NUM setbacks affect the whole movement (continued)

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Welsh miners lobby for without success But the national conference has been upstaged even before it has taken place. The Scottish Area NUM • Executive has organised a £2 per week area levy (which starts on the day of the Conference) and yes terday's Scottish one-day protest strike.

There is therefore no serious prospect of the national Conference organising anything else: The danger therefore -since a f2 levy suggests that all other miners remain at work - is that Monktonhall will be left isolated and hung out to dry.

Scargill has presented the one-day strike as a major development. But in the context it is taking place this is far from the case. A year ago the NUM leadership was looking for strike action. Over the last 6 months they have increasingly avoided it.

It is hard not to conclude for the Monktonhall experience that NCB propaganda that strikes. will be very difficult has got through to the leadership of the NUM, and that as result strikes are now being sabotaged.

Worse

even worse. The NUM leader- Recently things have ship now seems to be going out of its way to isolate strikes. The latest closure at Crontop colliery in the North West saw a 24 hour strike which could lead to nothing.

Thus the post election period and the arrival of lan McGregor has seriously compounded a previously existing problem. Now nearly every area of the NUM has at least one pit closure on the agenda. As the situation has changed in their favour, the NCB have got bolder in their actions.

The sacking of NUM militant George Marsh in Barnsley was no chance event.

Miners in Scotland have received letters about their individual time keeping and in other pits they have been threatened about productivity levels.

The Monktonhall strike started after miners were locked out Nock only five minutes late.

after a NUM meeting to discuss 300 job losses: this is a typical Edwardes-type move.

The management at Polmaish did exactly the same to the national action to save Lewis Merthyr - but miners there who went to a meeting to support Monktonhall. Despite this there obvious opportunity to spread was no move made to use an the strike and take on the management.

The strike in defence of George Marsh spread to 15,000 Barnsley miners and was taking place at the same time as Monktonhall; yet the strikers were sent back to work by the Yorkshire Area executive on the basis of an inquiry which was completely biased in favour of management.

The inquiry team consisted of a representative of George Marsh, a foreman and a manager fi.e. two management and one union).

In spite of this bias the Yorkshire NUM are insisting that its findings will be carried out!

These details of current struggles in the pits are necessary if we are to understand the situation; if local struggles repeatedly sold out and defeated the power which the miners have had for the last ten years, and which has been so important to the working class will be frittered away.

In that sense these betrayals will be historic betrayals which will affect the whole balance of power between the working class and the employers and the Government.

Scargill in all this is showing himself seriously incapable of leading the fight, while his henchmen, the Stalinists of the Communist Party, centred in Scotland, are doing his dirty work.

not want to fight. ,. His cal after the election was genuine in a very general sense. He is, however, incapable of rising above the conditions prevailing in the labour movement and labour bureaucracy as a whole, and taking • on the fight with the right-wing which that would involve.

He can make generally correct statements, but cannot put his words into practice in his own industry which is now a front line target for the Tories.

THE ARTICLE on the Pay Review Body for some NHS staff in the October 6 issue of Socialist Organiser should have carried the by-line of George McLean. We apologise for the mix-up.