Fight these laws! gat

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THERE is no let up in the Tory attempt to use the legal process to shackle the unions.

*The Trade Union Bill at present going through Parliament will mean that unless unions hold secret ballots before any form of industrial action they will be deprived of all legal protections and open to an avalanche of law suits by employers. Mass meetings to take decisions on industrial action after discussion and debate will be outlawed.

*The same Bill will introduce secret, probably, postal ballots for elections for union executives and chief officials. The present election in the TGWU, for example, will be the last that can be held by branch ballot. Nearly every major union will have to revise its rulebook at the behest of the state. The whole operation of internal union democracy will in future be supervised by Her Majesty's Westminster POEU branch secretary during the privatisation dispute. Judges.

Later this year the tighter laws on the closed shop will be introduced. Unless four out of five workers covered by a closed shop vote for its maintenance in a secret ballot, employers will not be protected if they sack individuals who refuse to join the union.

If shop stewards attempt to continue to enforce the closed shop they and their union can be sued.

*In the wake of GCHQ, British Telecom unions have claimed that the government has inserted a 'no strike' clause into the Telecommunications Bill. The Lords passed an amendment last month which makes unions liable to unlimited damages if any union member takes strike action which disrupts the service Talbot addresses members to Telecom users.

Unions representing 19,000 employees at the eleven Royal Ordnance Factories believe that the Bill which will allow the government to sell the factories off to private enterprise will also threaten trade union rights.

*A consultative document on banning strikes in 'essential' services is expected from the government at any time. The TUC's willingness to accept 'no strike' clauses at Cheltenham has pushed the door even wider open. A new paper by Sir Leonard Neal, former Board member of British Rail and Pilkingtons and Chair of Ted Heath's Industrial Relations Committee, calls for bans on industrial action in gas, electricity, water, sewage and the NHS.

He argues other groups of workers whose action might damage those industries, even though they are not directly employed there, should be covered. There should be no compensation. "It ought not to be necessary to reward people for nut taking immoral action," he said.

*In the wake of the NGA dispute more employers are using the law in ordinary disputes. The BBC's injunction against the Nus in the Dimbleby dispute and against SOGAT in the Radio Times dispute are only the most prominent examples. More employers are deciding that injunctions are not enough: they will return to the court for damages. The £73,000 awarded to Eddie Shah against the NGA has prompted the Fleet Street to go to court for "maximum damages" over the Day of Action stoppage.

*In an attempt to place further pressure on the low paid, the government is still considering the abolition of wage councils.

The TUC strategy has been disastrous. Appeasement has meant more and worse. We need to begin the fightback now. The legal offensive will not go away. It will intensify. We must argue at every level in the - Don't accept the laws. Fight Unconditional TUC tea for any union attacked. Faise the shameful NGA 255 33 - Brak all links with the Tories. Force the TUC to stop talking and organise to fight the Laws. Withdraw from NEDC, ACAS and MSC. This could give a tremendous boost to the fight against the Tories.

•Build at the base. The NUJ is only the most recent exampie of leadership buckling.

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-Broad Lefts conference Which camp is the TUC in? THE new season began confidently for Len Murray, the By Mark Starr man who lays about militants like Jack Charlton lays about wildlife. had no power. But if the SDP Len's game is "the new looks like forming a governrealism" • On January: 26, with the NGA in the bag, the too must be given their fair TUC General Council agreed whack of new instant blather. to circulate firm rules for the new game keeping one eye on the courts where the following 'workable compromises' with day the NGA was forced to the employers meant. At a apologise for behaving like a TUC conference in London he trade union and assure Mr was urging trade unionists to Justice Eastham that it would accept a cut in wages never happen again. finance a shorter working The new TUC 'Bible' could week. Murray's lapdog, John have been called 'corporatism without concessions' '. As it hastened to explain what was written by Len Murray Murray really meant to any and TUC Education Officer bone-headed gaffers. •The Roy Jackson whose worst trade-off" he purred, "is enemies could never accuse between income and jobs: them of possessing a glimmer lower wages rises in return for of imagination, it was more more employment." It was, prosaically entitled 'TUC he assured his readers, Strategy'. typically realistic comment by Intended to put an end once Mr Murray. and for all to the December madness, much of the docu- gent capitalists muttered that ment was written in deadly they wanted both wage cuts Great Russell Street bureau- and more unemployment. The cratese. Its meaning was how- majority were over the moon. ever very clear. 'Strikes" , it "Whatever has happened to warned workers with any idea Len Murray?" the Sun leader that we can defend conditions writer inquired in an editorial or take on the Tories, "not entitled "The Making of Saint only hurt the business and the Len'.. They contrasted the bad community, they hurt the workers involved." Action, it appeared, was old fashioned law with the selling of the and out. The new brew was something called 'blathering' ing". . 'If Mr Murray goes on and Murray had the patent.

The way forward was to ''the trade unions will have a blather to employers, not new patron saint. organise against them. "The essence of accommodating industrial change through GCHQ Cheltenham initially collective bargaining is the left Len unperturbed. Now was need for compromises reflect- his big chance to prove to the ing both union objectives and cynics, the malcontents, the those of employers." sourdoughs, "the There was a need to blather not only to employers but also cessions could work. to governments whatever their complexion. Blathering industrial action, Murray, to Churchill in 1940 and 1951, armed with the sureties of his the document said, had produced major concessions for cool. 'Unless you talk," he unions. Unions should repeat the exercise today. There was find out whether they're a need for the TUC to distance itself from the Labour Party: it Scargill gets it right ment, said Murray, then they Within days Murray was explaining exactly what Lloyd of the Financial Times, Some of the more instransiold days of the 1980 Day of Action and talk of defying the NGA and "the new grovellThe Messenger newspapers picket lin this way" they concluded, the Tories are prepared to listen."

The entire nation was about The decision by Thatcher to witness just how patently wrong Murray was in his view to ban union membership at that "even Mrs Thatcher can change her mind if she is patently wrong." But as he muscled up for his big test, Murray took two further siderealism"' could work; that con- swipes at the interests of ordinary trade unionists.

As hotheads blustered about In return for absolutely no concessions from the Tories on the third stage of their antiMethodist faith, kept his union legislation on the Trade Union Bill, he gave Tom King wisely opined, "you can't "a solemn and binding assurRance" to help those trade willing to listen. ' There was, unionists who wished to he felt, "some evidence that exploit their fellows by refusWing to pay the political levy.

If a member was experiencing difficulties in taking advantage of fellow members, Murray and Bill Keyes assured the Cabinet, then the Inside TUC would intervene with his - sold out by Len Murray his evil way and trooped off to Downing Street with his cohorts for the Big One. As you will recall, to cut a long and boring story short, Thatcher wasn't having any.

Far from giving any concessions to keep the new realism going, she wasn't prepared to accept the concessions that Murray profusely pressed upon her! 'Don't let's ban trade unionism at Cheltenham," he pleaded. 'That's extreme and unreasonable and I must draw the line there. Let's just agree that the workers can't go on strike; won't have any bargaining rights; can't have access to full-time officials; can't attend outside meetings and can't take cases to industrial tribunals Review When the Blessed Margaret argued all along that tripartism is wrong in principle, and moreover the bosses no longer can, let alone want to collaborate with the official representatives of the working class as they did in 1940 or 1951.

Of course it would have been possible for Thatcher to have agreed to Murray's 'compromise' • It gave her everything she wanted. But she was motivated by the desire not to accord any place at all to the TUC in decision making until they have decisively shown what the last two decades have opened to question — their ability not only to want to serve capital, but their ability to successfully control it by delivering their members.

That, in the end, is what the TUC's response in terms of the Day of Action was about, to signal to the Tories that the TUC did still have some power and that they did still have Page be limited and controlled called on Friday for a Tuesd with no clear instructior Thousands went beyond thr leaders; illustrated mc clearly by the AUEW mer bers who stopped Fleet Stre A new mood is there but if is to be effective we mu crystalise it. We must stren then it. Thatcher's victory w lead to further attacks on t unions. Broad Lefts have learn the lessons of the la months.

The existing leadership represented by Murray al the TUC General Council a barrier to resistanc Appeasement doesn't wor Even where left leadership supposed to be strong, in tl NUM, NUPE, POEU, TGW no attempts were made organise independent Murray and Basnett over tl NGA or Cheltenham.

Broad Lefts must fight for new leadership in the unions