There is no place for moderation in this strike

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reporter Danny Macintosh talked to the Corby strike ( :ommittee about police vio lence and the prospects for the strike -now nine weeks old.

It was a wet and grey Corby morning. Rain clouds had settled over the vast and silent British Steel works, obscuring the higher chimney stacks, but you could still make out Save Our Steel' emblazoned across the top of the gasometer.

On the gates of the works, braziers warmed just a handful of token pickets: mainly AUEW.

To have any more would be wasteful: the works is closed and the Corby pickets have become flying pickets; travelling as far north as Scotland and as far south as Sheerness.

As I walk into the Corby strike committee room the lights are burning and they have a window open to let the cigarette smoke out.

Warm

A long rectangular table dominates the room.

It's covered with memos, bulletins, rotas, telephones, teacups and ashtrays.

The atmosphere is warm and welcoming and the occupants friendly. I'm given a seat and before i can sit down, a cup of tea appears.

The mood of the committee is confident. "The lads don't call keith Joseph the mad monk' anymore" • says Mick Skelton, the strike co-ordinator.

"Since his trip to Port Talbot they call him 'His Insanity'"

As Skelton is speaking, a flying picket who has just come in, creeps up behind and pretends to mug him.

They both end up on the floor with Mick Skelton shouting "Help me somebody, he's after my wage packet!"

Everybody laughs. None of them have received any wages in eight weeks.

Prompted by the incident, 1 ask about violence on the picket lines and the role of the police.

• Grim The atmosphere changes instantly to grim and the humour disappears.

"We don't expect the police to do anything but support this government. After all, they're the highest paid scabs in the country.

"But you can't help getting bitter and angry about it when you're on the receiving end of a copper's knee or boot"

This is a young picket speaking. He looks like he hasn't had much sleep recently.

"Everybody in this room has been kneed in the balls by the law," he says, "but some of us weren't so lucky.

"You've got to try and stay on your feet because if you go down you get the boot in the head and the back as well as the balls.

"But what makes us really angry is when they do a snatch.

"When we were at Hadfields they suddenly rushed and snatched one of our lot.

"They threw him in a wagon and drove off. When we saw him again he was a real mess.

"He told us that they had driven six or seven mies outside Sheffield into the country, done him over, thrown him out and driven off-leaving him to find his own way back!"

"Then again, when we went to Leyland Castle Bromwich, we were outnumbered two to one by the law.

Swines

"We counted 200-with more standing by-against 89 of US.

• "They were swines that day.

They really enjoyed it.

"One 'of our lot got snatched and dragged into a Leyland security post inside the factory gates where they did him over and then arrested him for resisting arrest.

"The poor bastard couldn't even stand up-let alone resist arrest:

«That day they were doing everything to try and provoke LIS. «Some drivers who we managed to speak to agreed to turn round and leave but were told by the police to drive in.

"Of course some of them just drove in and then straight out again but some didn't. Since when have the police been dietators of union policy?"

"That union has enough dictators of its own", interrupts Joe Bremner, a formidable red faced Scot.

There is agreement to this remark right around the table, and the resentment against the lack of action by the TGWU is clear.

Joe Bremner is a cell leader: it's his job to lead a certain Corby task force (or cell) into action and keep it organised.

"I'm looking forward to meeting that f....... t..... David Buckle," he scowls, and glares at me. I feel very relieved I'm not David Buckle and ask who he is and why he's a wanted man.

It turns out Buckle is the Oxford District Secretary of the TGWU who is responsible for BRS.

"Most of those drivers wouldn't have crossed the line at Castle Bromwich • unless they'd been instructed to," says Bremner.

"And it was Buckle who instructed them. He didn't even leave it up to the individual drivers! We want all movement of steel to stop. That's how we 1l beat them and the TGWU must realise this."

The strike co-ordinator chimes in: "We're fed up with lip service from other unions, particularly the TGWU.

"It amazes me the way they hold back on movement of steel when they know damn well that if we lose through that it'll be their fault, and if we lose, they lose and everybody loses, except the Tories.

"We've got a revolution going on in this country: right now it's a Tory revolution; they're trying to get us back to 1850 where they think we belong so they can start building the empire again.

"I genuinely believe this government is insane: they're trying to completely run down our heavy industry and turn us into • a finishing centre or a tourist centre. So it's a Tory "But the more they turn the screws, more workers get more militant and active. When this stike stared t was the executive that ran Now, after eight weeks, it's all changed.

"Now it's the workers who are running it through the strike committees. The executive must obey the demands of the workers or face a vote of confidence. 'His Insanity " Keith Joseph «The workers will not accept any attempted sell-out. They're Police wade in on Lanark pickets