Now! Wrp Junks Trotskyism

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Such a leadership is an ever-present danger to the masses because it will always be ready to compromise their interests with the enemy.

For anyone who claims to be a socialist, the building of any illusions in such a leadership would be a grave crime.

Direct collaboration But there is an even worse crime: direct collaboration with the Shah's bloody dictatorship against any part of the mass movement, including its arase-:

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TGWU officials Abrahams (left) and Shorter (standing) with SE Region TGI PRESSED STEEL mobilised by WSL members and supporters brought more IGWU banners on of Action than the whole of TGWU Region 1 TUC 'left' Jack Dromey 'Socialist Press' interviews strike committee members Manuel Blanco and Mohamed Maboob.

What is the importance the October 7 Day of Action?

MB: The 7th could be the turning point of the strike. We have had a lot of pressure on us from the Regional Committee to call this day of action off.

But the strike committee stood firm. We have been threatened that the Region would call off the day of action.

They tried to break us by threatening withdrawal of support, but the strike committee stood firm and they were forced to give official backing.

There was no way they could evade their responsibility.

The Day of Action is very important because if we get a big turn out we can challenge the police and scabs.

It is very important that at the end of the demo people don't drift away.

We hope this action will provide us with enough publicity to show all trade unionists that we are still on strike and to get their support to help us win.

But more importantly it will strengthen our position to force the Region to implement our policies.

During the long hotel strikes against Trust Houses Forte, as the strike for union rocognition went into its fifth month the strikers discovered that TGWU officials were negotiating conditions of return behind their backs. Have you any such fear in this strike?

MM: We have no fear of anybody because we are determined to stick to our policies-which we have stuck• to for eight months.

These policies are-no return to work without union recognition and reinstatement of everybody who was dismissed on 26 January.

MB: We didn't have to wait five months to see similar moves.

After a few weeks our officials went behind our backs to negotiate through ACAS without the strikers' knowledge.

The first we heard of it was PHOTO: Mark Rusher, IFL Manuel Blanco in the Daily Telegraph where Manuma Aheshamo 14166 nannator ceorge Murarams was iqpuriou as offering a complete return to work in exchange for Margolis agreeing to an ACAS inquiry. A second report was actually in the TGWU paper Record itself!

We stand by our policies-no return to work without union recognition first and reinstatement of everyone of us.

Besides that we have made it clear to the officials in charge of the strike that the strike committee should take part in every negotiation with management.

How has the increased violence of the scabs over the past three weeks affected the strikers?

MM: Not at all, it has encouraged them more. The company is really weak and it is the latest tactics they use to frighten us.

MB: I don't think Marboob is correct. The violence does affect some strikers, It doesn't affect the very strong.

They have attacked us with sticks and meat axes. They have abused us, thrown water over us, the NF have twice beaten up Asian brothers-it is bound to affect us.

The only way to defend ourselves is very strong picketing on every branch, every day of the week.

For example on Wednesday night we have a regular delegation from UCATT building workers.

When they are picketing the scabs at Whitcome Street (the most violent) never make any attempt to attack anybody.

The moment we get big The policies passed by 1 TGWU 1640 Branch last spril 1) No return to work wit ment.

2) Secondary blacking of :

3) TGWU must organise restaurants with a mass picke 4) To pay strikers a liv necessary to be raised by a R delegations on the picket linas and financial support from the Region to keep us going our morale will be lifted.

If the company is weak and the morale of the strikers strong why do you think it has taken eight months so far to win this strike?

MM: Because we believe that Grunwick has opened the way for the small employer to fight back against the trade union movement.

Margolis believes that if he holds out we will get fed up at picketing and leave.

We also haven't got as much help as we expected from our own trade union.

But we are getting help from the rank and file.

MB: The main reason is lack of support frum our union. I could go on and on about that At the beginning of the strike we relied on the union officials but after a few weeks we learned that we have to be independent of the union officials and put our own policies forward.

But then we found out that the same union officials who had promised everything before, blocked every policy we put forward to win the strike.

They said at some points secondary blacking was "illegal"

To organise any levy on the membership was "against the rules"

Mass picketing was "out of the question" . They say it is very difficult to mobilise the membership but we found out that everywhere we went we got a good response from the rank and file of the union.

If they say it is very hard to mobilise the membership, how do the other unions do itbecause we get regular delegations from NALGO, CPSA, and PHOTO: Laurence Sparham, IFL Picketing outside Garners the Strike Committee and the ng: thout recognition and reinstatesupplies and suppliers. • regular daily picketing it every Saturday. ing wage of £36 per week, if egional levy.

UCATT.

We have had six times more financial help from outside the TGWU than from inside. The General Executive of the CPSA alone gave us £250.

I think it is easy for trade union leaders to support other struggles but they are afraid of the implications of supporting their own.

After six months on strike we started going to several branch meetings and shop stewards meetings.

The majority of meetings we went to didn't know anything about Garners at all.

So how can they mobilise the membership when they don't know what is going on? About five months ago we asked the so-called lefts' in the bureaucracy, Nicholson and Todd, to circulate ali branches publicising our policies. They completely refused-and after eight months on strike this letter still hasn't been circulated Contingents the last Day Within a matter of day the TGWU's official pa dispute against the giar Ford motor company ha brought its British operatio and a substantial part of it •European production grin‹ ing to a halt.

Blacking had been called fr and obtained on the docks an from the seamen's union. An international talks on solidarit action had been set up. through branches.

How do you think the st is going to be won?

MB: We have to force the Region to implement policies.

It is very important to remember the role of the trade union leadership in the Grunwick betrayal-it was only through their sell-out that the strike was lost despite the mobilisation of the working class.

All employers now take advantage of that defeat.

It is similar to Spain, my country, in the 1930s.

I am reading "Homage to Catalonia" by George Orwell. • When the peasants and workers took over the land, their Popular Front leaders told them to hand it back.

They did not do this in a straightforward and obvious assault as Orwell says:

"It was done by a series of small moves a policy of pinpricks, as somebody called itand on the whole very cleverly •.. The workers could always be brought to heel by an argument that is almost too obvious to noed stating: "unless you do this, that and the other we shall lose the war."

It's like those in this strike who say you have to co-operate with the union leaders because if you don't they will withdraw support and we will lose the strike.

•But it is the opposite. The only way to move forwards is when you fight for policies that will win the strike against anyone who opposes these including union bureaucrats or whoever.

You have to have the policies and the correct leadership to carry them through. You can't ignore the present leadership.

Ente MIE But in a much smaller and simpler dispute, where wage control is not even directly in question, the TGWU's record is very different.

• After eight bitter months of struggle on the picket lines, strikers at Garners Steak Houses in London are still denied the active support of the union in the form of effective blacking action, and refused even the facilities of the union to circulate the policies of the strike committee to the London Region's 500,000 members.

The interview on this page bears testimony to the courage and determination of the This vicious tin-pot employer clearly faces financial ruin.

But the fact that this strike has entered its ninth month is an indictment of the TGWU • Not alone Of course the TGIVU leadership are not alone in seeking to kill any independent mobilisation of the working class to defend their living standards.

This strike began at the time that the TUC, supported by every 'left' in the unions, conspired to isolate and defeat the firemen's struggle against Phase It has spanned the whole period since-until the strikers themselves see their own TGWU leadership dragged : by the actions of their Fords membership into the forefront of the battle against Phase 4.

The lessons of the Garners struggle are again a confirmation that left' babblers- like the open right wing-will do nothing but sabotage and betray the independent struggles of the working class.

Harrassed

Whilst pickets have been beaten by scabs and fascists and harrassed by police-the Region with 500,000 members have refused to lift a finger in mobilising the necessary forces to close Margolis down and protect their own members from racist and scab violence.

Instead they have made an agreement with the police to limit the picket line to six.

This has implications beyond this strike-even such "verbal" agreements betray the principle of independent working class actions to win struggles.

It is vital that the Day of Action turns the Garners strike into a national issue, giving a new impetus to the possibility of the strike committee's policies being realised.

The strike is a microcosm of the class struggle, showing how the fight to defend basic rights in this period is the fight to build anew revolutionary leadership in the labour move ment.

The only force fighting con: sistently for this perspective throughout the strike has been the Workers Socialist League.

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