The State's Armed Bodies Join Now of Scabs

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continuity of the 'Falklands spirit" to crush the water workers.

This includes the preparation of a 15,000-strong army •Task Force' including drivers, technicians, command and control staff, and general duty soldiers.

The use of the army for strikebreaking activity of course nothing new Britain.

Since the turn of the century there have been repeated occasions on which troops have been brought 'in and states of emergency invoked by the government of the day to smash strikes.

In 1910 troops were sent on the orders of Winston Churchill to Tonypandy valley in South Wales to assist police protecting imported blackieg labour during a miners' strike. Nine months later in 1911 troops in Llanelli gunned down four strikers, while virtually the whole army was mobilised along the rail network to combat the first-ever national rail strike.

Docks

In July 1911 during a docks strike in • which several thousand pickets had fought pitched battles with police and with scabs, 800 cavalry and infantry troops moved into the wan- .194 - 11- T-.. cashire town of Salford, taking up positions guarding the bridges leading into Manchester.

During the rail and police strikes of 1919, there was also a show of armed force by the government.

And in 1926, the General Strike saw troops used to convoy food from the docks to Hyde Park, while warships ferried supplies to Liverpool, and army. units were held in readiness should the police and special constabulary fail to protect the scabs..

The use of the military in the General Strike was further facilitated by the implementation of the Emergency Powers Act of 1920, passed in the immediate aftermath of a massive strike wave and angry demonstrations by unemployed ex-servicemen:

Emergency The Act - the same that 'ill be used if Thatchel roclaims a state of emer.

ency to combat the ratel 'orkers - gave the overnment power to break p any large strike said dr "interfering with the on u upply and distribution ol rod. water. fuel or light. or ith means of locomotion"

L reality it offered a "are cho-no for nalino and scabs to baton, ride down and beat up pickets.

Under the Emergency Powers Act, the government was empowered to seize land, buildings, food, vehicles and other essentials, and issued licences to take over docks and railways and control gas, electricity and water.

A statement issued by the government at the start of the General Strike declared:

"All ranks of the armed forces of the Crown are hereby notified that any action which they may find it necessary to take in an honest endeavour to aid the civil power will receive, both now and afterwards, the full support of His Majesty's Government."

To further protect the value of the military as a strikebreaking instrument, the Incitement to Disaffection Act (1934) made it illegal to seduce any member of the armed forces from their dure.

Though the war period brought a dramatic vote by Mnnronmori's laraalu. ennscript Eighth Army to uphold the right of workers to strike even during the war itself, the post-war period saw army strikebreaking once more the order of the day - this time under Attlee's Labour government.

times Nine times between 1946 and 1950 workers in dispute were confronted by army scabbing. Smithfield meat workers, Ministry of Works employees, London dockers, Avonmouth dockers, power workers in London and Belfast, and gas workers all saw troops drafted in to smash their disputes though in most cases the arrival of soldiers led to a hardening and escalation of the strike.

Harold Wilson's government elected to office in 1964, was by the summer of 1966 invoking a state of emergency and a massive anti-communist witchhunt to confront the seamen's strike.

In 107 it ane tho Tarias falls VIl Army scabs in the 1977 firemen's strike turn once again to bring in the troops, during the dock strike.

A new twist to strikebreaking activity emerged in the aftermath of the miners' strike of 1972 which delivered a stinging defeat to Edward Heath's Tory government. -A new committee, the Civil Contingencies Unit, was set up, with a brief of preparing measures to reduce the potential social and economic impact of strikes by small but powerful sections, of workers, such as the miners, the power workers - and the water workers.

At first chaired by Lord Jellicoe and then by Jim Prior, the CCU also con tinued during the Labou government, mastermind ing strike-breaking effort: by Wilson and Callaghan.

It is now headed b: William Whitelaw, an‹ backed up by a secretaria led by a Brigadier, Ton! Budd.

It seems no coincidence that the Thatcher govern ment has seen the intro dratina. of thr dirrinine