Call council of action to back pay strike

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Friday 15 September at 8.00pm (please note change of date)

East Oxford Community Centre Princes Street, Oxford PRESS * Park Hill, London NW5 IHR The pay strike by 1000 shop floor workers at Hickson and Welch chemical plant this week enters its third week.

AUEW convenor Bob Gillogley told Socialist Press that there was no change in the situation and there had been no new offers from management.

The whole AUEW at the plant backed the strike, he said. The factory is Castleford's major employer after the mines and is therefore centrat to the wages level in the town.

Consequently, Gillogley pointed out, there was largescale support for the strike in the town, reflected in donations of food, tea and coffee to the pickets.

Bob Gillogley said that supervisors and laboratory technicians in ASTMS had failed to provide supporting strike action, making strikers in the TGWU and AUEW particularly bitter since only last month thẹy had supported a half-day strike call by ASTMS.

In contrast, there had been 100% support on the AUEW District Committee to make the strike official.

While management appear prepared to discuss with the union, they seem unwilling to formally negotiate the claim which they estimate would increase the wages bill by 17.50% and force them to consider closing the factory.

Picke Hickson and Welch are investing £5½ million for expansion while only offering the workers an extra penny an hour.

The demand must be raised for the opening of the company's accounts books to an elected committee of trade unionists in preparation for a fight against possible closure.

ASTMS must stop scabbing and join the strike. And in view of the widespread support from workers in the town a nd the coming struggle ove the : outside Hickson and Welch miners' pay claim, a call must be made through the Trades Council for the setting up of a council of action to wage a unified struggle for victory.

Within the local Labour Party the selection process for a new parliamentary candidate is under way. Contenders for the candidacy must be closely questioned and all those who refuse to support this and other struggles against the 5% pay limit must be rejec: ted.

Parsons Workers at the Milthorpe International are fighting a tough battle to have their AUEW shop steward Gordon Parsons reinstated.

Parsons was dismissed from the Wakefield plant. after reporting an industrial accident to the union. He carried on working, but his machine was turned off and he was finally carried out by A strike immediately began, but only seven of the 140 workers are outside the gates despite the fact that the AUEW has now made the strike official.

Equivocation

Management have tried to confuse the workers as to the official status of the strike, but equivocation on the part of AUEW officials is also to blame for the lack of support.

A picket on the gate has, however, been successful in turning away lorries.

The AUEW must stop equivocating and issue a clear strike call to its 138 members in the plant.

Workers must also demand the withdrawal of ACAS from the dispute and make clear their intention to remain on strike until their steward is reinstated.

At the same time, picketing must be stepped up and a complete black imposed on the factory

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