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Programme of the RDG - Part 3 |
C. THE MINIMUM PROGRAMME For a federal republic, united Ireland and workers councils 219. The revolutionary socialist workers party must become the vanguard of the working class in its struggle for revolutionary democracy, international socialism and communism. In preparing the working class for its historic role as the leader of the national democratic revolution, the party must develop and use the minimum democratic programme. 220. The minimum democratic programme is a transitional programme which takes the working class from the pre-revolutionary period to the establishment of a dual power republic. 221. The dual power republic is a republic emerging from the overthrow of the old constitutional order. This republic is a bourgeois republic, within which the working class has its own rival centre of power, the workers councils. 222. In the United Kingdom the minimum democratic programme is summarized by the demand for a federal republic of England, Scotland, Wales and a united Ireland, and for the building of rank and file democracy in the workplaces and trade unions. We are for (i) The abolition of the monarchy (ii) The abolition of the House of Lords. Parliament to consist of a single legislative assembly of people’s representatives (iii) The abolition of the union of England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. iv) The immediate withdrawal of all British troops from Ireland The unity and alliance of workers of all countries is incompatible with the use of force, direct or indirect, against other nationalities. (v) Self determination for the whole of the Irish people, i.e. an immediate All Ireland Referendum on the British presence in Ireland. (vi) The separation of the church from the state. For the disestablishment of the Churches of England and Scotland. (vii) The abolition of all repressive legislation such as the Prevention of Terrorism Act, the Immigration Act, and the Public Order Act, the Anti-Trade Union laws and the Criminal Justice Act (viii) The abolition of all state secrecy. (ix) The removal of all British troops abroad and the closure of all British military bases abroad. (x) The withdrawal of all US armed forces from Britain and the closure of all US bases. (xi) The publication of all secret treaties with foreign powers. (xii) Withdrawal from N.A.T.O. (xiii) Repudiation of the terms of the Treaty of Rome, the Single European Act and the Maastricht Treaty (xiv) Unilateral nuclear disarmament. We are for (xv) A Federal Republic of England, Scotland and Wales. (xvi) United Ireland. (xvii) Self determination for Wales and Scotland. The right of all member nations of the federal republic to freely secede and form independent states. The right of referendum on secession to be guaranteed. Member nations must be attracted exclusively by voluntary agreement and not by force whether direct or indirect. (xviii) The separation of the church from the schools. All schools to be absolutely secular. (xix) Biennial parliaments. (xx) Proportional representation at all elections. (xxi) The election of all judges and state officials by the people with the right to recall any of them at any time by decision of a majority of their electors. (xxii) All representatives and elected officials without exception, to be paid no more than an average wage, to be subject to recall at any time upon a decision of the majority of their electors. (xxiii) Full freedom of information. (xxiv) Full trade union rights and civil liberties for all members of the armed forces and police. All officers to be elected and subject to recall. (xxv) For the right of citizens to bear arms in defence of their democratic rights. For the professional standing army and police to be replaced by the people’s armed militia with elected officers, subject to recall. (xxvi) Local self government on a broad scale. The election of all local officials subject to recall. (xxvii) The abolition of the Council Tax and its replacement by a local progressive direct income tax. Amnesty for all poll tax prisoners and the writing off of all debts. (xxviii) A Bill of Rights covering the democratic rights of all citizens. Unrestricted freedom of conscience, speech, press, assembly, information, movement, association and to take strike action. (xxix) Equal rights for all citizens regardless of sex, creed, race, sexuality, and nationality. (xxx) The right of the population to receive education in their native (mother) tongue. The native language to be used in all local, public and state institutions. (xxxi) For the right to sue any official before a jury. (xxxii) A free national legal service. For all laws to be drafted in plain language accessible to the citizen. 223. Along with the extension of democratic rights for all citizens of the federal republic, we are for the extension of the constitutional rights of working people and the building and strengthening of the independent democratic organisations of the working class. Therefore we demand (xxxiii) The right to work. (xxxiv) The right to a minimum income guaranteed by the state. (xxxv) A thirty five hour week. (xxxvi) Equal pay. (xxxvii) Full time and part-time workers to have equal rights to holidays, pensions and job security. (xxxviii) Equal rights for all workers, regardless of sex, race, nationality, religion etc. (xxxix) The right to join a trade union. (xxxx) The right to strike over any issue with or without the approval of trade union officials. (xxxxi) The right to picket. For the organised defence of the picket under the control of the strike committee. (xxxxii) The regular election of all trade union officials with the right of recall. Officials to be paid the average wage of the workers they represent. (xxxxiii) All officials of the Trades Union Congress (TUC) to be regularly elected with the right of recall. Officials to be paid the average wage. (xxxxiv) The merger of all trade unions into a single national union in which all officials are elected by and accountable to the rank and file (xxxxv) Shop stewards and joint shop stewards committees to be established in all workplaces, regularly elected and subject to recall. (xxxxvi) Workplace councils to be established in all workplace regularly elected by all the workers in a workplace and subject to recall. All major decisions affecting the workplace must be presented to the workplace councils for agreement. (xxxxvii) Local area Workers Councils to be formed from delegates from workplace councils and other democratic organisations. All delegates to be elected, accountable and subject to recall. (xxxxviii) Regional Assemblies to be formed from delegates from Local area Workers Councils. All delegates to be elected, accountable and subject to recall. (xxxxix) A National Assembly to be formed from delegates from Regional Assemblies. All delegates to be elected, accountable and subject to recall. D. TRANSITIONAL PROGRAMME All power to the workers councils 224. The achievement of the democratic republic and the growing influence of workers councils would represent a significant political advance for the working class. The Dual Power Republic would represent the most democratic form of the bourgeois republic. This would provide the greatest freedom for the working class to organise themselves. 225. The dual power republic, whilst providing the greatest freedom, would not create economic stability or social harmony or solve the pressing needs of the poorest and most oppressed sections of society. It would lead to an extension and intensification of the class struggle. 226. The capitalist class, fearing the power of the workers, would use all the counter-revolutionary means at its disposal to smash workers democracy. Such action might include economic destabilisation, fascist terror and the preparation for military dictatorship. It would be essential for the working class movement to organise its own self defence and create its own armed workers militia. 227. The dual power republic would not be capable of solving the political or economic crisis. This would bring home to the mass of workers the fact that the democratic revolution cannot be completed or democratic rights fully established or protected under bourgeois rule. The defence of the working class and the development of the revolution requires workers control over the state and the national economy. The immediate task facing the revolution is to bring state capitalism under workers control. 228. In order to achieve this it is necessary to transfer political power to the National Assembly of workers delegates supported by the armed workers militia. A workers government would be elected by and accountable to the National Assembly. The tasks of the workers government, the workers councils and the working class would be to establish control of the economy, expropriate the major private enterprises, to build a new democratic state and take action to deal with the major social problems of unemployment, bad housing, homelessness, health and safety, pollution, and education. 229. The crisis of dual power means that the party must replace the minimum democratic programme by a transitional programme. This is a programme for a workers government. It should include all the demands of the minimum programme that have not been achieved. (The following demands have not been amended since 1987 and are at present under review.) 230. The demands of the transitional programme are - (i) The transfer of supreme authority or sovereignty to the National Assembly of workers delegates. Sovereignty is derived from the working class and vested in elected workers delegates, accountable and subject to recall. (ii) A workers government to be elected by and accountable to the National Assembly. (iii) The armed forces and police to be replaced by an armed workers militia. (iv) A constituent assembly of workers delegates to decide on the constitution of the new state, including a Bill of Rights of Working People. (v) Workers control to be established in every workplace. Elected workplace councils to have full authority to supervise and control all aspects of enterprise policy. (vi) Nationalisation of the land without compensation. The right of disposal of land to be vested in Local Workers councils. (vii) Nationalisation without compensation and under workers control the banks and financial institutions. The abolition of the Stock Exchange. The merger of all banks and financial institutions into a state bank. All financial information to be publicly accountable. (viii) Nationalisation without compensation and under workers control of the major private Enterprises. (ix) The establishment of a workers Inspectorate to investigate all standards and regulations, including health and safety, and make public all findings and recommendations. (x) All commercial secrecy is abolished. All information within an enterprise to be publicly accountable. (xi) The abolition of the National Debt without compensation (xii) The establishment of a state monopoly of foreign trade. (xiii) Provide state support for workers co-operatives. (xiv) State regulation and workers control over prices. (xv) The abolition of income tax. For a profits tax and wealth tax. (xvi) An emergency programme to establish full employment. (xvii) A national incomes policy with a national minimum and maximum. All incomes to be publicly accountable. (xviii) National pay bargaining between trade unions and government. (xix) Retirement pensions to be paid at the average wage. 231. In establishing workers control of the economy, the workers government, with the support of the workers, will make immediate improvements in social provision for the welfare of the working class and the most oppressed sections of the people. (xx) A free comprehensive national health service, under workers control. The abolition of private health care. (xxi) Free abortion on demand and free contraception. [Decision to place in the minimum prog] (xxii) The closure of all nuclear power stations. (xxiii) The housing stock to be placed under public control. (xxiv) The abolition of all mortgage debt. (xxv) The right to a house built to approved minimum standards set by elected bodies of building workers and tenants. (xxvi) A tenants charter setting out the rights of tenants in their own home. All extortionate and unfair rents to be abolished and replaced by a reasonable national scale of standard rent. (xxvii) The abolition of all private fee paying schools. (xxviii) Free integrated nursery schools in workplaces and localities. (xxix) For a genuine comprehensive system of primary, secondary and tertiary education. (xxx) The right of all young people to a trade union-workers approved apprenticeship and professional training for all socially productive occupations. (xxxi) Open access to further and higher education backed by state grants for all students. The abolition of means testing. (xxxii) Reform of the marriage and divorce laws. All discrimination against co-habitation to be abolished. Marriage not to be based on a duty of monogamy or sexual rights and duties. Divorce to be made cheap and simple on the application of one partner. The abolition of private maintenance. (xxxiii) State support for single parent families. (xxxiv) Private profiteering in prostitution to be made illegal. Prostitution to be provided in state establishments under the control of the prostitutes or in co-operatives with regular medical inspection. For an international socialist programme 232. Capitalism is an international system which can never be fully destroyed within one country. By leading the national democratic revolution, the working class can bring the forces of capitalism under a measure of control and temporarily mitigate its worst excesses. But a workers state in one country cannot begin to build international socialism. Only if democratic revolutions begin to spread across the world bringing the working class to power in a series of countries will it be possible to construct an international socialist society. It is essential therefore to build an International Party on the basis of an international programme. This programme should set out those measures which the working class and their governments in different countries can unite around on the basis of replacing imperialism with a new world order. WORKERS OF THE WORLD UNITE, FORWARD TO INTERNATIONAL SOCIALISM. REVOLUTIONARY DEMOCRATIC GROUP 1996 |
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