Miners Show the Way

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"participation" by TGWU and management in British Leyland at Cowley had led Cowiey stewards to agree to the withdrawal of work from the EPS factory, resulting in 250 redundancies.

1200 TO 600 Another 350 jobs in the same factory had been lost when similar steps were agreed to by trade union leaders in Chrysler factories in coventry. In the course ol a yeal lis membership had shrunk from 1200 to 600.

Oxford delegate Tim O'Sullivan backed up Carty's argument, and stressed that the terms of the Ryder "participation" scheme in Leyland are quite specific.

"It says the Company will run affairs and make the final decisions. So how can you participate?" he asked.

A similar view was taken by Bob Stoker froin Huddersfield.

"I reject any participation in the management of private industry under capitalism. We haven't got socialism. We are still fighting capitalism."

"Participation means a man wears two hats: one with mangement, and one with the stewards" he pointed out.

But the mood of the conference was more sympathetic to a veteran wearer of two hats, deputy convenor of Leyland's Cowley Body Plant, Alec Morton J.P.

"You can say "no' under particiAlec Morton J.P. change all this.

"Maybe heads will roll." he went on, "but you can't have power without responsibility"

This was turned around by a Liverpool delegate, who shrewdly pointed out that Bullock offered The Executive composite was overwhelmingly carried, with the memorable assurance trom Moss Evans that:

"We want no truck all with emasculated Bullock."

The £135 a week claim to be lodged for November that emerged from the NUM Conference must set the tone for the entire working class.

The demand is not excessive. Two years ago even right wingers voted for a toothless resolution calling on the union to 'seek' a figure of £100 a week.

The right wing majority on Executive of course inter| this resolution as a chart accept the pathetic £6 "flat under Phase 1 of Healey's control of wages.

PHASE

reted r to rate" state And last year the Executive narrowly forced through a ballot decision on a deceptively worded ballot paper which it used to give backing to Phase 2.

The upshot is that miners still receive only a basic of £7l. Meanwhile inflation and taxation mean that the £100 claim of two years ago must be upped to a £135 claim now.

But of course the right wing who were prepared to advoate this figure at the conference did so on the basis that they would make up at least f20 of the figure by trading increased productivity.

This was one reason for the resolution again using the infamous words "seek to achieve"

PRINCIPLED

For this reason the most important setback to the right wing plans to scuttle the £135 claim was when the NUM Conference voted for a principled rejection of these speed-up proposals, which mould trade a four naunde in Fach of these decisions show the direction all workers must take if living standards are to be brought back up to the levels that existed prior to the Social Contract.

A Northumberland miners' resolution calling for increases to be linked to inflation through a threshold agreement also shows a growing awareness among miners that even a 90% wage increase can be rapidly eroded by the employers stoking up price increases.

The fight must now be pressed for:

*The full £135 claim.

*No productivity strings.

* A sliding scale of wages pensate for inflation.

PAMPHLETS

Toolroom Strike and ght to end Wage Contr Price 25p plus 10p p&f How We Fight Youth Unemployment Price 10p plus 7p p&p Available from Folrose Books 1. Dartmouth Park Hil

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SOCIALIST PRESS, H'ednesdar 20 Juir, 197

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

trade unionists "responsibility but no power"