By Geoff Carroll and Bernie Kavanagh MERSEYSIDE'S fight for jobs suffered a blow last week when 140 High Court bailiffs successfully stormed the Meccano factory in Liverpool. The factory has been under occupation since mid-December when the owners, Airfix, sacked the 940 employees at 40 minutes' notice.
supported by the Merseyside police force, surrounded the factory in a pre-dawn swoop and smashed their way In to lne prail.
were frogmarched out. By the time angry pickets arrived at the plant, management security teams had the place the struggle for the right to work in an area which has suffered closure after closure.
Liverpool workers had learned the lesson of Standard Triumph and Dunlops, and were not wiling to face the dole without a fight.
Meccano, was in no doubt where the blame lay for this setback: 'People will be very bitter after this. We've been NOW in their fifth week of occupation, workers at the Stone Platt textile machinery factory in Oldham are stepping up their action to resist closure.
held at the Al a lechillg Employers' Federation headquarters, the immediate redundancies and offered 'meaningful negotiaLos on ule clusule Harold KINSON chairperson of the Squads of bailiffs, armed with axes and iron bars, The handful of workers guarding the plant overnight The Meccano occupation was a militant high point in It showed that some Bernard Riley, the Engineering Union convenor at STop THE committee, commented: "As НЬ Не СОНЕ Ш«U" ingful negotistions are meaningless until management tell closing plant.
The strike committee's response has been to step up executive to make official.
British Aerospace workers in Oldham have promised a least by our own national executives."
Despite widespread leaders of the AUEW and GMWU have offered no Airfix goods. Foil continue. Meanwhile a hard core of workers, many of whom are women, who played an extremely active role in the occupation, are determined to continue the struggle.
move some f2m worth of stock out of the factory. National efforts to get the dispute made official should stopped.
despite being officially unemployed, no one has yet received proper benefits. support to: Meccano Hardship Fund, Liverpool Trades Council, 1 Victoria St, Liverpool 1.
CLOSURE + SAVE JOBS Manchester area to build support.
res nave been sent to the other Stone Platt plants in Crawley, well as to the Scraggs SubsIdIary oT Stone Platt in Oldham Supplies have been turned and DICKS AA arguing for a strike through out the company on the basis of opposition to any job loss.
zonators fine messares of support to: Eddie Holland, Stone Platt Dispute Fund, c/o crapped on from all sides; first by management, but not local support, the national financial aid; they have consistently refused to make the dispute official or call for a countrywide boycott of Negotiations to find a new buyer for the factory Plans are now afoot to foil management plans to be stepped up and the movement of Airfix products The financial plight of the workers has worsened, Donations and messages of