Cowley women angry

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Steve Akers and Rachel Lever report from Cowley's picket lines Steve A HIP: 2=1= Not is inn pariazians TEDETEC Tres sold us whar thes thought of the so-called ofter: Nothing. nothing. Ail management want to do is make us believe that we re guing to get someining we're not. Bonus deals! We can produce 100 per cent working there, and we'd still get nothing in the end.

•All we get is empty promises in this place"

Another woman joined us: 'Last week I got 43 pence out of the bonus scheme! 43 pence!"

'Don't spend it all at once!" laughed the others. *I was going to send it off to a charity".

Dennis Kilgallon told n6: •The officials are

ey

ers and Rachel IRE E E We rE: moner or the basa rete. and that's what the of5cials should be negoriating"

'We have got to make a stand, because Edwardes has taken on the unions and weakened them at Cowley" , said Alan. 'Over the past four years we've seen it on the lines. Management tactics have been to enforce policies without even consultation with the unions. The officials have got to take stronger action"

The others around agreed. 'It's the people at the top, the officials. whn are breaking""

"You look at the TUC" art from Cowley's pick said Ken. "our governing act. socalled. I would -are been more reassuring := = = ber mould give =ste in the mortscutties. = - it 52= FOLE 2it5m ment Shado iwice abou: nor seppice •'There should be more pressure by the TUC on the government", , stated another picket. "I don't kuow why there hasn't been"

There was bitterness and that Edwardes' anger bullying was not met by the leadership with promises to pull out all AUEW and T&G members in solidarity. •That's what should have happened in the first place', said Ken. .'The rovemment's am is to break the unions. I want to have a union, We got to stand together fight together. Picking off one by one is easy" -LEc ISG Tre Emers thrashed the gurerument: Id like i know it they are going to settle for four per cent. Gormley has set the miners' review for later this month. He knows it could be dangerous if the miners came out in support, not only for us, but for their claim as well' "Everyone talks about democracy and accountability in the Labour Party - in political parties" , said Ken. "Well, you've got to talk about democracy in the unions as well. It goes in line with it"

Vic, like many of the active pickets at Longbridge, had changed his views over the last few weeks. "I wasn't a militant in the past but I do care about a decent job and a living wage. It that makes me a militant, then so be it. What we've got to concentrate on now is bringing Boyd, Duffy, Kitson and the others to order. This betrayal must never be forgotten."

Jack Adams *******. bottle when it came to it."

A more philosophical attitude came from Dennis, a T&G steward from the East Works. "I'm obviously very disappointed, but it's not the end of the struggle, it's the beginning of a new stage. Edwardes was obviously frightened by the militancy that the blokes showed. He knows he nearly pushed them too far this time. I hope we'll build on that. If the gaffers think this vote is a green light for more bullying, they'd better think again. If they try anything, we'll be out again without fail" Les, a T&G member from the West Works, echoed this more optimistic. view: "People put their faith in princes, or in this case officials. We've got to be willing to fight alone in future.

Initiative

Edwardes this far is some- But even challenging thing. They'll think twice before trying this again. The management's göt the wind up. the way they removed from the West Works, agreed. "This dispute has drawn a lot of previously apathetic people into action, and opened their eyes. The picketing on the West Works gates was fantastic all through Monday, including the night time, and into Tuesday morning.

A whole new layer of activists has sprung up who are willing to fight - whether that means fighting the police on picket lines, or fighting the officials in union meetings.

Now we've got to prevent these people becoming demoralised and lapsing back into passivity. That means building a real grass roots movement and expanding the Leyland Action Committee"

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^ Socialist Organiser, Thursday 5 November 1981 Pas Behind the BL betrayial „but the union leaders sabotaged it.

3 TRAVA-.

-from front page Spurring on Thatcher's attack BY BETRAYING the BL workers, the union leaders have betrayed the whole working The sell-out has an obvious and immediate impact on the pay struggle in the public Millions of workers up against Thatcher's 4% pay limit had looked to BL as the spearhead of the struggle to defend living standards: some might well have been able to use the BL strike as a means of strengthening Now many will be discouraged, fearing isolation and similar betrayals at the hands of Now the abject capitulation of union leaders has given every employer the green light to follow Edwardes' example and stand firm on offers well below the rise in the cost But the setback is not restricted to the wages front. Trade union rights will come under fire throughout British industry. In BL itself management will forge ahead with still Most of the general secretaries agreed to the 'revised' offer put by Edwardes. According to the press this included George Guy of the NUSMW, a member of the Communist Party: when Socialist Organiser phoned the NUSMW, Guy was unavailable for comment.

Alex Kitson of the T&G refused to make a recommendation.

Since the offer could be rejected only on the basis of a determined struggle against Edwardes and the Tories, this silence meant support for the new proposals.

Sir John Boyd (acting for Duffy), along with Frank Chapple and Len Murray, wanted the strike called off while the 'offer' was considered at the. convenors conference on Monday and the mass meetings on TuesMurray said he supported the deal because it was "premature to take on the government" • Boyd said he would have nothing to do with any fight with the government.

The Joint Negotiating Committee (of convenors and full time officials), Tho had been kept in the w ngs for 12 hours, rejected the deal and. insisted that the strike went ahead while the meetings were held.

But Edwardes had got his foot in the door. He had got fresh mass meetings, which he had been calling for all week, and now he had the general secretaries on his side.

The senior stewards met, with the plants at a standstill and mass pickets on the gates. Their meeting was besieged by militant pickets from Longbridge and Under this pressure they voted 210 to 13 to reject the offer and recommend the continuation of the strike. Their decision was an important principled stand, but in the event was not enough to nullify the effect of the general secretaries betrayal.

And in the big Longbridge plant, convenor Jack Adams gave a very weak call for continuing the strike at the mass meeting on Tuesday.

BL workers have therefore returned to work betrayed but not defeated. They are like an army who got half way out of the trenches, but were ordered back by their generals before the real battle could begin. Edwardes has once again been saved by the intervention of the trade union leaders.

The sell-out formula is actually worse than the original offer, since one of the 'concessions' agreed was a commitment to negotiate a new procedure agreement -the one Edwardes has been trying to get in for the past year, which contains far-reaching no-strike clauses!

Despite their victory, which has serious implications far beyond BL as far as Thatcher's four per cent policy is concerned, management was shaken by this strike.

At Cowley they were panicking so much they sent managers to leaflet the mass meeting at the gates. And Edwardes had put back the sacking threat for the time.

But that is little consolation to BL workers facing low wages and harsh conditions in the plants now.

They must very seriously examine the roots of their betrayal.

A new drive must be made into the BL unions for democratic reforms which will tie the leadership to the decisions of the membership. A fight must be waged, despite the commitment to the new procedure document, for a democratic negotiating structure which will not allow itself to be pushed aside by the general secretaries.

The BL sellout also underlines the need for demo- class. cracy in the unions, and the replacement of leaders like Duffy, Cure, Hawley and sector.

Kitson by those who are prepared to fight in the interests of the working class.

And throughout the their fight for strike action. labour movement, the sellout of the BL workers by Duffy and Kitson and the general secretaries must be their union leaders.

In the private sector, condemned. have an impact. BL had front of claims in the engineering as a whole.

of living.

speech for the reopening of Parliament t (Wednesday).

At the forefront of the latest packa anti-working class policies tabled for session of Parliament are savage new against the unions.

Queen's Speech The Queen's Speech is expected to or plans to open unions up to claims for dar for losses caused by strikes; to step up r to break up the closed shop and in compensation paid to workers sacke refusing to join a union; and to legalis wholesale victimisation of "disruptive g too, the sell-out will of workers" emerged at the fore- The BL mass picketing in defiance ‹ car industry and in provisions of Prior's Employment Act y demonstrated that action by the wo class can sweep aside such legislation: b betrayal of this struggle will spur o1

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OFFICIAN STRIK

BL STRIKERS §AY

Socialist Orgai ser EDITORIAL