Shell must go all out!

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THE CBI at the end of their conference in Glasgow last week took a firm stance in opposing trade union proposals of moving towards a common working week of 35 hours. Delegates said that shorter hours would put paid to plans for economic recovery. Plans by unions were described as "an act of the utmost folly"; and resistance to the campaign for introduction was viewed as "our responsibility to put a swift stop to a lemming-like leap in this direction" FROM Monday November 14 of this week, Shell tanker drivers and terminal workers began a national overtime ban and work to rule in support of their pay claim.

After mass meetings in the depots on Friday, 1lth, the 1750 workers voted by more than 3-1 to reject management's slightly improved pay offer of 4.5% and to begin industrial action.

Transport union delegates are due to meet again in a week's time (November 21) to consider any plans for further action that may need to be put to their members.

Already all out strikes by craft and manual workers at Shell UK's two biggest refineries, Stanlow (Cheshire) and Shellhaven (Essex), involving about 2,900 workers, themselves involved in a fight over management's first and "final" pay offer of 4.5%, have caused three quarters of refinery output worth £4 million a day to be lost.

However, union hopes for a concerted campaign of industrial action in all of Shell's five UK oil and chemical sites were dealt a blow when a mass meeting of about 380 workers lout of the 570 TGWU workers), on Sunday November 13, at the Carrington chemical complex site (Manchester) voted against strike action, and to reject union instructions to close down the important naphtha pipeline link from Stanlow, operated men.

This development came about after management had sent letters to all of its manual workers saying that the future of the site (a plant that has already faced one round of redundancies) was in jeopardy.

Despite this threat which affected the mood of the meeting, the overtime ban and work t rule is to continue there.

What is needed by all the Shell manual workers and drivers is a concerted campaign that links up both sets of pay claims: the refinery and chemical plant workers with that of the tanker drivers; instead of one pursued at present by the union leadership, that sees the ¡egotiations by the two secti ins of workers (many in the same Such action should also aim to develop into making the important links with the other sections of workers; the tanker drivers employed by other UK based oil companies whose pay claims are now taking place.

Shell tanker drivers were first in the wage claim, though now BP and Texaco drivers have already rejected 4% offers and it seems likely a similar response will be taken by Esso drivers in their pay talks.

tough BRITISH TELECOM management in Stoke have withdrawn their permission to Bill Cawley, Secretary of the POEU Potteries Branch, for him to conduct union business in work time. Their action followed a complaint from a POEU member whom Cawley had attacked over the phone for having not paid his levy for the anti-privatisation battle.

Management have obviously used this as an excuse to attack Cawley and the POEU in the Potteries to pre-empt industrial action which is likely in the near future. Stoke lies midway between Manchester and Birmingham. If either or both of these areas are called out then management would attempt. to bus in workers from Stoke, thus bringing POEU members direct-

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union) as separate. Negotiations