Occupy the Times

Scan page 12

The final issue of the Times before closure last week carried a small ad tucked away in the personal column of the back page. It read: "Goodbye Dear Times'-We're sorry to see you go and hope you return soon with a more enlightened management". It was signed Times Employees'.

That wish and a prayer reflects almost exactly the level of opposition amongst the unions at the Times.

The silence on the crucial question of the occupation of the building and the production of a paper under the management of the workers, has been deafening.

No policy, apart from waiting and hoping; has been put forward.

Instead the National Graphical Association, the one union. to refuse to negotiate under the threat of closure, has begun to give unmistakable signs of a sell-out.

Welcomed

Joe Wade, General Secretary of the NGA, welcomed the two week reprieve as an indication that talks might be possible.

In fact-as the Observer revealed on Sunday-Wade has already been up to his neck and beyond in an attempt to avoid confrontation with the Times management in secret talks unknown to his members.

The Times management is demanding two major defeats from the unions. The first is over a new disputes procedure which seeks to tie union chapels hand and foot.

The significance of any paper agreements on this was severely reduced when the management backed down on the major penalty clause-which would stop all pay within 24 hours of unofficial action taking What is stil an open question is whether the unions will capitulate on the question of 'single stroke keyboarding' —meaning the removal of NGA jobs and the taking over of their work by journalists and advertising staff.

This single proposal will reduce NGA jobs in some chapels by almost 60% and increases the total amount of jobs to be lost to about a quarter of the workforce.

The reason why the NGA have refused to agree to this is that the Times management are explicitly acting as a spearhead for the rest of Fleet Street; the NGA as a major production unit could vanish.

The Times ran into opposition because it was asking the NGA bureaucracy to agree to the removal of its own power base.

Even over direct input the NGA bureaucracy came close to agreement with the management.

At secret negotiations weeks ago the NGA bureaucracy agreed to direct inputting for about 12% of all copy, aliowing advertising staff to feed ads straight into the computer.

With leaders prepared to sell jobs at secret negotiations the workers at the Times cannot allow their futures out of their control for even a minute.

This is what makes absolutely critical the question of an occupation of the Times and the setting up of an occupation committee that cuts across the craft barriers between the unions and chalienges management and union bureaucracies alike.

Business secrets

• A labour movement paper must be produced and the business secrets of Fleet Street thrown open.

The International Thomson Organisation is expecting an after tax profit this year of £45 million, mostly from oil. All their interests must be nationalised without compensation under the management of the workforce.

Workers at the Times and Sunday Times must begin raising these demands now.

*No secret talks!

*No sellout on jobs!

*Occupy the Times! Produce a labour movement paper!

*New technology only under the control of the workers!

*Nationalise the Times and Sunday Times under workers management.

*No compensation for Lord Thomson.

*Work sharing on full pay.