[John Fernandes, a teacher sacked from Hendon Police…]

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John Fernandes, a teacher sacked from Hendon Police College for publicising his students' racist essays, picketing his union, NATHE, in support of four colleagues penalised for supporting Strathclyde school closures "THE press has stated that Mick McGahey, George Bolton and Eric Clarke (members of the Scottish Executive of the NUM) did not get the support of the miners last Monday.

"But at no-time did 1, as the NUM delegate from Polmaise, nor the Polmaise miners, nor Mick McGahey ask for an all-out strike. The recommendation was that official support be given for all-out strike at Polmaise from Tuesday. I agreed entirely with the recommendation."

This is what John McCormack, the NUM delegate from Polmaise, had to say about the decision reached by the Special NUM Delegate Meeting on February 20, when he spoke at a Communist Party rally (billed as a Scottish "Broad Left" rally) last Sunday in Glasgow.

No doubt it was sweet music to McGahey, Bolton and Clarke, who were all sitting in the audience. But it is hardly in tune with reality.

The Polmaise miners had been demanding an all-out strike. In the run-up to the February 20 meeting, all mines in Scotland YTS victory LAST week Socialist Organiser exposed the activities of "Midlands Training and Recruitment Services" , a Birmingham YTS private training agency who have been sending out "mail shot"

letters to young people studying under the 21 hour rule (which allows students to claim supplementary benefit so long as their studies take up less than 21 hours a week).

Since then the Birmingham/ Solihull Area Manpower Board (the body that approves and oversees schemes) has met. As a result of pressure from union representatives, the Board has now instructed MPRS to stop sending out "mail shot" letters. But the Board also upheld the general principle that agencies could approach students on 21 hour and 15 hour studies, with offers of YTS places.

So we have won a minor victory, but the main battle against compulsion on YTS continues and there are worrying signs that pressure to force young people onto YTS is being stepped up still further.

The MSC clearly see the 21 hour and 15 hour rules as a major factor in the low take-up rate for YTS (only three-quarters of this year's places are expected to be filled) and they now plan an all-out attack on this provision.

When 21/15 hour students in Birmingham arrive to sign on, they are now being told to report immediately to their careers officer, where they are offered a YTS course. Students are told that their benefit "may be affected" if they refuse either the initial interview or the subsequent offer of a YTS place.

This latest development seems to be being pioneered in the Birmingham area. but will undoubtedly spread to the rest of the country if it is successful.

It represents a new level of collaboration between the MSC, the DHSS and the careers service in the process of making YTS effectively compulsory for all 16 and 17 year olds who cannot find a real job.

Birmingham Trades Council. the Unemployed Workers Association, and the YTS Action Group are joining forces to campaign against YTS conscription, and plan to make their presence felt next week when the MSC are holding their "careers fair" at Bingley Hall. Birmingham, aimed at selling YTS to parties of fifth formers, dragooned out of local schools.

held pithead meetings where the question of all-out strike action was voted upon. And at the February 20 meeting, delegates were challenged on which way they had been mandated to vote.

So what was the logic behind McCormack's statement last Sunday! To keep differences within that movement rather than being latched upon and misrepresented by the capitalist media? That would be fair enough.

But, given the context in which the statement was made, It could only end up helping cover up for McGahey's increasingly tattered credentials as a militant trade union leader.

It is only through coming into conflict with the Scottish NUM Executive that the Polmaise miners have any chance of winning their fight. The demand for an all-out strike is the only demand that contains the possibility of saving the pit.

But, going on past experience, the NUM Scottish Executive will only campaign for "moral and financial support" , rather than an all-out strike.

Certainly the NCB will immedlately use any conflict between the Polmaise miners and the NUM Executive to try to weaken the standing of the NUM. But this must be of secondary importance to the fact that the Polmaise miners, in order to save their jobs, must appeal for all-out strike action in the face of whatever opposition may come from the Scottish Executive.

And the basis for the Polmaise miners campaigning in support of this demand clearly exists.

Miners cannot doubt the determination of the Polmaise miners to fight on to the end. As McCormack pointed out to the rally last Sunday, 'In 1937 there was a ten-month strike at the pit for a pay rise of l½d per ton of coal mined. This time we are fighting for our livelihood, so we'll stay out for ten months or ten years if need be. There's no way there'll be any crack-up in Polmaise. There's no way we will surrender to the Coal Board or redundancy payments.' Also, the Scottish Colliery Enginemen and Boilermen's Association voted last week in favour of all-out strike action to save jobs, while the Scottish Triple Alliance also pledged to black imports and the movement of coal in order to step up the effectiveness of the current NUM overtime ban.

At the moment Polmaise stands isolated. Winning the conflict is dependent upon breaking out of their isolation and winning the argument for all-out strike action. Phillips evicted THE 103 workers at Phillips Rubber in Manchester are now in the eighth week of their strike.

The occupation which has successfully kept out all scab labour ended on Thursday with the serving of an eviction order.

However, morale is still high. As one of the shop stewards said, "The occupation has ended but we're still fighting. We'll continue with mass pickets until we have won this dispute."

As a demonstration of their determination to win the sacked strikers have now called a mass picket for Thursday.

However, attempts to get solidarity action from the company's other factory in Stranraer have so far failed. The Manchester strikers must build contacts with the Stranraer workers at rank-and-file level as well as seeking to broaden support in the local labour movement. ANDOCANO ONLY a week after being confronted by a mass lobby of over 500 bus service workers, striking against threatened garage Zeynep and Fatih Hasbudak are British citizens; they were born here. Unfortunately for them, they were born too recently, six and eight years ago. Unfortunately, that is, because their mum and dad are overstayers and the Home Office wants to deport them.

The Judge who heard the case against Mr and Mrs hasbudak fined them for overstaying. She did not use her power to deport them because of the bad effects it would have on the children.

But Home Office minister David Waddington has pressed ahead with the deportation order because "it would clearly be wrong if parents could escape the consequences of their misdeeds solely because their children might suffer."

Zeynep and Fatih are in hiding now while the campaign closures, Strathelyde Regional Councillors had to run the gauntlet last hursday (February 23) of some 200 parents, pupils and teachers protesting at plans to close six schools in the Region.

This latest lobby involved REACT (Resist East Area [School] Closures Today, fighting the closures of the St. James and Thornson Street schools in Glasgow's East End, and "Parents Against School Closures"' , campaigning against the closure of four schools in East Kilbride (Long Calderwood, Allers, Hunter and Maxwellton).

A spokesperson for REACT pointed out: "Labour councillors were voted in to fight the Tory that, not carry them out. But Is what they are doing. We voted them in and we can vote them out."

The Regional Council schools sub-committee refused to meet the lobby's demands. It decided against closure of St. James School - but resolved to shut another two schools in its place.

In East Kilbride, Allers is to be closed for "financial and geographical reasons" , the future of Hunter and Maxwellton is to be "reviewed" in the December 30: In her New Year message to the Tory Party, Thatcher promises that 1984 will be a year of hope and liberty.

January 25: Foreign Secretary Sir Geoffrey Howe reveals the nature of 1984 Tory-style 'liberty" by announcing a ban on trade unions at the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) based in Cheltenham.

The stated reason for the ban is that normal trade union activity might harm national security.

Unions blame American pressure on the cabinet to break any resistance to the introduction of lie detectors at GCHQ.

Staff at GCHQ are offered £1,000 each if they sign away their union rights by a deadline of March 1.

January 26-7: Spontaneous walk-outs and protest meetings by civil servants take place across the country. Alan Sapper, general secretary • of ACTT, suggests that union leaders should pull out of the current talks with the government on trade union reform.

January 29: Speaking on Weekend World, Len Murray rules out the idea of suspending talks with the government. He states that attempts to dissuade the Tories must precede any consideration of industrial action.

January 30: Civil service union leaders meet with the TUC Finance and General Purposes Committee. The latter pledges "full support to the unions in their attempts to retain the right of workers in GCHQ to maintain trade union membership and representation."

No strike The civil service leaders stress that they have not offered a "no strike" agreement to the government, in return for the continued recognition of unions at GCHQ.

February 1: Union leaders meet with Thatcher and offer her a "no disruption" agreement, in return for the continued recognition of unions at GCHQ.

Despite being offered every possible compromise and sellout, Thatcher remains unmoved but magnanimously agrees to meet the leaders again.

The "Socialist Caucus" (the 'hard left' grouping within CPSA's Broad Left) puts out a leaflet calling on the Council of Civil Service Unions (CoCSU) to organise a one-day strike across all the civil service, as the start of a campaign to make the Tories back down.

February 2-3: In Parliament, Howe faces calls for his resignation, and charges of misleading the House, following the "TV Eye" fiasco. Howe confirms (in contradiction to what he said on the TV programme) that staff at GCHQ may be sacked if they refuse to sign away their rights.

Meanwhile, civil service union leaders plan a lobby of Parliament on the 23rd, and a "Day of Protest" on 28 February.

Graham February 6: The press reports that today the civil service unions launch the 'second phase" of their campaign, under Ler slogan, "No, Prime Minis. ter In a CPSA circular, general secretary Alistair Graham outlines plans for the 28th, but stresses 'We are not making this a one-day or half-day strike."

February 7: The government bans the director of GCHQ BROAD LEFTS ORGANISING Cheltenham, and Jack Hart chair of GCHQ's s side - from giving evidence 1 parliamentary enquiry into ban.

CPSA Broad Left produce leaflet calling for the 28th to made into a full-day strike.

February 15: The House of Ce mons Employment Select C mittee, with a Tory major.

unanimously recommends t the government withdraws ban alle accepts „ tne concessions. Thatcher rema unmoved.

february 16: TUC "rall (attendance by invitation onl held at Congress House. Lum aries such as ex-PM Jan Callaghan speak in favour of 1 retention of unions at GCHQ.

and a "no disruption" deal.

February 20: A CPSA circular branch and sub-branch sec taries refers to the Select Co mittee's report as 'the ma breakthrough" and states 'ti dispute will be won by the for of public opinion rather than industrial force.

Claims

February 21-2: Claims and cou ter-claims about the number GCHQ staff who have signed ti "'no unions" document. The cher claims that her proposa have the support of the majori of GCHQ staff! Unions say th "nowhere near 50%" ha signed.

SCPS, the union coveri lower/middle manageme grades, calls for the 28th to be one-day strike. This follov rumours circulating for son days that SCPS was taking firmer line than the oth CoCSU unions.

February 23: About 1,200 ci servants attend a rally at Centr Hall, Westminster, which followed by a lobby of Parli ment. Many managemen prevent their staff from takin annual leave in order to atter these events.

A meeting with Thatcher finc her still unmoved, and unio leaders bristle as they get th "two fingers" treatment. The respond by calling for a hal day strike on the 28th, for a trade unionists in the civ service - except those : GCHQ.

Half-day

February 24: Len Murray clearly offended by Thatcher' refusal to be talked out of he decision, now calls on othe unions to support the CoCSI half-day strike: though he i careful not to say that he is call ing for a half-day general strike. February 25: Support is prom ised from several of the larges unions - incuding NUPE NALGO, the General and Muni cipal Workers, AUEW anc TGWU - for the half-day strike The SDP and Tory "wets" whose support the TUC leader. ship had been cultivating, now turn on Murray at the first mention of strike action.

February 26: NUR adds its support to the CoCSU strike. A special meeting of CPSA's National Executive votes down a proposal from the left wing minority on the committee, for the 28th to be made a full-day strike. However, it then unanimously backs the call for a half-day strike.

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