'dustrial Ne Nuj Kettering Lockout

Scan page 10

Journalists at Kettering who voted to end a 12-week strike three weeks ago are still out on the streets-locked out by the management and deserted by their union officials.

About 70 journalists in Kettering and Wellingborough from the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph came out on strike in December over a claim for an improved house agreement on a number of fringe benefits and conditions.

FORECAST

The strike had been long forecast. The claim had run the full gamut of the long drawn out disputes procedure-a device that is designed to wear out chapels (office branches) before any real struggle begins.

Last summer after a major witch-hunt had started in the National Press and on television, the East Midlands Allied Press chapel decided by one vote not to strike over a claim to have their 100% membership formally agreed in a closed shop agreement.

This climb down had made the EMAP management determined to break the chapel by imposing an all out defeat over its claim.

After 12 weeks on strike the claim was referred to the Printing Industries Committee of the TUC, chaired by Owen O'Brien, General Secretary of NATSOPA.

Ken Morgan, General Secretary of the National Union of Journalists has a mission in life -to get out of the union before his members throw him out.

Morgan's timing, in moving to a full time job with the Press Counci in August will not save him from the annual conference, in April, where 19 branches have tabled motions against the social contract and only one has supported it.

It will however allow him to sabotage any NUJ action between now and August without worry for his future security.

The disputes at BBC Radio Sheffield and at Kettering '(see below) have illustrated the way in which he has sought to isolate groups of workers in struggle.

His manoeuvres on the closed shop issue-with the support of Michael Foot-ensured that struggles were kept to a minimum.

Ba his finest bour must surely be is somplete abandonment of Age ==i Hosenball to their fate.

5zie the confirmation of the depc-six=s branches have not routined a single message from The chapel demanded that if their claim was not met, other EMAP chapels should be called out in support.

They had addressed a number of chese chapels about the dispute and their assessment was that, despite vigorous opposition by the right wing, the chapels would respond.

The meeting opened with O'Brien reading out telegrammes declaring that other chapels would not support, and saying that sympathy strike action was out of the question. (This was exactly the method that the NEC of the NUJ had used over the Radio Sheffield strike, where the chapel was ordered back to work with nothing gained, after right wingers sent a stream of telegrammes).

The chapel was told that if they did not accept a slightly improved offer from the management all support would be withdrawn.

Unanimously the chapel voted to return to work. The major gains were that the agreement could be reviewed annually, instead of in three years time, as the management had insiste be revised and that expenses would quarterly.

"It wasn't everything we hoped for but it was something" • one chapel member said.

During the strike nine members had declared themselves to be leaving the NUJ and joining the Institute of Journalists-which has the proud record of never having failed to scab on any NUJ dispute ing to the Home Secretary, kees, not to act against two NUJ members for receiving secret information was sent to Chapels, not by Morgan, but by the union President Rosaline Kelly.

In the absence of a trade union struggle-which should be led by the NUJ-against CIA ordered deportations and M16 ordered arrests, the Agee-Hosenball Detence Committee reduced to impotence.

The latest demonstration ten days ago in London was supported by no more than 500 people and was not addressed by a single member of the NUJ Executive.

In a self-indulgent display the demonstration strolled round London, addressed an empty office block-the Headquarters of M16burned a copy of the Official Secrets Act, and accused a film training crew of being CIA agents.

No policies were proposed and indeed without a labour movement lead, no policies are possible. Agee and Hosenball will go unless the NUJ calls strike action against their deportation and for support from other unions.

Morgan has refused to offer any lead on this or on any other issue.

--lean where it has members.

NUJ rules state that no can resign during a dispute The chapel said that if the nine showed up in the office and tried to work they would go into mandatory meetings.

The management responded by cutting off their phones and ordering them out of the building.

When they turned up for. work the following day the doors had been locked.

The chapel is now demanding that strike pay of £25 a week be increased to £40-since they are now locked out; that other chapels in EMAP be called out; and that the TUC Printing Industry Committee be reconvened.

The role of Ken Morgan, General Secretary of the NUJ, has been to weaken every action the chapel try to take.

He postponed a sympathy strike call for seven days to aliow the right wing time to organise, he exempted production of Motorcycle News and the New Musical Express (both produced at Kettering) from the action, and he allowed the editor, Ron Hunt-an NUJ member-to scab to such an extent that he turns out a daily paper on his own.

Chapel members say they are taking part in "the forgotten strike". Morgan's inaction is designed to ensure it remains forgotten.

The Agee-Hosenball defence demonstration him has not yet been published. It is likely to include four right wingers, including Ken Ashton, former Deputy General Secretary.

The crucial question is what kind of campaign the left will run. Journalists Charter-which dominated by the SWP-is already flirting with support for Mike Bower from Sheffield, a Labour "left'.

OPPOSED

Bower has spoken against supporting chapels which challenge the social contract and has consistently confined the closed shop issue to an 'industrial' issue in support of wages-rejecting its role as a challenge to capitalist control of the Press.

The struggle in the NUJ is not for a 'left' face in the leadership but a principled fight on policies which will show militants a way forward.

Clearly on the single transferable vote used in the ballot Bower would be a second choice for Trotskyists.

But a candidate must be found who will fight on a programme for defence of wages and jobs and for a ban on technology being used to increase the rate of exploitation. seen the errors of their ways" -so said NATSOPA General Secretary, Owen O'Brien, after bludgeoning striking printers at "The Times' back to work.

His action in declaring 120 machine workers' union membership 'null and void' had certainly done the trick.

Faced • with the threat of permanent unemployment the strikers went back to their jobs.

The Times resumed publication after a gap of five days and disruption that had lasted three weeks.

But the print workers' claim for more money to clean the presses or more workers taken on to do the job, is still on the table. Talks are due this week.

CRISIS

It is a measure of the crisis in which union bureaucrats find themselves that O'Brien was forced all the way to expulsion.

The role of the trade union leadership in policing wage cuts and speed up for its members must inevitably lead to attacks of this nature on a group of workers almost 100% united in their action.

Only twelve out of 120 had (up to the time of expulsion) voted to end their dispute.

They pulled back because NATSOPA not only has the power over the union cards but in Fleet Street it hands out the jobs as well.

Expelled from the union these workers would have been out of the industry for good. But support from other NATSOPA chapels could have been gained.

REPUDIATED

The Observer chapel repudiated a statement in their paper saying that the Times workers had been "There was no collapse of morale of the Times NATSOPA chapel, which was in our opinion a lock out and not a strike"

[The NATSOPA clerical chapel at the Times even refused to type out the dismissal notices to the men. This kind of support would have emerged rapidly throughout the country i The Times in its own editorial-a straight statement of the management position-analysed the role of O'Brien correctly.

"The dispute then brought into question the authority of the NATSOPA executive, who voted unanimously to give an instruction to the chapel. The union leaders, who behaved with considerable determination, resolved to assert the authority of the union and of the union's rules."

CAMPAIGN FOR DEMOCRACY IN THE LABOUR MOVEMENT Public Meeting "Support the Toolmakers"

Tuesday 22nd March at 8.00 East Oxford Community Contre rowler Road BRANCH GIDS DOUNCIL "TH The rule referred to by the Times is the catch-all declaring that the executive can expel any member who 'brings the union into disrepute' UNDEMOCRATIC As in so many other cases the union bureaucrats are forced into openly undemocratic attacks to stamp out struggles by their members.

The Times is converted to powerful ally of the trade union leaders.

"No union can negotiate effectively with management if its members engage in repeated unofficial action. Unless the unions are able to control and prevent unofficial stoppages they have little to offer management. If there are going to be strikes anyway, the strike threat loses much of its force"

Linking this strike to the Social Contract the Times states that incomes policies "put at risk the future of the trade unions"

TRIUMPH

Whereas O'Brien sees his butchery as a triumph for the union executive the Times sees that the working class itself is ready to fight whether authorised to do so by their so-called leaders or not.

What the Times can see and O'Brien cannot is that the NATSOPA dispute has brought nearer the total collapse of control by the TUC over the working class.

"It is one of the drawbacks of incomes policy, and particularly of a voluntary incomes policy, that it makes the leadership of trade unions responsible for the control of incomes rather than for raising the incomes of their members.

"The trade union leadreship comes to be in the position the boss has always occupied; that of the man who has the responsibility to say no. This gives an opportunity to militant sub-groups in the unions to attack the authority of the union leadership. It must be doubtful whether the trade unions can manage a third year of incomes policy in anything like its present form"

COURAGE

The NATSOPA chapel are still technically pursuing their claim. If they are to win it the members there must take their courage in both hands and defy their executive.

The strength of support in other NATSOPA chapels and throughout Fleet Street would show whose expulsion is really in order-Owen O'Brien and his executive of strike breakers.

PORT STRIKE

THERE WILL BE A complete shutdown of British ports on Monday 21st March. This is due to a one-day strike called by national dockers leaders in protest against the proposed axing of 2,000 jobs through the closing of local-authority owned Preston docks.

----- pull-quotes -----

MISEE+HOSE MISTS

Print "I am satisfied they have