Under the Under the hammer axe

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THE announcement of the Tories' increased majority on June 9 had WITHIN days of the Tories' reelection, the sharpened axe began once auctioneers, asset-strippers, stockbrokers and bankers reaching for their more to swing - biting deep into jobs in the state industries, and vital calculators and licking their lips at the prospects of new and richer On July 5, Environment Secretary Patrick Jenkin inflicted a vicious' The second reading this week of the Bill for the privatisation of the £280 million package of penalties, falling mainly on "overspending" enormously profitable British Telecom underlines the breakneck speed councils wrestling with the social problems of the slump-hit inner cities. at which the process of privatisation of priceless assets is taking place. The GLC suffered a £129 million cut in grant; seven London boroughs The last four years saw the City line its bulging wallets with the were hit for a further £50 million; big cities for another £80 million, profitable privatisation of Cable and Wireless, Associated British Ports, British Aerospace, BR Hotels, the National Freight Corporation and These figures translate into further decimation of education and Britoil. In addition, hundreds of thousands of council homes have been social services, further misery for the elderly, the unemployed, the privatised through enforced sale at bargain prices - to force more and youth, the homeless, the ethnic minorities and the needy. But they more people into the grip of mortgages and the private housing market. were only an opening shot in the resumed Tory war on local govern-The Tories are now pledged to sell of chunks of British Steel and BL, along, with Rolls Royce, British Airways, British Shipbuilders and A further list of 40-50 "over-spending" councils has now also been drawn up for Tory treatment. Jenkin has told the Times that his objecThey are being publicly egged on to go still further - and flog off staffs, particularly in London. Thousands of teachers could be the first tive is to bring about "a large measure of redundancy" among council the National Coal Board, British Rail, the Central Electricity GeneratThese plans offer profits to the employers; and they will please the They will not be the only casualties of this new war of attrition. The new NHS spending cuts, announced with bland cynicism only weeks But their main purpose is practical: to fragment and destroy trade after the election, could translate into the loss of some 20,000 jobs union organisation and press home the attack on jobs and working con- (some 70% of the NHS budget is labour costs) and the decimation of services across the country as hospital closure plans (in some cases The privatisation proposals are thus integrally linked to Tory anti- suppressed at government insistence until after the election) are impleunion laws and Tebbit's new plans to undermine the unity and demoNone of this will safeguard jobs elsewhere. Mercenary axeman lan The fight for action against privatisation is the fight to MacGregor is set to lay waste "uneconomic" NCB pits, at the cost of very essence of the gains and organisation built up over thousands of miners' jobs. Steelworkers face still further attacks. And in the private sector, too, the heavy toll of "rationalisation" , redundancies and speed up continues to tighten the screws on the shop floor.

There is scarcely a worker - employed or unemployed - who will CONFERENCE-"HOW not directly suffer the blows of this renewed Tory onslaught. The task however is to challenge the capitulation or tokenistic "opposition" of the trade union and Labour leaders in order to create conditions for a TO FIGHT TORIES p:3 solid and widening fightback based on strike action and occupations.

A vital first step is to force our union leaders to break from their top-level collaboration with the Tory government and employers.

health and social services. pickings from the state sector.

and shire counties for millions more.

ment services.

as many airports as possible.

ing Board and the Post Office. to lose their jobs.

hard-line ideologists in the Tory camp.

ditions.

mented. _cracy of the unions.

defend the decades of workers' struggle.

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ELTOTA 141, 21/28:1983,