embarked on a programme of ruthless modernisation and cutbacks, leading finally to its recently approved plan for a total capacity of 28 million tons per year (cut, because of the drop in world demand, from the original proposal for 33 million). The initial stages of this were carried out when BSC was organised on regional lines: this made it very hard for BSC to carry through its overall plans, because regional organisation led to local mamagements fighting tooth and nail for plants in the locality: it was during this period that the economically untenable plan for an integrated steel works at Hunterston was first floated by BSC Scottish regional management. BSC has now reorganised along product lines (hence the closure of the Glasgow Office), and brought out a detailed plan for reorganisation and closure, in the form of an internal report, about six months ago. It is this plan which is now being put into effect.
The redundancies were actually announced last month-but the plans were known well in advance. The internal report had been widely circulated amongst rank-and-file action committees in England; it had been put out by IMG militants in Lanarkshire to rank-and-file steelworkers and union officials. IS claim, somewhat optimistically, to have circulated it to Union branches in all the major steelworks; it also appeared in the magazine Inside Story. No action was taken until the news broke (if BISAKTA wish to take us up on this, we are willing to open our pages to any explanation of the policies they have been pursuing); now, the main actions undertaken are the calling of a mass meeting of stewards and Union officials in Motherwell on July 10th; the initiation of a series of mass rallies with a demonstration in Glengarnock on July 8th: and the possibility of the setting up of action committees in the localities. The STUC2 has taken up the question and is proposing to reconvene the Scottish Assembly it called earlier this year. The main demand being canvassed, however, is for the siting of a large steel complex at Hunterston, in conjunction with a deepwater port facility. Although completely squashed by BSC internally, they are too scared to admit this publicly; which is why such a series of waffling assurances have issued from Whitehall. Enjoyable as it is to watch the government and its BSC stoolpigeons playing cat-and-mouse to see who will first admit publicly that Hunterston is not on, the demand has very grave defects. Firstly, it can't be done: there is a recession on the world steel market, and EEC finance chiefs are already desperate to prevent any surplus being created. Secondly, it divides the working class: to argue for a steelworks at Hunterston is to argue against it elsewhere, and to accept BSC's right to close existing plant. It is unlikely that the present campaign, taken up by every gravy-train driver from the Daily Express to the Communist Party, will do anything but divert the attention of the workforce from the far more real and difficult task of taking the situation in its own hands and making it impossible for BSC to carry through the sackings. Alan Freeman NOTES 1. BISAKTA: British Iron, Steel And Kindred Trades Association, now more commonly known as the Iron and Steel Trades Confederation (ISTC). 2. STUC: Scottish Trades Union Congress. At the end of the first week of strikes it is clear that the response from the men to the call for selective strikes has been excellent. All 60 of the building and civil engineering sites selected have stopped, and there have been token stoppages in many areas - in Merseyside about 12,000 workers supported a half-day stoppage on Monday, 26 June. It is expected that there will be 180 sites out at the end of EnICe WeCKS The strikes began after the breakdown of negotiations at national level. The unions are claiming 130 for a 35-hour week, while the employers" latest offer was 65 in two stages (E2.40 now and £2.60 in February), making the skilled rate £25 and the unskilled E21. The unions also wanted a guaranteed earnings minimum and a cost of living clause!. The employers have yielded on the principle of these, but want a longer agreement in return, probably until March, 1974. The unions" strategy is to hit such buildings as hotels, commercial building and speculative housing, where timetables are strict and penalty clauses heavy? In many parts of the country individual employers are already beginning to crack. A small Cardiff company has already signed an agreement, and firms in Wales, Liverpool and Manchester are engaging in talks. These, however, are small firms, and the key to the situation is the big national firms such as Laings, Taylor-Woodrow and Wimpey. UCATT appear to be settling for "5 and 5', that is for f5 on the basic pay of £20 (craftsmen) and £5 by way of a guaranteed bonus.
The present situation underlines the changes in the industry in the last few years. When the last agreement was made in 1969 the men were hardly consulted, the unions were extremely weak, and the industry completely unorganised The emergence of UCATT as the biggest union in the industry with 260,000 members has been of major importance. UCATT is still extremely weak financially, and is still in the process of consolidating its position. If it can bring these strikes to a successful conclusion, it will have greatly increased its strength and influence. UCATT, which has funds of only £3 million - less than £20 per member indicates a weak union - and has had a deficit of £500,000 over the last two years, desperately needs to expand. If it does not, it will almost certainly face a T&G take-over.
UCATT is also concerned at the growth of the Charter which, as a genuine rank-and-file movement, could be a threat to the bureaucracy. This is why the Union is being extremely militant at the moment, and why the UCATT bureaucrats in some areas have friendly relatdemanding £35 for 35 hours but is supporting the Union's £30 for 35 hours as a first step towards this. While the unions remain weak and the industry badly organised there will be little conflict between the bureaucrats and the Charter. The latter is CP dominated, and is concerned to stress its support for the official movement, while criticising the 'weakness' of particular leaders. The growth of Charter will not have passed unnoticed by the employers, and will strengthen the unions' hand when they get together at national level again. Both employers and unions have an interest in getting an effective national agreement. The unions, because a factor in their weakness has been the fact that their influence on rates actually earned has been minimal. The present rate of £20 for craftsmen and £16.40 for labourers is well below that earned by most men in the industry. Earnings are raised by bonus agreements etc., on individual sites. This kind of arrangement gave the employers plenty of money to play about with on sites, so that they could play off one group against another, and buy peace on militant sites while keeping basic wages down. As a result, the unions have had little influence with employers. A government report four years ago showed that 75 per cent of small companies, 50 per cent of med. ium sized companies (25-300 employees) and 9 percent of large companies never made contact with trade union representatives. The employers need national wage agreements on which to base tenders, and with the present trend in the industry towards the equalization of conditions nationally, and the consequent breaking down of local isolation, a viable and effective national agreement will look much more attractive than hitherto. In addition, they will be keen to re-establish the kind of easy relationship they enjoyed with the National Federation of Building Trade Operatives. In other words, the changes in the building industry are leading to attempts to establish the kind of employer/trade union relationship which characterises other industries, and which the bourgeois press calls "a rational approach to industrial relations".
The present struggle is, therefore, crucially important and will have a major influence on the future of the industry. Relationships are being established which will have a fundamental effect on the outcome of issues such as decasualisation which will be raised in the near future. A successful outcome to the present strike will greatly increase the strength and influence of Charter, and will be a major step forward in organising the industry, ending casual labour and killing the 'lump Pat Hickey NOTES 1. This to take the form of a 'threshold" clause, ie., an automatic rise if the cost of living rises above a certain point during the life of the agreement. 2. It should be noted, however, that most agreements allow for the possibility of extensions if the work is delayed by strikes the employers' form of class loyalty! The effect of penalty clauses is due more to the possibility, if the strike is a long one, of loss of labour force and consequent delays after the return to work. 3. Union of Construction and Allied Technical Trades. 4. Its nearest rival is the T&G which has about 50,000 building workers. Only about 500,000 out of a workforce estimated at 1.2 million are organised. 5. E.g. Ken Barlow in Birmingham; and in Glasgow Charter demonstrations have been addressed by UCATT and T&G officials. 6. This body was dissolved by UCATT. It was a completely degenerate body and was responsible for a large number of sell-outs.
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BUILDING WORKERS STRIKES