Tgwu Retreat on Cowley 9: Force Dropping of All Charges

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trumped-up bureaucrats in their bid to victimise nine militants at Leyland's Cowley Assembly Plant was revealed at the meeting of the TGWU Region 5 Committee on July 19.

Lobbied by over 20 TGWU members from Cowley-despite the fact holidays-Regional bureauimplementing the request from the Finance and General Purposes Committee in the Oxford District for the expulsion of Alan Thornett from the union and a life ban on Frank Corti and Tom White holding union office.

But the Regional Committee-headed by Regional Secretary Brian Mathersdid not take the decision requested by the 2,500 strong 5/293 Branch, and drop the charges raised against Thornett, Corti, White and six others.

Referred back

In a move that wil prolong the affair to nearly a full year since the spurious allegations were first raised, the committee voted to refer the charges back to the Oxford District Committee to see whether they wished to proceed with them.

Behind this apparent climbdown remains the danger that the District Committee, headed by District Secretary David Buckle, might decide at its September meeting to revive the whole issue again, at a time when there is likely to be a struggle taking place in defence of jobs in the Assembly Plant.

The ad-hoc Cowley 9 Defence Campaign has rallied the support of hundreds of leading TGWU members against the efforts of the bureaucracy to victimise what amounts to an entire elected leadership in the Assembly Plant (convenor, three elected deputy convenors and three leading stewards). • The Campaign is now urging that the fight proceed until such time as the charges are completely dropped.

This must be combined with the fight to force TGWU officials to take up the struggle for the recognition by Leyland manageing, it resulted in a highly unusual split vote, with a body of opinion ready to ignore Thornett's Trotskyist politics and insist that the union fight for his recognition.

Significant

the Third bulletin of the Defence Campaign points out:

"There is no doubt that this is a significant decision and represents a recognition by the Region of the weakness of the charges levelled.

"The campaign however cannot drop its guard. We must remain fully mobilised until all the charges are finally and officially withdrawn.

•The success of the Birmingham meeting on of the campaign must now be turned to those stewards who remain victimised. Alan Thornett must now be recognised by BL as deputy convenor of the Cowley Assembly Plant.

«The four Cowley stewards victimised since August 1976 must have their credentials restored.

"Moves being made against branches such as Banbury 5/104 must be halted. No action must be taken against the two Longbridge stewards currently facing inquiry."

Victory in this struggle will, in short, mark the major blow in the battle against the TGWU leadership and a step on the road to the building of an alternative leadership within the union. of the profits made by the private shippers and hauliers that use the dock facilities and exploit dock workers.

It would point to the