After seventeen weeks on strike, victory is in sight for the 600 Transport Union workers at Commonwealth Smelting Ltd in Avonmouth.
The management of this subsidiary of RTZ precipitated the strike by refusing to take a dispute over manning levels, threatened redundancies, and shill pay ments through the normal negotiating procedures. But the effectiveness of the strike brought pressure from the national chemical employers organisation ( the Chemical Industries Association), which forced CSL to relent a fortnight ago and agree to accept a return-to-work formula to be decided by an enquiry held by the Joint Industry Councu ta nanonal umon management body).
Reluctance They CSL management's reluctance to go through procedure had obviously been well-founded, for the enquiry last Friday basically accepted the union's terms for a return to work: including the minimum safe manning level acceptable to the union, and also the right for all workers made redundant- weter voluntar or compulsorily - to be re-engaged as new employees keeping their redundancy payment, or to be re-instated with DeneLs rom tHeir orevious service Ou repayment or ten recundancy money.
What forced the management to capitulate after it had clearly set out to destroy the union? The effect of the blacking of the movement of zinc by the strike committee and the T&G nationally was ar moortant lactor enreatenms production inrougnout the chemicals industry, and so involving the employers" organisation nationally. But the most crucial development was the strikers" decision a month ago to close down through picketing the Imperial Smelting Chemicals factory, on the same site as CSL and also a subsidiary of RTZ.
ISC was rapidly forced to lay off over half its workforce of 460. most of them members of the same T&G branch as the strikers. This led to a desperate agement, and a few anti-union ISC workers to turn the anger of those laid off against their striking brothers. But an atteno ov uie renona ati secretary to get the Regional Committee to call off the picket behind the strikers backs was foiled when some of the stewards made a dramatic uninvited .S.C CSL strikers managed to close down the whole site campaign by the press and TV, ISC manOW HIRE FROM ONMOUTH NSPORT TRAI TORS malh 2203 intervention into the meeting where this sell-out was being planned.
When the strikers return to work this week they will be in a strong position te negotiate the defence of manning levels, wnien tney consider necessary not ony to prevent redundancy but to eliminate the danger or lead poisonng. ncy win also be fighting for compensation for loss of' earnings as a result of the strike.
This strike has had a big impact on the local labour movement, not only because of its duration and the massive publicity our aiso vecause a centra Issue ortne uls ·320M pute is over redundancies. And with the first batch of 600 sackings at the British Aircraft Corporation due to take place in May. manv aircraft workers will be drawing the lesson from CSL that given a factory leadership who refuse to accept the invitability of redundancies, a successful fight can be mounted.
But what is still sorely missing in the Bristol area is a body which can realiv hammer home the lessons of CSL to the Bristol working class and organise a campaign of mass support for the impending struggie a BAU Bristol IMG
Red Weekly 4 March 1976
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