[There are over 900 people employed in this…]

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There are over 900 people employed in this factory and around two-thirds are women: many of these women are the main wage earners being widows, single parent families, unmarried or with husbands either unemployed or in low paid jobs. They have suffered severe financial hardship.

Despite the mumblings coming from Tories in Parliament that not giving 90 days notice was "not really cricket", , this move by Meccano is not unplanned. The Tories des perately want this workforce broken.

This is just the first step in a whole package of Tory proposals to strip the working class of all legislation which protects them in anyway from the ruthlessness and LICS WILL greed of their employers. company.

Inside the occupied Meccano plant The firm is, of course, using its dirty tricks department to try and split the workforce. In the week after Christmas holiday pay ran out, when most of the workforce would be stoney-broke, they sent out a letter to each of them to tell them exactly how much they were prepared to pay in redundancy money.

A few workers did make further enquiries. about this and were told by management they could only have the money if they got their P45 tax forms from the leaders of the occupation. The workers in occupation of course have no access to this or any other tax material and it is merely a ploy by management to make them think that blame inn *rith tha workforce and not the The government, too, through the DHSS iS putting pressure on to demoralise and break the occupation. Women who were single parents and approached the DHSS in the week before Xmas because they were destitute were refused emergency payments and threatened with having their children taken into care.

The - workers however refuse to be broken. Rose Hanly, a Meccano worker for 22 years and a shop steward and Ann NoOne , a senior steward tell of the high morale that exists there.

They tell of the backing that the women are getting from their families, husbands and children often coming in to help out in the occupation; of women spending more time at the plant now than they did when they were being paid, despite the extra strain this puts on them and their families; and of how young and old alike are enthusiastic supporters of the present action.

Local union branches, too, are giving their support in the form of visits and cash donations to the much needed hardship fund which is for many the only source of income.

At a national level, however, more practical support is urgently needed. The largest union, the GMWU, is still, six weeks after the occupation started, not paying out hardship money although funds are available from this huge union headed by David Basnett.

There has been verbal support too from Labour "lefts" such as Heffer and Loyden, but care must be taken by the workforce to ensure that there is action as well as words. This plant will not be saved by negotiation or through parliament.

Winters Ltd., London After all, these people and the union officials promised the same thing to Standard Triumph and Dunlop workers on Merseyside if only they'd "leave it to us " But they didn't deliver the goods and thousands lost their jobs even though it was then a Labour government in office.

The workers of Meccano have taken a definite step-towards victory in occupation of the factory. If there is to be a successful end to this occupation the following plan of action needs to be followed.

*The occupation must be continued and extended through national, industrywide strikes. In particular, joint action with Matchbox workers who now find themselves in a similar position.

*Councils of action supported by the whole trade union and labour movement must be built.

*The reactionary argument for import controls should be ignored as it is presented only to divert the workers from a struggle with their own bosses here. -*Continue the call for blacking of all Airfix products or the use of flying pickets to call for this and further support.

The occupation at Meccano is important not only to the workers there but to the whole working class. It should be supported by us all, passing resolutions in union branches and working class bodies pledging physical support for pickets against scabbing and bailiffs and regular financial support., These workers must win for all our sakes. They have already made great gains in confidence, particularly the women, many of whom have not played an active role in trade únion work before. These gains must be built upon and the fight won.