TORY GOVERNMENT OPENS ATTACK ON COAL-MINERS
FOURTH INTERNATIONAL Great Britain of shortage and exhortations to the British miners to work extra hours and make special efforts to increase production, the Tories through the so-called National Coal Board have now announced their intention of closing down some 36 uneconomic collieries. This means the sacking of 13,000 miners, and even the Coal Board dare not claim that more than 8,000 can be found work at other pits. In the worst-hit areas, moreover, South Wales and Scotland, general unemployment is three or four times the national average. Even those who are found alternative work will have to uproot themselves, with little prospect of getting new homes for their families. It is no exaggeration to say that this is the biggest attack against the British working class the Tories have dared make since they were elected in 1951.
The miners have always been a particular object of hatred to the Tories, for they have always formed the militant vanguard of the British workers. The hatred is cordially returned by the miners: there are no Tory MPs from the mining areas.
In the 13 years since the mines were nationalized, private industry has battened on the miners and consumers of house• hold coal. It was not charged the economic price of coal, according to the laws of supply and demand, but systematically undercharged — as it still is today.
But it is precisely on the law of supply and demand and the economic price for coal that the capitalist press now demands that the Coal Board base its decisions in face of the growing coal glut. And the Board, composed largely of old managers and capitalist elements, plus ex-trade-union leaders, refusing to consider the reduction of hours to meet dimishing demand, is trying to operate on this basis — as far as it dares without provoking too much resistance from
And how are the miners' leaders responding to this attack? The right wing who control the leadership have torpedoed any campaign; in fact, at the December meeting of the NC, it was decided on the one hand to take no action on the closure
71 of the pits, and on the other hand to give the National Coal hardship to any man concerned in the closures. down to completely passive acceptance of the position.
The Stalinist leaders who control the union in areas worst the closures organized a campaign of protest meetings, lobbying of parliament, etc. At the same time they have talked of a united front of miners, religious communities, capitalist-controlled chambers of commerce - in fact, all sections of the community. They have made the closing mining a main plank of their programme: in other words they propose to sack workers who work above ground instead of those under ground. They must act militant enough to ensure the election of their candidate, William Paynter, as general secretary of the union ; but will not go to to the degree of taking real action, e g, a national mine strike.
Yet in the absence of any alternative leadership, there is little doubt that the CP will gain in influence by even these half-way policies.
There are signs that a new consciousness is slowly arising in the mines. There is talk of a rank-and-file movement for militant action in South Wales. But the contusion caused by the complete betrayal of the old leadership, the tactics of the Stalinists, and the long years of complacency, will probably make this a slow process. Such a development is inevitable, however, and its rhythm will to a considerable extent depend on the speed with which the still numerically limited Trotskyist cadres increase and win leadership. As their ideas and the miners' fighting spirit become organically united, there will be forged a force which British capitalism will have cause to fear.
Meanwhile, with a sense of international solidarity, the British miners are intently watching the drastic direct action taken by their Belgian class and craft brothers of the Borinage under identical provocation by a government board.
• Uruguay