TUC weak link in solidarity ALL OUT ГО BACK NGA!

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Paper of the Socialist Organiser Alliance No. 157 December 1, 1983 Price 25p Claimunts and strikers 10p *The legal system (is) not in practice even-handed as between employers and unions; current functions put courts almost entirely in the business of restricting or penalising the latter, and not of remedying their Sir John Donaldson, Master of the Rolls and former president of the National Industrial Relations Court "THE TUC should now understand which side it is on, and call on all trade unions to take part in this historic battle and call on them to defy the judgments which have been made against working people". TH tra the IIS is the crunch - for the de union movement, for : Tory anti-union laws -1 nerhane for the Taru Baan porasapo eve u lury government itself.

The courts are attempting to translate the Prior-Tebbit anti-union legislation into punitive blows against striking workers and their unions.

The printing bosses and the government are attempting to drive the NGA to the wall.

The full might of the state has. been brought into play to defeat, cripple and bankrupt the printworkers' union.

The courts have already sequestered £200,000 of printworkers' money, in fines and costs.

Up at Warrington, massed ranks of baton-wielding police have been deployed pickets to back up the private thugs of Mr Salim Shah.

The ban on secondary picketing is in flat contradiction with Laut unionism - working class solidarity. Industrial action, says the present Tory government, is legal if it is confined to isolated units or to narrowly defined national action.

The only legal labour movement that exists in Britain now, according to the law, is a movement that is willing to agree to atomise itself in action.

Any other sort of labour movement - the one that actually exists - faces financial ruin at the hands of the law courts and the violence of massed ranks of police thugs if it tries to act according to Scenes like the violent clashes between the cops and pickets outside Shah's printing works last Tuesdav night haven't been seen in Britain since the Grunwick battles six years ago.

Twenty-one pickets were injured and 70 were arrested. The police behaved with savage aggressiveness, repeatedly baton-charging peaceful pickets. They had a nalinu of nhucinally hantina ... pony vr puysauy vedlig up; rather than arresting pickets.

But this isn't Grunwick. The Battle of Warrington occurs under ine rory legislation wnich out- tha Tams laminatina whinh laws mass picketing.

Though mass picketing at Grunwicks went on for many months, the union, APEX, was safe from the law.

In this fight, the courts will impose a series of ever-moresevere penalties on the union, and, if they can get away with it, the police look set to inflict ever more savage violence against pickets.

To save the NGA, the labour movement must act quickly and decisively.

Same laws

In this fight, the NGA represents the interests of the entire labour movement. Every group of laws as are being used now to hit the NGA.

Every future dispute of every trade union in Britain will have to come up against the legal trame### NATI ONA NGA leader Toi ny Dubbins speaking to War rington pickets Ine onvertinent cate "nnerational' in the present dispute YVAA with the NGA.

If the NGA goes down now, the entire labour movement will be massively diminished. It will be rendered much less effective than it has been for many decades.

Dazed by the slump and by mass unemployment, the labour movement, under its do-nothing, (or scabbing) leadership, has allowed the new anti-union laws to get on the statute books.

For the government, these laws are now being tested in the courts. In fact, the decisive test is the one on the streets.

An attempt to cut down and snackle une labour movement may Dennis Skinner MP blatant class legislation in Parliament, using the law courts as its instrument. But the decision will be made on the picket lines.

That's where the issue was decided in 1972 and after.

That's why this is the crunch for the fight against anti-union legislation.

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EDITOR AL say about Socialist Organiser, 1 December 1983 Page 2

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grievances". own fundamental raison d'etre.

workers every union, in every struggle is subject to the same

CRAP ASSOC DISPUTE WITH SS WSPAPER PICKEY.