Horwich fights closure "We will fight tooth and nail

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VIRTUALLY before the ink has dried on the Serpell Report on BR finances, Thatcher is proceeding to destroy the rail network. Another 3,700 jobs are to go in the BR engineering workshops in Horwich (closure - 1,500 sacked), Shildon 2,000 sacked) and Temple Milis.

The closure of the Horwich Loco Works, scheduled now for August this year, will inflict untold misery on a working class cominunity that has built and refurbished locos and rolling stock for decades. One in four families in Horwich has someone in the works and will be directly affected by the closure.

Unemployment in nearby Bolton stands at 16% (17,300) and will soar to well over 20% if the Horwich closure goes ahead, and the expected 800 redundancies take place at the BAC Lostock works in the town.

Ironically, this process of decimation is taking place on the railways at the same time as Britain's EEC counterparts are expanding investment on railway infrastructure at a phenomenal rate. Even the "monetarist" Kohl regime in West Germany is committed to carrying through the SPD's expansion programme for rail.

Yet Thatcher wishes to return Britain to pre-Disraeli times in more than just the ideological sense. She aims to create two nations of rail and non-rail users: those who travel on the lucrative south-eastern routes, and the rest of Britain's passengers who will be forced to give up rail for bus transport.

stock Dennis Green, chair of the Horwich Joint Action Committee, argued the case. 'Britain needs new rolling stock simply to keep BR functioning at its present level. The demand is there not just to keep the workshops open but to increase orders for new stock.

"If the Thatcher government are allowed to carry out these : closures, it will lead to total whatever means necessary, including industrial action."

It is now clear that the workshops are in the front line of the Tory oftensive, and that il they succeed in closing the plants - it will be the signalmen, guards, drivers and maintenance staff who will be next in line for Thatcher's meat grinder.

So what is the Tories' thinking behind smashing up the railways?

In essence they want to install the US "Amtrack system" into Britain. In the US, there are a small number of east coast-west coast rail routes that connect industrial centres but which predominantly carry freight.

The transportation of people is handled through the Greyhound bus system, a large number of aircraft companies, and extensive multi-lane freeways.

Most of this activity, of course, is carried on by private enterprise.

In an overcrowded island like Britain this system would just not wik. And, moreover, to transtei existing Ial traffic to private coach firms would lead to à ludicrous level of over-crowding of Britain's roads.

But if you live in Sunbury on Thames and travel to work in a Rolls Royce, do you need to bother about railways?

Surely those esteemed gentlemen who sat on the Serpell Inquiry were men of distinction and impartiality?

The facts show a different Take Leslie Bond for example. A personnel director of the Rank Organisation, Mr Bond has recently negotiated a new 50 year lease with the Ministry of Transport for a chain of motorway service areas.

According to Labour Research "a reduced rent was agreed which improved the profits for the year" and "the more favourable terms provided under the new leases open up a greater range of opportunities which should have a positive effect on future business" (Annual Report 1980).

One NUR steward at Horwich put it well. "If Leslie Bond is let loose on the railways, he will have the same effect as his namesake, John Bond, had on Manchester City. We'll all be relegated to the dole queue."

Interestingly, Rank has contributed £140,000 to the Conservative Party, £3,000 to the Centre for Policy Studies and £8,500 to Aims for Industry. And "person: nel director" Bond has cut Rank employees by 17% in five years.

railways But maybe Mr Bond is the exception on the inquiry? Not SO.

Alfred Goldstein, author of the Minority Report is a ser lior partner in Travers Morgan 1 Tho just happen to specialise in ro ads HALEAST OF SCOTLAND DISTRICT COUACIL no workshop closures." 1529 the following:

HELLI action is our priority. rail unions • SCOTLAND The only way to put a stop to this malevolent attack on working people will be through combined RIGHTS industrial action involving all BR engineering workshops. On February 18 this year, Russell Tuck (Acting General Secretary of the NUR), told the Financial Times. "We shall maintain our policy of no compulsory redundancies and These fine sentiments now need to be transformed into a reality. The members of the Horwich Joint Action Committee are now working to this end by doing *Building solidarity between Horwich, ordinated and. Temple Mills. industrial *Solidarity between all major NUR, TSSA, ASLEF and CSEU in the workunions and other trade unionists, particular through the Triple Alliance with steel and mine*Solidarity between the local