Imperial Workers Defeated

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Confident of TUC backing, dad hypocritically addressing te Tolpuddle Martyrs Memtial Rally in Dorset, Denis daley claimed a "massive poundswell of support broughout the land" for his date pay laws. *He went on to praise the NUM i particular for backing his poly, saying "both on the left and te right of politics there is a powing determination to drop octrinaire nit-picking and to oncentrate on the big issues acing the nation"

Earlier, at the Durham Miners' la, Wilson was given the platm arrogantly to attack any maining NUM resistance to date pay laws with the direct treat of unemployment, when i said: "The Yorkshire miners' ge increase could be the Dur• miners' pit closure"

Do main turning pointsi prepee first ros lack Tones achieve. cat in swinging the T&GWU aference behind his fraudulent Tat rate increase" plan. The soond was Arthur Scargill's treat at the NUM conference.

STRENGTH

Ne miners could break Wilson is just as they twice defeated bath's Tory government - the pond time forcing them from fice Scargill held the key to *s enormous strength. He was hanged with fighting for a Yorkre area resolution demanding * NUM proceed with a claim * 1100 a week. At present rates inflation, nothing less than 100 could re-establish miners' g standards.

cargill did not retreat publicly the conference - he still made Titant speech, though not rationing the pay laws. But, in many union conferences, "demand" to the vague term "seek". Scargill, posed with a fight, collapsed and accepted their position.

He excused his position even though he had to fight to get it accepted by the other Yorkshire delegates - by saying that it seemer the vote would go against him. Central in this cover-up was Mick McGahey, President of the Scottish area NUM and a leading Communist Party member. .

McGahey passed Scargill a note urging him to drop the claim, saying "it is better to appear responsible than defeated" . Scargill obviously accepted this opportuni formula.

The key question, forthe working class was for the £100 demand to be fought for - even if lost - to provide a focal point of resistance to Wilson's pay laws. Given a fight and the left forces present at the conference, the resolution could even have been passed.

The weakness was Scargill's politics. Like all left talkers he defended capitalism at the point where the chins were Anwn. opened the door to the pay laws, and that in reality it was a choice between £100 a week demand or a £6 limit.

The depth of this betrayal can now be seen. On the strength of this conference resolution - mover by Scargill - the right wing were able to get not only an executive decision to support the pay laws, but intend to ballot the membership on it.

Their recommendation, carrying the authority won by the NUM leaders in two successful pay struggles, may well be accepted. If it is, it will become the main political prop of Wilson, who will claim it shows "mass support" for his policy in the strongest section of workers.

It exposes all too clearly any illusions that the NUM leadership is in any sense separate from the TUC treachery of recent weeks. The last period has seen miners' galas consistently used by Labour's right wing as platforms for the most reactionary speeches. Only the class collaboration of the NUM right wing and the opportunism of the 'left' and Stalinists has hrousht this The sit-in at Imperial Typewriters' factory in Hull ended on Wednesday July 16th, when workers were led out of the plant by T&GWU Region: Secretary David Cairns, who had spent the last 4½ months preventing the action being carried into the labour movement.

The occupation indicated two things: the determination of workers to struggle to defend jobs; and the determination of the trade union bureaucracy to head them away from the main political issues Every stunt in the book had been tried by the local T&GWU leadership to avoid the struggle to make Labour nationalise Imperials under workers management, and for a programme of state contracts.

In the end, sooner than direct at the government's conscious policy of creating unemployment and refusing to nationalise industri HULL VICTIMISATION Strengthened by the collaboration of the trade union leaders, employers in the footwear industry have gone onto the attack. On Monday evening a militant worker was sacked from Holmes Halls Ltd of Hull at a minute's notice.

Management gave as an excuse for this action the ludicrous complaint that Jeff Fowler had attender a TUC course on health and safety at work - in an industry notorious for infringements of basic health and safety standards. When he returned from the course, he was sacked and ordered off the premises.

The National Union of Footwear Leather and Allied Trades must ensure Jeff Fowler's reinstatement If this is not done this victimisatio. must be made an issue for the trad union movement throughout the Hull area.

WSL PUBLIC Bristol:

Wednesday July Room A. Shephr 30th 7.30 pr rds Hall, Cairns blamed the campaign's failure on himself for "failing to find a viable alternative". . He announced to the press that he "nearly cried" when the decision was taken to end the sit-in.

This hypocritical breast-beating ... 4. shows only the reactionary role of the bureaucracy. Cairns says not a word about the hundreds of jobs lost through his refusal to mobilise the regional resources of the T&GWU and other unions behind the occupation, or to call for national assistance from the working class. •The workers defeated by their own leadership at Imperials join a growing dole queue in Hull at a time of recession. They, together with others threatened with redundancies, must learn the political lessons of the sit-in and begin the fight in the unions to remove those like Cains who oppose "politics" in the unions.

They must replace them with leaders who will mobilise the working class in defence of jobs.