Westerns struggle needs clear
Socialist Press1978 1978-09-06Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 11 →
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Recert demonstration at Western Ship Repairers Representatives of the 650 sacked workers at Western Ship Repairers of Birkenhead predictably received no help at all when they lobbied last week's TUC General Council meeting.
At a meeting in Birkenhead Labour: Club, last Thursday, Action Committee Chairman Billington reported that in spite of the workers' demands for nationalisation of the company GMWU National Officer, Ken Baker had toid them that nationalisation was 'out'.
The only hope left, he said, was that the company might be taken over by a private owner, Butlers of Newcastle, who might provide jobs for 100-150 of the sacked Western workers.
All the GMWU's efforts were being directed along these lines.
TUC chairman and GMWU General Secretary David Basnett at first claimed that he had not even heard of the dispute, but when pressed stated his full support for the policies of National Officer Baker.
But, as Billington pointed out, it is not only the GMWU leadership which offers no assistance. The Merseyside committee of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions has also failed to provide anything but verbal support.
In fact the Confed leadership has even gone so far as to advise the workers to withdraw their picket from Westerns.
However, in spite of their criticisms of the union leaders and officials, and of local MP Edmund Dell, the dispute leaders and their advisers from the Militant group were unable to put forward any perspectives for continuing the fight to reopen Westerns.
Nó attempt was made to pin down local Confed Executive member Stalinist, Barry Morris, to any concrete policy in support of the Westerns workers.
Indeed Morris was able to get away with an attack on the Westerns men over their periodic refusal to follow Confed orders.
What is: clearly needed at Westerns is a policy of occupation of the yard to prevent either current owners, Lairds, or possible future owners such as Butlers from removing equipment.
This must be linked with demands for the opening of the books of all shipyards to committees of workers and for the nationalisation of the yards without compensation and under workers management.