The traindrivers' strike has increasingly come to be seen over the last week as a fight not so much with the British Rail Board but with the Buckton, General Secretary of the traindrivers' union ASLEF said that it was 'not just a fight for locomotivemen.
trade union movement Buckton added that in his opinion the government had privately told BR: 'we will pay for your losses if you smash this trade union'.
Huckfield, Les ASLEF-sponsored MP, carried this theme stating that the struggle was against Tebbitt, Thatcher and the Tory government. The issue was one of the fundamental rights of any trade union negotiate ana organise within agreed procedures.
By R Reed, Kings Cross Guard 'We are taking the brunt of the attack on the in this country.
The same techniques were being used by BR as were used by British Leyland to defeat the Cal workers. Other managements were waiting to see if BR succeeds so they can try it on their own unions. That is why it is important to support ASLEF.
Ray Buckton, speaking Les Huckfield the following. day on Weekend World, said the had become class issue, a class strug glé'.
The are preparing the barricades of the BR - ar assault on railway industry They want to hive off the profitable parts and close down virtually all that's left. The only part of the HUS network they seem to be wine torun de une com. muter lines into London without which the capita couldn't survive in its present form.
Government supDOrICT alt openly vassing ideas such as turning st Pancras into a large coach and macking the railwav fines to provide a straight route to the North Circular and the M1. Some even go so far as to suggest thai Britain could get on without any railways at all!
Support for the traindrivers has been flooding the union headquarters, and the TUC and Labour Party national executives have pledged their sup The right wing JUIL however have shown their true colours. The gang of four' in the unions, Duffy Boyd, Chapple Weighell, all tried to stop the the As this failed they now make scurrilous attacks on ASLEF in the MPs sponsored by the transport unions appealed to the Labour Party NEC that before discussing suppare evidence from the evidence Les Huckfield told the mass executive commitLECS especially those car workers, stabbed workers in struggle in the back. If your E( does any your backs, get rid of them.
Party, especially Tony benn, neca lo go beyond their public statements of support and begin organis ing their not insubstantial resources behind the train drivers. When BR lock out the drivers solidarity ac tions by other unions will be the key to success. The left must prepare the Where's the connection between Mr G Rail and Sid Weighell, general secretary of the NUR? Well, as every Sun reader should virtues of flexible rostering said: 'It an attemot were made to nut a strict limit to hours, the railway companies would be obliged on such occasions either to refuse to carry the mail service and the passenger or parcel traffic; or to employ an immense additional staff of trained reliet at other periods of the year Great Eastern, was convinced that fixed hours for railwav 'servants' was impossible further, he said that it would be 'the work ing classes who would suffer if hours were limited'. The Great Eastern ran 49 trains for but the margin of profit obtained from that traffic was so small that any increase labour costs would force the directors to 'get rid of some of the accommodation'.
But at this point we get a bit of a the opinion: 'that you might as well have trade unionism in Her Majesty's army as to have it in the railway service. The thing is totally incompatible.' And, as everybody known, Sir Peter is in favour of the NUR -he only wants to smash ASLEF!
the rail industry? Order now tivity, Socialist workers. 35p plus 10p p&p Mass picketing of the docks and power stations will be short, sharp shock to the Tory vermicul The Tories must not be allowed to starve the drivers submission as they did in 1955 Martin Meteyard reports from Glasgow:
We can't hope to win the next election if the leader ship stands on the sidelines in a dispute such as this.
This Les Huckfield MP brought home the issue to a meeting talwine and other urdues unionists in Glasgov ASLEF Scottish organise John Walker pointed out tha:
Weighell's statements in the media Rogers recalled how his unio had had a salar DrODie!! wad her a deal secret. ear!!
orcea nim to reure carly Findlay, the general manager of the London and North Western Railways in the late 19th century, Peter Parker chairperson of British know, they all expressed themselves on the Mr Findlay put it in a nutshell when he men, whose services would not be required Mr William Birt, general manager of the workers daily in and out of Liverpool Street discrepancy. In 1893 Mr G Findlay expressed What policies are needed to tackle productivity in 'How to fight producChallenge pamphlet for rail-
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Tory government. At a mass meeting of 120 drivers at Congress House last Saturday, Ray
Socialist Challenge PAMPHLET FOR RAILWORKERS