By Harry Sloan

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Loin the EXPOSED under the harsh glare of the spotlight during the current mini strike wave, the official leadership of the unions has once again exposed its talentless warts and wrinkles for all to see.

The eruption of strike action in the wake of the water workers' struggle offered the officials a command performance to show what they were made of.

Gone was the hoary old excuse that "we want to perform, but the members won't turn out"- since the struggles erupted for the most part from the rank and file.

Not only was there a full audience to watch the officials do their act, but it was already stamping and whistling in the theatre waiting for the show to begin.

First in the stalls were the South Wales miners: but while they hissed and booed the right wing villains, they had little to cheer from the left wing stars who badly fluffed their part, despite prompting from 1,000 Welsh pickets. The strike movement was halted - and the interval before the ballot gave the NCB and the Tory press their chance to perform.

Since then the audience has included steelworkers and print workers from Robert Maxwell's BPCC empire.

They have witnessed a dismal display. In the case of Ford at Halewood, where the dispute erupted over the victimisation of one worker but centred on a wholesale management attack on manning levels, star negotiator Ron Todd managed to get the audience to listen to the oldest line in the book - suspension of the sacked man on full pay pending an inquiry. All eyes will be on his performance in the second act - as Ford demands sweeping changes in its 'After Japan' plan.

In the South Yorkshire steel stoppage, thousands walked out against compulsory redundancies and shift changes. ISTC General Secretary Bill Sirs seized the chance for a cameo role and declared the strike official - while simultaneously opposing any move to spread it.

In truly immortal words, he told his audience that if the strike lasted a week or two it might make MacGregor and the Steel Corporation more ready to consult the union. So while workers risked their jobs and sacrificed wages battling to defeat hard-nosed management, Sirs declared in advance that he saw it as no more than a fleeting show, of protest.

While there was widespread sympathy for the Yorkshire strike throughout the union, and steel workers in every area face the same BSC offensive, Sirs insisted that it should not last, and should be confined to South Yorkshire. Paper of the Socialist Organiser Alliance No.127 April 14 1983 25p of the Organisen No.127 April 14 1983