Times: war on jobs stepped up

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IF anyone at Times Newspapers had illusions that the defeat of the Sunday Times machine minders was over pay differentials, they were rudely disabused within minutes of a return to work.

Almost simultaneously with announcements that the dispute had been settled on terms which gave Rupert Murdoch complete victory, Murdoch announced that he wanted wholesale jobcutting throughout the production departments including 50% reduction in some areas. The dispute has shown in miniature the problems that workers fighting to preserve jobs and living standards have in combatting their own officials. The settlement - in reality a complete and utter defeat - was drawn up by the NGA leadership and delivered by Len Murray, the TUC general secretary who has never been on a day's strike in his life.

It was served up to a chorus of anti NGA ranting from Owen O'Brien, NATSOPA leader () en O 'Brien gave hardly-oncealed encouragement is the Times bosses NATSOPA general tary.

The machine minders had gone into dispute over pay differentials over the NATSOPA machine operators. But what was really at stake was manning levels. NATSOPA members had been given a pay rise as part of a deal involving job cuts, and the NGA chapel had refused to accept cuts among its own number.

Chapel To win back the differential might have been the aim of the chapel, but its significance was that it would have meant a pay rise without selling jobs. It was for that reason - and not because of any fears of leapfrogging - that motivated the Times" management The machine minders never threatened a strike -but merely threatened to work to contract, a step that would have lost the Sunday Times a large number of copies. It proved a dangerous inesitation.

The chapel seemed taken aback by the suddenness of the management decision to suspend all staff; a move relying on the divisions between the chapels and between the unions at national level.

Rabbits

But if the chapel was taken aback, their officials were popping up on TV sCreens. like frightened rabbits. The deal that was struck between NGA leaders and Murdoch allowed only for tripartite talks between Murdoch, the NGA and NATSOPA. Not only woul NATSOPA have had an objective interest in siding with Murdoch in these talks, but it was reported that Murdoch had already secured the agreement of the NGA leadership • that the talks would not lead to any more money being paid.

Even as the chapel rejected the deal the members made it tragically clear that they were about to be defeated. They were prepared to accept the deal but not to allow their FoC, Vic Dunn, to sign it.

When the settlement was fally agreed, Len Murray was an extra signatory and Dunn was forced to write to Murdoch saying he had authorised NGA officials to sign on the chapel's behalf.

He sail We have an acceptance that the chapel will be going back with some sort of dignity." That was not true.

As a symbolic gesture, rubbing in the defeat, the Times published a facsimile of Dunn's signature to illustrate the story of the chapel's defeat.

The dispute is significant not just for opening the way for several hundred redundancies. A clause threatening to suspend all staff if any section went into dispute had been one of the main aims of Murdoch during his first talks with the Times and Sunday Times chapels.

He had dropped it in theory only to implement it in practice. Now he says he will immediately sack the next section which challenges his edict and ask the rest of the workforce to scab.

What have the unions to say in reply? Len Murray was anxious to deny that he had discussed withdrawing the NGA members' cards but it makes little difference whether he did or didn't. Either way he was Murdoch's most effective negotiating weapon.

The NGA officials; including close CP sympathisers proved themselves completely incapable of standing up to Murdoch.

If it was Murdoch threatening the sack, it was the union officials who became the guardians to police the deal.