sweep a the Ist the m non the facts Mansia. come against the attempts of the Craxi government to limit the sliding scale of wages, won during the 'hot autumn' of 1969.
Last week in Germany the workers went on strike for a 35 hour week with no loss of pay part of a giant campaign for this demand being waged workers movement. During the last vear there have been a constant series of strikes, including a week long general strike, against austerity plans of the government in Belgium.
The current wave of struggles is the frst to take place since the major recesson in the world economy in 1974-5. Since that time millions of European *orkers have been made redundant and huge attacks have been made on welfare and social services of every xind. For ten years the workers of Europe have fought defensive battles.
really co-ordinated attack against the bosses' offensive has been stalled at each stage sabotage of the major workers parties - not least by their support for austerity plans. In Britain it the 'social contract in the 1970s. Spain it was Moncloa Pact' supported by both the Communist and the Socialist Parties. In Italy it was the Communist Party exlaining to the workers that austerity provided the opportunity for 'new con¡umption habits' obsession' with consumer goods! sounded by the performance of the betrayals have European Socialist Parties in govern=ent. The Euro-socialists (in reality the Euro-social democrats) have been the parties of super-austerity. Millions of zorkers who gave their confidence to Mitterrand in France and Gonzalez in Spain have been sold out as these governments moved rapidly to : * as inevitable that sooner or later would fight back on a торе.
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print work the storm to come.
the raine.
Martens Longwy was the uprising counterby the unions late the 1977 an end to the been the and ask Socialist Action 20 April 1984 would the striggle a In B ast outride Pa reds or redul against workers North Al pounce iploited minist strug by the divisions inside the unions and by the actions of the government. At a secret cabinet meeting, Mitterrand gave the order for the eviction of strikers occupying the plant by hundreds of riot pro-Communist GCT union federation, not wishing to embarass the cr ministers in ine govern ment, opposed the strikers. A violent street battle was fought between the strikers and those wishing to return to Talbot was just a warning of the Two weeks ago inal storm broke in the steel area of LorIn 1979 the Lorraine town of centre of a virtual workers rioted against closures. Two steelworkers were killed Tion. They know that the offfices of alist Party in pro 'modernisati Whi munist is parti the Let of the Mitterrand's austerity policy extends also to the miners in the north west of the country. Like their British counterparts they are threatened with closures, especially in the region around the town or Llle. Thousands of them in pit helmets marched against the government in Paris two weeks ago. This weekend tens of thousands of steel workers will follow them in a monster anti-austerity march These struggles reflect the bitter disappointment felt throughout country at what the Mitterand government is doing. The hopes of three years ago - or a government or Chang have crashed in an orgy of anti-working CFDLE SLOs this demand has posal is still on the table.
TheAG-Metall campaign is a result (Germany -round 3 million now -this if the star 'boom' post-war Europe. unemployment was a dramatic loss of membership hence a feeling by their top leadership that a campaign against unemployment was needed.
During the long IG-Metall strike in 1978-9 the demand for the 35-hour week was dropped as part of an overall pay settlement. But with union elections coming up even some of the most 'moderate' union officials have forced into supporting the week demand Even some of the West German bosses have been saying that a cut in working hours is the only way to attack unemployment. But of course they put Steinkuehlet onl La -out strike. of pay. The strike wa B engineering union aly rapid rise in unemployment in - from just a million in economy of The result of thi name a by lu-metall isell, been the 35-hour etall's w vice president Franz who has argued the case an expre anti-capitalist be The union, according to law, needs percent majorityon a ballot to get an Before an attempt at a ballot is made, they are consi series of sectional stakes, of print workers strike das the next target is the autound BE SINO Craxi, leader of th the government he leads is is prime minister o y. But all but ment. He became premier through one of the many sordid parliamentary deals which keep the wheels of Italian ruling class politics spinning. True to Euro social democrat torm. Craxi plunged ahead with austerity measures, and in particular an attempt to limit the scale mobile, the sliding scale of wages which protects the living standards of millions of Italian workers.
On 24 March Craxi got his reply from the workers — a demonstration of a million in Rome, organised on the initiative of the tactory councils, and supported by the Communist Partydominated union the CGIL One of the most striking features of
ggles tion THE EUROPEAN elections come at a time when a new mood is sweeping through Europe. In addithe workers' struggles reported on these pages, European politics is being reorganised around the other offensive of the European capitalists — the militarisation offensive which led to the siting of the Cruise and Pershing missiles.
Already the fightback against this offensive has produced the biggest mass movement since the war, mobilising millions in days of ac-
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