TGWU must back Lothian

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DEFEND TRADE UNION R TG WU 29IN BIENNIAL DELEGATES CONFERENCE • BRI Mike Cooley's workmates have stepped up their action against Lucas's decision to sack him.

On June 26th TASS members from other Lucas sites took part in a mass picket of the Willesden site where Mike has worked for 18 years. Workers came from plants in Burnley, Wolverhampton, Birmingham, Hemel Hempstead, CAV Acton, Girling Pontypool, Rolls Royce Anstey and British Aerospace Weybridge.

TASS members at Willesden started a 4-day strike on that day, ending it with an urgent call that the TASS National Negotiating Committee meeting on July 3rd should broaden support.

But the NNC failed to give an immediate push to the struggle. Instead, accepting in principle the need to fight Mike Cooley's victimisation, TASS leaders dragged their feet asking for more time to identify the key sectors that y uld have to be mobilised for strike or blacking action.

The struggle is at crucial stage, yet the union leaders drag their feet. So far what has been achieved has been achieved by the Combine Committee - though the union's endorsement was, of course, important. Now it's time for a broader response.

Trade Union work only spent at Lucas.

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off unchecked ..?" Mike Cooley: victimised THE LABOUR Council in Lothian Region [the area round Edinburgh] stands to be thrown out and replaced by commissioners within weeks.

It has refused to make cuts to meet a £53 million penalty and cannot raise a supplementary rate [because it is illegal in Scotland]. So the scene is set for a Tory-appointed commissioner to come in and make drastic cuts, sacking thousands, over the councillors' heads.

All the debates in the labour movement about 'buying time' with rate rises, or 'choosing the issue to fight on' are outdated now. The labour movement must mobilise to defend Lothian now or never.

NALGO in Lothian had a one-day strike on Ith June, and all the council unions supported a day of action on the 30th. A one-day strike got a 100% turnout by firemen and busworkers and 75% by teachers; and there were 15,000 on a demonstration, with contingents from local pits, from BL Bathgate, and from many NALGO branches outside Lothian.

There's a Lothian labour movement conference to plan further action on July 25th. And after the demonstration on the 30th, 100 rank and file activists met to plan a campaign for an all-out council workers' strike from the moment any cuts are made.

The Scottish Council of the Labour Party has declared support for Lothian council. But if the Tory assault on Lothian is to be deloated, what's needed is stronger support - industrial action. and industrial What's needed is the sort of action taken by workers at St Mary's | Hospital, Harrow Road, London -where, for the first time in a major acute and general hospital, they have started a work-in, backed up with picketing to prevent closure.

But the action must be spread nationally, not just in Lothian.

The TGWU is committed by its recent conference to take such action. Resolution 147 stated, 'This conference is totally opposed to cuts in the public services and supports direct action against the cuts.

•Where workers take direct action and occupy to defend jobs and services, the TGWU will call for strike action to support such occupations to create the best conditions for success.

'In addition, the TGWU will support Labour councils who refuse to implement the cuts, put up rates or refuse to pay interest debts to the banks.

And straight after that conference decision, the Daily Mail quoted TGWU acting general secretary Alex Kitson as predicting "that the decision could soon force the TGWU into strike action in support of the left-wing Lothian regional council in Scotland, which faces a $53 The chair's attempt to million cut in rate support grant that could mean the loss of 6,000 jobs."

Now we need to make good that commitment. TGWU-ACTSS branch 1/524 passed a resolution on Monday 6th which called on 'the General Executive Council and Regional Committee to implement Resolution 147. by: [1) calling on TGWU members to support industrial action in support of Lothian's stand, [2] contacting the Lothian Action Group in order to organise a national labour movement conference to decide on national industrial action in support of Lothian"

Similar resolutions need to go through TGWU branches and committees throughout the country.

The fight must be taken up in Labour Parties and in other unions, too. For this is the time when every speech resolution against the cuts has to be turned into direct action, or prove itself empty words.

But he jumped to his

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