[Extreme right wing leader of the Electrical and…]
Socialist Press1977 1977-11-23Read it in the scan (PDF), scan page 10 →
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Extreme right wing leader of the Electrical and Mumbing Trades Union as hit the headlines on he eve of the union ponference with an astonthing 'left" speech.
He warned the government not to attempt to intervene io uphold the 10% pay policy rhen negotiations begin for doc EEPTU's 50,000 sembers in the electricity pply industry.
Credulity
The speech rang rather sollow when contrasted with Chapple's attempts to end sofficial action by power porkers last month.
He claimed however that this was so as not to allow these workers to prejudice actics for the main pay talks.
But Chappie stretched predulity to arm's length hen he declared that, although he was loyal Labour government:
"My first loyalty is to the people who pay my wages".
Disbanded
Particularly outraged by this statement must have been members of the 3,000 strong Cardiff EEPTU branch, which was disbanded by the right wing Executive only weeks before the Blackpool conference.
The conference was the six yearly, rules revision conference, and the Cardiff branch was due to send a strong left wing delegation to fight for democratisation of the 450,000 strong union which is entirely dominated by right wing officials.
Head off
Meanwhile the EEPTU bureaucrats have moved in with a bid to head off the determined strike by 5,000 lift engineers that has paraChapple lysed lifts in office blocks flats all over the country.
The strike has belatedly been declared official. Within days of this announcement there are signs that the whole case could be referred to ACAS.
ACAS specialise in shrewdly worded sell-outs tailored to delight employers and union officials and to confuse workers.
The lift men must remain on their guard.
And a new leadership must be built within the EEPTU in struggle against the bureaucratic dictatorship of Chapple and the union Executive.
Skilled workers at British Leyland, including tool. makers and electricians have set up a joint committee which they hope will obtain separate negotiating rights within the new corporate structure.