[1½ months of picketting at the Glencroft Knitwear…]

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1½ months of picketting at the Glencroft Knitwear firn in Glasgow has failed to make any significant impact on the firm's operations. a fact which underlines the need for fresh initiatives to be taken to win the dispute.

The picketing began when Leon Newman, the firm's owner. sacked 15 women and refused to recognise their union. the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers. Postal orkers and most TGWI drivers making deliveries or picking up finished goods have refused to cross the picket line.

But this has been countered by Newman's nephew making deliveries and despatches himselt. Last Friday morning (11 September). for example, the pickets stopped a delivery of yarn going in. A few hours later, Newman's nephew left and returned with a van-load of yarn.

•Another problem facing the pickets is the 60 ourworkers employed by Newman. He has put some of the scabs in the factory on the work normally done by the sacked women and farmed out the scabs' usual work to the out-workers.

This manoeuvre, together with taking on seven trainees, has enabled Newman to maintain a normal level of production.

But there have been some positive developments. Newman had been advertising for scab labour in the Glasgow Evening Times and Hamilton Advertiser, but a week last Friday the West of Scotland branch of SOGAT voted to black all Newman's adverts.

Lothian Region Labour Party has advised its counciliors to resign the administration if George Younger won't accept the £25 milion package of cuts which the Labour Group have offered him.

This was the outcome of • stormy meeting of the Regional Labour Party on 6 September.

The right wing, led by Alastair McRae - chairperson of the Regional Party and a prominent LC( member - moved unsuccessfully that the councillors should be advised to remain in office to carry out decisions, which would be, But the union ofticials have dropped any idea of getting Glencrol products blacked at the washing plant. and there seems to be no progress made in getting TGWU members at airports to black Glencrott products (most of which are for export). The pickets are very much in the dark as to what. it' anything, the union is up to.

When NUHKW full-timers came from England last week, they just told the pickets that they had "a very hard job on their hands" la fact which the women had already established for themselves) and said that they had never known a situation like it. They then headed back tor Leicester.

Help

Readers can help by: - Raising donations on a regular basis where possible in your union or Labour Party branch and send them to Glencroft Knitwear Dispute. c/o NUHKW. 44.

Kelvingrove St.. Glasgow G3 7RZ:

-Organising and building more support for the picket lines again on a regional basis;

-Effective blacking is central to winning the dispute: this means withdrawing union cards from any TGWU members who cross the picket lines and organising blacking of Glencroft products at the washing plants and airports.

-Glencroft Strike Support Committees need to be set up in Glasgow and elsewhere run by the women themselves to coordinate and build further support for their fight.

democrai! is all about"

John Lambie trom the STUC also wanted the councillors to stay in attice.

Local trade unionists could work out with a Labour Council which cuts could be made with the least harm. With a Tory council it could only mean disaster.

Despite all this. the resolution calling for resignation was carried by i large mal ority.