Yes! Scarman Does Mean Sackings

Scan page 5

Confusion sown by the Scarman Inquiry into the Grunwick strike has found its way into the heart of the strike committee itself.

The strikers travelled to Blackpool last week rightly determined to confront the meaningless motion on a 'boycott' with which the TUC was attempting to cover its nakedness.

But the leaflet that the strikers were handing out had a fundamental weakness in fighting for the blacking and mass picketing necessary to win the strike-it based its case upon the recommendations of the Scarman report.

There were eight lengthy quotes from Scarman. Written in capital letters underneath was: "Scarman recommended reinstatement, immediate limited recognition and the establishment of collective bargaining in Grunwick."

Yet throughout the whole of the report Scarman and his two cronies —Pat Lowry and Terry Parry launched a bitter attack on the trade union movement, preached the doctrine of class collaboration and opened the way for sackings to be accepted and hopes of trade union recognition to be banished.

The tribunal has also ant i-picketing laws.

NO But it is easy to see how the confusion has come about. Almost every left group has failed to recognise the political significance of the scarman report, and Jack Dromey, their advisor trom Brent Trades Council has been insistent that the Scarman report does provide some basis for negotiations.

Socialist Challenge on 7 September said: "He (Ward) has defied the Scarman report and refused to reinstate the dismissed strikers."

Socialist Worker on 3 September said: "The Scarman report on Grunwicks supports the strikers demand for reinstatement."

Young Socialist (the youth paper of the WRP) said: 'The inquiry into the dispute headed by Lord Justice Scarman decided in favour of the strikers."

BASIS FOR TALKS

In a long piece on Scarman in the Morning Star on September 1, Dromey makes many points against Parry the report. But he sweeps those doubts aside by accepting it as a basis for talks.

"On the facts, he [Scarman] finds predominantly in favour of the union ... The findings which are again broadly in favour of the union, provide a basis for a negotiated settlement but leave Grunwick tremendous scope for manoeuvre and delay.

The new John Radcliffe hospital executive are arguing over whether to accept a redundancy level of one in five or one in six!

NUPE has said it will oppose the cuts but despite the fact that the menace grows daily closer, NUPE leaders have not yet said how they will fight.

The local Health Service branch ot ASTMS has told the AHA ine: will strike if the proposals are co:

COPS: branch has calied à one day sinne to lobby the AHA meeting on October 4, demanding the withdrawal of the proposals.

FURTHER ACTION

COHSE has declared it will take further industrial action after that date if the proposals are not withdrawn.

Oniy strike action wil defend the NHS from its massacte started by the Lib-Lab government and being enthusiastically carried out by the AHA's.

Sympathetic action must be called by non-NHS union branches and national backing must he given *y the earlie secto? unions L: A09E -ar "The finding on reinstatement is very welcome. Scarman disregards the company's argument that the hostility of those still at work would make reinstatement impossible."

This position is incompatible with an all out defence of all the workers jobs.

The main tenor of the Scarman report is to attack any "extremism" in defence of the strikers.

It goes further and calls for new laws to control or ban mass pickets: "We do welcome your (ie Albert Booth, Minister of Employment] announcement in an answer to the House of Commons on 12 July that the government has under the law relating to picketing, › review The tribunal also condemns blacking-the only policy which can win the strike.

From the beginning Socialist Press called for a boycott of the inquiry.

The reason is evident from the record of the panel, all three of whom have proved their allegiance to the ruling class with previous witchhunts.

Scarman headed the inquiry into Red Lion square, which ghte of the Area and Regional Health Authorities and the DHSS to enable the true situation within the NHS to be assessed by elected trade union committees.

The funds required to regain our health service can be found by the the drug ndustries and suppers without Mattered increasing with intlation to enable a real growth and not a continuous sliding back of the service. condemned anti-fascists and whitewashed the police. Pat Lowry. industrial relations manager for Leyland cars was responsible for the witch hunt in 1974 on Alan Thornett at the Cowley car factory.

Terry Parry, the union repres entative-(like Scarman, an OBE. chaired this year's annual conference of trades councils on behalf of the TUC and threatened to close the conference unless a motion against the Social Contract was withdrawn, without being discussed.

Parry is a member of the Executive Council of the TUC-he speaks for the TUC and he has endorsed everything the report says.

The terms of reference give him the right to produce a minority report. He has not done so.

The proposals entirely justify our call for a boycott of the court of inquiry. Throughout the report Ward and the rest of the management is treated with deferential respect.

George Ward ... is sincere in his beliefs and has shown himself an enterprising and successful businessman... the company ... has made a fine start ... firms such Grunwick by providing them with work, perform a useful function."

RECOMMENDATION

It is however on the central vital question of recognition that the Scarman report shows itself to have absolutely nothing for the strikers.

The report says: "Ideally in our view Grunwick should therefore offer reeployment to all those strikers who before the #pwere full time employees 1=: company and who wish i: :: taken back.

"It is our recommendation that this should be done if it be at al practicable. We recognise however that the nature of the company's business is such that the necessar: number of vacancies may not now exist, although it seems to us tha: a seasonal business dependent on overtime must have at least some vacancies."

This position-and the refusal of Scarman to recommend collective union recognition (which was the union's aim) makes it impossible to use it as a starting point for anything but a sell-out.

It is not possible to select from the report-as all the left forces have done-those passages which favour the strikers and ignore the rest.

No-one who stands for full reinstatement of the strikers and for union recognition, who stands against attacks on trade union militants and those who practice solidarity blacking can have a single good word for the report.

Selective reinstatement wou.: leave every militant outside i== gates, while inside the 0:: -members would have ne-cr represert them.

NOTHING Ins ILC wil now 13 " hatsoever for the strikers. The secret g.a. secret because it costars to win the dispute ani every action which stands of doing so.

The war' they :.= declared is the same 'swar in which the TGW:

its members in the ::::

strikes against THF The strike comn.:

reject the advice of :..== to ride both horses at :..= possible to argue i:

for full reinstatemer:

Stakers mu