[THE day this issue of Socialist Organiser appears…]

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THE day this issue of Socialist Organiser appears officials of the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers (NUHKW) will be deciding whether to continue their nominal support for the dispute at Glencroft Knitwear (Glasgow) where 50 women workers have been fighting for 15 weeks for union recognition and reinstatement.

Their decision will be based onsputether the thion sufficient support to make it worthwhile carrying on.

But quite apart from the union's own failure to build support, union officials have become an increasingly rare sight on the picket lines-so how can they judge anyway whether more suppport has been coming in for the women?

Surprise

. Ard when union officials have put in a surprise appearance, is it to test the level of support or to check that all the women are there?

(Three weeks ago the officials stopped the picket rota and instructed the women to turn up all day and every day).

A recent article in the Morning Star quoted NUHKW official (a CP member) as saying:

"They (the women) have been getting very generous support from the movement. We are asking for a further all out effort in the next few weeks in the hope that we can achieve definite progress when we review the situation again on November 20."

In fact, though, support from the local labour movement has been practically non existent, and inevitably so when the union has failed to seriously appeal for any.

Performance

And, as the NUHKW official's performance at this month's trades council showed, the union is doing anything but appeal for "further all-out effort"

So all the signs are that the continuing dispute, in which Newman, the firm's owner, clearly has the upper hand, since he has been able to maintain production, will be used by the union as a reason to ditch the dispute rather than as a reason to finally get their finger out.

The weak kneed approach of the union officials to this dispute is reflected in the NUHKW motion to this year's STUC Women's Conference, being held this month in Motherwell.

The motion argues for a "fight" against unemployment in which "no company is allowed to cease trading and • no employee is dismissed until the proposal to cease trading has been fully investigated and appraised by the appropriate union, community and government representative."

A union leadership which thinks that fighting unemployment consists of going cap in hand to the Tory government is obviously going to be equally bankrupt when it comes to fighting for the reinstatement of its members when they've been sacked for being in the Although the union's support for this strike so far has not really gone beyond paying out strike pay, it will be a serious setback if the union does withdraw support, especially in terms of the encouragement it will give to other sweat shop owners to sack unionised sections of their workforce.

Directly

The answer to withdrawal of union support is for the women to set up their own campaign and appeal directly to the labour movement for support, as well as fighting to bring the union officials under the democratic control of the rank and file so as to prevent any similar sellouts in the future.

Messages/money: c/o NUHKW, 44 Kelvingrove Glasgow G3.

The 12 rebel councillors must now be unequivocally called upon to give total support to NUPE on the following demands:

*Full support for NUPE strikers.

*Organise for the day sympathy strike.

*Fight for all-out strike action now.

*Campaign for no cuts and no rate increases.