[Farm workers' leaders last week made spluttering threats…]

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Farm workers' leaders last week made spluttering threats of selective strike action on their pay claimand were no doubt alarmed to be met by roars of approval.

The farmworkers' union has tabled a claim of £100 for a 35 hour week. After years of union inactivity rates are £48.50 for 40 hours.

General Secretary Jack Boddy, clearly worried that the union might find itself embroiled in a struggle warned employers that their first offer had been "so ludicrously small that we could in no way even consider a compromise."

He is plainly hoping to squeeze a rather less ludicrously small offer by threatening the ludicrously inadequate action of one-day strikes every week.

But even such partial action, if called, is likely to be eagerly taken up by angry farmworkers, 6,500 of whom last year were dependent on Family Income Supplement to provide them with a living wage.

An army of 200 police surrounded a closed down South Wales factory last week in order to force a passage for scabs to drive out dismantled plant and equipment.

The 60 pickets who had turned out to oppose the removal of equipment from the Lin Pac factory in Rosedale were prevented from even approaching the scab drivers.

The plant was closed in the wake of the Confed two-day strikes on the engineering pay claim, at a cost of 260 jobs. by the Confed." The resolution went on to pledge support for any of the 13 affected plants if they decide to resist the closures.

In addition the resolution called for a continuation of the , previously established policy of blacking policy had been effectively carried out at Longbridge, and at Cowley-where trim work from Castle Bromwich brought into the plant had been blacked and sent back.

But a move to call for a policy of direct action to stage an initial one day token strike to demonstrate to other BL workers that they are prepared to oppose the closures.

The amendment was opposed by the convenors from the threatened plants.

Indeed Eddie McGarry, convenor of the Canley plant, one of the biggest to be closed, reported that he had been busy "Biggest apple"

Jack Adams, T&G convenor at Longbridge described it as "the biggest apple that Edwardes is looking for"

Like the Edwardes closure plan, these proposals have implications far beyond BL.

It would be a blue print for other industries, designed to

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cann JAN UNEMPLOYMENT

NEBUS -SEWARD