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3,000 angry toolmakers gave Scanlon bird' in March.

In a period where the TUC determine Scanlon's successor as leaders are straining every President give workers an oppormuscle to impose a further tunity to deal a blow at the period of wage controls on their tréacherous AUEW leadership members, and see themselves he didates sing Grunwick p4: Fighting Fast im pp6-7; Roots of CP split p8: Cuba p3 Reg Birc PHOTO: Chris Davies, Report Hugh Scanlon Bob Wright The bosses' charter signed by AUEW Executive member Reg Birch late last Saturday night to settle the Beaverbrook print dispute marked the end of a week of far reaching betrayals by the AUEW leadership.

*Last Wednesday union President Hugh Scanlon forced through the stage-managed TUC vote to back the 12-month rule on pay-in direct opposition to the policy of the AUEW National Conference and even to the AUEW delegation at the conference who voted by 21 votes to two abstentions against *Last week was week 18 of the recognition dispute at Desoutters in North Londonand the 18th week in which the Executive has refused to implement national blacking of Desoutter products or increase the £9 a week strike pay for the 80 workers involved.

*During the week a shameful situation was allowed to develop in the printing industry where AUEW members in Manchester were allowed to do the work of London members on strike, presenting the possibility of strike-breaking in all future disputes.

The Beaverbrook deal-which brought an end to a week-long strike that hit London production of the Sunday Express, Daily Express and Evening Standard, concedes nearly everything demanded by Beaverbrook management.

ALL-ROUND It paves the way for an all-round attack on union rights, manning levels and working conditions throughout Fleet Street and the print industry as a whole.

Managing director Jocelyn Stevens was delighted:

"Our engineers now have the least privileged chapel in Fleet Street in terms of the rigidity of the conditions they have to abide by."

"Officials of the Newspaper Publishers Association are blank faced with amazement that the AUEW agreed to sign the terms."

He said that the Express engineers had been forced into the deal because they "did not have support" from Manchester workers, they were under "incredible pressure" from other staff in the London office and under "extraordinary pressure" from the AUEW executive.

All this proves that the strikers were not defeated by Beaverbrook-they were consciously betrayed by the AUEW leadership.

It was Birch and the AUEW executive that refused to call out engineers at the Express Manchester office, and instead allowed Manchester AUEW members to assist management in doubling their print run in a bid to break the strike.

SCABBING

This left an opening for the right wing print union leaders to allow their members to take part in this organised scabbing operation.

Birch, a Maoist, yesterday admitted that he had been afraid of the Express dispute spreading to the rest of Fleet Streetand had been primarily concerned to "get the men back to work as soon as possible."

So while Beaverbrook management publicly announced all-out war on the AUEW in particular and the rights and conditions of the print unions in general, Birch and the AUEW leaders were desperate not to win the dispute but simply for some pretext to end it before other workers could come to the aid of the strikers.

NO BLACKING At Desoutters the AUEW executive has not only failed to institute national blacking on a straight unionisation struggle (meaning that AUEW members in industry all over the country are receiving, using and maintaining the tools produced by scabs in the London factory) but it has taken 18 weeks for the local District Committee to even think of an area financial levy.

All this takes place in conditions where the Desoutters senior steward has been sacked and where the company will not grant union recognition.

If the AUEW's vote on the 12-month rule had gone in line with union policy AUEW opposition would have carried other votes with it and would at least have ensured an unworkable majority for the 12-month rule.

So Scanlon's autocratic ruling means that the whole weight of the TUC will be used against workers fighting to defend their living standards.

This kind of ruling was famous in the days of right wing leader Bill Carron and the fact that Scanlon (who used to denounce it) uses the method shows that it comes out of the perspective of class compromise. committed EO assisting employers each maustry to force in speed-up and rationalisation measures, union officials fear nothing so much as the full-scale mobilisation of the working class.

This is the political reality behind the UPW refusal to implement postal blacking on Grunwick; it is why the AUEW will not issue instructions for national blacking action on Desoutters; and it is the reason that officials whether 'left' or right wing see the slightest show of militancy by workers as threat to their privileged positions.

Scanlon in particular has bitter memories of the humiliating defeat inflicted upon him only a few months ago by a mass meeting of Leyland toolmakers-while Birch suffered repeated setbacks in his struggle to end the Heathrow maintenance engineers' strike.

REAL STRENGTH

These officials know that when workers sense their real strength then they also begin to sense at the same time the need for a new leadership prepared to mobilise all-out action against the employer and against the reactionary policies of the wage-cutting Lib-Lab coalition government.

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•12• month rule •Fleet St. betray: • Still no blacking Desoutter goods