character.
and front of bosses their AGAIN ISTC THE TUC told the press Sunday's march was a central part of its *Campaign for Economic and Social Advance'. According to the leadership of the trade union movement, marchers were there to call on the government course now' But contrary wishes of the TUC, the most popular slogan on the march, which took three ICave Hyde 'Maggie, Maggie, out'.
And when a string of union leaders took the microphone at the rally in Trafalgar Square to put forward their plans for economic and social advance, centring on the need to Tories to talk to them, it was calls for 'action' and "general drowned them out.
The roll call of the trade groups, . marshalled into 20 columns before the demonstration set off, brought home the message -been in any doubt of it the working produced in this country. Celebrity Unions representing every industry, and service had their contingents and banners. But it was the steelworkers who displayed the most evident sense of solidarity. over the loudspeakers, the mention of "Iron and Steel' brought cheers from the strikers lined up in column seven.
And was the testooned with badges who received the celebrity treatment from on-lookers, column seven marched dropped into simply 20% The position of the steelworkers, halfway along the demonstration, spelt out plainly enough the view that the TUC takes of the strike.
ISTC general secretary, union leader to refer to the strike at the rally, and his semi-apologetic speech that The to "change the hopes and Brass Park, was Maggie, out, out, persuade the strike' which if anyone listening had — that without class nothing could be ON Each time the roll call came and stickers, wne applanaed past. Coins buckets labelled Bill Sirs, the was the onli But there was the only one to be cheered by the throng in the square.
TUC had announced that it expected a quarter of a million trades unionists to be on the march. On the day they said that 140,000-were there compared to the police estimate of 30,000. A count by Socialist Challenge put the figure at 60,000 There were more people than the 40,000 who joined the TUC-led march against the Corrie anti-abortion Bil last October, but Sunday's demonstra tion did not have quite the same vitality. The brass, pipe, jazz and steel bands that accompanied many of the trade union contingents lent a cheery air. And the large number of women on the march made valiant efforts to sing, chant and sloganeer there is no question that women made up some of the most militant sections of the march.
was nothing like the atmosphere that went with the Anti Nazi League carnivals. Nor did the
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HUGE DEMO AGAINST TORIES 9 MARCH