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ON THE eve of the CPSA Broad Left Conference in Leeds, management stepped up their recent campaign of victimisations by sacking Lynn Hutchins-secretary of the Civil Engineers' Branch and chairperson of the London Area No. 3 Committee.

Lynn Hutchin's 'crime' was to refuse a management order to go to another office to help ease the work load caused by recent cuts.

She correctly refused to work share in accordance with national CPSA policy and was summarily dismissed at 4.30 pm on Friday 7 November, leaving no time to call a union meeting.

Lynn, a non-aligned Broad Left member and campaigner or women's rights, adaressed the Broad Left conference and an emergency resolution was passed demanding an all-out campaign for her reinstatement and for a united front battle against all the current victimisations (many of which are still centred on the Brixton Dole Office).

A campaign meeting has been called for this Thursday and the incoming Broad Left National Committee has been instructed to coordinate the fight (something it signally failed to do over Brixton).

The immediate objective must be to get all-out strike action by the Civil Engineer's Branch, with support from the NUJ members who share the same workplace.

The decision by 13-3 of the National Union of Seamen's executive to allow Cunard to fly a "flag of convenience" on the Cunard Princess' and thus operate outside of union wage rates has been condemned by seamen all over the country.

The Cardiff branch of the NUS has passed a motion callmass meeting. After a strong speech by Fryer for strike action, only seven voted against out of 4,500 present.

Many other plants emulated their previous votes. Swindon, where the vote switched from strike to acceptance was the only major plant to change its position.

As we go to press, everything now rests on Longbridge, where the decision was taken to hold a shop shop stewards meeting on Friday and delay the meeting until Tuesday of this week.

But on Friday morning it became clear that there was a danger of a major betrayal.

The Communist Partycontrolled Longbridge works committee recommended to the shop stewards that the 6.8% offer be accepted.

They were however voted down by the stewards who decided to recommend strike action to the mass meeti ng on Tuesday.

Top level

Clearly what is involve 1 is a level decision of the Comnist Party to join wit 1 the it wing and attempt to sabo*Parts and Service workers are to be hit with a call for at least 50 staff and 16 manual jobs to be cut.

*Together with other parts of the business, something like 350 Jobs are threatened across the site.

In addition to this there will be an enforced two-week shutdown at Christmas and most manual workers will be on a four-day week in January. The bulk of the electrical business will go on a three-day week in February.

In the first stage the company is asking for volunteers where they want to get rid of people. Those who may be tempted to take the money and run should first ask themselves where the next job is coming from.

As the crisis bites deeper more and more firms are either cutting back or closing dówn altogether.

Recently major local employers such as AEC, BL's plant at Park Royal and Firestones have closed, throwing thousands out of work.

Even the government's own figures indicate that unemployment will soon be 3 milliononly a fool would willingly join them.

The work should be shared and the workers should receive full pay whether that comes from the company or the government. All this should be under the control of the shop stewards and not the manageLEAGUE Christmas Bazaar Cowley Community Centre, Oxford SATURDAY 29 NOVEMBER 12 noon to 4 p.m.

Cakes - Gifts - Books Raffle - Bottles tage the strike movement decisive stage..

Last Saturday's Daily Mirror summed up the situation with great clarity:

"Full time officials will be working overtime this weekend to prevent the strike taking place."

They should perhaps have said full time officials and the Communist Party.

Today's (Monday's) Financial Times speculates that Longbridge convenor Jack Adams will put the position of the CP and not that of the shop stewards committee at tomorrow's mass meeting.

Duffy at the same time has piled more pressure on the meeting with public statements urging AUEW members to continue working whatever the majority vote, and declaring that whatever happened he would not make a strike official.

Tonight, therefore, Thatcher waits to know if she will face an all out battle with BL workers.

a vote for acceptance of the 6.8% she could be spared a con-. frontation which her government may not survive. ment.

Redundancies affect not only those that go but also those that stay. As jobs and hours are cut, management is forced to impose speed-up and increased flexibility in order to maintain the level of production.

This is already the case in companies like Ford and BL.

Sections must adopt the policy of not covering for those who leave and are not replaced and must avoid doing five days' work in three or lour days.

Despite the gravity of the situation, the stewards seem to have had little, if any, discussion of the policies needed to save the The JC must be a fighting body not just a channel through which management pass information to their employees.

Links must be made between the manual and staff unions in the plant to defend jobs. Links must also be made with the unions in other Lucas Factory which is due to close in March with the loss of 900 jobs.

At least one section has voted not to accept redundancies and to adopt a no cover policy. This example must be taken up on the shop floor and in the offices throughout the site. Any section taking action must get the full support of every other worker on the site.

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Seamen fight sell-out

If Adams does put the works committee policy and obtain