Garners Tgwu Officials Put to Rout

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Four hundred people marched through Barnsley In humiliating isolation, last Saturday in a demon- the TGWU Region 1 float, stration against British carrying Regional officials imperialism's role in Ireland. and followed by a handful ted Bary eye organisers, lec. of hangers-on, travelled along Northumberland United Troops Out Movement, Avenue last Saturday while because it is the constituency of the remainder of the march Roy Mason, the Labour minister it had been leading turned ising the war being carried organ and headed back to the out by imperialism in the picket lines. six counties. The 1,000 strong marchThe central theme ot the called in support of the for the removal of the can but marathon unionisation strike at other demands, such as troops Garners Steak Houses-boasted ut now; self determination for only a handful of TGWU banners, nearly all from outside people and political London. status for Irish prisoners were raised.

letter was delivered To the Yorkshire NUM office outlining these demands and calling for withdrawal of NUM sponsorship from Mason.

Led off by the United Troops Out banner the march included contingents from, amongst others, Provisional Sinn Fein, the Workers League, Big Flame, IMG, SWP, ICL, RCG and Workers Power.

Demands Speaking before the march moved off, the WSL represen. tative was alone in stressing the noonduce of focussing demands on Yorkshire miners leader Arthur Scargill to camtol the removal of Mason's union sponsorship and his replacement as Labour MP. for Barnsley.

all heard Yorkshire walks cha water thur till Grunwick struggle.

'Well, he isn't walking in Barnsley today. He claims to be à left-winger. Well, he is in a unique position to campaign fo Mason's removal. he said On the demonstration, alongside the slogan "NUM kick out Mason" the 30-strong An initial quota of 50 copies WSL continuous chant of tsargi per week for the new Brighton branch of the WSL, together Kiok out Mason-Troops Out with an extra affort by our London branches has given our At the and of the march campaign for 200 extra regular readers a good send off.

But though they had held back any serious mobilisation from the TGWU's 500,000 London Region, the hopes of union officials that they could divert the march away from the restaurants and down the river were to be rudely shattered.

Decisive

As the leading contingents on the march-mainly mobilised by the Workers Socialist League -detected that the float had no intention of stopping, they took decisive action.

Trade unionists with loud hailers called on the body of the march to turn back and launch a mass picket on Garners' Whitfarners combe Street restaurant. The response was overwhelming.

Though some sections remained momentarily undecided, Socialist Workers Party members and supporters followed the lead given, along with the vast majority of the other contingents on the march.

As these sections made their way back to spring their surprise on the scabs at Whitcombe Street and on the police, who were completely unprepared, the motley crew. of right wingers, 'left' talkers and Stalinists that had headed the march continued in the other direction, Among them was TGWU Regional Organiser Les Shorter, Catering Officer George Abrahams, and Executive member Brian Nicholson, as well as SE 'Region TUC. left' Jack Dromey.

Obstructed

These bureaucrats, who have for eight months obstructed the fight for full-scale TGWU action to defeat Garners boss Margolis, reaped a bitter reward for their record of sabotage and betrayal.

Their defeat marked a crucial strengthening. of the strike and gave décisive proof that the rank and file of the trade union movement will respond to a clear lead on such issues.

A 500-strong mass picket at Whitcombe Street closed down the restaurant and scared the wits out of the scabs-who have been among the most vicious in their attacks on strikers. • A plate glass window was broken as the picket held its ground for an hour against successive vicious police charges, before deciding to disperse discretely and reassemble outside the Haymarket restaurant, which had been left almost unguarded.

Though this second successful mass picket was also broken up by police, it was followed by picketing on all of Garners restaurants until 11 p.m.-decimating Margolis' trade.

all, nine pickets were arrested, most of them in the period after the initial police charges.

Vindication

This whole episode stands as a complete vindication of the strike committee's consistent demands for TGWU mass picketing, as a part of the strategy needed to win the strike.

It is essential to build on the gains of last Saturday in pressing A victim is bundled off Police hold pickets at bay to ensure that the strike committee's call for TGWU action to enforce secondary blacking and for a levy to raise strike pay to £36 per week are in fact implemented by the Region 1 Committee, which has proved itself completely incapable of winning this dispute.

The strike committee should also insist that Shorter proceeds with his previous suggestion of a TGWU national delegate con -ference on the Garners issue, so that the widest possible sections of the union become aware of this struggle and the role played in it by union officials As we go to press, the Workers Revolutionary Party paper Newsline has carried a scurrilous attack on the mass picketing-in order to cover up the abstention from the struggle of their own 12-strong contingent. We will reply to this in next week's Socialist Press. WORKEKS " EnqUE

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