Stalinists Scab on Tyneside Contract

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LOBBY DEC 21 SOCIALIST Send to: Socialist Press, 31, Dartmouth Park Hill And they went even further, demanding that the outfitters at Swan Hunter call off their 3-month old overtime ban which they had maintained despite government and employers' blackmailing threat of sackings.

Govan convenot,. veteran Stalinist James Airlie, in a statement reeking of national chauvinism, stated the stewards' determination that the Polish order should stay in this country come what The Govan stewards had themselves already agreed to accept the employers поstrike ultimatum as the basis Already the opportunists of the 'Militant' group and the self-styled "Trotskyists' of the I-CL are describing the strike in the past tense. This view must be rejected.

Mass lobby

Full day-time picketing of the Grunwick plant must be resumed. A mass lobby of the first TUC meeting in January must call on all those forces that supported earlier mass pickets to rally in demanding all supplies to Grunwick be cut off.

And every labour movement body in the country must be pressed to declare support for any section that takes unofficial blacking action to help win the Grunwicks strike. for receiving order.

So while verbally "deploring" the reallocation of the order during an industrial dispute the Govan stewards have declared that they stand firmly on the side of management against the pay struggle by Swan Hunter outfitters:

All this is done the name of Airlie's stated objective of proving that 'the British shipbuilding worker is second to none".

Yet, prior to the Govan decision, other shipyard decision, had registered their support for the outfitters'. firm rejection of the employers' 'viability' argument.

A 24-hour strike in support of the outfitters was staged at Haverton Hill yard on Teeside. And on Wearside the 2,500 workforce at Austin and Pickersgill in Sunderland rejected the company's no-strike demands.

"Blacklegging"

Wearside Confed. secretary Harry Wilkinson stated that to accept part of the Swan Hunter offer would be "blacklegging"

And at Smith's dock on Teeside the call for the Polish order to be blacked has been taken up by TASS draughtsmen who have refused to work on the plans even if they are released by Swan Hunter drawing offices.

Under these conditions the Stalinists and others at Govar have set the pace in national level scabbing on the Swan Hunter workforce.

Meanwhile the Tory Press is furious that its efforts to pile additional blackmailing pressure onto the outfitters issues issues issues Issues • (Over would like Name. .

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Socialist Press, 31, Dartmouth London NWS 1HR has resulted not in a collapse by the workers but in a highly publicised rebuff for British Shipbuilders' management and for the government.

The Sunday Times, for instance, is demanding the govenment explain why they failed to understand the importance of the outfitters' unofficial action; why they publicised the ultimatum; and why a gamble was taken on getting the Swans men back to work.

Tenacity

The answer is clearly that both employers and government underestimated the tenacity of the outfitters in their pay parity demands.

Their strength now offers a lead to the entire working class, and must be backed by principled supporting action in every shipyard.

Though we do not advocate parity claims, the outfitters' struggle is one of the ways workers are fighting the 10% pay policy.

Bosses' blackmail, threatening sackings or closures if attacks on conditions are not accepted must be rejected in every instance.

The Govan stewards' scandalous decision must be overthrown and the Swan Hunter order blacked in every dock.

And jobs on the Tyne and throughout British Shipbuilders must be defended through the demand for work sharing ior each trade without loss of pay-backed if necessary by shipyard occupations.

This way the government's blackmai can be turned against itself, and the interests of shipyard workers defended.

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