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Revolutionary Socialist Party
(Irish Section – Fourth International)

Workers of Belfast!

(April 1945)

Copied with thanks from the Workers’ Republic Website.
Marked up by Einde O’Callaghan for ETOL.

 

Workers of Belfast! Now that the capitalist war is ending the ruling class, through its spokesman Cripps, has given you your notice. 20,000 aircraft workers are scheduled to be thrown on the scrapheap.

The Government pretends that redundancy is only a temporary dislocation due to the change over to peacetime economy. Liars! It was under-employment of men and machines which gave rise to fascism and led to the War. How, then, can post-war capitalism bring full employment when markets will be even more limited owing to the full-scale entry of US capitalism into the competitive scramble? Britain and the USA hope to overcome their own crisis by dismantling Central European industry and turning the German workers into unemployed pariahs kept down by military occupation. Even then, the government of the most powerful capitalist country, the USA, expects 20 to 30 million peacetime unemployed. In their efforts to find a way out of this dangerous state of affairs the USA capitalists, in addition to wiping [the] German economy off the map, will try to put all Europe, including Britain, on short rations. And under capitalism they are strong enough to do this. Already the USA is dominant in the British Dominions and is in process of installing itself even in India. The British and European workers can only overcome this menace to their living standards and freedom by overthrowing their own capitalists and establishing the Socialist United States of Europe.

Meanwhile: do not be deluded by the specious promises of improved social services and full employment made by the Government! Brook’s paper schemes are designed only to lull you until you have been safely ejected from the factories. The capitalists will make sweeping promises until they have got you on the streets. They know that it is easier to deal with the unemployed, atomised workers in the old familiar way – Means Test, Slave Camps, etc – than to face workers still organised in the factories.

When the Trade Union and Labour reformists talk glibly of “bringing pressure to bear on the Government”, of “prodding” the capitalists, they fool no one but the workers. The Stalinist CP pursues the same treacherous course. “The CP will support any Government which upholds the Crimea decisions” says Pollitt. But just what was decided at Yalta? Would Churchill and Roosevelt have consented to sign a pact which interfere to the slightest degree with capitalist profits? Labour reformists and Stalinists alike are pledged to a policy of class-collaboration – which means only a renunciation of the fight for socialism, but even that they will not seriously undertake a struggle to defend the workers. While these agents of the class enemy talk about full employment under capitalism without hurting the capitalists, the right-wing politicians are busy drawing up schemes for the concentration camps of the future.

The Revolutionary Socialist Party calls on the Belfast workers to rely upon their own independent class power. Do not be driven on to the streets. Fight for a spreading of work by shorter hours at the same wage rates as at present – for wages to rise alongside prices – for the opening of the bosses’ books to workers’ inspection to expose concealed profits – for the inauguration of public works under Workers’ Control and financed by taxing the capitalists to produce useful goods for the workers.

No one sacked until an alternative job exists!
No makeshifts!
No false divisions into dilutees and “craftsmen”!
Unite to smash capitalism.
FOR WORKERS’ POWER.

Public Meeting on Redundancy
Grand Central Hotel – Locarno Room – Sunday, 15th April 7.45pm

 

Historical Note from Workers’ Republic Website

The above leaflet was probably written by Paddy Trench in April 1945.


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