New court attacks on union rights

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Once again, even before the Tories have put their new anti-union laws before Parliament, the Tory courts have struck a new savage blow at the right to picket.

Vauxhali strikers from the Ellesmere Port plant have been conducting a militant campaign of picketing in support of their seven week struggle for a 25% pay claim.

Flying pickets on the gates of Harwich docks succeeded for three weeks in stopping vital supplies to Vauxhall's plants at Luton and Dunstable-bringing production to a standstill-and prevented the firm shipping in strikebreaking supplies of cars from the Continent.

But a combined assaultfrom violent police thu Is, who hospitalised two shop si ewards, on the one hand; and I awyers, who obtained a court injunction against the pickets other-brought an end to this successful tactic.

Further injunction

In retaliation, strikers mounted pickets on Vauxhall and Opel dealers throughout the North West. But an obedient High Court judge, Mr Justice Bush, immediately responded to dealers' demands for a further injunction to prevent this picketing as well.

Though Vauxhall stewards have talked of simply transferring pickets to other dealers not covered by this injunction it is plain that these court attacks are another move to effectively ban all forms of flying picketing, in advance of specific Tory legislation against "secondary" pickets.

Little by little over the last two years a body of precadents has been established which union leaders refuse to challenge.

It is essential that such attacks on hardwon union rights are met by fuil-scale mobilisation of the working class to bring down the Tory government and sweep aside the apparatus of courts and police through which the employers maintain their system of exploitation.

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