Pergamon workers fight Labourite boss

Scan page 11

Rober Maxwell is known as the boss of Pergamon, the publishing company with a multi-million pound turnover that has been the subject of Department of Trade investigations.

The company is notorious in the Oxford area for its low rates of pay and arbitrary sacking of employees.

Robert Maxwell however is also a member of the General Management Committee of Oxford City Labour Party!

The 42 strong chapel of the National Union of Journalists at Pergamon lone of three unions at the Oxford offices) have been on strike since Monday to back the demand for the reinstatement of a member sacked just before the end of her six-month probationary period.

Recent recruitment to the NUJ in the marketing department was followed by the company issuing notices of dismissal to two active new members of the union.

Reassessment

After chapel demands that procedure be followed, Maxwell verbally withdrew these notices fortnight ago, pending a "period of reassessment"

Although the Chapel had voted at once to give notice of management had hoped, simply demanding the money; the strikers proved to be hostile to the new grading system itself. At a TGWU mass meeting of the day shift last Friday, attended by about 3,000 workers, plant convenor Bob Fryer received massive support for the hard line he presented of total opposition to the proposed structure.

Management are in a crisis.

But they will not give up easily. They • have put years of working into trying to create a rigid centralised bargaining structure in order to get complete control of wage rates.

IT MAY BE HOLIDAY TIME FOR SOME JUT FOR TRADE UNION LEADERS, IT'S JUST ANOTHER WORANG DAY... P'M GETTING WORRIED ABOUT LEN'S STATEMENIS - THETTE GETTING MORE AND MORE EXTREME!

WHAT ABOUT THE WHAT'S WRONG WITH THE TAXES?VAT RISES AND TAX WEVE DONE PRETTY WELL, HAVENT, HANDOUTS TO THE RICH? WE CLIVE?!

ANYWAY, IT COULD UNLEASH SOME HUGE PAYCLAIMS!!!

strike action, NUJ full-time National Organiser, Gary Morton offered to the chapel no alternative perspective to that of the company and even suggested that any strike action should be delayed - until two victimised workers were out of the door.

Last Friday Maxwell personally confirmed one of the sackings.

This is an important dispute for publishing and print workers and for the whole future of the NUJ, NGA and APEX • at Pergamon.

The strike also raises the need to campaign for Maxwell's expulsion from the Labour Party and ASTMS.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 And they have an ally in the leadership of the craft unions, who have been pressing since the toolmakers' strike for higher differentials between craftsmen and the production workers.

But the production workers are in no mood to accept down grading.

Pressed forward by the impact on wages of the budget, petrol prices and inflation the mood is for action.

This week the Leyland Cars Joint Negotiating Committee is to take a "final decision" on the grading of production workers in the Swindon Body Plant.

HE'S EVE I PLEDGED SE CAMPA GN AGANST IT'S ALREADY HARD ENOUAH KEEPING THE MEMBERS IN LINE, ISNT IT SID? SO WHAT ABOUT LEN'S CAMPAIGN?

MAL GO

NUR TO LANDICH SOME HARE-BRAINED THE TORY BUDGET!

WHAT THE HELL COULD WE SAY?