Bosses Spot Garners' Ally

Scan page 11

TGWU officials hold back support WORKERS 'NIT AGITATE ORGANISE • Saturday's poster parade-TGWU banners brought from Oxford ofishal!

Cyril Margolis "must now feel that the entire world is against him?.

So says the Caterer and Hotel Keeper of July 6.

In an editorial relating the presures now building up on Margolis from all sides, this trade magazine for the bourgeoisie, omits to mention the fact that the editorial itself reflects the growing hostility amongst the largest sections of capital in the industry to Margolis's stand.

"We now feel that this unhappy episode is developing characteristics which should concern the industry as a whole" • The strike "represents a valuable confidence booster and training ground for future militant action in this industry"

The fact that trade magazines such as this and the Catering Times over the past two weeks have lead on "the dangers for our industry" if the strike is prolonged shows how sensitive Margolis's stablemates are to the danger for them of recognition gained not through a deal with the bureaucracy but a victorious struggle of workers fighting to mobilise the working class in picketing and blacking.

This fear has increased the pressure on Margolis, but contains within it an indictment of the union bureaucracy itself.

The Cars Council, British Leyland's top management 'participation committee on which union bureaucrats sit side by side wịth managers, was informed last week of further production cuts and job losses in its Cowley factories.

No information has yet been given to workers or to the shop stewards moveMarina producțion by 800 per week and Maxi production by 140 a week.

This takes place at a time when 32,000 old model Marinas remain unsold, and management are preparing AT THE BABO "Unless some compromise is reached soon, the dispute will undoubtedly escalate. The TGWU has the power (though it has been unable or unwilling to use it yet) to cripple the group through the blacking of all supplies" (Catering Times, '29 June)

The much vaunted "Poster Parade" last Saturday was further evidence that unless fought, this Regional bureaucracy will continue to block •all attempts to mobilise the working class around to launch the publicly announced new model.

The decision clearly reflects the deep sales crisis now gripping Leyland in all its divisions-Cars, Truck and Bus, Special Products and Components.

Last week, management at Leyland's Pressed Steel plant at Swindon warned that the company is manned to cater for 25% of the target August could mean further loss of jobs.

Last month Leyland sales accounted for only 18% of the British market.

The cuts in production in Cowley are likely to mean a loss of 1,000 jobs from the Cowley plants' present 13,000 manual labour force.

IAN. AT THE TOP EY ASSENBU PLANT That parade"

gesture

GTH CONCATE

measures (mass pickets and secondary blacking) that the bourgeoisie so fear.

Supported by no one around the strike except strike committee chairman Rahman, this intended mobile picket turned out to be a repeat performance of the series of diversionary marches organised by Westminister Trades Council in February.

Back streets With Nicholson of the TGWU Executive Committee, Abrahams, the TGWU full time catering officer and Gordon McClennan, Secretary of the Communist Party, leading the march around the back streets of the West End, away from the restaurants until finally being dispersed near the Garners Steak House in Oxford Street-the bureaucracy intended to show that they were committed to winning the strike.

Unfortunately for them, large sections of the march lead by three delegations from the TGWU in Oxford and the large WSL contingent exposed this fraud by raising demands for "mass picketing", , "effective blacking" and a l regional "financial levy for the strikers"-policies of the strike committee which the bureaucracy has been implacably opposed to.

Empty gesture

this "poster was an empty was shown by the HELLO, GORDON, OFINAL HERE... TIK EIRMISTS HAVE GOT US ONER A BARREL IN THIS AMRIERS MARCH TONIGHT... CAN YOU HELP OUT? WELl WEVE BEEN WORKING FLAT OUT To BLOCK THEIR CALL FOR A LEVY 'CHRIST GORDON-WE'RE REALLY OUTNUMBERED... HOW THE HELL ARE WE TO GET RID OF THEM?

WE WANT UNION FULL BLACKING LEVY RS fact that only one branch of the TGWU Region (the strikers' own 1/647) had been mobilised to support it.

This scandal was compounded at the end, by the refusal of the leadership to lead the marchers onto a mass picket of Garners Steak Houses.

Despite this sabotage a large section of the march, including all WSL supporters and members, and a numerically larger contingent of SWP members, set up a picket of 100 outside the Haymarket Garners (notorious for vicious attacks by the scabs and persistent police harassment).

This successful mass picket is of immense significance; it openly challenges the attempts of the police to intimidate and control the picket line with limitations of six pickets and numerous arrests; it was a demoralising blow to the scabs and most importantly it challenged the TGWU leadership's refusal to organise such pickets to close Garners and protect the picket line.

Coming directly after the bureaucracy's token poster parade this first effective mass picket has laid the basis for escalating support for the strike.

Deserted

•All this was lost, however, on the SWP. Unable to grasp any of the important turning points in this strike leading members of the London area instructed the membership of the SWP to desert the picket line at 8.45, thus leaving the remaining forces open to attack by police and scabs and endangering the potential gains of this first mass picket.

In a completely opportunist way they invoked the authority of the strike committee, and the Garners support committee to justify this act of sabotage; despite the fact that only minutes before a leading member of the strike committee had asked the mass picket to stay until 11pm; and to our knowledge closing down a picket line has never been discussed on the support committee.

In spite of the combination of bureaucratic sabotage and the unserious tokenism of the SWP the picket line succeeded in turning all customers (except six self-confessed fascists) away from the restaurant and by 11.30pm when it was finally called off it still mustered about 40 people.

*Organise regular pickets of Garners Steak Houses.

• *Organise regular daily delegations from the TGWU to the picket line.

*Organise a regional levy to finance the strikers.

*Ensure effective secondary blacking.

Support, for these policies must be fought for in all labour movement bodies.

LEAGUE

Public Meeting on unionisation struggles includes showing of the film "Look Back at Speakers from Garners strike committee and L shop steward in person:

capacity.

Thursday 20 July at 8pm Southall Town Hall shop stewards committee held a meeting on Saturday in which according to the Morning Star, "they pledged

----- pull-quotes -----

ment, but it is known that management plan to cut

IgL UGWI 3 BRANCH INTERNATI

owley jobs in danger

lead in docks The national port