'We don't want lawyers - we want trade unionists' T T&LWU

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'MANAGEMENT are exchanging notes: otber managements are watching what happens. They know all they've got to do now is to start sending disciplinary letters, suspend a shop steward without a hearing.

Then when we start complaining and say 'go through the procedures' , they sack him, refuse to hegotiate, deny there We wait 2 weeks, we wait 3 weeks, and a trickle back to work starts to become a flood. When there are less outside than inside, then they suddenly close the door, and The we're begging to go back in, and they're saying They only have to take ten per cent off, that's the leadership, and they have broken the union, at least for The unions don't see the significance of this madness. It Air India strikers complain that the TGWU under the leadersh.

is a dispute.

'sack the lot outside.

that they will take some but not all.

the next three or four years...

is a precedent which should in the country' No, this is not a retired trade unionist talking about some dimly-remembered dispute from long ago, but Alroy de Silva, the shop steward whom management at Air India sacked for putting a notice up on a board, talking about dispute that is going on now.

This is not a straightforward dispute about reinstating a shop steward, or even about getting management to abide by written agreements on consultation about new rosters.

The Air India T&G branch is one of the stongest - if not the strongest - union branches at Heathrow. If it can be broken, this will give free hand to other airlines, and other employers.

Expense

It will show them that it is possible to solve their financial problems at the expense of the , workers. The breaking of the Air India union branch would ¡ also show other workers that even the full force of the T&G will not defend workers in the face of an attack from a small employer.

Alroy de Silva explains what the workers think about the role of the T&G, and what they hope it will now do to support them.

"The T&G has shown that it is toothless in the face of an attack from a LAST Friday, 24th, the TGWU announced plans to impose import controls by direct action.

General secretary Moss Evans said that dock and road transport workers would be called on to black the General Motors (GM) 'S' car. The aim was to save jobs in the British car industry.

Astra This blacking is planned to start next March. The 'S' car is already ander production in Spain, GM has no plans to assemble it in Britain - the TGWU threat is designed to persuade it to locate some production in this country.

At the same time, TGWU stewards at GM (Vauxhall) Ellesmere Port are calling for immediate blacking of the Astra.

Astras are made in Britbui aiso imported from tin pot airline. The workt are bezinning to feel th might as well leave t T&G and join a Darby a Joan Club.

The T&G complains th it is hamstrung becau most of the members ha returned to work. If you' all out, you'll win. If you' not, you won't.

What's the point in bei in a union affiliated to t TUC then? Of course would help if all o members were still out, b why belong to anyone that's the criterion?

They harp on about t apathy of the trade unir movement, but it's up them to give a lead.

We hear pious stat ments about going to ji from the trade unir leaders. Well, we thir that if Moss Evans we to jail, he'd be sitting in gilded cage, and all tl wardens who passed h window would genufle as they went by. . They say it's not the rig time to strike. So a we saying it's open sease for management?

We're a band of willi fighters, so what are ye going to do? Are you goir Germany. Three months ago vauxhall managing • director John Fleming promised that imports would be reduced to zero (from 55% of those sold) by October, and Ellesmere Port production would be increased to 40 per hour..

He has reneged on this. Still 33% of Astras are imported, and Ellesmere Port stewards are calling for imports to be blacked in defence of jobs.

Import controis are nothing new in TGWU policy. But the call for direct action is. The usual method of pushing import controls is joint talks with the bosses and appeals to the government in the 'national interest' So one of the usual socialist criticisms of import controls - that they mean unity with the bosses instead of working class action - is disarmed.

Problems, however, remain with both Evans' policy and the Ellesmere Port stewards ng he our ut if ail Dn nk nt he Lis ict AR to throw us on the woodpile and burn us, and hope that some phoenix arises out of the ashes? Or are you going to help us fight, to encourage other people to start fighting?

The dispute could so easily be won if a small amount of solidarity action was given by other workers. The CPSA could stop renewing ID passes to Air India employees and stop issuing passes to trucks delivering to Air India. The AFS (Aircraft Fuelling Services) workers could have an enormous effect, if they refused to refuel Air India aircraft.

The airport firemen have an agreement which binds them to taking action against the whole airport or not at all: they cannot act against one airline alone. Yet a threat from the firemen to take blanket thority in its turn to put pressure on Air India to settle the dispute. 1g And the firemen are T&G members! 1g The strikers feel that this In the first place, if successful, they would hit directly at Spanish workers' and German workers' jobs..

This is no socialist answer, any more than boycotting cars from the Vauxhall factory at Luton would be an answer to a threat to jobs at Ellesmere Port, or vice versa.

Surely what the TGWU should be proposing is links with the Spanish and German GM unions to work out a joint alternative workers' plan to safeguard jobs in every country - instead of leaving workers of different countries in a competitive scramble to grab jobs.

When?

There's a more immediate problem, too. Will the policies ever be implemented?

Vauxhall bosses are talking to the TGWU about the proposed ban on the 'S' car, and told the Financial Times that they are "confident that OR JUSTICE kind of action could be brought about if Moss Evans declared his support for them in public, and even came down to Heathrow to talk to other workers.

'We'd love to see Moss Evans making public statements, calling for a public debate - we can arrange it.

The Indian government hates bad publicity. They want to appear as an emergent nation.

They're sending two men into space in a Russian rocket, they've got their own nuclear bombs, and they don't want to show that industrially they're back to Dickensian times.

Gandhi says that Indians in Britain should organise themselves into strong unions to take on racism and management here. A statement from Moss Evans would make her pressurise the managers.' But the Air India workers aren't just sitting back waiting for action from their union leadership. They've been busy organising support for themthe issue could t e resolved amicably long t efore the first S cars arrive in the UK next March."

It's easy to see how Evans could hail some promise for a few 'S' cars to be built in Britain (in return for TGWU concessions to GM?) as a great victory.

Sabre-rattling

And as for the Astra blacking - can the Ellesmere Port stewards really expect dockers and road transport workers to put their jobs at risk by action to stop imports, while Vauxhall workers themselves are doing nothing?

Vauxhall jobs can only be protected by Vauxhall workers' action. Once they take that action, blacking of imports will of course be a vital part of the battle - and can be explained as such to dockers and to German and Spanish GM workers..

As of now, it is sabrerattling. kölünnri Anusiy! imdattenit! sia-küzüün of Moss Evans (right) "has she *0'*/ 1540 UTtL selves in this country and on an international scale.

They have had financial support from ASLEF branches (particularly King's Cross), NUR branches, local Trades Councils and many Labour Party branches from all parts of the country.

Solidarity action has also been sought - and given - from fellow workers in India. Alroy explains:

'Here we are, in the T&G, the strongest union in the world, and we have to get an Indian Guild of workers to act to get their London colleagues out of a pruviem. a nechlam Striking is illegal in India, it only needs the rubber stamp of a magistrate on a form, declaring something an . essential service, and they could all be sent to jail.

But the Indian Games are starting on October 4. That's a real showpiece for the Indian government. People are coming from all over Asia. They've built a massive swimming pool in Delhi at vast expense -it won't be used once the Games are over, it's just to promote their image.

Air India is the official carrier for the Games, so workers there are beginning a work to rule and disruptive measures on October 4. They're linking it in with their fight for reinstatement of three of their Calcutta comrades.

u we keep guing 100g le 1--- 1enough, Gandhi will act.' While this solidarity action is organised, the sacked Air India workers at Heathrow continue to mount the picket line. They are watched from inside the offices by members who have returned to work; some moderates who shrink from such determined action, but also many workers who have been starved into going back.

Those who have returned to work are facing very severe conditions. Management are implementing new rosters, cancelling shifts, cutting overtime. This restricted workforce is now having to cope with two flights being re-transferred from Gatwick back to Heathrow, and also two new flights to Canada being started. This means an incredible speed up-for the workers.

that it is toothless"

The Air India T&G branch has always been involved in other workers' struggles. They attended the Peoples' March for Jobs rally, the NHS Day of Action on September 22, and the picket outside the courts as Sean Geraghty was being tried.

Mala Dhondy, branch secretary, is worried that the trade union movement is being fragmented, by wage, sex and race differentials:

"I'm nốt saving the movement will die, because it never dies, but I feel it'll set it back a long way if we're allowed to lose this dispute.

We are a strong, united branch; we have industrial, clerical and administrative staff all in the same branch. The management were trying to take us on; if we lose, the others haven't a chance.

If the T&G can't win this fight with this feudal management, how can it go back to the workers and claim to be a union?

It will add to the cynicism of black workers: you can belong to the T&G, but ultimately you rely on your own strength, as always.

Grunwick Grunwick established clearly that you can hope for the sympathy and moral support of the trade union movement, but not the active and practical support.

So while you had thousands on the nicket line at Grunwick's, the electricity and water still flowed, and the post was delivered, because the Union leaders were worried about losing money on a court injunetion.

We won't go on hunger strike outside the TUC, or anywhere, but we'll have established that the trade union movement in this country won't respond to the needs of immigrant workers, and must rethink.

If the aviation industry, which is high up in the hierarchy of immigrant ganised branch, through labour, we, a strong orcame together struggle, if we have to fight alone, what about the vomen who are cleaning Heathrow? How divorce are they from the trade union movement?

We need active support → an end to lip service. We don't want bloody legal advisors — we want trade unionists. Their forefathers won trade anion rights in the street, not behind desks. They're all worried about secondary picketing, and whether it's legal. Who the hell cares?

LAST Saturday the Air India offices at New Bond Street were broken into, and: a computer and telephone installation were damaged. Management are publicly claiming there was £100,000 worth of damage, yet both installations were obsolete and shortiy to be replaced -they weren't even insured.

The police have charged one of the strikers with the offence. Although there is no evidence to link the action with any of the other strikers, individually or collectively, management suggested to the police that the picket in front of the Bond Street offices should be removed.

This suggestion has not been pursued through legal channels by either the police or management.

Since the incident, Alroy de Silva has been receiving phone calls, and finding on answering the phone that there's no one there.

More alarmingly, there has been trouble at the picket line. With lack of funds to assist strikers in travelling to the picket line, there have only been three pickets on duty. Last Tuesday, the three men entered the Air India building, and went up to the fifth floor. They came out again, and hung around the area.

Just after two of the pickets had gone to make a phone call, the three men approached the picket line (of one) and tore up a placard. When the picket shouted at them to stop, they attacked him, threw him against the railings, and then tore all the placards up.

This attempt to intimidate the picket line hasn't worked, but had the opposite effect. Workers are now making sure that there are 10 or 15 pickets on the line.

However, help is needed. The picket is 1 mounted daily, outside the offices of Air India on New Bond Street, between 8 am and 6-7 pm.

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ON THE same day as the nationwide strike in support of the health workers, Asian workers at the Sandhar and Kang cash and carry warehouse went on strike in Coventry. They are demanding the unconditional withcome more effective, other workers at S&K have gradually joined the initial six strikers. Of those still at work, many have union sympathies but are still afraid to come out: 'The bosses are trying to get them to sign no-strike agreements. Afia Begum, whose case was reported in last week's Socialist Organiser, is still under threat of deportation.

The tragic death of her husband in a house fire having removed her right to come to Britain with their young child, Afia was allowed a visitor's passport Party Women's Section has now been given support from fifteen Labour councillors in Tower Hamlets borough, including the Deputy Mayor.

As we go to press, the Bangla Desh Welfare Association has called a public

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Jenny Fisher reports

action would pressurise the British Airports Au-