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THE ASLEF strikers were not defeatIE ASLEF strikers were not defeated by their own weakness: nor were by their own weakness: nor were they abandoned by the rank and file of the trade unions. They were not the trade unions. They were not intimidated by the Tory government imidated by the Tory government or deterred by the sacking threats of deterred by the sacking threats of Sir Peter Parker and the British Rail Peter Parker and the British Rail Board.

They were coldly and cynically cut down by a dozen leading trade union bureaucrats - the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the TUC.

Not one of these leaders had lifted a finger to support the ASLEF struggle. Indeed, each of them has sat back and watched their own members living standards, and jobs by the thousand, fall victim to the Tory government's attacks. The last thing they want to see is another section successfully fighting back.

Not one of them has members working on the railways, or the slightest direct involvement in the dispute. Yet they had no hesitation in utilising the full weight of the TUC apparatus to blackmail and bludgeon ASLEF into defeat - threatening them with suspension from the TUC.

Ray Buckton is quite right to point out that: "Throughout, BR's actions have received the full support of the Government. Now they have received the support of the Finance and General Purposes Committee of the TUC.

"The public utterances of the general secretary of the National Union of Railwaymen have been contrary to every principle of trade unionism. He has, by his actions, assisted the British Railways Board at every stage."

With leaders' like these working against its interests, the working class scarcely needs employers or the Tory government. With the TUC working to isolate and smash independent action by the working class, small wonder that the Tories have not yet needed to use Prior's anti-union laws and feel confident that they can impose the Tebbit law.

Every militant will feel betrayed and weakened by the blow struck at ASLEF. But the health workers and others are still involved in struggle against the Tories: more will come forward to fight.

The lesson of this struggle is not to withdraw from the fray, arm the workers' movement with a new, revolutionary leadership. This issue of Socialist Organiser departs action this week. It has extra space given over to the rail and health disputes, which means that some of our regular features have had to be omitted this week. And it is followed by a summer holiday break. - INSIDE: rail dispute pages 2, 4, 8, 9; NHS dispute, pages 3, Il; Labour Party witch-hunt pages 5, 6, 7; the Palestinians and Zionism, pages 12 and 13; tory clampdown on jobless, page 10; South Africa, Iran/ Next issue Kings Cross ASLEF WE didn't expect anything to come out of the TUC meeting. It was quite clear to me that they were not even going to go so far as to back ASLEF morally.

They were intent on putting pressure on the ASLEF Executive to back down and capitulate on the issue of flexible rosters.

That was the whole basis of the TUC operation yesterday (Friday). And that is why we came back here, to the strike committee headquarters and got a joint statement from both Euston and Kings Cross branches in the form of an appeal to the trade union movement for support, saying that time had come for action to be taken, specifically to back ASLEF on the date of the sackings.

This statement was endorsed unanimously at a meeting here of 150 men.

They were clear that the TUC would not provide anything in the way of solidarity, and that we needed to make this appeal to sections of the trade union movement, like the dockers and the miners, to try and invoke the Triple Alliance at a rank and file level, in order to put more effective pressure on the TUC to come up with the goods in the future.

We are in effect, as a result of pressure from the TUC , going back on a position that is far weaker than the very weak position that we went into the dispute on in the first place.

We will not even be working our own scheme in one arca in tandem with flexible rostering but Working flexible rostering under protest. That doesn't mean working to rule under flexible rostering. it means, l suppose that we moan md groan! That's what the Thi have done for us Articles sep pages 2 and 11

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acialist Organiser, Thursday 22 July, 1982 Page 2 EDITORIAL

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usual pattern on three counts. It is produced two days early, to be ready for sale on Wednesday, the third day of the health workers'

Iraq, Poland, page 14; Rulecan dispute page 15. Next issue - August 12

We didn't expect much