Stop these obscene talks!

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"QUESTIONED about the impact the [NGA] dispute could have on the TUC's tentative relations with the government, Mr Murray explained that it had no influence at all and the TUC would continue to see government ministers about economic matters, pensions and the You'd hardly credit it, would you? The state has taken over the NGA's assets and fined the union half a million pounds and the man most people see as the leader of the British trade union movement blandly intones that it will have no infiuence at all on relations between But Murray is not only talking about talks with the government. Whilst thousands of NGA members fight back against sequestration, whilst hundreds of ordinary trade unionists have been struggling against Her Majesty's police on the picket lines at Warrington, whilst members of SOGAT and the NUJ are being attacked by Her Majesty's judges, whilst more and more employers get ready to use the law against other unions, whilst the government steers its phase 3 trade union legislation through Parliament - what is Len Murray doing?

Organising to help the NGA? Organising to help the NUs! Organising to help SOGAT? Losing sleep to travel to the picket lines? Doing -Not on your life! When he is not sabotaging the NGA's fight, as he did this Tuesday, 14th, with his public denunciation of attempts to line up the TUC behind the NGA, Legless Len is sitting down, cheek by jowl, with the employers and the government, the same people who are On Wednesday December 8, Len Murray and Moss Evans attended a meeting of the National Economic Development Council and agreed to further discussions which, according to the Guardian, w reor esell the first tentative steps towards tripartism since Mrs Thatcher's election The Guardian went on to note "Mr Cassels (Director-General of NEDC) said there was a new spirit and a resolution to hammer out compromise where there would not have been compromise before.

The Financial Times reported: "The spirit of cooperation at the meeting produced a bilateral initiative. Mr Moss Evans, the left wing general secretary of the TGWU called for more top-level contact between unions and employers. Mr Murray said he thought it possible that the TUC and CBI might put joint papers to the meetings next The meeting was to discuss a Treasury Paper called "Where will the new jobs be?" No they won't just be in Japan and Germany and, if the legal attack continues, in the courts and Her Majesty's prisons. Some, the government claims, will at some unspecified point in the future be created, but largely in the service sectors, not in the manufacturing sector. There won't be any trade unions in this sector, the government feels, and they don't think this is entirely a bad thing.

Murray and Evans went along to the meeting to argue that there should be at least a few trade unions and that there should be at least a few new jobs created in manufacturing industry. • Before the meeting, Murray announced that unless the government changed its policies there would be five million unemployed by 1990.

But at the meeting and at future meetings, the Guardian reports, "... all sides have agreed not to discuss specific issues on which fundamental disagreements are known to exist. This means that there will be no discussion of overall government economic policy as the TUC argue That is the central point. Murray was not only betraying the NGA, and all trade unionists being battered by this government, when he attended these talks. In terms of trying to change Tory policies he was It gives people the notion that something is being done. It distracts attention from the fact that nothing is being done to reduce unemployment now by focussing on future panaceas and cosmetics like the It gives legitimacy to Tory policies. It shows how reasonable Stop talking to the Tories about what they are or regardiess of what the trade unions may say. Start The talks with King over the new Trade Union Bill are an obscenity white the last one is being used to smash up trade unions. The TUC presence on the NEDC is an obscenity whilst the government uses mass nemoloyment as a weapon to discipline the working class and actively considers euts in unemployment benefit to force the youth onto YTS 306-- 5=52 = -30 =00 0re their efforts to get the TUC political levy."

that state and the trade unions what you pay him to do?

directly attacking his members.

victory in 1979". year."

He seemed to think they might care about that!

that reflation is needed to stimulate jobs."

wasting his time.

But his attendance Lawson.

Tories are.

It's got to stop, and it's got to stop now!

of them.

SETTES Guardian, December 3. very useful