Messenger dispute back in the news

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A couple of weeks ago the dispute involving the National Graphical Association at the Stockport Messenger was threatening to blow up into the first major confrontation over the Tebbit laws.

When the local NUJ members ecidea that they were not pre ›ared to be the first in the firin line for their so-called secondary action, the dispute disappeared from prominence and became again a local battle.

But the printers have fought on and this week they have regained the support of the journalists. The Messenger journalists refused to cross the NGA picket line on Thursday last and rejoined the dispute.

On Friday, 7th, management told NUJ members to hand in their car keys and collect their wages. The journalists are not sure whether this means they are suspended or sacked. It seems that the management are leaving their options open.

On the morning of Monday, 10th, a picket of the offices of the Group's paper in Sale, South Manchester, had some success also.

Of the two NUJ members working there, one was ill and off work, but the other walked out in support of the Stockport workers.

Despite these developments this is very much an uphill struggle. This. is the fifteenth week of the strike which is over the recognition of the union and the closed shop agreement.

The NGA. Branch President and Secretary who are active on the picket line, organised the shop and negotiated the union agreement when the paper, was set up. They are now furious that these agreements have been casually discarded by the Messenger Group.

Despite the obvious importance of the dispute, the strikers have received little support from the local labour movement on the picket line. Scabs have been brought in from other non-unionised Messenger Group workplaces, by Salford Van Hire.

The NGA members fear that scab labour may also be recruited by job agencies. Artwork for the paper is also being sent in from local art studios, many of which are unorganised.Those which are unionised are being circulated and asked to black any work for the Messenger.

All of these developments make it even more essential that the picket line is swelled. The number involved in the dispute is small so appeals have been made to Stockport District Labour Party, Stockport Trades Council and the Trade Union Centre for support.

Disappointment

However the pickets expressed extreme disappointment at the level of support from local Labour activists and trade unionists. Few Labour Party members, no Labour councillors and no local MPs have been down to support them.

So far the mamn presence on the picket line have been NGA members from Leeds, Manchester and elsewhere.

The escalation of the dispute makes it essential to organise the local labour movement behind the strikers who are crying out for help.

NGA members nationwide can also help to mobilise support for the Stockport dispute. NGA and NUJ members have no illusions about the task facing them and the strength of the management but they may lose confidence in the power of the movement.

Please send donations and messages of support c/o Arthur Scott, Stockport Graphical Society, 27a Greek Street, Stockport SK3 8AX. Scottish miners would be lobbying the national conference.

Yorkshire has an area conference on Monday, and under the influence of the Scottish one-day strike may well also reject the pay offer.

But Monktonhall is still on its own as far as action is concerned. Although their strike has been made official, the Monktonhall miners are even having problems with strike pay.

The Scottish area conference decided to ask for a f2 a week levy for the dispute from all miners in Scotland, and Kent and Yorkshire areas have also promised money. Monktonhall delegate Davie Hamilton nonetheless told the Morning Star, "We are pleased with the support we got today, but we need more. We need £12,000 a week to give our members and their families £10 a week, and most of them are getting nothing else."

And according to the Morning Star - which is likely to reflect the views of the Scottish area NUM leadership well - "the centre piece" of the campaign against pit closures is to be "the Scottish TUC's special conference ... next month, which will draw round the miners, local authoritOver the last two weeks we have looked at figures indicating that on average white collar workers strike much less often than manual workers - but there is a big overlap, some groupe of white collar workers striking much more of ten than some manual groups.

The figures _ a Department of Employment analysis of strikes between 1966 and 1973 - also show that white-collar workers' strikes are much more tikely to be made official than manual workers' strikes. 16% of white-collar workers' strikes were official, but only 4% of manual workers' strikes.

A NEW study of 'Workplace Industrial Relations in Great Britain published recently, pinpoints a fact missed by the 1966-73 study.

White collar workers do strike less than manual workers, it confirms; but they also "prac tise greater use of non-atrike industrial action, particularty work-to-rules and blacking of work."

TO TRY to get some rough pieture of whether overall patterns have changed since 1966-73, 1

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SMINISSTEIGE NUM MONKTONKALL OFFICIAL STRIKE APPEAL