Granada TV's 'The Laurence Scott Saga', is invaluable if you want an accurate portrayal of the Scott's strikers' case.
A video of the film is now available from the Laurence Scott Strike together with PENNING, a TASS steward at Laurence Scott and PETE CLIFFORD, have documentary for Challenge.
The documentary starts by explaining that emnlover Arthur Snipe is a man of unusual frankness and the 'perfect villain' The Financial Times described the take over of Scott's by the Mining Supplies group in October 1980 as a 'dawn raid'. Snipe prefers to think of it as an act of charity: 'They were lucky we took it over,' he explains. He was saving a 'drowning company'.
Assets Challenged about his asset stripping of the Scott's new group Snipe proclaims that taking over a company is like getting married, you don't know what you're getting.
In contrast, Strike tative, Peter Rowen, talks about how Snipe's move to close the Manchester factory in April 1981 shattered the lives of the 650 workers there.
The decision to occupy was taken against a background of job losses throughout the area. go, says Peter kowen The other villain of the saga union executive member, Ken Cure, is featured defending the national union leadership's sell out in July. tled for just three months guaranteed work, he declares, Where there's life, there's hope!
The union leadership pickets.
documentary, laly.
Committee speakers. PHIL reviewed the Socialist strikers' The urunce. ' Enough said!
Committee represen'We had nowhere else to Explaining why the executive setfell for all Snipe's claims of hardship.
by former chairman of the Scott's group who describes the brutal nature of Snipe's asset surrouniz oocialiull.
John Tocher, local divisional organiser of national leaders' move to stab the strikers in the back. In the understatement of the year he says: 'We're sadly lacking in national leadership.
Perhaps the Scott's strike is best known for the break up of the occupation by sledge hammer wielding bailiffs and the flying scabs who the picket line by November.
Local MP, Charles Morris, is plainly shocked by such tactics. Sadly, he fails to explain how serious a threat is posed for the labour movement as a whole by these moves and by the use of the Employment Act against the Scott's Snipe himself raises the most important question. In defending the closure he protests that: "There's nothing special about the situation at Laurence scott'. union leadership are concerned, no doubt they hoped that this would be the case.
But what has been special is that at Scott's, the workers have fought back rather than be sent down the road to the dole queue.
Peter Robes hor determined they throughout the documendescribes despite facing enormous obstacles. touches on this but tails to canture fullv the real strength of the dispute: the strikers' successful mass pickets to stop scabbing; the efforts to spread their message across the country; the five week long flying picket of the Doncasterbased Mining Supplies and their fight against the engineering union's leaders. It is all these things that make Scott's very special. Clear Unfortunately the documentary concludes with the regret that here is an impossible situation with a stubborn management and a stubborn workforce.
However, as a summary of the Scott's slury. the documentary weapon. The message from the strikers is clear: you can fight back but you have to be prepared to face many problems on the road to winning.
Laurence Scott Saga Strikers is armittee rel laurence ol Committee, Meeting and Video Show The Laurence Scott Saga Halfway House, Ashton Old Rd, Openshaw, Manchester Organised by Socialist Challenge Their patent falseness is Tapscott, helicopter So far as he and the all.
The film is a vital 061-231-4434 ENCE , LSE convenor Laurence Scott in the early SNIPE NO THE SELL OUT ASSET STRIPPER SCUIT NO SELL OUT LAURENCE SCOTT
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LAURENCE SCOTT'S SIT - IN