Telecoms black Bank of Englanc

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POEU engineers in the City of London area are at present taking selective industrial action in the Bank of England as part of the British Telecoms unions' campaign against the privatisation of British Telecoms Telecommunications maintenance cover was withdrawn from the Bank a fortnight ago, along with the beginning of picketing of the building. This was quickly increased to the withdrawal of fitting work in the Bank, when BT management suspended some fitting engineers for refusing to cross the picket lines.

The action may escalate soon, when instructions to connect Project Mercury into the BT network are given to POEU members of another London branch. The POEU policy is to black all Project Mercury lines, a policy which was reaffirmed by the London branch when they were told that their members would be instructed to connect the lines.

Project Mercury is a protitskimming consortium of Barclays san up as a resud of the chich ar BT's telecommuncations monopoly in the 1981 British Telecoms Act.

The members of the London ranch. have already been told that they will be suspended if they refuse to connect the lines, but the threat has only lead to an increase in their resolve.

The London branches involved are linking the blacking of Project Mercury, which is being posed as fight against liberalisation solely, by both BT management and the POEU leadership, with the ongoing fight against the privatisation of BT, as part of the fight against the privatisation of the telecoms network throughout Britain and the fight to extend the public ownership of telecommunications services.

Published by Socialist Forum for Southern Africa Solidarity.

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AIQUESTION OF SOLIDARITY Trade Unions in South Africa

Lawrence Welch