payroll which represents a drain of nearly $5 million a
month on their exchequer. This money is, to a large
extent, being provided by China.
3.
First indications that the communists were
running out of funds came towards the end of 1967 and
since then there have been half-hearted efforts to
economise by paying strike pay only to people who regularly
attend union premises and eliminating those who have
found themselves other employment. In the middle of
February some 400 strikers in the textile trade were
instructed to find re-employment and informed that strike
pay would not be continued on an indefinite basis.
4.
From the 1st March, 1968; "return to work"
became the main topic at most communist union meetings
and although the initial announcements were greeted with
considerable hostility in some unions, particularly
amongst former transport and dockyard workers, the new
policy became gradually accepted by the workers who
realised that they had no alternative but to obey the
directive. Nevertheless, they made it quite clear to
their union officials that they expected to continue
receiving "strike pay" until they actually regained their former positions.
5.
During March and the first two weeks in April communist union meetings were concerned mainly with
seeking to explain away the reasons for the return to
work and little mention was made of methods and timings,
During these sessions it became abundantly clear that
the return to work was in no sense an admission of defeat
by the communist hierarchy. Apart from enabling them to
reduce their expenditure, it became clear that the change
of policy had been brought about by a realization that
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