40 week strike at Skegness

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ana all suppies going into tne sons coula ser tne trade union plant. movement back years if it needed publicity and to put be sent to Sanderson Strike pressure on the TGWU to Fund, Appeals Office, 24, force them into some action. High: Street, Burgh-le-Marsh, Just. like the Grunwick Skegness, Lincs. six strikers remain resolute in their stand against the owner of the plant.

They are still maintaining a seven-day, twenty-four hour picket on the gates of the factory. • Although disillusioned by the lack of any urgency by the local full time officials of the TGWU, and the feeling that they have been overshadowed by the Grunwick dispute and the firemen's strike, they are still convinced that they can win this About seventy scabs are still working inside the plant, and of these a quarter are school leavers.

Up to this week they have been putting in between sixty and sixty five hours a week.

Now they have been put on a forty hour week and have been threatened with more cuts in hours if things don't improve.

The strikers feel that the limited blacking of components to the plant has brought about this situation.

When the scabs were told of the management's intentions they asked that the forty hours be spread over four days, to enable them to get part time work on the remaining days!

The benevolent Mr Sanderson refused this request and reminded them according to their contract of employment the forty hours could be implemented over five and a half days.

Declined

This episode gives some indication of the employer and the wages he pays.

The strike is due to come up for discussion at next week's meeting of the TGWU General Executive in London.

5 issues 10 issues 25 issues 50 issues I would 1 Name. Address Send When it was suggested that the strikers call for a mass lobby on the day of the discussion, 9 March, they declined, feeling it would somehow aggravate their case.

Lot to learn It is obvious the strikers have a lot to learn when they place any faith whatsoever in the TGWU bureaucrats and such bodies as ACAS, but there is no doubt their attitude will harden as the strike continues.

Demands must be put on the TGWU and the TUC to black all Sandersons products 1-1.17 ..... 1: ---- 4 - 11. -Mass pickets are necessary were lost. to give the strike much PRESS * List

TGWU leader Evans

fight, the struggle at Sander. 1 M mud 11- we shed Financial donations should .£1.10 .£2.20 . £5.50 €10.00 issues. I enclose the sum of £.. Press, 31, Dartmos London NW5 1HR

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PHOTO: John Sturrock, Report The Liaison Committee conference The latest Liaison Committee for the Defence of Trade Unions Conference on 4 March took place against the background of a massive shift to the right by the trade union bureaucracy in its commitment to the Lib-Lab coalition government.

Accordingly it proved even more bankrupt than usual in providing the means of mobilising the working class in defence of its independent interests.

Considering the increasingly active involvement in this rightward shift of many of its closest supporters in the Communist Party and elsewhere, few could have expected otherwise.

And any pretensions the LCDTU may have for living up to its name in the face of a mounting offensive on the independence of the trade unions, not only from the capitalist state but from their own bureaucratic leaders, were eloquently answered by its refusal to oppose the victimisations of militants at Leyland's Cowley factory.

Central theme

The central theme of the conference speakers in covering over the betrayals of the labour leaders (in a number of cases themselves) with talk of the movement 'being on the defensive was set early on by left' bureaucrat George Guy of the Sheetmetal Workers As a TUC General Council member he did however provide an interesting insight Cy ist purge by Fords in 1962announced that though it was a 'fairly big issue' it was an "internal matter for the TGWU" and had to be "settled TGWU members"

Support for this ruling was far from widespread, with the vote showing a majority of less than two-to-one, with as many more abstaining.

With this unexpected inconvenience bureaucratically disposed of it was business as usual.

Syd Harroway, Fords AUEW convenor, looked forward to a 'new era' with Moss Evans and Bob Wright as TGWU and AUEW General Secretary and President.

Collaboration

Govan Shipbuilders convenor Sammy Barr called for

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SOCIALIST Subscribe! Skegness, enters its fortieth week, the thirty-