Cammel Laird strike again

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THAMES Valley Chief Constable Peter Imbert has joined the ranks of the controversial Chief Constables such as James Anderton of Manchester.

That is the conclusion of the Oxford Claimants' Defence Committee from Imbert's report to his Police Authority on 'Operation Major'. The report, the committee says, is nothing more than a political justification for the joint police/DHSS swoop on homeless claimants in Oxford on Imbert's argument is that the rights of a minority were legitimately sacrificed to the 'general good'. Which minority should next expect its rights under the law to be forgotten, the Claimants' Defence Committee barricading of the main vestibule.

At the end of last week the company issued another Edwardes-style letter to employees threatening closure unless the action ended. Then on Monday 27th, the • managing director, James MacDonald attempted to cross the picket line.

As convenor Arthur Conheeny said, he was "persuaded of the folly of his ways" and turned back. Up until then the gates had stayed open, but now they have been closed by the pickets.

Of the 80 workers listed for redundancy, over half have accepted voluntary redundancy payments and others have simply left. But, the strikers are determined to prevent the remaining 23 compulsory redundancies. Cheques sent out to strikers, returned to the company and then sent out again have now been lodged with the strike committee.

Messages/donations to: Len Blood, 26 St. John Street, Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside. from the pit. This too came to nothing when other collieries refused to accept transfers, save those sanctioned by the union at Cardowan.

This move was followed up by the order to shut down working VS2 face of pit number two, on the grounds that it was dangerous. (Over 40 miners were injured in a gas explosion there last year).

Two craftsmen on the dayshift refused to dismantle the machinery, and the 200 plus miners on the back-shift went on strike in support of the crattsmen and in opposition to the NCB's instructions.

The strike began on Friday June 17, but was over by the Monday. Union officials successfully called for a return to work on the grounds that the strike would not be supported by the other miners and would therefore create a weakened, divided workforce.

The union therefore accepted ON THURSDAY June 23 a mass meeting of welders at Cammell Lairds, Birkenhead, agreed by a narrow majority to return to work.

The reason for the return to work was an offer to pay the welders their claim of 15p an hour for coded welding on a gas rig. But it was not a-definite offer, only a promise by the management to look sympathetically on the claim - a trick which the welders fell for once before.

On Monday June 27 there were negotiations between the welders' stewards and management. The welders' claim was for a payment to all those working on the British Gas rig 1377 of 15p coded welding allowance. Management are trying to include higher coding in the claim, and also to exclude certain types of coded welding.

On Tuesday 28th another mass meeting of welders rejected management's offer and decided to picket the gangways on all the vessels in the yard. Management have taken most of those working on the vessels off pay and threatened to lay off 2000 on Wednesday if there is no return to work.

The boilermakers are holding a mass meeting on Wednesday morning to decide on action. The rest of the Confed, as usual, have failed to render support, waiting for the action to come to them.

strong support from the rest of their branch, which has voted to hold a one-day all-out strike on Friday July 1.

A victory on the issue of Staff Inspections would have important implications for all trade unionists in the Civil Service, since many areas face these job-cutting exercises.

Messages of support/donations to: CPSA British Library (London) Branch, c/o Room 265, Science Reference Library, 25 Southampton Buildings, Chancery Lane, London WC2.

September 2 last year.

asks.

The Committee will be producing a Contact: CDC, 44b Princes St, Oxford. i When the Lancashiare Indus-