Sunday Times locked
Socialist Organiser1981 1981-10-01Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 15 →
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Schmetiber boot in Rupert Murdoch, new boss of the Sunday Times Times, has taken his cue from the Financial Times.
Recently the FT bosses faced down an NGA machine room dispute by threatening to lock out all its printworkers and produce the paper elsewhere. Now Murdoch has responded similarly to an NGA dispute in the Sunday Times machine room.
The NGA members, who are pursuing a claim for pay rises and better manning levels, refused to give a guarantee that they would not work to rule or take similar action. The Sunday Times then made a pre-emptive strike - locking out all its 1400 workers before the NGA machine minders had a chance to take any action.
Closure NGA members on the Times then respected the picket lines of their fellow members on the Sunday Times, so the Times did not appear either.
Murdoch is now threatening suspension or total closure of both papers.
As at the Financial Times the leaders of the bigger print union NATSOPA are showing no solidarity at all. NATSOPA leader Teddy O'Brien announced that members of NATSOPA and the other print union, SOGAT, would be willing to cross the NGA picket line. And he denounced Tony Benn for speaking out in support of the - NGA members. Workers at Schreibers Astmoor plant in Runcorn last week decided to admit defeat in their fight against 100 redundancies and return to work.
But when they returned, on Monday 28th, they were told to go home again. Management has put the remaining workers on a one-day week.
Schre iber management clearly aim to use their victory to the maximum.