Laurence Scott vote to battle on unofficially

Scan page 14

Gerry

ON TUESDAY 21 July the AUEW Executive Committee voted to withdraw official status and strike pay from the 650 workers of Laurence Scotts in Manchester.

In one of the most scandalous examples of treachery in recent trade union history, Terry Duffy and John Boyd have delivered a smashing blow to the occupation against plant closure.

Whilst TUC leaders mutter platitudes against unemployment, and do nothing, the AUEW bosses have gone one step further -they are attempting to actively break up resistance to unemployment. But the Scotts JSSC, however: has decided that whether its officiai or unofficial, the accupation goes on.

On Friday • 10 July a six hour meeting between' CSEU officials and Snipe» look place, at which Boyd and Duffy accepted Snipe's proposals, which were:

1. The unions agree that some redundancy is inevitable.

2. The workforce should return to work by Monday 20 July.

3. Workers should return redundancy cheques to the company, or will be allowed to pay back the money at £5 a week.

4. Management will have access to the factory from 14 'July, and the summons for repossession will be withdrawn.

5. If return to wor is agreed, there will be no recrimination and all picketing will cease.

The Company will provide a minimum 2 day week for 3 months and attempt to maintain a viable future though this may have to be on reduced premises.

7. During this 3 months, labour needs will be reviewed and this may necessitate redundancies.

8. The Company will make application for the Government's Temporary Short Time Working Compensation Scheme.

9. Anyone unable, due to sickness or holidays, to present themselves for work on 20 July: will be given favourable consideracon.

The national Confed officials' response to these points was 'we've won They immediately instructed local officials and stewards to accept. How: ever, at a stewards and local officials meeting on Saturday 11 July, thesę proposals were unanimously thrown out and mass meeting of the workforce called for Tuesday 14 July. But what did Boyd and Duffy agree to?

1. Snipe's main goal was to lift the incresingly effective secondary picketing of his Doncaster plants, and to remove the blackirig. Agreed.

2. A return to work was established for 2 days. a week for 3 months on the basis of the government paying the wages through the TSTWCS. Snipe incurs no financial losses. Agreed.

3. The workforce loses the crucial bargaining counter of the £2!2 million in orders that they are sitting on. Snipe will then remove them to Norwich. Agreed.

4. All redundancy money is returned to Snipe. Agreed.

5. No guarantees against enforced redundancies after the 3 month period has passed.

Agreed.

Only a fool could call this "agreement" victory. Snipe loses nothing the workers lose everything.

As one steward pur it• •What can you expect from Terry Dactyl and his Dinosaurs ", as Duffy and the right wing AUEW Executive have been christened. 'We've been expecting this for a long time.

Immediately the stewards responded with the following counter-proposals for the mass meeting.

a. No enforced redundancies.

b. That levels of redundancy be negotiated to allow a settlements.

c. Severance pay to ho d. The 8 days to be accepted as payment in lieu and not to affect holiday entitiements.

e. Some form of ex gratia payment to be made for loss of wages during this prolonged dispute due to Snipe's refusal to negotiate.

f. No recriminations both on this site and against any transport company who have refused to cross our picket lines le.g. Aldreds Transport of Doncaster).

At the mass meeting the local Broad Left officials meekly put forward the Duffy/Snipe "agreement" and it was interesting to note the word "agreement' was deleted tor 'recommendations" . The officials were greeted with uproar, and the stewards proposals were given an overwhelming vote. 600 for to 24 against.

Denis Barry, the newly elected convenor said to the cheers of the membership:

'The platform on which we fought this dispute was no closure and no enforced redundancies so if we settled for less it would amount to a sell-out of the workforce who have stuck together wholeheartedly throughout this long and difficult dispute.

The recommendation for settlement as it stands would mean us putting a hell of a lot of trust in Snipe's willingness to negotiate and promise of no recriminations. Anybody who knows Snipe will understand our mistrust.

The whole document is a blank cheque for Snipe to do as he wants. Nowhere does Snipe state what size of workforce does he intend to retain at the end of 3 months. It could be as few as 10 people which was Snipe's original offer rejected by union officials and workforce alike.

Some victory - 640 up the road and ten in work. We wouldn't need a factory a telephone booth would suffice.

Scotts has become more than just a local struggle. It's a national beacon of resistance againsi the dole queue. That's why we can't pack it in. (Thunderous applause)

During the run up to the mass meeting, rumours were circulated from Peckham Road (AUEW HQ! that if the "agreement" was not accepted, then official status would be withdrawn. Accordingly 200 workers travelled to the AUEW Executive meeting in London on the 2ist to lobby for continuation of the occupation.

-When the result was announced, the workers spontaneously walked into Duffy and Boyd's officeswhere they pilloried them for ing role.

Amusingly, one steward parked himself in Duffy's swivel chair; to whom the President said "get your arse out of that chair' The steward said "I've been sat on this backside for 14 weeks at Scotts, and no way are you going to shift me.

Duffy then called in the police to remove his own members who were in occupation of the offices.

As steward Eric Palfreyman said:

'The real reason for Dutty making us unotticiai, was because he was petri fied of AUEW members challenging Prior's employ.. ment rulings. But were keeping on fighting because we' ve nowhere to go."

Furthermore, Dutfy has instructed his toady Ker Cure to call another mass meeting at the Free Trade Hall for Thursday 23 July where there will be a final attempt to force-feed the workforce with the sellout proposals.

One of the stewards put it in a #nutshell 'Most of our people live in or near Openshaw and Duffy's stab in the back will travel round the pubs on Ashton Old Road like wildfire, Ken Cure will be impaled on a spit and roasted over an open fire if he turns up to this meeting."

It is up to socialists in the Ken Cure: LS stewards say: 'we'd roast him on spit' trade unions and particularly the AUEW to table motions of censure against Duffy and Co., and make it known to the wider movement..

STOP PRESS: The mass meeting on Thursday 23 July at the Free Trade Hall voted overwhelmingly to back the stewards' proposals "'even if it means going unofficial"

Ken Cure's speech for a return to work was treated to jeers of derision.

Thursday 23 is also the date when the Court repossession order for the factory is to take effect.

Messages/money to JSSC, c/o George Fryer, 20 Round Crost, Romilly, Cheshire SK6 4LL.

Scan page 15

Socialist Organiser 30 July 1981 Page

----- pull-quotes -----

agreed for employees who volunteer for redundancy.