Now Yorkshire Falls to Num Sell-out

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Lined to confront e struggle, councils of action ., tongside the firemen. dent strength. ion of miners to reject wing From 'Socialist Press' of November 9, 1977 A picket opposing the threatened closure of Eltham and Mottingham Hospital in South East London the tories # they do not want be strengthen an OWIl ряу class to orious working class. It MINERS: WATCH YOUR 115, ths. who LEADERS!

action on the £135 pay claim.

runs out next Spring. * know, at to mould. they in theit iate confrontation with the •ly just pay policy and the Lib-Lat Fi. off Such delaying tactics must be rejected by miners. The 12-month rule must After the clear docis- broken-and soon as the NCB rejects the the productivity deal pro- £135 claim. has red he co allot posed by the NCB and rignt wing now have no the NUM Executive, the eary blowats, pro suctiity ncy on wages. choice but to delay deals.

The 63% vote by Yorkshire miners to reverse their principled opposition to incentive schemes is the outcome of two months of evasion and procrastination by Arthur Scargill and by Stalinist leaders in Scotland, Kent and other areas.

1, Report • PHOTO: Andrew Wiard is that it sets out to teachin that has been lost aver the past three years of control.

But its weakness is that it contains no demand for a cost living clause to Protect against coming inflaWhile Yorks President Arthur Scargill campaigned rongly against the producvity deal, miners must be on their guard.

After several mobilisations over the summer, Scargill conspicuously produced no miners Monday's Grunwick picket.

And there is no evidence that he will fight for immerFi actor ans the No compromise on the {135! Break the 12-month rule!

tivity scheme could only be fought by an all-out battle to force action on the miners' £135 pay claim, due to be settled on November 1.

We showed the way in which the right wing and employers saw the incentive plan as an alternative to the conference policy on pay.

And we stressed that the rejection of the scheme in the NUM national ballot was a CROW ür clear mandate for Scargill and those who were opposed to Socialist Press has warned throughout that the producsuch deals to demand immediate action on basic wages, in defiance of the 12-month rule and the 10% policy.

This would have mobilised the miners alongside the firemen in a struggle that would have given a lead to the entire working class and destroyed wage controls once and for all.

Backed off

But Scargill and the Stalinists immediately backed off. They failed to call for a ballot on strike action for the pay claim, despite clear challenge from right winger Len Clarke for them to do so.

Instead Stalinist Mick McGahey put his signature to call for increased productivity-with no pay increase!

Meanwhile the right wing was stepping up its own campaign for local incentive schemes in complete defiance of both conference policy and the national ballot.

For the right wing local schemes have the additional advantage of weakening and dividing the membershipmaking a single agreed wage claim more difficult, and enabling right wing areas to threaten to break the unity of the NUM itself.

At its December 8 meeting the Executive flouted every aspect of union democracy when it gave the go-ahead to local productivity deals and upheld the TUC's 12 month rule while going through the motions of lodging the £135 pay claim. JONA But even in the pay claim itself were calls for changes in the pay structure that could result in proposals to end annual wage bargaining and impose US-style three year contracts.

Yet still Scargill and the Stalinists sat on their hands, refusing to give a lead on wages, and leaving the whole initiative to the right wing.

Instead of laying plans for strike action on the £135 claim in those areas that rejected incentives schemes, and rallying miners to action against the dictatorial actions DE LET THE of the right wing bureau‹ ats, Scargill and the Stalinist! put the whole affair into the hands of lawyers and the bourgeois courts.

Ludicrous

This abandonment of the independence of the NUM from the state was combined with ludicrous talk of strike action to win pay equal to areas operating incentives schemes-an obviously unachievable demand.

As it turned out. the court hearings proved a classical example of bourgeois "justice" in operation-with the iudge openly declaring the bias in favour of national . interest" and increased productivity the coalfields.

No action Scargill and the Stalinists emerged puffing and blowing and denouncing the courtsbut still calling no action on wages. A few days later both the Scottish, and Kent areas of the NUM had reversed their position and agreed to negotiate incentive schemes.

Scargill's area-the biggest in the union-was left to carry on the resistance under massive opposition.

All over the country miners were being publicised collecting extra money under the new schemes, while in Yorkshire nothing was offered as a perspective other than the dim hope of a future fight for the £135 claim.

Area ballot

Scenting final defeatthough still blaming everyone but himself-Scargill organised an area ballot on an incentive scheme, and backed away from any campaign fo rejection.

Yorkshire miners. embittered at endless talk divorced from action and divorced from cash in the pay packet, reluctantly swung from 76% against to 63% in favour of incentives.

Major blow

In the meantime the

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They cellings unto hold miners Pain 5, 2 settlement d. openly PHOTO: Andrew

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SAVE ELTHAM & PHOTO: Laurence Sparham, IFL

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