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Walworth Rd, London SE17.

No. 63 26 November yU: Da its conference policy of mobilising supporting action behind the NUPE strikers: and NUPE officials must be called upon to mobilise the union's full national strength behind this key struggle.

Indeed, the Coventry strike has thrown the spotlight once again on the mandal. ano inaction of the every other town and city 2,200 | Longbridge strikers are still out as we go to press. At a meeting attended by over 50% of those in dispute on Sunday morning, the resolution to continue the strike was carried with only a handful against.

Coventry shows that, given a lead, council workers in their tens and hundreds of thousands could have been - and can still be - mobilised in strike action and occupations to stop the Tory cuts and, with the support of other sections of workers, defeat the Tory government.

Our task now is to build an organisation in the labour movement capable of offering just such a lead.

However, the strikers remain isolated and to ensure victory it will be necessary to extend the action beyond the areas of Longbridge (powerful 8.5 they are) presently dispute.

At the moment CAB 1 Metro and Mini trim and assembly, the CAB 2 Allegro trim, the rest of the Allegro chain in the West Works and the Number 4 paint shop are on strike.

About 7,000 other workers at Longbridge, parts of Swindon, Llanelli and Drews Lane are laid off. But the vital 'E' series engine line at the Longbridge East Works is still working, keeping Cowley supplied with engines for the Ital.

At two successive stewards meetings, militants (including SWP and SO supporters) have attempted to raise amendments calling for a picket to be put on the East Works. On both occasions the Works Committee ruled this out of order, arguing that such a decision could only be taken by the strikers themselves.

However at Sunday's meeting, strikers who spoke from the floor in favour of such action were ignored by the Works Committee.

The resolution passed on Sunday simply 'invited" other areas of the plant to join the action.

Meanwhile the company has been attempting to draw local union officials into secret meetings to undermine the strike.

This has tailed so because TGWU official Joh Baker correctly refused to involved unless the Long bridge Works Committee also present.

Now the Company talking about taking the dispute to ACAS where former BL industrial relations boss Pat Lowry (now chairperson of ACAS) can be expected to look with sympathy upon management's case.

The other possible avenue for the bosses is to appeal to the national officials and Duffy has already offered to meet the Company at any time.

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RS PRIS JOHN