Which Way Forward?

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This interview with Grunwick Strike Gandhi was conducted early this month. As agree with all Brother Kamlesh says, and i call to action is needed from the Strike Cc assessment of the lessons of the dispute is of workers fighting for union rights.

JABENER LIFe Socialist Press (SP): Could you begin by giving an indication of the mood amongst the strikers at the moment? Kamlash Gandhi (KG): Well, at the moment the strikers are obviously very depressed -in fact, they're fed up with the present situation.

After 17 months out on strike, we feel that our hands have been tied-especially since the Scarman inquiry.

The mass pickets in November didn't secure us a victory, neither did the hunger strike outside the TUC headquarters.

Ever since then we haven't been able to take any action as a strike committee because of the restrictions put on us by APEX.

This is one of the reasons the members are frustrated. But another reason is that looking at the present situation we're in, you realise just how complicated it isit's difficult to know what to do.

So the present ation.

Restrictions

SP: What exactly have been the restrictions put on you by the APEX bureaucracy? KG: Since the hunger strike, we've been told that decisions can only be taken by the strike committee when an official from APEX is present.

We've been told that we can't have any more mass pickets, we can't have any more hunger strikes or any more demonstrations outside If we do any of these things-then we'll be suspended from the union and have our strike pay cut off.

Proposals

SP: What then have the APEX leaders attending your strike committee meetings had to propose?

KG: Well, essentially to work through ACAS. After the House of Lords verdict, it was realised that they'd have to carry out a further ballot.

The proposal was that following this re-ballot, union recognition would be forced onto Ward We realised that there was a loophole in the law and that this would be exploited once again.

We certainly don't intend to wait until the new Bill gets through, it might take six or seven months.

Blacking

SP: Ever since the strike began, the WSL has, as you know, argued that the only way to secure victory is through the blacking of supplies and services to the company.

Following the -TUC Congress resolution last year many people thought there was a possibility that the Trade Union bureaucracy might take a step towards achieving these goals.

We believed otherwise and predicted that the resolution, vague and empty as it was, served as a face-saver for a union bureaucracy under pressure.

After the Congress, the strike committee had talks with some union leaders. These talks achieved nothing positive.

Goods still come in and out of the factory and services are still connected..

KG: Yes! After 12 months on strike we realised that blacking the supplies and services was the key to victory.

I still believe that, although cutting off the water and electricity is important, the blacking of mail in and out of the factory is more crucial.

SP: What's the possibility of getting the postal services blacked once again? Have you made approaches to the post office workers in the area? KG: First of all let me clear up a common misunderstanding: when the Cricklewood postmen blacked the mail last year they only stopped the outgoing mail.

Although we certainly would like to see this happen again what's equally important is to interrupt the incoming mail.

It's the Central London branch of the UPW that handles this. The trouble is that we don't wan' to put the postal workers into a situation where they get locked out and lose their pay or jobs.

That's what would happen if they took unofficial action. We did, of course, have long discussions with Tom Jackson of the UPW and urged him to instruct his members to black the mail.

All he could do was to write a 13-page letter to he TUC explaining why he wouldn't.

It was one of the most pathetic letters I've ever seen. He laid down a set of Committee chairman Kamlesh our reply makes clear, we do not ve feel that a much more positive mmittee. But Kamlesh Gandhi's of importance to other sections conditions that the would guarantee to before he'd co Isider blacking.

Most of these he knew were That was the way That's not, of course, to forget all the work that's been done by all the UPW rank and file workers in solidarity with us.

What is a problem now is that the Cricklewood branch no longer handles Grunwick mail, it's been shifted to other branches, all of which have lots of National Front members.

I agree with you that all the talks were worthless. Towards the end we told the trade union bureaucrats that they were wasting our time.

We wanted the services cut off and they refused to do so. All they wanted to talk about Murray was cutting off some of the supplies.

SP: Yet they haven't even done this much ...

KG: No, all the blacking of supplies that's ocurred has been due to our own efforts. The TUC has done nothing at all to help us.

SP: The bourgeois press and some left papers seem united on one thing. They all give the impression the strike is over.

They talk of the strike in the past tense. As you know we believe it is precisely at this point that correct policies need to be put forward.

In a recent Socialist Press, we reproduced a letter from the Cardiff Grunwick Support Committee which had been sent to Brent Trades Council a few weeks ago.

The letter called on the Trades Council and its secretary Jack Dromey to initiate a further lobby of the TUC in protest against the TUC's inactivity.

Although we naturally supported this initiative we insisted that such a lobby should be based not on TUC fulfil the conditions impossible. out for the TUC GRUNWICK PLAN TOP SECRET simple protest but on demands for immediate implementation of blacking of all services by the TUC.

Such action, if supported by the Grunwick Strike Committee would provoke your suspension from APEX so we also believe that it is essential to make adequate financial provisions.

The Cardiff support group suggested a target of £10,000. What are your views on such an initiative?

KG: I agree with the idea. The question is, whether or not the Trades Council is prepared to call such a demonstration outside the TUC.

You remember that a conference called by the SE Region of the TUC [of which Jack Dromey is the secretary SP] was called off because APEX refused to support it.

It's the same situation here, you see. When the APEX leadership refuses to support the initiative it'll be called off.

Still, if it was called and we supported it-we'd be suspended. But if there's a levy or a fund set up, we don't give a damn!

But we feel it's up to the Trades Council to call such a demonstration; the problem is that Dromey thought the Cardiff Support Committee was trying to put pressure on him.

Ineffective

SP: Why doesn't the Strike Committee itself call such a KG: We haven't The points made by Kamlash Gandhi in the interview above well illustrate the cleft stick in which the Grunwick strikers now find themselves.

On the one hand the present direction of the dispute by APEX officials is further isolating the dispute, opening up no prospect whatever of reinstatement or union recognition.

Threats

On the other hand the slightest initiative by Grunwick strikers themselves is met by immediate threats of suspension from union membership, the FOR SE Region TUC Secretary Jack Dromey Postal DIaCK!

SP: What

give to, presently ONDO: * AB yet. I don't think such a demonstration would really be effective in putting pressure on the TUC leaders.

After all, the firemen didn't get their support so why should we? They refused to break the government pay code so why should they break the law and enforce a 44- .2.1 L 1 -1.0 advice would you say, the workers on strike throughcutting off of strike pay, and organised sabotage by the entire TUC apparatus.

Pernicious

But Kamlash Gandhi fails to bring out another level on which the Grunwick strikers face obstacles-the semi-official role played by Jack Dromey of Brent Trades Council, who has acted throughout the dispute as the 'left' face of the APEX and TUC Socialist Press, unlike almost every other paper on the left has stressed the pernicious role played by Dromey-the man used by the FBU bureaucracy to combat 'extremists', and by the APEX bureaucracy to peddle illusions in TUC GRANAKEN TP YCN./ out the Garner Steak Houses chain for union recognition? KG: Well-"Be very careful of your union leadership!" They'll try to keep the strike under control and refuse to mobilise other workers in support.

Of course, the workers should fight to get the suppues Diacked ana maneline Llabad nad keep up regular picketing to stop customers and scab s getting in.

SP: Thank you. the Scarman report-and the necessity for the Strike Committee to confront the trade union bureaucracy.

Kamlash Gandhi points out that the TUC refused to back the firemen despite a mass lobby.

But the TUC is already on record as 'supporting' the Grunwick strikers.

A mass lobby demanding that this 'support' be turned into concrete action could have a powerful effect in exposing the role of these leaders, and further pressuring the APEX leaders themselves who would seek to prevent such action.

Again and again mass pickets of Grunwick's gates have shown the willingness of thousands of workers to respond to the call from the Grunwick strike committee.

It has been proved that simply picketing the gates is not sufficient to stop the firm. Blacking action must be enforced by key sections of workers in the public services.

The obstacle to this action is not the courts, and not the government, but the TUC leaders and their supporters within the trade union movement.

If the Grunwick Strike Committee fail to mobilise their supporters, against this central obstacle, then there is no prospect of a successful outcome to the dispute.

It is for this reason that we are convinced the proposals of the Cardiff Grunwick Support Committee must be urgently discussed and acted upon by the Grunwick strikers, as the way in which this key battle can be won.