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But everyone knows that the sackings were political. BL has form when it comes to politically motivated victimisations. Back in November 1979, they sacked the then convenor of Longbridge, Derek Robin. son, just for putting his name to a pamphlet criticising the Edwardes plan. With the thinly disguised connivance of the AUEW leadership, and a vicious red-baiting campaign in the press, the BL bosses rode out the spontaneous walk-outs by thousands of BL workers, and Robinson stayed sacked, probably never to work in industry again.

Exactly one year after Robinson's dismissal, six militants fincluding four shop stewards, one of whom was Jim Denham, à Socialist Organiser supporter) were framed up and sacked at Longbridge for allegedly leading a 'riotous mob' on a 'rampage' round the plant. The evidence against the six would not have stood up in any court outside a police state. Again the workforce struck spontaneously, and again BL won the day thanks to the weakness and cowardice of the union leadership, in Like savage dogs who have tasted blood, the bosses turned next to Cowley, and seized their chance to sack one of the best established and most widely respected militants in the industry, Alan Thornett. In November 1982, he was sacked for a trivial driving offence that normally would not have warranted even a warning. The local TGWU leadership gave Thornett verbal support, but in practice ensured that no The purges had their effect. The stewards' movement was cowed and terrorised. Rank and file workers lost confidence in the unions' ability to defend them. Known militants have to watch every step. consider every utterance, and be constantly on their guard. Any BL worker will testify to the reign of terror that Edwardes and his henchmen unMeanwhile the track speeds crept constantly up, conditions were Elsewhere in industry, other bosses took careful note of Edwardes' tactics and followed his example. A spate of victimisations (and who knows how many threats of victimisations?) followed the Robinson sacking. Managers throughout the private and the public sectors have seen that blatant intimidation and straightforward industrial blackmail can succeed against shop floor activists, especially when union leaders The case of the Cowley 13 is the latest and most dramatic example of such intimidation. The official reason for the sackings is a sick joke Any trade unionist knows that bla rists exist, not just of political activists, but also of straightforward trade union militants. Falsifying job applications and arranging fak... references is the only way for many people to get a job at all, especially with over three million out of work If everyone with untruths on their application forms were sacked, then perhaps 20 or 30% of the total manual workforce in the country would The newspapers speculate wildly about a 'conspiracy' to 'infiltrate' the Cowley plant. They describe the 1 13 sacked workers in terms that would be much better applied to the clique of professional tough-guy managers brought in by Edwardes specifically to bash the unions and Men like Tom Gray and Andy Barr; who closed down Speke and Rover Solihull, moved on to Longbridge to break the unions there, and then headed south to Cowley to put the boot in again. Or John Mackay - brought in from Chloride to manage Edwardes' image. He recently turned up as a consultant for management at the Financial Times in their long-running strike. These are the real infiltrators, and theirs is the As Steph Grant, one of the 13 sacked, says, 'If BL management knew I was a socialist, they would never have employed me'. That's the If BL management and others like them get their way, socialists will Our answer must be clear and firm. We will fight for our socialist principles and for strong and effective trade unionism wherever we can. We will support, by the most effective methods we know, all those workers blacklisted and victimised. That means industrial action wherever possible against blacklists and for the right to work regardless of The Labour Party must give a commitment that a future Labour government will reinstate all socialists and trade unionists victimised by the likes of BL management and their Tory backers. 'MOLES', 'conspirators', 'infiltrators', screamed the press. BL itself piously insisted that politics did not come into it: they had sacked 13 workers simply because of false information on their job applications, discovered as a result of a 'routine audit. this case the TGWU. industrial action took place.

leashed upon the workforce.

eroded, and real wage levels were slashed like Duffy and Evans go along with it. be out of their jobs tomorrow.

intimidate the workforce. real conspiracy.

real scandal of Cowley.

have no right to work in this country.

political affiliation or trade union activity.

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dent inquiry into Roach! Roach Family Support Commit tee, 50 Rectory Rd, London N16