f6 million short.
The Labour-controlled council declined to directly confront the Tories over this issue, fearing to make into THeRESCIVeS Clay Cross.
Instead, the 34 Labour councillors, led by councii leader Brian Powell, and Dave Church, chairperson of the Housing Committee, called meetings. of the council Tenals estates.
February meeting of Walsall council tenants decided thạt the fight was on but that it should be a fight involving the million tenants throughout the country.
Their plan was not to make it a local battle but a which nONd! OIC Walsall could take the lead.
To rally support locally for its decision to recommend members LU refuse to pay the increase, the tenants association organised 500-strong demonstration on 14 March.
The build up to the rent strike culminated in a mass lobby of the House of Commons on 25 March. over tenants and 15 councillors were present to hear David Winnick, Walsall North BLATANT victimisation -As a member of the Lucas Aerospace Combine shop stewards committee Mike helped draw the famous Lucas Plan for Socially Useful Products - a fighting alternative to management's plans for redundancies. large-scaie He TASS representative at his site, a member of the TASS national negotiating. committee at Lucas, and a past president of his union.
The sacking took place after management broke a union agreement and told • that's the only way to describe it. Mike Cooley, a leading trade , has Mike his engineering job the restructured Willesden site was They offered him a personnel job instead to prevent him carrying out effective union work Wher he refused that job he was sacked. TASS ias him official backing.
Mike explained to Socialist Challenge that his victimisation was part of a concerted CaCKOOw the company, who recentsacked APEX representative Liverpool WIld was only reinstated after industrial Lucas management are extremely hostile to Mike's ideas on technology and disapprove of the links he and the Combine committee have with the Centre for Alternative Industrial and ecuucal Systems (CAITS). They have objected to his taking unpaid eave for research activity.
Stakes Mike believes that fundamental SSUC freedom of expression is at stake in his victımisation the right of trade unionists to time for study
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unionist at Lucas Aerospace Willesden, been informed by letter that he is sacked.