In remaining workers.
tion WNG3 from the The two to CHOICO sin ine cluded plants which have accepted or notice of smaller plants which have been on a two day week.
But at Cowley, Range Brown'e Lane. was handiu amainst trade union laws.
him, of course.)
dates forward this confrontation - and what is required now in order to win. THE BL vote for strike action undoubtedly came as a surprise to many in the labour movement. For the last three years BL workers have accepted wage rises well below the rate of inflation and well below the going rate.
As well as attacks on the shop stewards organisation, the workforce had accepted the loss of more than 66,000 jobs, and the ending of mutuality clauses on staffing levels which had massively increased the work load for The vote for strike ac and overwhelming Many major DETE one figures media inprediction. been given closure and creases Longbridge, Rover and Jag. case previously. carried with only a This contrasted sharply with the previous three ad been divided on th the AUEW We have to be aware of the limits of the trade union leaders. The Miners ' Union has adjourned talks indefinite ly to see what happens at BL. Gormiey says, we always be leading things?' (He meant the miners not The politics of the situation will be the same in 1981 as it was in 1980 with the steel strike, The trade union leaders will be prepared to have a knock at the 4 per cent, bur they'll pull back at coming out together.
First Gormley, then Fisher will be likely to back down. We've gor to go into all the unions now, bring the review take on the arguments about the SDP. alright to take on the Tories last year but now we 've got the We're soon going to be told that we've got to keep the Tories in office to keep the SDP out! I think we've got a good chance of winning the arguments now.
both every even the the productivity deals. expected a repeat impossible to make a firm doubt that workers were led up with falling living standards and constant inin the work rate and fed up too with never ending threats of closure.
But this had been the So what changed? The most impor tant factor which resulted in the dissatisfaction of the workforce expressing itself to take strike action, was given TOWU and national officials. Both Terry Why should Duffy and Grenville Hawley recommended a strike from 1 November if the olfer was not improved.
For the last three year unions have sought to avore any suwn comon tation. The AUEW has re commended acceptance of pay offer and has instructed members at best, has said it would back plants if they took action Alan Thornett The result was that the workforce has been divid ed from the beginning and action YYCL rapidiy isolated and detcated. Only national action could provide an adequate response to Edwardes.
But the untiative this lav with the officials Instead they have presided over massive the gains of the post-war shop stewards movement. without offering a serious fight.
Inside BL the shop stewards organisations have been drastically weakened by com pany's attacks. At plant mittees at a very low level of activi ty and many sections have had no steward Many ul the steward. are new and in the prevail-ing conditions have had little chance to gain exThei combine comanete combine committec has scarcely functioned and the leading convenors have done little to pull any effective national organisation together The result has been that the leadership 1s firmly in the nands officials at this stage. And here lies danger: strike at BL will have great political signiticance It challenges the Torics al mne snarpest point of their attacks on the work ing class. Any significant concession will represent a serious weakening government's policy.
If the dispute is to be won, it will require huge resources from the unon and, most parlicularly.
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rise. But the labour movement, Ed- the working class and the Tories.
Why BL workers are fighting back this time
This week the BL workforce could be on an all out national strike for a decent pay wardes and the government all know this action is a test of strength between On these pages, three militants who have been active in BL for a number of years explain the factors that have led to