All out to save pit lobs

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"WE had the Tories on the run". . That was the feeling among many water workers as their four week strike ended.

The government's 4% hard line was swept aside. But the union leaders ran the whole dispute with the brakes on, and settled for far Tana ANDREW WIARD (REPORI/ won.

Sunday's demonstration at ACAS was crucial for what was won. The union leaders went into the inquiry promising to accept the results come what may. But the militant lobby and occupation at the ACAS offices made it clear that the rank and file would not stand for cosmetic tinkering.

With delegations from Sheffield, Birmingham, Oxfora, London and elsewhere, it was the tirst time in the dispute that rank and file organisation had been able to show its strength and put pressure on the top leaders at national level.

That nreccure must have reaching a conclusion - the long delay and, finally, the report signed only by the chair, not by the union or the employers representatives.

The problem was that it was only pressure. If an organised, representative committee of the rank and file had existed, able to take the running of the dispute out of the hands of the full time officials, then the setback for the Tories could have been turned into a resounding defeat.

That was on the cards. Activists were discussing a national meeting of shop stewards and strike committees for next weekend. Links were developing fast -in an industry which had no previous network of unofficial organisation at all. But not fast enough.

The organisation developed in the pay dispute will however now be turned to good account in the coming struggles over the scrapping the National Water Council (and all national agreements) and the threat of job cuts.

The inquiry report gives a 14 per cent increase on basic pay. A chunk of that is not new money, but consolidation into basic of bonus payments. Higher shift rates and long-service supplements, payments for flexible working rand a oneshour cutrin 10 and 12 percent over 16 months.

That's far less than the 15% claim, which in its turn was less than would be needed to restore water workers' real pay to its 1975 level. The trade union leaders had no mandate to negotiate a 16 month deal, yet called for a return to work without even consulting the membership on this offer.

Gas workers' unions have negotiations on February 24, and power unions are talking to the employers on March 3. Both currently face offers of 4% or only a little more. The union leaders can have no excuse now for not going vigorously for the full claim, backed up by strike action.

The water workers have cracked the image of the Tories' invincibility, an image which had been reinforced by repeated sell-outs by union leaders, and spread so much demoralisation and despondency in the working class.

Now the rest of the labour movement, fighting on wages and against cuts and privatisation, can and must turn the crack into a gaping hole in the Torics credibility, and rcawaken hope among millions of workers that we can beat the Toriesalter all, DESPITE the ballot defeat and the collapse of the Scottish area leadership over Kinnell, miners are still determined to fight closures.

As we go to press, a special South Wales area miners' conference on Wednesday 23rd is hearing a recommendation from the area executive for an emergency coalfield ballot on strike action. The call is for an all-out area strike from Monday 28th - demanding a halt to closures, and in particular that Lewis Merthyr pit be kept open.

-At Lewis Merthyr 28 miners are on a stay-down protest. The other 700 miners struck on Monday when they heard that the Coal Board had decided not to invest money to exploit other reserves of coal when the present seam runs out in July.

An arrogant Coal Board immediately sacked the 28- including Des Dutfield, who is vice-president of the South Wales arca NUM and the Lewis Merthyr lodge secretary - and miners at other pits responded angrily.

On Tuesday 3,000 more miners struck at Maerdy, Tower, Nantgarw, TymawI, and Penrhiweeibr, and delegates from the six striking pits lobbied the area executive meeting.

The sacking of the 28 poses the issue sharply. Like the move to appoint lan McGregor as Coal Board chief, it shows that the alternative to a fight back now is not a quiet life, but the Tories and the bosses doing to the pits what they have done to BL and British Steel.

When the South Wales miners discussed action in January - it was postponed after the Kinneil collapse -Arthur Scargill promised that it would spread to other coalfields "like wildfire" This time the Lewis Merthyr strikers are complaining about Scargill's failure to give a lead against closures.

Even if Scargill has ducked out, the NUM rank and file can't afford to.

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Socialist Organiser no.121 February 24 1983 Page This Wednesday the Labour Party National Executive is set to decree the expulsion