off, and negotiations around the trade union alternatives were met.
Both strike committee leaders, Mick Coyne in Leyland and Jimmy Swan in Bathgate expressed bitter disappointment in the results but were confident that this was by no means the end of the fight against the implementation of the BL corporate plans. think we have proved to the company that they are not going to walk all over the Bathgate factory.
Ever since the breakdown of talks last Monday mounted an unrelenting assault on the strike and this undoubtedly had its effect in ramming home Edwardes' threats. But the decisive role in breaking the strike was played once again by Boyd and Duf fy.
Just two days meetings the weekly meeting of AUEW national executive instructed Len Brindle, Preston District Secretary of the AUEW and ex-Leyland convenor, to read out the following letter from Michael Edwardes to Duffy at the mass meetings: Dear Mr. Duffy, It would be a matter of great concern if your recommend a return to work at Leyland and Bathgate at meetings on Thursday Socialist Challenge 25 February 1982 port for Leyland workers'.
Swan said: Confed officials.
portant unanimously Leyland: and port of the struggle.
the mass the front Edwardes does mendation Committee of the AUEW which express ed 'disgust' at the attitude of the EC and endorsed without qualification our supBut the real practical support that was ouncing up in me rreston area was not reported to strike leaders or most im portantly to the mass meeting by local The day betore thi mass meetings, a Preston Confed No 30 shop stewards conference, attended by over 100 stewards representing every im workplace in the area, had voted support the demonstration called this Saturday in called for co-ordinated token industrial action in the area in supThe recent votes on wages and the Longbridge tea break strike in the cars division together with the fightback in Trucks indicates a willingness to con Tories That medns taking on boya and buty as well The sell outs of these right wingers have built a right wing or passive section of workers in every engineering works in the country which threatens every strike Fighting to support the Laurence Scott Rule 14 campaign is the first step in getting rid of them parent company.
At Laurence Scotts we have seen a most commendable stand by trades unionists for the basic principle of the right to work. The true face of Thatcher and Tebbit's Tory Britain have been used to stop this an overkill opera tion by the police to bust the picket line. This was preceeded by strike breaking through the use of helicopters and the anti-union Employment Act was used to prevent the strikers gaining solidarity by effectively picketing the The trade union and labour movement must both congratulate the Scotts strikers for the tremendous battle they put up but never allow this scale of attack to happen again.
The strike breaking we've seen at Laurence Scotts could be a foretaste of the future for all trade unionists. it can be stopped, but only by building a united movement that defends trade union rights and the fight for jobs. The Laurence Scott strike has been an example to us all. Statement supported by Tony Benn MP and Ken Brett, assistant general secretary AUEW, Broad Left candidate for general secretary. do the same. Tony Benn condemns the strike breaking activities