Asa result ‘of this sensational progress of the left wing in both the Socialist party and the unions, 12 Socialist MP's refused to follow the instructions of the SIF congress when the antistrike legislation come up for a first vote today in the House of Representatives.
This ‘is ‘the first time in the history of the Belgian Social- Lesocratic party that such a large number of Members of Parliament bave broken reformist discipline. They were suspended from the Socialist group in Parlianent, but their future depends on the fate of the whole left wing in the "Socialist party and the trade unions.
Lecders of the left wing have repeatedly mode it clear that they will stick together. lUowever, this does not inply that the expulsion of sone of the. rebels yould automatically lead to a major split off.
The district organizotions controlled by the left wing, including the Lieve district, Delgium’s most important industrial, working-class and. socialist stronghold, would defy the decisions of the bureaucracy by reinstating the expelled comrades as members of their ciepricts ‘with full stonding.
The bureaucracy would then have to either expel the districts ' with their tens of thousands of members or accept the new situation and the de facto autonomy of the left wing of the perey: in Farliament.
j:eonwhile’ "harassing" strikes continue in several: parts. of the country as protests against the proposed laws and advanced workers are following with the greatest interest this tug-of-war between the left wingers, who have remained faithful to the working class, and the reformist bureaucrats, who have sacrificed every principle of socialisn to maintain a coalition government with the bourseoisie.
“BALANCY SIGUE OF ThE FRENCH ie STRIKE
PARIS -- How should the five-week strike of the French miners be Suseegent
In the liord and Pas-de-Calais basins, the miners, especially the ’ youth, were displecsed with the agreement signed by the unions and the ‘management of Charbonnages de France. On the other hand, anong the - French working class the general sentiment was that the. struggle , ended in a success for the workers. Who is right?
The truth is that one conclusion does not exclude. the then.
On the level of the wage demands of the -winers, the results, in view of the power and solidarity of the movemént, appear midiocre. This especially seems so to the youth who were on strike fur the first. time and who expected more to be won from it:::
‘But if you take the situation as a whole in France an: taice into — account that this was the first big test of strength in th: class struggle since de Gaulle came to power (the worst deféat o; the aifterente Since the end of the wards, the results: appear
erent.
On the level of the demands themselves, wage increase:: were obtained in numerous areas. The four-week paid vacation h:.s becone generol throughout the country. But that is only one aspect of the problem since one can maintsin that more could have been ol:tained. Vhat is most inportant is thet the strike ended with an advance ir. the relation of forces in fovor of the workers.
The prestige of the Caullist government. was significartly lersened for the first time, A requisition decree signed by «.e Caulie and not by just any minister wos ignored by the miners. De Gaulie, who broke generals, wiped out bourgeois parties. slammed ti.e door on the Americans and the Dritish, had to give way up to now orly to the Algerians. Wow it is the miners who have lowered his prestige. Te wanted, according to a report from someone in his entourage , “to break | the unions." He failed.
Ro draw this balance sheet by no means signifies that the tredeunion leaders and the leaders of the big workers parties fc llowed an absolutely correct line in the strike. The contrary is the truth. but it is necessary to male criticisms that have bearing; that is. those thet will count in the strug: le against the reformist anc pcst- Mealinist leaders. To shout "betrayal" in the present circumstances gets nowhere, leads to no effective results.
Whet were the mistales committed by the leaders?
Tirst of oll, they led the strucgle in bureaucratic f< shion, no strike committee being elected by the unicnists and the unc rganized although the unorganized ccnstituted not far from half the strikeis.
In addition, on the netional scale, the appeals for scliderity were Limited to the financial plane -— indispensable, but rot capzebdle of attuining sufficient preportions to keep 200,000 strikei's and their | families going, An action of the working class as a whole was recuired.
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On this point, some called for a general strike. Tho:e who cid this were mainly syndicalists who do not have a correct idea of a general strike; that is, an extremely high political stage which ¢an lead into the struggle for power. Given the relationship «f forces existing in france,.it was erroneous to envisage a cavern strike at the beginning of the strike of the miners.
A general strike is not the only action which the working class can take as a whole. Appealing to workers solidarity, one can call
for big demonstrations, for marches and rallies in the streets through which the political consciousness of the workers could be raised.
Especially after the end of the second week of the strike, after the caravan of the Lorraine iron miners came to Paris, it would have been possible to organize a caravan of some tens of thousands of coal miners to come to Paris. This would have compelled the government to pte = more quickly to the miners or create a more tense political SltUuation.,
_Tinally, all the trade-union and political leaders conducted themselves in this strike as pure and simple trade unionists for whom nothing existed except the demands of the miners, without any program to unify the will of the workers and without any wide perspectives for _. the future. All of the big organizations kept their programs in their _. Office files; they raised no questions beyond the immediate demands. |
Under these conditions, the government power, which was caught by surprise by the strike, by the tenacity of the miners, by the solidarity which was affirmed throughout the country, including part of the petty bourgeoisie, was able to hold out until a compromise could be reached with the trade-union leaders. ~
Thus it was that a struggle as mcegnificent as that of the miners ended in mediocre foshion on the level of the miners wage demands: yet at the same time injured the prestige of a power that for five yeors seemed able to overcome all obstacles.