Chamberlain =c Scchc Edwardes

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uninitiated that Chamberlain Phipps Holdings Ltd. announced a 92% profit increase in the first six months of this year.

However to those who know the management tactics at Chamberlain Phipps it comes as no surprise at all. Mattie Smith of the Strike Committee attributes the figures to 456 redundancies in the last six months, a £10 a week wage cut at the Bishop Auckland plant and skimping on workers safety in their plants.

The Strike Committee think management have been reading Michael Edwardes book of dirty tricks; and judging by the dispute at Bishop Auckland, they are right.

Imposed

Workers refused to accept the wage deal of a 7.5% rise, turned into an actual 10% cut by the conditional cut in the bonus scheme (this was the offer NUFLAT had kindly negotiated) and imposed an overtime ban.

In response, management declared that everyone going into work on September 23rd was deemed to have accepted the offer. In response the workers called a one-day strike for that day.

All of the strikers were subsequently locked out, but not before the firm had visited strikers' families asking them to make sure their bread-winner went into work as usual, otherwise they would be out of a job.

Successful

Management had missatiated: even the bribe irat" payment EE De Ne De resulte :: It 5.58=5 strikers are rampages with them.

Understandably, NUFLAT refused to support the dispute, some of the locked-out men crawled back to work and the plant started work again with the taking on of 17 new workers recruited from the dole queue - 20 less workers than previously.

Since then the 43 strikers have been solid in maintaining a picket line, visiting supplying firms and further processing firms. Successful lobbying has meant management having to employ independent lorry drivers to transport their product.

Despite this 1 NUFLAT still refuses to recognise the dispute. At least one case has been discussed when NUFLAT, attempting to preempt the strike committee delegation, arg ued on the shopfloor of a supplying factory that they have done everything possible to help in Bishop Auckland and so there was no point in answering the call for solidarity action -the dispute being already over.

Reinstate

But in Bishop Auckland the dispute is far from over. Next week there is a women's picket and on Friday 11th a mass picket has been called for 2pm. A leaflet is being written for the dole queue asking for the unemployed to support the strikers and explaining the dispute's significance in the fight for a living wage and the right to strike.

And it will show how unemployment has helped management find a workforce prepared to scab.

The strike committee needs your support. The ispute needs to be spread firms and CP H. ltd.

NUFLAT S DECEITE:

executive meelilg mis make the dispute official. -Please send donations and messages of support to: Mattie Smith, 26 Havard Close, Woodhouse Close Estate, Bishop Auckland, Co. Durham. And write to NUFLAT demanding that they support the sacked strikers.

Reinstate the 43!