The British Steel Corporation has offered its 200,000 employees a six per cent pay rise. For the unions to attain their modest claim of 10.9 per cent the corporation has demanded that they accept around 40,000 jobs lost, a pledge to end unofficial action by steel workers. and a cutin bonuses.
Te add insult to injury, BSC boss Sir Charles Villiers will not tell the workforce which plants he intends to close to achieve the redundancy programme. So despite the huffing and puffing in the House of Commons about secrecy. the full extent of BSC's plans for the industry are still a closed book. STEVE POTTER reports.
Villiers has challenged the unionsto produce an alternative cohis proposals. But heisrightly confident that the reformist leaders of the unions are in no position to provideplansthat de anything buttinker around with the same framework which he proposes. Their oily answer 15 to pump more money into the controls. But BSC is already doing both these things. The problemisdeeper The world steel industry is in crisis. The main problem is the continued loa level of capital spending. particularly in construction of plants. Sincecapital goods account for about 70 per cent of steel consumption. ine downturn has bit the industry particularly bard.
Capacity for making steel wildly exceeds the restricted marker avadable. In addition new steel industries in South Korea and Brazil sharpen the competition hetween the steel monopolies.
NO SOLUTION Bethlehern Steel, the USA's second largest seel producer, production capacity by 1u per Even in Japan. the world's biggest producer, Nippon Steel has temporarily shut down half of its blast furnaces in irs main production complex.
Bur if the effects on the world's leading steel companies are serious, for Britain they are disastrous. Productivity in the BSC has plunged to three times as low as that in Japan or the USA. The reason is nothing to do with laziness or unofficial strikes.
The British steel industry failed to adopt modern steel making methods after the last world war. Instead, the private owners continued to produce with die outdated open hearth process. By thetimethe need for technological change was forced on them, the cost of requipping wasastronomical. A. their prolin fell only stare ownership (and more to the point state tunds) could bring about the change So Harold Wilson created the BSC in 1967 with the objecrive of closing down all the unprofimable parts of cbesteelindustry.
The plan eventually emerged in the shape of closing down some 30 plants and trating production on the 'big fire Saunthoroe Teesse Ravenscraig (Glasgou:), Port The closure of orber plants such ss Ebba Wak. Sbotoc Corby, Clydebridge and so on wes meant to be complered hy 1977. But newly awakened mirancy among steel workers occupations at the beginning of last year plus lears o1 electoral repercussions, stayed the hand of thesteel bosses.
ALTERNATIVE Technical changes in che industry are inevitable as are recessions in the world steel industry. The choice for stocl workers is whetber they bow to the demands of the Labour Government and the BSC, adopt the King Canute attitude of forbidding the tide of technical change, or develop a fighrback on the hasis of a plan weather the stormi of technical change and slump. The first thing that the steel crisis shows is that capitalist nationalisation is no solution to reduidancy. The way forward for steel workers is to srart to maposecontrolover the point of production Forastart, every worker needs to be aware of the plans of the employers, the better to plan thie counter-offensive. This means demanding access toall forward planning documents of the BSC, including the exchange of correspondence between Varley currently under threat. In particular, the workforce needs know the estimated productionof cachplant Then when the workload does recessional or tochnical change) ractionshowd betaken to ensure that the work available is shared out among the workforce with no loss of nay - resulting in a shorterworking week.
Half of BSCs workforce is Marxist Worker Group regroups with IMG AS A small grouplet which had its origins in the expulsion of the Demecratic Centralist Faction loom Workers Fight in the spring of 1975. the Marxist THENKET Crono Holton Leigh) has always recognised SHE SECUT LOUDERED the tragisented forces of the revolutionary left.
In view of this we welcomed the IMG's initiatives of Socinlist Challenge, Socialist Unity mores to and felt l necessary to tuke an active part In ferthering them. discussion and joint work with the ING we consider that there ure insuflicient differences fo justity our continued sepurate already covered by a guaranteed working woek agreement, It was BSC's attempt to take this away that led tothe actions in Januar 1977. This agreement itself i part of the way to the princinle that when production falls The workersshould not suffer, since they are not responsible for the crisis in the seelindustry:
This is an alternative which Charles Villiers will fight tooch and nail. It purs the cost of the crisis on the state, and the BSC For thar reason tis Dot a ans policy for steel workers to win They are crippled by the mos bureaucratic leadership in the labour movement in the shape of Bill Sirs, leader of the largest Neel wrion: the iron and Stee Trades Confederation.
IMPLICATED Rather than adopt the road of defend his memhers" jobs Sirs did the He bas concluded a HUTUSEL participation scheme on the basis of a join! strategy bi managerbent and unions called 'thestectcontract Sirs is stready up to his nock in negotiations with the manape ment while membership remain in the dark. Sirs backer Varley and Villiers to disclose тле солте роласлес тот тент до impleted in there cuttin sould be t nians.
The light for workers answer tothecrisisof the British Steel Corporation must there Tone so hand a hand wilhi thi fight to build a new leadership for stol workeri good beginning would be che creation of clocted rank and file action committees in every plant around the policy of fighting for a shoriened working week existence.
Ditterences certainly around the organisational methods neces sury to the functioning of a TAPE BUT MELIESESHFE and the level sE education repaired ok is around whut we consider to he un inulequate attitude towards sexism; und over the position of the group with regard to the Luinur Party:
But me feel these differences can be worked out within the internal democracy IMG. Consequently the Mars ist Worker Group has megrouped with the IMG and me hope to he part of further regrosipments of the fur left in Britain.