SUPPORT THE STEEL STRIKE Davidson said it could take five or six years to claw back lost markets.
Arthur Bell, the divisional officer for the ISTC, responded bon's threat we down on flying pickets at s Wing called by the STUC las Tuesday. 'While we are anxious to stop the flow of steel Scotland, we are concerned about the effects of picketing ing industry,' he said.
That strikers in Scotland yiew the agreement sceptically is demonstrated by their actions in relation to North Sea oil:
The steelworkørs are on strike to win a 20 per cent wage claim. The more workers them the more bite the strike will have and the quicker they will win.
Solidarity is vital, although the STUC seems to be organise it. This should not deter the steelworkers themselves demonstrations, and meetings putting their point of view across to other workers affected by the steel strike in Scotland.
BSC chief executive Bob Scholey has been to persuade steel strikers there to accept a loval procucuvily acal.
The Teesside strike claim that Bob Scholey 'skulked' into Teesside too afraid to confront the steel workers with his offer: 'He again made the ill-fated Saul offer, which is clearly attempt to national membership of the ISTC. He is really naive if he believes this ploy will work.
The offer, say the steelworkers, would only benefit two out of three employers on "the other third will be dismissed to pay for the offer to the Diner 5W0.
give The reluctant to through public Tories.
to thunderous applause:
labour movement. They try to committee divide the difficulties it is today.
not just Tory governments. TWO thousand workers marched in Sheffield on Monday in solídarity with steel strikers to a rally ad the City Hall.
demonstrators were in a militant building workers and 'What do we want? 20 per cent with no strings', 'Tories out, and some steelworkers in the Transport and General Workers Union urged a general strike to get rid of the Arthur Scargill took the stage at the rally at City Hall I bring you greetings from 66,000 Yorkshire miners (applause). This dispule is a political dispute between the steelworkers and the government. The Tories calculated this strike as an attack on one of the weakest links in the wanted lo give a political and economic lesson to the whole working class movement.
"Listening to the mad monk on Weekend World you can see that the Tories are not only bent on destroying the steel industry bat all nationalised industries. And here's a lesson for future Labour goveraments. Let's stop taking over lame ducks in industry and take over all their white swans instead. Had the last Labour government taken the correct socialist policies the movement wouldn't be in the Tm glad these Labour MPs (Stan Crowther, Joan Maynard, Martin Flannery) here today have opposed incomes policy. Let's oppose them under all governments, •Steel is subsidised throughout Europe with a hidden subsidy on coal. British steel should also be subsidised.
mood, miners chanted:
seronuary picketing. effective picketing.
win this strike. to win.
just want a fair share.
satisfied (more Everyone else has got 20 per cent — the miners, the Ford workers, industrial civil servants. Steelworkers shouldn't settle for less than 20 per cent with no strings.
I've been accused of interfering in the steel strike. I plead guilty (massive applause). They say refrain from What they mean is refrain from They can introduce whatever laws they like but we'll picket whatever targets are necessary to "The lessons of our struggles against the last Tory government is that solidarity is the key to victory. The miners would never have won without support. If the steel workers win against the Tories it's a victory for all of us. You can count on the support of the Yorkshire miners. Onward to victory.?
BILL SIRS, fresh from his chat with Maggie Thatcher, spoke after Scargill had received his standing ovation "The government thought we were a soft touch. We didn't want to fight but we had to. Meetings like this are not going to have an impact. Negotiations are not going to win as they did under Labour. We need an all-ont war *But if you go into battle you need your troops behind you. We've had problems here. We've no intention of accepting the present offer. But neither are we arguing for more money that that which has already been offered. We 'Let's get around the negotiating table (cries of "not less than 20%"). If we get round the negotiating table, I'll cries of "not less than fall.' shift local labour says, Lesney's, fight against 207'").
Socialist Challenge they're toid they're good. But the women are Lesney's The redundancies appear to have accepted by the workforce without any struggle. Many workers their names down for voluntary redundancies, although the payments won't be very great, already per cent unemployment in Hackney. What it shows is the weakness of the unions in Lesney's. That's why Annie Spike is in favour of the rosed shop:
'It's very important, everyone has to stick together. Why should the in the union benefits. If they realised what union meant, united we stand, divided tre Annie has fought hard to get he unionised and to get her members better conditions. But if the full-tine workers aren't going to fight there is little that the women working part-time can do. And Annie isn' confident of much support from the movement, the exception of Hackney BOC.
'If people could afford it, sh should just take ovar like Meccano.' The scal question is: can Lesney's workforce the local labour movement and th whole working class afford nol t0 Many loss of jobs and against the anti-working policies of this Tory government?
24 Jannary: 1980
SOUTH Wales is fighting for its survival.
The steel corporation's plan for 11,000 redundancies at Port Llanwern steel works threatens the future of the region.
Thousands of miners, associated workers will also lose their jobs as the whole of Welsh industry contracts after the can only be achieved at the expense of Welsh jobs.
Port Talbot and modern integrated steel plants. Both have only recently been completed. Now they are due to be placed in mothballs waiting for an upturn in the economy when there will be more demand.
The decision to only partially close these is aimed at reducing capacity South Wales 'stimming' means that steel would continue to produced. Port transferred 60 miles to the finishing mills at Llanwern. would close along with the section at Llanwern. In short, be opened to close plants.
Heart The steel industry is the heart of the locat The planned closures the immediate loss of 7,500 mining jobs; with BSC's plan to double its imports of American coking coal another 7,500 mining jobs will go.
Half the present pits in South Wales will close, and there are no alternative jobs for redundant miners. And then there's rail. mining and steel industries account for 65 per cent of British Rail's freight in South: and the Tories already want to cut 40,000 jobs nationally.
Add all the figures together and the total is The official redundancies. the total would be nearer 60,000. Bither way, the result would be the devastation of South Wales. As Don Hayward of the Welsh NUM puts it: "This is catastrophic. now more serious than 1926 or the '30s."
The Welsh TUC initially „G H 21 January, one-day strike for 28 January after pressure from the action to 10 March. Talking The reason is clear enough. would like to wait until the present steel strike is over before it discusses closures with the government.
There is a growing awareness among steel workers that the wages fight is also about jobs, and that the militancy weeks is far more effective than talking with THE latest issue Banner, published by the ISTC, has a page solidarity around Union after union support for the steelworkers? struggle in Britain.
From the CGT, the largest union in 'Having learnt British steel dispute we salute the workers struggling for a guarantee of their standard of living as we; are involved in a struggle against austerity and re-structuring.
'You have our active solidarity and we are at your disposal to help and are ready to concert action in the interests Hrench and And from the United States: "The United Steelworkers of America wish you every success in your struggle to win an honourable and decent wage settlement in the face of the enormous increases in cost of living which — in the absence of substantial wage will destroy the standard of living of your membership.
•Be assured that efforts to prevent the export of off-shore steel to Britain and to seek the support of the shipments have our full operation and support.' Similar telegrams were sent to the Talbot and railway and The profits demanded by the Tories Llanwern are giant steel-making by half. This and thet The present mills at Port Talbot • steel-making the way would would mean The Wales, 45,000 The Weish NUM considers that The situation is new sen called for strike but has now called a TUC to postpone indefinite strike The branch.
shown in the past few the strike.
ISTC by Japan, Italy, of Steelworkers' Spain and Brazil.
spells out their attacks on living standards.
The type been of the standards of all steelworkers; too; Unfortunately, isolation, producing barred from foreign markets.
German, workers. They blems in steelworkers confront in Britain.
in Britain They any wages and conditions.
By Pat Kane in Swansea "I've firmly supported the strike,' says Bob Taylor, who works in the hot mills at Port Taibot. I was very disappointed when it was called off. "I think they will keep putting it off because the TUC in London doesn't want it. It's a pity, because it's about time someone did something about jobs.! If the closures go through, Bob Taylor won't have a job to go back to.
Ballot Unlike the TUC and the ISTC leadership, the South Wales NUM is willing to defend jobs. They have been campaigning for a Welsh CHICA LEKE against Hayward says that 'all-out strike action is now Local NUM officials have organised pithead meetings and a miners' ballot produced an 8-1 majority in favour of strike action. The one-day strike action on Monday is seen by miners as only the start of a movement towards a general strike to stop the closures.
If the NUM and transport workers joined the steel strike it would bring the Welsh industry to a standstill. the difference between calling for a strike and organising it. The methods of the NUM have to be extended to every factory Glyn Jones of the Swansea Trades Council Executive Committee thinks that it's time that the rest of the trade union movement discusses ble savs.
unions in West Germany, Portugal, Mexico, In every country in the West, steelworkers are facing the same pro blem of plant closure, job loss, and of solidarity that has given to the fight of British steelworkers shows clearly that there is the basis of an international campaign to defend the jobs and living the demand for import controls raised by the Labour left and the Communist Party cuts across such a struggle. It is at best a utopian idea, which presupposes that the British steel industry can exist in only for the British market, and not be similarly But the main danger of the call for import controls is that it shifts the fight from the real enemy. The crisis in the steel industry is not the fault of Japanese, French lace the same Dro their countries The fight is with the employers and with governments like the Tories have to be beaten in this steel strike.
And they are the ones who have to be beaten in every future battlé on jobs, Wales involvement movement. waiting. They March for organised forward?
plan. Don the BSC whole of But there is all wages of every and union Import controls strategy could break up this kind of solidarity. concluded by the steel bosses.
'We have to get an immediate recall of the elsh TUC to organise for a general strike It should be ope delegates from shop stewards' committees and workplace union branches. The trade union leaders have been discussing this for months. It's time the rank and file's voice was heard 'This is the way to get action, through the wildle trade The BSC aren't sitting around have given a deadline of 31 the redundancy proposal. We have to get the strike noW. IL S possible to bring The trade union leaders are setting very firm limits for this strike. They simply want a postponement of the closures for two years, an end to the proposed increases in coking coal imports, a subsidy for Welsh coal to make it competitive and enquiry into the running of We have to point out that the present crisis BSC has very little to do with the productivity of steel workers. The BSC should be forced to save every job and the working week reduced to enable the existing work to be shared. The government should guarantee the South Wales worker. payments of BSC loans should be cancelled immediately. Last year that came to £200m.
These are the type of policies that can unite miners and steelworkers and overcome the discions being created by the Tories and the WEST GERMAN steel workers bring donation to Sheffield rally on Monday. 15,000 mining jobs are at stake in South Wales if steel closures go ahead and coking coal contract is to the Tory government.
strict cash limits.
union policies.
the Mandate their policies.
Swansea or Cardiff, Clasgow for their policies.
• very future strike in South Wales.
they do the Tory establishment all those areas Interest happening. educate, into action.
...not import controls unions.
The aim of strike action should be to get a the heart of the problems facing the Wels working class — the unemployment policies of The management of BSC are simply carrying out the orders of the government. It was Thatcher that insisted that the BSC break even this year while imposing It is the existence of this government that has to be challenged not simply its individual Callaghan and the other Labour leaders say that the Tories have a democratic mandate for But they have no mandate from Liverpool, Newcastle or These towns didn't vote Tory and neither did the vast majority of workers who are suffering from threats to their There is a very real possibility of a general The determination of the miners, the example of the steel workers terrify the union leaders in London as much as By extending the Welsh TUC's struggle to which are willing to fight back we can turn this into a real movement throughout the country to kick out the Tories. But we have to remember there is a long way from the call for the general strike to it actually Over the next weeks we have to agitate and organise to turn that call From KAF (Swedish section of the Fourth International)
ALL movement of steel intended for Britain is being blocked by Swedish trade The dockers responded within a week of the strike's start, refusing from & January to load British-bound ships with steel. Also included were ships bound for Holland with stee which would then be transported on to Britain.
On 15 January a similar ban was imposed by transport drivers, and this week unions representing metal workers, seafarers, shopworkers and works managers are expected to follow suit. Normally 15 per cent of all steel produced in Sweden ends up in Britain.
The British strike is having another effect too. Closure plans have been announced here which will make at least 2,500 steelworkers, redundant. The British strikers' militancy, which is shown on our TV screens every day, is increasing the determination of those in Sweden to take the same course
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BobScholey skulks into Teesside