Support floods in for Timex occupation

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THE sit-in at the Timex Milton factory in Dundee entered its third week with an ever increasing amount of support continuing to flood in.

The occupation began on Friday 8 April, in opposition to management's demand for 197 compulsory redundancies, after it had already achieved 1,700 voluntary redundancies at the two Timex plants in Dundee.

Management's reaction was at first to ignore it, not even bothering to suggest any negotiations. Then they switched to using Michael Edwardes style tactics, by threatening the 197 on whom compulsory redundancy had been served with immediate dismissal, and consequent loss of redundancy pay; unless they immediately accepted the redundancies.

The workers refused to be intimidated. Only 20 backed down and accepted the redundancies, whilst the remaining 177 continued in the occupation, in both moral and financial support"

The union bureaucracies are only too happy to respond to such limited demands, whilst dressing this up in outlandish rhetoric such as the GMBATU delegate to the STUC who urged "all delegates to campaign for meaningful support - letters, messages and money."

Particularly inadequate was the emergency resolution passed by the STUC itself. It simply called on the General Council to "request an immediate meeting with the Secretary of State for Scotland to deal with this urgent situation."

Equally damaging is the leadership's uncritical attitude towards the union bureaucracies. Instead of demanding that union officials translate their verbal and written support into action, the occupation - committee seems prepared to take the bureaucrats' stock-in-trade left rhetoric at its face value.

A strongly nationalistic - and thereby self-defeating - undercurrent continues to run throughout the whole campaign. Great play is made of the "dictates of foreign multinationals" and the "unfair government support being received by the watch industry in France and the camera industry in Japan."

Such arguments inevitably lead in the direction of collaboration with British capitalists and their political representatives. Hence the importance which the STUC attached to seeking a meeting with the Tory Secretary of State for Scotland, the importance attached to the fact that "all political parties" support retention of the watch industry THE FBU recall conference on Tuesday 26th defeated the recommendation of the Executive Committee for a series of one day strikes against the employers' intention to raise pension contributions by an average of £6 per week.

12 WORKERS - drivers and labourers - at Holden's Glass in Birmingham are now in their fifth week on strike.

The action started when two workers. (including the TGWU steward) were made redundant and other workers told to cover their jobs.

The strikers are mounting a 24 hour picket and have got Holdens blacked by most of their suppliers including Pilkington's.

Although the TGWU made the strike official from the start, the union has not been publicising the dispute, and hasn't even supplied collection sheets or official placards.

Meanwhile scabs, including one TGWU member, FTAT members, and some recruited into the EETPU by the management (!) are still going in. Members of these unions should be raising the matter in their branches as a matter of urgency.

Send messages of support and donations to Johnson, bo Jayshaw Ave: Great Barr, B/ham 43. in Dundee, and Gordon Samson's at first sight peculiar statement that "we have been deserted in our struggle by the Tory government."

The pernicious influence of the politics of the Communist Party (CP) is only too clear. In fact, the whole campaign is steeped in the CP's politics: an absence of any appeals for active support in the form of solidarity strikes and occupations, a tallure to take up the inadequacies of the union bureaucracies, long tirades against the evils of foreign multinationals, and a populist, cross-class type of campaign rather than a specifically labour movement one.

The very act of occupation was in itself an indication of workers' seriousness.

For the jobs to be saved, there must be a turn away from appeals to the Tories and uncritical acceptance of the extremely limited. support forthcoming from the union bureaucracy. Instead active support must be argued for and won from both the Scottish labour movement and Timex workers abroad.

Donations

*For speakers contact G. Sampson, 32 Elgin Terrace, Dundee, (0382 818452).

*Send donations to J. Kydd (Treasurer), 81 Brownhill Road, Dundee.

at The situation and the mood of the membership had changed quite dramatically over the previous fortnight. For example, in the West Midlands, firemen voted by a large majority for strike action only a fortnight before the conference. Since then, the Home Office has offered to "phase in' the increase over a period of six months.

Although the EC formally maintained their stand of calling for one day strikes, and there was an unanimous vote to this effect on the EC, it is clear that many EC members did not fight for this position. At a meeting in the West Midlands last Sunday, 24th, the local EC member failed to motivate the EC's recommendation, merely giving a factual statement of the situation.

The membership sensed the lack of resolve among their leaders and were quick to respond in THE campaign against management's cuts in the size of the workforce has been going on for several months. What lay behind the decision to launch an occupation at this stage?

Because the 90-day consultation period on the redundancies was exhuasted, management had not moved at all on the question of compulsory redundancy. We felt that management was more likely to occupy the factory than us if we didn't make a move.

How was the occupation carried out? What are you demanding?

A fortnight ago a mass meeting here backed a motion giving approval to any extraordinary action required, such as occupation, to save jobs. Only five out of 700 voted against. After that the management was expecting an occupation, but we thought that they wouldn't expect one during the holiday break, which began last Friday. So at the shift changeover at 9.00 pm on the Friday about 100 of us met outside the main gates and just walked into the factory. Only security was there, so there was no problem.

We are arguing for the retention of the watch business. This is the last mass manufacturing unit of watches in Britain. Our bottom line is no compulsory redundancies.

Have you had any trouble from the police?

The police have paid us a visit and told us that as far as they are concerned, only if an injunction is served on us would they take any action. But we will resist any police action and there will be maximum resistance to anyone entering the plant other than the workforce.

Inside the Timex occupati There's obviously nothing you can do about it now, but don't you think you would be in a stronger position if the 1,700 voluntary redundancies had not gone through?

Yes, we would. But like you said there's nothing that can be done about that now. But we're also of the opinion that the 200 redundancies the management is now looking for won't be the end. If they get them, then it will be days rather than weeks before they declare another six or seven hundred surplus to requirements. At the big rally held in Dundee in January in support of your campaign there was a speaker there from Besancon, expressing the support of the French Timex workers. How have such links with Timex workers abroad been developed?

We've sent a letter to Besancon informing them of the latest development but haven't had a reply yet. But the letter was only sent last week. We know from the last contact we had with them that they are just as concerned about developments there as we are about developments Dundee.

The government grants and aid they are receiving are only for a three-year period. Olsen's philosophy can hit them just as much as us.

Future

He has made his philosophy quite clear to us: In a recession we should not be producing many products, and the recession will not end until 1990 or 1995. He also talks of a new high technology age in which people born before 1965 have no future and no chance of a job.