WEEEK the British Rail Board announced the total closure of engineering workshops at Shildon in Durham, Horwich in Greater Manchester and Temple Mills, East London.
thousand five hundred workers will be thrown on the dole heap. CHRIS JONES and CELIA PUGH report.
inst year the aymen Union Railwaymen threatened national strike action when this closure Dian Was proposed. BEne British Rail Board backed down, NUR leaders signed a out at a price.
slimdown agreement in July, shedding, 3,500 jobs. Union members warned that acceptance of volunLOLY redundancies would prevent closure. The blackmailer would come back for more. How right they were.
The pledge of national strike action should be taken up again. With the campaign to replace Weighell coming to a head, the time is right for left backed candidate Jimmy Knapp to show the Socialist Challenge 25 February 1983 Horwich workers protest against closures members that he means to change the NUR into a fighting union.
Workers at Horwich Shildon and Temple Mills are already planning fightback.
Al a mass meeting on 18 February, the Horwich workers voted to resist the closure. Works convenor Green said after the meeting 'I counted only eight people against the campa gn out of a meeting of 1,500. We are going to light tooth and nail and I talking about dustrial action' He wants joint action workshops and will be calling for the Party has already pledged full support nationally BR Sir Peter - Parke already welcomed parts of the Serpell Report, which proposes cutting the railway bone.
Fighting workshop closures is the beginning of the resistance to Serpell Messages of uppo should be sent to:
Wor Committee. Horwich LoCO Works, Horwich, Lancashire.
CND St Challenge SOCART will be a regular column in giving a round up of
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WOR IRWI BRITISH RA with the other threatened