Times bosses -retreat
Socialist Press1979 1979-03-14Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 11 →
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strike-were reinstated.
. Last weekend Bower appealed to a similar meeting of FoCs for a programme of one day strikes throughout the provincial press in support of Nottingham.
Call defeated
The result was a defeat by PROFIT OFFER Times Newspapers management • have been forced to back down over demands that new technology is forced in while thousands of workers stay The management last week re-engaged all staff until 17 April and have paid retrospective half pay to all workers whose notice periods had expired.
But the climbdown is a prelude to pushing through with the main thrust of the management drive-to win a massive cut in jobs by agreement with the print unions, particularly the NGA.
Now that a target date for reopening the papers has been fixed (April 17), the management have cleared out of the way the sole point on which the NGA leadership were unable to yield.
But before the ciosedown Joe Wade had already in secret negotiations conceded that NGA members would accept a deal which only guaranteed that their members retained all keyboarding work for five years.
The decision to start paying Times workers is a sign of the weakness of the management.
But it is certain to be the beginning of the attempts by print union leaders to sell jobs.
It is not therefore itself a victory for Times workers, though it shows that by a united determination not to sell jobs that the management could be forced to back down.
The EETPU leadership has meanwhile nailed its colours to the management mast by suspending the entire London Press Branch of 1,200 members because the branch refused to ratify an agreement electricians' jobs at the Times.
OH I DON'T KNOW HARRY THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY OF SKINNING A CAT..
BUT WHEN THOUSANDS OF WRETCHED STUDENTS STARTED TO STROP UP ABOUT THEIR GRANTS... WE JUST CALLED A FEW ROUTINE PROTESTS, AND THINGS SOON CALMED DOWN...
Sacked journalists should also restart picketing-if only on a limited scale.
Producing their own newsyou're going to squirm just like we'did."