Heathrow Strike Leader Victimised

Scan page 11

Under pressure from both British Airways management and AUEW officials, Jack Gatsky, the senior steward who led the Heathrow engineers strike has now been victimised.

Gatsky was originally suspended and then sacked by the airline for comments he made about safety standards at British Airways after their fleet of Tridents were grounded for checks when cracks were discovered in the wings of some of the aircraft.

A masss meeting of engineers voted to strike unless he was reinstated.

But union officials eager avoid a strike pressured Gatsky into accepting management's conditions for reinstatement. These were that Catsky acknowledged his incompetence to comment on safety standards; that he would be suspended for four weeks without pay and that he would be moved from shift work to day work, thus losing his steward's position.

HASTILY

At a meeting of the shop stewards, which was so hastily convened that many of them did not even know about it. the full time officials led hy ALFW Regional Otticer (hollertor persuaded the stewards 1o calt or Jack Gatsky Gatsky subsequently had second thoughts and appealed against the suspension but was, of course, informed that he had accepted management's conditions and that the suspension stood.

The other steward facing disciplinary action, lan Morris, has now been suspended tor two weeks without pay for remarks he made after Gatsky was disciplined.

He is stil! working pending his More : gung that his conha date. of another steward and a reply to a political attack on members of the shop stewards' committee by the Chairman of British Airways and had nothing to do with the question of the airline's safety standards.

There is no doubt that this shoddy sell-out of Gatsky has weakened trade union organisation amongst the maintenance men who still have not received a penny of their shift pay claim over which they struck earlier this year.

The government has made it clear that the men will have to wait until January under the 12month rule and that even then they will only be able to receive an overall increase of 10%.

Only a fight by the maintenance men under a strong leadership against the 12-month rule and the government "guidelines" will ensure that the men receive not only their justified shift pay claim but also a substantial increase in pay under their annual review.

Due to a lack of space the article on left groups and co porate bargaining has been held over to a future issue.

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

PHOTO: John Sturrock, Report. Report. Johr PHOTO: