Tunnel Miners Fight TGWU Officialdom

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more surprising the staunch support Leyland policy is receiving from the self-styled 'revolutionaries' of the Militant Group.

This group regard corporate tawards the unity" ot the workinp bargaining as an class.

The position of the Militant group on this is argued at some length in an article by Rover convenor Bob Ashworth in the •Militant' of August 12th, entitled 'Unity for One Claim".

MANAGEMENT

In many ways the article articulates management policy more clearly than official company spokesman.

Certainly it makes a significant contribution to British Leyland's campaign to force in corporate sargaining.

Many formulations used in Ashworths article could have been #ted straight out of standard management propaganda material.

Ashworth tells us, for example. about the collaborationist working Farty of convenors set up this year to open the door for management:

•The working party of convenors and national officials was set-up following the toolmakers dispute to i and bring order into the inarchic state of Leyland regotiations!

'ANARCHY'

Ashworth goes on to attack acentives. He does so however not irom the principled position (that incentive schemes cause mamployment) but from the postion that: 'We (?) have ended the anarchy of piecework' and ation dispute involving tunnel miners in struggle with ump' employers.

TGWU officials are once again at the centre of attempts to sell out a section of their members engaged in struggle over union organisation.

Yet this is not an easy job for union officials face to face with the determination and experience of these workers who have spent the last three years building up their own national branch against the combined hostility of TGWU headquarters and building contractors.

NOTORIOUS

lhe present dispute has been precipitated by the notorious lump employer, J. Murphy of Highbury Corner, North London.

Whereas other contractors. particularly in sites north of London, eg, Leicester, Preston, nave given in to the tunnellers demand to Employ members off their list, Murphy has been put up as the one to break the arrangement.

In response to this the tunnellers branch called out all their members and stopped 39 sites throughout the country.

They have been picketing the Finsbury Park site. and even sat in the hole for 48 hours. office against an employer who is said to donate a large amount of money to the TGWU every year.

Especially annoying for him is the fact that these workers, with good reason, hate and distrust all full-time TGWU officials, particularly Regional Secretaries.

They have attempted to by-pass them through organising themselves nationally and not being accountable to regions; and of paying their own full timer, Pat Duffy.

Todd has tried to portray things as an inter-union dispute and maintains that TGWU members are digging the tunnel but are just not members of the tunnelers branch.

He made an ostentatious visit last Thursday morning to inspect the cards of the scabs and to everyone's amazement five scabs produced GMWU cards-although they had hotly maintained up till then that they were TGWU members!

Todd then had a discussion with Murphy and his solicitor later in the day at Transport House, although Murphy maintains he has nothing to do with hiring the Pat Dutty 1s not recognised by the TGWU and was refused admittance but the branch committee later met officials Todd and Kavanagh.

These officials stressed that they STRIKE NGER GUARD 0043 PATROL REA TGW UNION TINNEL MINERS NAMES with the Employers' Federation a closed shop.

Unfortunately they said the hundreds of pickets at Finsbury Park were "jeopardising"* this agreement. I: action could only be 211 w303 morning this line action.

Like workers.

Tunnellers pickets unfortunately swallowed and voted to suspend all other sections of the tunnellers have many woods seas com

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MAUDLING & BO age

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OFFICIAL STRIKE

© HALLORANG MURPHYSTND UVOTTHE WORKING