[IT'S going to be a long, hard winter…]

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IT'S going to be a long, hard winter. November will see Socialist Organiser supporters involved in actions to defend the National Health Service; joining in increased anti-Cruise protest; and participating in the And in all these situations we'll be going in with our paper, our pamA time of increased activity - when there's so much to do to maintain the gains of the working class, to halt, and to turn, the onward march of the ruling class, brings with it an increased need for socialists to get organised, and so, an increasing need for an active Socialist With these ideas in front of us, we launch a new "Xmas/New Year Fund Drive". Enthusiasm and energy will help us; but we need the noney to turn those feelings into practical realities - like a weekly Each supporters group has a new target to raise by January 31. As innounced at our AGM, some groups still have to clear their last targets sefore they get down to the new ones. But others, like table-toppers Xmas and the New Year is the best time for fund-raising - and we nust make the most of it. We've had £207.19 to start with; now let's Thanks this week to: Brent supporters who ornuidor onffas and lunch at SO's Day School last Saturday, £24.89, Sheffield supporters, particularly Ellen, for organising coffee and tea at Sunday's AGM, €10.70; and to Cheung Siu Ming and Les Hearn for Sunday's lunch, £13.50. For donations, thanks to: Rochdale supporters £12.50; Tom Cashman, £50, Sue Carlyle, £40, John Shields, £15; Mark Starr, £10; Martin Barclay, £8; a Castleford miner, £5; Ellen Taylor, £5; Terry Connolly and Amanda Richardson, £5; Jean Lane, £3, Brent suppor Send donations to: 214 Sickert Court, Essex Road, London N1 Pubiished by the Socialist Organiser Alliance, 28 Middle Lane, London N8. Printed by East End Offset, London E2. Registered as a newspaper at the Post Office. Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the SOA.

Lol OCCUPATION committees are being formed in Tyneside shipyards, and a militant mass lobby is ranged outside shipbuilding industry pay talks as we go to press.

Stewards have declared themselves ready to occupy Swan Hunters and Tyne Shipepairers - which faces closire on Friday of this week -n opposition to British Shipbuilders' so-called "survival ›lan."

Among the other yards :urrently under threat as managenent try to bludgeon workers nto acceptance of an extension their wage more ompulsory, redundancies losures, is Scott Lithgow on the lyde.

But after ears of Miserable etreats and capitulations by their eadership, shipyard workers have lainly had enough. Unmistakebie evidence of the new, militant nood came in the 5,000-strong abby of the October 28 delegate onference of shipbuilding unions a Whitley Bay.

Jim Murray, chairperson of he unions' Shipbuilding Negotiting Committee, attempted to ddress those lobbying and was net with shouts of "No sell-out!" nd "Stop the talks, start the Yo protests against the USA's invasion of Grenada. phlets and our leaflets.

Organiser Alliance.

incialist paper.

vottingham, can gef going now!

mild on that! ters, £2.60; Andy Barrett, £2. 2SY. action!"

Eventually, he had to be escorted into the hall by police.

Inside the conference hall Murray blamed a few disruptive elements at the front of the lobby rather than the shipyard workers' past experience of wage cuts and job losses at the hands of the SNC.

The conference opened with the plattorm informing delegates that the meeting planned between the Shipbuilding Negotiating Committee and British Shipbuilders on Wednesday 2 November was the last scheduled meeting and if there was no substantial change in British Shipbuilders' proposals of a wage freeze, compulsory redundancies and closures there would have to be some form of action. After a number of reports from the yards, and with the overwhelming majority • rejecting British Shipbuilders' proposals, and pledging support to the SNC, the platform then read out their resolution.

This called on the lay delegates' conference to reaffirm its support for a British shipbuilding industry under nationalisation.

The resolution condemned and rejected British Shipbuilders' so-called survival plan and called for an up-front increase in wages. It also stated that if no agreement was reached in future talks then the yards would give their full support to the SNC in any action they deem necessary up to and including occupation of the yards . or all-out strike action.

Group Basingstoke Birmingham Bristol Cardiff Chelmsford Coventry Durham Edinburgh Glasgow Harrogate Huddersfiel Hull Leeds Leicester Leigh Liverpool Manchester Middlesbrol Northampt Nottingham Oxford Rochdale Sheffield Stockport Stoke Wallasey York Brent Camden Hackney Haringey Hounslow Islington Putney Southwark SE London Tower Hamlets RICK MATTHEWS, IFL The discussion after the resolution was mainly in support, although many yards want action, especially over wages.

The Boilermakers delegate from Cammell Laird Yards in Birkenhead moved an amendment calling for the impounding of vessels in the yards and a national overtime ban as from the end of the conference.

Although nobody spoke against this amendment, the Lairds Boilermakers were asked by the platform at least three times to withdraw the amendment for the sake of unity. Lairds Boilermakers refused, saying that immediate action had • to be taken before the vessels went out. In the end the amendment was massively defeated and the SNC resolution carried.

rget Imamand Every worker in British Shipbuilders should now be on their guard for attempts by British Shipbuilders' management and the SNC to split the yards' action.

At the meeting on November 2 it is quite possible that British Shipbuilders will offer a small increase in wages in an attempt to buy off yards that have achieved their full quota of redundancies.

Productivity

British Shipbuilders have already offered Harland and Wolff workers an £8.50 increase if they accept the survival plan and are trying to buy off other yards with a £3.50 locally monitored productivity scheme.

Leaving the decision as to what action is to be taken in the yards to the SNC was a dereliction of the stewards' duty to their members. We now have to make sure that when the fight starts, it is total occupation of all the yards and a fight which gives us victory and not the face-saving compromise between BS and the SNC. gave Reagan nightmares.

The 'Europeans' and the Americans have thus had a different approach all the way through. (Partly, this is a matter not just of different political views but of different real interests. The US has a much more immediate strategic interest in Central America and the Caribbean, and a much broader military option. The EEC states have little military option then is ed the relations con Icialuls wild bourgeoisies like Mexico's).

Reagan sees the world in terms of the struggie between. the empires of light and darkness, good and evil. There are two blocs and everything in the world is in one or other of the 'class camps' Thus the Syrian allies of the USSR who are active in Lebanon are for Reagan indistinguishable from the USSR. Grenada was just an extension of the same evil empire.

Thatcher sometimes uses similar rhetoric, but does not believe it so naively.

Even in foreign