snap decision to give official support to the occupation.
The Monday meeting of more than 60 shop stewards and convenors voted unanimously for a resolution proposed by Rolls Royce convenor George Maccormack. wiich bleaced une stewards at Rolls Royce, Dunlop, Chrysler, Babcock & Wilcox, Scottish Cables, Albion Motors and many other workplaces to achieve.... ultimate victory by giving maximum support both morally and finan cially.
wor the rersonna workers. enterne their seventh week of strike and occupation, this decision and a donation of £500 from UCS was a major boost. But the resolution posed no more than support through levies at the level of each local plant. When Personna convenor Phil McBride argued for a centralised fighting fund based on such levies, to ment redundancies troughout me area. a series of leading activists talked the proposal out. ONE BASKET Some, such as one Chrysler steward, ala so mine bener mal me main task posed was to concentrate all resources on me resonna suusee buL omers were clearly motivated by the desire expressed by Jimmy Gilmore of Anderson's to stick to the one struggle - keep up pressure on ine disince committees, write to the Executive Committee, send out appeals.
*This struggle is the correct line which all workers faced with redundancies should take. There's something lacking at the top of the house - we have to fight the devious methods of right-wingers like Boyd in trying to The workers occupying Personna Razor Blades, Hillington (near Glasgow) won two vital battles last week in their struggle against redundancies. On Monday 10 November a meeting of shop stewards from Paisley, Renfrew and Glasgow pledged to organise regular financial support for the occupation. Three days later, a flying picket of Personna workers forced the top bureaucrats of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers into a suppress this struggle. What we need is a fighting committee of shop stewards; if we wait for the big guns we'll get nothing."
Ine correctness of tnis was proved only the following day when the AUEW executive commitee deferred the question of official support and vital financial aid for the third consecutive The Scottish Area Council of the National Union of Students voted unanimously last weekend to back the Chrysler Linwood stewards' struggle for nationalisation without compensation and that at Personna for work-sharing with no loss of pay. It also pledged its active support for all factory occupations against redundancy.
The motion was proposed by a reprosinue or tasey scenakal Colege acs nas aiso Dcen orlanisco acine mitative of IMG militants. The platform will consist of a student representative. Chrvsier convenor John Carty, Personna convenor Phil MeBride, and West Renfrew Labour MP Norman Buchan. This is the sort of platform which should feature again and again in the fight for jobs.
week. This time, however, the "big guns' got a counter-blast which knocked them and their scabbing manoeuvres for six.
A mass meeting of the Personna workers in the occupied factory on Wednesday, heartened by Monday's show of support, decided that the time had come to put a halt to the EC's deliberate prevarica-London. inner sanctums. as a declaration of intent.
undancies lying down.
power to prevent the closure.
eeting for these strug Defend the Right to Work:
Glasgow IMG public meeting with speakers stewart Maciennan (IMG Daily News. tion. A flying picket of ą dozen militants was despatched overnight by car to AUEW headquarters in Peckham, South Shortly afterwards, right-wing General Secretary John Boyd was spotted trying to creep out of the side door. The abashed Boyd, confronted with demands for immediate action, scurried back to the Seven minutes later, he returned with a decision of offical backing and payment of hardship money!
EXAMPLE
Meanwhile, Personna's example in fighting redundancies seems likely to be followed elsewhere in the West of Scotland. Faced with the threat of closure workers at Berg Manufacturing in Blair Linn, Cumbernauld - which makes brake components for the motor industry -occupied their plant during last weekend Shop steward Bill McCutcheon told the Scottish Daily News free sheet: "We will prove to the management that we will not take redThe men are determined to do everything in their National Committee), Dave Oldham (Secretary, Edinburgh Direct Labour Department JSSC - in personal capacity) and invited representatives from Personna, Chrysler, and the Scottish Monday 24 November, 7.30, ALW Halls, 145 West Regent Street, Glasgow.
3362 work in the abortion campaign, etc.
raise another £1,565 if we are to meet our November target of £4,000.
Ann, 97 Caledonian Road, London N.1. (cheques/POs payable to 'The Week').
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STUDENTS JOIN THE STRUGGLE
Report from Stewart Maclennan