Rulecan women battle on against the odds

Scan page 15

THE Rulecan women at Runcorn, Cheshire, are still fighting for their lobs attei months of bitter struggle.

Management have reneged on their offer to take the women back at a new factory.

To restart the campaign, the women, members of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers, called a public meeting on Friday July 9. • The executive member for the area reported that blacking of Rulecan goods would be re-started, although nothing would be "written down officially on paper"

Mass pickets

A campaign of mass picketing on Mondays and Thursdays has begun. In addition the retail outlets for Rulecan goods such as C&A and Mothercare are being leafletted.

Local NUTGW official Derek Cattell informed the meeting that the strikers had received a setback in their attempts to get speakers at the Liverpool Trades Council anti-Tebbit rally on Monday 12 July.

Trades Council secretary Alex Dosweli said that the speakers had already been allocated their speaking time and it "couldn't be altered"

Evidently Doswell has no time for the real, living struggle against Tebbit, only for windbagging about it.

This follows on him cancelling a coach decided by the trades council to take people to a mass picket in an earlier stage of the struggle.

The Labour Party Women's Festival also refused to take a speaker from Rulecan. But the meeting on July 9 decided to picket the Liverpool Rally and protest vociferously against the disgraceful coldshouldering of the Rulecan JUrY non00o Cor 2 FOR ing an occupation.

But only an occupati of the factory would st the scabs and force the ha of management.

Management claims of financial losses and inabil ity to open a new factory as promised must not be accr epted at face value, but qu lestioned. The demand to : see the firm's accounts must be the answer to their cro codile tears and evasions.

Proposals were made by people at the public meet ing that local factory conven OrS be asked to form a supp ort committee with the strike: IS.

They should certainly be asked to organise support for WORKERS' march against Racism: FROM Brick Lane through Brixton to TUC conference Brighton. September 4 to 8. Sponsors include: Jayaben Desai, Anwar Ditta, Nasira Begum, Tony Benn, Ted Knight, Ken Livingstone, Paul Boateng. Details 01-274 3951.

CHILE/El Salvador festival: Thursday-Saturday September 24-26. Three days of music, poetry, theatre, exhibitions, films, seminars and workshops, at Manning Hall, University of London Union, Malet St, London WCI. Details: El Salvador Solidarity Campaign, 01-359 2270. LABOUR Committee on Palestine public meeting: Friday July 23, 7pm, County Hall, London SET. the mass pickets. But much more important, in terms of likely immediate results, is to involve the unemployed in the struggle.

The organised unemployed, and those like Rulecan who are struggling for jobs, must be brought together in a joint committee for the purposes of meeting both their needs.

" The demand for work sharing on full pay based on a sliding scale of hours is the crucial slogan for uniting the struggling employed with the struggling and organised unemployed.

The organised unemployed should be ready to occupy Rulecan with the striking women. If the bosses are incapable of organising their capitalist system to provide work for all, then the demand must be raised, by the union, for the expropriation of the clothing industry and the banks under workers' management without compensation.

A workers' plan of production for the clothing industry should be drawn up by the occupying workers based on need not profit.

The unemployed should likewise campaign for a programme of useful public works financed by centra government in which new jobs are created and new factories are opened up, not closed down.

The basis for this could be laid now by workers" inquiries into the basic clothing and other needs of the estates and communities in which the occupying workers and unemployed live.

FIGHT THE TORIES, NOT THE SOCIALISTS!

Labour movement conference, sponsored by several CLPs, the Bakers' executive, and the LPYS National Committee.

September 11 at Wembley Conference Centre. Delegates credentials f1 from 1 • Mentmore Terrace, London E8 3PN.

LPYS Summer Camp Go wild in the lands Camp Site, The Tories' budget plans for next year mean some shocks for new Labour cor cils. Martin Thoma: reports.

----- pull-quotes -----

country! Only £20 for a week at Brace-