later had their sentences com- muted to life imprisonment Soviet, Italia MOSCOW—On March 11 and 12, a delegation of the Commun- ist Party of Italy, led by E. Ber- linguer, general secretary of the CPI, met with a delegation of the Communist Party of the “Soviet Union, headed by L. I. Brezhnev, general secretary of the CPSU. Most of the discus- sion centred on the international situation, and the problems presently facing the internation- al communist and anti-imperial- ist movement. The communique issued after the talks points out that posi- tive changes have taken place of late in the world arena, an PACIFIC TRIBUNE—FRIDAY, APRIL 6, 1973—-PAGE & following protests throughout Spain and around the world. A conference on the theme of “The Worker In Spain Today” and held in Toronto March 30, 31,,April 1, 1973, advanced pro- posals for a campaign in support of the imprisoned Spanish work- ers and for the widest possible participation of Canadian trade unionists. Many prominent na- tional and local trade union leaders took an active part in this gathering, which also had representation from the United States. } ) * % % The fact that we too live un- der a capitalist system which seeks to put an end to strikes, put legal straitjackets on the or- ganized working class, jail labor leaders, and generally moves in the direction of repression, shows that we too could find our- selves in the position of loosing our liberties unléss we unite to preserve and extend our demo- cratic rights. Every local union and central labor body should get into this campaign now to help put an end to repression in Spain and to free our own labor leaders now jailed in Quebec. However, resolutions will not suffice. What is needed now is a mass campaign developed from the grassroots to flood the Span- ish Consulate in Ottawa, our federal and Quebec governments, and the United Nations with - telegrams, letters and petitions of protest. z _ The way to defeat the enemy is not through surrender, or passivity, but by active struggle. n CPs meet example of this being the vic- tory of the Vietnamese people in their struggle against U.S. aggression, for national indepen- dence and peace. ; “Imperialism can no longer impose its laws of violence and oppression on the world with impunity,” the communique states. The CPI delegation also stress- ed the harm of all forms of anti- Sovietism; the CPSU delegation, for its: part, confirmed its soli- darity with the struggle of the Communist Party of Italy for peace, democracy and_ social progress. By JOHN WILLIAMSON LONDON — While the forces in the labor movement who re- cognize that only united mass action can defeat the determin- ed anti-union drive of the Tory Government are gaining ground, the fight is far from over. On March 28, the General Council of the Trade Union Congress (TUC) — after being defeated in March when deleg- ates voted to call a national day of protest and work stoppages and to organize coordinated ac- tion in support of unions in dis- pute with the Government — finally set May First as the day of action. Only one vote, that of renegade Communist and to- ~day’s right wing leader Chap- ple of the Electricians’ Union, was against. There had been a prior. strug- gle in the TUC, where the right wing and General Secretary Vic Feather wanted to soft pedal real action by limiting it to a one-hour action and then leav- ing it to each individual union to decide what form their action would take. Seeing the view of the majority they did not press their views. However, the TUC instructions to Trades Councils, still says they “could” organize demonstrations and “could” is- sue leaflets, thus not providing a firm lead. Tories Retreated Late as the action is, it could be the start of the necessary united national struggle to smash the Government policy, which, it keeps repeating, it will not compromise on, although a year ago, the Tories were forc- ed to retreat when the miners struck solidly and got solidarity support, and when the TUC it- self was compelled to call a one- day general strike to force the release of the five jailed dockers. The decisive thing immedi- ately is to organize a solid one- day general strike on May 1 on a national level, and then to fol- low it up with further actions in all localities in support of the workers engaged in direct con- frontation with the Government. The TUC has already issued a call to 500 local Trades Coun- cils (Central Labor Councils) to organize local action in support of the hospital workers. After the General Council action, the National Committee of the Labor Party, by a 17 to 6 vote, supported the May Day action of the TUC. Harold Wil- son conveniently forgets the wording of the TUC resolution and argues that it is not “indus- trial action” against the law, but a protest against worsening liv- ing standards. Wilson and the right wing in the Labor Party have consist- ently opposed political strikes. Leading the opposition to the TUC action was Party Treasurer Jim Gallaghan and Shadow Foreign Secretary Denis Healey. A surge of guerrilla-like one day stoppages has swept through hospitals, railways, local and national government services, the gas industry and the auto plants. Hospital workers — fac- . Ing unprecedented misrepresen- tation in the press — in their fourth week of struggle had closed 311 hospitals yesterday. The gas workers, by a vote of 18,000 to 11.000 accepted the improved offer which brought them within 20p (50c) of their demand. Some 11,000 failed to British trade unions end repression in Spain set May 1 for actio percent of civil servant | cipated in a one-day stm are planning others. The miners are ballov national strike action aftet executive rejected the Ml Board offer of a weekly ! of £2.28 ($5.60) plus * ($3.75) a week increase tirement pension. In lieu” coal, the offer include miners» living ine zones. The Government ref allow the Board to grat week’s holiday, which have swung a majority Executive Board to Te acceptance of the offer As it is, the Executive mended rejection © and _ industrial action. recommendations ; made by the 10 large | Committees, with only of commending acceptane : offer. ‘The miners’ fall require a 55% vote in industrial action. Department and bull pages in Ford plants ig while negotiations °° j appears, the compa®,, feverish competition would have been rea = substantial concessiolt Tory Government is yield. A hard-line determi offensive, intersper afd ite pleas for ‘cooperation, ul mony” with the trad and aided by @ chor uselessness” of One® from the Right ant is the order of the 087” Slowly, the real Me Phase 2 and the tion Act is bec® to more and moré ists. The aim of phe ernment is to do a™ posing state-regu with a ceiling 4 rise in the cost of bolical aspect of ceiling on wages calculated on the “negotiating grou to set one grt on fighting another what. of With the future’ gt union movemen ‘Gen! pleading of TU for * retary Vic Feathet "on features of the 3 tions Act” and thee t sible to resumé eof (th talks, is the langue ation, not the lange” gle. Certain right ; union leaders 4 ing for “greener Peel, head of Bleachers ue F feated for age TUC General cout al Congress, has ©. pit highly-paid post Wi mon Market. The leader ° ernment Office GO), after his & his called another ence for Mat to 700 delegate?