Challenge TREVOR STACEY is a TGWU shop steward at Longbridge who was on the picket lines for four weeks. As he left last Friday's three-hour long meeting that voted by a margin of 46 to return to work, he spoke to Socialist Challenge:
*They voted 750 against a return to work and 796 for a return to work. It's the closest vote l've ever come across. When the vote was taken it was those on permanent days, from the subassembly plant, the stores and the sewing room who were voting for the night shift to be increased by an extra hour 'That's why the vote was so stormy. It's ridiculous, we've been our for a month and we've got to go back for an extra hour on nights!
*Us on the tracks, we're not prepared to work the extra hour. We've nad a 38-hour agreement on nights since 1956 and now they want an extra from them work on the tracks. hour. They've offered us an extra E3.79 for it. We'll be the first shift hit by this extra hour. Our blokes aren't going to accept it. And as for those scabs that crossed the picket lines. When we branch them I'm going to recommend that their union cards are taken away The strike showed our members that if you stick it out you can fight dictators like Edwardes. The company thought they would try a new tactic last Monday by going over the heads of the shop stewards and the officials to try and break the dispute. When the gate were opened only 30 men turned up to *I think AUEW officials had a hand in this betrayal. The 39 hour week was supposed to take people off the dole this kind of deal will never cut the dole queues. I've never had so many blokes who want to leave the AUEW and join 'Even if we got turned over, this strike shows we're not prepared to let this south African dictator dig out graves for us and kick us in them When it comes to 7.15 on our night shift we will not work the extra hour?
JOINT Trevor Stacey after last week's mass meeting at Longbridge