BL craftsmen led down blind alley

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- Hospitals witch-hunt ofishal YOUR MAN AT THE TOP appeared in the statement by the local weekly paper "A Metal Box spokesman said the Company were now awaiting a decision from the electricians' Regional Office on whether they should be reinstated."

Bitter battle

At a meeting of sacked electricians, Socialist Press was told of their bitter three month battle against the Company's attempted introduction of 11 precedentsetting points and the shifty manoeuvrings of the EETPU officials.

The determination of the electricians was only matched by the determination of the EETPU bureaucrats to see them victimised.

The great danger of witch-hunts against trade union organisation in the health service was made clear in the disputes which broke during last week in the health service.

The threatened selective strike action by the electricians, called off late last Friday, was based on about the most justified claim that could be imagined.

In 1973 an independent enquiry promised the hospital electricians parity with those in electricity contracting.

Since that time Tory pay policies both from Tory and Labour ministers have prevented this coming into effect. them and 45 speed-up conditions 'on AUEW members, backed by a threat to close the factory within 90 days should their speed-up attempts be rejected.

Such blackmail must be flatly rejected by both unions.

The company's closure threat must be answered by a decision to occupy the plant, open the books of management and reveal the huge profits extracted from the Metal Box workforce, as part of the fight throughout the combine to mobilise a struggle for nationalisation of Metal Box, without compensation, under workers management.

The legitimate frustration felt by electricians and other Metal Box trade Contract electricians are now on £70 a week basic and the hospital electricians get under £60.

This dispute has thus been rumbling on for at least five years. Finally, on 9 June a meeting of delegates representing hospital electricians from all over the country voted • to commence industrial action.

For two days newspapers were full of statements that 'patients will die' if the electricians took limited action of striking in four London hospitals and working to rule elsewhere.

This sudden and ferocious witch-hunt nationally had the desired effect of bringing about a 'postponement of action, not by a further meeting of the The climbdown by British Leyland toolroom leaders of last year's crippling four-week strike signalled much more than a sell-out of that one struggle.

The refusal of Fraser and the unofficial committee to press home their advantage and win their parity claim has opened the way to new attacks by the employers, who have introduced corporate bargaining and made moves towards job-evaluation delegates, but k by l EETPU bureaucrats Frank Chapple and Peter Adams giving in to the pressure without as far as can be discovered, achieving anything.

It remains to be seen how the electricians can break the government's policies to achieve their just demands. But the first step must be the recalling of the conference of electricians delegates to discuss the renewing of industrial action in support of their claim While it was going on, another dispute broke out at the Greenwich District Hospital.

Here there was the unusual spectacle of nurses coming out over an issue which had its origins in the attempted cutbacks in the service, efforts to give their jobs to less trained people.

WHAT'S ALL THIS ABOUT WORKERS' DEFENCE SQUADS?

CHRIST. AREN'T LEAFLETS

ENOUGH FOR SOME PEOPLE?

SOCIALIST

PRESS * FIGHT RACIST C ATTACKS • and a company-wide pay structure.

But because the toolmakers gained nothing from their strike the unofficial leaders have remained under pressure to reopen the action-and this bitterness, reflecting the feeling on wages among other sections of workers, has been echoed among other Leyland crafts unions.

In each case the leadership of these unions is right wing, and determined to avoid a confrontation with management.

Last week's. one-day toolroom strike therefore saw Fraser complaining of his problems in forcing other workers to accept the company's wage structure.

Now a similar one-day strike is planned by craft unions.

Best paid

But in each case the leaders. are deliberately avoiding naming a figure for a pay claim, merely insisting-in line with company policy-that craftsmen should be best paid.

At the craftsmen's meeting at the Cowley Body Plant a call was raised for a claim of £90 per week-only to be opposed by the leadership.

Meanwhile AUEW Presidentelect Duffy has attempted to defuse any possible danger from this rank and file movement by promising to achieve £90 per week for craftsmen by November.

TUC 00.

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SOCIALIST PRESS

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after the electricians had applied for reinstatement.

T.UC UR AT THE