SO MUCH FOR THE OFFICIALS All this needs the fullest cooperation between the unions involved. Unfortunately the main union in the steel industry-ISTC-is reactionary to say the least. In fact Bro. Alec Quintin Hogg, local ISTC District Officer fully supported Lord Melchet on the 4,500 redundancies at River Don and saidthat Melshit had got the best deal he could possibly have got out of the Tory Govt....... " (Sheffield Morning Telegraph 29.9.71). He is not the only admirer of the Lord. Mr. Dai Davies the general secretary of ISTC described as a 'calculated act of courage' the visit of Melshit to meet River Don workers. With these creatures in high office there is no wonder that morale on the shop floor is not what it ought to be. Up to now all attempts by ISTC stewards and members from other works in the area to contact River Don man have been blocked by District Office. Even the ISTC contributions to the River Don fighting fund have the proviso that they are given to ISTC members only. All this in a situation where the ISTC members at River Don, especially those in the melting shop, are the most likely to be chopped.
Q: through BSC's A:
Q:
A:
Q: here?
A: ment and the union work hand in hand to isolate militants at BSC Stockbridge. How do you see militants who are still employed organising to fight further redundancies? A number of the militants at Stockbridge see the need for rank and file action because of the position adopted by BISAKTA and their cooperation with management.
Is there any prospect of finding another job There is no chance. Stockbridge is a one firm town, based on steel and it hasn't got any other basic industry. The prospects are bad.
British Steel ckles - Rotherham allway Materials and: ing Rolling Department
strikes, 600,000 metal workers came out on strike in the northern Bade-Wurtenburg district.
On 12 November, 96.88% of the local membership of the metal workers' union took part in the referendum required by West German law in the case of legal' strikes. Of the 234,392 voters (the workers of 948 factories) almost 90% voted in favour of the strike.
A DELIBERATE PROVOCATION BY THE BOSSES As soon as the bosses rejected the official "conciliators" proposal for a 7.5% wage increase over 7 months, strike action in this area became inevitable. The employers are aware that the atmosphere in the factories makes it impossible for the trade union leaders to make a straight sell-out. They appear to have deliberately provoked the strike.
When negotiations started they offered 4.5% over twelve months-less than the rise in the cost of living. The union demanded 9%. Why did the employers take this attitude? Firstly, though the employers obviously paint an exaggeratedly dark picture of the situation in the steel industry, there is no doubt that an economic recession has begun. It is still an open question whether it will be more or less serious than that of 1966-67.
In these conditions, a delay in the completion of orders is not an agonising prospect for the bosses. A strike could in fact make it possible to reabsorb stocks and improve prices. The effect of a strike would be particularly good in areas like the Ruhr, where the situation is particularly delicate, especially in steel. But the tactic of the trade unions has been to use the Stuttgart-Mannheim district, the stronghold of militant trade unionism, as the spearhead of industrial action. The district mainly includes firms which have fewer sales problems.
As for the bosses' response, there is talk of a lock-out in the very areas worst hit by recession. The employers are looking for a real trial of strength with the union (IG METAL) above and beyond any immediate secondary gains.
The long-term evolution of the West German dear the Schiller. In general, there is a slow but deep going process of radicalisation taking place among West German metal workers, especially among the younger groups.
In such conditions, Otto Brenner's team did not want to risk a new wave of unofficial strikes; which would have occurred had there been a mediocre compromise. They began by giving a free hand to the district led by the most militant of the regional officials of the IG Metall, Willy Bleicher.
The employers calculated that the financial effects of a long strike, reinforced by a lock-out, would bring the more moderate union leaders to their senses, while the social democratic ministers, seized with panic at the prospect of a serious recession, would bring all their weight to bear on their trade union 'comrades' to make them see reason. So the internal divisions of the union moment would reduce its readiness to struggle. This would be well worth the few million Deutschmarks which the big employers would lose in a strike.
But the bosses are running the same risk as the sorcerers' apprentice. A social conflict which looks like being the most serious Germany has known since the end of the second world war could well cause a rapid increase in the radicalisation of the workers in the metal industries. At the same time it could modify many factors in the political and social situation in Germany. It all depends on the reaction of the workers, and on a decisive, politically correct intervention by the vanguard of the working class.
If the strike develops according to the present strategies put forward by the union, on the one hand and the employers on the other, we shall be faced with some important questions of international trade union solidarity action against the multinational American and West German companies which will try to transfer West German orders to other Common Market countries, to minimise the economic effects and those of other countries will have to follow events closely.
The Wendel-Sidelor steel combine has told its workers of the strike. The Belgian trade union movement FOCUS AGAINST UNEMPLOYMENT This struggle had all the makings of a potential focus for the struggle against rising unemployment in France. The workers in Lorraine only needed stration took place at Longwy on November 6th, followed by a one day strike throughout the plants of the region on the 16th. This strike was a great success in that between 80 and 100% of the workers of the major plants came out, including Sacilor, which is one of the newer plants not threatened by closure (though in the long run their wage rates would be threatened by economic downturn in the region, of course). A one day strike in itself of course was not enough to break the employers. What was needed was an indefinite strike and occupation which the employers would have been very poorly placed to deal with. What the workers needed after the 16th was a perspective for further action. Unfortunately, for the workers who need to take co-ordinated action against redundancies now, the Gaullists were not the only ones who were concerned about the elections. The PCF (French Communist Party) has been reluctant to get embroiled in a showdown in Lorraine. They would prefer to channel the workers' discontent behind their campaign for a United Left candidate (with Mitterand) for the "73 elections and their militants in the CGT (Communist-controlled union federation) have acted accordingly. The CPDI (Social Democrat led Trade Union Federation) has played a more militant part in organising the demonstrations and strikes but they have not been able to give a continuing perspective. The CT has not been slow to take advantage of their failure to organise resistance to the redundancies. The result is that the militancy of the workers is in danger of being dissipated. Already there are signs that the employers are seizing their advantage and using it to press home further attacks. Our comrades of the Ligue Communiste are stressing the need for extra vigilance at this time to watch out for any sackings. The situation has certainly been made more difficult by the setback on the 16th, but. the struggle must be continued to make sure that not one worker, whether temporary, immigrant or whatever, loses his job and to try to throw the whole Wendel-Sidelor plan back in the face of the bosses and the Government.
in Belgium too......
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the metal workers strike On Monday 22 November, after a series of token
adequate reassurance that solidarity action would be forthcoming to go into action. A militant demon-