Leaders retreat from action to save shipyards

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THE Liverpool City Council typists' strike, over a regrading dispute, is still solid. Money and messages of support are needed: send to NALGO, Duchy Chambers, 24 Sir Thomas Street, Liverpool 1.

SM T 8 4 5 23 2 3 1 2 2 31 11 2 20 21 18 19 27 25 26 Rochdale Labour Party Dayschool: Democracy trade unions.

Speakers: Winnie Murphy (NUTGW), Alan Thornett From 10,30am, Sunday Ist November, at Wardleworth Community Centre, South St, Rochdale.

Liverpool Socialist Organise meetings:

Thursday at 7.30 at the Swan Hotel, London Rd. Oct.22: Organising the unemployed Oct.29: (joint with Women' Fightback) Women in Nov.5: The Russian revolution, the rise of Stalinism, and Trotskyism.

Nov.12: What is fascism? Nov.19: Bennism and the need to organise the Left.

Leicester Socialist Organise Alliance - weekly Marxist OFFIC PICI Stan Crooke ON FRIDAY October 16th, the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions (CSEU) announced that they were calling off the ban on overtime and the weekly one-day strikes which had been in operation since midSeptember in support of the sit-in at the Robb Caledon shipyard in Dundee.

In one sense, the announcement was only to be expected - given the record of some of the trade union bureaucrats at the head of the CSEU.

Radio

In another sense, it was totally unexpected. The men in the sit-in first heard about it from the radio.

Instead of going for an all out strike - the only way to put enough pressure on British Shipbuilders to back down - the union leaders are relying on the arbitration and conciliation service ACAS to cobble together a deal.

All the signs are that the deal will mean hiving off the shipyard to Kestrel Marine. Harry McLevy, one of the local union officials, has told the press that, while wanting to keep all the jobs at the yard, the unions are now 'flexible to the extent of considering privatisation of the yard'.

And British Shipbuilders have already applied to the Dundee Port Authority to transfer their lease on the yard to the Scottish Development Agency (SDA). This would leave the way open for the SDA to sub-let the yard to Kestrel Marine.

• The CSEU leaders would regard such an outcome as a good enough excuse to ditch the sit-in completely..

Kestrel

For the workers in the sit-in, the hiving-off is no solution at all. They want the shipyard to remain part of a nationalised industry. And Kestrel Marine is not interested in taking over the whole yard, but only the prefab shop and the jetty.

The kind of work done by Kestrel Marine demands a different type of workforce from the yard's present workers - who therefore would not be guaranteed johs at all.

Stab

Despite the stab in the back from the CSEU, the sit-in remains as solid as ever. A mass meeting held after the news of withdrawal of national action by the CSEU was unanimously in favour of continuing the sit-in until guarantees were obtained for all jobs and the maintenance of the yard as a shipbuilding unit.

After the mass meeting, the workers went on to lobby a meeting of the Dundee Port Authority, where one of the items on the agenda was the transfer of the lease of the yard.

The Port Authority poned its decision.

the 4 The backdown by the CSEU stands in stark contrast to the massive support won by the sit-in, especially in Dundee itself, where there is hardly a family that has not had some connection with the shipyard.

Factories have organised levies, social clubs have collecting • tins on the bar and socials to raise funds, the Magicians' Union is holding a special cabaret evening, and on Monday 19th Charles Bowman (leader of the Labour administration on the counci) will move a motion for the council to set up a public fund to help the sit-in.

Even some of the Tories on Dundee council have come out in (verbal) support of the sit-in.

Green

The workers in the sit-in know that they are fighting for more than lust their own jobs. If they are defeated, then it will be a green light for more job losses and more closures of shipyards throughout the country.

'If British Shipbuilders get away with these enforced redundancies' , one of the shop stewards told Socialist Organiser, 'what yard is safe? Years ago there would be lay offs whenever a ship was launched, but in the last ten years we've had a more stable situation. There's no way we're going back to the old situation' The CSEU must be forced to restore national solidarity action. But this time, not ineffective one-day strikes, but an all-out strike, linking up with the fight against job losses and closures elsewhere.

Finance

And the flow of financial support to the sit-in must be increased. 'You can't win any battle without finance' said the shop steward. We're all right as long as finance keeps coming in, and that's what's needed now: financial support from all areas and not just shipbuilding'.

Messages/money to: Robert Jones, c/o Finance Committee, Robb Caledon Shipbuilding, Caledon Shipyards, Dundee. Make cheques payable to Finance Committee.

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(MP for Openshaw) National Committer (Gen Sec Scottish NUM)