National strike action will be the decisive weapon in winning une claim. but to prepare me wrote memoersmp toi strike action a campaign of mass meetings, demonstrations and a one-day national strike to demonstrate the solidarity of the membership leading up the the national recall group meeting in July will be necessary.
A national strike would allow the stronger sections to organise pickets to pull out those areas still hesitating. And by combining the fight to defend their living standards with the defence of social spending, NALGO members will gain broad support throughout the labour movement for their struggle. Jack Lewis AND OBRIEN over spilt milk in a situation in which the bulk of militant delegates thought Ford's Dagenham continues supply of engine sumps from the Press Shop dried up ver management have offered just 20pl proved offer' is forthcoming from the management. The seven week-old strike against manning cuts by 80 doorhangers and setters at Or 10 June a meeting of the strikers decided to start picketing the Body Plant in an attempt to close down Escort production at Hale wood by stopping wheels being sent out. Production of cars at Halewood is only 24 hours behind wheel production. Engine production would have also been hit as the These moves could have begun to extend the Dagenham struggle into a national fight against Ford's productivity drive. The picketing force could have been extended to involve more of the 6,500 laid off workers, with flying pickets being sent out to But for Communist Party member Dan Connors, convenor of the plant, the pick et was notning more than a token demonstration aimed at making management ge to arbitration where jobs and conditions could be bargained away. The strike is thus grinding to a halt in isolation. A national Ford workers delegate conference is urgent to work out a common policy to defend jobs, working conditions and living standard:
ROVER STRUGGLE ON On 11 June a mass meeting of 10,000 Rover workers in the Midlands voted over whelmingly to give a mandate to the national Negotiating Committee to call industrial action as and when it sees necessary in pursuit of the January 1975 wage claim. A similar resolution was also passed by a mass meeting of Rover workers in Cardiff.
The union claim, worked out by a cost of living sub-committee to match the spending power of 1972 wages, is for E11.80 on top of the £6 interim award and the partry libu resnold payment hover workers nave already recaived. in re nD As the IMG's factory bulletin at the Rover Solihull plant, The Organiser, painted out this offer was so provocative that Hover manacement must have prepared fol strike action. It therefore argued that in this situation 'guerrilla' type industrial actior action - lightning strikes, overtime bans and so on - would be worse than useless. What is needed is all out indefinite strike action in which the plants are occupied as a base from which to send out flying pickets to prevent the movement of stocks Monday 16 June followed by indefinite strike action from next Monday if no 'im-
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PREPARE STRUGGLE