Nalgo Bows to Courts

Scan page 11

Sharp lessons both in the increasing court interference into the unions and the complete servility of the union bureaucracy must be drawn from the calling off last week of one-day strike of NALGO's 60,000 Scottish members following a "temporary injunction" granted to seven right wingers.

The strike call had gone out from the union's special conference in January to which a strong delegation from Scotland went specifically to argue for the strike to se an instruction, binding on all union members.

While clearly in itself insufficient to stop the massive attacks already underway against public sector workers in Scotland, the strike decision represented a considerable setback for the NALGO right wing, who opposed it bitterly, and indication of the willingness within the branches for an all-out fight for jobs and conditions.

And it was clearly the right wing Word Noosition on one less 'left' talkers, who ensured that as soon as the court decision was announced by Lord Cameron, telegrammes were rushed out to all Scottish branches, telling them to work normally.

NALGO thus joins the UPW After eleven weeks on strike the ignominious ranks of those whose leaders are prepared to subordinate the entire strength of the union to a handful of extreme right wingers and the courts.

NALGO members can be certain that if General Secretary Drain and his right wing pals back off even a protest action in the face of a court order, there is no prospect of them leading a serious struggle to stop the cuts, which must centre on the preparation of all-out indefinite strike action to force back the government plans.

But if the NALGO retreat is out in the open, there should be no illusions in the leadership of NUPE, ASTMS and other unions which proceeded with the one-day stoppage in Scotland last week.

While militants from those unions correctly howled at Drain, branding him as a 'scab' and a 'blackleg' for pulling out of the action, they would do well to remember that their own leaders ate equally opposed to sustained strike action to stop the cuts-and in the case of Fisher, open defenders of wage controls under the Social Contract.

The question of new leadership throughout the public sector unions must be confronted if the cuts are to be deteated. such a leadership must base itseli on uniting with all sections of the labour movement against the social contract, against the cuts, and for dales. remain a rising scale of state spending to protect public services against inflation.

And such a leadership will not shrink from mobilising the full strength of the unions against the interference of the courts. Until NALGO special Conference such a leadership emerges, 'temporary injunctions' and whole battery of legal restraints will be utilised by right wing extremists inside and outside the unions to frustrate the implementation of democratic decisions. IN BRIEF "SUGGESTIONS"

A special branch meeting of the GMWU (Nuneaton, called to discuss what attitude to take towards cleaners who had scabbed on a two day protest strike against the cuts mas honoured by the attendance of Ralph Jones. GWNT official.

Against a background of =aseme education cuts in Warwickshire i ser SPS4), Jones showed clear, stee he stood, saying:

"We're not going to stop the cuts and we've made some suggestions as to where they can be made in order to protect jobs"

Once again it is the union leaders who head off, discourage and where necessary sabotage spontaneous moves by workers to fight the cuts.

WORK TO A meeting of Warwickshire NALGO voted to implement a work to rule and ban on overtime (to start April 4th) as further steps in the fight against the cuts.

Among the actions decided on by the meeting were-work not to exceed 148 working hours in any four week period, blacking of any work started outside normal hours, refusing to carry out work connec ted with all posts temporarily or permanently vacant, and refusing to