Steel Jobs in Danger

Scan page 10

The threat of sackings hangs Over 400 workers at the Works in Sheffield. Edgar Allen Balfour. Edgar, Allen formed when absorbed Balfour Darwins two years ago, has announced that it will close its Greenland Road factory in Sheffiek and transter production to Openshaw, in Manchester.

The reason offered by management is a projected El million loss next year. Most of this loss they attribute to the Balfour Darwins works in Sheffield.

This must come as no surprise as since the takeover investment has been drastically reduced and the sales force cut from 12 to 3 in a carefully planned attempt to manufacture reasons for closure.

Management's decision to close the works has already met with determined resistance from the mainly women workforce and with support from other Bagar Allen Balfour workers who will soon lace similar attacks.

The determination of the workforce, however, finds little rellec. tion in the policy of the steward& committee and Communist Party led AUEW District Committee.

At the mass meeting last Monday of all Edgar Allen Balfour's workers in Shetfield, the stewards committee confined itself to a call for district-wide blacking of Balfour Darwin's products.

The aim of this was to 'pressure' management into discussions on plans to "make the factory viable"

But the actions of management in closing the works is precisely designed to make the industry "viable", le. profitable, by the only means capitaliam knows - reducing the worktorce, speeding up production and closing factories.

By arguing for "viability", , the stewards committee are accepting management's terms and agreeing that profits must be boosted at the expense of the workers.

None of the jobs will be defenaea this way. Instead management's long laid plans to close the factory and the meaning of their arguments about 'viability must be exposed to the whole workforce by a light to open the books of the whole company.

Drawing in the other factories in the group, who Iace similat attacks, to exaimine the workings oi tne company in its drive to force extra profits out of its workforce, the basis must be laid for a fight to defend all the jobs by reducing the hours of work while maintaining full pay.

As a first step, workers committees must be elected to lead the fight to open the books and to prepare for the occupation ol the factory.

Only in this way can the correct decision to call District-wide blacking in support (endorsed by a Confed stewards' meeting the following day), be developed.

With thousands of jobs in Sheffield threatened by the recession in special steels mass support must be won for worksharing on full pay in defence of jobs.

There is no solution to be found in searching for alternatives to make the factory viable, the fight must be directed towards the nationalisation of the industry without compensation, not under the old state-appointed managers but under workers' management.