[La 4% 'norm' on the water • Starting…]
Socialist Organiser1983 1983-03-03Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 11 →
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La 4% 'norm' on the water • Starting from scratch, and fuelled by this strong and growing sentiment for unity between the strikers, some primitive, but independent, organisation began to emerge.
In London, moves were made to establish an allLondon strike committee. Similar coordination took place in other areas such as Yorkshire and telephone contact began to be established across regions.
In the main, the union full-time officials were marginalised by these initiatives, some relating to them positively, all of them powerless to prevent them arising.
The growing authority and ability to mobilise of these bodies reached its height in the lobby of the ACAS Inquiry on the final weekend of the strike. The result was a large and militant demonstration drawn from many of the main strike areas which threw the Inquiry into disarray and almost certainly, had a material affect on its findings when at long last they lobbiers: appeared. The target was the national union leadership, and pressure was applied in no uncertain terms.
But, if a decisive change in the conduct of the strike was to take place, more than pressure was needed. An alternative political basis for the strike was necessary, one based on the needs of the workers and, therefore, directly under their control - one capable of turning the struggle outwards for unity with the power and gas workers and other sections of the labour movement against the Tory government.