Rail: bring forward action Tie up coa

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THE decision of the National Union of Railwaymen (NUR] is clear enough -"We reaffirm our instruction to members not to cross NUM [National Union of Mineworkers] picket lines.

"Further, we instruct all members to • refuse to deal with the movement of coal or coke unless a specific request is made by the NUM at the central coordinating committee.

"This decision to take effect immediately"

Already action at Tinsley marshalling yards in Sheffield has reduced British Steel Scunthorpe to running at 50% of capacity. NUR members at Tinsley have refused to move coke out of British Steel's Orgreave coking plant.

In most coalfields the NUR instruction will make little difference. because trains carrying coal have already stopped. The main focus. therefore, is the Midlands Two pamphlets summing up the ideas of Socialist Where We Stand - 20p plus 16p postage How to firms the Tories - 100 Dus 160 ber. 28 krode Lane, London N8 Rob and Nottinghamshire.

Reports so far are of a patchy response by NUR members, but since the branches have only just received the instruction this is not surprising. All coal and coke movements should now be tied up in a matter of days.

British Rail management will be under pressure not to seek an injunction under the anti-union laws - the Tories seem to want to avoid escalation at the moment -but BR have been making threats. At Tinsley, all management threats about disciplining, sackings, and injunctions have been shown to be hollow in the face of a strong stand by the NUR and ASLEF branches.

But the best way to counter BR threats would for the unions to say that if the NUR-ASLEF pay claim is not met in full by April 16, then we will be out alongside the miners from that ORGANISER How to fight the lories Thezo Where agi It is also the firm policy of both unions that there should be no further productivity discussions. They know that such discussions mean job cuts.

The British Rail Board [BRB] is offering a 4 per cent increase conditional on agreement on the extension of one-person operation of trains, the phasing-out of guards on some routes, and a reduction in the number of second drivers - in all, a loss of about 4000 jobs.

The union leaderships have a 'commitment to reject the offer as it stands' - but they are not breaking off negotiations and campaigning for industrial action. They are still meeting with the BRB, and have only asked branches and local rail federations to hold meetings and pass resolutions 'telling us what to do' The NUR leadership's excuse for their softly-softly approach is that they do not want a repeat of the 1982 pay fiasco. They ignore the fact that the main reason why that action flopped was that we had a general secretary, Sid Weighell, who tried to undermine the action before it started, and a National Executive which failed miserably to campaign among and convince the members.

The left in the unions needs to launch a vigorous campaign of leafletting and mass meetings. We must convince the members:

* That we can win if we fight;

* That accepting these job losses would only open the door to thousands more;

* That the best way to win is to take action alongside the mIRErS DOW.

hie should flood the trade un2 leaderships with resolutions SEE 1C:

1. Break off negotiations.

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