Fares crunch CANTPAY MUST FIGHT

Scan page 11

AT THE time of going to press, Wednesday's strike call on London's buses and underground trains is expected to receive substantial support from London Transport's 60,000 workforce.

The one-day strike was called by all LT unions (acting together for the first time ever) in protest against the Law Lords' decision in December to outlaw the Greater London Council's 'Fares Fair' policy which cut fares by 32% last October.

The strike call, as part of a larger campaign involving a publicity campaign launched by the unions and the GLC, rèceived unanimous endorsement at a meeting of 600 shop stewards and staff representatives in mid-February. Support for the strike strengthened last week when both the TGWU and the NUR, the major LT unions, made the strike official.

Staff cuts

The doubling of fares on March 21 itself has serious implications for jobs in the coming three years. But the Law Lords decision has also forced LT to announce immediate staff cuts totalling 5,000 by the end of 1983. The strike is also against these cuts.

Many LT workers have criticised the one-day strike as an action quite incapable of winning the campaign on its own. Nevertheless, a solid strike on Wednesday will show the power of the workforce to take action which can force a major retreat by the government.

LT workers face three hurdles in preparing for decisive action: working for co-ordinated response: overcoming LT management's disinformation, specifically designed to create a fake sense of job security, and cutting through the variety of strategies touted by union and GLC leaders.

The basis of an all LT shop stewards committee met four weeks ago, but with the immediate priorities of winning the call for, and then winning support for, the one-day stoppage, it has not met since.

A further meeting is now planned for Sunday 14th, which leaves only a week to act before the fares increases and cuts. A recall of the February delegate conferences to confirm future action is the obvious and urgent step.

LT management has tried to reassure workers that though it intends to cut 5,000 jobs by the end of 1983, there will be no redundancies. This argument can be destroyed.

5,000 will leave LT over two years through normal staff turnover. But inevitably, they will not leave in the right places.

At risk Particularly at risk are LT's 7000 conductors. Some 40% of buses are 'one-person operated' '. Yet in 1970, LT St, London. 6.30pm meeting for MPs at House of Commons (room 10) - chaired by Ernie Roberts MP.

Thursday March 25 - meetings in the London area. Friday March 26. 7.30. Meeting at McLellan Galleries, Sauchiehall St, Glasgow. Chair: a representative of th STUC. Also meetings in was planning for 100° one person operation of bu . by the end of the decade.

And the fewer the "Viable' passengers, the more 'viable' are single person operated buses.

Conductors will only be retained in the more heavily loaded central London area. Conductors employed in the suburbs will either be made redundant or have to travel (by car?) very early in the morning or late at night to get to or from work.

Routes will also be cut and the more lightly loaded ones in the suburbs will bear the brunt, leaving drivers there with the same problems as conductors. Public meeting, Transport House, Islington, Liverpool, 7pm. Sponsored by Kirkdale CLP, TGWU 6/612, and Tuebrook ward LP. Thursday April 1.7pm. Public meeting. TUC, Congress House, Gt Russell St, London WC1. 7.30. Public meeting, Hall, Cambridge.

MEETINGS AND FORUMS NORTHWEST LONDON. Monday Mar. 15: A Woman's Right to Work.

Monday April 12: Fundraising social to commemorate the Easter Rising.

Details from SO sellers. SHEFFIELD: Every other Wednesday, at the Brown Cow, The Wicker. Business Mar.17: The decline of US capitalism.

Mar.31: Women and the labour movement ISLINGTON: 7.30 Fridays, upstairs room in Caxton House, 129 St John's Way.

But they voted for the fare rises.. The strongest reaction so network announcement of 15% to halt. 20% cuts in rush hour underground train services from March 21. Provided NUR leaders' protests are turned into an official instruction train crews may refuse to operate the new timetables.

Network

LT will send them home and this will bring a major part of London's commuter SPEAM MERE NOTICE: Saul REDUCED SERVICES Thee din. 12450 anythin a pose to Mar. 12: A Woman's Right to Work Mar.26: Central America -still the USA's backyard?

HOUNSLOW Socialist Organiser social. 8pm, Saturday March 13, Hanworth Labou Hall. Waged £1, unwaged 50p, please bring a bottle.

Half the proceeds go to the Hanworth Ward election all of the services to Fares 'Can't Pay, Won't Pay' a campaign initiated by two GLC Labour Counciliors, Valerie Wise and John McDonnell, is pressine the public to refuse to pay the new fares, instead carrying on with the old fares from March 21.

This has the obvious attraction of being able to unite LT passengers and workers in joint action against the government, at least over the fares implications of the Law Lords' judgement.

LT would run out of money in a matter of days and short of effectively forcirg a closedown of the bus and underground networks. the government would have no real alternative to a massive climbdown.

Toleration

Success will need more than mere toleration and non-harassment by conductors and ticket collectors of passengers trying to pay the old fare. To have a big enough impact on LT fares income, will require the LT workers involved trying to pamphlet produced by Glasgow Socialist Organiser. Sections on: history of the SWP, SWP and trade union work, SWP intervention in industrial disputes, SWP and women, SWP and internationalism. Prices 43p for one copy, £1.81 for five. Cheque payable to lan McLeish. From: McLeish, 2 Quarry Ave, Halfway, Cambuslang, Eventually the whole GLC Labour Group buckled under and voted for the budget including the fare rises. But the first break from the Labour Group decision to vote against fare rises was on January 26.

Ken Livingstone moved the implementation of the fare rises and 25 Labour members voted for:

Bramall, Branagan, Davies, Dawe, Dimson, Edwards, Garside, Handy, Harrington, Hart, Hinds, Judge, Little, Livingstone, McBrearty, McIntosh, Morgan, Nicholson, Ross, Sieve, Stead, Turney, Ward, Williams, Wilson.

Nineteen voted against:

Banks, Boateng, Bundred, Daniel, Davies B, Gouge, Hammond, Harris, Herbert, McDonnell, Mackay, Moore, Morrell, Pitt, Rossi, Ward, Wetzel, Wise, Wood charge the old fares fo all passengers. The tactic was tried successfully in Milan where it had precisely this union direction.

But if success needs the participation of the LT workers, then the difficulty is that management would hit back with disciplinary action against the (relatively few) workers directly involved with ticket issue and fare collection. To prevent this, all other LT workers would have to be ready to come to their immediate defence.

Ken Livingstone told last weekend's London Labour Party Annual Conference that he supported the March 10 stoppage and is now reported in the press as supporting any future strike action though at the same time suggesting that a 'Can't Pay, Won't Pay' tactic would be more imaginative.

If the GLC leadership added its weight to the "Can't Pay, Won't Pay' campaign (which so far it has steadfastly refused to do) then its support and chances of success would be many times greater. Instead. Livingstone offered the Conference the prospect of continuing the propaganda campaign until the next General Election if necessary. These are empty words.

Subsidy

The GLC has put the case over well so far for restoring subsidy to London Transport and reversing the Law Lords' decision. But the crucial question is whether the GLC leadership and the Labour Party as a whole is willing to urge action Can't Pay, Won't Pay' and an all-out strike - to make its policies stick in the face of government opposition.

If it is not, then no amount of rhetoric will convince the working class to turn oit at the polls to support it And rhetoric, whilst acting on the government's terms, has already meant the GLC approving an LT budget for 1982 which has only a 57 pay increase.

Campaigning til the next election' will count for nothing besides this kind of thing.

The London Labour Conference allowed itself to take neither debate nor votes

----- pull-quotes -----

Lon on transport 100% Increase from Westminster