Students plan cuts fightback

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Backing essentia at Jewel Razors Fighting to spread BL jobs struggle ON Wednesday 3 February, a meeting of the strikers at the Scott Lithgow shipyard at Greenock, near Glasgow, voted in favour of a return to work.

The strike had begun a fortnight before, when the workforce walked out in protest at management's failure to repair toilet facilities at the yard.

The dispute escalated into an all-out strike after management announced that they were not prepared to pay the workers for the time lost for the two days they were initially out.

The workers were demanding restoration of adequate toilet facilities, full pay for the days on which there had been walk-outs, Concede The strikers were demanding restoration of adequate toilet facilities, full payment for the three days on which there had been walkouts, and full payment for the period during which the ensuing strike took place.

By the end of the first week of the strike management was prepared to concede payment for two. of the days on which there had walkouts. And by the end of the strike's second week, payment for the third day as well.

Last Wednesday, a mass meeting attended by 1,000 of the 1500 strikers voted by a margin of just 22 to accept this as the basis of ending the strike. They were being starved back to work. The strike was unofficial so there was no strike pay and the DHSS had docked £12 of the first week's Social Security due to the strikers, as well as throwing up other obstacles to prevent the strikers receving benefits.

LAST Saturday in Leyland more than 30 workers attended a meeting called by the Leyland Action Committee to discuss the progress of the three-week old strike at the Vehicles Division.

In his introductory remarks, victimised ex-Longbridge steward Jim Denham (TGWU) pointed out that it was often groups thought of in the past as moderate-the last big strike in Lancashire was in 1969-which were providing the most stubborn and determined resistance to the Tories.

"You are the first group in BL to fight against Edwardes' redundancy plan with an enthusiasm that many will find astonishing.

Because of this you can Discontent at the way in which the dispute has been conducted has also played a role in determining the vote at the mass meeting: many of the pickets had been angered by the fact that no strike committee was set up and by the decision by a majority of the shop stewards committee to allow out a vessel during the strike.

Anger The narrow margin of the vote at the mass meeting is a reflection of the anger felt by the workforce toward management's do-nothing approach to working conditions at the yard, and a clear warning that the workforce at Scott Lithgow is no longer prepared to put up with worsening working conditions.

ulating Edwardes, the man his members were fighting, and calling for the "casting aside" of stewards not prepared to collaborate with the Edwardes plan.

There should be no illusions in this leadership.

Denham questioned whether the demands of the strike were adequate to the scale of the struggle. Vague calls for negotiations could Stan Crooke BY THE time this issue of Socialist Organiser appears the sit-in at the Loveable Bra factory in Cumbernauld near Glasgow, occupied round the clock by its workforce since 8 January, may be all but over.

On Thursday 9 February Richard Corbett, head of the consortium, which is the only buyer interested in taking over the factory, visited Loveable and outlined his conditions for a takeover; reduction of the workforce to 92, compared with the present figure of over 300; and the right to pick and choose the 92 to retain their jobs.

If the chain stores renew their orders with the factory's new owners then another 48 jobs will be guaranteed.

A meeting of the workforce voted reluctantly to STRIKERS at Jewel Razors in Sheffield who have been out now since Christmas have been sacked by the firm. The management sent Gerry Hoffa, ASTMS, outlined some of the background to the Edwardes plan. The aim was the destruction of the Vehicles Division as a manufacturing base as part of welding BL into a minor component of multinational capital.

He explained the details of investment starvation, outsourcing and privatisation. The answer was not ments, (25,000 jobs were declared redundant under the NEB which also appointed Edwardes).

The only answer was a nationalised car industry, controlled by the workers, a demand which should be all the notices s "in brea that ma "happy, OCCUPATIONS at Sallord, Southampton. Sheffield. Manchester and the Polytechnic of Central London and the 20,000-strong lobby of Parliament by students have demonstrated the great level of militancy against the cuts.

The majority on the NUS Executive, led by Lett Alliance member David accept the conditions. Sadie Lang, convenor at the „factory told SO: "The consortium were the only people making an offer and the Receiver said the time was running out for them. It's a small victory. Corbett is offering jobs here in Cumbernauld and that's something. And it has prevented asset-stripping. If the Italians had taken over the factory, all the machinery would have been shipped out to Sardinia.

Deaf Provided that the new deal between, Corbett and the Reciever due to be finalised this week, goes through, the sit in will continue until the new owners have declared the entire workforce redundant and selected the 92 to be reemployed. If the deal does not come off the sit-in will continue indefinitely.

strikers dismissal ing that they were of contract" and gement wanted a family atmosrecalled Scanion and Harry Urwin's membership of the NEB that had appointed Edwardes, the CSEU recommendation to vote for 25,000 sackings and the standing ovation of convenors led by. Derek Robinson for Michael Edwardes, and the role played by the union leadership in defeating recent strikes. There was no point looking back to the Ryder report or participaton, nor should the strike be based on the hope that Edwardes would or could give exceptional treatment to the Vehicles Division LEYLAND TRUCK Aaronovitch, have refused to actively support the occupations or to take the initiative to direct a national campaign of direct disruption.

Instead the NUS Executive has mobilised for ineffectual boycotts of lectures, and night time vigils in university libraries.

So much for the programme of events in the While the retention of 92 jobs is a victory on one level the loss of 200 jobs is also a defeat. The blame for this must be put where it belongs -with the leadership of the National Union of Tailors and Garment Workers, the union to which the women belong.

Asked about the support they had received from their union, Sadie, alter a lenghty pause, would only comment: ' They've not been as helpful as they could have been. But I don't want to put people off joining the union. It's better than nothing."

The NUTGW has played an even more scurrilous role in this dispute than in the Lee Jeans sit-in of last year.

in that sit-in, the NUTGW provided next to nothing in the way of active support, but did at least publicise the sit-in.. The women at Loveable. Bras, however, have not even received publicity, never nti phere"

The response of the strikers was to stuff all the dismissal notices through the firm's letter box. A "happy, family atmosphere" at Jewels is maintained by scabs, which includes between 7 and 10 people recruited by Jewel from the Sheffield Job Centre; an old-age pensioner who has been taken on; and invites to former employees, some of whom have been sacked in forthcoming so-called Week of Action starting on March Sussex Students Union, alongside the campus trade unions, NALGO, ASTMS, NUPE, and AUT have organised a conference on Satur day 13 February to coordinate the present militant activity, which hopefully will form a basis to challenge mind real support from the As a result, messages of support for the women have been virtually non-existent.

Only three NUTGW branches, the local NALGO branch and the SNP have sent expressions of support.

Denied backing by their own. union, isolated from and ignored by the rest of the labour movement, the workforce is forced into a weak negotiating position with the consortium.

Corbett must have known this and knew how to the ruling Left Alliance at the forthcoming NUS Easter conference.

Trade unions involved in higher education both locally and nationally are invited to send representatives to the conference where there will be discussions and workshops.

For further details contact the Students Union, tel: Brighton 698111. exploit the situation created by the NUTGW leadership's scabbing by pushing through further cuts in the workforce and ensuring the right to pick and choose the victims.

The outcome of the sit in, assuming the deal between the consortium and the Receiver is concluded, underlines the need to drive out the misleaders of the NUTGW and replace them with a leadership committed to and understanding the needs and interests of the membership.

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AES-style demands for import controls or invest- ment and planning agree-