Buses Official Is Voted Down

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Jack Green, IGWU Regional Secretary for Passenger Transport was week.

Workers were incensed when he informed a mass meeting of Sheffield bus crews that he had gone over their heads to sign an agreement with South Yorkshire buses accepting a 10% wage increase.

Green informed the bus crews that despite a 2 to 1 vote for a ballot vote to reject the 10% he was bound to sign the agreement because the balance of votes in the District had gone in favour.

These votes included Rotherham and Doncaster garages who had earlier called off industrial action in the wage claim-against the decision of the stewards' committee.

Having done nothing to win the claim and fearing that Sheffield's example would encourage other bus crews to take action on their claims (West Yorkshire has rejected the 10% deal but is yet to decide what action to take) Green was forced to resort to this wretched manoeuvre to try to break the strike action.

But Green's appearance at the mass meeting only reinforced determination to continue with the claim.

Sheffield busmen had already decided they would not accept a district-wide ballot and the mass meeting voted unanimously to reject the management offer and continue with the weekly one-day lightning strikes.

Highlight

These moves highlight the need for the 12-month rule to be broken and for nationally co-ordinated strike action to break the 10% limit.

The full time officials have shown that this is the last thing they want. Clearly they must now look for ways to enforce their decision onto Sheffield busmen.

Co-ordination

Support for the stand taken by the TGWU 9/10 Branch is urgently needed. The shop stewards must take steps to contact other bus branches across the country, both to gain support against the union officials and to disCUsS what action other branches are taking on wages.

At the TGWU National Passenger Transport Trade Group committee meeting this month, the fight must be taken up for the breaking of the 12-month rule and the co-ordination of national strike action to regain and defend living standards.

Jones TGWU General Secretary Jack Jones last week announced a 14% pay increase to the union's army of 450 appointed full time officials.

That these reactionaries should receive an increase at all must have outraged thousands of TGWU members.

That they should break through the 10% limit they are so jealously preserving for everyone else makes it even more galling.

But to cap it all, the pretext Jones used for the settlement was that a "productivity deal had been done. Watch out for even more, even bigger, and even faster sell-outs in TGWU disputes!

Party-led shop stewards at Govan shipyards today voted to scab on Swan Hunter outfitters by refusing to black work on the withdrawn British cargo vessel order. Swan Hunter shipyard

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greeted with shouts of 'scab' and 'go home' last