THE INTRODUCTION of postal balloting and the development or press interrerence in elections, combined with the growth organisations ruemid, Datum Line, IRIS, eTC.
victories what Bob Wright, newly elected as the unions assistant cercial bob retary, argued at a Broad Left meetina in Birminaham on 11 December. He also supported BOB WRIGHT the idea of the Social Contract merely arguing 1 потріс, incomes policy and the cuts in public This view, however, was not generally accepted at meeting. Many militants pointed out that the work mobilising. rank-and-file was not being done.
while the right wing had been campaigning up down the AUEW in support of the Labour Government's polHIKE icies for the last two years, membership opposition to the Social Contract. As a result it was hardly surprising that the right wing was making headway.
POSITIVE A number of positive steps are to be taken. though. first is an election campaign for Larry Connolly, a member Workers League officially backed by the local Braod Left, who is to run for the position of Birmingham East District Secretary March. Public meetings, visits to branches and publicity, etc, are all being organised around the central theme of opposition to Social Contract and wage restraint.
Secondly, Bob Wright announced that a meeting of the Broad Left on a national basis is to be convened in Birmingham in February to decide on candidate for the presidential elections, retirina in 1978. also discuss the basis for the of JOHN GRAHAM [AUEW Shop steward.
TUC would be drawn into the and further talks as the question arises of the compatibility of any revised deal with the limits of the Social Contract'.
TUC boss Len Murray has already made his position clear. On 24 November he warned that any earher reurement tor une must be counted against the 5 per cent celing for improvements wa der the current incomes policy". The National Coal Board put a similar argument to the miners in the negotiations leading up to the ballot - and even Daly found it Daly and NUM but favour of industrial action not as a means of securing the full retirement claim, but rather as a negoin tiating lever — something to wring out 'concessions' from the Coa factories Board, as Gormley put it.
Gormley and Daly have bott made it clear that for them th Social Contract comes before any commitment to the full claim. Though mind you, it's a different thing when it comes to the Social Contract actually applying to the NUM bureaucrats nemserves.
Indeed, last June Gormley and Daly themselves code; not only did they get as Scanion This will the rates on Gormley's case, it is a sum £345.57 yearly, and for Daly it's cepted here in Yorkshire."
miner The Da10! now both Neveruciess. president Joe they would willingly respond.
Racism of which includes both underground and surface workers, will be acScargill has to spell out exactly what he means by a 'meaningful response, but he knows as well as anyone that it will take more than militant phrases to make Daly and Gormley carry out the NUM policy — as decided at conference, and by on early reuremen What is necessary is a full fledged campaign both in the pits and in other sections of the workers movement to prepare for strike cown one oy action. Scargill has talked himself into a position where he has the influence to lead that campaign: the rank-and-file mineworkers have indicated, by their vote, that The best New Year's resolution miners can have is STRIKE CUTS AGAINST THE SOCIAL CON TRACT, STRIKE FOR US ALL.
Challenge to CaSEOW Party trict, writes:
Challenge to Labour's Cuts interests people?
Term:
Socia Contrac HOW Marathon oil rig builders, 1,000 men mave nac to accour suspe sion' because of lack of orders. In the same week another 1,200 worBabcock and Wilcox in nearby Refrew were given notice of redundancy in April.
The sackings at both plants illustrate dramatically just how shaky industry has become in the west of Both plants are now directly on Government Marathon, the 'new hope for are demanding pre- TISh financing of a rig to be built in advance of any order. AL 620 cock's the future of the labour force depends on whether it can win a government order for a new coal-fired power station to be built Among the so-called 'boom in of light manufacturing Workers at STC find themselves in the front line of the tight against unemployment in Scotland. the slump is just as deep. Multinational plants set up in Scotland In the 19o0s on the strength of regional subsidies arc now closing one Workers plants like Personna or STC (a subsidiary of ITT), generally with a high proportion of female labnow find themselves in the front line against unemployment.
The Budget will only speed up this process. The cuts in public expenditure will mean the wholesale dismantling of local council direct labour departments, especially in The response was tragically predictable. The Government had responded "very well' to the priorities, explained Jimmy McGrandle, Scottish Secretary of the Labour Party again. This in the very week wnen ove 2,000 workers had just lost their ...nor in Wales ERICA BARNETT, Publicity taken this to heart when he said, if there is a way to be found (to avert the Maramon rcaundancies) nel Bruce Millan will find it'.
ALTERNATIVE The perspective of Glasgow's trade union leaders boils down to influencing their mates in Labour Cabinet. But this is the perspective of lunacy This same Bruce Millan, Scot Secretary of State, is the architect o me cur Bre rate support grant which will lop E27 million off this vear's budget for local authorities and £60 millior vears. quences of redundancies and wage cutsnave alrcad DCCE seen Glasgow ETV and the Highland cleaners' strike this year But there is an alternative. The example set by the workers at Personna last year can be followed today: immediate occupation of the plants, and a campaign for work-sharing without loss of pay. Private enterprise is steadily creating an industrial desert of the Clydeside region; firms declaring redundancies should be taken over and nationalisco None of this would please Bruce Millan very much, but the strength and enthusiasm seen among Scotusn workers in une carry Stages ol the US fight five years ago is a at more erective mena man an Labour minister Christmas period, highly organised and unionised workers from halt a dozen plant in the west of Scotland will be facing redundancy. Hopefully the New Year will see that organisaNEIL WILLIAMSON beginning to see the link between
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Gormley have made it clear that they see the huge majority in
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