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130,000 low paid shop workers are among the first to benefit from the spin-off from the national engineering pay claim, in which the Engineering Employers Federation conceded a 39 hour week in 1981.

But the fact that without even a token action negotiators for supermarket statt were able to win the cut in hours to be conceded next November-a year earlier than the engmeersgives a gauge of the betrayal by leaders of the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, whose two-days-perweek strikes had eventually brought the employers to their knees.

TGWU officials have rushed to assist Ford management break a picket line that had halted car assembly at Dagenham.

Transporter drivers from Toleman's had honoured a picket line by caterers at Dagenham-only to be refused payment by their employers.

• They then took strike action -supported by shop stewards at Dagenham who refused to move cars from the assembly lines.

Rather than step in to ensure immediate victory to the Toleman drivers . TGWU officials' first concern was to get the picket lifted and restore production at Dagenham.

Prime mover in this has been TGWU national organiser Ron Todd.

UNION Supermarket staff, too, have their problenis of leadership, of course. The initial claim was only a £55 minimum adult rate and a 35 hour week.

Employers, . fattened by years of massive exploitation and growing profits, almost at once conceded the £55 minimum in two stages and the 39-hour week.

But rather than capitalise on this weakness to press the full claim, leaders of USDAW, the shop workers' union, allowed the whole deal to be steamrollered through in two days flat-and agreed to an 18month settlement that will leave shopworkers stranded in a rising tide of inflation.

Confed thousands union mo tisements papers to within BL can be understood.

But he will continue to be assisted in this task by the Confederation of Shipbuilding and Engineering Unions, whose leaders "strongly recommended'' a yes vote.

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leaders used of pounds of trade ney to place dverin the national press for a 'yes vote.

And the Confed has pledged to help Edwardes implement his plan from now on-with bureaucratic action to prevent workers fighting closures.

• Complete and enthusiastic support for sackings on this scaie must be something of a record even for the cringing bureaucrats who head the Confederation.

Meanwhile the GWU, which officially opposed the Edwardes Plan only. managed to produce their leaflet calling for a 'no' vote after the vote had taken place.

Official backing

offer before the vote was taken.

And he desperately needed the authority of a 'yes' vote if he was going to get away with the attack he was planning.

To a claim of f24 a week across the board and a cost of living clause, he replied with 5% for grades two, three, four and five and 10% for grade one.

In return for this pathetic 5% offer, Edwardes is demand.

*The abolition of the section of the lay off agreement-which provides for 80% of earnings for seven days when workers are laid off through disputes within BL:

*No-strike penalty clauses;

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odd steps in