As the Red Weekly went to press, negotiations between the TGWU and the management at Imperial Typewriters were still dragging on.
The management have apparently dimbed down on their original threat never to 're-hire 20 to 25 unnamed strikers.
According to reports the bosses have agreed all the strikers shall be re-instated. The management have been insisting however, that not all the strikers can return to their original jobs a move obviously designed to isolate the troublemakers and put leading militants into jobs wilich pay badly, thereby hoping that they will leave the factory.
After weeks of evasion and claims by TGWU convenor Reg Weaver, that there was no dispute, as all the workers had been sacked, Mathers the regional organiser stepped in and announced negotiations would take place on Tuesday 16 July.
The TWU leaders had not suddenly discovered Imperial. The per sistence and rock-solid determination of the 500 Asian strikers had forced the union bureaucrats to move. The situation at Imperial had become so hot for the TWU leaders that they had to act.
Everybody had tried their hand at strike breaking. District Secretary of the union, Bromley, had muttered about a "white back lash" if the strikers" demands were met. Local MP, Tom Bradley, president of the TSSAwhite collar railway workers" union-urged the workers to go back BOB PENNINGTON reports to work.
its "white nose" in and was rejected to this was not polite-but it was to the point, Mr. Foot was not invited.
The TGWU set up an Inquiry won, give us time to find a formula. The formula included such small things as keeping quiel on the elected leaders of the strike gefting their jobs back and dumping Bennie Bunsee the outside "subversive who request.
The Race Relations Board stuck by the strikers. The Runnymede Trust of the inguiry. had the effrontery to suggest Michael Foot as a mediator, The strikers' reply They leaked to the strikers you have had been helping the strikers, at their Mouldings, Leicester.
The strikers rejected this cajolery. No, they said, 'we do not go back without our leaders and we will work with anyone who serves the interest of our strike.* They insisted: give our strike official backing and publish the results But still Transport House equivocated, No action was taken, The strike did not get official recognition.
The management encouraged by the union's lack of action tried their own stroke. They few in from California their head of personnel, Doug Peters. Mr. Peters brought with him a chosen aide. This was a tame black American ex buschall star who at the wave of a salary cheque dutifully recites the company's policies on equal employment opportunity. ing But Mr. Peters and Mr. Tron did not wash. The strikers said no Finally the union moved, They could see the strikers were not going to be bullied, starved out, or even driven hack by the union's indiffe renice. Mathers announced that the anion would be negotiating with the management on the day set tor the national picket.
What will determine the outcome of these negotiations will be the con tinuing militancy of the strikers. Any retreat by them to let the union burenucrats take over will result in Mathers making concessions to the manapement, Their continuing strug gle has forced the union to act at Jast. It is che only way to get the settlement the strikers are demand-